Anniversary

Today is the anniversary of the day that Don & I hopped on a plane to Vegas and tied the knot. It has been an incredible 24 years!!!

When I am in the middle of life, doing whatever is next on my plate, it seems that the years have just flown by. We have had the sickness and the health, the better and worse, and it seems that as the years have gone by whenever we have struggled through a difficulty our bond has become stronger. I don't welcome adversity with open arms but from experience I know that it has the potential to reveal more of each of us both to ourselves and our partners. I am a very fortunate woman to have Don at my side.

On to the minutia of daily life, it has been raining again today. We had snow on the mountain peaks last week along with a respectable 1.5" of rain but this storm is much warmer with less moisture. I was looking at the garden yesterday to see how our "winter" garden is faring. The broccoli are putting on flowers but the brussel sprouts are just putting on leaves. The onions seem to be getting bigger but the cabbages are still very small. The tomatoes that we have in pots are doing just fine, flowering and setting fruit!! Don has been covering them at night as the temps have dropped into the 30s and we are sure that they are tender. The few strawberry plants that I have in a pot are also flowering and putting on fruit! Looks like we might have an occasional broccoli for dinner, a tomato for lunch and a strawberry or 2 for our breakfast.

After seeing the pictures of snow that Lisa sent from Kenmore, I'm really glad to be living here! My bones tend to ache when the weather fronts go through and the cold makes my muscles even more tender. I'm glad that my grandkids get the chance to grow up there with only occasional snow so they will have stories to tell when they get to my age.

Trampoline

I've been looking at trampolines for a while now. I saw a smallish one in a house one day and thought it was a great idea for exercise so when our local Kmart had them on sale I used some leftover birthday bucks to get it.

What fun! At first I was afraid that I was not going to be able to keep my balance but after a few short sessions I began to feel comfortable. It is low impact so my arthritic knees don't mind the jogging or jumping and there are so many things I can do on it!

At first I went to the website that was on the box but that was only to sell DVDs showing how to use it to exercise. Thank goodness for the web! I found ample material on UTube so now am bouncing away while watching t.v. ... much better than sitting in my recliner. I also feel a bit like a kid again. Now I will never admit to jumping on the bed, it is one of the best things a kid can do - just a moment of weightlessness.

I've been going a little at a time but am finding that the more I do, the more I can do. I don't have to go to a gym or try to ride a bike. Just jump around in my living room. Of course it is a good thing that I'm short and I have to keep the jumping reasonably restrained as I don't want to make any holes in the ceiling!!

Christmas is coming!

Now that i'm feeling better I noticed that we are approaching mid-December! Since all our family lives so far away I've got to get presents wrapped and sent off. Oh the travails of dealing with the post-office/fedex/ups! My birth family lives in Canada and I was dismayed to discover that postal service packages tend to disappear if not insured! After a couple of instances I now will only send packages via UPS as they are extremely reliable and fast. Packages to Washington or Arizona aren't as time critical but the system does get overloaded so best to get them out earlier.

We are currently in the process of redecorating our living room and what a delightful mess it is! I'm so looking forward to the end result but getting there is a lot of work! New fixtures, paint and floor coverings are top priority but all take quite a bit of prep work so don't happen as quickly as I'd like. I must remember to enjoy the process.....

The cats are bewildered. Where is that carpet that they lovingly sharpened their claws on? Why has the order of the furniture changed and what happened to that lovely dark corner they could hide in... Scamp, being a bit older, was completely unaffected by any of the goings on until he couldn't get into "his" chair for his afternoon nap. It was covered with "stuff" and pushed aside. Scamp examined and prowled around for quite a while until he was satisfied that his usual nest was unavailable. Of course we have a bed, futon and rocking chair in other rooms for him to rest on but it really wasn't the same. After dinner, when some order had been established, he settled into his chair with immense relief and slept until bedtime.

The winds have died down and we have been left with clear skies and low humidity. The forecast for next week is extremely cold so I want to spend some time outside before it hits. No decorating left to do out there as we got the lights up after Thanksgiving. We drove around a bit last night and it seemed to me that there weren't quite as many big displays as we have had in the past. Perhaps there is belt-tightening going on in our neighborhood.

Sick Again :>(

Nothing much has been happening lately as I've been sick again. Was in urgent care on Sat, got antibiotics and they have *finally* helped. I have slept so much you'd think that, come nightfall, I'd have had enough, but no. It's off to bed early. The antibiotics mention that they may make you sleepy so guess it is a bearable side effect.

Yesterday D & I went to Home Depot for some light bulbs and I was struck by how few people were there. Usually the aisles are buzzing and during the holiday season there used to be many more folks looking for just the right power tool for Santa to bring. The store just may be a victim of the "credit crunch" along with the lower housing prices.

We live in an older neighborhood. The houses here were built around 1961 so do not fit today's fashion of McMansions. They are, however, comfortable and well built with reasonable yards. During the time that prices were rising homes in our area were being remodeled up and down the street. Not only were interiors being improved but the landscaping was upgraded. As a result, the streets around us are much more attractive than when we first moved in. Even though a few houses are for sale, only a couple are due to foreclosure so most of them are well maintained. Since prices have gone down I've noticed that more young families have moved in and they seem to have the energy and capabilities to improve their homes even more. A good trend for the future.

TGIF?

Wow it has been a few days since I posted... Time flies when I'm shopping for Christmas gifts, getting the house ready for the holidays, and hanging out with cats.

Wednesday was a bit stressful, Yvonne had surgery to repair a torn ligament in her knee. Even though surgery nowadays is pretty safe, there remains that small chance that something will go wrong. Fortunately nothing untoward happened and she is safe at home recovering. Becky took time off from work to tend to Yvonne - I know she is in good hands.

Wednesday was also the last meeting of the year for our flying club, The Condors. We bought a bunch of tickets for the lottery and we won a warbird kit and $10 certificate from a local hobby shop. Don is hoping to have the plane ready to fly by Sunday. It is the anniversary of Pearl Harbor Day so the guys are going to fly military planes (warbirds). We have quite a few members who are veterans of that conflict.

Off today to meet friends for lunch and do some last minute shopping. Time to get some cards into the mail.

RC Flying

Yesterday afternoon we loaded up the van and headed out to the flying field. Sundays out there are very busy and I'm usually the only woman there. Don has been teaching me to fly. At my request he removed the gas engine and replaced it with an electric motor. Much cleaner and I don't have to worry about tuning the darned thing. I've seen more guys spend entire afternoons trying to get their engines running right!

The only downside to electric is that I get only a 10 minute flight out of each battery (we bought 2) and it takes *hours* to recharge them. As a result I have lots of time on my hands so I usually bring one of my latest books or a knitting project to keep me occupied. I used to go for a walk about the park but there had been some vandalism to our area so I have been more reluctant to go wandering by myself.

I've been getting more proficient at controlling the plane. It's tough, that remote thing. It depends a lot on depth perception and I find that mine isn't the best but I'm slowly learning what the profile of the plane looks like in different attitudes. Sometimes I get a bit disoriented but now I don't panic, instead I waggle the wings and usually can figure out what is going on.

So yesterday I was in the middle of my first flight of the day when BOOM... BOOM!!!!! A couple of sonic booms just about knocked me off my feet!!! It was the shuttle coming down to land at Edwards Air Force Base (north of Los Angeles). WOW it isn't very often that the shuttle lands in California and I always get chills. Remember that I was in High School when Sputnik changed the world as we knew it. Anyway, later a friend who flew jets off of aircraft carriers in the Vietnam war explained that the two booms were the result of the craft passing through the sound barrier and there were two because first the wings passed thru, then the tail surfaces passed. I didn't know that!! When he asked if I would go if the chance were offered to me, I said "In a minute!" He said something about danger but I replied that I've had a good, long life and if anything should happen at least I'd go out in a blaze of glory. Hum

That wasn't the only excitement of the day. I landed the plane by myself!!! I usually get really nervous when the plane gets too close to the ground - a result of too many crashes - but Don talked me through it and I landed that little thing. That was a great end to a fun day.

Scamp

Scamp has been with us since June of 1993. We were living in Venice at the time and a neighbor found him under her house. He was a scrawny, dirty, flea ridden little thing.

We learned that he was about 8 months old and was in need of some TLC. That first year was quite an adventure for both him and us. There was no Advantage for Cats - just a drop on the neck keeps fleas away for a month - he was subjected to quite a few flea baths and fleas had taken up residence in our apartment. I bought flea bombs and, dismayed, learned that I had to vacuum daily to keep the little buggers away. The flea baths had to be done by a professional as I still have some small scars from the time I attempted to put him in water....

He was undernourished, having foraged on the streets for quite a bit. One night while I was preparing chicken for dinner I turned my back on the counter while putting the chicken on the stove. Scamp jumped up and snagged the absorbent inner packing material and ate the whole thing! In a panic I called the vet. Will it expand in his gut? Will we have a cat emergency before morning? The vet told us to get some vaseline into his mouth and it would facilitate passage of the material. Fortunately the vet was correct and all those rumors of nasty salmonella proved unfounded as he didn't get sick from the uncooked chicken drippings. Well, maybe cats aren't as sensitive as we are....

We were living in an apartment at the time and pets weren't allowed so we trained him to stay inside. That was when I discovered the wonders of the spray bottle. Spray bottle filled with water in hand I would go outside the door. When I opened the door there he was, ready to explore the great outdoors. Imagine the look of dismay and disgust on his face when he was met with a spray of WATER. Well, it took about 5 repeats before he completely ignored the open door.

In February 1994 we moved from Venice into our home in Camarillo. Scamp's only trips had been to the vet so he wasn't fond of his carrier or the car. After all our belongings were on their way I put him in the car and began the hour drive to the house. At first he yowled and yowled and yowled. It seemed that no amount of talking was going to get him to be quiet but then, quite suddenly, he stopped. I drove for a while wondering what had happened but grateful for the quiet. Then slowly I became alarmed. I pulled off the road to check. Was he dead from the stress? Was he catatonic? I found him huddled in the farthest corner of his carrier, shaking in terror. No amount of reassurance was going to get him calmed down so we hit the road again. Finally we pulled into the driveway of our new place. One of the bathrooms was to be his home until all the furniture had been unloaded and the movers had gone. I put a big sign on the door "Do Not Open This Door".

All went well. The unloading took much longer than I thought it should but then we had a lot of stuff! We waved goodbye to the movers and went to get Scamp. HORRORS! The door was wide open and no matter how much I called, Scamp didn't come running. OK let me tell you, the last thing you need on moving day is a lost pet! I wandered the neighborhood calling his name and knocking on doors. One woman looked at me as if I was from Mars. Why make such a fuss about a cat? It'll find it's way home in a bit.

Exhausted, I went back home, hoping that she was right. After all he had survived the city streets so he had "street smarts". We made the bed, got some take-out for dinner and crashed. As we were drifting off to sleep we heard a strange noise. Wasn't coming from the garage or the living room or the kitchen but the bathroom. By now it was quiet in the neighborhood and we heard the mewling of a far-off cat! But only in the bathroom. Seemed to be coming from behind the sink so I opened the cabinet and called Scamp. He had crawled up behind the bathroom sink into the wall! To this day I don't know how he managed to get himself into that tiny space. Exhausted, we all slept well that night.

I could go on but you know by now that he was well named and has provided me with endless stories. Until his age slowed him down he was the supreme critic and household supervisor. Nothing happened without his presence. He insisted on participating in every task except vacuuming. Now that he is a bit older he has trained his new companion Jenny to take over most of the supervision but on days when the sun is out and his joints don't hurt he still accompanies me on my daily chore trail.

Olden Days

Well, the Thanksgiving cooking marathon is finished! Love those leftovers - wouldn't have to cook for a couple more days....

While peeling potatoes I was thinking about the first house that I remember living in. I was around 5yrs old when we moved to Lacombe. The war had ended, Dad was newly out of the Air Force and had started a business selling and repairing radios and appliances. The house he rented for us was tiny by today's standards. It was wood framed and two stories. The living room, dining room and kitchen were downstairs and the 2 bedrooms were upstairs. Where were the bathrooms? Well there was a one-holer outside in the back yard.

We did have running water in the house - a pump by the kitchen sink. Yes a pump just like you used to see at the more primitive camp sites. The sink drained into a bucket under the sink that had to be emptied regularly or the floor got washed with, well you get the picture. There was a big black stove in the kitchen. I think it used coal but for sure we used wood kindling as I remember a chopping block and hatchet outside in the back. Put the kindling in the stove, get the fire started then put in the coal. Not a fun chore in the middle of winter in subzero temps. There was a big reservoir on one side of the stove and that was where we got our hot water. It got filled up after the fire was started. I seem to remember that Mom would get up in the middle of the coldest winter nights to check that the fire hadn't gone out as that stove provided heat for the house.

Since we didn't have a bathroom, we washed up in the kitchen. Faces and hands at the sink and baths every Saturday night in a washtub on the kitchen floor. This washtub was pretty darned big as I could sit comfortably in it. Mom would put the washtub on the stove and put some water in it. When the water was warm enough the tub was put on the floor and my sisters and I were summoned to the kitchen for a top to toe scrubbing. It always felt really good to be that clean and our faces shone in church the next morning.

Speaking of washtubs, that was exactly what it was used for - doing the wash. Imagine having to take all the dirty clothes and wash them essentially on top of the stove. The tub would be put on the stove and filled with water. When the water boiled the whites went in. The water was brought back to a boil and the clothes were stirred up until Mom felt that they had enough. I think that stains were tackled first on the washboard in the sink. After the whites were removed the darker clothes went in for their boil. The water wasn't changed, just boiled. After a rinse in the sink, the clothes were hung outside on the clothesline. Now this was no problem in the middle of summer but in winter the sheets were almost frozen by the time the clothes pins were in place. And talk about cold fingers!!! Why bother you ask? Well the humidity was pretty darned low when it wasn't snowing so some of the moisture was evaporated. Of course if the clothes weren't dry by nightfall, lines were put up in the kitchen and the clothes were hung there to dry. I seem to remember dodging diapers for a few years. Must have been after Sylvia was born.

Wow! I will no longer complain about having to do laundry and you now understand why central heating and TWO bathrooms seem like such luxuries to me.

As a kid, however, there were benefits to this arrangement. Where did the "slops" and dirty water go? In the summer they went into the garden in the back yard. That garden provided us with a bounty of fresh vegetables in the summer and the excess was canned or "put up" for the following winter. In winter that garden was transformed! It became my personal skating rink. Of course it was a bit bumpy and potato peels stuck out of it here and there, but that was the place that my love of skating was born. Imagine just walking out your back door to skate! Purest luxury.

Rain

It is raining!! Finally we are getting rain again. It has been coming down in rushes making streams in the street. This is the kind of rain that I love. It cleans the air, the trees, the bushes, the sidewalks. After a rain all the colors are brighter and optimism fills the air. OK so that's a bit romantic but after months without a really good downpour I really appreciate a good rainstorm.

Why California Cat Lady? Well, clearly I live in California and Don teases me that if we get any more cats I'll be a true "Cat Lady". You know the kind. She sits in a rocker all day surrounded by her pride of cats. Don believes that it takes feeding and cleaning up after five cats to achieve true cat lady status but I'm claiming it with only three. Of course I don't sit in a rocker all day and my cats will only sit in my lap occasionally but still, they are fun and lively and brighten up our home.

Thanksgiving Preparations

Wow! I just got back from the local supermarket and I'd say that people are certainly in the store. As to whether they are spending money, the carts weren't exactly bulging with food. With Thanksgiving only a few days away, I got out my menu, reviewed the recipes, checked the pantry, made my list, and got out there shopping.

Going gluten-free a few years ago has complicated our preparations. Gone the heat'n serve rolls. Gone the packaged stuffing. Gone the bakery pies. Gone the days of quick and easy preparation.

Tomorrow I'm going to make the zucchini muffins that replace bread in my stuffing. I've got to roast pecans and squash for "pumpkin" pie. Since all the sweet sugar pumpkins were sold out at the local pumpkin patch, I'm going to try to make the squash taste a bit like pumpkin. After all, adding just a bit of honey to sweeten it up may just be all it needs....

The nearby produce stand didn't have any brussels sprouts and when we asked about them, the woman at the register said that they wouldn't be ready until December at the earliest. Then and there we changed the tradition that had us eating those delectable cabbages at Thanksgiving and relegated them to Christmas. Perhaps the little plants that Don transplanted last week will be ready to harvest then. We bought lovely beets to replace the brussels so will have added more color to our feast as well as a different veggie. Just another change. I found myself wondering as I passed the displays of canned green beans for green bean casserole, what must it be like to have exactly the same meal year after year. Since it is usually just Don and I, our holiday meals are pretty much whatever we want with just a nod to tradition.

Seasons

Yesterday I was watering the small pot of strawberries in the backyard when I noticed that the rose bush was putting on buds! Since it is almost the end of November I thought that the summer plants were quite finished and ready for their winter rest. Wrong! Our apple tree is still heavy with fruit, the grass is still growing, and the nectarine tree still houses a flock of tiny birds in it's leafy branches.

When I first lived here I was caught by surprise by the passage of time. I grew up in Alberta where the seasons had unmistakable markers. Spring was heralded by the purple crocuses pushing their heads above the snow. Summer was, mostly, no snow and hot. Fall came all too early with colorful displays of red and yellow leaves and winter was foreshadowed by the snow that almost always arrived on Halloween.

Now I'm more accustomed to a quieter change of seasons. Of course in winter we sometimes host a Santa Ana wind that brings temps into the 90s just when we have packed all our hot weather clothes away. Summers we enjoy those low clouds that shield the sun and keep the temperatures in the 60s. Spring and fall have nights cool enough for a good night's sleep and the sun warms us during the day. The very best times of the year.