Daughter's Anniversary

Surfer Girl and her daughter with a close family friend

Today I am sharing the link to a post I wrote two years ago for the wedding anniversary of my daughter and son-in-law. It was a fun post to write and the joy of their marriage continues today, on this, their 11th wedding anniversary.

Since that post was written, they have added one more pup to their family and we have moved out of snow country to the Land of Flip Flops. (we no longer have to buy a plane ticket to see them!!!)

Happy Anniversary, Surfer Girl and Surfer Boy!

Click on this link to see the post:  A Completely True Story

P.S. If the allegory of the post leaves you clueless, leave a comment and I'll explain. 😉

In Case You Thought I Forgot .....

the Pilgrim People

..... the Pilgrim People made the trip with us from Colorado to Florida this past summer. MANY things were purged from my collection of stuff, but these friends were carefully packed away in a box for the relocation. 

making their entrance

Whereas they used to be in a box stored in the depths of our gigantic basement and every November they had to climb up the stairs to the main floor; this year their box is kept in an upstairs closet, hence, this year's grand entrance was a trip down the stairs.

 facial expressions say so much

Last November, an out-of-state move was one of the farthest things from our minds, so when the Pilgrim People were packed away in December, they had no inkling of what would happen as they slumbered among crumpled sheets of packing paper.

"a merry heart does good ..." Proverbs 17:22

I'll just say that the reactions to this surprising move were varied, reflecting human nature where some are cheerful most of the time and others are cranky more pensive.

a peek into my personal dressing closet

One bright little personality caught a glimpse of a sign I keep in my closet and took the cue to be positive about this change. She and her hubby took up their assigned stations with an attitude that set a good example for the rest.

Speaking of assignments, some locations have more prominence than others, but I appreciate their willingness to serve.

I'm still looking for just the right wall decor to go below the cabinet 

Others are now residing near the family room television and in the kitchen (where their assistance with mealtimes is appreciated).

what will it take to make them happy?!!!

So yes, I have remembered the Pilgrim People and they are adding to the Thanksgiving theme we've got going in our new Florida home. I am glad to have them on display. We love living here, but for the most part, the flora and fauna outdoors still look like summertime. It's good to have the oranges and browns of my ceramic, resin, and felt friends to add autumnal color.

decor pillow purchased at Hobby Lobby

Thanks for Our Military

Beloved with some of his military awards
Photo edited for reasons of privacy

Last weekend Grandson #4 texted Beloved that he had a school assignment requiring him to interview a military veteran. We searched hard to find a suitable photo with Beloved in his uniform and couldn't get it done with the deadline looming up fast for completion of the assignment. 

We did the next best thing and staged a photo shoot with some memorabilia from that chapter of our lives, sending that along with a description of duties assigned during the 6-years spent in the Air Force (in addition to four years in ROTC on his university campus).

Wow, that was such a long time ago. It was during the Viet Nam war, but thankfully, Beloved's assignments were always stateside and deep underground. For four years he kept watch on Minuteman missiles for the Strategic Air Command from a bunker some 60 - 90 feet underground (depending on the soil).  Then for another nearly two years he worked inside a mountain that housed a multi-story building that rested on huge springs for shock absorption. 

During those early years of our marriage, I was busy having children and helping to care for my ailing father-in-law. I knew the work my husband did was very important and he couldn't talk about it much. It wasn't until decades later that I realized the many implications that came with his duties. I was stunned and humbled, even embarrassed at my naiveté. 

The military has changed a lot since then. Due to political reasons I won't explore in this post, many of those changes have not been for the good. I fear that the days of widespread patriotism we once knew may never be regained and it will take a very long time to re-build to the strength we once had.

I am thankful for those who are willing to serve in our armed forces now and for those who have served in the past. Many of their sacrifices (and inconveniences) cannot be discussed for reasons of security. It is good to recognize our military and to show them appreciation. They most certainly deserve it.

Pondering Eldercare

my mother's cedar chest now rests in my home

I will sing the Lord's praise

for He has been good to me. 

Psalm 13:6

The Cook on Fifth Street* is enjoying her new apartment. She shows up promptly for breakfast, lunch, and dinner because not only is she spared the task of meal preparations, but she has a favorite place to sit and wants to claim it before others arrive.

As Beloved and I traveled back to Florida on this most recent trip, I brought with me several Bibles from my parent's bookshelves, my mother's wedding dress, and a sweater that both Sister and I wore when we were very little. Sister was given the cutest little bitty red swimsuit from her toddler days.

My mother gave me my handprint, presumably made in Kindergarten or maybe Vacation Bible School.  Once upon a time my hands were young with straight fingers and no arthritis in the joints.

Speaking of hands, here is a pair of "idiot mittens" (as one comedian described them), so named because of the string that is run through the sleeves of a child's coat allowing the mittens to dangle from the sleeves and not get lost. I sort of remember wearing them when we lived in the wintery cold of upstate New York.

These special treasures came to me at a good time. It is hard to watch parents age. Many questions occupy my thoughts as to what God's purpose can possibly be in all of it. 

I am reminded with these moments that God gave me good parents who took very good care of Sister and me, sometimes at great personal sacrifice. Cheerful aspects of my growing up years are coming to the surface of my memories, causing gratitude to swell up within me. 

Just as parents care for their helpless, ignorant babies, adult children care for aging parents who need our compassionate assistance. Parents have to overlook, forebear, and at times curb the immaturity of their offspring. 

Adult children must repay the favor with wise care for the parents. In both cases, the calling is not always easy nor enjoyable, but it is nonetheless an assignment given by God for His purposes and our good.

And, we are promised blessing for honoring our parents:

Honor your father and your mother,

that your days may be long

in the land that the LORD your God

is giving you.

Exodus 20:12

* "The Cook on Fifth Street" is the pseudonym my mother chose for herself during my early days of blogging when I had a fun name for everybody and would superimpose sunglasses or funny hats on their photographs for security reasons.

Where've Ya Been???

Cox Comb in Paducah, Kentucky

Oh wait! It's not, "Where YOU'VE been," but rather, "Where have I been?"

Beloved at Whitehaven Welcome Center in Paducah, Kentucky

An opening came for The Cook on Fifth Street to move into assisted living, so Beloved and I made a car trip into the midwest to help with that effort.

We drove a couple of days, leaving behind the Land of Flip Flops and at our very first potty stop, I had to dig into my luggage to pull out socks and a sweatshirt! It was cold!! I was mildly surprised at how acclimated I had become to much warmer weather.

Jerry (on left) and Danny (on right) welcomed us

Sister, who also has this penchant for whimsey (it runs strong in my family), had positioned her friends on the bed,  waiting for us when we got to our room in her house.

They wanted to know if we had brought one of my staff members
with us. Sadly, I did not.

We arrived just in time for Former Farmer, nephew-in-law, and Beloved to move the big stuff and for we girls to bring over boxes, and The Cook herself.

unpacking her kitchen

There were serious conversations about what to bring and what to leave behind. This was a noteworthy exercise in 'down-sizing.'

hangars for the closet

Decisions had to be made, too, about the best use of closet and drawer space.

the year my grandfather won a free turkey
from his barber shop

Of course, this process stirred up a great deal of memories and much nostalgia.

alterations in progress

In addition to the actual move, I was called upon to hem up clothing for my mother's refreshed wardrobe for her new life at the assisted living center. The final tally came to 8 pair of slacks, 1 pair of jeans, and 2 pair of jammie pants.

removing candle wax from a pair of slacks with an iron and brown paper bags

I also learned how to remove candle wax from polyester via instructions on the Internet -- a very satisfying accomplishment, I should add!

Beloved vacuums the basement

We pretty much took our marching orders from Sister, since our mother has been living next door to her for the past ten years and she best knew what needed to be done on this venture.

Sister grills our lunch while Beloved checks his phone

Although we have been really enjoying our new home in the Land of Flip Flops since this past June, it was good to travel north to see some real autumn color. Sister and Former Farmer have much of that on their property. It's been good to see it for ourselves.

Monday Night Football

We took time out to watch our team on Monday night football.

Sister, The Cook on Fifth Street, and me

On our last full day in town, Beloved and I paid my mother one more visit. There is still much to be done with what has been 'left behind' but we'll take the holiday season off and get back to it again after the first of the year.

Crewel embroidery by my mother

Re-living and Restoration

Stranded Manatee after waters receded from Tampa Bay, Florida
as Hurricane Irma approached. (Internet photo)
He/she was successfully rescued.

Some of the glam associated with our move to Florida was clouded over with Hurricane Irma. She’s gone now. Today I can once again wear my cute flip flops to coordinate fashionably with my denim Bermuda shorts and eat lunch on the peaceful screened-in back porch with my Beloved.

However, as much as I’d love to be writing a whimsical post right now about my tropical life and the fun things we do around here from day to day, it is good mental therapy for me to share some of our experience over the past week. 

It’s one thing to watch a real-life storm story played out before us like a disaster movie on the home television screen (i.e. Hurricane Harvey). All of that changed dramatically when the forecast for yet another hurricane, this one the biggest one ever known to be spawned in the Atlantic, was heading straight for us!

Here is a list of just some of the thoughts and questions that went through our minds before and during the storm:

Hurricanes don’t normally hit Jacksonville because of the shape of the coastline. We'll be okay.

Hurricane Matthew in 2016 was a notable exception, and it was an exception. We'll be okay.

The storm will stay out in the Atlantic. We’ll be okay.

The storm is heading into the Gulf. We’ll be okay.

The storm is marching up the center of the Florida peninsula, but it weakens over land. We’ll be okay.

Our house has not been given an evacuation zone on the county map. We’ll be okay.

This house survived Hurricane Matthew (before we moved here). We’ll be okay.

The governor has declared all of Florida in a state of emergency. Do we have enough water?

Look at the flooding in Houston. Our house could face that.

How much time would we have to move valuable stuff upstairs if a flood threatens?

What should we move upstairs? 

Okay, so flooding is improbable and dangerous wind is more of a threat to us. Will one of those huge trees behind our house fall on us?

If a tree might fall on the house, we should not sleep upstairs. But our main floor master bedroom is on the side with the trees. We shouldn’t sleep there, either. 

What part of the house should we designate as our ’safe place’?

What should we put in our ‘safe place’? 

Does our weather radio work? Can we count on it to notify us if the power goes out and the TV, too? 

Fresh batteries would help.

Soo thankful for local TV news and The Weather Channel.

Soo tired of listening to local TV updates and The Weather Channel.

But I want to know what’s going on!

We’re going to bed with the TV on.

I’m sleeping in my street clothes. If disaster hits, I don’t want to be stuck in my jammies for the next week. 

I’ve got my most important prescription pills and my phone in my jeans pockets at all times. If I lose all else, I don’t want to be without my meds — they’re too hard to replace.

The TV went out! The power is out! 

The weather radio is making an alarm sound.

Get up, now! Put on your shoes and glasses!

Yes, we have to do this! Two tornados are moving south of us!

Yes, close the door. We don’t want to be hit by flying debris!

I’ll doze here on my pillows in the corner with the door stop jamming my back. 

Keep the radio on!

I think it’s  okay to leave the room. My backside is dead and my neck is stiff.

There haven’t been any more tornados reported.

Let’s open the sliding glass door for air. 

Do you want to open a can of beans for breakfast? 

I miss my coffee.

Looks like we’re okay. I see some palm branches on the ground across the street.

They say our power shouldn’t be out too long because we’re in the same grid as the hospital.

Let’s work on the jig saw puzzle while it’s still daylight.

After dark it’s going to be very boring.

Yay! The power is on!

Our land line is dead. No Internet.

The ice in the refrigerator is only slightly melted. I think the jar of mayonnaise is okay to eat.

Can I let the water out of the bath tubs now?

As my regular readers know from my previous posts, we survived Hurricane Irma nearly unscathed and abundantly thankful.

Of course, there are many others who did not fare so well. When we went to prayer meeting at church last night, announcements were made about various ways we can help the unfortunate. One is to fill a Bucket of Help. 

We went to Home Depot, picked up one of their orange buckets and filled it with items from a list. These products are things people need for the clean-up of flooded homes and businesses. 

When we got home, it was Beloved’s task to figure out how to fit everything into the bucket AND snap the lid on.

He’s a bright fellow. He got it done.

For more information about this effort by Florida Southern Baptists, you can visit this link:

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/A-Tangible-Way-to-Aid-in-the-Relief-Effort.html?soid=1102181432514&aid=jgHAWXj931k

from Face Book

A Backyard Pest Adventure

Fritz Pablo, illustrator

As is probably true of my readers who have adult children, emails describing their activities are always welcome. 

Today's post is an email from one of my sons, Fritz Pablo*. He has given me permission to share it with you.

It's been a busy week here! In addition to normal work & chores, we had an extra incident to deal with.. We've been enjoying eating meals on the picnic table on our back deck quite often this summer.. But then about a week ago, we started noticing a terrible smell in the backyard. 

From years of disposing of small animals our cats hunted, we knew it was the stench of a critter corpse. Best we could tell, it was coming from under our deck. 

As you know, our deck is only a foot or so off the ground, with not really enough space for a person to crawl around under. And wherever there are a few small gaps between the wood and the ground, there are bricks plugging up the holes, so that critters can't get in - this is the way previous owners of the house already had it. 

So with this in mind, we figured it could only be a small rodent, like a mouse. We went all over the deck, shining flashlights down through the tiny spaces between planks, but couldn't see anything. So we hoped it was indeed a tiny rodent, and that the smell would soon abate. But the smell was bad enough we couldn't eat meals outside.

Days passed, and the smell (in the intense summer heat) seemed to get worse. We took up a few of the deck's boards, hoping to find the problem underneath, but with so many boards, we were shooting in the dark as to which ones to try - and each board had 8 or more screws (often old, stripped ones) we had to wrestle with. Still didn't find anything. 

Then, the other evening, I went out and saw flies hanging out in one particular spot, so I took the flashlight and looked around more in that area - and saw an animal's paw down underneath! It was gray, so thought it was probably a rabbit. 

Luckily, this was near a small plank, that only had 4 screws in it, so I removed the plank pretty quickly. And then I was able to see down and to the side a bit, an adult raccoon body. It was rather large, but I was able to get it out of the hole. 

I'll back up for a minute-- as soon as I knew I was going to be able to extract it, I donned my full "homeowner's haz-mat suit" with a mask, sleeves, hood, gloves, etc. And I had trash bags opened up & ready. I used two of those garden hand-rakes/claws, and was able to grab onto the expired raccoon and get him out of the hole and into the trash bags without it touching anything else. 

It took a few minutes, as it was at a weird angle, but I got it out, triple-bagged it, and took it to our alley trash can. I did this without alerting [the Lil' Red-haired Girl] - who was inside at work on her computer - because it was very gross, and I didn't want her to have to see. I'll spare you the details! The stink remained for a few more days, until the trash truck came and took it away. 

Final chapter of the story: I realized that although all little gaps in the deck were patched up - in the part of the yard we can see - there was a whole other side of the deck that was completely open underneath. This is in the tiny area between our lot and our north-side neighbor, a place I've never ventured. It's a gap between our backyard fence and his, only about a foot wide. I was able to shimmy back there and drop to the ground to see the place where a raccoon could easily crawl under the deck. There were 3 openings: about 3 foot by one foot, each. 

So with the help of Dad's table saw, I was able to cut up some scrap wood we had, and patch it up. So hopefully we won't have to go through that again! 

There's always been a raccoon issue in our neighborhood, and I've had to dispose of their poop a few times a year. So now we're going to take our deterrent measures up a notch: I bought some coyote urine from Home Depot, which I'm going to spray in the yard. And I also have a pellet gun at the ready, so that if we see them out there at night, I can hopefully scare them off. 

So that's the news from here. Otherwise, same old stuff :)

the Lil' Red-haired Girl and Fritz Pablo

*Fritz Pablo is the pen name he uses for business purposes.

Guest Post from Surfer Girl

Today I am sharing a story written this past Mother's Day weekend by my daughter (also known on this blog as Surfer Girl). This is a memory I had long since forgot.

Daughter and mother

One of my all time fav pics of Mom & I. In the year 1992- I was 15 and Mom was 42 (wow-- I'll be 42 in about 2 years!!). All I really cared about at this age was dance and boys. 

I remember one night, around this age, Dad & my brothers were gone so Mom invited me to do some homemade beauty treatments with her (I believe she had a library book with recipes we were following).  We did some of the classics- like an egg/oatmeal face mask. It was fun. 

We ended the night with what was supposed to be a deep conditioner for our hair. Mom used the food processor to chop up parsley very finely, then we mixed it into mayonnaise. We massaged the gloppy mixture into our hair and let it sit a few minutes. Then we went to our separate showers to rinse the smelly stuff out. 

About 30 minutes we reconvened in the kitchen-- both complaining about how the slimy, yucky mixture wouldn't wash out of our hair!!! It was a horrible DIY fail!! But it was hilarious!! 

Thanks, Mom, for trying to connect with your teenage daughter and making a memory! I love you!!

Springtime in the Rockies

photo credit

When it's springtime in the Rockies

it's 42 below.

The Polar bears go frolic

in 20 feet of snow.

The Eskimos get sunburned,

the seals they swim all day.

Springtime in the Rockies

is coming back our way.

This little ditty is my Beloved's spin-off version of the famous song by Gene Autry. He's got a fun little repertoire of 'fine music' learned during his camping days with the Boy Scouts of America, some fifty years ago.

No, we don't have polar bears, eskimos, or seals here along the Front Range in Colorado, but we do have a lot of snow when the rest of the country is blessed with April showers and colorful azaleas.

our neighborhood last week

One day we will have temperatures well into the seventies, which we call "the warm before the storm" because usually a whopper of a snowstorm follows, and then sun and warmth the day after that. It's kinda crazy, but most of us love it most of the time.

my sewing room

Neither Beloved nor I ski, but we have indoor projects we enjoy when the weather outside is frightful. It's wonderful to have an excuse to spend the entire day in my sewing room.

a flowering tree at The Streets of Southglenn

My psyche can take only so much of the clouds and gloom. When the weather clears up, and especially now that Beloved is retired, we will often act on the Toyota TV commercial that says "Let's go places!" (in our Ford) by driving to any of a number of places to enjoy the flora and fauna.

The Broadmoor Hotel and Resort

One day last week during a break between storms, we drove to The Broadmoor Hotel and Resort in Colorado Springs, only some 50 miles south of our house. Years ago, when we lived in Colorado Springs, we would walk around the lake there for exercise.

outside decor of one of the buildings

That was when I learned the delightful art of entertaining ourselves for next-to-nothing by walking through the lobbies and finely-manicured grounds of fine hotels.

examples of the carpeting inside the Broadmoor

When Beloved's career transferred us to Florida, we continued that hobby by walking through the hotels at Disney World, riding the monorail from one to the other -- all for free! (this was back in 1995. Can one still do that there?)

the entrance to a bar in The Broadmoor

These grand hotels like to display fantastic art (or "eye candy", as I call it), much of it unusual and clever.

Beloved with the Buffalo

Often the hotel artwork speaks of local history and the famous people from the area or who have made visits there.

me outside one of the many $$ shops 

Of course there are always the shops, often very pricey, that try to lure us in. I seldom succumb to that particular temptation. My personal style is to dress simply with thrift store finds much of the time and then switch around a lot of accessories that are almost as frugal.  

white swans on the lake at the Broadmoor

On this particular day we did not spend just a whole lot of time outdoors because the wind was very strong, ushering in yet another snowstorm for the next day. But we did see a few swans who had their heads tucked under their wings in a mid-afternoon nap. That pose was not very flattering for them, so Beloved honked at them to get them to wake up. Now whether he was speaking their language or just annoying them, we'll never know, but at least they were a little more photogenic for his efforts.

Cheyenne Mountain

We have lived in Colorado Springs twice in our marriage, for a combined total of nearly ten years. The first time Beloved worked inside this mountain with NORAD. You know, those are the people who track the route of Santa Claus every year on December 24th. 

the valet returns our Ford to us

As I've said, we are not real spendy people. The price for this hour or so of artful entertainment was the tip we gave to the valet when we were ready to go home. It was quality time spent strolling hand-in-hand with the love of my life in a beautiful place.

Springtime in the Rockies can pull me down on my thoughts with the cold slushy snow, but thankfully those times are interspersed with brilliant sunshine and fun places to visit.