READY OR NOT

You can’t be 70ish without thinking about death. Sorry, please do not give up on me yet. I’m going to make this as painless as possible and throw in a few jokes to sooth your worries.

AT MY AGE MANY TESTS AND DOCTOR APPOINTMENTS HAVE ME FEELING LIKE THIS

Grandpa Sanderson’s favorite indoor sport later in his senior years was attending funerals. When you’re young, it’s not a number one priority but in his generation and with his kind and generous spirit and upbringing, you attended church and you loyally attended funerals for friends and loved ones who have passed.

Now that I am in my early 70’s, I understand since recently I’ve lost some good friends and relatives. One of our longtime friends passed away in August and she was 70ish. Her husband of 54 years taught math and science with a lot of our friends at our local school for over 30 years. He’s taking it really hard. He called me yesterday for my birthday. We had a solid conversation with some philosophy and emotional support thrown in. It was intense. After the happy birthday wishes, he talked about his wife’s death. He is reading books on grieving and joining a support group. He was numb and did not know his own name for two weeks after she passed away, he told me. Then he said his wife sent a message to him from the after life and he realized she wanted him to keep loving others. He decided to use his time left on Earth to learn. She wanted him to learn about himself and others throughout this grieving process. To turn it into another chapter in life and not hang his head in sorrow.

It was good to hear him speak of his experience. He’s always been a caring, thoughtful man. He has these 70ish years left to learn and grow. His wife would have wanted him to keep learning, to keep loving life like she did.

DO NOT DROWN YOUR SORROWS WITH ALCOHOL!

Our sons visited this week. One from LA and one from the Bay Area. I was chatting away as we sat around our old kitchen table (an antique table that sat in Grandma and Grandpa’s South Dakota cabin long ago). I was telling them about teacher friends and family that had passed away. Our oldest son said. “Uh, I have a rule that you can’t mention more than two people who have died in our conversation.” He did it with a half smile on his face. He didn’t explain himself so I figured he was teasing. Later I decided that being 42, he didn’t want to hear about dead people. On the other side being 70ish, I’m experiencing several close friends passing away which leads to realizing how close to death I am at this age and stage.

Back to my phone conversation with our friend who’s wife died last month: his wife who had cancer 13 years ago and had beaten it for the time being, always said on her birthday each year she was so happy to be here. She was glad to be alive. She loved and learned in the time she had left.

It’s another part of being older whether you’re 65 or 75 or 85. We face the end differently the closer we get to it. Our son joked around by making up a rule about dead people in conversation. That’s how he dealt with the subject. And that’s fine.

I once heard that our first name is Birth and our last name is Death. I don’t like that saying. I prefer the old saying: you’re as young as you feel. I also prefer my friend opting for continued learning and loving in life. And his message to me that day was “Happy Birthday” so I am still celebrating my birth, another year to look forward to and having that cocktail and enjoying that sunset.

ENJOYED THE BEACH IN CARMEL ON MY BIRTHDAY

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU ALL.

We really enjoyed our time in Yellowstone. The weather was perfect, and the dogs were super good sports. They had to stay in the car while Kip and I took turns viewing the spectacular falls and other attractions. We didn’t see any bears which disappointed Kip, but we saw herds of Buffalo and several elk.

Life on the road is not without its challenges. Just because we’re living in a vacation-like atmosphere where calories don’t count doesn’t mean everything is always hunky dory.

Yesterday and today, we have had to deal with a $1275.00 unauthorized charge to our checking account. In the process of trying to dispute the charge, which was the amount of a payment on a loan that’s been paid off for 6 months, they froze our account. We’re in our RV in Wyoming. It costs money to exist every day, and we need access to ours. Kip was getting nowhere with a long line of customer service reps, so I insisted crying might help and got on the phone. “How will I purchase my next rhubarb pie?” I wailed. “It’s spelled, r-h-u-b-a-r-b.”

Thankfully, it finally got resolved, but something like that makes you realize how we’re all too often at the mercy of customer service reps. They have all the power. They can be your angel or your nemesis.

Back to the travel log…

We left Gillette, Wyoming, this morning, and we’re headed for Yellowstone National Park. We spent the past two weeks spending wonderful quality time with son, Mason, his wife, Amy, and their son, Ethan. I even got to spend a little time with grandson, Mase Jr., who is attending the University of Wyoming in Laramie. I went with Amy to a football game in Cheyenne, and Mase met us there. It was a fantastic 2 weeks.

I should mention since I’m blogging about our rv travel experience, that we spent the first 3 days in Gillette attending an FMCA Rally. There were 2500 people attending, and their registration was down 800 from their previous rally. I’m sure fuel prices as high as they are had something to do with it. RV parks have all increased their rates, too. It’s amazing, though, that most parks are up to 50% occupied by permanent Rvers. The rates are always somewhat lower for full-timers.

While at the rally, we got hooked up with a vendor who was able to get the awnings to repair the 3 that were damaged by the Texas hailstorm we endured. That was a piece of good luck. We also got a new mobile internet provider which has made watching television and using our devices much better.

All in all it was a fabulous 2 weeks. We got to eat Amy’s great cooking several times, and Kip and I found good desserts at a couple of the local bakeries for our contribution. Mason and Amy treated us to an outing at the Frontier Auto Museum, which was amazing, and we ate at Lulla Belle’s, a local favorite where you can get a wonderful breakfast. We also spent a fun day at Keyhole Lake where Amy’s mom has a house.

Here are a few pics I took on our drive today between Gillette and Greybull. Next stop…Yellowstone.

What’s cookin? By Lav

SAUSAGE, KRAUT AND POTATO BAKE RIGHT OUT OF THE OVEN

When I was a kid growing up, we lived near my mother’s family in Murdo, SD. There was a solid group of young friends who would get together for parties. They all dressed up in those 1960’s even for just a neighborhood get together. One party I was lucky enough to stay up late for when I was a kid and I got to hang out with my cousin, Mary, since the party was at her folks’ lovely house, my Aunt Loretta and Uncle Bill’s place. My Dad had recently made homemade sauerkraut in a big crock and had his Dad’s old wooden contraption with a sharp blade for shredding the cabbage. It took weeks to prepare. He took the kraut to this particular party and everyone ate hot roast pork with mashed potatoes and fresh homemade sauerkraut. The house was crowded and getting noisier by the minute. One friend arrived late and was hungry, but he couldn’t find a bowl or a plate anywhere. He saw a big ashtray sitting near the food and cleaned it out then scooped kraut into it and gobbled it down. People saw him and started laughing. He just enjoyed eating the delicious food. We all loved the sour crunchy kraut.

Maybe that’s why I treasure the following recipe. Enjoy making it yourself during these cooler fall days to come. Your kitchen will be filled with yummy smells and you can pretend you’re having a fun big party with good friends and family. If you don’t like kraut, I have no idea what you can use as a substitute for sauerkraut. Do you?

LAV LIKES CUPBOARDS.

THESE ARE INGREDIENTS YOU WILL NEED. YOU DO NOT NEED THE FLOWER – LAV JUST LIKED IT.

BOIL ABOUT TWO POUNDS OF POTATOES PEELED OR NOT.

LAYER A JAR OF KRAUT IN CASSEROLE DISH.

BROWN A POUND OF SAUSAGE…

SPRINKLE THE SAUSAGE OVER KRAUT

Next mash the potatoes with a couple tablespoons of butter and some milk.

SPREAD THE MASHED POTATOES OVER SAUSAGE AND KRAUT

SPRINKLE SOME GRATED PARMESAN CHEESE ON TOP AND BAKE IT AT 400 DEGREES FOR 25-30 MINUTES

Enjoy eating the casserole with a side salad, soup or tangy applesauce. It’s so delicious!

Hmmm. We didn’t have dessert after dinner.

I wonder what MG is having for dinner. Maybe she skipped dinner and just had a dessert or two. I wonder.