You know how things can wake you up in the night and sometimes cause panic which causes fear, which causes lack of sleep, which causes crankiness which causes discord, which causes lack of enthusiasm and drains you of all energy.

Well, this plan of ours hasn’t caused any of that…yet.

We have sectioned off the storage unit and everything is in one of three categories. They are:

1. Keep
2. Church garage sale
3. Things the kids might want someday. (A keeper for now.)

I heard somewhere that if you haven’t used or missed something in a year, you should get rid of it. We have a lot of things in that category, but just to be on the safe side, I think we should store them for another year and see if we miss them. The trouble with that is, we won’t remember if we have what we are missing or need to use. I really can’t see us running over to the storage unit because we now have a use for the electric can opener we packed in a box. We would have to also remember the category of the box that held the item. Maybe we need more categories. We might need to catalog each item. Another idea would be to take pictures of everything. No…we can’t do that because we already have half of the storage unit full and no pictures.

I better stop thinking about this or tonight will be the night all those emotions that cause bad things to happen will show up.

We got a break today. We went to a 50th anniversary surprise party.  The couple’s three kids hosted a luncheon celebration at a local Mexican restaurant. There must have been fifty friends and relatives there. We had a private room and it was full. We ate fajitas with all of the fixings and for dessert, they had a delicious anniversary cake, which really pleased Kip. I think the luncheon idea was a winner.

 

Here I go in a different direction again. I think it says somewhere in the writer’s rule book that you shouldn’t jump around. It’s better to stick to one central theme. I found this tea towel while Christmas shopping. I think I get it, but I’m not totally sure.

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I ran across a picture and it brought to mind what happened the day I snapped it.  Kip, Mason, Craig and Calamity Jane are standing on a big rock that we saw while walking along the rugged beach near Fortuna, CA.

We decided we all needed a little bit of fun since we had to stay in a motel for three weeks waiting for our house to be ready to move into. Now that I think about it, I remember it was Thanksgiving Day. We went to a restaurant around noon for a turkey dinner. From there we dropped Heidi off at a movie. She wasn’t interested in coming to the beach with us. She was fifteen at the time and missed her friends.

We hadn’t been to a beach that was so rugged, with waves crashing against the rocky shores. We didn’t know about the dangerous undertow. After this picture was taken, Craig came back to where I was standing and started playing in the sand with some rocks and a stick. Mason and Kip were standing on a huge log and we were watching the waves. I took my shoes off and rolled up my pant legs and walked the short distance to join them. We were all standing there on the log. It was so wide and long it didn’t even require balancing to stay on it.

All of a sudden a mammoth wave hit the log and it started to roll toward the beach. I fell first and was forced under water. Because of the undertow, I didn’t know if I was moving up or down. I eventually came up. When I realized the log was being pushed forward I felt a stab of fear. Which way did Mason fall? I was screaming and crying until I saw Kip with his arms around Mason. He had pushed Mason the opposite direction of  the rolling log. They were both okay and the log stopped moving. Kip told us to run up on the beach because the log was about to start rolling in our direction as the tide went out. We made it up there in time to see the log roll back out. Craig was still busily playing in the sand. Mason and I were still visibly shaken. If any of us had fallen in front of the log, we would have been crushed. When things calmed down, Kip and I walked out to the log and tried to move it. We were trying to see if we were strong enough to roll it at all. It wouldn’t budge.

The remainder of the time we lived in Fortuna, we had a healthy respect for the ocean. It was not a place to ride the waves like the beaches in southern California. We had to stay on shore and watch. It was beautiful and mesmerizing.

I have often thought about that day. It could have ended so differently. What would Craig have done if he found himself alone on the beach? Heidi would be expecting us to pick her up after the movie. She had no idea where we were and of course that was twenty years before cell phones.

Thank God the worst didn’t happen. All we had to worry about was getting the car full of sand and riding all the way back in wet clothes. It was definitely a time to give thanks.

I am so anxious to tell all of you what Kipper and I are up to, but I promised I wouldn’t leak a word until after January 1st. In the meantime, I am taking lots of step by step pictures. You are dying to know, aren’t you? You might… no you will… think we are crazy. Maybe we are, but we’re not certifiable…yet.

On another note…

We’re getting new flooring put in our kitchen and living room next week. They said it will take four to five days, so we’re going to fire up the RV and go to the place we went on our maiden RV voyage… Canton, TX. (It’s about 18 miles from here.) We have to move all of the furniture from both rooms and get all of the nicky nack’s out of the living room to prepare for the floor people. We decided this would be a good time to go through our whole house and get rid of “stuff.”

Well, the whole thing has gotten out of control. We were horrified at all the things we, (okay I), have collected in the three years we have lived in this house. I feel sorry for all of you out there who have decades of accumulated treasures that you will one day have to go through.

My brother, Billy, convinced his wife, Liz, to go through everything in the garage and get rid of the things they no longer needed, so they could maybe put a car in there. He said three hours later she was still reading all of the kid’s school papers that were in the first box. He couldn’t take it, so he called the project off.

I am so proud of Kip and me. We have sorted through everything that has been stored in the attic, and we are continuing to go through every room in the house. We are so determined to be, what do they call it? Oh, yeah…minimalistic.

Hold that thought. We now are the proud renters of a storage space. We have hauled box after box and even some furniture and exercise equipment over there. I know what you’re thinking. We aren’t brave at all. You are right.

I am a little bit like my mother. She was not attached to anything of the material nature. She gave away my grandmother’s (on Dad’s side) silver, piece by piece, in exchange for hard labor. The hired help would agree to complete a certain task like clean the basement or take everything out of the furnace room, clean it, and then reorganize it. When it came time for them to be paid, she said she didn’t have the cash, but would they like a piece of silver? Do you think I’m making this up? Well I’m not. I recently received this silver ladle in the mail from my cousin who felt guilty about having accepted several things that should have been handed down to Billy and Me.

Don’t tell him this, but that silver ladle is now somewhere in a rented storage unit. I did keep the Francis Plumbing and Heating ceramic toilet. The same cousin sent Billy our grandfather’s (on Dad’s side) watch. He even put it in a display dome for him. It’s probably in a box in the garage.

I found myself going through my most recent collection. I was trying to decide if I should continue collecting hats, store them in the storage unit, or give them away.

What do you think dogs and cats?

A terrible thing has happened. I think Kip took my chest full of crowns to the storage unit. I wonder what that’s all about!

Kip has a collection of CD’s and several country western albums. Some of them he purchased back in the 60’s. He hardly ever listens to them. I’m thinking storage unit.

 

I was daydreaming today when I should have been paying attention. I try with little success not to do that. I was thinking about small town life.

Mabank, TX, where we live now, could be considered a small town, but it’s still many times larger in population than Murdo, SD. I can go into a store or cafe and not know a single person in there. I can’t tell you who lives in every house in town. I haven’t lived in Murdo for decades, yet on our recent visit, we drove through the neighborhoods looking at the houses and I could remember who lived there fifty years ago. My husband, Kip, couldn’t believe it. He grew up in the big city of Laramie, Wyoming.

Back to discussing the small town connection. Where does the time go?

While in Murdo, we went to visit Tammy Van Dam at the grade school and she told us they were going to build a new elementary school. I said, “Huh? This school is new!” We moved into it when I was halfway through the eighth grade. When I stopped to think about it, I realized that was in 1966…51 or so years ago. My school is old and shabby. They are going to tear it down. It’s enough to give me nightmares.

I went to the first elementary school until the 2nd semester of 8th grade, which is when we moved to the new school. Tammy Lindquist Van Dam,(in the next photo), the day we visited and she gave me the shocking news.

Does that mean I’m old and shabby? I don’t think anyone mocked us when cousin Val and I rode down Murdo’s Main St. in a convertible. I went to see the red convertible when Kip and I visited last summer. It’s in a museum for old cars. Everyone has heard about the Pioneer Auto Museum. Museums are for old, outdated, antique cars. People live longer now. They might start calling old people antiques. It will be senior, elderly and then antique.

Is that an antique person sitting in the car on top of the sign?

Every time I visit home, I find myself a little more removed from the people. I used to see families and classmates I knew. Now I don’t recognize some of the names, and I get confused looks when I ask about someone who I think is related to the one I’m talking to. I’ll ask, “Are you so and so’s youngster?” They will say, “No, I’m his grandson, and I’m 45. My mind is a generation behind.

I am comforted by the fact that a lot of things are the same. The auditorium looks like it was just built yesterday, and it’s still the center of everything. Cafe 16 is now the Star Cafe, but the inside is very much the same. Kip and I had a great breakfast there.

The home we moved to when I was eleven is still there, although it’s buried under the trees at the Range Country Motel. How many people can say their childhood home is buried? “Yikes!”

The motel back in the 70’s when it was the Chalet. The motel now…my house is under that tree.

The Frosty Freeze is gone, but what used to be Super Value is still there and when I walked in, Ruth Daum called me by name. (I hope I have her name right. If not, please correct me.)

Someone posted a picture of Main St. back in the 40’s. There was a restaurant where the dry cleaners used to be. I’m not sure what is there now. Robin Cromwell and Butch Rada listed several businesses that are north of old Hwy 16, and on or near Main St. I like knowing it’s thriving.

Getting older isn’t all bad. I don’t have to fill out anymore employment applications or punch a time clock. I don’t have to worry about kids misbehaving or cooking big meals. I think I was about 40 when I stopped trying to figure out what I was going to be when I grew up. I was a mortgage loan underwriter. I don’t remember telling everyone that’s what I wanted to be when I was planning my future.

I’m probably not going to get back home this year, but I’m looking forward to a trip to Phoenix, AZ in February. My brother, Billy, our step-father, Gus, and our cousin, Valerie, are going to the Jones County Reunion. I don’t think they have a parade, or a Pioneer Auto Museum with a red convertible. I do know a lot of the people from Murdo who moved to AZ when they retired. Most of them are a little older than Valerie and I are. I wonder if they have a Pioneer People Museum there yet…

Do you think Valerie and I should take our crowns? I’m not wearing my long red Kitty Reynolds formal if I have to walk everywhere.

 Here we come Phoenix!

I’m taking some blog breaks over the holidays. I have a big birthday on New Year’s Eve to plan for. My soon to be 8 yr. old granddaughter was born on my birthday and we usually celebrate together.

After the first of the year, I will be taking you on an adventure of a different kind. I can’t wait to tell you about it.

I hope everyone had a glorious Christmas. Here are a few of our Christmas pictures.

The above pics were taken Christmas Eve at daughter Heidi’s home. She is a born entertainer. Christmas day, we helped at a local restaurant. They served a free Christmas dinner to over 300 people. Vicky, who owns Vicky’s BBQ is a genuine community supporter. She accepted donations, but that all went to the Fire Department.

Kip got me an intensive pulsed light hair removal system. I don’t know what it is for sure, but unlike my grandson, I don’t think I’ll have to buy anymore razors. The 3rd picture is of our son, Mason and his family hunkering down in cold Wyoming. The picture below is of Daughter Heidi with her granddaughter, our GGD, Ryan Constance.

I love to look at pictures. It doesn’t matter if I know the people in them or where they were taken.

I have been in awe today by some pictures from the past and some recent photos of beautiful skies. I can’t ever get through all of the Facebook feed, because I spend too much time enjoying everyone’s photographs.

My cousin, Sue, posted some pics of our family from back in the 40’s during wartime. I remember Mom telling me she and Aunt Ella (Valerie’s mom), lived together in an apartment in California. My dad and Uncle Al were overseas. Grandma Sanderson couldn’t get to California in time to see Uncle Jeff before he shipped out. Mom said she wouldn’t look at the ocean the whole time she was there, because it took her Jeff away.

Jeff Sanderson with Bob Haverberg. Jeff is Mom and Helen’s brother. Bob is Helen’s husband.

It was really fun to look at the picture of Mom’s sister, Helen. She was a beauty inside and out. All four girls were pretty. Grandpa Sanderson said when he had one of the girls with him, people would remark that his daughter was beautiful. He always told them he had three more just as beautiful at home. Aunt Elna was the youngest by five or six years.

 

Aunt Ella on the left…Mom and Aunt Ella on the right.

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Sue also ran across a photo of Grandma and Grandpa, and Mom at our house. They often came after church for Sunday dinner. It was usually fried chicken. Grandma always left a dime tip by her plate.

Grandma and Grandpa Sanderson….my mother, Loretta Gustafson

Below, is a picture of Grandpa’s Jeep that looked just like Uncle Jeff’s 51 Willy. Beside the Jeep, is Grandpa’s Ford. Valerie insists Grandpa had the roof painted dark blue so if he ever got lost in a snowstorm people could find him. (I believe you Val. I know I always expect you to believe everything I say.) If we believe it, then it has to be true. This is the car that had the buzzer that warned Grandpa when he was exceeding the speed limit, which he always was. Some of those rides to the cabin were really nerve wracking.

I also look on Facebook every day for the sunrise and sunset pictures Dianna Kenobbie Diehm always posts. She catches the sun barely peeking over the landscape, or fading out of sight. Sometimes she catches fast-moving clouds. You can feel the quiet calm or the energy in that moment in time, Dianna captures so well.

These are photographs taken by Dianna Kenobbie Diehm. Aren’t they awesome? (By the way…You can see many of Dianna’s photographs in my new book, Dakota’s Story. It’s on Amazon and is available in black and white, full color, and e-book format. More on that tomorrow.)

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Seeing families together for holidays and reunions are also some of my favorites. You can almost feel the joy they’re experiencing.

(top left)…sisters Ella Leckey, Helen Haverberg, and Loretta Gustafson. The bottom photo is of Grandma Sanderson (with beads on as always). Bob Haverberg, Al Leckey, Ella Leckey and Helen Haverberg..This was taken at the Nemo cabin. The other picture was taken recently. I threw it in because I thought it was cute. My granddaughters are looking at the beautiful Christmas tree from underneath.

God bless the picture takers who capture precious moments in time, so we can go back and relive good memories.

This blog was also prompted by the photographs I found looking through boxes of pictures while I was supposed to be packing and sorting. The room you saw in last night’s blog looks a little better, but not much.

I hope some of you missed my blog last night. I didn’t write one. This will probably be brief as well for two reasons.

I am working on the roll-out of Dakotah’s Story. It is now available on Amazon in black and white, full color, and ebook format. I will give you all the details, Tuesday.

It was a tricky story to convert but I think it was worth the extra time and headaches. Let’s just say I learned a lot. I included many of Dianna’s and Amber’s photographs, which wasn’t as easy as you might think. I learned a lot in the “art” of formating. The sunrise/sunset photos are beautiful, and we get to see Soo’-tah in action.

I still intend to donate the proceeds to cancer research. I found out that Amazon will take care of it for me. As I said before, I know it won’t be a significant amount, but It will be from us, right?

Here is an excerpt…This part was not in the original story.

I made my way to Deadwood by train. I was fortunate because this was the first year the railway came to the growing town. My first impression was that it was a pretty rugged mining town.

I knew I would have to be there at least overnight, so I secured a small inexpensive room, in what seemed to be a reasonably safe hotel, before going in search of the Lawrence County Courthouse.

I found everything to be in order just as my father said it would be. While at the courthouse, I inquired about where I might be able to purchase a horse and wagon. The kind gentleman I talked to wrote down a name and showed me where I could find everything I needed. I was able to get a good horse and a wagon that was old but suited my needs. I hurried to purchase my supplies before heading toward Ft. Meade which was about fifteen miles east of Deadwood. The farmhouse was another ten miles north. I figured I should be able to make it to the property before dark. I was pleased that so far, everything had gone as planned.

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Now to the second reason I have been and will be a little hit and miss until after Christmas.

It all started when I was looking for my checkbook. Truthfully, I’m not sure I even have one anymore. It’s been so long since I have used anything but a debit card, and I can’t remember the last time I wrote a check.

It wasn’t in my office. I can’t believe how much stuff I had in a medium-sized closet. I was trying to find my checkbook, but I am also taking all of my Christmas decorations down because we decided to put in new flooring and the flooring people can do it next week. Everything in the living room and kitchen has to be moved and tearing out the old flooring will create a lot of dust. We’re not going to be home anyway, so I decided to take the time to sort through stuff and if I find my checks in the meantime, that will be an added bonus.

I also decided to show you a few cute pics of some of our grandkids.

Guess Santa wasn’t so scary last year. (Skyler and Ryan Constance)

Seamus and Hudson rode on the Polar Express!

Did someone say, (smile!)

Maybe tomorrow we will check in on Pearl’s Busy Nest.