Thoughts Come Forth by Valerie Halla

I talked with my dear cousin on the phone a few days ago. My cousin said we just write down our thoughts as we continue to do the blog. That’s how we do it. My thoughts are pretty random like the leaves on the trees, the weeds in spring fields, the California poppies now a bright orange erupting everywhere in my neighborhood. Randomness is a good thing. Right?

I heard a woodpecker on my walk yesterday morning. It was up a telephone pole in my neighborhood. The sound hit my ears before I saw the bird. It sounded like it was knocking on my chamber door, rapping, tapping on my chamber door. Like Poe’s “The Raven”. Except it was a wood loving bird trying to coax an insect out from the telephone pole. It was focused and not randomly pecking away up high. Not at all like me.

Our oldest son used to call the cartoon character Woody Woodpecker – “Woody pecker” and we tried not to laugh. .

Breathe in and breath out.

I wonder if I left the stove on.

Geeze that lady looks old.

Hmmm. Just found out that she’s ten years younger than I

am. Moving on…

Today I walked the dog and mailed a letter. I saw a guy at the Post Office who used to come by to visit his old friend who lived across the street. I greeted him and then said, “My husband’s grandmother used to say that it’s hell to get old.” I giggled. He turned as he reached for the door and looked at me straight in the eyes. He replied,”I’m not old!”

I swear I’m gonna be a better, kinder person. Maybe I’ll start tomorrow.

Now I have to go visit my husband in the Sub-acute and rehab center about 60 miles away. I remember when we were first married, we used savings to go to a Moody Blues Concert in LA. We had fun there over 50 years ago.

I don’t need to put on makeup because masks are required. I might change clothes, trying to look like a better, kinder person. As I leave, I tell the dog to guard the house, she trots down the hall and into the guest room jumping up onto the bed. The dog bed wasn’t good enough.

I get in my new car and open the garage door with the opener on the visor. I turn the volume up as I press Spotify and my favorite songs. The Stones are singing Beast of Burden. I wonder if they were nice guys even though this song should be rated R. I sing along. I maybe get every other verse correct.

I wave to my neighbor who is out in the yard. She waves back and smiles. She’s a nice person.

Tom Petty sings Free Fallin. I love that song even though I don’t understand all the lyrics.

I need to stop for something to eat but I resist. Don’t eat in your new car.

I’m gradually learning how things work on my 2025 car. I figured out the high and low temps of the climate controls and now I’m working out how to put the emergency brake on. No luck so far. Maybe I won’t experience any emergencies.

The traffic on 101 freeway isn’t too bad but it picks up near Morgan Hill, San Jose and then onto 85. I cuss under my breath at some drivers. I’m feeling pretty down. I feel guilty being a mean driver. Just keep singing.

Dang. Took longer than I thought to get to Los Altos. I park at the hospital. I sign in at the front desk and put on my mask then walk down the hall. I put on a yellow gown, run hand sanitizer in my hands and put on gloves, opening the door to his room.

I walk into my husband’s dark room, blinds drawn, door closed, a young CNA sitting in a chair at the foot of his bed. I see he is sound asleep. She updates me and asks if I’m staying. She leaves, going to assist other patients.

I sit concentrating on where I am and how I got here. I massage my husband’s feet. I should not wake him.

I remind myself that I am learning to be a better, kinder person and each day counts. Life shows us. People show us. Kind people. All people.

I trust the path I’m on. Maybe if I follow it, I will know the way.

Time to head back south on the freeway before commuter traffic hits. Take it slow and easy.

Maybe I’ll put on some old Moody Blues songs.

We spent two nights at Lake Livingston on our way back from Galveston. We had a great surprise! Some friends whom we hadn’t seen since we all lived in Casper, WY 40 years ago, drove up from the Houston area and met us for lunch. We had a great visit. It was so good to see them.

We weren’t ready to come home, but we’re planning another trip in April or May. We’ll head for California after stopping to see our son, Mason and his family in Wyoming. We might swing by Greeley, CO and see Kip’s sister, Karlyce. But that won’t be the end of our travel. I made Kip promise me that we wouldn’t spend another hot summer in Texas, so we’ll be heading east this summer. Maybe we’ll see our friends in North Carolina and Indiana.

We were so pleased with how well the dogs traveled. They were great! They each bolted out the door once and got away, but we forgave them after they promised to never do it again.

Thanks for enjoying the trip with us. The next ones will be way longer.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Oldies but oldies by Valerie Halla

The Cars, Jackson Brown, the Stones, The Beach Boys, the Turtles and the beat goes on. I’ve been doing a lot of California freeway driving and California dreaming since my husband has been in a skilled nursing facility. I have to drive over an hour one way to visit him. Traffic can be painful so to make the driving less stressful and less tedious, I have been listening to tons of 60’s and 70’s music. I let the volume blast. I’m also having a blast.

It’s been even better since I just bought a 2025 SUV with a far out groovy sound system. What a difference that makes since I’ve been driving a 2010 used car for 15 years. My new vehicle has full on speakers everywhere and the music sounds like you’re there with the band, rockin out or they’re maybe in the back seat grooving along. Their sound even comes out of the doors. I can listen to the Doors blasting their funk through my car doors. “Come on baby light my fire.”

I had not bought a brand new car since 1999, in the old days. These new cars have computer systems and safety features that make a bank seem like a kids playground. My new vehicle has computers to explain the computer screen, buttons on the dash, on the screen, on the doors, on the steering wheel and about four manuals that will take me ten years to read. Righteous.

I urge you to listen to the Eagles version of “After the Thrill is Gone”. It’s sad and you might cry or maybe just shed a tear or at least remember some far off lost love or high school heartbreak. Bittersweet. Yet still sweet. Rad.

When you drive and jive in your car nowadays flying down the highway or freeway in your RV or EV or SUV or hybrid, nobody has their car windows down. Sometimes when I blast the music, I’ll roll the electric windows down and sing loudly with my hair blowing in the wind (thanks Bob Dylan), and no one’s sharing the rockin rollin tunes with me. If I drive too fast, my car reprimands me. It’s like my robot monitor- or my mommas and poppas. The other people driving by probably wouldn’t like the oldies anyway. “We’ll have fun, fun, fun now that Daddy took the t-bird away.”

With all the stress and worry that I’m going through, dealing with the serious illness my husband has fought for almost two years, I find that music takes me away from the troubled times. The loud songs pump my brain away from it all, “Like a Bridge Over Troubled Water”.

Music is soothing. When some of the older songs come on, the screen will say that it’s been “remastered”. It sounds fuller and grander than the old record players or transistor radios I had used to listen to songs in my teens. The songs are oldies but they’re brand new to me, ready to lift my spirits and whisk me away to better times. So let’s say we enjoy some music, sing along, listen and slip away to yesterday or even dance a bit at the Hotel California.

I’m a Daydream Believer and I Get Around.

Cool.

Kip and I and our 2 dogs finally hit the road. We managed to get away Wednesday morning around 11:00 and drove to Lake Livingston arriving about 4:00. We made several stops for doggy potty breaks. Ruthie is in the habit of going outside several times a day and we wanted her to get used to going potty on a leash. She resisted at first but she finally got the hang of it.

We have a picturesque spot overlooking the lake. Today (Thursday) is beautiful. It’s 70 degrees, and after 2 days of high winds, it’s nice and calm.

We couldn’t wait to go to Jerry’s, our favorite little Cafe for breakfast this morning. It didn’t disappoint.