Small Happy Surprises...Post Views....14,028

     Monday was a day of small almost unrecognized happy surprises.  After a weekend of steady rain, the sun was out most of the day and the air was warm.  I had a post extraction check up and found out the white hunk protruding in my gum was a slice of tooth fragment, which the dentist easily pull out.  I finished with the antibiotics.  When I stopped at the bank which I hadn't been to for over 3 months one of the tellers called me by my first name. (Someone remembered me!). Shortly after, I recognized 2 ladies from the park at the store I went to.  I received 2 phone calls confirming to new piano students.  Later in the afternoon I went for a walk, the first since the dental ordeal.  Ah.....life was sweet and good that day.    
      It's been a week since the molar extraction.  I didn't expect it to have such an impact on me.  A week of recovery.  Feels like a huge crater in my gum. Hopefully, though, I will generally feel better now that it is out.  
      Saturday I was still enduring the effects. A few weeks earlier I had committed to playing keyboard for Sunday services of the new small church I've started attending.  I didn't think I would that particular morning.  But the pastor had sent a song list to me and I thought I should at least try. ( I was eager to go someplace after being home for 5 days.)  And try I did, though feeling rather weak. As the morning went on I regained some strength.  I was glad to have gotten back into life.....even more glad to be privileged to  play for the services.
      For the afternoon?  Well, a 2 hour nap, of course.  And then TV.
      Tuesday the rain returned in full force for all of the day.  A great day to stay snuggled inside and fire up the artificial fire in the fireplace. Time to sort through tons of  church music sheets I brought along from Wisconsin and to organize the ones I like with the new ones that I learned out here. Now there is an orderly folder of available music I can play.....Yeah!....

         Life here has turned a corner for me.  Most of the basic transitions have been accomplished.  Now I need to look for meaningful involvement which includes an income.  Guess some people would call that a job.  Oh Ya....   My main focus is to advertise to build up piano student clients.  I'm not fond of the idea of actually getting a job at a store.  There are a few other options, but time, circumstance and energy levels will dictate what will work out.  This is a rather strange awareness.  I need to identify who I am for the next 10-15 years.  Some folks refer to this as an identity crisis.  That is exactly correct. 

     This has been a good 3 "small happy surprises" days in the life of Grandma G.

     "A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit."  (Proverbs 15:13) 
          

Happy 102nd B-day, Grandma Rose!!!!.....Post Views, 13,973

September 4, 2014 

Rose's 100th B-day party, Oct 25, 2012

(from the back)

Gerry, Bill, Louie,

Angie, Burt,

Grandma Rose, Debbie, Chuck, Al

      I met Rose 50 years ago when I met Louie.  She taught me the difference between picking rhubarb and a weed that has the same shaped leaf as rhubarb.  OOPS.  She also taught me how to make dumplings and pork gravy. (Though as the years went on Lou would claim MY dumplings were better than his mom's. Hmmm....maybe he wanted to make sure I would keep on cooking them.)  Grandma Rose was there with all our babies and emergencies.  She had words of wisdom for our kids when they misbehaved....like..."I'll drive you into the snowbank if you aren't good".  It worked in the winter when there were deep snowbanks and just as well in the summer when there were no snowbanks.  

     I was able to visit with her in early September while in Park Falls with my Indianapolis siblings.  Her mind is still good, though her body gives her grief.  

     Her family had big party plans for her today.  Five of her children there there.  Lou was not and was OK with that.  

HAPPY 102nd B-DAY, GRANDMA ROSE!!!

_____________________________

      Back here in Vancouver we are having a wet, VERY windy day.  Warm, though.  

       And starting out with a 

"sun break" as they are called

before all the rain moved in again

A good day to stay snuggled inside doing the laundry and dishes, working on the computer, practicing piano and eating meatloaf and mashed potatoes....chewing on the left side of my mouth.   

And indulging in these.....

What are they?

Key Lime yogurt mini pies.....

Yum! A Grandma G invention...

Great way to have your key lime pie and eat your yogurt too....

Cool??  Clever??  Cozy??

OH, Yah!!

    

     Today is Saturday which means.....NO  TV.   What a great way to have a great day.   Surprisingly I observe this rule very well.

But yesterday?   Well....overdosed on all afternoon Star Trek and evening of 2 Turner Classic movies.   That's alright, cause I am still in dental recovery mode and rain forest rain was raining all day. 

    This has been a good 2 "dental recovery" days in the life of Grandma G.  

    "Gray hair is a crown of splendor; it is attained by a righteous life."  

(Proverbs 16:31)

Tornado Time in the PNW.......Post Views.....13,962

     It's a rare occurrence but it happened.....a tornado in Longview, WA....a city about 40 miles north of here.    
     

Pretty unusual to see tornadoes in the Pacific Northwest. Take a look at this...

Tornado does damage in Washington state

LONGVIEW, Wash. (AP) — Forecasters say a tornado has ripped down power lines and damaged property in Washington state. The National Weather Service says the tornado hit the southwest Washington city of Longview on Thursday...

10tv.com

Tornado causes severe damage in Longview, Wash. Thursday afternoon and the weather continues to be unstable, authorities warn.

    I don't know what time this afternoon, but I remember looking outside about 3PM, thinking about going for a walk in between downpours.  The sky was as black as can be to the north.  Don't know if that is what was happening, but it could be.  
   Tornadoes are as common here as is subzero weather.  That occupied the news channels the rest of the day.  Fortunately no one was hurt.  
   Researching such events happening here I found out that 42 years ago a severe tornado demolished a school and other buildings, killing 6 people and injuring 300.
    More recently, 6 years ago, a mild one hit.  One newspaper headlined, "Man in Porta Potty Knocked Over by a Tornado".
Oh My.  Up till now my only porta potty fear was being caught in one during an earthquake.  Yikes!  More to worry about..... 

     Actually I am enjoying a few "post worry" days.  Tuesday was MY big event.  The extraction of a very large back lower molar.  I didn't feel any pain after 5 or 6 shots of freezing, but a lot of pressure and reefing of my jaw.  It probably wouldn't have been so bad except that one root was twisted around the jaw bone.  (It didn't help either that in the room next to me a fellow was having 6 teeth extracted and he couldn't settle down until they gave him the "happy gas" and the rooms are not sound proof.)


You want me to WHAT?





                Open HOW WIDE?


     I had been postponing this event for over a year and a half, but the excuses finally ran out.  It feels like there is a grand canyon of the gums in my mouth.  One perk is "relaxing" now for a few days, well maybe, several.  Loafing around is another way of saying it....like sleeping 11 hours the past 2 nights.  Anyway, with torrential downpours and the threat of being caught in a porta potty these days, who wants to be out and about?

               
                      AHHHHHH.......
                         chewy, yummy 
                   dark chocolate brownies
                   to speed recovery.....Yah......


_____________________________________

       Not all attention is to misery....
     
 
Bentley's (Millers' pet) cheer leading outfit for  Halloween

     Jake's last flag football game.  Also one of the last really warm sunny days of the season...

Colors of the Pacific Northwest








Grandma G original digital photo books completed.....
one remembers 4 months ago
one remembers 1&1/2 year ago
one remembers 3 years ago....
somethings just can't be rushed into.....
Speaking of which....
I was in a hurry to get these done by a certain date because they were half price and free shipping on the website.  Also I would receive the needed flying miles to obtain enough for a free ticket through the airline mall site. This was the day of the Columbia River cruise 2 weeks ago.  I had it figured out so I could arrive home that evening and still order out the albums by 11:59PM PDT.  That I did, with 15 minutes left over.   Only.....not until the next day did I realize I DID NOT order them through the airline mall site.....bummer.  No extra flying miles.... 

   HOWEVER.....a week ago the airline mall site offered a deal of 500 extra miles if one spends $100 by Oct. 23.  Yay!  Only what can I justify spending that money on?   I need a new swimsuit...only I am very specific on what I want and how much to spend.   Also need (or at least want) a nice pair of leather winter boots.  Solution.
One pair of leather boots from one store (the day before they offered 10 miles for every $1 spent...this day it was only 2 miles. Hard to play the system.)  AND....5 clearance swimsuits (one doesn't know which one will be just right) from another store. Now to wait to find out if all this internet shopping will send items that fit and be kept or if all will be returned and NO flying miles be gained.
It's a hard life but someone has to live it......

    This has been a good 3 "dental trauma" days in the life of Grandma G.

    "I have set the Lord always before me.  Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.  Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure."  (Psalms 15:8&9) 

So Much Little Stuff.....Post Views....13,893

     One Big Fun Day is easier on me than several days of lots of little stuff....

    I know, or I should know, that lots of little stuff is what most of life is about, but a big, fun day is....well.... much more fun.....

    Since those have run out for awhile, it is time to focus, at least try to focus, on routine daily life.  Here is some catch-up stuff...

A couple weeks ago I took Ted for his first emissions test.  Ted is my little white SUV.  It was time to renew license plate tabs, but here in Washington Ted has to meet certain non-pollution levels and has to be checked every other year.  I didn't know what to expect since this is new to me.  It was a good experience since the day was sunny and warm.  The drive and area of the WA State Dept of Licensing is totally Pacific Northwest with tall trees and parkish atmosphere.   The test was quick and only $15.  

That was followed a few days later with $48 for tab renewal.   Shortly before this Ted was also treated to new breaks and rotors...He is all conditioned for another 50,000 miles.  Which will bring us to 160,000 miles, if Ted's owner and driver lasts that long....

       ______________________________

     A little story about tweezers, since this is about much little stuff.  (Tweezers are little stuff.)  The morning of the big fun day of the Columbia River cruise I unintentionally plopped a small round mirror and tweezers into my purse.  When I got to the senior center I took those items and put them on the seat of my vehicle (Ted).  Upon returning home after dark that evening I went to take them out of the truck and into the house with me.  I immediately picked up the mirror, but the tweezers were no where to be found.  

     In the house I dug through my purse several time and then a few times again, checked all my pockets, went out and looked through the SUV, but no tweezers.  The next morning I went through the process all over again and also checked the ground. (I am quite attached to those tweezers.) Finally I resigned myself to no tweezers and planned a shopping trip to obtain a new one.  

    Later that day I was in my vehicle to go somewhere....probably to the store to buy new tweezers.  I felt a jab to my right wrist...something rigid and sharp was poking me as I drove.  What could be in my jean jacket cuff that was so annoying?.......It was....It was.....It was..... my tweezers......

It felt so good to be reunited..... 

 

THE GREAT TOTALLY INSIGNIFICANT

EXPERIMENT......I had heard that one can freeze half and half and it would be usable when thawed out.....this experiment of freezing H & H proved that hearsay true.....   Now this experiment is NOT totally in significant to me.  H & H is equal in importance to me as the air one breathes.  Yorkshire Gold tea with raw brown sugar is not complete without H & H.  Grandma G's life is not complete without that little cup of hot pleasure.  Often, though, the H & H  goes sour later in the week and before I can get to the store to buy fresh.  Since it can be froze for safekeeping and emergency use, Grandma G has a renewed sense of teatime security..... Oh, Yah.    

Those are not bug droppings on my windshield......they are one of several noisy flocks of geese migrating to wherever they settle in for the winter.  I think they come down from Alaska.  Some stay the winter in the wetlands behind our park.  Fun to watch and hear.    

     Enough little stuff for tonight.  Tomorrow I part with a longtime buddy of mine of almost 55 years and countless steak dinners.   A faithful gold crowned lower back molar is being extracted......it's going to hurt me more than her....sorry to see (feel) her go, but she isn't so stable anymore......

    You all come back to read about more much little stuff.....

    This has been a good 5 "much little stuff " days in the life of Grandma G..

    "A wise man's heart guides his mouth, and his lips promote instruction."  (Proverbs 16: 23) 

Columbia River Cruise....Part 3.....Post Views.....13,821

     

  Today is the first major rain of the fall season here in Vancouver, WA.  While it is wet and blustery outside, I am inside thinking about and relishing my "day trip of the year" which took place last Wednesday at this time.  

       There is something restorative to me to be on the water. (I'm sure I wouldn't feel that way in the middle of a full blown storm at sea.)  But calm waters sooth my soul.  Even a bit turbulent waters stir something deep inside of me.  

       Since the Columbia River is central to life here in the Pacific Northwest I am eager to learn and experience a little more about it.

Columbia River

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Coordinates: 46°14′39″N 124°3′29″W

Columbia River
Bonneville Dam, in the Columbia River Gorge
Name origin: Captain Robert Gray's ship, Columbia Rediviva
Nickname: Big River, the River of the West, River Oregon[1]
Columbia River drainage basin
Wikimedia Commons: Columbia River

The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America.^[9] The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada. It flows northwest and then south into the US state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state of Oregon before emptying into the Pacific Ocean. The river is 1,243 miles (2,000 km) long, and its largest tributary is the Snake River. Its drainage basin is roughly the size of France and extends into seven U.S. states and a Canadian province.

By volume, the Columbia is the fourth-largest river in the United States; it has the greatest flow of any North American river draining into the Pacific. The river's heavy flow and its relatively steep gradient gives it tremendous potential for the generation of electricity. The 14 hydroelectric dams on the Columbia's main stem and many more on its tributaries produce more hydroelectric power than those of any other North American river.

The Columbia and its tributaries have been central to the region's culture and economy for thousands of years. They have been used for transportation since ancient times, linking the many cultural groups of the region. The river system hosts many species of anadromous fish, which migrate between freshwater habitats and the saline Pacific Ocean. These fish—especially the salmon species—provided the core subsistence for natives; in past centuries, traders from across western North America traveled to the Columbia to trade for fish.

The 100 mile, 8 hour  cruise route on the Portland Spirit.....

Observe that the Columbia River is the border between 

Oregon and Washington....

As we cruised, Oregon was to our left and Washington to our right.....(unless one was sitting backwards and then one has to refigure opposite and where one has been instead of where one is going....actually this WAS the case as this one stood in the back...stern.. of the boat and watched where she had just past) 

Enjoy the photos.....

Passengers enjoying the viewing deck and afternoon sun....

Approaching Astoria Bridge.....













Dredging operations

sand bar from dredging...it is done to keep the water from becoming too shallow for the vessels to safely pass through 

low clouds rolling in

Ships waiting for pilot boats to take them through the bar into the Pacific Ocean....

The full length of the Astoria bridge is over 4 miles...it follows the surface of the river all the way to the right......

Arriving in the Port of Astoria....

This has been a great, successful, enjoyable 8 hour cruise on the ......

 The Portland Spirit with Astoria Bridge in the background.....

Boarding the first of 6 buses for the 2 hour ride back to Portland..

Arriving at the Vancouver senior center at 8 PM with the evening almost full moon.....
(Same moon that lit my way at 6:30 AM on the way to the senior center)




  

This has been a good "again, recalling the Columbia river cruise" day in the life of Grandma G.

  "Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city." (Revelation 22:1 & 2)

Columbia River Cruise....Part 2....Post Views....13,811

      The river trip from Portland to Astoria took 8 hours....
Lots of time for sightseeing and eating.....
I asked one of the attendants if they stay overnight in Astoria and cruise back up river the next day.  He said most of the workers return to Portland on the same buses we do.  A small crew stays on board, turns the boat around and cruises back right away.....going in with the tide. The trip takes 10 hours.....

A hawk following the boat....

Ash banks from Mt. St. Helen's eruption in 1980

House on the Edge....

Boats, Barges, Ships......Oh, My....

 A pilot ship that guides the tankers through the mouth of the Columbia and into the Pacific.....
where the two meet is dubbed....
"The Graveyard of the Pacific" because of the turbulent waves and many ship wrecks....

Local fishermen

Fellow taking the picture grew up in Stevens Point,WI.....a city 100 miles south of Park Falls.....

 Loading Grain.....

    This has been a good "recalling the Columbia River cruise" day in the life of Grandma G.

    "Others went out on the sea in ships, they were merchants on the mighty waters.  They saw the works of the Lord, his wonderful deeds in the deep."  
(Psalms 107: 23 & 24)