Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone had a great Christmas! We had 2 days of Christmas, our main day yesterday, then Dakota was over all day today. The kids got us a TV entertainment center, a beautiful low cabinet that has a swivel bar for the big-screen TV. We moved the whole front room around, something we've talked about but hadn't gotten around to until now. It looks great

The best part of Christmas was having all our children home. The icing was having Mom Farr, Jon and Dakota here over the past 2 days. Dakota received a brand new bike! She was a little scared at first, but once she got on it she wouldn't get off. She rode from one end of the house to the other, over and over. By the end of the day, she'd mastered turning, pumping and stopping.

I made the kids model the stuff I made them, so I'll post the pics tomorrow. Everyone seemed happy about their gifts- I made Heather mittens and a scarf; Nic a sweater from the knitting machine, and Jared got the argyle, reversible scarf. Dakota got a backpack that looks like a sun. I tried to talk David into something homemade, but not this year. I have visions of the crazy Christmas sweater in Bridget Jones' Diary. The poor guy bravely wore the sweater his Mom made, even though it was a hokey Christmas colored thing with a star or candy cane on the front. I try to make stuff that's a little more 'cool' or in style, but who knows?

Well, I have to go to bed, tomorrow we take Heather and Jared back to the airport. I'm really sad about that, but they both have to go to work on Monday. At least flying back on Saturday gives them a day to regroup, get over jet lag and prepare for the week ahead. Waah, I miss them already!

Green eggs and Snow

Oh the joys of snow... For those of us in the desert, this is what we're missing. Jared woke up this morning in Manchester, NH to a foot of snow and a missing car. He was pretty panicked, wondering if it was stolen or towed, so he called the police. They checked their list, not exactly a Christmas list. Sure enough, his little Toyota had been towed. Seems that if there's a snowstorm, you can't park on the street. The tow trucks clear the roads ahead of the plows. Certainly a nice way for the city to earn a little extra cash, and keep the streets clear of snow... Anyhow, he had to recover it within 24 hours or have a higher fee. He got it taken care of, and now he's watching it snow another foot. Yesterday it dropped 6 inches in just over an hour, and they have at least a foot on the ground right now. Winter wonderland in New England, huh?

Meanwhile, here it's 65 degrees and sunny. Now, we've had a lot of bad weather over the past 2 weeks, but nothing like NH. Heather has been so happy to see the sun again! Even though it's been cold, the storms last a couple days and blow over, which is why I love being back in Arizona.

Heather and Nic are in Flagstaff today, visiting their respective friends up there. There's a shopping mall also, so a little more Christmas shopping is on the agenda I'm sure.

I'm so excited, I harvested my first few eggs this week! I figure they are valued at about $30 each, figuring the cost of the chicks, then their food for the past 6 months. Anyone want a dozen eggs? Only $300 just for you! Right now only one hen is laying, but I expect the other two to start soon. Lucy and one twin are smaller, so they probably aren't quite mature enough yet. The eggs are small with green shells. That's why these hens are called the 'easter egg' chickens, they lay green eggs! It won't be long before I'm getting a dozen a week, that is if we can keep Cara from eating the chickens first. You know that old saying- don't count your chickens before they hatch.

The week before Christmas, and all thru the house...

Gettin' with it! I printed up a few Christmas letters today, Nic and Gina set up the Christmas tree yesterday, so it's starting to look like Christmas around here. It was so nice to have a little peace and quiet today. Since Thursday it's been a construction zone, with incessant pounding, prying and nail gun shots our constant music. Poor Chica nearly had a nervous breakdown by Friday, I had to give her a dropper of Rescue Remedy to settle her down a bit.

I'm so excited to have Heather come home this week!!! She flies in Wednesday evening, and we may do a little shopping before heading back up the hill. We'll see if any of us have the energy for that. I sure hope this storm moves on through by Wednesday, just one less thing to worry about.

The roof is looking good, although Saturday one of the guys came to the door and said- "Um, your dog had a chicken by the neck, and now she's hiding on a shelf." Poor little twin, she was huddled between a few plant pots, trying to get away. I guess I can't let Cara and Sunny hang out with the chickens anymore, I don't want them to be dinner. At least I have two fenced yards, so we can separate the critters when needed. Hopefully after Christmas David and Nic can build a fence around the chicken hutch so they can get out every day without getting eaten.

Is it Santa on the Roof?

I'm getting Christmas cards every day, and they are beautiful! The lights are on all around my neighborhood, it's even been somewhat chilly here. Yes, Christmas is just 23 days away. My tree isn't up, no decorations about- what do I have going on here? I love Christmas! I love to decorate, there are 14 big boxes of decorations in the shed anxiously awaiting their turn to shine. There's a Christmas letter dancing around in my head, hasn't actually made it to print yet...

Well, there are 5 men dancing, no stomping around on the roof today, that's kinda like Santa, isn't it? Last week the south side of the house was de-shingled, all 4 layers. That exposed a few problems, like several soft sheets of plywood that have to be replaced, along with a 3 pallets of new shingles and a pallet of rolled roof felt. Although I'm very very happy to have the roof redone, and prevent further damage, it puts a bite on the Christmas budget. There is such a mess outside, along with the huge dumpster, that outside decorations are out. Although, the dumpster's green, so that's kind of Christmasy, right?

Hopefully we can put up the Christmas tree this weekend, I've been waiting until Dakota can come over and help. Gina will be here too, so I'll have lots of assistance, at least I hope so! Even though our house is a construction zone that puts a damper on decorating, I love Christmas, and I'm enjoying getting ready. I have to take pictures of the things I've made before they get wrapped, then I'll put them on here after Christmas. Don't want to ruin the surprise!

My handwriting deciphered?

http://www.handwritingwizard.com/analysis.php
Check this out! This is a good site to have your handwriting analized- here's mine. I included the whole banana- good and bad, now you know more about me than is even comfortable...

Elaine is moderately outgoing. Her emotions are stirred by sympathy and heart rendering stories. In fact, she can be kind, friendly, affectionate and considerate of others. She has the ability to put herself into the other person's shoes.
Elaine will be somewhat moody, with highs and lows. Sometimes she will be happy, the next day she might be sad. She has the unique ability to get along equally well with what psychology calls introverts and extroverts. This is because she is in between. Psychology calls Elaine an ambivert. She understands the needs of both types. Although they get along, she will not tolerate anyone that is too "far out." She doesn't sway too far one way or the other.
When convincing her to buy a product or an idea, a heart rendering story could mean a great deal to her. She puts herself in the same situation as the person in the story, yet she will not buy anything that seems overly impractical or illogical. Elaine is an expressive person. She outwardly shows her emotions. She may even show traces of tears when hearing a sad story.
Elaine is a "middle-of-the-roader," politically as well as logically. She weighs both sides of an issue, sits on the fence, and then will decide when she finally has to. She basically doesn't relate to any far out ideas and usually won't go to the extreme on any issue.
People that write their letters in an average height and average size are moderate in their ability to interact socially. According to the data input, Elaine doesn't write too large or too small, indicating a balanced ability to be social and interact with others.
Elaine will be candid and direct when expressing her opinion. She will tell them what she thinks if they ask for it, whether they like it or not. So, if they don't really want her opinion, don't ask for it!
According to the inputted data, Elaine has a stinger shape inside the oval of her a, d, or c. This might be hard to visualize, but if this little hooklike shape is present, then Elaine has an unresolved "issue" with strong members of the opposite gender. An occasional appearance of this stroke could indicate a simple "loves a mental challenge" which can manifest in playful linguistic conversations and being attracted to a lover who isn't always available. However, if the stroke is severe, this means the individual has unresolved anger at the oppostive gender - which usually started with the person's childhood relationship with the opposite gender parent (Mom or Dad). If the writer is a woman she will be attracted to strong challenging men. If the writer is a man, he will find the woman who is "hard to get" the most attractive. In a nutshell, people with stingers in their writing tend to have challenges in their romantic relationships.
For more information about this "stinger" trait, visit this webpage. Remember, it is only negative if the traits occurs often and is quite pronounced. An occasional stinger can be no problem.
In reference to Elaine's mental abilities, she has a very investigating and creating mind. She investigates projects rapidly because she is curious about many things. She gets involved in many projects that seem good at the beginning, but she soon must slow down and look at all the angles. She probably gets too many things going at once. When Elaine slows down, then she becomes more creative than before. Since it takes time to be creative, she must slow down to do it. She then decides what projects she has time to finish. Thus she finishes at a slower pace than when she started the project.
She has the best of two kinds of minds. One is the quick investigating mind. The other is the creative mind. Her mind thinks quick and rapidly in the investigative mode. She can learn quicker, investigate more, and think faster. Elaine can then switch into her low gear. When she is in the slower mode, she can be creative, remember longer and stack facts in a logical manner. She is more logical this way and can climb mental mountains with a much better grip.
Elaine is a practical person whose goals are planned, practical, and down to earth. This is typical of people with normal healthy self-esteem. She needs to visualize the end of a project before she starts. she finds joy in anticipation and planning. Notice that I said she plans everything she is going to do, that doesn't necessarily mean things go as planned. Elaine basically feels good about herself. She has a positive self-esteem which contributes to her success. She feels she has the ability to achieve anything she sets her mind to. However, she sets her goals using practicality-- not too "out of reach". She has enough self-confidence to leave a bad situation, yet, she will not take great risks, as they relate to her goals. A good esteem is one key to a happy life. Although there is room for improvement in the confidence catagery, her self-perception is better than average.
Elaine is sarcastic. This is a defense mechanism designed to protect her ego when she feels hurt. She pokes people harder than she gets poked. These sarcastic remarks can be very funny. They can also be harsh, bitter, and caustic at the same time.
Elaine has a temper. She uses this as a defense mechanism when she doesn't understand how to handle a situation. Temper is a hostile trait used to protect the ego. Temper can be a negative personality trait in the eyes of those around her.
Elaine has a healthy imagination and displays a fair amount of trust. She lets new people into her circle of friends. She uses her imagination to understand new ideas, things, and people.

Scraping by

Well, we have done our part to assure rain here this week- we have the shingles scraped off the south side of the house, awaiting a new roof. If that doesn't bring rain, nothing will! We had the soffits and facia boards replaced last month, and now it's time to redo the roof. There were 4-5 layers of shingles, so just slapping down a few more isn't an option.

My neighbor Danny brought his little 2 year old granddaughter by to see the chickens yesterday, and Bucky dutifully crowed his head off to impress her. He's become a big beautiful rooster, and struts around like he owns the place.

My camera battery died, and since it's a rechargable type, I haven't been able to take pictures for a while. I have to remember to get one tomorrow, I can't be without it during Christmas!

Happy (rainy) Thanksgiving!

Today was great, we drove to St. Johns, AZ. to spend Thanksgiving with the family. There were lots of people and lots of food, we laughed, we ate, had a great visit.

Hah! I lied-going to St John's was the plan, the reality is that I spent the day sleeping on the couch, fighting a sinus infection, a cold and maybe strep. I had a Dr.s appointment yesterday, and while there told Olga (the PA) that I've had a sinus infection for weeks. I've tried everything to treat it myself; taking garlic tablets- (David loves that smell!), XClear, then nasal washes. Yes, they are as awful as it sounds, you can feel the tides inside the sinus cavity for hours afterwards. Well, that's what it feels like to me, everytime I tilt my head, leftover saline solution ebbs and flows. Nothing was working, so I finally decided it was time for antibiotics. She said my throat and nose are very inflamed, my glands are swollen and I didn't need to go anywhere, let alone drive halfway across the state.

By last night, I knew I wasn't going to make it through a 3 hour drive to St Johns, let alone talk to anyone, my throat hurts so bad. Waah! I was really looking forward to seeing my sibs, Mom and the rest of their family, but such is life. David is a doll, he went down to Safeway and bought a roast turkey breast, mashed potatoes, even a vegetable mix and fruit salad. So, we had a nice turkey meal, David got to watch football all day long, and hopefully by tomorrow I'll feel that survival is an option.

Heather and Jared drove to Vermont, in the rain, but had no problems in the drive. Nic drove to Utah and wasn't so lucky. He hit a snowstorm north of Kanab, and it slowed the traffic down to 25-30 mph for about an hour. Once he made the summit, the snow slipped into rain, and the rest of the drive was uneventful, but he didn't get there until 9:45 last night. I'm glad they all had friends to spend the day with, and I'm glad I got to just sleep, watch the rain and be grateful for all of my many, many blessings.

I'm grateful for my faith, my wonderful family and friends, and for this great country. I love my home, and living in the desert. I love being back in Arizona. My husband is an amazing man, I love him and I'm very grateful for him being in my life. We've known each other for almost 35 years now, my how time flies!

Valley of the sun

Wednesday was awesome! I drove to the Valley- first to Sun City to visit family, Sharon, Bob, Shawn and Don. Sharon had surgery 10 days ago, and I wanted to see her and meet her daughter Shawn. We were talking about how we're related, and it goes something like this- Sharon's married to Bob, and is Don's sister. Shawn is her daughter, so she's Don's niece. And me, well, my Dad is Sharon and Don's first cousin. That makes me their 2nd cousin, and Shawn's 3rd cousin. We were laughing about it, and later it reminded me of that old joke- "Who's on first".

Evidently Shawn and I met at a Balmes' family reunion that was held at our ranch in Prescott, somewhere in the 1960's. We lived up in the mountains then, and Shawn's main memory is that her brother Roy got lost. It created quite a concern, he was only about 7-8 at the time. I vaguely remember looking for him, wondering why everyone was so worried, it was only a 60 acre pasture, and the whole darned thing was fenced, he could just follow the fence back down the hill. OK, I was only 9, and I'd grown up on that mountain. I didn't realize that they were from the valley, where everything is flatter and more wide open. Looking back, that had to be so scary for their family, who had spent little or no time in the rugged, mountainous country we called home. Anyhow, in general the reunion was so much fun, there were actually 3 girl cousins my age: Shawn, Gini and Robin, so we played and ran all over the apple orchard. I lived so far out of town, it was a real treat to have girls to play with!

After I left Sharon's, I stopped by my friend Julie's and met her new husband Ken. Actually we went to school with Ken, back in the 70's, in Prescott. They reconnected last summer, and now they're married. They took me to the local Costco and helped me load the truck. The nearest Costco to Cottonwood is 50 miles away in Prescott Valley, or the one just off the 1-17 and 101 freeways in north Phoenix. If I'm going to the city, I usually can't leave without at least one errand, it's too far to drive not to. I loaded up the truck, braved the evening traffic and headed home. Luckily the traffic was only bad for the first 1o miles or so, after that it thinned out and speeded up nicely. All in all, it was a great day, and I love my family and friends!

Great moments

We had a great visit with Jana, Dave, Cody and Logan Funk today. Jana is our niece, and they stopped by here on their way back home from visiting the Polar Express railroad trip. They had a great time there, and we really enjoyed seeing them again. The boys are growing so fast!
They enjoyed playing with the dogs and watching the chickens. I let the chickens out just for them, and the boys helped chase them off the porch while we were visiting. Even though we live in town, the place looks more like a farm now, with the chicken hutch, dogs, etc.

Gina is here visiting as well, so she and Nic helped entertain the Funks today. We watched Hancock this afternoon, well, I watched bits and pieces while I cooked dinner. I'll have to watch the whole thing, it's a pretty good show.

Our yard is a wreck, we've had a construction crew here for a few weeks, working on the sofits and facia board under the roof. They've been cutting the old facia board off, and rebuilding the whole edge again, so there is all kinds of debris floating around the yard. Add that to the weeds, puppy toys, etc., and our yard is pretty ragged looking right now. I had a big pile of branches and stuff that had been raked up, ready to burn, but the chickens and dogs have scattered that around too. It's going to take some serious work to clean up just the front yard, and there's also the side and back yard too. Makes me tired just thinking about it. The work crew had to move all my plant pots away from the house so they could to the roof and patio in the back. I have lots of plants, large and small, and now they are stacked out in the gravel, off the patio. I had them all set up with drip systems, and the drippers are drooping around, with no plants to water. That means I have to water everything by hand. At least it isn't so hot, and I don't have to water every day right now, but it's sure a mess!

Goodby Puppies

Well, we have all the puppies adopted now, exept the one that David insists is his. He fell for the cute little fawn-colored female, and has been 'keeping' her for my Mom. Luckily for him, when Mom came up Friday and spent time with the puppies, she decided that 'Bruiser', the biggest, stoutest of the bunch, really needed to be hers, even though she thought she wanted a female and he's all boy. She took 3 pups home, two for her and one for a friend.

A couple came by Saturday evening, looking for a female also, but one look at the long-haired puppy of the group and that all changed. "Fluffy" went bounding up to them, and the husband was a goner, when I came out he was cuddling that pup, and never let him down. He was a good choice, because they have two little boys, and Fluffy is energetic but very loving. He will play with you, then flop down right next to your feet and lay there quietly, he's just so cute!

Some friends of ours decided to take two puppies home, a male and female. They picked one of the Lab-looking males, with white back paws. He is very aggressive, and they want a watch dog, but also want another one to keep him company. The female has a blaze down her face, and is energetic but not as aggressive. The two of them are very compatible, and already hang out together a lot, even with all the other puppies around.

If asked, I'll deny it, but the truth is I'm a little sad to see them go. They mobbed me every time I walked out the door, jumped all over me and followed me everywhere. I stopped going out the back door when they were in the back, and was reluctant to venture into the front yard while they've been there, but come on, they are so cute! We still have 3, until the Stewart's come for their 2 this week, but by Friday it will only be Cara and David's new dog, he hasn't figured out a name for her yet. Hmm, maybe I'll be able to let the chickens out again, I haven't dared for the past 2 weeks, with the puppies, a hungry Mama Cara, and a construction crew running around working on the roof.

God Bless America

I'm watching Ugly Betty, whose star is named America, seems pretty apropo for the week, a great show about following your dreams, and to be yourself no matter what. This has been a momentous week, and we are so fortunate to be able to vote our conscience in relative peace.

No matter who you voted for, and I hope you all voted, I just want to say publicly- GOOD FOR YOU! We can go to the polls without fear, or vote by mail, trusting that our votes will be counted. We can disagree, or be completely united, it doesn't matter, we can each have our say at the polls. When all is said and done, I think we can all agree that we each want what's best for our country, and even though democracy can be sticky and brutal, just by casting our vote, we have a say in the outcome of any election. GOD BLESS AMERICA!

OK, on to other things- my broccoli, cabbage, peas and onions are doing very well. It dropped to 24 degrees here last night! Luckily I had covered the tomatoes, but the basil got zapped. I should have picked it all yesterday, but it wasn't supposed to freeze. So much for weather reports. Bucky has been crowing like a fool, I'm worried about the neighbors! We still haven't had eggs, hopefully the girls will start laying soon. I'm craving fresh eggs. We have all but 3 puppies spoken for, with a couple more possible takers. They are so cute! They've been running, playing, even Cara is playful with them now. She gets to be more than just a milk jug, I think she's enjoying the romp. Today they were using a board like a teeter-totter. One would climb onto the top board (propped onto a 2X4), then another would jump on the end, and they'd both fly off, it was so funny! I watched them do it several times, it was just like little kids at a playground.

What's to Eat

Saturday, November 01, 2008
Boy, I’m really moved by this book, Coming Home to Eat. From the subtle nagging thoughts in the back of my mind have come a full blown fear and realization, that I, indeed most of the inhabitants of this country, could not survive in our own homelands without food products from other regions and even other countries. My staple food is rice, and as far as I know, rice is not indigenous to the desert southwest. What would I do if the trucking industry were crippled for 6 months??? I have enough food storage to last that long, but as I read the labels on the foods I’ve stored, few of them are actually grown in Arizona, and the foods that grow here naturally are practically unknown to 95% of us. I have a forest of mesquite trees around me, and I can easily harvest the pods, but I have no idea how to make flour from them, nor do I have recipes to use it well. I’m not even sure yet where to find a grinder to use. Sorry, but I don’t want to hand-grind, I’m just not that strong. I have a lot of work to do if I want to be able to live a sustainable life on this arid land I call home.
I’m a 3rd generation Arizonan, raised on a ranch by children of farmers. We grew cattle, sustained by wild grasses and natural spring waters. In the 1960’s through the late 1990’s, homemade and homegrown had a pretty negative connotation. My mother and grandmother made most of our clothing, while most of my friends’ wore store bought. We ate ‘organic’ beef before the word even existed, along with venison, home-butchered chickens, homemade applesauce, apple butter, currant jelly, even prickly pear jelly. We weren’t considered an important part of the food chain, we were considered country-cowboys that couldn’t do any better.
Indeed, one sign of affluence in many cultures is the ability to buy goods from other cultures and countries. Why were teas and spices so expensive throughout the ages? Because they grew well only in certain areas of the world. Wisely, the people of those regions protected their crops and knowledge, ensuring that the world would keep calling at their door. Every culture and most countries consider themselves wealthy only when they control materials valued by others, and glory in the ability to buy exotics from the world over. It is that mindset that has fueled our obsession with Japanese, European, Chinese and Indian foods, religions and other products. There has historically been a disdain for local grown foods, locally made clothing or products. This has created such a lopsided economy that we can’t even sustain ourselves without outside help. The corn we buy in the grocery stores has little similarity to the corn that has been grown in the Southwest for millennium. I grow a garden every year, but most of the seeds I have used in the past are hybrids of European vegetables, and they are poorly equipped to survive the arid, hot summers here. In fact, it has been extremely difficult to find seeds for the southwest, and after reading this book I understand why- there are only a few commercial seed companies left in the WORLD, and they have no interest in providing local seeds that they can’t patent.

Anyone interested in growing seeds well adapted to their own areas have to search deeply- typically in local natural food stores or through local organic farmers. Thank heavens there have been grass-roots harvesters deeply committed to saving heritage seeds from all over the US and parts of Mexico! With the internet it’s become easier to find them, and I plan to buy native seeds this year, and start growing locally adapted squash, beans and maybe even corn. Now it’s time to get off my soapbox, and get on with gardening!

transgender chickens

So it turns out that Betty is a Bucky. I learned that the other morning when I woke up to crowing. I had hoped it was a neighbors rooster, but no such luck, it's Betty, er- Bucky. On the positive side, he's become a beautiful bird, black and gray feathers in a stripe pattern, strong red comb and wattle. The bad thing is the crowing-I just hope the neighbors don't complain. If they do, I guess we'll have chicken soup! He's young enough, he should make a good chicken stew. I hope I don't have to do that, frankly I don't like butchering chickens much. Maybe I can pawn him off on my Mom, heaven knows she's brought enough animals my way over the years. He doesn't crow horribly loud, so for now he gets to be the 'cock of the walk', until further notice.

We gave away the first puppy on Friday, one of the chocolate colored males. The proud new owner is a 9-year old boy. He visited them last week, and since then had already named him, made a couple toys and was dreaming of all the fun they'd have together! I'm thrilled to give puppies to people that love them and will take good care of them.

We've sure enjoyed having Megan and Taylor visiting the past few days. Megan is my niece, and we haven't seen them since their wedding last May. They've been out hiking in Sycamore canyon, and we went to Jerome, it's always fun to go there. There's a great yarn shop there, I try to visit it when I can. Megan likes to knit, so I've just been giddy having someone to talk knitting with again. Heather and I work on patterns together still, but over the internet and by phone now. It's nice to sit down, look at patterns and chat about the next fun project in person. I pushed tons of magazines and books at her, to see which ones she liked. I know, it doesn't take much to entertain me....

Week in Review

It's been a busy week, at least for me. Adele, David's sister, came in Wednesday, and has been working through all of their Mom's stored stuff. Mom Farr moved a 4 bedroom house, garage and shop into one big garage here. There are lots of things there, from the beautiful handmade pieces of furniture that Dad Farr created, to really old toys and games that have been with her since the 50's. Adele found cancelled checks from the 1940's, how cool is that? She and her Mom have been going through boxes, divying up treasures between the 5 living children, and pulling a few things out for Mom to keep. It's a really tough job, Mom Farr gets a little overwhelmed with all the decisions she has to make, but at least she's finally decided what to do with a lot of it, and the kids are trying to pitch in and help.

I drove Nic to the airport on Thursday night, he flew to Salt Lake for the weekend. His flight left at 4:50, which meant we had to be there in the middle of rush hour. One of the reasons I left Phoenix 30 years ago was the traffic, and trust me, it hasn't gotten any better! I decided to take advantage of my strapping son, and stopped at Costco for a bulk grocery run. No frozen or cold stuff, I'd be traveling too long to carry them, but lots of laundry and pantry items. I love having Nic here to help with the heavy stuff!

We got him into the right terminal and I left the parking lot about 3:20, and it took an hour to drive 10 miles. Stop and go, jostle and dart, the traffic is snarled and awful! I decided to try driving up I-17 instead of going east to the 101, I have no idea if it was any better. All I know is that I'm very, very grateful to live in the sticks, where the traffic can get busy, but the roads don't look like a spaghetti bowl! Besides all the afternoon traffic, the roads are torn up and there is roadwork going on for miles on the 17, which is the only way home for me.

The puppies are growing fast, cavorting and wrestling with each other. They have free run of the back porch and backyard now, and they're doing really well, getting lots of excercise. It's tricky for humans though, to walk out there without tripping over a puppy, or stepping in 'droppings'. Cara is already starting to wean them, they are drinking formula from the bowl and munching on puppy chow.

We've had beautiful fall weather, at least for Arizona. The nights are cool and crisp, the days are in the very manageable 80-90 degree range. I've planted broccoli, red cabbage, spinach, turnips and radishes, so hopefully we'll have a nice fall garden that will make it to Christmas. We had a frost 8 days ago that killed my peppers, while we were at my Mom's. The tomatoes got bit, but survived, so I'm covering them at night, hoping to harvest the tomatoes still on the vine. All quite bucolic, but it's my life and I love it.

Wedding and a birthday

Blahh! I'm sick as a dog today, and yesterday too, for that matter. Some kind of stomach crud is going around, and of course it came to visit me.

We had a good weekend, David and I drove to Phoenix and met Jared for a few minutes. He flew in for his old roommates' wedding, and was a groomsman, so he wasn't able to get away very long on Saturday, since they were finishing up all the last minute details before the wedding at 5. Anyhow, he looks great, and was very happy to announce he's found a job. It is in insurance, customer service, and only a few minutes away from his house, so no long commute. Yea! After we saw Jared, we drove to Stanfield to spend the day with my Mom. It was her birthday, and we got her a DVD player, and planned to install it, but it outsmarted us. We needed one of the kids there! She needs to have the Direct TV tech come out anyhow, so she'll have him set up the DVD player too.

My sister Debbie made dinner for all of us, to celebrate Mom's birthday. She rarely cooks, so it was really special. She has one of the rare husbands that likes to cook, and is retired, so he cooks most of the time. I wish someone else would cook around here sometimes, I get tired of doing all the cooking. See, I told you I'm sick, and grouchy too. Anyhow, Mom's birthday turned out very nice, I'm glad we could be there.

We had the puppies in the house last night, because it's been so cold. Cara doesn't stay with them much any more, just long enough to feed 'em. They are in a little fenced enclosure, with old blankets to lay on. We felt sorry for the little boogers, they were outside shivering, all piled on top of each other trying to stay warm, so we put them in the laundry room overnight. What a mess! They pooped all over the place, past the newspapers we put down. David and Nic had to clean it all up this morning before they left for work. Needless to say, the pups are back outside, and we'll figure out a box for them tonight-outside!

Puppies!

The puppies eyes are open now, and they are tumbling over each other, staggering around trying to play, what joy! Cara is so patient with them, unless they come anywhere near her food bowl, then all bets are off. Sometimes when she's feeding them I'll put her bowl in the bed so she can eat too. If any of the puppies come anywhere near the bowl, she will growl and rumble at them like they are the enemy. She doesn't hurt them, but she sure let's them know who's boss.

A few of the braver pups are already crawling out of the bed, then holler long and loud until someone rescues them. I haven't seen Cara pick them up and move them yet, since we humans seem to jump in first. I want to move the whole group and the bed outside on the porch, and out of the laundry room, but so far I've been outvoted by Nic and David. Heaven forbid they have to live outside like dogs.....

Oceanside and mortality

Well, now I can say I drove "from sea to shining sea" this year. Mom called me last week and asked if I could go with her to Oceanside, CA. Her brother had 3 strokes and a heart attack within the past month, and wasn't expected to live, and she wanted to see him before he died.

We left last Friday and got to see Uncle Marvin on Saturday and Sunday. Monday afternoon he passed away, but not until he was able to see all of his family. He was just waiting for his son Tom to fly in from Chicago, and for Mom. While we were there he was able to make jokes, and Mom had a good visit with him. She told him goodbye on Sunday, and told him "Mommy and Daddy are waiting for you." While it was hard to lose him, we are all glad that he's not immobilized and suffering any more.

Sunday my cousins and I went for a drive along the ocean. Tom, Kathy and I walked along the beach, and it was so beautiful. I called Heather and sang "From sea to shining sea" to her, pretty off-key, but so what! I was able to drive from Maine to California in the past 6 months. It was cloudy in New Hampshire, and 40 degrees in April, and it was about 75 degrees and cloudy in Oceanside. A little cool for a desert rat like me, but I love the ocean. While Wes was driving us down the coast, we found the Carlsbad State Park, which is on a cliff overlooking the ocean. It has lots of trees and shrubbery, and an amazing view of the sea, I decided we needed to spend the night there before we left. We booked a spot before we went to see Marvin, and got all the stuff to have a cookout with the cousins.

We went to see Marvin, and he was passing as I walked through his door. I've never been with someone as they were dying, it was a very intense experience. He had let the nurse shave him and cut his hair. He put on his dress pants and a shirt that day. It seemed that once he saw all of his family, he was ready to go and wanted to look good. I feel bad that we didn't get there a little earlier, but I believe that things happen the way they are supposed to, so I have to trust that we really weren't late. Wes and Tom decided to still have the cookout, and Tom made a great meal for everyone. We reminisced about Marvin, talked about his great sense of humor, and how all his kids have inherited it. Tina, Wes' wife, was very close to Marvin, and had some good stories about him. It was healing for me to be on the ocean, feel the breeze, listen to the surf. It gives a broader perspective on eternity, and it was a good way to honor Marvin's memory.

Stormy

I was sitting outside for dinner this evening when I heard thunder. Very few clouds, but the evening was rather pink. I looked toward Mingus mountain and there was one cloud, and one small section of it was raining, but with the sun in the west, it looked gold coming down. I wish I could capture that on film, but at least the pink showed up. On the eastern horizon, there was an inverted arc of color. Just amazing really, so I put the slideshow on, I wish pictures could show the marvelous panaroma.

I saw both specialists this week, the cardialogist told me I had gas. So much for the heart theory, but actually that's a great blessing. My ole ticker is strong, and no clogged blood vessels. The gastro doctor told me I am the lucky owner of a bad case of IBS, and it's genetic/stress oriented. She was great, asked a lot of questions and really listened to me, so I am much encouraged that life will get better quickly.

Now that I know my heart won't kick off on me when I'm not paying attention, it's time to get out and do some yardwork. Time to build up some stamina! We've moved Betty, Lucy and the twins back to the side yard. They did a great job of cleaning up a lot of the grasshoppers in the back yard, but then they discovered the porch. The past week they've been wandering around the porch, leaving 'calling cards' everywhere, including right in front of the door. Ughh! Time to move them on the other side of the fence...

We have Puppies!

Boy, do we have puppies, 9 of them! Sweet Cara is a great mom, and the kids nurse in shifts, so she is hardly able to get out of the crib. Nic made her a big bed, so we can keep the pups corraled, at least for a little while. There are 5 males and 4 females, and they vary in color from deep milk chocolate to a tan. Several of them have a white blaze on their heads, they are so cute! Nic was up most of the night on Monday, helping deliver puppies. I supervised for a little while, but I had a doctor's appointment Tuesday morning. Once Nic had a little practice, he sent me back to bed, and stayed up until 3 to make sure she was done. There were 11 puppies, but 2 were stillborn, sadly. Still, that's a lot of pups for a first-time mother, and Cara is doing great, she is very nurturing and loving with them. We're taking orders now, if someone wants a beautiful, medium sized dog!

Just Gas

According to the hospitalist and my primary doc, I have gas. Gastritis, to be specific. That doesn't exactly explain the erratic blood pressure I had, or the feeling that someone was sitting on my chest twice, but for now that's all I got. My good friend Julie, a nurse, said this "Forget those local yokels in Hooterville, and go see the cardialogist in Phoenix." Well said, and so that's what I'm doing. I have an appointment with the cardi surgeon in Scottsdale next week, and another with the cardi here, just for good measure.

We'll be having puppies within the week, I think. We thought Cara was due in October, but surprise! She is getting bigger every day, poor thing. The last couple nights she has been pacing around the house, too antsy to settle down. She's a beautiful caramel colored medium sized dog, and bred with a Red Heeler, so they should be sweet, smart, medium sized dogs. If anyone wants a cute little puppy in 2 months, please let me know!

Raisins and wreckage

Thursday I got so much done! I picked grapes, then prepped them for drying. It's best to steam them a couple minutes and poke the skins, so the moisture can escape. I dried some a few years ago without blanching them, and they had no flavor at all. Anyhow, once I had the grapes in the dryer I froze a few peaches, just a quart. The figs were finished drying, so I put them in jars. I don't have many, but at least I have a few to use for later.

After I finished with the fruits, I was feeling pretty tired, but I seem to just keep moving, even when I know it's time to stop. I finally laid down, but felt a lot of pressure in my chest. I couldn't get comfortable, and found myself in tears. Reluctantly I called the doctor-after the 2 heart surgeries last summer I figured I should be more careful. They wanted me to come in, but not drive myself, so I had to call David to come home. We went to the doctor, by then I could barely stay awake, or conscious, I'm not sure which. He sent us to the Emergency room.

The doctor there ordered an ECG, which looked fine, and also some blood tests, also fine. I was struggling to stay conscious, but made it through the intake and tried to answer the Dr.s questions, but frankly, I wasn't feeling too good. About 5:30 I felt like someone was sitting on my chest for a couple minutes, and a stabbing pain in my back. It happened again about 10 minutes later, and then I woke up. I still had some pain, but suddenly I was conscious again- it was really weird.

All the tests came back fine, but my blood pressure was pretty eratic, so they kept me over night and did an echocardiogram today, which was also fine. Since I've had a lot of problems with my gut, the doctor suggested it was that, but I know it wasn't. Maybe it's scar tissue, since it's pretty sore under the ribs where they took my pericardium off. Either that or I just needed a little extra attention??! You know how I love hanging out at hospitals.....

The cardialogist came in this morning, and I told him I should still be under warranty, since it's been barely over a year since the last problem. He told me he was sticking to the 'crazy lady' theory-huh, could he be talking about me? They don't know what happened, and I know it's not just heartburn, but I'm home now and recuperating. Guess the trip to San Diego is out for now, though. I really want to go with Mom to see her brother and his family, but I'll have to wait until things settle down.

Weekend adventures

Well, we've had more company this week! Our good friends Sharry and Gina Barton came down from Utah for the long weekend, and darned if we didn't lose Gina and Nic on Saturday. He said he wasn't lost, he just got bad directions. Umm, guess who gave the directions? He wanted to take her for a drive and get lost, so I just did my part to help. I told them about the drive to Cherry, a little wide spot in the road in the mountains near here. Problem is, I told them to take the old Cherry road, and Nic heard take the Old Cherry Road. The difference is one is paved, one is kind of a cattle trail, and Nic drives a Jetta VW. He followed directions, turned off on Old Cherry Road, and when it passed the last house it becomes a 4-wheel drive road. He pushed forward, looking for the paved part of the road; dropped into a washed-out creekbed and moved carefully to the other side. As he was driving up the washed-over road up the hill, he steered around a big rock only to have another one smash up into the oil pan.

Luckily his cell phone worked, and he called David. "Dad, can you bring some duct tape and a case of oil?" We loaded up the truck with tools, oil, water and yes, duct tape. When we got there we realized the rock had cracked the whole oil plug out of the pan, so a little duct tape and JB Weld wasn't going to fix the problem. We brought the kids home Saturday, and will have to rent a car dolly to haul the Jetta home.

They thanked me profusely for giving such good directions and allowing them such a pleasant afternoon! ha ha. I'll never hear the end of this one, I tell ya. Today when Sharry and Gina were getting ready to leave, Sharry asked for directions to the interstate. Gina and Nic just looked at me, like- DON'T SAY A WORD! So, I had David give the directions.

It's been raining hard here the last couple days, so Nic took the old pickup out today, looking for a mud slick to play in. Before they left, I told them "Now look, I am not recommending this road, and if you get lost or stuck, It's Not My Fault!"

Family, Family and Family

Wow, it's been a busy couple weeks! Jared flew in from New Hampshire last week, so we had 10 days to spend with him, it was great. He enjoyed being home for a few days, got to hang out with Nic every evening-Nic had to work all day, but they spent lots of time playing Madden football, cracking jokes, just being brothers. They are really close, and it's fun to be around them, they spout comic lines from countless movies, horse around and just have a good time. Jared helped me finish tiling the kitchen, yippee! I'd laid tile through the kitchen, but hadn't felt good enough to move the fridge and big cabinets last year, so we've had 2 colors of linoleum in there for a year. Finally it's all one style, a stone-inspired gray tile. He did most of it himself, and it looks great.

We've been helping Trish move that past couple weeks. Last weekend David, Jared and Nic drove down to Sun City and helped her load a 24 foot Uhaul truck. They hoped to be finished by noon, instead they were just getting the truck home. Seems Uhaul didn't have the truck at the right location, so they had to drive to downtown Phoenix to pick it up, and instead of getting it at 9, it was nearly noon, at 105 degree temp. Whew! I was able to recruit a bunch of men from the church to help unload it on Monday evening. 8 men showed up to help, and with the Farr men, they had the whole thing unloaded in 1/2 hour. Trish was so impressed! Now she's in the process of unpacking, never much fun, but her house is looking good already. I helped, I brought Fruittuti's from Taco Bell, not once but twice!

We had Dakota all day last Saturday while Jared was here, we had a fun day. She loves the Lego blocks, and built a big building with it- check out the slideshow. Then she played in the pool, and directed Nic and Jared in a game of catch. She would blow her flute to start the action, and play music while they tossed the ball back and forth. It wasn't long before the bubbles came out, and Dakota decided to practice her fencing moves, slashing the bubbles right out of the air. I think she'd been watching the Olympics, because she has a good fencing stance, and stabbing moves. It's so cute! I got some video of it, but haven't figured out how to load it on here yet. Bess, David's sister, and her husband Tom, were here Friday evening and Saturday morning, so they finally got to meet Dakota. We have some cute pictures of them and Mom Farr with the boys and Dakota on the slideshow too.

My Mom came by too, the same weekend. We had Tom and Bess, Grandma Madge, Dakota, Jared and Trish coming and going last weekend, in addition to going to Sun City to move Trish on Sunday. Mom came back up Thursday evening, she's helping a friend drive back to Kansas this weekend. She left the motorhome here, and rode with Laura, who's Mom just went into hospice. She didn't want to drive back alone, and Mom is such a good friend, she dropped everything and went with her. We'll be going to San Diego to see her brother after Labor Day. Mom's only surviving brother, Marvin, had a stroke 10 days ago, and he's doing pretty well. Right now he's in a Rehab unit, and she wants to go visit him. I volunteered to go with her, so she isn't driving in all that traffic alone. She's a really good driver, but doesn't like driving in heavy traffic, so maybe I can help there.

As busy as it's been, to me this is what life is all about- family taking care of each other, and enjoying one another's company. We tease each other a lot, but I love them dearly and absolutely love to spend time with all the family.

Backyard reverie

It's Wednesday morning, I'm sitting on the backporch, reading the paper. It's small town news, the latest woes of the local economy are undermining efforts to build a community center, the farmer's markets are in full swing. There was a tragedy- a head on collision near Camp Verde killed the driver and injured 3 others. Mostly it's about the local happenings and opinings of the public. I love to sit on the porch with a smoothie, reading the paper and watching nature in the back yard. We get 3 papers a week, so it's not an everyday occurence. Two hummingbirds are fighting for the feeder, the doves and finches are swinging in for a nibble and a bath. Lizards are creeping around the patio and brick wall, slurping up bugs. I love lizards! I've seen several big butterfly, swallowtails, I think. The clay pig, cow and frogs are grinning at me, tucked into corners of the garden. They are cute, but right now it's too hot to put little plants in them- they'd cook within a week, so I've tucked the pots under roses and other plants to pretend there are flowers in them.

The dogs are adjusting well to each other, Cara is the youngest but the biggest. She is energetic, and the other 2 little dogs are still a little leary of her. Chica is starting to play with her more, instead of growling at her from the safety of David's lap. Sugar just watches all the excitment from her rug in front of the tv. When it gets too noisy there, she retreats to the front room where she has a pillow. We indulge Sugar, she's 15 now and slowing down a lot. She has a lot of cysts over her body, I'm afraid some of them may be cancerous, so we know our time with her is limited. She is absolutely the sweetest dog we've ever had, and we've had some very good dogs. She was an adorable puppy, given to us by a friend that rescued her, then decided she wasn't good with dogs. She asked us to watch her for a couple weeks while she was traveling, back in 1993, knowing full well that the kids would fall in love with her. The rest is history. She wasn't the brightest bulb on the tree, but definitely the most loving and sweet natured. She is all white, except for the times in Colorado that she found a manure pile, then she'd be gloriously green! She loved horse manure, and would roll luxuriously in it whenever the opportunity arose. EEuww! That was not a pleasant bath for the unlucky person in charge!

It's a little cloudy, and there's a good possibilty of rain today. I hope so, we've had lots of clouds and little rain. It just cruises in, teases us for a while, then blows south east to the Mogollon rim to dump the contents of those pretty clouds. Fun to watch, I can see lots of lightening flashing around, but not as satisfying as a good rain in the desert.

Me and Maxine

There are days I look like Maxine (the comic book version). I have a great straw hat, ok a couple of them- one's a beat up cowboy hat, that's my favorite. The other is a wide brimmed summer hat. Then I have the wrap around sunglasses, an old t-shirt and a pair of baggy capris, plus crew socks and tennies that give the illusion that I'm 4 1/2 foot tall. These are my 'embarass the children' days, but it's comfortable and I don't care if they get ruined. I was rebuilding part of the drip system, trimming the grapes, sweeping the porch. It's messy, dirty work, not a beauty pageant!

There are 3 dogs here now, and they have to be in the back yard while the chickens are out in the side yard. We all know chickens are dumber than rocks, so they are happily pecking around the yard while 2 of the dogs are sniffing excitedly at the gate, the fence, hoping for a chance to check out those chicks up close....

We have figs! We bought the tree 6 years ago, and have had the beginnings of fruit on it every year, but this is the first time they actually grew and ripened. It's a black fig, and so delicious! They don't ripen all at once, just a few every day, so I've been eating 3-4 a day all week long. The grapes are ripening, they'll be ready by next week maybe. There are tomatoes, peppers, lettuce and cucumbers coming on too. I planted 3 tomatoes, 2 peppers, 4-5 cucumbers, a few green beans. I had several squash, but David was weeding a couple weeks ago and thought they were weeds. Either that or he didn't want that many squash... It's not a big garden, enough to eat fresh veggies from but not enough to can. Luckily, Hauser's Farm in Camp Verde has the best corn, so we have fresh corn when we want it. In fact, I think it's time for a corn run. Maybe I'll wear my Maxine outfit!

We just got back from Colorado, and can you believe we took the heat with us? It was 107 degrees here when we left on Friday, and I was really looking forward to cooler temperatures in western Colorado. Glenwood Springs is typically in the 80's to 90's this time of year, much nicer than Arizona. Wouldn't you know, all of Colorado and Utah were in a heat wave, it was nearly 100 when we landed there! We stayed in the Hotel Colorado, an elegant old hotel in Glenwood that was built in 1893. Beautiful, but no air conditioning; we only had a ceiling fan and nearly cooked!

The wedding open house was great, our friends the Olmstead's always put on a great party. It was held at their home near Silt, Colorado. A nice outdoor gathering that brought many of our old friends together, so we could enjoy the wedding festivities and also visit with many great friends. The bride, Vanessa, is beautiful and spunky, while the groom is handsome, earnest and they are madly in love with each other. Congratulations to them, and the best of wishes for a long and happy marriage. KJ is an airplane mechanic in the Air Force, so they are headed back to Georgia to start their new life together.

Silt is in the heart of a natural gas boom, so while the rest of the country is struggling in a deep recession, the gas business is propping up the economy there. There is a lot of work available, but it's a rural area, so housing is limited. Most of the people at the wedding party have lived in Garfield county for years, and have seen energy booms before- in the 40's there was Uranium, the 70's brought oil shale, and now natural gas is the latest big thing. They've seen it boom and bust too many times to get very excited, but it does make for a lively conversation.

Monday we drove to Annabella, Utah, to visit David sister Bess and her husband Tom. We also stopped at the cemetery to visit Dad Farr's grave. Bess takes good care of it, and keeps nice flowers there. His headstone has a saw and hammer carved into it, and the statement- Arizona educator 1938-1979. He taught in Fredonia for most of that time, and his specialty was woodworking. He made beautiful furniture, and taught so many students how to do so also. I miss him so much, and I'm glad we could go by to pay our respects.

Tag You're It

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember!
2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you! reminisce away...

Jerome in the Summer

My traveling buddy Julie called me today, and met me in Jerome. We used to hang out in Jerome in high school, but back then it was still a dusty ghost town. The hippies had come in and bought up some of the old abandoned homes, created communes and artist colonies. Gettin' high was just a fact of life there, it was a very interesting place to people-watch. Julie and I'd leave Prescott and the real world, drive over the mountain and drop into a little slice of California. Well, that's what it seemed like to me-it was psychedelic and a bit drug-addled. Not much has changed there.....

Jerome, Arizona went through an ugly tourist-trap phase in the 1990's, but I'm happy to say that many shops have gone back to the artist colony roots; I see a lot more work from local and Arizona artists there. We had lunch together at the grill downtown, then meandered up and down the streets, chatting and checking out the great stores. Just like we did 36 years ago... boy how time flies! There is a marvelous yarn shop there, it also has beads, and just about every fiber temptation a knitter could want. It's called Knit 1 Bead 2, I think. I didn't buy yarn there, but only because I'd found some lovely recycled silk yarn at another store, so I wasn't as tempted as usual.

I posted a picture of the project I'm working on now, it's an argyle scarf, which is reversible. I can't even begin to explain how it's done, but it looks really cool! It's the first time I've done this technique, so I'm having a lot of fun learning and working on it.

Wonderful Weekend

It's Sunday evening, Nic and I are watching Ice Road Truckers. Actually, he's reading- 'God, Emporer of Dune', and I'm watching tv. I went to church this morning, and attended Sunday School, so I made it for 2 hours today. My goal is to attend all 3 meetings every Sunday, I haven't done that since 2006. I attend the main meeting, Sacrament, on most Sundays now, but I'm still not strong enough to stay for 3 hours yet. Our church holds most of the meetings on Sundays, so we have a long day, but it's great to feel the Spirit and honor the Sabbath.

Dakota was over all day yesterday, it's always fun to have her here. They colored, played with Lego's and waded in the pool. Of course we watched Finding Nemo, no visit is complete without that. Nic is moving up here next week, he'll be working for Best by Farr now, so we'll get to see Dakota much more, as he's hoping to have her every weekend. Yippee!

The chickens are doing very well, Lucky and Betty have healed and are back with the twins. Betty's feathers have filled in again, so she has very little bare skin showing. Lucky's leg has healed up, although it is bent awkwardly a little. It doesn't seem to bother her though, and she is speeding around the pen just like the others. I was worried about her, but she's young and strong I guess. We've had marvelous, wonderful rain over the past several days. It rained really hard yesterday, and has rained a little almost every day the past week. The dirt is still damp outside, that is unusual in 100 degree heat. Around here, the ground is dry within 24 hours after the rain, so it's taken a lot of moisture to keep it damp. Overall, we've had a great weekend!

Friends old and new

We had a great time in Flagstaff, did a little hiking, went out to dinner, it was a lovely anniversary. We bought a freezer- I know, it's pretty romantic! Our old freezer has been a problem for a while, and when things started thawing out again, enough is enough. I lost a bunch of meat last year, and don't want that to happen again. This time we bought a big chest freezer with dividers and baskets, so we can separate food items and hopefully keep track of everything better.

Tuesday was our actual anniversary, and our old friend Laurie dropped by on her way home from Kansas. She spent 6 weeks visiting family in Wichita, and stopped in on the way back to southern Arizona, so we were thrilled that she spent the night with us. We haven't seen each other in 4 years! Laurie married David's cousin Wayne a few months after our wedding, and we all lived in Phoenix for a couple years, and became good friends. We have 3 kids the same age. She is one of my favorite people, we don't see each other for years sometimes, but we can just pick up where we left off. I've always valued my friends, but the older I get, the more precious they become.

Speaking of friends, I had lunch with Jenny today- we meet for lunch a couple times a month. We worked together in probation for several years, and have maintained our friendship. I appreciate her so much, it's hard to explain. Leaving my job was so hard, most of the friends I'd made here were from work, but it's made it so much easier, knowing I still have friends there, and I can drop by the office and still be welcome. I don't want to name them all here, but I hope you know who you are.

OK, since I'm being mushy, I'd like to acknowledge all my family and friends, each of you make my life so full and joyful, thank you! Life can be counted successful because of the friends and loved ones we have, I think, and my life is very rich indeed.

How did this happen???

Holy Cow! Our 31st anniversary is next week! We are going to Flagstaff this weekend to celebrate our 30th anniversary. No, you didn't read that wrong- we never got to celebrate our 30th, since I was fresh out of the hospital on our anniversary and barely able to walk. So, I've decided that we are actually celebrating our 30th properly this year.

I want to know how on earth 31 years have gone by- I distinctly remember our wedding day, and it certainly doesn't seem that long ago. Sometimes it seems much further away, but mostly life has flown by. I still remember the first time we went to the grocery store and didn't have to buy diapers- I bought ice cream to celebrate that day. How is it that happened 22 years ago??? Suddenly all the kids were out of elementary school, then junior high was a memory. Heather's junior year in high school I realized that it was time to rekindle some of my hobbies, and start reclaiming bits of my life back. I had spent the past 16 years focused on my kids, their friends and activities, and realized I could finally pay a little more attention to other things in my life. It was important for me to gracefully move into empty-nesting, and not try to live my life through my kids.

David and I have gotten to know each other again, that's been really wonderful. There were so many years that we were both working, and he traveled 80 miles one way to work every day, so he didn't have much time at home. Then we had three kids and their activities to attend or get them to, church activities and callings, there just wasn't much time together. It was a busy, ok, hectic, bunch of years, but I wouldn't trade them for anything in the world. Now it's pretty quiet at our house most of the time, but we enjoy each other's company, and have enough company coming around to keep it interesting.

Summer canning, cheeky chicks

I've canned 32 pints of applesauce so far! The first batch is straight applesauce- 19 pints. Then I decided to get creative, and used some elderberries in the next batch. Elderberry juice is quite tangy, I thought it would be interesting. It needed more sugar, but overall it's an interesting blend. I'm canning in the morning, and David set up an outdoor stove so it doesn't heat up the house as bad.
Mom brought up about a bushel of yellow summer apples, and they are great for canning. She helped me with the first batch, then left early on the 4th of july. Frankly, it's exhausting, so I can one batch at a time, pass out on the couch for a couple hours, and start over the next day.

The chicks are doing well, Betty and Lucky are healing and growing. The twins outside are really blooming, they have most of their feathers, and are starting to roost on a truss in the pen. I want to let them out in the yard, but they're still a little small. They'd make a nice snack for a hawk, and I don't have a set-up that I can cover with a net, so that will have to wait.

The heat is suffocating for some reason, it's not over 110 yet, but the humidity or air pressure is making it miserable. Everybody is cranky- I'm sure it's the bouncing barometer.

Rain, Glorious Rain!

For those in the midwest, rain is not the joyous occasion that is in here in the desert. It's only sprinkled a couple times since the end of May, just enough to stir up the dust on the cars so they look terrible, but not enough to clean them off. This weekend, just in time for the 4th of July, we had a storm come through that has brought a little rain every day. For three days, it's a marvelous thing. Probably not even 1/2 inch yet, but every little bit helps.

Mom took 4 of the chicks with her to St. Johns, AZ. I have 4 left, but 2 of them are injured and require more care. They were both injured by some critter, but at least they weren't killed. I don't name chickens usually, so I haven't named these.... Let's call one Betty and the other Lucky. Lucky can't use one leg, so she's been in a box in the house for a week. Betty got her right wing feathers chewed off, but there was no blood, and she was still strong, so I left her in the main pen. After Mom took 4 chicks though, the pecking order had to be reestablished, and when I went out to check on her yesterday the other chicks had picked that wing until it was bleeding badly. So, now I have the two of them in a rehab box. They are both eating and drinking water, so I think they'll survive. Oh the joys of chicken farming, all four of them.....

Nic was up today, and Dakota came to visit. We decorated fairy wings for her, and she played outside in the water. Nic brought the healthy chicks out for her to see and pet, but she would only look at them. She likes them, but doesn't want to touch them at all! I found 2 sets of the large block Leggos at a yard sale, and they were a big hit. She and Nic spent hours building a train, train station and lots of buildings. It rained a little more, and is nice and cool this afternoon too.

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY! I love to celebrate the birth of our country, and I'd like to take a moment to say thank you to the brave men and women that serve in the military all over the world. Right now Iraq and Afghanistan are the scariest places to serve, but there are many places our service men and women are put in danger every day. Each and every one of our military service people deserve our prayers and gratitude.

Disaster

Well, we had a disaster tonight. I went to the back to change for bed and heard my chickens peeping loudly. It's 11 at night, so I grabbed a flashnight and walked outside, to find 2 dead chickens. Foolishly (they're dumb chickens!) they had not bedded down in their box, but along the side of the cage. A night creature killed 2 of them, and another narrowly missed death when I showed up and chased it off. Probably a cat, I heard something streaking away as I walked out there. Luckily I have an old piece of shade fabric rolled up nearby, and I wrapped it all the way around the cage, and secured it with boxes, rocks and an old gate, so hopefully the Beast can't drag another chick out through the chicken wire. This is the hardest part of raising chicks, protecting them from predators (and from themselves) long enough grow up. Kinda like kids....

I have to go out and check on them again before I go to bed, just to make sure my plan worked. In Colorado we had a big chicken hutch, it was actually an 1880's log cabin with 2 rooms, and a big 6 foot chicken pen around it. I fought skunks and raccoons there every year. I had a cage for the babies that I put inside the smallest room in the pen. I locked it up every night, but sometimes a skunk would push a hole through the rock foundation and get into the chicks. I would lose a half dozen some years before I could catch and shoot the damn skunks. At least the raccoons would steal a chicken, but take the whole thing. Skunks rip them through the abdomen and start eating them while they're still alive, it horrible. I had no qualms about shooting them as needed. It takes a lot of energy at times, but I love the fresh eggs and 'organic bug control'. Off I go to save the day, I feel like such a hero and Mom again!

Chickenheads

Well we hit the gun show last Saturday. I wasn't planning to go, that is David and Jon's idea of a good time, but then Jon decided to take Gina and her boys, so I was nominated to go with David. We met them in Prescott Valley and took in the sights. It was the 1st one in P.V., so we had to be at the debut. I thought it was pretty good, but David decided they had too many jewelry/craft booths, and not enough guns, so what do I know. We walked through the show before lunch, then took a break and went to Zeke's. We had a nice big western meal before going back to the show. Well, sort of. I took my knitting in, there was an area with nice cushy chairs. I got a platform seat to people-watch and finished a washcloth while I was there. I sat right behind a big blunderbus rifle, it was huge! It made an interesting spectacle, a big rifle display with me sitting behind it knitting. It might have taken the macho edge off the display, but oh well....

Today I moved the baby chicks from the dog kennel they've been in. We put chicken wire around it to keep them inside, but they grow pretty quick, and now they need more room. There are 10 of them right now, but Mom is taking 6 next week. I have a moveable cage that's built in a triangular shape, but it's old and needed to be tightened up. I spent the morning pounding in nails, stapling up the chicken wire and helping David build it a new door. It took a couple hours, but now they are tucked into their new digs. I scattered straw throughout the bottom, put their little box in, so they have a cozy hideaway, and cleaned up the water and feed containers. The containers are chicken feeders, so one holds almost 2 gallons of water, and the feeder holds 4-5 pounds of food. The idea is that you don't have to fuss with them as much.

After I put them in there, I checked on them about 1/2 hour later, and they were looking very hot and stressed. One chick was sprawled out, so I picked her up and put her head in the water. She was so shocked! Chickens are so dumb, that because their old water container wasn't in there, they didn't find the new one, even though it is in the middle of the pen, and they were walking past it. Dumber than rocks, really. Anyhow, the others saw her drinking and raced up to the water. None of them had drank anything that whole time... Now I've seen turkeys drown in the rain, looking up into it, but I honestly thought chickens could see or smell the water-sheesh. Now if I can just keep the skunks out of the pen, life will be good.

I have a Farmer's tan

Well, I couldn't help myself, I've been thinking about it for a couple years, and now I've gone and done it. It started when I was driving all around the country with my Mom. We talked about gardening, and then moved on to other past pursuits. The next thing you know, I'm in the store, and now I'm a farmer, yup, I bought me some chickens! Pullets actually, just the hens. I don't want a rooster, neighbors don't like the noise. I got enough for me and Mom, she'll pick hers up in a couple weeks.

My kids hate chickens, they had to feed them for years. The worst punishment at our house was to clean the chicken pen, so when they'd done something particularly ornery, out to the chicken coop they went, to muck it out. So, I guess it's my fault they don't like chickens much, but I love having them. This time I got chickens as an organic grasshopper solution, last year the grasshoppers were so bad here that they stripped my butterfly bush and several shrubs. All that was left were the branches, it was so sad, I wasn't sure they would even survive. Every time we stepped into the back yard, clouds of them would fly up into your face. Chickens love to eat grasshoppers, and there you have it. I also look forward to having fresh eggs by fall.

My other focus this week was to plant tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, beans, sunflowers, lettuce and a little swiss chard. I didn't plant a lot of each, just enough to have a nice salad I hope. It's probably too late for lettuce, it's been so hot here, but I couldn't resist. Yes, I'm just a farmer at heart, but on an itty bitty scale. I have lots of simple joys in my life, and digging in the garden gives me so much pleasure!

Father's Day and birthdays

Last week Mom and I went to a friend's 90th birthday. 90 years old! What an accomplishment! Gene and Barbara were like 2nd parent's to me when we were in High School, they are Julie's real parents, and I had to be to Gene's birthday. He has lived his life wide open, he rode motorcycles, lived to travel, for years. He was riding his motorcycle on a rural road in the '70s when someone came around the corner on the wrong side of the road, and ran over him. Gene's leg was shattered, and it changed his life. He was in his 50's I believe when it happened, and had a very long recovery, but thank heavens he did live through it. He looked at life differently after that, more concerned about family matters than ever before, and he also sponsored missionaries for years, as a way of giving back to others. He still lives at home, and Barbara and the kids look after him well. I just want to say, 'hats off' to both of them and thanks for being such good friends to me!

We had Dakota and Nic here on Saturday, and that was great fun. We got a wading pool, and she took that literally- she never swam, or even sat down in the pool, just waded around, catching frogs. We unleashed a batch of plastic frogs in the pool, and with a bucket and shovel she was totally entertained for the afternoon. She and Nic made her a cap, it's foam with foam stick-ons, and we finally got her to wear it while she was in the pool. She's so blonde, we don't want her to get so sunburned, so we broke out the 30 weight sunblock, cap, etc. Sunday Nic and David went out shooting for a couple hours, great father/son bonding. Then we had a BBQ, and Nic left about 1:30 to head home. I missed Heather and Jared! They called their Dad and had a nice visit though, so all in all it was a great Father's day.

SHOES

AAugh! I just paid $250 for shoes, and they're not even pretty! I'm not sure what happened, I took the truck into the shop for an A/C fix. Then, I think I walked across the street to the shoe store, and the owner started measuring my feet, then telling me what I needed. He explained how my feet have grown, my arches have fallen, and showed me the ugliest sandals I've ever seen. I felt like I was just cruising to 80 instead of my mid 50's, and kept looking longingly to a pair of cute sandals on a nearby stand.

After I tried on the ugly sandals, yes, they were comfortable but eeww! So then he sprung the trap, he pulled a pair of cool tennies out of the box, slipped a pair of arch supports into the sole, and put them on my feet. I stood up, walked around, and oh my heavens.... I realized I couldn't take them off. I tried to figure out how to walk out of the store in them. They are shiny, which is good, and have air conditioning fabric, and now I have to walk every day to justify buying them. Yes, I bought them without any hesitation! What was I thinking??? Oh yeah, that it was the most comfortable my feet have been in years. Well, off to my very expensive walk!

Back to the Grind

OK, OK, I really don't have much of a grind, I don't have to be at work at 8 a.m. any more, no dealing with irate attorneys, explaining to judges about what is happening with probationers, fielding a myriad of phone calls. I don' t have to tell a probationer to 'drop a UA' (yes, I did that at least once a week), get a job, go back to court. It's not that kind of grind... but laundry, cleaning the kitchen, feeding the dogs, creating a life without work can still be a grind. Trying to figure out a daily routine without a job is weird. I know, I haven't worked for four years now, but I still haven't figured out a routine. I do manage to sleep every day, that's just a necessity of my life. Sometimes it's a quick nap, other days it's a couple hours in the morning, another in the afternoon. Some might think that's luxurious, I know I used to dream about getting enough sleep, but I'd rather be working, or sewing, hiking, etc.

One of the reasons I love to knit is that I can accomplish something every day, even if I can only sit in my recliner and knit. I don't like being useless, and for many years, the fibromyalgia has given me the sense that I can't do very much. I've been so tired for the past 20 years, it was an effort to get out of bed, and yet I worked, held leadership positions, raised 3 kid, loved my husband and tried to be a good friend. I haven't always done them well, but I've given it my best effort. It's nice to be able to take better care of myself the last few years, but I still hate to be tied down to my physical reality. Yet, there are so many people that have it worse, I can't complain. I'm very blessed, I have a great husband, children, home, friends and family. I love them, and thank God every day.

We spent the weekend at Mom's place, south of Maricopa. Saturday David and Nic finished the duct-work for the cooler, then we had dinner at Hap's. He and Sandy are amazing cooks, and have built an outside kitchen! They got Tyde an above-ground swimming pool for his birthday, and it's right next to the kitchen, so they can cook, socialize, and watch the kids in the pool. Hap had caught Sea Bass last weekend in Mexico, and grilled it, along with homemade sausage. Debbie and Kim came over, so it was a nice family party, except Allison and Eric couldn't be there. One of these days they plan to move to AZ, I can't wait, I miss her so much. It was a great family get-together, and Mom's cooler works really well. It's already 103 degrees there, so she's pretty happy to have it all put together. All in all, a very nice weekend!

30 seconds of Fame

Well, I got mine! Yup, I was on TV tonight, and not on the 6 o'clock news, thank goodness. PBS aired "Arizona in the 70's", and my thoughts were actually included! All together, I had about a minute of time throughout the one hour program, so I must be famous, right??

Considering that I was still recovering from 2 major surgeries, I didn't look too bad, although my voice sounds awful... cackly sounding, really. Oh well, it was fun and I'm glad I had the chance to be part of the program. A clip of mine was right in front of Alice Cooper, so I was in pretty heady company! I fit right in with Wallace, Ladmo and Gerald....

My only complaint is that they didn't talk about the Prescott 4th of July Rodeo, we talked about that quite a bit, and I was trying to plug the rodeo. They stuck to the typical 70's fare- hippies, rock and roll, Phoenix and Tucson. There wasn't much about the rest of the state, as usual. But they did use the pictures of the ranch, and Dad with a horse, so that's something outside of the norm, I guess. One fun part of the program was about tubing the Salt River. I know a lot of us shared that experience and have great memories of it.

Midwest meandering

Well, I'm home now, but here's some of the happenings from the road. We didn't have much internet access the last week of our trip, so I couldn't keep the blog updated. I found the Samuel and Sarah Cramblit's headstone in the Shaul Cemetery in Ottumwa, Iowa. It was a beautiful headstone, and a beautiful cemetery too. I was so moved by the experience of walking where the family walked, paying respects to the resting place of my ancestors, and standing where family that I've never met have also stood, paying their respects. We went right before Memorial Day, and there were flags, flowers and other momentos on many graves. We left flowers as well. Samuel and Sarah were the only Cramblit's in the whole cemetery, I don't know if anyone visits them or not, so I'm glad we could leave flowers there. We went to Des Moines that afternoon, and I obtained a copy of Richard H. Matthews death certificate, so I accomplished that goal too. I was so worn out by then, and it was raining, so we didn't look for the cemetery for him, but I felt I met my objective and was really ready to stop doing research.

We were all ready to move on, and took I-80 straight west to Omaha, Nebraska. That is an LDS church history site, where many pioneers stopped for the winter before making the last westward trek to Salt Lake. We camped right near the Missouri River in a city campground. The area was beautiful, and someone came around every night selling firewood. They sell walnut and oak, split and dried. We had a cozy, occasionally smokey, campfire that night. I decided not to sleep outside, and about 2:00 am I heard a terrific crack of thunder. It started on the right, and split the night all the way across the left side of us, for miles it seemed. Julie had been sleeping on a cot outside, and came busting through the door while that clap of thunder was still rolling across the countryside. There was a helacious storm that night, it really rocked the place. We were lucky, we just got rain, wind, lightening and thunder. A tornado touched down in Windsor, Colorado that wiped out miles of homes, killing one person, from the very same storm. Friday it was still raining, and we decided we'd had enough. We left Omaha, heading west, determined not to stop until we found the sun!

Speaking of storms, we were in the thick of some crazy weather the whole trip, but the Lord looked out for us throughout our journey. We were 60 miles north of tornadoes while in Ohio, just missed the flooding in Ohio, Iowa and Illinois. While we were traveling across Nebraska
there were tornadoes in Iowa, where we had recently left. We drove into Ft. Collins, which is just a few miles from Windsor, the day after that terrible tornado. It was a mile wide, and plowed through 35 miles of land and houses before it finally died. Throughout our trip we had a lot of rain and some wind, but amazingly nothing more serious than a little hail.

We spent Memorial Day in Albuquerque, NM. Julie's daughter lives there, so it was a good place to stop for a day. We were all ready for a break from the non-stop driving, and I didn't want to be on the road on the holiday. Monday Mom and I found a casino, and she played there for several hours. They had a great lunch buffet, and I took a luxurious nap. Julie, Laurie and I went to see the new Indiana Jones movie- pretty great day overall. We were up and gone at dawn, and arrived in Cottonwood safe and sound on Tuesday. It's been a wonderful experience! I love traveling with Mom, she is so much fun, and nothing really fazes her at all. Julie is always a blast to be around, our friendship has only strengthened over the many years. I have so much research to organize and document on my computer! Some will go onto my ancestry.com site, a lot of it will go into my notes until I can put the families together, a piece at a time.

Although my corral-on-motorhome idea didn't pan out, Arizona actually got rain in May too, not a common experience. I'm glad that the sun is shining, I've had quite enough rain for this spring! By July I'll be wishing there was just a little bit more, but right now the weather here is perfect- high 80's, 10% humidity and lots of sunshine. I'm a desert rat- Long live Arizona!!

Greetings from Iowa!

Wow, have I been busy the past few days! And, I haven't had internet service, that's awful! It's not as critical as, say, water... but please, my life has become so much better with internet. We have been in every county courthouse in the area. Today it is Wapello County, and we found some great family records. It's a beautiful old, turn-of-the-century stone building, so elegant. Mom spent the morning helping me, and Julie worked the afternoon shift. We found my great grandparents' wedding license and certificate. Turns out, they had to hurry, because my grandma was born 7 months after the wedding. I can almost see the shotgun in the wagon as the nuptuals commenced at the courthouse. All four parents had signed an affidavit confirming that they consented to the marriage, and the original affidavits are attached to the marriage license, darkened with age, but I can still read everyone's signatures and the printed form. Pretty cool!



Some people have asked who Julie is. She is one of my oldest and dearest friends, we met in high school when her folks moved from hustling LA area to backwater Prescott. It was a tough change for her, from surfer-girl to nowhere-ville. But we hit it off, and have been chums ever since. When she learned about our trip, she wanted to come along, so she flew into Columbus Ohio on the 12th, and came along for the adventure.



Ottumwa is a charming midwestern town, it's not quite a city, although it's a bustling place. We are staying in the Ottumwa Park, which has a lot of electric sites. Today we are visiting the Shaul Cemetery here, then off to Des Moines to find Mom's great-grandfather. He's hiding up there somewhere, and I'm determined to find him...

Carthage Jail to Nauvoo Illinois

This is a really hard place to visit. Several people, including Joseph and Hyrum Smith, died here when a mob broke into the jail in 1844. I've heard the story many times, how the Mormons were persecuted, not just because of their beliefs, but because they moved as a large group. When they moved into an area, they also brought an immediate change in the political and public landscape, because they were such a large group. They worked hard, and typically became successful fairly quickly, and that upset the balance of power for the county in which they lived. Whatever the reason, Joseph had been charged with some petty offense, and was taken to jail in Carthage, IL. I was there on Friday, and although the building had changed hands several times, the original structure was standing, a bullet hole is still in the original door, the bullet that killed Hyrum Smith as he pushed against the door to protect his brother from the mob. He was killed instantly, Joseph was killed shortly afterward, and fell out the upstairs window.

Please take a moment to look at the pictures above. The first pictures are of the Carthage jail, the last pictures are of the Nauvoo Temple. Joseph Smith had started the work on that temple, but it wasn't finished when he died. The LDS people worked hard to finish it before they left Nauvoo. It was only used a month or so before they were forced out of Illinois and started for Utah. After they left, the temple was burned by several men. Before it sold to another religious group, a tornado hit it and destroyed more of it, rendering the building unusable. Over the years locals used the large stones in building other structures in Nauvoo. The LDS church built another temple, completing it in 2001. We had the opportunity to visit the temple on Saturday, and it is so beautiful, inside and out. It is a very spiritual and peaceful place to be. The town has a lot of pioneer-oriented buildings and activities, I'm so glad we came! It literally sits on the Mississippi river, tomorrow we will get down by the river and I'll post some pictures of that soon.

Cramblit's, Dunkle's and me.

Today is Thursday, and we started the day with sunshine! I'm a desert rat, I like the sun. The rain is lovely, but after 3 weeks, I love seeing the sun! OK, OK, it was raining by evening, but we had some great hours this morning, Julie even took a snooze on the lawn at the Ohio Historical Society. It was warm, the grass was dry, and she was out. Mom and I went through the Museum, it was very interesting. Ohio was the first state into the Union after the Revolutionary war, so it's an old state with a lot of history, both Native American and new American.

I've spent days in libraries and courthouses, and I'm worn out. Julie helped me today, and we found more Cramblit's and Dunkle's. We were at the Ohio Historical Society Library, in Columbus, for several hours. In some ways I wish I had several days there, but I'm ready for a break. We left about 4:30 and started driving west, right into the rain. Actually we even saw snow! It didn't last very long, but it was definitely snow. We are in a KOA just east of Indianapolis tonight. Julie is deep into her new Mac laptop, working on her website and answering email. I'm doing the same thing, and Mom is asleep. We even have TV tonight! The Office is on, the wifi is working, life is good.

I'm like a genealogy junky, I know that. I try to say that I could quit anytime I wanted to, but we all know differently. When I'm in genealogy mode, I don't sleep, it's all I can think about, where did they come from, how did they get into this town, this state? How many times did they move before they stopped here? And-- Who's Your Daddy?? Really, that is so hard to find out sometimes! I've found so many names for these 2 families, and I don't know where they fit, it will take me months to sort them out, and figure out if they are in my direct line or not.

I talked to David this evening, and there is now a Best By Farr Plumbing business. They've been working on that for months, and the paperwork is finally done. Now there are 2 businesses to manage, but he is very good at that!

More Rain!

I have to make a note about all the Fredonia pictures in my slideshow. David was raised in Fredonia, AZ. Mom and I drove through Fredonia, NY, so I took a bunch of pictures. My favorite is the truck- St George, from Fredonia. St. George, UT, is the nearest 'city' to Fredonia, AZ. It just seemed so improbable to see a truck with a St. George and Fredonia sign on it 2000 miles away!

I know, I shouldn't complain about the rain, it's heaven sent and all. Still this morning there was a tornado warning along with the storm that swept through here. We were fortunate, nothing bad happened to us, but the radio said there were terrible storms and tornadoes just south of us. Our prayers are with those people.

We are in the hills of Ohio. We haven't found many RV parks, but lots of forrest campgrounds with electrical hookups, so we've been camping. It's unbelievably beautiful and green, I'm a little frustrated that it's been raining so much I can't go out exploring. I've spent the last 3 days in libraries and Court houses, and I've found more information about our family. We are driving to Logan, OH tomorrow, to visit the Hocking County Courthouse. Hopefully I'll find more birth, marriage and death records.

We finally stopped to eat lunch yesterday about 2:00, we walked to a restaurant down the block. Well, we thought it was a restaurant, turned out to be more of a biker bar. It's in an historic hotel in downtown McArthur, OH. Mom walked in, looking at all the momentos, but I stopped short at the doorway when I saw a line of bikers at the bar. How do you get Mom's attention without everyone else noticing? No frantic "Mom- stop!", or anything I could think of. They did have a couple tables set out...

Anyway, While we sat down, 'Pappy's Lady' knocking back a shot of whiskey, while 'Pappy' talked to the bartender. We know them because her leather jacket was emblazoned with "Pappy's Lady", so I assume the guy next to her was Pappy. He had a leather jacket on with all kinds of patches on it. They all were eating lunch too, though, not just talking and drinking. Here we are, 2 old ladies just out of the library, primly sitting at the table ordering tea, with a half-dozen bikers and their chicks sprawled across the bar, talking tough to the rough looking bartender. She was a blonde that had spent way too many years working nights and smoking cigarettes. We got more than a couple side-long looks, and I imagine they weren't much more impressed with us than we were with them. Lunch wasn't too bad, for bar food, and we out-lasted the bikers, so the end of our meal was peaceful. We found Lake Hope campground north of McArthur. The only lake we saw looked more like a marsh, I could almost see the mosquitoes breeding there among the cattails and sedge. Luckily the camping is quite a bit higher, and not many bugs. The birds are singing right now, and it's very peaceful and calm. Happy Mother's Day!

Rain and Brain Drain

Yesterday was Jared’s 25th birthday! I can’t believe he’s 25 already, I can still remember the day he was born, which was Mother’s day that year. He was also born on his due date, how often does that happen??

Yesterday we spent the day in the John McIntire Library in Zanesville, OH. We found a lot of books with records of Cramblits and Dunkles, I don’t know how many are direct relatives, but I took pictures of all the records I could, and typed in the rest in my genealogy research packets. Zanesville is a really pretty town, with several large stone or brick churches, built in the late 1800’s. It is at the confluence of the Licking and Muskingam Rivers, and has a really cool Y-shaped bridge across both rivers that is quite unique. We stayed at Wolfie’s Campground, it’s a great RV park just out of town.

As we were driving in to the library, we saw a livestock auction, and I had a really hard time pulling Mom away from there. I said “No, we can’t buy chickens or a calf here, and drag them all the way across the country!” She said she just wanted to look, she wouldn’t buy anything. She smiled, “I just like the smells!” However, I’ve been the recipient of several dogs, chickens and sundry critters that came home with her from the livestock auction in Colorado, so I wasn’t taking any chances! I’m not sharing space with one of her finds!
I tease Mom a lot, but I’ll tell you, she is amazing. She’s 75 and can park this rig anywhere. She handles all the plumbing, water, gas, everything necessary to keep it running. This morning I was unhooking the sewer pipe when the end split-it’s a flexible tubing. Mom pulled out her tool kit and went to work. I jumped in and we took the working ends off the tubing and attached it to new tubing, now we have a good-as-new set up.

Today we drove from Zanesville down through Ohio hill country. It is all backroads, little two lane affairs with only local traffic. We’ve seen lots of farmland, with big beautiful barns. Many of them have cattle, with newborn calves scampering near their mommas. I was driving today, and as we lumbered down the road, with our bed on board, I imagined us as a Conestoga wagon, pioneers in a new land. Every field in this area had to be cleared of trees and brush, and most of them were done by hand in the 1800’s. The Amish still use horses and plows, but the original farmers used them too, with wagons to bring in the wood, and the harvest. Anyhow, we drive slow, lumber along, and feel like pioneers exploring new ground. We are lucky enough to have paved roads, and don’t have to ferry across the myriad of rivers, creeks, streams and marshes that we’ve seen everywhere we go.

Tonight we are spending the night in Hocking Hills country, a state park. We are looking for Locust Grove Cemetery, where several Cramblit and Dunkle family members are buried. Luckily one of the men working here at the campground knows where it is, because it’s an old, out of the way church and cemetery. It’s been raining for the past two days, but hopefully it will be more clear tomorrow, and we can look around the cemetery. I’d like to visit some of the caves here in the park, too.

Speaking of rain, I’m working on a unique corral that we can attach to the roof of the motorhome. I figure that when we leave this area, if I use that energy vortex from Niagara Falls that seems to be following me, (I keep getting turned around!) I can draw some of the clouds into the corral and since we drive so slow, we can trick them into following us home. So, expect some rain in AZ along the end of May. If you see a motorhome with a big black cloud above it, heading west, you’ll know it’s us!

We found the cemetery, and even though it wasn't raining while we were there, the grass was soaked, and within a few minutes so were we. We found the headstones for the Cramblits!! That was pretty neat to see, 2 couples, each with a large headstone or pillar to mark their last resting place. I went to the courthouse, and found more records there too. I'm pretty happy with the results of our research already, and we have another week in Ohio. Mom is being very patient with my obsession- at least we are looking for her family too, that helps peak her interest. I'm exhausted at the end of each day, but happy about the results. Oh, it's raining yet again, for the past couple hours. No wonder it's so green here, it rarely has pure, unadulterated sunshine. We're getting homesick for the great southwest!

Pennsylvania, Ohio OHMY

Yesterday we cruised down the highway along Lake Erie for many miles. We left Niagara Falls, of course we got turned around one more time before we could get away, but it was relatively painless. I tell ya, there's an energy vortex there, sucks you back in...

We dropped into western PA, after we stopped on the beach of Lake Erie. It was a nature preserve, and had a nice boardwalk out to the beach. It was a nice sandy beach, but it had a big pile of debris about 10 foot tall. It was hard to overlook, and as I walked by, I thought there was a lot of crud that had washed on shore. Then I looked closer, and realized there was snow under the dirt crust. 10 feet of snow on the beach! It had been scooped up into a big pile, dirt, leaves and all. That really brought home to me how cold it had been, and I had a flash of what the shore had looked like just a few weeks before. As I walked down to the water, I could see the far shoreline, and realized I was again looking at Canada across the water. It was pretty cool.

We spent the night somewhere in PA. I found a State Park on a lake, and we stopped there for a couple hours. The Canadian geese were flying north just overhead. A few landed on the lake, and we enjoyed watching them skimming the surface, honking at their friends. It was like they were calling for the rest to join them. I realized again how much I missed the geese and other birds flying over us in Colorado. It was a regular event, spring and fall, the geese would fly in formation as they moved back and forth across the continent. We lived a couple miles north of the Colorado river, and the geese would stop there as they traveled. When they started honking, often our geese would honk back, and look like they wanted to take off with the wild bunch.

Today we drove through Ohio Amish country. We drove into Walnut Creek, looking for a good restaurant and a place to park. We found a parking lot, adjacent to 3 horse-and-carriages, parked in their own spot. The grocery store had a place on the side of it that said "Carriage parking only", with horse poo splatted on the pavement as proof! An Amish couple climbed out of their carriage and walked down the street. I had my camera, but suddenly felt it would be invasive to take their picture without permission. I got a few shots of the horses, and once the couple were at the end of the driveway, facing away from me, I took a picture of the horses with them in the background. I bet it gets old to be the focus of all the tourists every day, but the people I met didn't seem to mind much.

We had lunch at an Amish restaurant, and pie; I had chocolate cream, Mom had strawberry, before we drove on down the road. We also found a cheese factory, where they use locally produced milk. It was all Amish-run, wonderfully organic cheese and other items. There were horse-drawn carriages running up and down the roads, squeezed against the side by all the cars and trucks whizzing by. I saw teens driving most of the time, seemingly unfazed by the masses of cars on the road. The farms are immaculate, with great big barns. We saw a man plowing a field with a draft horse, it was pretty cool.

Tonight we are in Zanesville, OH. Mom's getting an oil change at the local Ford dealer tomorrow, and I'm dragging her to the local library and maybe to the courthouse to check for records. My Grandma was a Cramblit, and her great-grandfather lived in this county for years, from 1830-1850's, so I want to see what kind of genealogy records I can find. I'm in full genealogy mode now, and hope to find some interesting things while we're here.