Independence Day 2009

Well, July 4th has come and gone. I still can't believe it is already July. Where does the time go????

We usually have plans for the long weekend, but for some reason this year we decided not to really go away for the weekend. Luckily, I had Friday the 3rd off as our paid Holiday. I conned Craig into taking me out and doing some of my errands. I wanted to go out to the Cherry Orchards and get some fresh bing cherries and then we decided to go to a garage sale. By the time, we did that and a few other things it was getting really warm outside and we had left in our 34 Plymouth Roadster (which is a convertible of sorts). Some people think riding around in a convertible is really great, but on a hot day, you basically just bake inside it. We went home and cooled off and did a few things that needed done and went for our usual walk.

Saturday morning we got up and got ready and I loaded up a light snack and drinks in the Roadster and we headed to Woahink Lake, which is at the coast near Florence. Craig's brother, Russ, and his wife, Bev had rented a house on the lake and we were invited to come over and visit. We put in heavy coats, because we weren't sure what time we would return back to Roseburg. Let me tell you by the time we actually hit the coast, I was cold and the temperature had dropped about 25 degrees. We pulled over outside of Reedsport and put on our coats. After finding the place where Craig's brother was, we sat on the deck and visited. Our daughter, Becky, was camped up the coast a little ways and had came down to meet us and wake board. Russ and Bev have a really nice boat and the place they rented had it's own dock.


A little later in the afternoon Craig, Bev, Becky and Russ all went out in the boat so Russ and Becky could wakeboard. I decided to sit in the sun and enjoy the quiet time.

Upon returning from wakeboarding, Craig and I decided we had better hit the road for home. The fog had moved in and it was getting colder by the minute. We crawled in the car and headed down the coast. After stopping for a quick dinner at Taco Bell, we headed inland. We weren't off the coast very far when the heat wave hit again and the coats came off.

So, another 2009 Holiday gone and am already looking forward to our next one.

Fears

Where do our fears originate from? Have you ever wondered what frightens you and why? I hate to be frightened and won't even go to a Haunted House at Halloween.

One of my biggest fears are SNAKES. Anyway as early as I can remember, I have never liked snakes. I come from a long line of "snake haters". My grandmother, mom, aunts and I'm sure others never liked snakes and I'm sure that is where it was instilled in me.

I used to visit my Grandma Pierce in Gold Beach a lot. My grandparents had a big yard and it always seemed to have snakes there. If I ever saw a snake I would avoid that area like the plague. Someone told me one time that if you stomp your feet it will frighten them away. So, like a crazy person, I would stand and stomp my feet and then walk through some tall grass. I will do almost anything to keep from being around a snake.

There are some funny stories in my childhood about snakes. One in particular happened in Gold Beach while visiting my grandparents, my grandma and a girl next door, Paula, and myself were out in the yard and grandma was pulling weeds. We were all on our knees and a snake slithers by, us girls jumped back. Grandma started telling us how good snakes were, because they eat bugs, etc. etc. and all the time she was still pulling weeds. Somehow she got hold of that snake in a handful of weeds and pulled it out and saw it and jumped up and screamed and threw the fistful of weeds down and ran for the house with two little girls on her heels. She got inside the house and slammed the door and leaned against it and then I guess she realized what that looked like and just started laughing. I will never forget that story.

OK, where am I going with this story. The other night I was in my big pond cleaning it out. I had lifted out the rocks and put on the side and was scrubbing it all up. I had been in and out of the pond getting things several times. Finally, I got it to a point that I was going to put the rocks I had taken out back in, so I was reaching up and getting them. My pond is a one piece unit that has been dug down and set in, then I have some flat rocks around the edges. I was bending over those flat rocks picking up the round rocks and putting carefully back into the pond on about my third trip for rocks I looked down and there was a little triangle spot between the flat rocks and there was a snake laying in against the pond edge. I freaked and jumped out of the pond and was very mad, because I was so close to being done. I was even crying a little because I let this fear upset me so badly. Now, I can't go near that area, because I don't know where that stupid snake is.

When Craig got home last night I asked him to move some rocks and look for the snake, but the little slithering sob was not there. Ok, so I did what all good snake haters do, I went to the Internet and found a type of "snake catcher" box that the snake will crawl in and supposedly get stuck to the bottom by some glue. You can then release the snake in another area. Right, that is going to happen!!!! I also found some type of powder that is suppose to repel snakes. I told Craig that I bought it in about a 50 lb bag and plan on sprinkling some around the entire perimeter of our property. But, of course, if there are snakes already on the property, they would never leave. This leaves me a dilemna, where to sprinkle?

Will I ever go back to my pond area? That will be hard to say, but I will tell you I am still totally frightened of snakes and probably always will be. I don't know of any fix other than to be blind and then I couldn't see them.

Jefferson State Street Rod Run

Craig and I have attended the Jefferson State Street Rod Run for about 20+ years and so weren't about to miss it this year. What is a "Rod Run" you ask yourself? Well, simply put it is a weekend event that is usually put on by a local car club. They find an appropriate spot that will host their guests both who want to camp and who might wish to stay in a motal. Then they charge a set fee per vehicle and entertain and feed you for the weekend. Of course, there are alots of people we have gotten to know over the years and only see during the summer.

This particular run is really getting smaller. Most of the people who do this type of car events are about 10 to 15 years old than we are. Every time we show up at a new event for the summer we hear about all the people we have known that passed away during the off car season.

The picture above is our 1940 Ford 2 door Sedan and our tent trailer that we towed to this event. Craig and I have owned this car for about 20 years and it has taken on many transformations. Craig is always changing things and maintaining his many different cars. A few years ago he put air conditioning in this car and it makes it so much nicer to travel in. With it being "chopped" there is very little air flow through the car, so it gets really warm in there very quickly. This is the first time we have taken this particular car to this run in many years. People there remembered the car, but had forgotten about it.

Craig picked me up at work in Riddle on Friday evening and we headed down to Medford. After arriving at the campground and going in to register and was told by the woman behind the counter that there were no camping spots availabe. This is unheard of at this type of event. Now, remember we paid for this event about 4 months ago and got a confirmation number. The fee did not include camping, but that was usually collected at the event. She then tells us that she might be able to put us out in the over flow area with no power or water. I was very tired and told her I was not going to stay on a hot weekend in the dust with no power to even run a fan. After a few words, we walked out and found a "club" member and told her the situation. We then were able to find some friends of ours that had a large spot and graciously offered to share with us. Craig proceeded to tell me that I had been rude, so I felt kind of bad. The next morning we went up and gave the RV Park Host our $60.00 for two nights and I actually apologized for being a little irritated with her and asked her to forgive me, she was after all only doing her job. She was very gracious and I left there feeling better about myself.

The next morning we got up to a breakfast of donuts, juice, milk & coffee. Unfortunately, I woke up with a headache and popped a couple of aspirins and was hoping that would help. We left for the "poker run" around 10 am. Again, what is a poker run? The club outlines a driving course from one spot to another and at each spot you draw a playing card and is written down. To win, you must have the highest poker hand at the end. This particular run took us on an 85 mile round trip drive up in the wilderness (paved roads only). We went to several lakes I had never ever heard of like Howard Prairie Lake & Hyatt Lake. When we arrived at the stop at Hyatt Lake, the club had lunch there. Oh, and by the way, my headache had not eased at all. The following pictures were taken at Hyatt Lake.


Well, our luck at drawing winning cards was bad as usual. By the time we got back to camp I really felt bad and told Craig I was going to take something a little stronger and go lay down for awhile. I went in the tent trailer and set up a couple of fans and put in ear plugs and went to sleep. Only to wake about an hour later drenched in sweat, because it was about 98 degrees outside and I'm sure way hotter than that in the trailer. But, I did feel much better.

That evening we had a great dinner of either BBQ steak or ground round and lots of homemade salads, etc. This club is well known also for their great deserts. After we got full from dinner, we went for a couple mile walk. After sitting around and "telling lies" as Craig puts it, it was time for bed.

We got up early on Sunday and started tearing the trailer down. We had made plans to meet our daughter, Becky, and son-in-law, Dan, at Seven Feathers Casino and have brunch. After brunch we headed home to do our usual unloading and cleaning up. The weekend was uneventful and really nice to get away and see some of our friends. Now just wait until the next trip.

Father's Day

Last Sunday, as many of you know, was Father's Day. How do you celebrate Father's Day without a father? My dad and Craig's dad passed away several years ago, so Father's Day now takes on a whole different meaning. Yes, Craig is the father of my child, but it really isn't the same. This particular holiday is always hard for me. It really was my dad's day.

Now in thinking about it, I wish I had spent more time and effort on those special days. My dad and I had an on and off relationship through the years, so I didn't always pay him the attention I should have. It's always easy to blame the other person for this, but now in retrospect I should have been better about spending time with him. He was always so tied up in making a living, that I expected a lot from him and he wouldn't or couldn't give as much as what I needed. However, once I could accept him for who he was and what type of father he would be, it was much better for me.

One of the saddest things ever was at my dad's memorial service, one of his very good friends and ex-employee told Craig that he didn't even know Gordon had any sons. I guess it was never important enough for my dad to talk about his boys. Fortunately, for my brothers they never knew this. My brother, Bryan, was only 5 when dad left and he never really grew up with him at all. Dad never made the effort to be a dad and spend time with Bryan. Most of Bryan's male influences was from my husband and my sister, Deb's, husband. The last several years before dad died he did spend more time with his sons. They went hunting and rock hounding together quite a bit and the boys loved that time with him and have wonderful memories.

I can't even recall any funny fathers day memories to relay. The hardest part of losing your parents is the things you didn't get to share. He wasn't there for my daughter's college graduation, her wedding, a ride in my Corvette and especially the Sunday night calls he made to me. Regrets are horrible and I have many, but have learned through the years to just try harder with the time I have on this earth.

My final words from my dad were "I love you, too". Of course, at that time I didn't know those would be the last words he would ever say to me. Telling the people you love is so important, because you never know when that may be the last thing they hear from you.

I hope those of you that still have your dad with you, that you appreciate that and try and over look any ill will you may harbor and just enjoy the time you have.

DE JA VU

I decided to take on a project. I bought a really nice scanner that scans negatives and am trying to eliminate all the negatives I have by scanning them and saving as pictures on disks. I am also scanning old pictures and saving them. It was kind of comical at first, because I did some and saved them. It was of how trip to Dallas Texas in 2001 and was showing Craig, I realized I had scanned them all backwards, so all the writing was backwards. Oops!!

Now, anybody that knows me knows that I love organization and am always organizing something. I started scrapbooking many years ago and have many scrapbooks full of pictures. I even took apart many old photo albums and used the pictures in my scrapping. I love to scrapbook, but never feel I am organized enough. I have tons and tons of paper, embellishments and everything else a good scrapper needs. I have tried all kinds of ways to organize all of this and once I feel I get some of it organized, I hate to use it and get it all unorganized. Do you think I am sick or what?

Anyway, in scanning all of these negatives (and I have saved every single negative I ever had) and the old pictures, I am finding myself remembering many of these events that I captured on pictures. How nice to have all of these memories to share? The first picture is of me to his left and my sister, Deb. The other picture is my mom and me at 3 1/2 months old.

I mainly have started this project to organize my pictures and save on disks and put in a fire proof safe for the future and the other was so someday when my daughter or her kids are looking through old pictures they would know who some of these people are. My mom got really sick in 2001 and I confiscated all her pictures and organized them. When she got better I asked her about pictures and memories that I didn’t know. In going through my mom’s pictures, it was so nice to be able to know who some of the people were. I even made a nice scrapbook with all these pictures in it. I even did this for Craig’s family. It was a lot of work, but well worth it.

All these memories have come flooding back and some were really wonderful and some make me really sad. I see a lot of faces that aren’t with us any longer, but again how nice to have the pictures to help remember them.

Doing this type of a project is a lot of work, but for those of you who don’t keep their pictures organized, I suggest that you start some kind of a project and do it. Your family will appreciate it!!!!

Why Can’t Things Stay the Same!!!!

A few months ago, I had some feelings that I had internalized. In trying to express those feelings, they always came out in anger. I shed a lot of tears and Craig being the type of person who meets things head on, just informed me that “Things Just don’t stay the same”. Why, I ask myself must that be! Of course, I realize that there are certain things that must change or else you would never have progress and maturity.

We have had so much death in our family over the last several years and those people are gone for good. When you reach for the phone to call your mom to tell her something you just know she would want to hear, you realize “Oops, that won’t work!” Of course, she hears it anyway, but it just doesn’t seem to be the same. Recently I found out that my very favorite Aunt is dying of cancer. This was one more unhappy blow.

My aunt was 12 years old when I was born. She was always my beautiful, fun, popular aunt and always treated me and my sister so great. She married and moved to LA and would fly my sister and I down to her house and take us to Disneyland and buy us nice things to wear. That isn’t the only reason I loved her. She is a very special person. Of course, she had a lot of her own crosses to bear and went through several bad marriages. She finally met the love of her live and spent many years with him until he died of Parkinson related complications many years back. She completed changed at that time and became somewhat of a “hermit” and let herself go a little. But, she was always my beautiful “Aunt Mary”. I flew down to Palm Desert several times to spend time with her and kept in touch with letters and phone calls.

I regress, so back to my original reason for writing the blog. I never have understood why people who are your friends and good friends for many years and then all of a sudden just disappear from your life. There are certain situations right now that I am referring to as “the beginning of the end”, meaning of our friendship. Many of our friends, which I would never want to name names have never included us in with their other friends. Being me I take it really personal. “What do we do that makes people not want us around their other friends?” or “Why can’t we be included?” or “Why don’t we have more close friends?”

Craig gets so irritated with me, because we have tried the “let’s make friends” trip and it was disastrous, but I still always feel it would be nice to have a couple that we had a lot in common with to go have fun with. I have resigned that at our age that is not going to happen. Craig is really my best friend and we have a good time together sharing our life. However, everything you read suggests being healthier you need to have good friends to share things with. I’m not really sure why that is, but they seem to think it makes you more rounded.

Wow! Where has 37 years gone

May 12th was Craig and my 37 year wedding anniversary. I can't believe we have been married 37 years. Where did that fresh face 17 year old go? Our life together has really grown over the years. I personally went from infatuation, companionship, and love to now Craig being my "best friend". There is no real secret to being married as long as we have been. It has taken a lot of hard work and perceverance, but you also have to have a good base and partner to be able to stick it out through the tough times as well as the good times.

I think marriage has been the hardest job I have ever taken. Even raising my child wasn't as hard of work. You would think after 37 years that it would be super easy by now, NOT TRUE. Craig and I are very independent, hard-headed people and have never learned "to agree to disagree". I personally feel that if I argued long and hard enough with him, I just might change his mind. That is not true.

Our life together has been good. We raised a wonderful daughter, Becky. She has turned out to be a really great adult and is married and living in Eugene. Her husband, Dan, is everything we could of wished for. They seem to be really compatable and have a lot of fun together. Still no grandkids, but that will come when they are ready.