Tackle it Tuesday

This is a first for me - I've never done a Tackle it Tuesday before. That doesn't mean I didn't need to! I finally have time to make some sense of my house again - working every morning and taking care of the grands in the afternoon has left me not only short of time, but very short of energy. I am constantly looking at what needs to be done, and feeling frustrated that I couldn't get to it.

So - now I'm retired. I have spent the last two weeks getting my little room in order. This room used to be Kev's bedroom, and when he flew from the nest for the last time (yes, Erma Bombeck was right - the revolving door is a fact of life), I made it my own.


But - when the grandkids came along, and I began caring for them, it also became their play room. Needless to say, it's a bit of a problem keeping it looking as I want it to.


Now for the before pictures! Kristen says she's never seen any part of my house look this bad. It's true. I just kept throwing stuff in here for the last month or two of working. The stuff I brought from my office landed here, too.

It was simply overwhelming. It literally took me two weeks to get it all done. But tonight I am sitting here in my orderly room and feeling mighty good.

The first step was to go through every piece of paper that had been piling up. I had so much recycled paper by the end of that process that I could not believe it. Neither could the trash man, probably!

The kids' books and toys aren't used often enough to warrant their being the centerpiece of the room. Of course, Care Bear noticed it right away when she came over. I told her they were now in boxes in the closet, for them to use any time they wish.

All of the special things that were in my work office have found a new place on the bookshelf. (You can see them in their previous setting here).

I got another bookcase to organize the phone, bills, library books, magazines that I hope to read someday soon, Bible, devotional books, diapers, wipes, etc. etc. etc.

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I got a new chair for the desk, which takes up much less room - and organized the desk, so that I don't always have to have the roll top pulled down

I scrubbed the ridiculously dirty play table (which doesn't really fit well with my decor, but oh, well!), and put their coloring books and art paper in a basket behind the table.

Here's another angle - the new t.v. my sweet DC got me - for no reason except that he loves me, and wanted to try out the new HD thing on a smaller set. I love it!

The final piece - I needed someplace besides the floor in front of my chair for my laptop to live - I went to Hobby Lobby for their 30% off all their furniture sale - I picked up this little side table - probably not what it was designed for, but it works for me! You can see the computer on it in a previous picture. I also picked up that basket in the background for all my newly organized folders - -

This is merely the first of many problem areas in my house that need eventual attention. I'm not sure I have the courage to show you all of them! Fortunately, the rest are not so obvious - the kind that when you open a door, things start rearranging themselves. OH, my!

Friday Show and Tell - and Twin Update

I have said often that one of my big projects after retirement would be organizing pictures that have been piling up for years. I have not started, and probably won't until it is dark and cold at night again. I've spent a lot of time reorganizing my little office/play room, which I've mentioned before, and will be sharing that process a bit later.

When you're going through old pictures and memories, it's amazing what you find. I want to show you two pictures that I have saved that appeared in newspapers - one in the local town paper and the other in my high school one.

Do you remember junior high? To me, it was when time started going fast - I think it had to do with running from class to class instead of staying in the same room all day. Do you remember Sadie Hawkins Day? We had this celebration when I was in 7th grade - I think we were supposed to ask a guy out, but I just dressed up crazy for the day at school. The newspaper must have come around and caught me with two of my classmates, for posterity. The quality of the picture after all these years is very poor, but you can see how goofy I looked - I'm the one on the left.

When I was a senior, I was the co-editor of the school paper. It was so much fun and I had the opportunity to meet and interview many interesting people. One of our staff members was an artist who was really gifted in cartooning. Each month we featured one or two seniors in the "Senior Spotlight." We would use that person's picture (mine was my junior class picture), she would add the body to represent the interests, strengths, or idiosyncrasies. Here was mine - don't you just love the glasses and the flip? (Double-click to enlarge if you want to read the story).

Do you have any funny pictures of yourself to share? We'd love to see them!

And now - the twin update - they're six months old! How could it be?? They weigh in at 11 and 12 pounds (approximately - pending their 6 month check-ups).

For more Friday Show and Tell stories, stop by Kelli's blog, There Is No Place Like Home.

A Bit More Randomness

The first week of retirement was great - I have carved out the morning for myself, with anything Kristen needs to do coming in the afternoons, when necessary. I have made it to the gym by 8:00 every morning (except Wednesday, which is library story time day, so I have the afternoon off). It feels so good, and it's working! I've been riding my bike there every day as well, so that saves gas and adds a few more burned calories. I'm working the old WW plan - the plan works if you work the plan!

I'm going to do a "Tackle it Tuesday" for the first time next week - I'm making slow progress with my little office/playroom. It feels good to actually have the time and motivation to get my house in order after all these years of looking the other way.

The 4th was a busy day for us. We usually just hang around home, go to the park for a burger cooked by the Lions Club guys, back home for the afternoon, and then back to the park for the fireworks (we're blessed to live walking distance from the park, so we get to avoid the parking fiasco). This year, we went for the burger and met DC's mom and sister there. Then we went up to Kev and Sema's to see our new grandpuppy. They're the proud owners of Calypso (as in Pirates of the Caribbean, in honor of the black eye patch), to be called Callie. She's a bull terrier with lots and lots of energy.

The fireworks are always really good in our town, but this year was the best ever. I walked over to the sculpture park (I plan to share this place with you soon) and scoped out a nice place for the rest, who came about 8:30. I read my book and actually dozed off for a few minutes. The sunset was so great.

I tried the "night landscape" mode for the first time - the lights reflecting from the neighborhood across the lagoon.

I tried out the "fireworks" mode on my camera, but it wasn't too successful. I couldn't keep it still enough.

Now for a little tour of the current flowers in bloom. The clematis are gorgeous this year.

The delphiniums are vibrant blue.

We have so much shade that we only have one regular rose bush. But the miniature roses are profuse and beautiful.

The snapdragons are not plentiful this year, but they always bring back a fun memory.

Care Bear and I used to play this little game - Susie Snapdragon would talk to Care Bear and she would talk back - I learned some very interesting things when Susie Snapdragon asked Care Bear questions. Maybe Kate and Emma will want to play this game in a couple of years.

Have a wonderful week!

Freedom Isn't Free

It was the early 1980s. There were many Cambodian and Vietnamese citizens who desperately wanted to find a way to get to America, and to freedom. They were languishing in horrible conditions in refugee camps around the world. They were waiting and hoping and praying for someone to sponsor them for a new chance at life.

The story I am going to tell you reminds me of this parable, which I am sure you have heard or read:

An old man had a habit of early morning walks along the beach.

One day as he looked down the shore he saw a human figure moving like a dancer. As he came closer he saw that it was a young woman and she was not dancing but was reaching down to the sand, picking up starfish and very gently throwing them into the ocean.

“Young lady, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?”

“The sun is up and the tide is going out, and if I do not throw them in they will die.”

“But young lady, do you not realise that there are miles and miles of beach and starfish all along it? You cannot possibly make a difference.”

The young woman listened politely, paused and then bent down, picked up another starfish and threw it in the sea, past the breaking waves, saying …“It made a difference for that one!” (Source Unknown)

DC's parents attended another church in our town, and they had sponsored two widowed Cambodian sisters and their children. They were eager for their brother to be able to come to America as well. Our church was approached with the idea of sponsoring this family. We were very small at the time, and I remember all of the discussion that took place before we stepped out on faith to bring the Yim family over.

At the time we contracted to sponsor them, there were 5 members of the family - Chhien, Noral, Chana, Sokoma, and Sarah (all pronounced with the accent on the last syllable). By the time everything had been processed and approved, they had twin boys - Richard and Thomas - also with pronunciation on the second syllable. That came as a bit of a shock!

I had been persuaded to be the coordinator of this project. It was quite an adventure. The first step was to find people who would pledge enough monthly funding to pay the bills - apartment, insurance, food, clothes, you know - the basics. We were blessed to find and qualify for a four-bedroom low income apartment. People brought furnishings, clothes, kitchen supplies. On April 28, 1982, we went to the airport with the church van to pick them up.

Chhien had a wonderful smile, and was very industrious. We were able to get him a bicycle to ride to the job we helped him get at the pottery factory out in the canyon. The family had become Christians in one of the camps, where someone held church services and children's Bible clubs. They arrived with one large box of possessions on his shoulder.

Noral spoke hardly any English, while the rest of the family had learned it quite well in the camps. (They had also learned some familiar old Sunday School songs while they were in the Philippines).

Chana and Sokoma were maybe 8 and 10 years old. Their English was very good, and they were very bright, sweet little girls, who were very helpful to their mother. The twins were about six months old, if I recall correctly.

Sarah was two, and just adorable. She and the twins were born in refugee camps, thus the American names. Their pronunciations were their own.

We thought they would be so thrilled with all of the room in the apartment, but we soon found that they were all sleeping in the same room, bringing mattresses from the various beds. We provided a bit of spending money, and we found out that Chhien had gone to the nearby drugstore and bought a very pricey bottle of perfume, which they splashed on their bodies generously after a cold bath or shower. We realized, after hearing the horror stories of their escape from Cambodia, that they needed the feeling of security which came from being all together. They were used to being crowded into one room.

We had committees for each area of need: someone to take them grocery shopping, someone for medical needs, someone as school liaison, someone to get them to church, and others I cannot remember at the moment. They also received WIC provisions, which helped greatly with the little ones. However, their digestive systems could not handle dairy products, so they wanted to give the milk away to us when we came to visit. They always insisted we stay for a snack when we came to visit. They also received garden produce which was brought to the residents of this complex. They always shared it with visitors as well. (I was called daily for some crisis or another, so I was often the recipient of their generosity).Noral was an excellent cook, and she used mostly vegetables, spices, rice, and a bit of meat. One day my sister, the grocery store coordinator, took Noral shopping. She kept asking for a cigar. My sis was quite puzzled, quite sure they didn't smoke - and if they did, CIGARS? She finally figured out, through much walking up and down of aisles, that she was trying to say SUGAR.

We soon learned that Noral had a large tumor on her thyroid. She needed surgery. They wanted no more children - so we were discussing tubal ligation with her. (Of course, Chhien was not eager to do the V word!) She was so very fearful. Her brother, who was in California, talked to her on the phone and convinced her that the surgery would kill her - she was convinced that the cutting open of her throat would be reminiscent of what Pol Pot did to her citizens back home in the time of war. We had to locate a Cambodian doctor (who could not practice in America) that she was willing to listen to. We loaded everybody into my car and headed to Denver, to a very large colony of their countrymen. We spent the afternoon listening to this former doctor convince her that the surgery would be good for her health, not kill her.

One day the school called me to come and talk to the nurse. It seems that the girls had been sick and the cultural way their parents handled sickness was to scrape the backbone with a spoon, hoping to release the germs. Somehow this was discovered by the school nurse and she thought they were being abused. We had to find an interpreter who could meet with us to inform them that they were in danger of losing their children to social services unless they stopped doing something they did in their own culture to care for their children - this in the land of the free and home of the brave!

Chhien was very eager to see snow, so one summer day we all piled into the car again and headed for the mountains, where there was still a remnant of winter. I'll never forget it - Sokoma got carsick and was about to lose her lunch - Chhien put his hands under her mouth and caught it, making sure none spilled in our car. We pulled over as quickly as possible and he carefully carried it down to the river and cleaned his hands off. I was impressed!

The Fourth of July came and we were so anxious to show them an American celebration. We joined our church friends for our annual tradition of watching the fireworks together on the parsonage lawn. It didn't turn out as we expected, though. The explosion of the fireworks sounded too much like war to them, and brought back horrible memories of the Pol Pot regime. They became very agitated. We took them home quickly.

After her surgery, Noral wanted very badly to join her brother in Long Beach, where there was a huge Cambodian population. She was going to the pay phone and calling him daily. They finally were able to get it across to me that they wanted to move to California to be with family. They were getting more and more fearful of the coming winter. We were just getting ready to try to round up coats, boots, gloves, mittens, caps for their large family when they packed everything up and left on the bus. They came with the one box, and left with 32.

I thought of them so often (and still do), and was so happy one night late when I was awakened by a phone call from Chhien. The girls were in high school and excelling in their grades, Noral still didn't speak good English (not necessary when you live in a totally Cambodian community), but was "fat" according to her husband. I immediately realized she did not understand our directions to her that she had to take the medicine for her removed thyroid for the rest of her life. I was able to find out the name of her doctor and make a call to him, letting him know about her history. I haven't heard since, and wonder how she is doing physically.

When they left, Chhien told me that someday he and the family would come back to visit - I kept hoping that someday they'd come driving in to my driveway. It hasn't happened yet. I would love to know what has happened to them.

We couldn't save the masses of people trapped into refugee camps, but we could rescue one family. It was a privilege and an honor. So while we're celebrating our country's birthday and our independence today, we'll be thinking of this family that we as a church family were able to help achieve their dream of independence in this great country.

Happy Fourth of July!

Thirty Years and Counting

I'm repeating this post I wrote two years ago - right after I began blogging. I am making a few revisions and adding some pictures - I didn't do pictures at that time.


Today is the 30th anniversary of our move into this house of ours. It's nothing special; in fact, it's getting pretty used up! But it's ours - all ours. No bank involved any more.

I had driven over here almost every day to watch the progress and record it for posterity - and I think I hoped they'd do a better job if I checked up on them every day. I don't think that worked!

On that hot summer day, we were the first ones to invade this cul de sac. The next morning the first thing we noticed was the total lack of bird songs, having moved from an old neighborhood. The second thing we noticed was the very loud sound of an airplane buzzing overhead, very close to the roof of our house. Turns out that we were very close to a farm which was being sprayed by a crop duster. Believe me, there are no farms left anywhere near us now - just hundreds of houses and thousands of people! Kinda sad.

Eventually, all 13 houses were built and inhabited - the kids that moved in a couple at a time had a great time playing on the piles of dirt - and I remember watching every minute to be sure they didn't have too much fun and fall into a newly dug basement!

As the neighborhood grew up, we at one time had 32 children on the street - what a great time the kids had in the evenings, playing with the various daddies. There was one time period for a couple of years or more that every time one baby was born, another pregnancy was announced. It was great fun. We had block parties and everyone watched out for each other. I remember taking a hot loaf of home made bread every time someone moved in.

Alas, the fun didn't last and people began to seek out larger or fancier houses. Some of the houses turned into rentals and the yards didn't look so great any more. We are one of two original owners on the street.

Interestingly, two of the houses now have 3rd generation children of the originals. Kristen lives 3 doors down with our grandchildren. Two doors the other way, a couple has moved back in with the parents and have a child (the man of the house died suddenly at 50 of a heart attack since I originally wrote this - she still lives there with her son and his family). Who would have ever thought?

One of the good things about this longevity is that my very mobile family has always had a place to use as a "permanent address." One of my nieces who has lived in many overseas spots says that it is good to have a place that feels like "home" no matter where she has lived.

I have told DC many times I didn't want to ever move, because I wanted my grandkids to climb those trees that I worked so hard planting. And here that time has arrived. Legacy or Rut? What do you call it?

The next spring, when we first began to put in our yard, I became the landscape "expert," planting the trees and bushes. DC dug a six foot diameter hole. which was filled with water the next morning, as we had one of our frequent rain storms during that night, I had to get this tree in that day or it was going to die. There I was out there early in the morning, while the kids still slept, wearing fishing waders, trying to get this tree to stand up straight (at least 10 feet tall) while I tried to shovel the mud back into the hole. Keep in mind that we had just added a huge supply of "natural fertilizer", if you get my drift, the day before! I found out later that a neighbor was watching this whole fiasco from her window and getting a real bang out of it. Much of the time I was close to falling into that muck, because the waders got stuck and I couldn't move very easily. Oh, what a picture!

And now - as it looks today -- at least as much as I could catch - it is huge.

We had contracted with a nursery in town to create a plan for our yard, and we in turn would buy a percentage of the trees and bushes from them. We ended up buying almost everything from them, if I remember correctly. DC was very busy that spring with his job, so it fell upon me (a totally indoors kind of person), to plant the trees and bushes. I had two small children, but I would faithfully get out there every morning, dig 5-6 holes, and run to the nursery to pick up that many bare root bushes. It was an extremely wet spring that year and every time we'd prepare for a big project, the rain would come and make muck out of our dirt, also filling up any holes we had dug or trenches that had been prepared for the sprinkling system. I remember the day that we finally put in grass seed, trying to beat the coming rainstorm, thinking it would be great to have God give the pre-lawn its first good watering. Well, He sent a gully-washer, and every newly purchased seed ended up against the patio or around the newly-planted trees. We had a great crop of grass in totally inappropriate places! We tried again.

A few years later, DC's parents went back to Wisconsin to the old home place, in the woods up north. Unbelievably, they brought us home two trees for our growing yard. How those trees made the long trip without dying is a miracle in itself. One was a Blue Spruce, about 2 feet tall. It now stands at least 30 feet. What a great memory for my husband of his childhood at his grandma's place. The other one they brought was a maple of some variety.

Amazingly, the next spring, wild flowers and wild raspberries began to sprout around that maple tree - they had come out here from Wisconsin in the ball of dirt that surrounded the roots. They made it through that 1200 mile trip, through replanting, through winter, and came back to life in the spring. God puts amazing spunk into his plants! DC transplanted some, and especially the raspberries thrived. Some of them are in this large raspberry patch.

The little tree in front of the patch is an apple tree - Anakin planted a seed from his apple one day when he was about 4. It began to grow immediately, and two years later, DC transplanted it out of the flower garden. It is at least 8 feet tall now.

Just a few more shots taken today -- 30 years later. I just realized I've lived half my life in this house! Amazing, considering I lived in 23 apartments/houses during my first 30 years. This Austrian Pine was shorter than the fence when we planted it.