Memorial Day Weekend

What’s going on around here? Friday May 28th -- Monday May 31st

(Memorial Day Weekend)

Just for fun: Best laid Plans
Friday my calendar said I was meeting Carl in the morning and we were going to Boeing Field near the Flight Museum to go for a ride in a WWII B-17 bomber. Then we were to come back to my side of town and Carl was going to drop me off at a restaurant to meet up with a group (5 women) for a book club meeting at noon. The plan then was for me to walk the 2 1/2 miles home, for exercise. Then Bill and I were going to meet up with some friends for dinner and a visit.

This is how the day really went: Carl came over and it was pouring down rain. We called the scheduler of the B-17 and they had scrubbed the flight for the day, so we went out to breakfast. I had the meat lover’s omelet and Carl asked them to call 911 when they delivered my food. What I did really was divide that meal into thirds and put 2/3 in a to go box and had two more meals off of it. When he dropped me off at the house it was about 9:30. I laid down and didn’t wake up until my ‘backup’ alarm went off at 11:45. I combed my hair and went back to the same restaurant for lunch and the book club meeting. The first woman who showed up beside me was the person who had emailed that she wasn’t going to make it, so we changed to a larger table because the group just went from 4 to 5. When the third woman arrived she had just received a call from the other two. One of them was having pain in her chest and rapid heart rate and the other was taking her to the emergency room. (So now our table for 6 only had 3 people at it.) Good friends that we are….. We ordered lunch and then went to the emergency after that. If they think you are having a heart attack they do a couple of tests and then repeat them in two hours to see what has changed. The good news is she was not having a heart attack and we discussed the book a bit while we were with her. Our friend does have some problems but we are hoping they are not to severe and that she will be make to her old self soon. She and I had a good discussion about facing our mortality. I admit it has been on my mind a lot lately. Remember Bill and I were to meet friends for dinner at 5:30. We left the house at 4:50 for what is usually a 20 minute drive. Turns out there were so many people leaving Seattle to go east of the mountains looking for sunshine on the memorial day weekend that the traffic was horrible and then there was an accident near the mountain pass and it caused a 14 mile back-up. The usual 20 minute drive took almost an hour. I am glad our friends were patient.

Saturday: Carl was at the house at 7:15 and it was raining again. This time the scheduler said to come on over at about 9am so of course, we did. We waited around, got coffee and donuts (I can’t even remember the last time I ate a donut) and bought some stuff at the museum gift shop. At about 10:30 it was looking unchanged and Carl and I started talking about just asking for a refund and scrubbing the whole plan. Then at 11am the ‘officials’ came out and said: it’s a go and started the preflight on the plane. Who would have thought? You will see from the photos that the weather was minimal, but all I cared about was that the pilots could see to take off and land, for me this flight was about the plane and being in this plane, view was nice but not essential for me at all. I took a ‘million’ photos (80) and if anyone is interested in more than I put up just ask me and I will give you the full tour of Carl’s and my photos together. It was a great thing to do and think about on Memorial Day weekend. Just thinking that the men flying those planes were so young and vulnerable and dedicated to freedom, it is all pretty amazing.

Healing Process: What can I say: I am more tired than usual, I sleep a lot and get less done each day than I think I will do. I feel my mortality and I am amazingly touched by the people who reach out and care and often overly sensitive to the people who don’t bother. This healing thing is both physical and emotional. Hopefully when I get past this I will be a better friend and support to others who walk this path.

Sorting and Organizing was really Home Maintenance: Sunday we repaired and rebuilt one flower bed alongside ‘Bill’s playhouse’. I’m sorry I didn’t take a ‘before’ photo but the after shows what we did. This area did not have bricks before and there was a slope here. We have several bird feeders around and lots and lots of birds come to visit us. So this slopping area was a constant problem, the birds would peck around in the area and push all the bark off the black plastic that I put down to kill the weeds. Then all we had was ugly black plastic and bark pushed all over the patio. We are hoping this barrier of brick and ground cover will keep the dirt back, the birds can peck around all they want and all will be well with the world. I might add we did the entire project in the rain, including Bill mowing our grass and a friend’s grass, her lawn mower was broken and this was a ‘window of opportunity’. The weather report says we are going to have more steady rain for days to come.

What's Cooking?

Friday: date night
Saturday: leftovers from last night
Sunday: chicken chili, cilantro cole slaw, avocado salad
Monday: Steak & Salmon, Spinach Salad w/ peanut dressing and steamed broccoli
Tuesday: family dinner; Greek chicken, Greek gyro meat, Lemon & Spinach Rice, Greek salad, Greek Green Beans.
Wednesday: Turkey Enchilada casserole and Mexican rice
Thursday: Bill’s night out
Friday:  date night
What's on my needles: I am working like crazy on the Sasha skirt and I bought the tank top that I think I will wear with it. It is a Land’s end top in the same shade of grey as the third ruffle. I now have a goal. We have friends getting married on July 10 and I am hoping to have the skirt finished and wear it to their wedding. I have a lot of knitting yet to do.

And I started something new: I started a bib for baby Buckspan…. I found some cute patterns on Ravelry and went off and bought some new yarn….. I know…. not from the stash….. but I wanted solid colors and most of what might have worked from the stash was variegated, so what can I say.

What's off my needles: the lipstick vest is finished and sewed together and blocked, now I need to do the crochet finish work and put the buttons on. It is going to be a beautiful and functional vest for a long time, I hope.

Have I seen any good movies lately? We watched ‘Old Dogs’ and ‘The Ultimate Gift’ this weekend. They were both okay. Old Dogs made me laugh and the Ultimate Gift made me think. There were 12 gifts, I think that lead to the ultimate gift (a big load of money) but by the time he inherited the $$$ he was a different person. Actually in my state of mind it was a really good movie looking at what is really valuable in life. I give it a thumbs up and worth putting in the Netflix queue.

Grannies’ Diary: Bobbie Ann Maxwell 1945: For a few years now my grandmother’s (my mom’s mother) diaries have been sitting on a bookshelf above my desk. Now that others are reading this, I think I will take things from her diary and tell you what was happening at her farmhouse also. I have started with the first complete looking diary and the year is 1945. I am telling her story, in her words as best I can.


May 28th Monday – Well the Bill called Chy from El Paso hospital wanting her to come just as soon as she can get there. Lovie called me after dinner she had a letter from Son and he was O.K. don’t see why he doesn’t write to us. Hilly, Lovie and Nancy came by tonite and brought a melon, but it wasn’t good. They ate supper with us. The chipper and I took a buggy ride and met Hilly and Lovie coming in at the fork in the road. Lovie got out and took the Chipper. Lovie said Margie had her baby, a little 8 lb. girl. Now Donnie has a baby sister to play with. Well I have had the stomach ache some but will be O.K.


May 29th Tuesday – Chy packed her things today and will be leaving tomorrow. Elsie, Lovie, Nancy and I will go as far as Eastland and she will take the train from there and get into El Paso at 8pm. Sure hate to see her and the Chipper go but still I am happy for they are going to Bill. I was going but Lovie promised if Bill doesn’t get to come by the end of the month we will go to see him. The Bowden’s all came to tell Chy and Chipper goodbye. Hilly and Lovie came by and ate supper. I have some more turkeys hatching tomorrow. Nancy was a sweet girl today as she always is, She washed her hair, I got my things ready to go with Chy but Lovie talked me out of going, that we would go later.


May 30th Wednesday – We took Chy to Eastland today to catch the train from there to El Paso. The Chipper was so sweet all the way over there and Nancy cried so hard when we told them goodbye. We had a pretty nice time going over there, Elsie, Lovie, Nancy and I all went along. Elsie was so tired when we all got back to San Saba. Lovie, Nancy and I got in here about 9:30. Chy was to get into El Paso at 8:30.


May 31st Thursday – Well the stuff got here today to Chy from Bill, sent while he was in Germany and the box was busted into and had been tied together with a wool string. The things in it were a sight to the world more fine silver than I ever saw in my life. I am repacking the stuff in a paste board box to send it on to New Mexico for I know Chy wants to see it. I called Hilly and Lovie and Nancy to come see it, guess the Bowden’s heard me (note: they were on a party line) for while Hilly, Lovie and Nancy, Dad and I were looking at the things here came Mr and Mrs. Bowden but we skittered around and got the things hid before they got in the house, the old nosey Jackasses. Chy had a letter from her mother and a card from the war department saying her husband had been sent to the U.S.A.