I can see clearly now, the rain has gone.....yeah right!

Y'all must be wondering what the heck is going on here.
Well, nothing much *LOL*

After three blessedly quiet days, even though I was not feeling well, but it was nice to have an excuse to stay in bed and whine, things are back to normal again.

Which means, Boo-boo is here, she seems to have grown over the weekend, I kid you NOT!
She is currently taking her nap, so I schlepped myself behind the computer to work on my picture book...AGAIN....

Thanks for your suggestion W., I checked it out, Blurp.com, as well as a few other websites. But the problem is clearly mine, just didn't take the picture with a high enough resolution.
SO....I came up with a solution. Leave it to me to get around a problem!

I took new pictures (the correct size this time) of the existing pictures I had, and had to print out some that I had not a hard copy of. The prints won't be as sharp as the originals, but nobody has to know. (don't tell anyone, ok?)

So I'm almost done printing, and my printer dies. Now, usually all it takes it turning the thing off, or jiggling a few parts (the printer's parts, mind you) and the machine comes back to life again.
Not this time. I think it really broke this time.

Oh well, time for a new one!

So that was one little hickup. Next I go and try and get my pictures from my camera onto my computer.

TWICE I get this pesty Microsoft error message. TWICE I lose all the pictures...
The third time was a charm. And I got them all on the computer.
BUT!
I could not find them!
Did it again!

Same thing happened.

By this time I am pulling out my hair and screaming softly (don't want to wake Boo-boo)

THEN I realized I keep downloading the darn things in a new file everytime...DUH...

So I had to go back in and delete a bunch of triples and doubles, and gather everything together in ONE file...

Got it!

When it comes to computer technology I am certainly not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but I usually get things done by just pushing buttons and experimenting and a liberal sprinkling of cuss words. :>)

So now it's time for a little break from the photo-album-making-project, and the perfect time to write my blog for today.

The sun came out, but it's cold out. I have the heater on since the temperature wasn't getting above 64 in the house.

My pink climbing roses are blooming, they are beautiful. Very tiny, and very fragrant!

My cold is mostly gone. I swear taking Tylenol PM helped clear it up. Not only did I get a few good nights' sleep, but the stuff that's supposed to make you sleep (something like Benedryl) dries your sinuses too. Whoopee!!!

I've decided to carry a small notebook with me at all times, just in case I get an idea for a story, and I've gotten a few...but you'll have to wait until my photo album is finished.

In the meantime I took three pictures of me, Bugs and Boo, went to Target, printed them all the same size in black and white and framed them. We looks like triplets! We have the same noses, same chins, same chubby cheeks, same mouths. The ears are a little different. Even Bugs and Boo's hairdo's are the same...I on the other hand, had a typical Dutch Mohawk.

This will be Bugs' Mothers Day present, the album will hopefully be ready in time for her 25th birthday at the end of May


And that will be IT for today, as I hear little noises from the other room. It takes her about five minutes to rev her engine when she wakes up. But when it gets going, Oma needs to go and get her, lest she overheats!

Have a wonderful day y'all!

SGMKJ!

I'm a sick puppy today

Boy, this week has been rough.
Boo came down with a cold after she had her shots on Tuesday. Not sure if that has anything to do with it though.
I caught it from her.
I was doing pretty well Friday, and even yesterday. Went to the baby shower of a friend of mine, had fun.
But in the evening things kind of went downhill.
My stomach was really upset, and I wondered if it was something I ate.
My nose was running, despite my taking some heavy duty doses of vitamins.

Of course the drama with Bugs the past couple of days has had me unable to sleep, and last night wasn't much better.
I kept catnapping until about 4:30, after which I must have finally fallen asleep until Wheelie got up at 7:30.

To tell the truth, I felt like shit. My throat hurts, my body aches, snot running out of everything.

Of course when I can't sleep my mind tends to wander, and last night was no exception.
Inevitably, like always, my thoughts dwindle to my son, and I end up feeling even more miserable. I am such a glutton for punishment!!

Before that though I thought up some terrific subjects for my blog. If the computer wasn't located here in the bedroom I would have gotten up and written a few pages.

This morning I didn't feel like getting out of bed, so after I helped Wheelie get up and fed, I went back under the sheets for a while.

I decided then to check out the Target photo website, where you can design your own photo albums, which they print up like a real book, really cool.
So I dragged my sorry ass out of bed and started working on that, only to realize that most of the (million) pictures I took of the baby this year were the wrong resolution. BLAST!
It really bummed me out. I think it's such a neat idea! And I do have some fabulous pictures too!

So I'll probably end up doing it the hard way, getting the fixin's for a scrapbook and using the real pictures and gluing and designing it that way.
I did want to have it finished by Mother's Day, yeah, right!

The other plan I had was to reprint three pictures I have of each of us, Boo, Bugs, and me, at the same time in our lives (about 5 months old) I happen to have a close up picture of each of us, and we look so much alike at that age it's scary!

Since my picture is brown and white (but very cute!) and the others in color, I'll have to get them reprinted in black and white and re-sized at Target. Then I'll have to hunt for a frame that will hold all three pictures in a row.

Anyway, plans, plans, plans...

We just watched the movie "Juno" Cute! But now I am pooped and think I'll crawl back into bed for a while.

More tomorrow.

SGMKJ!

All of me.....................

All of me
Why not take all of me
Can't you see
That I'm no good without you

Take my arms I want to loose them
Take my lips I'll never use them
Your goodbye Left me with eyes that cry
And I know that I Am no good without you
You took the part
That once was my heart
So why not take all of me

I was playing the Stardust/Willy Nelson CD in the car and this kind of got stuck in my head.

Such pretty music, always loved that CD. The LP came along at a time in my life when I was falling hard for a friend of mine, after my divorce, my three years back in Holland, and my sojourn into Siddha Yoga.

It was a rather short but furious relationship which included two moves to Minnesota.
With, which I was certain, the man of my dreams for the rest of my life.
He was in the midst of quitting his job with Banana Records in SFO and wanted to move back home to Minnesota. (Yes, we are a incestuous bunch in the record business *lol*)
We decided to go together.
I was pregnant.
Excited about the future.
We drove.
TV in the back seat. (He was afraid the movers would break it)
Stayed in dinky motels along the way to stretch our dollars.
Morning sickness all day long.
Could only eat white toast and scrambled eggs and drink hot tea.
But still an adventure, well, it was for me.
Made it in three days, and I only drove about ten miles of that, after my friend found me driving 80 miles an hour, singing along with Abba at the top of my lungs. :>) Scared him silly, and he drove the rest of the way. The big sissy.

Unfortunately, we came to Minneapolis in March, when the winter was still going on, when everything was so darn drab and gray. We moved in with his brother's family, their two boys, one baby girl and two standard poodles. (the layers of dog doo to be picked up everyday when another layer of snow melted)

I didn't last long.

I was cold, they kept the thermostat at 68 ° ALL the time, I was sick, I missed my little boy, whom I left behind with his pappa in California for the time being. We weren't able to find jobs right away and it became clear that I wasn't supposed to be there, not at that point in time.

So I came back to California. Nothing but the clothes on my back. My furniture and other belongings had just arrived and were stored at my friend's brother's front porch.

Lucky for me Puri took me back in and helped me out. I stayed at an annex across the street from the Siddha Yoga Ashram in Oakland. In a room with four bunk beds and one chair, a communal kitchen, and many quiet and lovely people around me.
Just licking my wounds, but glad to be around my son again and being enveloped in the fold of the wonderful Ashram culture.
A few weeks into my stay there, I miscarried. I was 16 weeks along at the time.

I just started bleeding one day, went to the hospital. I had no job, no income, no insurance.
When I arrived at the hospital late at night the nurses were about to go on strike. After having been seen by the emergency doctor, and given a 'pit drip' (I thought they said pit GRIP and scared me silly) (pitocin), it was decided to send me to another hospital on the hill, St. Joseph's. In the ambulance I went, together with another woman in labor.

At St. Joes they rolled me straight to the operating room and performed a therapeutic abortion.
The pathologist could not tell me why this baby did not want to be born, it was just one of those things.

It was a little boy.

I am convinced that my being in the Ashram, so very close to Baba Muktananda, who happened to be there on his second world tour, was the catalist for my miscarriage.
This pregnancy was just not meant to be. The shakti/energy was not allowing this to happen at this time in my life. God just telling me: " nuh-uh, nope, not gonna happen, lady."

Everything went remarkably smooth though. Even through the hassle with the hospital strike, the pain, the bumpy ambulance ride, the shock of hearing I had a therapeutic abortion (for some reason the nurse refused to call it a miscarriage, I guess she wanted to be politically correct or something) things miraculously worked out.

I qualified for Medical, which paid every last penny of the bills. My health was good afterwards.
It was so very clearly meant to BE.

Still I suffered from some sort of post traumatic stuff. Might have just been my hormones rearranging themselves, but I was extremely sad, had long sobbing fits, felt so terribly blue, and such a deep loss.

My Minnesota friend, the baby's father, must have been relieved. He didn't communicate with me, didn't offer any support.
It didn't even phase him that he could have had a son, something he really always wanted.

So life went on. I was rehired by a former employer. A good friend who would take me back more than once. I moved to a small apartment in Millbrae, near my job in Burlingame.

And wouldn't you know, a few months went by and one day, out of the blue, my Minnesota friend stood next to my car in the parking lot of my office. He was in town to settle some business with his ex wife. We ended up spending the night, and he went back home the next day.
We started writing each other again, and (I know, you guessed it) I moved back to Minnesota again.
He now had his own place and a job. So I packed up my son (my stuff was still there) and got on that plane.

Life in the small town we lived in was pretty darn nice. I got a job with a local newspaper, started to make friends, took a calligraphy class and started designing letterheads and invitations. We lived a stone's throw from the big lake, which froze over during the winter. We walked into town to go see a movie, or have dinner, or have ice cream. The streets were lined with ancient oaks, the houses old and comfortable looking.
We made it last through the winter, watched the USA hockey team become number ONE at the Winter Olympics, but when spring came, with it's glorious lilacs everywhere, the relationship busted again.
Back I went to California. This time I SOLD my belongings, my furniture, to pay for our trip back home.
Heart broken and broke, I spent the next few weeks at a friends' house while she was on vacation. Started smoking like a chimney.

(Mommie, don't smoke...you're gonna DIEEeeeeee)

It was time for my son, who was now 7 to start school. I opted to have him looked after during the week and attend a decent school by my aunts and uncle (yes, them again) who retired from the restaurant and motel business and now lived in Petaluma.

During the week I lived in the Ashram and worked my job in Oakland. My old boss once again gave me back my job. His office now located in a really cool old building downtown. On Friday night I would take the hour and a half drive to Petaluma to spend the weekend there. It was a crazy commute. I don't particularly recall feeling bad physically at that point, but I was extremely thin, back to 100 pounds again. Probably from the stress and from the vegetarian diet at the Ashram.
Looking at pictures from those days I looked like death warmed over.

During that time my uncle had suffered his first heart attack and the energy at that household was incredibly tense. Again I needed to get out of there.
As luck would have it, I found an apartment near my job in Oakland, and my son and I moved into a very nice house. It was a rough neighborhood, but it was an old neighborhood, mostly old folks who had been there all their lives.

We were back on the right track again....

My parents happened to be visiting at the time, and it was nice to have them around during the move, the transition.

And that's where that part of my life ended....figuratively speaking....
and my life with Wheelie began....

But that's a story for another day...

Wow, I started writing with NO concept of what would come out of my fingers...and lookatthis!


Boo-Boo has been taking her nap for about an hour now.
She has a cold, seems to be doing better than yesterday, when I ended up having to hold her until mommie came home, at midnight.

I bought this beautiful large flower basket, lobelia, some tiny red and yellow calibrachoa. I felt the urge to splurge. :>)

It's warm out there, so wonderful!

SGMKJ!

She remembered me!!!

The other night the phone rang at 11:30pm. We were already in bed, I had just turned off my light.

It was my cousin Iggy in Australia, he had his mom with him at their little vacation home at the beach, and he had the phone on speakerphone, so she could hear the conversation.

My aunt suffers from Alzheimer's, or possibly dementia related to a stroke she had a few years back. As I have communicated with my cousin over the years, especially the time since she's been in Australia, I know that she is slowly but steadily declining. Sometimes things are worse than other times.

To my big surprise though, she was able to speak with me, in a Dutch/English language mix.
She sounded good! They had been looking at old family pictures, and she remembered everyone.
Then she asked me how old I was. And I realized: She knows who I am!

After I hang up the phone I turned to Wheelie and said: She knew who I was!!! And started to cry. It really affected me. It was a sweet conversation. It was lovely to hear her voice again. Especially knowing I'll probably never see her again.

We are all so scattered all over the world, my family, it is becoming scary indeed now that we're all getting older. We are scrambling to take care of our parents, even from afar, feel guilty for not being able to be there, feel the hurt of missing them all.

My sister understands my need to drag up the old relatives, get the stories, find the cousins, the aunties, the uncles, connect again, share stuff, and basically get to know the people who have not been part of my life for such a long time, but are my family, but she doesn't have that need at all.

My sister probably doesn't realize that when you go far away, you really lose contact not only with your relatives, but your friends, everyone you knew. While she went on being surrounded by everyone, her many friends, mom and dad, the siblings, relatives.

Little did we realize that by moving to the other side of the world, we basically cut ourselves off from everyone.
I mean, the first 10-20 years we would make a good effort to keep in touch, however slowly but surely, the gap widened.

And here we are. Some of us are finding each other again. Everyone is so excited. The emails are flying back and forth, the pictures, the memories, the secrets revealed (oh dear!) *grin*

I wish I had the whole day to delve into this stuff, but maybe it's a good thing I can't. We all need to take it slow, don't overdo it...we'll be there...and who knows, in a few years, there will be a huge reunion...somewhere...
My cousin Iggy has been bugging me for ages to come to OZ...I can't see myself going, not for at least another 4-5 years...perhaps we can organize something in Holland...ahhh...we dream....
But...where there's a will.....


I took Boo-Boo to the doctor this morning for her 12 month checkup. She is now 33 inches long, weighs 22 pounds and 13 ounces. She got FOUR shots, and was very upset for about 10 seconds. Then I got her dressed and she started waving and hollering" Bye Bye!!!! She knew we were done...what a trouper! They discovered that her little butt crack is crooked, so she is going to have an MRI done so see if her spine is straight, a precaution, I had never heard about testing children for scoliosis that young.

This afternoon we drove down south a ways to a farmer's market kind of supermarket, which carries the body lotion I like. Was a nice trip. Boo slept, we took the scenic route. Through red neck country. But everything was so green, and the lake was full again, and the weather was lovely....

All in all a decent day if you don't count the shots.

SGMKJ!

Happy Cake Day!

Wow!
Now I know why they call this the SMASH cake!
Free at Publix with a normal 1st birthday cake.

What a party!

Bugs got around to it! She managed to pull it off! Yeahhhhh!
The house looked wonderful, everyone was there. Daddy's mom, dad, brothers, sister, cousins, many friends, and us...

It was disgusting to see the mountain of wrapped gifts that were piled in the dining room.:>)
Boo-boo had a great time unwrapping it all, assisted by several other munchkins her size, and some little boys in the 3-4 range.

Everyone was happy, the food was great, the kids behaved.

And then it was CAKE time...Oh....MY....Gawd!....

At first she just looked at it, with the candle burning, and everyone singing Happy Birthday tooo youuuuu...
Then she was urged to try the cake...first a tentative touch...finger licked...then the mouth got a turn to try...

Hmmmmm...that tasted gooodddd....

In went the entire face, then the little hands, fists full of cake were shoved into the mouth.
I honestly did not see if she actually ATE the entire thing, but by the time she was done with it and turned the empty tray over, the cake was gone.

Of course most of it was smeared all over the table and the highchair, and a very grateful puppy had a ball licking it all clean...

Cousin BwaaaBwaaa didn't like it though, he was being a good little boy, just watching as the cake was destroyed. Then a few pieces were slung onto his arm, and OH NO, on his new shorts...
The kid literally freaked out!

We have it on tape, we are going to send it to AFV!!! Boo-boo reaching out at him with a very sweet and concerned look on her face.

We all cheered her on. Bugs glowed. Cameras flashed, and flashed, and flashed.

Afterwards Boo-boo was picked up and taken into the bathroom for a ceremonial hose down and a change of clothes.
I ended up cleaning everything else...
The other grandma played dumb and went outside with everyone else.

*lol*

Maybe I was the dumb one, huh!

SO, the party was a success. I am proud of my daughter.

Yes, I am!

SGMKJ!

Today

Bought a birthday cap :>)

Well, we did manage to get the darn Care Bear Party stuff this morning.

Boo-boo slept over, she did well, woke up at seven, started wrestling with her favorite bear while growling voraciously. :>)

The plan was for Daddy to go and mow Bugs' lawn, and Bugs would clean her house in preparation for tomorrow's party. After which (she had to be at work at one) they would come by to pick up the baby, so she could spend the day with Daddy.

That was the plan.

Bugs came by to hug Boo at twelve thirty. Announcing that Daddy went to go birthday present shopping with his parents and that he would call me around three when he got home, so I could drive Boo-boo over....

Hair started to stand up on the back of my neck at this point...

At four...no Daddy

At five...no Daddy

At five fifteen I called Bugs...oh boy....this was one pissed off mummy...

In the meantime Boo was getting cranky. So I fed her dinner....then gave her her bath...put on her jammies....

Daddy finally called at six fifteen....

I was tempted to yell at him and tell him she wasn't coming...that it was her bedtime and she should be comfy and cozy in her crib...

No, I behaved, dropped the little thing at Daddy's new house...She was happy to see him...but started to scowl when I left....I hope she didn't cry, didn't get too upset...

I don't even know if Daddy had food or diapers for her, or a change of clothes. I offered to bring them, but got no response...

This crap won't be going on for much longer, I promise you that!

Already told Bugs we needed to have a long sit down TALK.

*sigh*

This baby is the priority here. She need consistency. She need to know who her parents are, what her home is.
She probably thinks Wheelie and I are her parents. she spends most of her time here with us after all.

But...tomorrow is her birthday party...Monday is her actual birthday...Hard to believe we were at the hospital last year....:>)

SGMKJ!

The photo album

When my aunt and uncle (and cousin) emigrated to the USA, the family came together for a huge goodbye party.

Kids were not invited, and to this day I am sad about that.

As my cousin Margo wrote in one of her letters about this:

"That's how children at that time were kept out of a lot of important events, like funerals, births etc. As if you didn't need to say goodbye to your family members, who you'd known all your young life."

I was allowed to help make the crepe paper red/white and blue skirts, the crepe paper flowers on the hats, for several skits and songs.
I remember my parents writing songs and skits, and rehearsing them. The fun they had, the laughter at night in the living room while we were in bed, the anticipation...

The party was held at Margo's parents house. My aunt, uncle and cousin were brought to the party in style. In a black horse-drawn carriage. From the pictures I remember my aunt wearing a fur stole, or scarf. My uncle was likely in "jacquet" (tuxedo) and a high hat.

It was customary to throw a party like this for relatives who were going overseas. After all, it was something new, they were the first to dare take on this adventure. It was HUGE.

Unfortunately, I can only remember that party by the pictures they took. It was almost like being there, but not really.

One of the going away gifts they were presented with was a photo album. One of those beautiful old ones, leather/wood like cover with black pages and filmy sheets of parchment between each page. The book was lovingly put together by my mother's brother. He made pictures of each family, then wrote with white ink, in beautiful calligraphy the names of each member of that family, with their birth dates, wedding dates etc.

Many, many years later, my aunts and I would haul out that photo album, sometimes just to look at it and remember, but most of the time to remind ourselves about wedding and birth dates.
In fact, I can honestly say that this book was looked at every time I visited, especially in the later years.

How wonderful that now, my cousin Margo mentioned that book as well. When she visited my aunt and cousin in Australia, the book was once again brought out. Like a dear treasure, which is certainly is. She felt like seeing it brought back her past...I know how she feels!

I know that my cousin will treasure it forever, and hand it over to his children when the time comes.
It is a rare and precious glimpse of one group of relatives, families, at one certain point in time.

Many of the people in the pictures are long gone of course. And there were a few children born after. For those of us who ARE in that album, and the fact that we are at this point reconnecting again, is amazing.

Most of us have lead roller coaster lives. Some of us escaped to far away lands, some of us stuck around in the old country. But somehow there is a bond. And I hope that we will all be able to get together in the future, if only to hug each other just ONCE. To feel like the big strong family we once were, back in the olden days.

One fact has surface while writing my cousins back and forth the past weeks.
Life as we knew it when we grew up is definitely a thing of the past.
It was a very unique time. Families deeply affected by the war, struggling to start their families, keep them fed and clothed. The deeply devout catholic parents. The strict rules, the fear, the guilt, the ignorance. It must have been so hard to keep it all together then.

And now we look back, and we shiver from some of the memories that are bad, we shake our heads at some of the ridiculous nonsense we were taught. But we all also have memories of much love, of great courage, of perseverance.

I think we can all look back at our parents and see that they did the best they knew how, at a time that was so dark. I can't think of any couple in my family, that got a divorce. I recall all the couples being loving to each other, and hard working to keep life going.

Life is so different now. I mean, take technology for instance. How quickly did all this stuff develop the past ten years?
I understand why my parents are not in the least interested in learning to use a computer.
My father, who put together intricate phone installations in his time, now can't understand how a simple cell phone works.

Ahhh...I wonder how our kids will look back at us....40 years from now....

Scary thought...that....

SGMKJ!

Wow! Talk about your wild goose chase!

At 11 am Bugs called me the first time. She was having a problem getting her brain around organizing Boo-boo's birthday party.
This girl who successfully runs a full service restaurant, is having a problem putting together a teeny tiny birthday party for a one year old which doesn't require cooking or baking anything.

At noon she called in tears, her boss was yelling at her for various reasons and she had to go in "early" (1 instead of 2)
At this time she has ME going around in circles too. Trying to figure out what to do.

The party is Sunday.

Okay...so they get here...Bugs says her boss is letting her go and order her cake at Publix.
Whew.
So she calls 30 minutes later to let me know she ordered this CUTE cake with Care Bears (can we say: RETRO???) Publix has this 'special' when you order a 1st birthday cake they throw in a 'smash' cake, just for the birthday girl. Can't wait to see that!

So I offered to go and find her some Care Bear party plates and napkins. The first place being Party America. Now.....I am tired...my back hurts, my knee hurts...did I mention I was tired? I tie Boo into her car seat, she gets comfy, takes her socks off etc.
Off to the stores, 20 miles south of us.

I went through Party America, didn't see anything resembling Care Bears.

Did I ask for help??? Nooooo!!!

I walk next door to Target...nothing but Dora the Explora, or Batfellow, Spidy, and Barbie...
Back in the car with Boo-boo..she's taking it all in stride...huh...

I decide to go all the way and drive to Toys-R-Us, another 10 miles down the road. I vaguely recall them having a HUGE party section...ya think! Nope!

I call Bugs...she suggests I try Wal Mart.
Oh yeah! Oma LUVS Wal-Mart...but...I go...baby back in car, getting a bit testy now...but I came prepared, gave her a bottle and she was happy again.

Nothing available at Wal-Mart....So I drive across the street to Michaels...they don't SELL party stuff...geesh!!!

On my way home I go by Publix...I know they have cards and wrapping paper...perhaps.....???

Nah!

I decide to go home. I simply cannot get my ass out of the car anymore and Boo has HAD it too.

At home she poops out and takes a little nap, Thank God!

I turn on the puter and go-a-huntin' for Care Bear stores...

Guess what?

Party America SELLS the damn stuff!!!

I call them...yes, ma'am, we have it, it's being discontinued though, but we still have quite a bit, and it's 50% off!

I have the nice lady go and hold a bunch of stuff for me, we'll go pick it up first thing tomorrow.

It's now 5 o'clock, Boo is awake again and testy...she needs her dinner.......okie dokie...

Bugs calls, apparently has been back and forth-ing with Daddy about tomorrow...(him having Boo for the day etc)

So here is the plan: I keep Boo here for the night, so Bugs can clean her house and mop the floors for the party. Daddy will come and mow the grass. When they're ready they'll come by to pick up Boo, so she can spend some time with her Daddy while Bugs goes to work...

We still haven't figured out who will get the fruit for the (simple) fruit salad; the bowl of Cheerios, the Animal Crackers...but hey...the weekend is young...hahahaha...

Right now I have a screeching headache, and all I want to do is crash...at least I won't have to stay up late tonight...

So, my friends...lemme tell you...being a gramma ain't for sissies!!!

*grin*

It's fun though

SGMKJ!

No time...no time...arghhhhhhhhhhh

Just a quickie for right now.

Seems like I don't have any spare time at the moment.
Got tons of stuff to do.

Bugs just called me, she is frustrated because she has to throw Boo-boo's party on Sunday. She sent out invitations, but folks in this neck-of-the-woods don't know what RSVP means. She has to go shopping for garlands, balloons and food and CAKE, and hasn't had time to even think about a theme. And she has NO idea who will be coming.

Told her to just keep it simple. The kids won't know. Short and simple. Get a cake, some chips for the adults, and soft drinks, and perhaps a bowl of Cheerios and fruit for the kids.

Balloons you can get all blown up and everything. Garlands you can pick up at the Party store. no problem. Just take all the furniture out of the living room and dump all the toys on the floor.

PARTY TIME!!!

I've got tons of house work things to do myself this morning, have to put a few plants into the ground before they wither away.

Perhaps tonight, after Boo's asleep, I will be able to sit down and share a few things I've wanted to write about for the past week now.

In the meantime, please come back y'all.

Have a great Friday!

SGMKJ!

Let me know..........please!

I am wondering how many folks actually read this blog.


I know I've had about 120 hits on my profile, but it would be interesting to know who reads it (aside from my relatives and chat friends)
Would love to see a show of hands.

Let me know where you are from, no need to jot down your name or leave your telephone number *lol*

Just curious...ya know?

Ambivalence

Something has been on my mind for a few years now.

For some reason it popped back into my head this morning, and I thought I might throw it on my blog, see if I can get some perspective on this issue from someone...anyone...

It concerns some people I know, I won't name names, so I'll try and make this as hypothetical as I can.

A few years ago the main person in this story (I'll call him Stan) told me that his step father, who still lives in the same town that he lives in, was thought to have sexually abused/used his sister when they were little and when they were living as a family. The family was a bit on the alternative side, living in a very free, hippie-type environment. The stepfather (and the mother for that matter) thought it was normal for the daughter to become sexually 'knowledgeable' at a young age with the help of her stepfather (and possibly her mother.) Stan's mother died 23 years ago.

Stan also told me that the mother of his eleven year old daughter was almost raped by this man, or at least approached by him. She brought charges, but dropped the charges eventually.
Stan's other two young daughters moved to another town when their mom remarried.
This mom talked to me on a few occasions and told me she didn't want the girls exposed to this man, and that she was always on her toes when they were around him. She never allowed the girls to be alone with him.

I have not talked with any of these folks in over 3-4 years, but I've spoken with another close friend of the family, who also knows about these accusations.


Now, here's the thing, we don't really know if this is all true, having heard it via via....never from the horse's mouth. I've asked Stan about it, tried to talk with him, but he just shrugged it off, said things were okay, whatever THAT meant. The stepfather was still in their lives, still lives in the same town, apparently still interacts with the family.

So it comes down to rumors, basically. And the stuff with Stan's sister happened 30 some years ago.

The man is still living close to Stan and his little girl. But we haven't had any contact for a long time, let alone talked about this.

So....in my gut I feel guilty...on the other hand I wonder why I should poke my nose in, stir up stuff people might not want to stir up. After all, aside from the children, there are adults involved, in their 40s, who are closer to the issue, and should have done something about it.

I can't talk to Wheelie about it, as he is close to these people, and he would certainly tell me to just let it be, that 'they' need to solve their problems and deal with it themselves if they want to.

So here is my ambivalence. Is it my place to say something to someone/the authorities, after all these years, not really knowing exactly what has happened?

I am not close to the adults involved anymore. I am worried about Stan's daughter, however, she is becoming a teenager. Will she be safe? Will Stan be able to keep her safe, knowing what this old guy is or might be capable of?

It would really help to get some other perspectives on this.

If you don't want to leave a post/message on this forum, you can email me personally.

Thanks!

SGMKJ!

Miss Potter

I usually don't sit and watch Wheelie's Netflix movies with him, but today he had one that peeked my interest.

It was a movie about Beatrix Potter, with Renee Zellweger and Ewan McGregor.
Not being much of a fan of Zellweger, I thought I'd humor Wheelie and join him to watch the movie.

Turned out to be quite a little gem of a film, actually, and I enjoyed it very much. Of course we all know and probably have all read her books about Peter Rabbit, Benjamin Bunny, Jemima Puddle Duck...

It was just interesting to learn more about this remarkable woman. As I checked on the internet later on, I realized that they stayed pretty true to the actual story, which was wonderful.
So I will wholeheartedly recommend this movie, especially for those of you who have a soft heart about romantic and English stuff.

We had the quiet day we wanted to have. I did exactly what I set out to do. NOTHING!
It was quite windy outside, had to move my geranium closer to the house as it threatened to blow out of the pot. It was a bit chilly too, turned the heater on for a while. They forecasted frost tonight!

Called my mom this morning to wish her a Happy Birthday. She was going a mile a minute about her party and about all the great grandchildren there and the others that were there, my brother with his wife and son and daughter, my sister, her son and his wife and their two babies, another niece and her partner with their baby girl and one in the oven.

I am so glad that my parents can enjoy at least some of their grand kids and great grand kids.
It's days like this I wish we lived closer, so we could hop over and be there too.

Next week it's Boo-boo's first birthday. We received an invitation to her party.
And on the 24th, it will be my parents' 62th wedding anniversary.

April is always a busy month with lots of birthdays. I am a fervent card sender. If you are on my birthday calendar, you will get a card from me. Just one of my habits.

Anyway, we just finished watching America's Funniest Videos, a dumb ole program that gives us a few laughs, and now I am going to climb on my bed and read while Wheelie watches some scientific program.



Good night y'all!

SGMKJ!

Saturday

MY "GARDEN/PATIO" LAST YEAR

Not much to write about today.

We had Boo-boo since 1 o'clock, since Daddy was moving into his new home today.
She has been fun, took a long nap, which meant feeding her dinner late and putting her to bed late. She can now point to her nose, her eye, her ear and slaps her hands on her cheeks when she goes: Ohh Nooo!!
She is currently trying very hard to make me feel sorry for her by sounding very sad and pityful.

:>)

But she is winding down, I know she will nod off in five minutes.

I am looking forward to tomorrow though, I already announced that it will be a NOT going anywhere, NOT doing anything day. Which means: reading the entire Sunday paper, drinking a pot of coffee, staying in my robe until I am good and ready to get out of it, and basically just lounging around.

I bought one of those Senseo by Phillips coffeemakers the other day, which requires the use of Douwe Egberts coffee pods. You can make one (small) cup using one pod, or a 'normal' mug with two pods. I also got some capuchino, but that was a disappointment. Tastes like dish water, yugh!

So I put the coffee pods in my two antique Douwe Egberts tins (which I found among auntie's possessions) and put everything on my blue kitchen counter with the Dutch tiles in the back splash. I feel so very Dutch now...Haha!

I apologize for this uninspired mumbling, but I am trying to wrap my head around all the new information I am receiving from my cousins. Wonderful stories. Makes my stories kind of feel dull.

Just wanted to jot down a few words to let y'all know I am alive and kickin'

And yep, baby's asleep! Yeahhh!!!!!!


Have a great weekend y'all!

SGMKJ!

Pollen count is over 2800 today.......

Where do they get this system? How do they come up with the pollen count?
Is there a little person out on the lawn with a little teeny tiny pollen counter???

We live in a yellow world, it will go on for a few weeks. Those among us who are suseptible to this stuff will be miserable.
I never had much of a problem with allergies, but this year I can tell stuff is bothering me. My eyes are dry, scratchy, my nose is running like a steam locomotive, and I have headaches all the time.

Everything is covered in yellow pine pollen. According to the folks that know, the pine isn't the stuff that makes you sick, it's all the other stuff that you can't see, oak, birch, sycamore.....

In the meantime it's no use cleaning your car, the outdoor furniture or the driveway. We keep our doors closed as much as we can, so we don't get the stuff all over the furniture.

Not being much of a 'duster' it pays to just keep the stuff out of the house. :>)

UPS just delivered a package. I forgot what I ordered.

Oh!

It's a very lovely picture of the hands of a guru, holding a lotus flower.

Back in the 1970s, when I left Puri and went back to Holland for a few years, Puri started his spiritual search.
He 'ran into' Baba Muktananda, who at that particular time started to travel all over the world and gathering quite a following.
For the next couple of years I was reluctantly drawn into this world. Inevitably I became a devotee of sorts. After meeting Baba real time in England (in the days when personal visits were still conducted, later you were happy to get a glimpse or maybe a quick touch in Darshan, as he became a bit of a rock star celebrity) my life took on a life of it's own. Hard to explain, but 'stuff' started happening in quick and ferocious succession.

I will go into this part of my life in more detail another time.

Since I've been married to Wheelie, and since Baba died, my spiritual path and my relationship with this world became rather subtle. No longer was I close to any meditation center, no longer did I practise, but the force was/is always with me.

After Baba died, his translater/personal secretary/friend/pupil took over his teachings. Her name is Gurumayi Chitvilasanada.

Bugs has always had a nicely framed picture of Gurumayi in her house. When Daddy left, he took it with him, apparently. I mean, the frame is missing, but the picture was tagged onto the fridge in his friends' house (where he has been staying)

Bugs was all ticked off about it, and wants her picture back. She was afraid his friends were having it on their fridge to have something to ridicule.

I told her to leave it alone. A picture of any holy person in anyone's house can only be a good thing. In my opinion these folks don't have a clue what's hanging on their fridge :>)

So I ordered another picture for Bugs, going to have it framed, and it will be her Mother's Day present.

I'm a happy camper. Not only did the picture arrive and it's truly a lovely and powerful image, I also went and made a copy of the picture I posted here yesterday. I enlarged it a little and will send it to my newly discovered cousin in Australia.

These past couple of days have been a whirlwind of emails from Australia and Holland. New/old cousins, stories pages and pages long, histories surfacing, old faces and stories becoming clear again, it's just incredibly fascinating.

I am truly amazed by my cousins' stories, honored they are willing to share them with me, such rich and interesting lives. And so wonderful to catch up with them again after all these years.

I see a reunion coming on!!!!

So, it's Friday, the weather is outrageously beautiful, and my heart is happy.
In an hour or so we'll be rolling on the floor again with our little Boo-boo.

Sometimes (and this week has been one of those times) the door to happiness opens up a little, displaying the sun and the stars and the rainbows.

Thank you, Cis and Margo and Ignatius!

It's my mother's 85th birthday on the 13th. The family is celebrating it at my sister's house on Sunday. How I wish I could be there too.

Have a super weekend, y'all!

SGMKJ!

Auntie...................

Two years ago today, my 'maiden' aunt Willy passed on. She went to that big Bingo Hall in the sky. (Her joke, not mine!)

She was 90 years old, suffered from COPD for the last 20-some years of her life. Smoked like a chimney most of her life, quit about 15 years ago. What did her in though was her falling, breaking a hip, and just not being interested in recuperating.

Auntie was my mother's sister, the second child of Anton and Johanna Van Straaten.
They had six children (that I know of):

Jo, the oldest (in the picture sitting next to my grandfather)
Willy, to her right, Corry, the next in line to her right.
The boy on the left is my uncle Anton, number four, then my mother Riek, and my youngest aunt Ans.

Grandfather was a fun man. He worked for the "water department" What he actually did there no one can tell me. Grandmother was a homemaker. She died right at the end of the war, just before the Swedish airplanes flew over and dumping much needed (and famous) white bread, and oranges.

There must have been other children, I vaguely recall twins mentioned, babies who died, but since in those days no one talked about these kind of affairs, my mother just doesn't remember.

I recall my grandfather very clearly. He lived with us. He was a jolly man, he took me to school, kindergarten, every morning and picked me up after, stopping at Jamin, the candy store for a sweet. Always ready to make fun, play tricks one someone.
My grandmother was a very quiet, shy, prude, hard working woman. My aunt Willy told me they were the most mismatched couple she ever knew.

My grandfather died when I was about 5 or 6. I can still picture the tableau: grandfather in bed, the priest giving the last rites, my uncles (the brothers in law) kneeling by the bed, rosaries in hand, praying hard.
It's just that particular 'picture' I have in my memory bank, don't remember anything else, not the funeral, the Mass, nothing. I also don't know what he died of. I know he fell off a ladder....

At this point I would like to mention, that a few years ago I had the opportunity to "tour" my old home, where my mom, dad, me and my little brothers, grandfather and aunt Ans lived.
When we entered the room that used to be my grandfather's, I had this incredible experience.
In a flash I "saw" my grandfather on his bed, my uncles kneeling on the floor. It lasted a nano second, but it was very clear, and gave me the biggest goosebumps.

My family moved to a new part in town in 1954, Aunt Ans got married, and when grandfather died, the house was sold, the money divvied up, and the belongings were dispersed by some sort of lottery. This procedure seems to have started quite a rift among the sisters and brother, and the animosity among them is still strong to this day. I remember talk about a fight over an umbrella, of all things.

Aunt Jo was married and had a bunch of children. I remember visiting them when I was young, but later on we pretty much lost contact. (Until I started this blog, and I found three of my cousins :>)
Aunt Corry and Uncle Bert and their son Ignatius emigrated to the USA in 1956(?). They started out in San Francisco, then started a small restaurant in Mill Valley, bought and ran a few motels, and ran the Bayside Coffeeshop.

Of course you know the story of my mom and dad.

Uncle Anton (the spitting image of my grandfather, a hilarious man and always a real hoot at parties!) married and had four kids. The oldest daughter was a week older than me, and like the other family, we hang out until we got older. This cousin died of cancer about ten years ago, I never kept in touch with the rest.

Aunt Ans was my god mother, and the coolest of the lot. She was better educated than her siblings, she went to the equivalent of high school (whereas my mom went to a school for homemakers) I spent a lot of time with my aunt and her family, and we were pretty close up until my departure to the States. They had three children. (I met THEM again during my last visit to Holland)

And then there was Willy.

Willy never married. She was quite the party girl in her haydays though. She was a bit of a rebel.
She was engaged when she was 17, but his family didn't think she was 'good enough' for them, and the engagement ended. As far as I knew she never had another man in her life.
There is a tale floating around that she did have a 'friend' in America, but my uncle did not approve of him, so off he went. Ignatius might be able to shed some light on that story.

So Willy ended up living with her sister Corry and brother-in-law Bert. First in Amsterdam, later in the States.
As far as I can recall, Willy was always like the third spouse. Unmarried siblings often just went to live with another family member.
My uncle passed away after a very succesful life as an entrepeneur. Leaving the two sisters.
At the time of his death Willy had been living on her own for a few years, but after uncle died, she and her sister hang out more and more. Especially when my aunt Corry became ill they became once again inseperable.
To make that long story short, my cousin Ignatius moved his mom to live with him in Australia, leaving Willy by herself in California.
At the time we were in California as well, so I promised to keep an eye on Willy.

You know, I am the reluctant caregiver, it seems. As much as I resented (let's be honest about it here :>) having to take care of, first my mother in law, and then auntie, as time went on, it became clear to me that this was just my dharma. These folks were tossed onto my path for a reason.

Willy lived an hour and a half drive from us, and when she started to really have problems with her health, I convinced her to move closer to us. I found her a brand new apartment with a lovely balcony, close to everything, even a new casino. (Willy was a gambler!!!)
Life went smoothly for a while, until Wheelie and I made the decision to move back to Georgia.
California had not turned out to be the place we would be able to retire to. Life was just too expensive, our child moved back to Georgia and the other kids could care less where we were.

Now, moving has never been a problem for us, we just DO it. But this time we had to consider Willy moving with us. In hindsight it might have been the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back. I took her out of her little world, as limited as it was.
I really tried to make the move as painless for her as possible, I organized the move, took care of everything, found her a new apartment here.
At first things seem to work out fine, but then she started having severe problems with her lungs. She ended up in the hospital and in a nursing home for 6 weeks. After that it was decided that she could not live in her own apartment anymore, and the hunt was on for a room at an assisted living facility.

Through pure Grace, I found one. I visited 4 or 5 facilitites in this area, and the one I really liked had a waiting list. I decided to put her on the list, and we were going to have her move in with us until a place became available.

As these things often work in my life, the day she left the nursinghome, we got word that there was a room for her! I had placed her belongings in a storage facility and stopped the lease on her apartment. Things just fell into place, even though I schlepped, ran around, talked to people til I was blue in the face. After all was said and done, we moved her into a lovely studio apartment.
She didn't really comprehend what was happening though. It took a few weeks before she understood that she did not have to cook for herself, that she didn't have to do clean, vacuum, do her laundry. It was all done for her. They even took care of her medications.
Even though her COPD was now considered "severe", she was, in my eyes, doing pretty good.
She loved watching tennis and golf, everything else she considered garbage :>) She was safe, surrounded by a very caring staff, beautiful room, which I made as Dutch as I could.

We would go shopping, go to breakfast on Sundays, she was always the ornery, bitchy little lady.
But she always made me laugh, and by holding up the mirror to her, she could laugh at herself as well.
But she refused to be social. She would not come out of her room except to eat, she didn't even participate in Bingo anymore.
I guess she had had it with life.
She started telling me she wanted to die, that there wasn't anything left to do anymore.
It drove me nuts to hear her like that, I was trying so damn hard to make her life run smoothly.

I wasn't listening!

BUT, and better late than never I guess, I stopped and learned to listen to her. Not argue, or correcting her, but really listen.

I tried to get some stories out of her about her childhood. Not much was forth coming I'm afraid, except that she used to love to go out and party, and that her siblings were old stick-in-the-muds.
She had some pretty tight opinions, didn't like certain people. Was 'against' anyone who was different, be it black, hispanic, asian, gay....I never was able to reason with her about these things. In the end she would just humor me, so I would shut up :>)

On St. Patrick's Day she was changing her clothes for dinner. She slipped and fell in her bathroom. She broke her hip.
Was taken to the hospital, 45 miles from here. The doctor gave me the decision: to operate or not. Considering her condition with the COPD, he didn't see much point in hip replacement surgery, but he could jack it up with a screw or two.
I asked her, she didn't care. So we opted for the screws.

She came through the surgery, but things just went downhill from there. Back in the nursing home for recuperation, she just refused to go to PT, she developed an infection in her leg (great nursing staff...NOT!!) and she basically slipped into oblivion. She never made it back to her assisted living facility apartment.

She wasn't particularly religious in the last years of her life, but when I asked her if she wanted to see a priest, she seemed relieved, said yes, and so she received the last rites. After the priest was done she simply said: "Now I can go." She wasn't kidding.

Two days before she died she mentioned to me: "Isn't it strange...all my sisters and my brother are thinking about me right now...I can feel it..."
Of course they were. I made sure everyone was being kept in the loop. Amazing though, how she was able to "feel" that!

We put her on palliative care/hospice on Sunday, which meant, more morphine, and letting things just flow.
I visited her that Monday morning. She was already unconscious. I held her hand for a while, brushed her hair, and said goodbye. I had some errands to run...would be back later...

I wasn't home a minute or the phone rang...she was gone...

That was two years ago...

My new charge is going to turn one year old in a few weeks...

Life certainly has an interesting way of....what?....

Never a dull moment...

Learning something new every day......

And interestingly enough...people from your past coming back into your life.....

How marvelous!


SGMKJ!

Discoveries.........

What a wonderful day!
The weather was perfect!
If you don't mind the pollen that is. Boy, it's so weird to see yellow clouds flying over the street (pine pollen) Everything is yellow, everyone is sneezing and I have a perpetual headache.

We went and did some grocery shopping this morning. We also went and checked out a little neighborhood in Cartersville I wasn't familiar with.
Boo-boo's Daddy found a house to rent there, and I wanted to check it out.

I found out some neat history about this area.

I copied/pasted this:

Though Edward McClain was born May 30, 1861 in Greenfield, Ohio, and lived his entire life there, his impact on Bartow County remains today. McClain came to Cartersville in 1903, the result of his search for "the most perfect cotton mill location in the world." He had advertised in an Atlanta newspaper for a tract of land stating the advantages the site should possess. One of the respondents, a citizen of Cartersville, told him that the place he sought "would not be found short of Heaven", but nevertheless there was a site near Cartersville which would nearly fill the bill. McClain inspected several locations throughout the south, selected Cartersville, and purchased over 600 acres. The mill was to be used primarily for the manufacture of cloth for The American Pad & Textile Company, founded by McClain in Greenfield in 1881, and producing substantially all the horse collar pads used in the United States and Canada.

The new American Textile Company soon began operation in Cartersville; it included an entire village (Atco) for employees . Over the next 25 years as automobiles replaced horses, new products were made. An addition was added to the mill in 1927, doubling the plant's capacity and employing about 450 people. Two years later, the plant was sold to Goodyear.

When McClain came to Cartersville, the area was mostly agricultural with an urgent need to bolster its economy by expanding into manufacturing. This was achieved through the payrolls of The American Textile Company and later Goodyear. Thousands of employees and descendants owe much to Edward McClain. He died on May 3, 1934 in Greenfield and is buried there.

For those of you would would like to read more about McClain read this:

http://www.highland-ohio.com/mcclain's%20businesses.htm


I had never been to this part of town. Didn't know about the factory that was/is there. The huge brick building is still standing, with huge and beautiful trees on the property. This was a complete self contained little town, where everyone who worked at the factory lived in one of the small houses built around it.
I was aware of the huge cemetery on the hill. Bugs and I drove through it one day, we both have a morbid curiosity for cemeteries. On the opposite side of the street is the big "dump" or the recycle center.
Anyway, this Atco place is kind of interesting. We drove through the narrow streets, there are about a hundred tiny wooden houses. No driveways, no garages. All the houses have a back alley and a nice plot of land. The place has a flavor of it's own. Kind of hard to explain. But to me it feels like the folks who lived there a century ago are still around in spirit. It must have been quite a place to live.

The factory is empty, of course and has to be a bit spooky inside, especially at night. I wonder if its haunted :>) To me the building has a curious flavor to it, so big, with all the windows boarded up, but still alive somehow....

I am surprised that this area hasn't caught the eye of some smart entrepreneur. I mean, I could envision that building as a loft/apartment complex, or a senior citizen home.
The homes are not worth a whole lot, but most of them looked well cared for, albeit very very simple and plain. Daddy is only going to be paying about $600 rent for a two bedroom house, newly renovated too. Lucky kid!

I sincerely hope Daddy will be happy there, and that his life will turn around. At least he now has a decent place for Boo-boo to stay.

Anyway, it was a pleasant day. Boo took a little nap once we got home, and after lunch we took our daily stroll around the neighborhood.
She went to bed at six and Bugs got here about 20 minutes ago, she was early for a change, seems to be learning to DELEGATE!!! Atta girl!!!

My sister sent me some wonderful pictures of my parents; herself and her son Tim, who is visiting from Spain. My father looks GREAT!

So all in all, a day to treasure.

Which I will

SGMKJ!

A Rube Goldberg weekend....

Mostly it was a quiet weekend, considering the alternatives.
No tornadoes, no fights, no broken bones, no bad news from abroad....

Saturday was good, we went grocery shopping, after which I retreated into the bedroom to read, and Wheelie watched movies....
It was a cold day, Dutch weather, wet, dark...I had the heater on, even though it wasn't cold outside, inside the house it just felt so chilly.

Sunday started out fine. We slept late (if you can imagine 8:30 late) and went to breakfast at the Cracker Barrel.
When we got home, the Goldberg thing started to roll.
Wheelie didn't quite make it to the bathroom in time...happens now and then...thankfully we were at home this time, as we've had to deal with it in public in the past as well.

Once when we were hopelesly lost in Atalanta somewhere, trying to find the new Ikea store...
It was an interesting experience. Bugs was with us. We were lost, I had to 'go', and so did he. I panicked, knowing full when what THAT meant. No stores in sight, no bathrooms. We were in some sort of industrial area, many weird little buildings. Not exactly the 'white' part of town either. I found a building that had some decent cars parked in front and looked like I could get the wheelchair in.

I went inside, asked the receptionist if we could please use their bathroom. She looked at me funny. An older black lady came from 'the back' and I told her we REALLY needed to find a bathroom...bless her heart, she must have understood what we were up against, she opened the doors for us and helped us in.
Good thing I always bring a backpack loaded with clean clothes and paper towels, etc.
I think Bugs understood what a precarious issue this is, now that she was involved herself.
Anyway.

But....I digress....:>) I will do my "handicap access rant" later...:>)

Instead of reading the Sunday paper I spent most of the morning cleaning the bathroom walls, floor, toilet, hosing off the wheelchair, giving Wheelie another shower, and doing laundry.
While I had a bucket of hot soapy water to clean the floor, I thought I might as well clean the kitchen and diningroom floors as well (laminate.)
From there I decided to do the rest of the laundry, ironing, putting stuff in the closet, only to find I needed room, and started pulling winter clothes off the shelves.

I already did most of my own clothes last week, but now I saw that I could easily pack up a bunch of winter coats we had not worn in three years.

THEN I busted my big toe on the safe, which is located in the corner of our walk- in closet. I opened it up, and started going through it. (I remembered I need to find my certificate of citizenship if I wanted to apply for social security next year.)

Of course I got severely sidetracked, finding all sorts of stuff in there I forgot about.
I found my mother in law's birth certificate, as well as Wheelie's grandfather's, his half sister, his half brother, his own, his military papers.....
I sorted everything out, bundled up a stack of old passports, made seperate envelopes for each of our papers.
On the bottom of the safe are two thick envelopes with our 'love letters'
I wisely did NOT get into those, that would have meant spending the rest of the week reading them....I'll save that for later!

So now, with my closet re organized, my safe re organized, my bathroom, kitchen and diningroom clean, laundry done, ironing done.....I still had some adrenalin left, and we decided to go out to our garden center to see if there were any flowers available for my front porch.
Many of our local nurseries have gone broke since Georgia has been in a draught. Pike's Nurseries was no exception. Thank God they were bought out by a company that seems to have been able to keep the store pretty much as it was, actually, I like it even better.
We came home with a few nice, easy to take care for, plants, a few colorful impatients, a nice bright pink geranium, some other stuff.
And since I was on a roll, I managed to plant everything and cleaned up afterwards.
Even got a start on pulling out the wild strawberries.
At 6:30 I was totally pooped and very sore.
Time to fix dinner and watch the tube :>)

I am not going to do much about my side garden this year. The draught is still with us, and I am just too lazy to keep hauling our shower water and our dish water in buckets to water the plants.

So now I have just a few pots in the front, and hopefully they will grow big and luscious.

Perhaps I'll find a few hanging plants for the back porch later on. For now it's enough.

So today is Monday again. Bugs just called me and is on her way. We're going to Target. :>)

Love it!

Sing......sing a song....................

I woke up from another one of those early morning dreams.


Wheelie apparently decided to get a job, and in this dream he was a music teacher at a school for small children. He was conducting this choir of about 100 tots, who were sitting in square grids. They were singing a song, knew all the words, were extremely enthosiastic and the harmonies were amazing. I did not recognize the song, but it had long verses. It was something like a cross between Carmina Burana and a Negro Spiritual. Wheelie was jumping around the stage flapping his hands around, and the kids soared. I had to leave, with regrets in my heart, but I had to go and take care of Boo-boo, who was taking her nap....


Whew!
Naturally it woke me up smiling, and I tried to linger a little while, just trying to pin down the details of the dream.

Music has always played a very important part in my life. As you know, my dad was pretty musical. He taught me how to play the guitar. My first instrument was a plastic ukulele, and on my tenth birthday I got a REAL guitar (picture)
.
We were always either listening to music, or playing it. My older brother played, my younger brother tried *S*, (he tried anything at least once) and my sister did as well.
Mom didn't play anything but I believe she played the piano as a young girl.

When I was a teenager I 'started' a little folk group. Just placed an ad in the paper. There were a dozen or so reactions to my ad, and I held auditions, ended up with 5 people. A few guitars, a few banjos, we didn't really amount to anything, but we did enter one talent show at a place called "The Marathon"
We played two songs, (Michael Row the Boat Ashore,) and I sang a few as well (Where Have All The Flowers Gone). Of course I forgot the words to both songs (AFGANG!!!!HAHA)and that was that for my short carrier. Short not really being a good description, more like a flash in the pan! A very SHORT flash! It did net me a boyfriend though, although he turned out to be a bit of a weirdo.

I vaguely remember my dad taking me to another talent show once. I remember wearing a green dress my mom made, we took the motor bike, guitar and all.
I sang "Brandend Zand" by Anneke Gronloh. (remember her, cousins???)

Music can heal anything that ails you. I am convinced of it. Any type of music.

I used to get goosebumps in church, when the "whole" choir was singing, the young people and the old ones.
It would thrill me to be in music class, with my music teacher (an opera singer) teaching us stuff like "Land of Hope and Glory"


Concerts were always amazing to me, as were the teen dance evenings at the church on Saturday evenings. Especially when there was a 'live' band playing.

Once in the USA I hooked up with Puri and with him the record business. Lucky me! I met many famous artists, had dinner with Aretha Franklin and Ray Charles (soul food, of course), chatted with Golden Earring, sat and listened on a couch at the Fillmore with B.B. King. Had dinner with Melanie (I've Got a Brand New Pair of Rollerskates) who told me she toured in Holland and brought home a bag of soil from there.
We had dinner at another 'record business couple''s house in San Francisco with someone named Julian, only to find out later that it was none other than Cannonball Adderly!!
God, I was so green!!!!

There was a time I lived in an Ashram, and the chanting would just transform me.

Much, much later I got the thrill of a lifetime experiencing punk rock on stage with my son.
Many, many rock concerts with Bugs and friends....

And in Holland, participating and just been blown out of the water by a song festival made up of 200 choirs. My sister sang with a local choir for years, and once a year they all came together from all over Holland and have this amazing day of singing.

My cousin mentioned in an email that she didn't know I played the guitar. Well, I really don't anymore, haven't touched one in years. And I never played very well, just well enough to make it interesting. :>)

Music is just a huge part of our lives. Wheelie is a genius when it comes to knowledge about any type of music, mostly classical. He knew Luciano Pavarotti personally, and while managing a classical record store in San Francisco, he organized many "in-house' appearances of famous classical artists.

Needless to say we try and expose Boo-Boo to as much music as she can stomach. She loves it, she bounces and sways, and 'sings' along. I can't wait to buy her a little (REAL) guitar, or a small drum set (hehe) Who knows....time will tell...

And here it is...Friday again...my how time flies...

I am still trying to get my thoughts wrapped around the cousins popping up. And I promise, I'll get around to telling about them too!!!

Have a great weekend y'all!
We're watching the weather...again...could get nasty...again....

SGMKJ!

Pannekoeken bakken!

I have a few moments....maybe....
The little one is supposed to take a nap....we'll see....right now she is cruizing her crib, looking for her binkie...but she is still quiet....shhhhhh

With all my Dutch cousins popping up all over the place I started getting a hunkering for something Dutch to eat.

So I fixed myself a pile of Dutch pancakes. See picture.
Now...the real Dutch pancakes are a lot thicker than I make them. Mine are more like crepes.

I dribble a line of Lyle's Golden Syrup on the middle, then a layer of cut up strawberries, and than a thick line of whipped cream. Then I roll the thing up and eat it, standing over the sink...this stuff can get messy and sticky...

YUMMMMMMMMMMMmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

When Bugs stopped by to drop Boo-boo off she smelled the pancakes, but said she didn't want any...HA!...She hesitated at the front door then came back and wolfed down three of them....

Nothing as satisfying as something sweet, sticky and warm, and doesn't that sound naughty!
:>)

Can't think about much to write about right now, it's hard to keep focused on writing with one ear at the door, expecting to have to jump up and get involved with my little whirlwind.

For fun I have been letting her roam around the house, just to see what she would get into.

Wow!

Within 30 minutes she destroyed the bathroom, rolled off all the toilet paper, pulled down the towels, emptied the laundry basket. She then proceeded to empty the shelves of my desk here, phone books, photo paper...books from the book shelf....
In the living room she single handed emptied the book shelves of videos and DVDs, took all my cookbooks down and pounded on the keypad of the micro wave oven.

She then went into her own room, and took down the baskets on her changing table, not much in there but diapers and tubes of ointment. Not interesting enough.

So when can I start teaching her to put stuff back????

I bought her a coloring book with a small pack of crayons....good luck! Bugs said. Sheesh...I can try, can't I?

The weather here in Georgia is pretty nice at the moment. It won't be long before it's too hot to go outdoors. The cherry blossoms and dogwoods are now in full bloom, this is by far the best time of the year.
Not having any medical emergencies to cope with at the moment, or other dramas for that matter, helps, of course.

Two years ago we were experiencing the passing of my aunt. Last year the birth of Boo-boo...This year...wait and see with my father...but...everything is quiet...let's hope we can keep it that way....at least for a few weeks...

Enjoy the sunshine y'all!

SGMKJ!

P.S.: Huhlaroo....I can't wait to see you again too...Bugs is going to try and get some time off, so she can come to your shower as well....*hugs*

40 Years in the USA, and that ain't no April Fools joke!

At the Bayside Coffee Shop

This picture was taken the morning we left for the airport
My brothers, sister-in-law and my little sister in the front

Fourty years ago today I stepped off an American Airlines airplane at San Francisco International airport and began my American adventure.

Initially I was only staying for two years. My uncle had invited me to come and be their housekeeper. He was visiting in Holland when he made the offer and must have felt generous. Not sure if he realized that I would take him up on his invitation!

He and my aunt became my sponsors, I started the long process of filling out papers and waiting for my visa. In those days you still needed to jump through a lot of hoops, there were shots to take, tests to take, pictures to take, miles of papers to fill out. After about a year everything was set and I was ready to go.
I paid for the trip myself. I didn't have any money saved, but my parents had saved the money I paid them for room and board all those years. What a nice surprise! It was the first and last time I ever saw a 1000 guilder bill! (My parents came through once again, as they would for pretty much most of my life, if I needed them, they were there)

To say I was awed about America is an understatement.
I was a very green 21 year old, (I thought I was very grown up) it was amazing how smoothly I made it safe and sound to California.
I had to transfer in New York. I vaguely remember calling my aunt and uncle (collect!) and taking a taxi to another part of the airport. I did not pay for the taxi, nor did I tip the guy, hey, what did I know! I am sure that pure ignorance got me through that trip. That, and some Grace from above.

I also remember a vague conversation with a girl on the AA flight from NYC to SFO telling me that the Kennedys were BAD news and that they were not to be trusted. (Presidential elections were going on, Bobby Kennedy was running) Again, what the heck did I know!!
Only later did I realize what an important time in history I was stepping into there.

I arrived at SFO with my pretty dress and fancy coat and big hat, my glam sunglasses, and my guitar. Looking back I have to laugh. My uncle had just bought a brand new Chevy Malibu. I had NEVER ridden in a real BIG American car before. It was HUGE, white with red upholstery
My cousin (Ignatz) was so happy to see me, he finally had a sister!

I seriously believed that I was going to be the housekeeper, and I had grand plans to "do" the work in the morning and sit outside in the yard at the water in the afternoon.

HA!

That first Sunday, my aunt and uncle took me to the restaurant they owned in Burlingame. The Bayside Coffee shop. My excitement took quite a dip when my uncle showed me the Coke machine and said: "this is where YOU will be working"

GHASP!!!!!!!WHAT??????NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!

The coffee shop was a cafeteria type restaurant. They were only open for breakfast and lunch since it was located in an industrial/office area.
I was paid $50 a week, of which I had to pay $15 for room and board.

Don't get me wrong, this may all sound a bit whiny, but I truly did not expect to have to work so hard! We would get up at 4am, we wore blue drip dry fabric shirts and skirts, and white cotton aprons, and white nurses shoes. Thank God we didn't have to wear hair nets (or did we? I forget.) We left after everyone was gone after lunch and the place was spic and span sparkling clean.
I worked my little ass off. As did everyone else. I learned an awful lot.
My uncle's motto: "There is a place for everything, and everything should be in it's place," still rings in my ear.
My aunts did all the cooking. Everything was made from scratch. A whole turkey roasted every day, a whole roast beef every day. They made homemade splitpea soup every day, and once in a while chicken croquettes.
The place was very popular, and my relatives did very well.

I started eating American food: French Toast, fried eggs with bacon, Danish pastries, pancakes! Steak, (lots of meat! I wasn't used to eating MEAT every darn day! At home we ate ONE egg a week, here we had at least two a day!) When I arrived in the US I weighted 98 pounds. I gained 30 within a year!

One of the reasons I wanted to leave home was that I had a tough time with my mom. She wanted me to be a certain way, I wanted the opposite. She wanted me to finish high school, I wanted to WORK. I managed to finish 4 years of school, doing one class twice, but I never got my high school diploma.

I had a few jobs before I came to the States. I was a typist in the mail room for a Dutch Men's wear store, and after that I worked for a laboratory that tested plant/flower/tree seeds for the government.

My relationship with mom did not get any better as the years went on. I wanted to get away, FAR away. If only for a few years!

In October of 1968 I met my first husband. I'll call him Puri for this blog. He worked at a record distributorship company across the street from the restaurant, and came for lunch every day.

Another brand new experience for this green girl. This guy was 9 years older, was divorced (and not catholic) and had two kids. I thought I had escaped the strict and Catholic attitude of my parents, but my aunt and uncle were just as bad. (talk about Kharma! *LOL*)

Puri had a racing green Triumph TR4.... little car. With a wooden dashboard, a convertible. WOWIE!
He worked for a record company which meant: going to a lot of concerts, and meeting lots of artists, and...smoking a lot of grass.
He lived in a cute little cottage, and we had fun spending the weekends together when he had the kids, who were 4 and 5 at that time. Spending the night together was severely frowned upon, but I didn't care.

One time when Puri took me home after a date (it WAS late) both my aunts were standing in the dark living room waiting for me, they scared the daylights out of me! They were very angry. :>)

I have to mention here that besides my aunt and uncle and cousin, another aunt lived with us, the unmarried one. More about her later :>)

My parents came to visit in June of 1969, their very first trip abroad. I told them that Puri and I wanted to move in together. Well.......................................
I was told that if it's all the same, why not JUST get married?
So...we did! The wedding was arranged within a week, so my parents could attend. I think they were unpleasantly surprised that I took them up on their offer. Haha...
We were married at a friends' house in the Oakland hills, they provided the champagne and the cake. It really was a very lovely little wedding.
Our honeymoon was a trip to Santa Cruz in an old crappy Plymouth (the Triumph had been repossessed by then). Since we didn't have any reservation and all the hotels were full, we drove back home and spent our wedding night at "home" on the trundle bed.

All this seems a lifetime ago. Really. It's mind boggling to realize that I have lived here 2/3 of my life.

So many memories, so many stories.....and in time I will write them all down...

I guess no one but me realized what day it is for me today, doesn't seem important, but to me it's like a birthday. After all, I did start a whole new life.

SGMKJ!