I’m on my way over to Pearl the human’s to take Pearl the dog out back to do her business. We’re not going over to The Busy Nest, today. It’s just going to be Pearl the human there… all by her lonesome. Grace had an extremely unfortunate accident yesterday and will be bedridden for a while.

If it hadn’t been so tragic, it would have been kinda funny.

You see, Pearl convinced Grace that she looked trashy in her black flats, because of the rubber bands she had to stretch around her feet to hold them on. Grace just loves flats, but her feet just weren’t made for them. Pearl says Grace’s arch is too high, which makes her foot bow up. When her foot bows up, it’s too short for the shoe which makes the shoe fall off. I know what you’re thinking, because I thought it too. Why doesn’t she buy a smaller shoe? Well, because when she steps down, her weight makes her foot straighten some and that makes the shoe fit a little better. It’s on the uplift that Grace needs the rubber bands.

Anyway, Grace and Pearl were gonna go to Pierre and shop for a serviceable, yet fashionable shoe for Grace, but they couldn’t get away when the stores in Pierre were open, so they had to resort to ordering from the catalog. They weren’t for sure what size Grace wears since her flats never fit her so they had to guess.

They didn’t think it through.

Grace didn’t have those shoes on for more than half an hour when they came untied and one of the fashionable but not so serviceable ribbons got twisted around the leg of the folding chair Grace was sitting on at The Nest. When Grace got up and tried to take a step, the shoe and the chair came with her. Grace made all kinds if moves to try to stay upright and I think the big surprise to all of us was that when she finally stopped reaching and twisting, she actually did land back in the chair. Too bad she wasn’t able to stay in it. She slid right out and onto the floor like a wet noodle. Somewhere along the line she broke her tailbone…and guess what? Both of her shoes fell off. Right now, she’s resting uncomfortably in her bedroom, and Pearl the dog and I have to take care of her. Guess who will be answering all the Dear Grace letters until dear Grace has a less painful day.

It’s the least I can do.

Well I’m not there yet, but I almost am.

************************

“Hi Grace…Hi Pearl the dog. I’m here, are you?

“Ruff, ruff!”

“Elllllllie?! Hurry, Ellie. I need my donut pillow. Oh my, my, my, my… I’m suffering so, so, so much!”

“Ruff, ruff!”

I tried my best to get Grace situated on her donut before I took Pearl ouside. The poor dog must have been, so, so, so uncomfortable, too. We both hated to go back upstairs to those rooms above Sanderson’s store. It was gonna be a long, long, long, day.

Then I got a great idea. I figured as long as I had to stay with Grace all day, I might as well get the most out of it.

The first thing I did was call Mack’s cafe and order us some big ol’ cinnamon rolls for breakfast.

Mack’s Cafe

“Hello,” I said in a tired sounding voice. “This is Ellie and I’m calling for poor Grace who is laid up over here. I’m sure you heard she took a nasty fall and she is in exCRUNCHiating pain. She is moaning so loud I can hardly understand her, but I believe she is asking for two or… maybe three of your mouth watering cinnamon rolls. The problem is, I don’t have any money and I can’t leave Grace long enough to try to find someone to give me the cash OR come to Mack’s to buy those deLUSHis rolls. Hello! Are you still there?”

Well, they brought us over four huge rolls. On the house. Poor Grace could only eat about a half of one.

Fern’s Cafe

That idea worked so well, I decided to get Grace a juicy cheeseburger and fries from Fern’s Cafe. I told them Grace would surely love some of Fern’s deLUSHis chocolate cake with that fudge frosting. They brought over enough burgers and fries, and chocolate cake to feed four people. Too bad Grace wasn’t hungry because it sure was good.I ate hers and mine. Pearl the dog didn’t want any.

I didn’t think it through.

By the time Pearl the human got home, I was sound asleep right there in bed beside Grace. I only woke up because I kept hearing, “Ruff, Ruff,” and, “Hurry, Pearl! Oh, my, my, my, my…I am suffering so, so, so, much!”

“Settle down now, Grace,” Pearl said. “I brought us all BBQ sandwiches, french fries and chocolate malts from the Frosty Freeze. Where are you going, Essie? Let’s eat while it’s hot!! You must be starving!”

“Ruff, ruff…feed me, please.”

Have I told you that we painted, today? Sue wanted to cause it’s her birthday.

“What next?” You might say. (Read really fast, it sounds better that way.)

Not the wall in the hall or the nails on our fingers, it seems long ago, now…but the memory lingers.

I began with a canvas and puddles of paint, not one ounce of talent and void of restraint.

I forged ahead and dalooped my tulips, piled colors on colors and sipped on mint juleps. Not really, but it rhymes. I try to do that when writing poetry, sometimes.

When I finished my flowers I dried them real dry with the heat of a hair dryer turned way up on high.

I wasn’t alone there, no I was invited, along with eight others who were really excited, a cute little dog and a lady to teach us how to paint like Van Gogh and create masterpieces.

I’ve never seen anything like it before. When Sue said, “Let’s do this.” I asked, “What for?” 

“It’s my birthday,” she said. “We will do as I please. My friends will bring crackers and dips with cream cheese. Did you bring me a card or forget it, again? Never mind, let’s have fun! And then…

“We’ll sing happy birthday, and Fran made a cake. We’ll each paint a flowery and leafy keepsake.”

“We will add words of wisdom… hold our canvas up proudly. We’ll stand shoulder to shoulder. Please try not to crowd me…take a bunch of cool pictures before saying goodbye. It’s my best birthday ever!” Sue said with a sigh. 

Sue went from friend to friend and admired their artwork. When she got to me, she gave me a smirk…

She looked at my flowers then smiled, casually, and thanked me for bringing the tasty spiced tea.

My flowers looked wilted and the leaves looked disgraced, but they’ll hang on my wall in a prominant place.

Happy birthday sweet Sue…let’s do this again. 

I can hear all our friends say a hearty, AMEN!

Write AMEN, Lady J!

This song was requested by Carol the singer. She wants two songs. I did my best. Sing it, gang.

I just love Liverachi…The words are below

I left my crown in 1880 town

Low on a knoll, it calls to me.

To be there dancing with the bears, while Kevin Costner stares

Road trip gang… oh please help me.

My crown waits there…in 1880 town

High on the water tower that looms above

Who needs little cable cars that climb halfway to the stars

The morning brain fog won’t clear… even there, so we don’t care.

When we return to you…My 1880 town

My golden crown will shine on us….and the queen’s tour bus

(A few pictures from the Road Trip Gang’s summer of 17 road trip.)

The loveliness of Mabank… seems so far away

The glory that was Wyoming… is of another day

I’ve been without my usual spark… and lost inside this RV park

I’m about to move to tiny town…I need my crown.

************

If I can’t find my shiny crown…in 1880 town

I surely will despair…I’ll no longer have a pair

Because I think I left my head there tooooooo….

(The gang…)

With neither head nor crown… what will she dooooo???

Tiny Town without a crown?

She’ll Boohoo, boohoo, boohoo and then she’ll sue…

The End

I woke up one morning to falling snow. Soon a cold wind began to blow.

Was I the only one in the neighborhood who didn’t see this as something good?

You see, I was raised in South Dakota. No more snow, please!!! I’ve had my quota.

I remember those days in December, or November and yes… even in September.

I wanted to make the most of those days. My friends reacted with nays not yeahs.

I walked up Courthouse Hill carrying my sled, when my friends saw me, they turned and fled.

My friends were all on the woosie side. “It’s much too cold outside,” they cried.

I was the first one to put on my skates. “Come on,” I shouted. “The ice awaits.”

Figure skaters need lots of practice. We can’t let the cold and snow distract us.

“Hurry,” I shouted. “Before the snow melts, let’s build snowmen with hats, coal eyes, and black belts.”

On snowy days my playmates became inmates. They would hide inside.

I would go home… my face in a pout, and tell my mom those kids wore me out.

One time she misunderstood what I said. She thought I was sick and sent me to bed.

When I woke up the next morning and looked out the window, expecting to see more wind and snow…

I saw the sun. It was something to behold, but in bed I stayed. I had a bad cold.

Now do you get why I’ve had enough… of bitter cold and all the white stuff?

But…if it snows more and you come to my door, and ask me to play outside I will go… and make snow angels in the snow.

I’ll skate like I’m an Olympiad, make snowballs and throw them like I’m mad not glad

Come on over and soon you will know how much I love to play in the snow

Yes, when God made me, he broke the mold…Oh wait!

I think I’m getting a cold.

I have a bone to pick with a friend of ours who caused me to start thinking about the origin of certain words or phrases. Now it drives me crazy until I research where an expression came from. Today someone told me to rinse something in lukewarm water. I have never in all my years wondered why we say lukewarm when we’re talking about the temperature of water. Have you?

I would be willing to bet that the last time you heard someone say it’s raining cats and dogs you didn’t question where that idiom came from. At the drop of a hat makes a little sense, but why beat around the bush? It’s a far cry from what I meant, but please give me the benefit of the doubt before you jump on the bandwagon even if it’s the last straw. I think I’m losing my mind!! I mean, give me a break for Pete’s sake!

Have you had enough?

Please…let sleeping dogs lie and do not let the cat out of the bag. You might want to take it with a grain of salt, but don’t  try to pull the wool over my eyes. I don’t know how the cow ate the cabbage, but I went the whole nine yards and it was a piece of cake. I would do it again in a New York minute.

That, my friend, is the whole ball of wax!

Stick a fork in me I’m done!

The cat got my tongue when we were raining.

Our church’s Lord’s Acre celebration/fundraiser was today. The country store in the morning and the live auction in the afternoon were outside under a huge tent. It felt to me like it was 110 degrees. I know it really cooked my goose. Maybe that’s why I can’t seem to stop myself from sounding like I’m off my rocker.  I sure hope I bounce back soon.

Our great grandie, Ryan, horsing around in the bounce house.

James, you are in hot water for putting this bug in my ear.

How many idioms did you come up with?

I think I’ll call it a day…or should I call it a night?

You know what they say…uneasy lies the head that wears a crown…

Is the ability to render someone speechless an art or a gift? I don’t know anyone over twelve who can do it as effectively as those twelve and under.

Our four year old grandson is having problems in his preschool. He’s feisty and he can’t be convinced that it’s not okay to hit people. He and Kitty, a little girl in his class, have been best buds since last year. When our daughter said, “It is not okay to hit everybody,” he defended himself by saying, “Well…I don’t! I don’t  hit Kitty.”

What do you say?

When our youngest was overly tired he, like most kids, he was easily brought to tears. We would try to give him a pass by saying, “Oh, you’re just tired.” That upset him even more. He informed us that crying doesn’t mean you’re tired, yawning means you’re tired.

What do you say? x 2

Those are both good, but my favorite is one that my cousin used when his dad pulled up to a stop sign and caught his son (my cousin) throwing rocks at things that could be damaged. My cousin, ran over to the car and said, “Hey Dad, I need to talk to you when we get home.”  He took the words right out of his dad’s mouth.

What do you say to that?

What do you say? X 3

Just to make sure the technique doesn’t work for older people, I practiced it a little bit today. I told Kip I socked a lady in the grocery store. He said, “Good…she probably had it coming.”

What do I say?

This afternoon I started crying because Kip ate the last fried pie we brought home from vacation. To push it just a little, I said I was hungry for a fried pie and REALLY tired. He said, “You’re probably just feeling sluggish because you ate the other three fried pies.”

She’s inside eating fried pies

Rendered speechless

I didn’t want to throw rocks at stop signs so I had to think of something really good for my last try. Kip hates it when I don’t put things back where they belong, so I took the scissors, tape and all of our pens and hid them.

Normally, he would look at the ceiling and tell me he had looked everywhere and still couldn’t find them. Today was different. He bought me my very own, scissors, tape and pens.  The kids trained him well. The only thing I could think of to say was:

Thank you.

They are all little angels.

I’ve been working long hours on a writing project, so my blogs are short and not as frequent. Thanks for being patient and hanging in there with me.

I’m posting something extra today because a very special person is having a birthday tomorrow and I thought we should start the celebration early!

Cousin Val means more to me than my sister, if I had one. She means more to me than my best friend who lives next door, if I had one. She is the kind of person I would want by my side if I ever got to ride down Murdo, South Dakota’s Main Street in a red convertible. And I did. AND SHE WAS THERE!! I owe you so much cuz; for your unwavering support and encouagement. You’re the absolute best!

How many of you have this photograph forever stamped on your brain? If you read Murdo Girl on a regular basis, it probably shows up in your dreams, or your worst nightmares.

For us, it was a day to be remembered. It was our Camelot. It was our shining moment, and our fifteen minutes of fame. We were both Queens. Val, aka Lav, represented the ninety year old Queen of England, and I harkened back to the little eight year old girl in the red Kitty Reynolds formal and the tinfoil crown.

Yes folks, lesser Queens would  have worn that memory out, but Lav and MG have more class than that. Of course… there was that one time after Dean Lindquist’s big birthday bash, when we fell into a melancholy mood.

The day after the parade:

Dean: Well girls, that was one heck of a birthday party you threw for me the other night. Everybody was so nice and they had such a good time visiting with each other. It really meant a lot to have all those guys who worked for me at my party. Say…who were those two gals that were walking around here like they were the guests of honor? Never mind. I’m just glad they finally left. Did they leave me any birthday cake?

Tammy: They didn’t leave.

Dean: What?

Kim: They’re outside sitting in the back seat of that red convertible Dave Geisler let us use… so they could ride in the reunion parade. They won’t get out of it.

Karen: I was just out there. You remember Mary Francis…she used to babysit us. She calls herself Murdo Girl now and the other one is her cousin, Lav. Her dad used to work at Sanderson’s store. They’re both Queens now.

Dean: Well aren’t they a little long in the tooth to be parade queens?

Tammy: It’s okay…they said they would leave as soon as they finished watching the burning of the M. We told them they could lead the snake dance.

Alas…that day is but a memory… but the birthday celebration is today! Let us all join together and wish this one of a kind, beautiful, caring, sweet, funny, and fun gal the best birthday ever!!!

Valerie with her family… Caitlin, husband Ken, Matthew and Morgan (Halla)

Valerie and the Murdo High School class of 67 graduated from different schools together.

1) Valerie (in the cowboy boots and hat), with some of the cousins  2) Valerie’s mom, Ella Sanderson and my mom, Loretta Sanderson, in 1938  3) Valerie with Billy Francis

HAFTY BIRTHDAY CUZ (no I didn’t spell it wrong) LOVE YOU!