Thankful for Thanksgiving in California

Saturday 11-20-2010


When you look out your window at Mt. Baker glistening in the east, covered in a blanket of snow, you think how beautiful and picturesque it is. When that snow is covering your lawn and driveway and quickly turning to a sheet of ice, the beauty of the picture perfect postcard begins to fade. Freezing temperatures, a northeaster out of the Canadian Frazier Valley brings the wind chill in the teens and the snow is blowing across the yard in a fast and furious flurry causing a white out. This is what I woke up to Saturday morning, the day before I was to fly to California to spend Thanksgiving with my mom, my oldest son James, my sister Mary, nephews and nieces. All the last minute errands are cancelled due to slippery roads and multiple accidents on the roads. This front is moving south and my only concerns are airport conditions and if my planes can fly.

We braved the roads and went to church to hear Ryan and Sara Hall speak about running, http://thestepsfoundation.org the 26.2 project, and what God has done in their lives and where he is leading them in the future.

We stopped at Haggen’s to pick up dinner after church and a sandwich for me to take on the airplane tomorrow. We spent a quiet evening watching television and talking. My bags are packed and I just have to have faith that I will be able to fly out to California tomorrow.

Sunday 11-21-2010

Larry and I read the Sunday paper and had our morning coffee in our cozy study with a warm fire blazing while I occasionally checked outside the bay window to check on the weather. It’s time to leave for the airport and I’m already checked in on-line so we can stay home a little longer and I won’t have to sit in the portable waiting area longer than necessary.

At the airport I find out my plane from Bellingham will arrive at the “C” gates and my next flight departs from the “N” gates. I have thirty minutes from landing to take-off. I’ll just have to wait and see if I make my flight or catch the next one out. As I stood in the waiting area I saw Ryan Hall also waiting to board the same flight o Seattle. A team of runners from Modesto was also boarding the plane and they slowly began to notice Ryan Hall was going to be on our flight and began whispering amongst themselves. Many of them weere in church last night to hear Ryan Hall speak, and the rest missed a great opportunity.

Our plane took off on the new runway at the Bellingham airport and as we neared Seattle the snow began to fall. We sat on the tarmac for at least ten minutes and all I could think about was missing my next flight. I waited for my carryon bag and then I ran up the C concourse, down the escalator, took the tram and made 2 stops, up the escalator, down the N concourse to find a sign that my flight was departing from the C concourse. The rude gate attendant said I had eight minutes to get back to my gate and she wouldn’t call ahead and said we’ll just put you on the next flight if you miss this one. With tears in my eyes I walked as quickly as I could because I was fighting a burning headache on the right side of my face from the stress and I was too exhausted to run anymore. I was the last one to board at my gate when I arrived. There was no room in the overhead bins when I finally go on board, and as I tried to rearrange the overhead bin near over my seat, some of the other passengers began to get angry. Oh well, what was I to do--one guitar taking up three bags spaces is just not right.

It was 27 degrees in Bellingham when I left and it will be 55 degrees when I get to Oakland according our pilot. Of course right after he said this he told us they were checking the plane to see if they needed to de-ice it before take-off; take-off….would there be such a thing?

10,000 feet and I can finally get up to get a cough drop out of my bag and get my sandwich. As carefully as I tried to be, somebody else’s cane falls out of the bin onto a passenger and she lets me know she is angry with me, even as I apologize. I can only do so much and God knows I tried to be careful and it wasn’t on purpose but now the other passengers around me are roused up again. I can’t win. I give up. They should have heard Pastor Bob’s messages about “grace,” and given me just a little. My stomach is in knots and I am exhausted. My coughs won’t stop and that will probably cause my fellow passengers who seem to watch my every move now, to panic. Sleep….a short nap…something I need.

My plane landed a few minute early so I bought a diet Pepsi and sat outside in the 55 degree weather (with my coat on) and enjoyed the sunshine while I waited for my sister, Mary, and my mom to pick me up. This was the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow…somebody here loves me.

We headed home and stopped at BJ’s for dinner. Soup and salad for dinner then home for mom’s homemade peach pie for dessert.

Monday 11-22-2010

The sun is shining but the forecast is for a chance of showers for most of the week. Rain is better than freezing wind. Mom and I went to Mary’s to have lunch with Melissa and Samantha. Mary’s house is mostly decorated for Christmas. Richard has been busily working away on a black, silver, purple, and green color scheme throughout the house, including the outside porches. It’s beautiful. Sami had to work, so she left and the rest of us headed to Wal-Mart. Mary bought Melissa some scrapbooking supplies, mom had her own cart full of baking supplies, and I got out of the store without buying anything. Back to Mary’s to get candy to make fudge. Eight huge (!) boxes of candy we sorted through, about 240 pounds of candy, to find Hershey bars to melt down for the fudge base.

Kelly called several times during the day and left text messages for Mary and me as well as voice messages saying, “I need more grandma recipes.” Next week I will scan mom’s cookbook and update the digital copy for the family.

Mom has a large bowl of my favorite cabbage slaw made up and that is what I will have for dinner with some leftover homemade pie. Mom and I played canasta until midnight.

Tuesday 11-23-2010

It’s raining at mom’s and snowing in the mountains (far away mountains). A cup of coffee for me and hot chocolate for mom as we watched the morning news, and chatted before starting to make cookies for Tyler who is in Afghanistan.

Later I followed Mary to get her car worked on. We bought bubble wrap for the cookies, got USPS boxes, and picked up mom’s vacuum cleaner from the repair shop. The sun is out and the sky is filled with clouds and the car battery died so we made a stop at Sears to have it replaced and had lunch at the mall. We did a little window shopping before returning to mom’s to make fudge for Tyler. Mary headed home to work on her house for her upcoming holiday parties. Mom and I had homemade corn and vegetable chowder for dinner with salad and berry cobbler for dessert.

Mary came over and we watched the finale of Dancing with the Stars and then played canasta. The temperatures are going to get to freezing so I helped Mary turn off the outside water pipes and wrap the ones that need to stay on.

We didn’t make these cookies for Tyler this time but mom said they are good and gave me the recipe:

Potato Chip Cookies

1 c. shortening
1 c. sugar
1 c. brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp. baking soda
2 c. flour
2 c. finely crushed potato chips
1 pkg. butterscotch chips

Mix shortening, sugars, and eggs together until creamed. Then add remaining ingredients to the creamed mixture. Drop walnut size cookies on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 325 degrees for 10-12 minutes. Makes 4-5 dozen.

Wednesday 11-24-2010

The sun is shining but there is frost on the ground and the deck rails are glistening in the early morning hours. We packed 12 dozen cookies and fudge for Tyler to mail this morning and one large box of magazines from my mom to Kelly. Mom made cornbread for the Thanksgiving dressing, two pumpkin pies, a pineapple and coconut pie, jell-o salads, and lot of iced tea.

I went to the post office to mail the boxes and then had lunch with Mary and her friends before we went to CFE storage to drop off donations. I checked my email at Mary’s before heading back to mom’s. The freeway wasn’t too busy for 5:00 PM rush hour traffic on the eve of a busy holiday.

I wrapped a Christmas present for Jim, stacked up and folded fabric upholstery samples Mary gave me to take home and then mom and I had dinner and played cards. Michael called to wish me a Happy Thanksgiving. The news said more freezing temperatures tonight; the Canadian cold snap has followed me. Maybe I could fly off to Vegas to see Kelly and Kyler and if it gets too cold there, maybe Michelle would let me come visit in Arizona.

Thursday 11-25-2010 Thanksgiving

Mom was already up and working on fixing Thanksgiving dinner and had a pot of coffee ready for me when I walked into the kitchen. I got the turkey ready to go in the oven while mom prepared yeast roll dough. The giblets are cooking, the sweet potato casserole is prepared, the potatoes peeled for cooking and mashing.

It could have almost been a disaster day. A few weeks ago we replaced mom’s stove and today her microwave gave out, blew out black smoke, and said I quit after 29 years of service. We turned on the fans, bathroom exhaust, opened the doors, opened both of the garage doors, and aired the house out. Good thing mom still had her table top convection oven. It’s always the unexpected you can’t prepare for and have to work around. What more could happen? Ants. We sprayed inside, outside and they were gone. Or at least we thought they were gone. We held them at bay, confined to one small section of the end cabinet just to get through the day.

Haley and Freddy came about 1:00 PM to visit. We were stop #2 of 4 for their day. Freddy had a slice of pumpkin pie with whipped cream before they left and even though Harley didn’t want any, she let Freddy share with her. That’s the way it goes.

Jaimie arrived just as Haley and Freddy were leaving. Jamie came with a friend who brought mom white roses with dark pink tips, just beautiful. Michael C arrived and then Poncho and Richard came in just after Michael. Mary had a headache and didn’t feel like coming, so she is staying home. Dinner was just about to be served when Justin and Brandi arrived from Monterey. Sami and Randy arrived and there was still plenty of food left. Everyone has second or third places to visit so soon everyone was gone except Justin, Brandi, mom, and me. We talked about family, where the future would take Justin and Brandi…and then Jim and Heather arrived before J&B needed to head to Pittsburg to see more family members.

Jim and Heather stayed until about 8:30 PM before they headed home to feed the animals and get ready for work the next day. Now mom and I are left to sort through the black Friday ads. We decided there wasn’t anything we needed enough to make us get up and go shopping at midnight, or 2:00 AM, 4:00 AM, 7:00 AM, or even 9:00 AM.

I will go to Michael’s craft store and Joann’s fabrics sometime tomorrow afternoon to browse, but not expecting any door buster specials to be left, and that’s ok.

The house is empty and we spray for ants again.


The ants go marching one by one. (Hurrah, hurrah!)

The ants go marching one by one. (Hurrah, hurrah!)

The ants go marching one by one, the little one stops to suck his

thumb,

And they all go marching down around the town.

The ants go marching two by two

...to tie her shoe.

The ants go marching three by three

...to climb a tree.

The ants go marching four by four

...to shut the door.

The ants go marching five by five

...to take a dive.

The ants go marching six by six

...to pick up sticks.

The ants go marching seven by seven

...to go to heaven.

The ants go marching eight by eight

...to jump the gate.

The ants go marching nine by nine

...to scratch his spine.

The ants go marching ten by ten

...to say, "The end."


Friday 11-26-2010

Mom had hot chocolate and I had my usual cup of coffee. Mary called and I went to meet her at Joann fabrics--with coupons. Not bad…about one hour and we were out the door. I stopped at Starbucks for another cup of coffee on my way back to mom’s while Mary took her purchases back to her house.

Mom was ready for round II at Joann’s in Pittsburg with Mary and me. We each took a shopping cart and we were off. Three hours later they finally called our number for the cutting table. We got back to the house right before Melissa arrived for dinner. We had turkey leftovers, fresh homemade biscuits, Mary’s homemade sweet pickles, pickled green beans, and pie. A nice time chatting and laughing. Melissa left about 7:30 PM and we watched Wheel of Fortune before getting down to the business of playing canasta. We played till about midnight before giving in to yawns; and mom beating us. Tomorrow is another day.

Saturday 11-27-2010

It’s raining and overcast but warmer than the last few days. Water rationing is still in effect although the restrictions are not as tough as they were a few months ago. The rain is needed for the garden and the snow will maybe fill the reservoirs next spring when the snow pack melts removing water rationing permanently or until the next dry spell.

After coffee and hot chocolate with my mom I drove to Michael’s crafts since I didn’t make it there yesterday. I needed to get the rest of my gift for the family gift exchange game that takes place after Christmas each year. We won’t be there, but I make sure Larry and I have gifts in the pile and someone plays for us. I’ll finish Larry’s gift Monday or Tuesday when I go to the Harley store in Walnut Creek.

I went to Mary’s for a little while to check my email, picked up a pizza for dinner, and then back to mom’s where we continued to fight ants. The kitchen has been stripped of food and containers that are now piled up on the dining room table. The ant traps are out and hoping tomorrow the ants will be gone.

Mom and I played canasta before bed.

Sunday 11—28-2010

There were only a few ants at a new place in the kitchen so we sprayed and hoped that they would be gone when we get home from church. Mom attends Bethel Baptist Church and it is small and just about everyone knows everyone else. It’s been a long time since I heard Jesus Loves Me sung in church and it brought back many childhood memories of Sunday school. Mary met us at the house after she got out of church and we went out to lunch, a Sunday afternoon ritual for mom and Mary. A quick stop at Home Depot for more ant control products and then back to the house to read the Sunday paper and take a nap.

Refreshed and ready to go we went to Brentwood to the HomeGoods store looking for more of the special battery operated candles that change colors. Success! Next T.J.Maxx and then Joann’s fabrics. We bought a lot of fabric this weekend and Mary doesn’t sew and I don’t have a sewing machine. Wonder what we will do with our stash. Mom is making aprons and potholders. In & Out Burgers for dinner. We don’t have an In & Out at home and Mary sent a picture of where we were to Kelly knowing this is one of her favorite places to eat out.

Home again, home again, that’s what the ants are saying. Tomorrow the exterminator will come!

Before bed I sat up reading for a while and found this recipe in one of mother’s magazines.

Never Fail Chocolate Cake (Or Beat it 1,375 times Cake)

1 c. shortening
2 c. sugar
4 tbsp. cocoa
3 eggs
1 c. buttermilk
3 c. flour
2 tsp. baking soda dissolved in 1 c. boiling water
1 tsp. vanilla

Cream shortening and beat 125 times. Add sugar and beat 125 times till fluffy. Add cocoa and beat 125 times. Add eggs 1 at a time and beat 125 times after each egg. Add 1/3 c. of buttermilk and 1 c. of flour and beat 125 times, before adding more ingredients in each measurement. Dissolve baking soda in hot water and add to batter and beat 125 times. Add vanilla and beat 125 times.

Pour into a 9X13 inch greased pan and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

I think I might try this and use my electric mixer and this will equal 50 seconds with each addition if 150 hand beats equals 1 minute. Much easier and quicker.

Monday 11-29-2010

From the patio doors in the bedroom I can look out to the garden in the backyard. Most of the plants have died back and gone dormant for the cold fall and winter months but the alyssum ground cover gives the illusion of a green carpet covered with snow. The Mexican sunflower stands about five foot tall keeping watch over the garden with its bright cheery yellow blossoms. The pots with vegetables have all been brought into the laundry room to protect them from the freezing night and early morning temperatures. Spring comes quickly in California and by February everything will be sprouting and starting to bloom. I miss the longer growing season in CA, and some the plants that WA calls annuals are perennials in CA.

The sun is out but it’s cold. Off to Costco to fill the gas tank in the car and get a few things for mom. Lowes for a packing box (Mary always has a load of goodies for me to take home) plus whatever I buy while I am visiting. Next stop is Mary’s to start scanning mom’s cookbook. The nieces and nephews are growing up and it will be fun to share a copy of the cookbook filled with family favorites for the younger family members, nieces and nephews who are growing up, moving out, getting married. This is a cooking memoir of love from their grandmother, how she fed her family.

Mary fixed a pot roast with roasted vegetables that she sent home with me for dinner. Her house smelled wonderful and mom and I didn’t have to cook.

Tuesday 11-30-2010

The skies are grey and dark as I pulled back the blinds to let the morning light into the bedroom. It will get to the 50’s but it looks like it will be a slow start to get there and not long lived after it arrives. There is a slight breeze blowing but nothing like the 65 mph winds they were expecting at home in Washington last night.

The exterminator didn’t come yesterday and there are more ants today. I’m not sure where they are coming from but it’s hard for mom not to be able to cook and putter in her kitchen. Jerry and Laura will arrive in three weeks and I know mom would like to do a little baking and get things in the freezer and cook some casseroles to have ready. Looks like we will eat dinner out again tonight.

Off to the Harley shop in Walnut Creek to buy a gift that will be Larry’s family Christmas exchange gift. Every year he has something “Harley” and every year the guys steal it back and forth until someone wins the prize.

I finished scanning mom’s cookbook today so I can finish working on it when I get home. Mary already sent yesterday’s scan to my email account and I just sent the last batch.

Diggers for hamburgers. Mom’s favorite place to go.

Pastor Ken and Deacon Clint from her church came by to visit tonight. A nice thing to do from a small church.

Mom and I played canasta after they left.

December 1, 2010

Bug Zappers arrived to save the day. They sprayed the inside of the house and then the perimeter of the house. We needed to leave for three hours so we went to Mary’s house. Mary turned on the fireplace to take the chill off the living room and while she went to take care of some business mom had a stack of magazines and crossword number puzzles she brought with her and I checked my email.

We stopped by FedEx on the way home to mail my box, but I had to leave my new found favorite possession, a red brick with California written on it and weighing about eight pounds. It will have to wait to come home until we drive down for a visit.

I sort of feel like the country mouse and the city mouse today. My sister Mary is always attending an event or a function that requires her dress to up--awards, fundraisers; cocktail, semi-formal, or formal. Me, I’m just a jeans sort of girl with an occasional dress up event. Mary called before I packed for CA and said she had to go to an event and it was cocktail attire. Ok, I could do that and get the dress in my carry-on bag. After I arrived they told her it was semi-formal. Mary said no problem, she opened up the closets and said pick shoes (mine weren’t dressy enough for semi-formal) so I found Anne Klein open toe black leather heels, another closet held purses so I picked a black silk purse, drawers of vintage costume jewelry, a bracelet with gold and large brown stones and I was all set.

Tonight it is The Threads of Hope awards at the Blackhawk Car Museum honoring six people in five organizations in Contra Costa County that help those who need it most. My sister Mary was one of the first award winners in 1995 for founding Christmas For Everyone that feeds anyone who needs a meal on Christmas day, provides clothing, gifts, haircuts, music, and a joyful place to be with others celebrating Christmas. The wine was provided by Sterling Vineyards in Napa Valley and hors d’oeuvres were served before the awards ceremony and the evening was capped off with almonds covered in a thin coat of chocolate dusted with cocoa powder and the three time Grammy nominated Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir who sang for over half an hour. Gospel music, Christmas music, faith based music that made you clap and rejoice in the reason for the season. http://www.associatedentertainment.com/aec/Music/Gospel/Oakland-Interfaith-Gospel-Choir

Cinderella left the earrings, bracelet, purse, and shoes in the guest bedroom at my mom’s for my fairy god mother (Mary) to retrieve.

My bags are packed
I’m ready to go
My husband’s waiting
And so is the cat
The dog could care less
If I ever came home
The weather is warming
Or at least I hope it is
Now it’s just a decision
The airport scanner
Or a close encounter
With a TSA agent
And a body pat down
I’m checked in on-line
My ticket is printed
My seats are assigned
Now it’s 4, 5, 6 lanes of traffic
Down the freeway we go
Bumper to bumper
Now it’s up, up, and away
Bye bye NorCal
Hello Whatcom

Thursday 12-2-2010

7:45 AM and the air is still with barely a leaf moving in the early morning hours as the sun tries to peek through the grey clouds covering the city. Rain is in the forecast here in Ca and at home in WA. It’s hard to pack my clothes, close the zipper on the bags and leave my mom behind. This is always the hardest part no matter how long I stay, 1 week, 10 days, a month, it wouldn’t be enough.

I just need an enclave, someplace warm, a huge lottery to support us, and the whole family could be together. When you wish upon a star….

Mom never complains about anything except when it gets really cold…freezing outside. She quilts, uses her sewing machine, gardens when the weather permits, attends church, watches a few favorite television shows, works her puzzles to keep her mind sharp and alert, canasta to keep her winners crown, and cooks family dinners for the memories. At 93 ½ years old she can indulge in a snickers bar and her waist will never tell. One of the best complements I have ever received was at church Sunday when one of mom’s friends said I looked like her. Mom doesn’t look her age, has beautiful skin, and a more beautiful heart. May I continue to be more like her every day!

To scan or not to scan, that is the question. I was undecided right up until the moment I arrived at the airport security gate. Ok, I’ll just go for the scan. Not too bad. Then they have you wait 10 seconds while they check the scan…look at it real close…just what I need. Oh, do you have on any bracelets the TSA agent asked me? Yes I do on both arms I answered as I pulled up my sleeves, but isn’t that a silly question since they could see them on the scan. Sorry she says I’ll need to pat down your arms and upper body. Arms I can understand, well not really but anyway what’s with the upper body pat down. I wasn’t wearing a tummy chest/bracelet so I am not sure why I needed this part. I think they just might be making up the rules as they go. If I had taken my bikini with me on this trip, I could have worn it and bypassed the pat down like other women have been doing.

My plane was half an hour late arriving in Oakland but it all worked out because my plane to Bellingham was delayed an extra hour. That’s better than waiting for the plane that was delayed because mechanics needed to try and find out what was wrong with it and they kept announcing it would be ready shortly. Larry was waiting for me with hugs and kisses, a warm truck to ride home in, and iced tea.

Merry Christmas to our family and friends

Turn off the music player at the bottom of the page before you play this video.

Rylee and Pedyn

Rylee is the newest member of our family. Holding her is big sister Pedyn.

A Care Package From Home

Anyone genuinely knows me, understands that I am really all about my family. Living in Washington with my husband Larry and only my son Michael living nearby means that I am far away from everyone else that I love.

I go to California a couple of times a year to visit my mom, my sister Mary, my oldest son Jim, nephews James, big Michael, Mick, and nieces Haley, Melissa, and Samantha. I go to Vegas about once a year to see my daughter Kelly. All this is good but I still miss them more than I can say.

I also miss the homemade goodies that my mom is famous for, her fruit cobblers, fried apricot and peach pies, cakes, cookies, the casseroles, and southern sweet tea. Well today I received a package in the mail from my mom and sister. A care package for me! Okay I shared it Larry and Michael, but only because I had to. When it has been months since you have had mom’s cookies and then find three varieties packed in a box, you kind of get protective of your stash.

There was a book to read about sisters, and readers digest with an article marked to read, and at the very bottom of the box was a Harley-Davidson white hooded sweater trimmed in faux fur. Whoooo Hoooo! I wore the sweater to the Mt. Baker Chapter HOG meeting tonight.

This is what family does. They knew how much the grey winter days have gotten to me this year and decided to cheer me up and it worked.

Thanks mom. Thanks Mary. I love you both.

Peppermint Valentines

I discovered a wonderful artist Anne Hayward at: www.stampingwithbluemooncreations.com

I used her idea to make my own valentines for family and friends.

Please vist Anne's website to see her other creative ideas.

The valentine card was created at: http://stories.scrapbooksetc.com/

Thanksgiving in California

Last Monday, November 24th at 3:30 PM we were officially on vacation and headed to California for the Thanksgiving holiday. The bags were checked and we passed security and waited for the first of two planes that would take us off to sunny California. We touched down in Oakland at 10:03 PM, collected our bags, took the shuttle to pick up our rental car, and arrived at my mother’s by 11:45 PM. The chick was back in the nest.

Tuesday Larry and I slept in and took a leisurely stroll through the grocery store. Just the necessities. Ha ha! Buy one, get one, so why wouldn’t we? The cart grew fuller and we had aisles to go. I’m sure this won’t be the last trip grocery shopping trip we make.

Kelly called while we were shopping and she was on her way to Costco in Vegas. She wanted to know if we had bought a certain item for her for Christmas because if I hadn’t she was going to buy it for herself. I had to reveal that yes we bought the item and then she wanted to know the color. She called back several minutes later to say Costco was out of the item and I could have kept my secret after all. Of course she hates secrets and tries everything she can to figure out what we buy her each year. This was probably the sneakiest. Send her a package for Christmas or birthday and you can be sure she will open it early. No surprises and waiting for this child.

Jim and Heather came down for dinner and mom made spaghetti and meatballs with homemade peach cobbler. Mary came and made her special French bread spread.

It had been three months since I had seen my son and Heather laughed when I hugged him saying that I wasn’t going to let go. I told her when I got my mom-hug in I would let him breath. Jim is on duty Thanksgiving Day so we won’t be able to share dinner with us on Thursday. It’s not the day but the time you spend with loved ones that counts. Jim has worked every holiday since joining the force. He likes his shift, his partner, his days off, and loves his job. Miss Heather cooked him a Thanksgiving dinner before he went off to work and then spent and afternoon in the barn with her beloved horses. Shortly after Jim arrived at work he found out he had the day off but it was too late to make the journey down to my mom’s so he went off to the barn to relax and watch Heather work the horses.

Jim will come down again in a couple of weeks when my brother Jerry and my sister-in-law arrive in California from Arkansas for Christmas. Jim always brings his empty jelly jars when he comes to grandma’s house because he knows she will always send him home with a new supply of jelly, cobbler or pie. Heather doesn’t really eat sweets so he doesn’t have to share with her and he can savor the treats slowly and all to himself. I bet he had cobbler for breakfast the next morning, if he is anything like his mother and Uncle Jerry.

After everyone had left except Mary, I gave her an early Christmas present that I had made for her. A garland of paper baby doll dresses and one baby boy overall to represent each of her grandchildren.

Wednesday brought a much needed soft rain that fell all day long. Parts of California have already been declared droughts and unless there is a significant rainfall, and more importantly a wet snowfall, the whole state will be facing drought conditions in the coming months. Larry and I went to Mimi’s to pick up dinner and then Mary took me to a Thanksgiving evening concert given by Justin McRoberts. Justin is the son of Mary’s friend Cathy and he is a contemporary Christian singer, www.justinmcroberts.com and is a spokesperson for Compassion, www.compassion.com Justin will do his 7th annual concert next week to benefit my sister’s holiday program--Christmas for Everyone. CFE is expecting to feed over 4,000 people this year due to the economy.

One cup, two cups, we’re ready for the turkey. Mom made rolls and got the cornbread dressing ready and Larry prepared the turkey. Everything was baking and the smells from the kitchen were wonderful. This was wonderful for me because of my allergies I don’t always smell what is baking or cooking. Larry and I slipped out to go find a paper with all the black Friday ads that all of us would pour over later in the evening. Easier said than done. Sold out; Sold out. Finally a liquor store with one last copy. It was ours and we were on our way home.

The turkey had disappeared
And the pie had been served
Now it was down to business
The plotting and planning
The black Friday ads
Who had the best deals?
And what did we want
Because in reality
We didn’t need a thing
We narrowed it down
The final choices
Now it was time
Facing the facts
We’re older and smarter
And the stores open earlier
Not at 7 or 6
But 4 AM!
When would we get up?
To get to the store
Standing in line
Waiting for the doors to open
The deals weren’t looking so good
And the bed was winning out
The tryptophan set in
We could go a little later
How about 1 PM
That’s after the coffee
A hot shower
And breakfast
Maybe next year
We’ll get up at 2
Or just stay up and go

So with the big decision made to skip the morning sales, we sat down to play canasta till one o’clock in the morning. Much more sensible.

Larry and I took a trip to McGuires Harley-Davidson in Walnut Creek. What I found and wanted didn’t come in my size so Larry got off easy without spending a cent. We looked at the bike inventory, a mustard yellow and black/gray metal flake that was totally unique and a show room stopper. A custom mica flake, red, orange paint job that seemed to change colors as we walked around it. Pretty bikes, but nothing that made us want to trade in the red vixen.

Turkey sandwiches and Mary and I were finally ready to shop. It was two o’clock and plenty of time left to find a bargain. Lots of deals at the mall but not enough to entice us to buy anything. Back to mom’s for dinner and we were off for part II. We wound up at Wal-Mart shopping for Christmas for Everyone and walked in and found coats, thirty-eight coats still on the rack. We grabbed the coats and I found a second cart. We scouted the spinner racks the go back carts and checked in with all the clerks. Mary called her friend Syd and he went to the Vallejo Wal-Mart and called back and said he had more coats and to come quickly. We dropped our load off and headed from Martinez to Vallejo. What a surprise when we walked in and saw Sid standing guard over seven shopping carts piled high with warm winter coats. Another phone call to Mary’s friend Sandy to bring a truck. All in all, Mary bought two hundred and three coats that she will give away Christmas day. Great, I said, now all you need is another 3,797 more gifts and you will be ready in three weeks. She dropped me back at mom’s at 2 AM Friday morning. Okay we did the black Friday shopping but at least we got to sleep-in first.

Saturday morning Larry and I took a drive through the Napa Valley wine country with the sun shinning down on the vineyards that were full of leaves in autumn colors of gold, red, and purples. The holiday crowds were non existent and it made the valley much more enjoyable. We stopped at the Freemark Abbey and the Silverado Brewing Company to have lunch. I had crab cakes with corn relish and spinach salad with blueberries, pumpkin seeds, with a Meyer lemon vinaigrette. Larry had calamari and chicken brochette. We drove up highway 29, through St. Helena, Calistoga, down the Silverado Trail, up to Lake Berryessa, Mankas Corner, and back to my mom’s. Larry fixed a prime rib roast for dinner and mom had a blackberry cobbler for dessert. No turkey leftovers tonight. Two great chefs under one roof.

Larry and I attended church with mom at Bethel Baptist and we had lunch at the Buttercup Pantry. Larry cut the leftover prime rib into steaks and cooked for mom and Mary. I was content to eat my mom’s Chinese chopped noodle salad with garlic bread and enough room left for cobbler.

A week goes by way too fast and we left for the airport with a Tully fog closing in on the bay area. We gassed up the car and returned it then caught the next shuttle for the airport. All checked in I left Larry reading a book on his Kindle reader and I took a walk to see the art exhibits on display.

Home for the Holidays

Sometimes there just isn’t enough time in the day to get everything done that you think you need to get done. And that is how the past week went. Sunday arrived and I was still behind and decided to get up early for me--eight o’clock--to get ready and run the last of my errands before we flew out for California for Thanksgiving.

Right on time, the suitcases were almost finished and I was off to take care of three short errands, or so I thought. My car battery was dead. AAA came to my rescue. I explained I was flying out in just a few hours and they arrived at my home with a half hour. It almost didn’t want to jump but at last it did.

Straight to the local Les Schwab Tire Center and they confirmed that my battery was beyond charging and they rushed to get a new battery in the car and get me on my way quickly.

In and out of both stores in under two hours and a quick stop to gas up the car. Back home to finish packing the bags, feed the cat, empty the dishwasher, put away the dishes, load the dishwasher, check my email, all with an hour to spare before Michael arrives to pick us up and take us to the airport.

Now it’s time to fly home to my mother’s for Thanksgiving in California. I am truly thankful that Larry and I will be spending time with my family for the holiday. I am taking the gifts for the December 26th annual stocking night, and a special gift I made for my sister.

Praise God

My nephew Dave has been in Iraq for the last fifteen months. Everyone in our family has been praying for his safe return and Saturday our prayers were answered. I give all my thanks and praise to God for watching over Dave and bringing him safely home to his family and friends.

Our family will continue to pray for those who are still in a war zone and those who are training to go, which includes Dave’s son TJ who left on Tuesday for basic training before his dad arrived home.

The Canasta Queen

I was raised sitting around a table playing canasta with my parents, siblings, and grandparents. Sometimes my Aunt Dot, Uncle Jack, and my cousins would join us or we would all go to their home. I learned to play with two people or as many as eight people in a game. It was family fun with everyone trying to choose the best playing partner, and the kids all being buddied up with grown ups to learn from their experience.

We usually had a big southern style supper of chicken or catfish if my dad, granddad, and uncle had gone fishing that day. My mom, grandmother, and aunt made jell-o salads, fruit, vegetables; dessert was homemade cakes, pies, cookies, ice cream or all of the above. When the kids got bored or tired out, we slowly dropped out of the card game and retreated to other rooms to play with our toys and games.

Mom and dad began playing aggravation with Uncle Leonard and Aunt Faye on their trips to Missouri. Then it became the game of choice. Mary played every week with our parents and it was a battle of wills between dad and Mary who could out-throw the other with dice and knock the other one back to the starting point. My dad played until several months before his death when he was confined to a hospital bed at home. We put the game away after my dad passed away because my mom found no pleasure in playing without my dad.

When my mom celebrated her ninetieth birthday five months after my dad died, I flew to California to help her celebrate. Everyone had gone home one night and we were sitting in the living room reminiscing about when I grew up and things my children learned from me that I had learned from my parents. Somehow we started talking about the canasta games we used to play and how Kelly is the only one of my kids that knows how to play.

Mom said she wasn’t sure she remembered how to play since it had been so long ago since she had played a game. Mom found two decks of cards and we decided to give it a try. We made mistakes then would realize our errors and go on to the next game and the next, and the next. About 3:00 AM we gave it up and went to bed. That night the “Canasta Queen” was revealed (mom).

My sister Mary dropped in later the next day, amazed that we had played cards most of the night. Mary was even more amazed to find out we stayed up half the night, again, playing cards. Well, the third night Mary joined us. Mom and I found out we still had a few of the rules wrong but we were having fun. The rest of the trip was spent around the table watching my mom begin to smile again. The long lonely days of grieving were slowly passing. Mom will always miss my dad but the healing process had begun. I flew home a few days later, but Mary still continues to play canasta with my mom every week.

Mary warmed me this trip that I would have to keep an eye on mom because she can go out and win the game before you even have a chance to get started. It is a pleasant way to spend the evening playing cards and laughing, spending time with my mom and sister. Mary keeps a score book and at the top of each page for a new game, she records the date, the weather, and anything special for that day.

I Love You Honey

Growing up, my siblings and I always felt special and loved by both my parents. Their Christian morals and values provided a firm faith foundation to family life, and it was their nurturing, without criticism, that helped us learn how to help ourselves. I modeled being a mother after my own mom. I kissed the hurts away when my children were small, held them when life hurt them, and tried to always show them how to deal with unexpected circumstances. Most of all I loved them each for who they were individually.

It didn’t matter what age my kids were when they got angry or made at me, I always told them I loved them, even when I was angry or mad at them. Being loved will get you through life’s most difficult obstacles. You never know if you are going to get a second chance to tell someone you love them--so don’t have regrets later for not having told them how you feel.

Each night at my mom’s, she still tells me, “I love you honey” and gives me a kiss on the forehead. Even with three grown children of my own, it’s comforting to feel like a kid again--safe at home with mom.

This is the nurturing experience. It is what people look for in day spas, or retreats, or find in other people. Being pampered and cared for and reciprocating; doing something for someone else for no reason at all; sending a card or e-card, making cookies, smiling at others, offering a kind word to a clerk, and saying I love you to family--Everyone needs kindness in their lives.

I know that I am blessed and loved by my husband, my children, my mother, my family.

Joshua 1:5…I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you.

Isaiah 49:15-16… I will not forget you! See, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me.

A Garden of Memories

Just enough time to take care of business—well, most of it--do my laundry, and repack my bag, and then I was off to California. Larry did his own grocery shopping and that allowed me to be lazy, lounging around in my pajamas while I took care of little tasks, played in my studio, and mostly worked on the computer. What I couldn’t finish I took with me to complete by phone after I arrived at my moms.

My mom is ninety-one and I hadn’t seen her since Christmas. Several weeks ago she was involved in an automobile accident when someone else ran a red light. We thought the family would all be in Branson Missouri right now for a family reunion but we had to cancel. So I was bound for Concord, California. The most important purpose of the journey was just to spend time with my mom and to plant flowers to fill in the bare spots and make the garden look pretty again.

My love of gardening comes from both my parents; I can only remember bits and pieces of living on a small farm in Greenfield, Missouri. We had cows and my mom made her own butter, even winning a contest churning butter. My parents bought me a butter churn just like the one my mom won her contest with and although I was slow cranking the handle, I did make butter for my kids. We left the cows, pigs, ducks, and chickens behind when we moved to Ponca City, Oklahoma.

Friends of my parents shared a large plot of land to garden on just outside of town. We would drive to the garden after dad got off work in the early evening to pull weeds, pick what was ripe and ready to be used or canned for the winter. I lived on fresh vegetables and fruit in the summer, with a good hamburger thrown in once in awhile. Mom made her own dill pickles in crocks she kept in the basement. I loved to pull back the dill leaves sprinkled with salt and dip into the brine to start eating pickles long before most people would consider a cucumber a real dill pickle. The shelves in the basement held everything from stewed tomatoes to spiced pickled peaches.

Our move to California left little room in the backyard to garden, but mom and dad always seemed to find room for cucumbers, onions, tomatoes, peppers, garlic, and chives. Our first home did have a large orchard filled with every kind of fruit tree you could imagine so I spent my summers crawling up into the trees and eating my fill before moving on to the next tree. Homemade apple butter and bread seemed to round out my food groups for the summer with watermelon or cantaloupe for dessert. With the warmer California weather my dad built a round three tier strawberry bed at our next home and mom made strawberry jam and jelly that rivaled her pineapple apricot jam.

The little nineteen forties cottage mom now lives in has raised beds that dad built for strawberries--and Michael claims they are his. Apple, peach, and apricot trees provide the makings for fried pies and dried apple slices and the berry vines keep the family content with cobblers. Two years a go we planted grape vines and mom and the squirrels battled over who would get to eat them last year. We also planted a lemon tree in honor of my father last year.

Richard is a friend of my sister Mary and we have hired him to do the weeding and maintenance for our mom which allows her to enjoy tending her flowers, vegetables, and time to just sit on the patio to enjoy it all. Richard really works hard for my mom because she keeps his glass filled with southern sweet tea and provides him with continuous cookies, cobblers, pies, and baked goods.

Mary and I made several trips to the garden store to purchase flowers for the garden next to the driveway. I spent nine hours in the garden alongside my brother-in-law Poncho and Richard removing an overgrown hedge that blocked the sunlight and, more importantly, my mother wanted it removed since she moved in forty years ago. All gone! Now fifty-three new plants are all in the ground and it could have been more. A white picket fence next spring to finish off the garden and it will be beautiful. We planted snapdragons, ground-cover roses, agapanthus, wave petunias, penstemon, English lavender, pentas, poppies, chrysanthemum paludosum, hibiscus, jewels of opar, red sage, purple alyssum seed, a red pelargonium, Russian sage, and variegated lantana. At the end of the day, mom and I had a simple and satisfying meal of grilled cheese sandwiches and fresh peach cobbler. “Will work for mom’s home cooking and tea.”

I have a daylily in my garden that started life as a small start from my mother’s garden. I have divided it into five pieces that I have replanted around my yard and one piece to share with a friend named Lisa who has a garden that is a little bare right now. My mom always told me that is how most country gardens started--friends sharing cuttings, so the tradition will continue.

I’ve tried bringing home pieces of the agapanthus and the African iris but my winters are too cold and the snow and freezing temperatures always win the battle. My dad laughed one year as I gathered up probably two hundred seeds from the African iris to take home as he was cutting back the parent plant that tried to take over the front yard and produced baby plants faster than he could weed them out.

Gardening has gotten me through both the hardships and joys in life. Jim brought me nasturtium seeds when he was in kindergarten, Michael made me a birdhouse garden stake, and Kelly encouraged me to plant her favorite lupines. I work in the garden and it is my quiet time to talk to God. My parents instilled in me a love for gardening and I am grateful. From my kitchen window I can look out and see the tree my small group from church gave to me as a memory tree for my father and the round wooden tree bench that Larry gave me for my birthday to put around the tree.

Not just another cute cookie

Every since I was about five or six I can remember my mother baking and using the leftover pie dough to make shaped cookies for me, sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon. Some of the cookie cutters were aluminum with little wooden handles and others were all aluminum. One Christmas I received my own little bake set with miniature plastic cookie cutters and I still remember how much fun I had baking with my mom, side by side.

About twenty-five years ago a neighbor brought over Christmas cookies for my children, all decorated in holiday shapes. These cookies tasted just like a cookie from one of my earliest memories when I was about three or four, living on a farm in Missouri and visiting an elderly neighbor down the road with my sister Mary. I asked my neighbor if she would share her recipe and she kindly agreed. My neighbor was about sixty at the time and she had been given the recipe about forty years earlier from an elderly friend she knew.

The next Christmas I bought a few cookie cutters, made my first batch of dough, cut, baked, and let my kids invite a friend to decorate cookies. And so the tradition began. My sister’s eyes lit up when she tasted a cookie and wanted to know where I got the recipe. After all these years, we were both amazed how one cookie could conjure up the same memory in both of us. The cookie wasn’t exact. I am sure the shortening was lard, in the old days, and the flour originally used wasn’t as processed as it is today. Aside from that it was as close as we were probably going to get.

Every year I have increased the number of batches of cookie dough and now I usually bake about sixteen dozen cookies from two inches to eight or ten inches. There are snowmen, trees, snowflakes, reindeer, stars, houses, bells, and more. I make frosting in every color from red and green, to pink, black, and purple, with sprinkles, and candies to decorate the cookies.

Michael was the only one of my children who lived near me last Christmas when I baked cookies so he got to invite four friends to decorate cookies. It doesn’t matter how old you are when decorating cookies, the kids always seems to come out. Not to be left out, I boxed up cookies to take to California for my other two children to decorate at their grandmother’s when they arrived. Somehow Christmas just wouldn’t be Christmas without the cookies.

Every year I find a new cookie cutter to add to my collection and last year it was a frog. I don’t go looking for a new cutter, something just seems to come my way and that is what happened last week. My son Jim and his girlfriend Heather were visiting from California and they came in from shopping one afternoon with a surprise for me. A boxed set of ABC cookies cutters from Fred and Friends. The ABC stands for already been chewed because each of the three gingerbread man cutters has either an arm, leg, or head missing from it. I can’t wait to see how the kids interpret this set of cutters into Christmas designs. Maybe they can put a headless gingerbread man on the reindeer and we will have the Halloween headless horseman. Who knows!

To make all this even more special, I arrived home from a day long Harley ride several weeks ago to find that Ryan had brought me a two-gallon glass canning jar, thinking I might like it. I was thrilled because I had been wondering about what I could use to display the oldest cookie cutters, including my mother’s which she had given me years ago; and all the special cutters which deserved to been seen and not hidden away in a box and pulled out once a year at Christmas.

Last year another one of my “adopted into the family” kids called and asked if I would share my recipe so he could bake cookies for his nieces and nephews. How could I refuse knowing another family is starting a wonderful tradition?

Home is Where the Heart Is

My son Jim and his girlfriend Heather arrived from California last week for a vacation. Heather has never been to Washington and it has been several years since Jim was here to visit. My younger son Michael lives nearby in Bellingham with his partner Ryan. Now I was only missing my daughter to make it complete. She kept telling me she wasn’t coming but somehow I knew she would be here, and she arrived several hours later from Las Vegas to try and surprise me.

I called my mom in California to tell her all the kids were here and she told me to enjoy every minute of my time with them. It made me realize even more how much my mom treasures the times when my siblings and I are all together. We had a family reunion planned in Missouri for August, but with rising fuel cost and airline tickets, we had to cancel the reunion. So this is my mini reunion with my children and their partners.

I’ve spoiled all the kids with favorite foods, time to relax and no chores to do, taking lots of pictures, and giving and getting hugs and snuggles. I fixed one of their favorite casseroles Wednesday and we had family dinner night with everyone talking and telling stories from their childhood. There’s nothing like having babies (even if the babies are all grown up) back in the house to fill our home with energy.

The kids all scattered to see the sights, visit friends, and when they weren’t eating home cooked meals they were sampling the local eating places. So much to do and only so many days to do it in, Seattle, Pikes Market, shopping, Lake Whatcom, Whatcom Falls, the farmers market, cheer stunting with old friends, and church services. Kelly went to White Rock with her friend Haley to visit friends she hasn’t seen in three years and a night of dancing. Jim and Heather took me along with their friend Ian (who we sort of adopted into the family when we moved to Washington and he lived next door with his family) to the movies. Larry stayed home for quiet time with a good book and Michael and Ryan were out friends.

We took family pictures and Jim, Heather, and Kelly, joined Larry and I for the Mt. Baker Chapter HOG picnic in Sumas. A Frisbee game, barbeque hamburgers, hotdogs, and the best potato salad and beans you have ever had. Larry and I watched the softball game between our chapter and our sponsoring H-D Bellingham dealer. Jim played centerfield for our team and Heather pitched and after seven innings our team won. Kelly being the friendly cheerleader meet and greet personality enjoyed talking and visiting with our chapter members.

One more family dinner on Sunday evening to spend with my children before they have to return to their homes and jobs tomorrow. My sister Sharron told me years ago that it is always harder to be the one left behind, than the one leaving when saying good-bye. Sort of. Sometimes. It depends on who you are saying good-bye to. Being separated from my family is never easy for me. Home is where the heart is and little pieces of my heart are in Washington, California, Nevada, Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Maryland, North Carolina, and Iraq, everywhere my loved ones are.

I went to POT in Las Vegas

Mt Baker Chapter H.O.G. Bellingham, WA
www.mtbakerhog.com
Billie Marrs – Director
Monthly meeting - 3rd Thursday, 5:30 PM
Bellingham Country Club
3729 Meridian St
Bellingham, WA 98225

I am so excited. I just returned from Las Vegas where I attended Primary Officers Training (POT) for my local chapter of the Harley Owners Group (H.O.G.). I attended for the first time last year and it was incredible walking around the MGM Grand with 850 other bikers all attired in denim and leather and all carrying our black POT briefcases.

This year POT was located at the Red Rock Casino and there were seven members from our chapter attending, Angie, Rick, Dave, Rita, Shelia, Bob, and myself. Bob and Shelia will arrive early to have a few extra vacation days. Angie, Rick, Dave, and Rita arrived on Thursday in time to relax, and enjoy some play time before POT began.

I also arrive early to see my daughter Kelly who attends school at UNLV and works at Hooters. I have sort of adopted her roommate Kelly W.as our new daughter in the family along with her three children as my only grandchildren. I do plan on spoiling them a little.

What does POT cost our chapter to send us? Nothing! Each of the officers pays their own way and their own expenses. What are the benefits to the chapter and members? We were each allowed to select six classes to attend during the two days we are there. The classes cover everything from risk management, leading the chapter, succeeding with volunteers, creating events, communicating with impact, and many more.

This may not sound like a full day but when you arrive for breakfast at 6:00 AM and classes aren’t over until about 4:30 PM you have had a full day. We were looking for new ideas that we can learn from H.O.G. national or ideas we borrow from other chapters on how to improve what we are already doing or trying something new. We also had a chance to share what our chapter is doing about rides, events, safety, meetings, newsletters, etc. We will shared what we learn with the other officers at our next officer meeting and how we can best utilize this information and then share it with the chapter members. As a chapter we continue to grow and knowledge to build a stronger chapter is always a “good thing”.

We all had stacks of our business cards printed and I took about fifty copies of our latest newsletter to post and share with other chapters. We also collected newsletters from other chapters as a way of discovering new ideas. Last year Angie saw a brochure from another chapter and they shared a copy with her and we revised our chapter brochure based on this design.

Many of the members in our chapter have other hobbies but owning a Harley is the one we all have in common, the one that brought us together from our different backgrounds. We don’t just ride bikes together, we have become friends, and we have become family. When you buy a Harley you haven’t just purchased a motorcycle you have been adopted into the H.O.G. family and I think my branch of the HOG family is the best.

My friends flew home but I stayed in Vegas soaking up the sunshine, spending time with my daughter, basking in the sunshine, shopping, sun, warmth, heat, sun, sun, sun. I came home because there is a full calendar of rides and events that I want to be a part of so I’ll just put on warm clothes and ride with my family. Besides we are riding to the eastside twice during the summer and it will be warm on the other side of the mountains.