More Big News

Robert, Nicole and Lainey have big news. On Thursday they flew to Spokane to participate in the sonogram of the next Reid baby. A young lady named Jennifer is making it possible for the Reid's to expand their dreams of a bigger family and nurture an infant into adulthood. What a lucky fellow he is!

Grandma and Grandpa Davis are delighted to have another grandchild. This little boy is be named Beaux Davis Reid. And what would this news be without a sort of Kodak moment?



This is side view with legs out on each side. Equipment visible. Back in the olden day of the first ultrasounds - they all looked alike. I think the OB docs had a master that we all got. The first time I had sonogram was with Billy, 27 years ago.

My Little Bill

Twenty-seven years ago today, the 26th, my little Bill was born. At 9# 6oz. he wasn't really little, but he sure was special. Today he is all big, works for Nabors Oil Drilling and soon will have his own little treasure. He and his girlfriend, Dani, will become parents in early May. They may already be well aware their lives will never be the same. Grandma and Grandpa Davis wish them love and joy as they travel down this unique and special road.

Birthdays

September 19th was a double birthday. Carsten turned 16, Collin turned 4. Carsten didn't want any fanfare, so he went to the Velva/Harvey football game. The Aggies tromped on the Harvey Hornets, 20-7.

Collin had his birthday on the 20th at the International Inn. Two special fellows in my world.


Collin Lee at 4


Carsten at 16

Sunday Mornings

To get up and have the house, a.k.a. my world, to myself is a treat I strive for continuously and succeed at seldom. On Sunday morning a good cup of fresh coffee, the newspaper, and solitude - that is my church.

When eight o'clock rolls around I turn on the set, or switch from CNN, to CBS Sunday Morning. This is one of the best little shows on TV nowadays. None of the 45 second interview or findings stuff they flash at us during the week. Nice in depth stuff.

They do have short commentaries that are rather light and cute. Today was a snippet about everlasting TV tunes. Are there any now?? No, but back in the good old days we had:

Brady Bunch
Beverly Hillbillies
Green Acres
Addams Family
Gilligan's Island
Hey, Hey, We're the Monkeys
Jefferson's
All in the Family (I do a fair Edith)
Mary Tyler Moore
Andy of Mayberry (you must know how to whistle)

While we're on subject of TV, how exciting was the fall lineup of coming show in the new season? Back when we had three channels - CBS,NBC and ABC, it was such a decision as to what to watch. As my dementia blossoms I wonder how long it will be before I forget:

Saturday night was Lawrence Welk (I was most interested in what the Lennon Sisters were wearing)
Sunday - Lassie, Real McCoys, Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color and Bonanza.
Tuesday - Red Skelton
Wednesday Beverly Hillbillies
Thursday - Hazel

Evidently Mondays and Fridays were not too memorable. Or possibly on Mondays I needed to rest after that big Sunday line up.

Don't Give Up on Me!

Ten Reasons why I am not blogging.

1. Trip to Fargo to work on the house.

2. Hutch came and needed to put good china and dishes away.

3. Canning Tomatoes

4. Freezing Corn

5. Making Apple Juice

6. Printing the trip pictures (300).

7. Painting Lacy new/old bedroom set.

8. Making Beet Pickles

9. New Kitten - Lacy's New Kitten, excuse me!

10. Sheer laziness when not having a breakdown.

A Little Bit of Entertainment

It was soon time for a snack of sorts. We bought strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and smoked salmon that melted in your mouth like butter. We ate with our fingers and savored every bite and moment. The peripheral entertainment was, as they say, priceless.




The uniqueness of people amazes me. I wanted to know their stories. Are they where they want to be? Who have they left behind? Does someone ache or worry for them? Will they go back? Is there a place to go back to?

Tuesday August 12th

We all took off (minus Loren) for downtown Seattle. We took the Monorail from the Seattle Center down to Westlake Center We didn't do the Space Needle. Twenty smackaroo for a ride to the top, a little viewing and back down. For the eight of us that would be $200.00. That's four pair of shoes for me.



We then walked to Pike's Place Market. Lacy is behind Carsten and Robert is behind the camera.



The market was rather unbelievable for this North Dakota girl. A few years back I was at a workshop and we had a motivational segment on the Flying Fish. "If you love what you do, the rest falls into place - even selling fish." It has become semifamous over the years, the Flying Fish concept. Check out the flip video.



There were stands with bouquets for 5 and 7 bucks, vegetables and of course, fish.






I have decided to post this unfinished (the day) as I am struggling to get back to the computer. Garden stuff to be taken care of, work, and the everyday nightmares. Stay tuned.

Taking Care of the Mess

My handy dandy little Flip video was well used on the trip. Here is a little clip of Lainey eating. She is very tidy and prefers her tongue to a sleeve. I love the kisses I got during her supper.

Seattle Nights

Each night we'd arrived back at Nic and Robert's for good food, good drink and good talk. Loren and Deanna came over to join in the merriment. It was our first time meeting Loren. He and Deanna live in Everett.



Of course there were silly antics by all. Lacy had fun with Lainey's toy box supply



Crab for Supper







Carsten putting a necklace on Lainey, the Queen of the beads.



Grandpa feeding Lainey.




I'm sure you want to see the facial work up close.



Deanna is really ittsy, it is only an illusion that I look as big as a '56 Buick.

Monday August 11th

This was the day we headed for Deception Pass. Only after we had stopped at the Outlet Mall in, I think, Everett.

Deception Pass is a strait that flows between Whidbey Island and Fidalgo Island. It was as beautiful day to kick off the site seeing. After tromping around on the bridge we went down to the beach, looked for sea glass, stood in the icy water and commented on the beauty.





I am trying hard to put a link in for Deception Pass but I can't quite pull it off.
I have resurrected the Blogging for Dummies book. Still no luck.



This will have to be the explanation of Deception Pass, no Wikipedia just yet. Double click on the photo to read.





Time for a group shot.



Searching the shores for Sea Glass. I found one little bitty one. Nic found blue glass.





Cold Water!!







A little girl with a big life yet to live. Quiet moment in time.



Grandma and Grandpa.



Time to head back to the car and think about supper. Stay tuned for the evening of the 11th. I have to go to bed, work tomorrow.




P.S. Nic and her co-pilot (the one with the sippy cup) were great tour guides.

Vacation Time

Just when I thought we already have had enough adventure in our lives along comes the Seattle excursion. On Saturday, August 9th at 9:45 a.m. we left the peaceful Mouse River valley of unassuming North Dakota for a bucket of west coast family fun.

It took two days to go 1395 miles, with an overnight in Missoula, Montana. It almost didn't happen in Missoula, as there didn't seem to be any rooms at the inn. Finally, about 11:00 pm we scored at the Marriott. It was way too lovely for the likes of us.

After a good breakfast at Cracker Barrel we were on the road again. Coeur d'alene. Spokane, the Columbia River all with my camera clicking away.

We rolled into Lynnwood about 4:45 Pacific time, only after Ron and I had a ferocious screaming match to get to Nic and Robert's House. Their address is on a winding, curving road that even mapquest almost said, "tough shit you're on your own." When we hit their driveway the air was blue, the kids were speechless and I was right - I got us there!!

Lainey was sleeping so we had to wait for the hands on moment. It was worth it. She didn't think too much of us at first, but after awhile she must have thought we were keepers. Shrek head gear will do it every time.










Ron and his girls.



If I break this into bite size pieces, you just may get the trip relived before the year is out. Stay tuned...

Get With It!!

If I tell myself to "get with it" maybe things will get done with a little more expediance. I have to get the home movie/slide show version of the Seattle trip on the blog, the kids return to school today and now it's garden time. Too much to do and too little time. Bear with me and stay tuned.

Boycott Plastic, Is It Possible?

A young gal in Chicago, 28 year old Jeanne Haegele, has been on a strike against plastic. Accordingly to TIME magazine, July 21st issue, she is making a huge effort to cut plastic out of her life. Good luck lady.

No chemist am I, (sorry Mr. Dronen but you were pretty boring, henceforth not much stuck) but this article was informative enough to convince me: we are probably going to hell via a plastic hand basket. If we can get through the layers of plastic that are building up on the earth's surface and water.

Look up Great Pacific Garbage Patch on Wikipedia to further define the water and plastic issue. It will explain the swirling debris, about the size of Texas, afloat in the middle of the ocean.

In an effort to reduce this pile we should reuse plastic, right? Wrong - that isn't advised either. Reusing, by reheating or microwaving, releases chemicals that are harmful to humans. As plastics age in landfills they can release trace amounts of harmful ingredients: Phthalates (used to soften plastic-like the rubber ducky) bisphenol-a (used to strengthen plastics)and BPDE (used as a flame retardant). These then leach into the soil. Phtalates are potential endocrine disrupters,which can cause reproductive disorders. We should avoid any plastic sporting the numbers 3 or 7; vinyl shower curtains and canned foods, especially those with acidic content like tomatoes. The inside of tin cans are lined with a plastic to prevent e-coli and botulism. Gotcha.

Remember when mayonnaise and peanut butter came in glass jars? Milk bottles are not too old for my cranium either. How about Prell and Breck shampoo? Geez, I shudder at the thought of breakage in the tub, but I don't recall that ever happening. Simply put, glass has class. But that too has build up problems. At least I could reuse mayonnaise jars for canning.

Once upon another time, back in my farm wife days, I found an old thin clear glass bottle, maybe once holding vanilla or nectar. I like to think it was home to some exotic elixir - you know the kind that cured all. I found this while working "summer fallow," another practice gone by the wayside. I still have the bottle and have it filled with philodendron slips. The roots, visible through the clear glass, are the art of it all, in addition to the bottle - my treasured find. This doesn't sound too appealing, the philodendron root thing, in a green plastic Mountain Dew bottle.

Well back to this gal in the windy city. She has managed to carry on for about ten months near plastic free. She states she is still looking for shampoo that doesn't come in a plastic bottle, and a toothbrush without plastic. She does make her own toothpaste though from baking soda, cinnamon, and vodka.

Check out her blog, I have posted it under my favorite sites. It is interesting and you can read her TIME artilcle under the July 16th blog entry. Click on the blue highlighted entry: The Truth About Plastics!

Mini Pet Peeve

Maybe not even a mini, more like a full blown pet peeve but I have trouble with all the youngsters (a great word coined from my Grandma Snyder)and some oldsters who so impolitely pull out their cell phone every few minutes to check a text message. Then, to add more to the already tacky act, they text back. My question is: unless you are a president of a country or expecting an organ transplant can't the triviality of the message wait?? I have culled from inquiring conversations that most text messages are real heady stuff like, "What are you doing?" Which I am sure there is a special way to text the message, and when done it will look like a vanity license plate.

I have sat in the front row of a high school band concert and watched a mother text her son (who was out of school) during the performance. "He is always in touch with me, we're so close." (How puking cozy is that?) We had company the other day and during the visit he kept pulling out his BlackBerry to check. For what? He didn't seem to qualify as important enough to have his own red phone in my dining room. I had to remind my own daughter, from across the room, to put her cell phone away while at a jewelry party. Communication was made with the infamous imaginary throat slit. She rolled her eyes, but did put it away. My favorite was the ditsy mom who sat at the nail joint and repeatedly pulled out her phone with the free hand to "check" for messages. Her three year old was having a manicure at the same time. Go figure??

I refuse take on text messaging, my life is not that important, nor is anything that pertains to it, at least not until the needed liver transplant rolls around.

Summer is Half Over...

Now that the fourth is behind us, around here we say that summer is half over. The kids go back to school on the 21st of August so it is rather an accurate comment. We have been out of school since May 21st.

Back to the fourth, before it was half over, ours was low key. I worked and so did Ron; with his funky schedule that is not unusual. The kids managed to sport their own fun. Karlie worked and made time and a half, which made her sing. Carsten went to Strawberry Lake for two days and Lacy was around town. Which in Velva, a true small town, we have much Independence Day happenings, from a parade at 10:00 am to fireworks in the park at nightfall, and plenty in between.

Lacy had a really great fourth, especially when your only eleven. She slept out in a tent the night before with the girl across the street; went to the parade; hung out at the park; won $39.00 in the turtle races; then to Minot for the car races, and finally back to Velva for fireworks.

It was the $39.00 (at first I heard 50 bucks) that made for a special treat. Each year Velva has turtle races, which all the local kids go searching for - ahh, that would be the turtles. Some even more entrepreneurial minded kids see dollar signs and manage to get many turtles from the river that encircles the park. They are then sold for $3.00 a piece. This year there were 116 turtles entered.

Her little runner, which she named Lucy, took two 1st place events (heats) and the feature race was third place. Henceforth she came home with $39.00 skins. Had her little Lucy turtle taken first it would have had to be saved for the Turtle Lake (a town) races later in the month. The winner at Turtle Lake would then go on to some race in Canada. All I could say under my breath was "thank you, thank you, thank you!"

The next morning I asked Lacy what were her plans for the day? "Oh, I'm going to spend it with Lucy, after all she did for me, I owe her that much!" The gratitude lasted about 30 minutes. She hauled Lucy over to show the grand kids next door, and probably threw in some racing stories for impact. Back in the pail went Lucy and Lacy skipped off to other summertime fun.

Miss Lucy was returned to the wild that evening with her own harrowing racing tales to tell. Enjoy your summer. After all, it is half over.

Addendum: I had a still photo of Lucy, but it vanished ??? from my camera. I did have a flip video and put it to music, that was a first.

Summer Mornings

There isn't a whole lot of deep stuff in this post, except for how wonderful summer mornings are. I remember as a kid (before central air) how I loved the mornings. Outside my bedroom window were two mock orange bushes and when they bloomed my room was like a floating paradise, at least to me. Now in my all grown up life, I still treasure summer mornings. I love the long shadows, the morning doves cooing as they sit in the sparkling dew laden grass. This is the good life!

The Number One Cause...

For you Fargo folks another has crossed the bar. Mr. Crippen, the infamous typing teacher at Agassiz Jr. High and later Fargo South High, died on June 9th at age 89. I thought he was at least 80 when I had him in the late 60's. Hmmm, another one of those teacher aging tricks that only they seem to possess. Doing the math, in 1968 he would have been 50. Younger than you know who!

My treasured memories of Mr. Crippen were always, and I mean always, getting caught chewing gum,(no guns, just gum). I would hear that scratchy voice, "Snyder, get rid of the gum."

Now my brother, Tom, who upon hearing of his death belts out the well worn and remembered phrase of Mr. Crippen, "The number one cause of typewriter repair is eraser crumbs in the machine."

My how times have changed. Your lesson lives on with one South High grad who doesn't even own a typewriter anymore. Farewell Mr. Crippen.

Worn Out

In past twenty-five days I have worked too hard and played too little. Two trips to Fargo to work on the house; loading a twenty-six foot truck with my brother, (and the 82 year old guy from across the street) so he can take the furniture to Chicago; hauling home crap to clutter this house, and let's not forget all the everyday stuff everybody expects and looks for. I am ready for a breakdown, but I don't seem to have time. I am tired and worn without blogging energy. Forgive me, I hope to be up to snuff by the weekend.

Girls Gone Wilder

Last night was the kick off to ladies night at the local course. It is always a fun filled night, with plenty of libation to see us through, should the golfing go bad.

The happy little group was Suzy, Jill, Janyce and moi. I am always amazed at how much fun, laughter and beer we take in. If good belly laughter increases your lifespan we should live well over one hundred ( hunert, as they say around here) years but then again the intake of beer may knock off a few days or so, at least a few days!

Janyce was note worthy with her longest drive. We always like to have a champion in the group, as it seems to justify the noise we make.

We also have a new real brick (no huffing and puffing this one down) men's and women's toilets, but for the moment it doesn't have a roof - still under construction. What better photo op than three chipper girls peeking over the top. Ron likes to fly over on girls night to give us a wave. He could easily have a full plane of riders once word gets out of that no roof business.

Why I Never Get Anything Done

A quick laugh needed? Check out my favorite sites: INDEXED. Last night I was surfing around on the New York Times website and found Indexed. Click on any of the archived and you're bound to find something to hoot about.

At least I know why I never get anything done, which is more than I can say for some.