Those 70ish Girls

Mom and Gus, sold their motel in the late seventies and after being tied down for so many years, they were anxious to hit the road and experience new things. They bought a motor home to pull behind their car, put their belongings in storage in Murdo, and came as far as Gillette, Wyoming, where I lived.

They rented a spot at the Crazy Woman Camp Ground and settled in. Soon, they met Becky and Charlie, a couple from Maine. Charlie was working on construction and I think Gus did that for a while too when they lived in Gillette. Mom got a little job across the street at the Rock Pile Museum. She loved it!

Mom and Becky were a pair to draw to. Lucy and Ethel would have loved them. One day, one of the other campers staying at the Crazy Woman drove his pick-up truck through the park a little too fast which upset Becky, who was outside hosing down the dirt road. It was so dry, when people like the guy in the truck drove too fast, it kicked up a lot of dust. Becky was upset enough that she aimed her hose at the guys truck. Apparently his window was down and she got him pretty wet. She was pleased with herself thinking he would get the message and slow down.

Later that evening, Charlie was sitting in his favorite chair by the door, reading the paper, while Becky was fixing supper. Suddenly the door opened and all Charlie saw was a bucket of water being dumped on his head. Becky hadn’t put two and two together yet, when Charlie said, “Now what did you do?”

Becky got Mom into clipping coupons and they loved seeing who could find the biggest savings. Mom wasn’t used to shopping with coupons, but Becky was getting her pretty enthused. One day they went shopping for groceries and Mom whipped out a coupon expecting to get a huge discount on the item she was purchasing. The clerk handed it back to her and told her it was “expired.”

Mom was crushed. She said in a very disappointed voice, “What? That was my best one!” I’m sure Becky was embarrassed, being a veteran coupon shopper and all.

I don’t think I have a photograph of Becky and Charlie, but I found this among all the pictures that have been stored in the attic and it made me think of Mom and Becky. Becky made this for Kip and me when we got married.

This needlepoint says “Patience, understanding, love and sympathy, unselfishness, kindness, lots of laughter for a happy marriage.”

I have a feeling I’ll be reminded of other people and stories as we go through all these boxes of memories with some of our kids on Saturday.

Oh…I found this in one of the boxes. I had no idea what it was until Kip told me. I couldn’t believe it. Would you like to take a guess??

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I’m frying turkeys, and pies for Saturday and we’ll make homemade ice cream. I’ve never deep fried anything before, so I practiced on a chicken today. It turned out really good and wasn’t at all greasy. The fried appricot pies turned into mush, but I’m not going to give up without one more try.

Cousin Lav said I should blog a cooking show. That could be pretty funny. I’ll call it, “I’ll fry Away.”

Are you old enough to remember opening a box of detergent and digging down to find the free glass inside? The key was to use enough detergent to get the whole set before they moved on to another promotion. Boxes of cereal contained toys, and moms faithfully collected green stamps. I remember getting a set of TV trays with books of stamps. We thought we would never accumulate enough.

Those were the days of catalogs, letter writing, dictionaries, encyclopedias, electric skillets, sixteen inch TV’s, taking baths only once a week, unsupervised play and on and on.

Of course there was also smoking everywhere, yummy high fat, high sodium foods containing lots of sugar, but it wasn’t all listed on the packages or cans like today. Who knew there were 600, bad for you calories in a chicken pot pie? Who knew what a calorie was?

We ate canned spaghetti and meatballs, canned ravioli, and canned tamales. We drank whole milk or Kool-aid with one or two cups of sugar in it. I personally think life was better when we ate bacon and eggs with crispy fried hash browns whenever we got the chance and never felt a pang of guilt.

We rode bikes without helmets and stood in the front seat of the car as soon as we could stand. Our mom’s arm hitting us in the chest was an effective restraint in case of a sudden stop.

In my case, I couldn’t wait for school to start, but the excitement ended when I had worn all of my new clothes, which took about a week.

Much has been written and many comparisons have been made about then and now, but there is one thing that never changes….

Kids grow up too fast.

We went to our grandson’s preschool graduation the other night and as I was watching all of the proud five year old kids getting diplomas, I was struck by the innocence on all of their little faces.

We watched two videos of the kids. One showed them participating in all of the activities throughout the year. The second showed pictures of each child when they were babies and current photos. I’m warning you…the songs that went with them might make you cry. Below the first video you will see a few pictures of the kids we’re lucky enough to have in our lives.

We have four kids who each have two children. We have three great grandchildren. All but Mike and Nikki are pictured above. Below is a picture of them with Mike’s son and Nikki’s two daughters.

So with all these kids, you might be asking what we’re doing with a tiny home? Hoping for a lot of invitations to their houses, I guess.

You never know who you’re going to run into.

Sound at the door: Knock knock

Sound from inside: Who’s there?

Yram: Its ‘s Yram Sicnarf. I’m a crack up reporter from Gun Barrel City. Did you get my message? Can I come inside your tiny home?

Kip: What if I say no?

Yram: My my my…what a lovely tiny home… Somehow I thought you would be smaller…Mind if I ask you a few tiny questions? I’m only going to be in Gun Barrel for a couple of days then back to Murdo I go.

Kip: I’ve heard about you. I heard you ask a lot of stupid questions and that you’ve been in a little trouble with the law as a result of your propensity to badger people. Are you here avoiding the law?

Yram: Oh cont-rare…I wear those restraining orders like a badge of honor. Have you not heard of reporters being arrested for not revealing their sources?

Kip: Aren’t your sources the ones filing the restraining orders?

Yram: As a matter of fact, I don’t have a single restraining order against me…unless you count the one I got at the royal wedding. They call it something different. Those Brits don’t like being interviewed much. Meghan was downright rude! All she would’ve had to do is ask me nicely to get out of her horse-drawn carriage and I would have…no questions asked.

Kip: Cute.. You really remind me of someone. Do you have family around here?

Yram: No…I’m pretty much a loner. I just showed up here one day and decided to make it my home. I have a cousin, Lav, but she just kind of hangs around, too.

I like Gun Barrel’s motto: We shoot straight! I like Murdo’s too. They call it The Magic City. Anyhoo, the Murdoites want me to investigate this tiny home of yours. How much did it cost?

Kip: I’ll let you know as soon as I have the courage to add it all up.

Yram: Feeling the squeeze are ya? Pouring money down a rat hole brings a person down. You look very depressed.

Kip: I do?

Yram: Yes…where’s your wife?

Kip: She needed a few things, so she went to Goodwill

Yram: Really? I see you’re out of peanut butter. (Kip is eating a PB & J sandwich.)

The Report…

They don’t call me a crack-up reporter for nothing. I was able to snag an interview with the purchaser of the local tiny home. It’s okay, I guess, if you like living in a train car next to a big brown barn, and rabbits for decorations.

FYI, here’s a scoop. They are as poor as church mice. I’m on my way to the bank right now to set up a donation fund because that’s just the kind of person I am. When I hear someone’s got troubles, I like to spread it around.

By the way. That Kip guy is almost as rude as that little Princess Meghan, and Mr. Applefloor, and Mr. Haugland with one H, and the guy who has a son with a sign outside of Murdo. But I don’t think he filed a restraining order against me. At least not yet!

I’m going to go look for those two high flying Queens. I know they live around here somewhere. I want to interview them.

There’s one! My first question will be what is stuck in your teeth?  I wonder what’s up with the double tinfoil crown…

We’ve had a lot going on around the tiny home these past few days. The factory called yesterday and said they had a cancellation and could put our siding on. We weren’t scheduled for another two weeks, so that was good news. It looks different and better. It still looks a little like a caboose, though.

Then today, the concrete guy brought his crew over and fixed our driveway. We can’t drive on it for a couple of days, but hey…progress is progress. We are slowly but surely getting there. The next project I hope Kip gets done is the steps. We also turned in our punch list of the things we need fixed. Buying a newly constructed house is not for sissies, even if it is a tiny one.

I love the house. The only thing I have found myself missing is closet space. I don’t have a place to put my broom and my mop, so the time I used one of them, I had to walk all the way out to the brown barn to get it. What do tiny home dwellers do that don’t have a big brown barn? I can’t get over the feeling that we cheated by having that building, but maybe I will feel better when we’ve gotten rid of everything but Kip’s tools and the RV stuff.

The kids have been invited to be here on the 9th to go through all of the mementos and pictures. I sent an email today and I already got one RSVP. I think they’ll come, and we’ll have fun looking through all of the crates of loose pictures, old albums, and framed photographs, but no one will want to take any of them. Someone said that if you must discard something that is really meaningful to you, take a picture of it. I think that is a great idea, and I have already done a lot of that. I’ve been scanning old pictures for the blog for three years. I took a picture of this Queen doll instead of buying her. If she shows up in a story, who will know the difference? I would have done that with my Beasterhops 5000 rabbits ago, but that’s different. I have to set up scenes.

This whole experience has had its pluses and I think in the end, we will be happy we made the move, but it has taken a lot out of Kip and me. We aren’t bouncing back from exhaustion like we normally would. It seems the more tired I am, the less I sleep. Plus…it’s hot already in Texas. On the other hand, we have to keep going and walk the dogs three times a day and we’ve both lost weight.

My goal is to go out and hit golf balls at the age of 98 like Harold Thune. Did you all see the little video his son with a sign outside of Murdo put on FB? Now there is a couple of good guys…

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I keep forgetting to tell you about the “thred up” bag I sent with gently used clothes in it? I got $76.00 for them. Since they were mostly from Goodwill or someplace like it, I guess that was a fair amount. I have also donated a lot of things to the Family Resource Center. I go in the back door and out the front, that way I can shop! I rarely buy anything now. I don’t have room for it. I guess that would be the second thing I kind of miss.

I’ve been feeling strange for days now and I’ve something to discuss.

I fear my stress-filled life, is not harmoneous.

I feel so out of sorts… and I’ve begun to cuss.

That adds to the feeling that I’m somehow treasonous.

Have I forgotten something? My mind is not A Plus.

I thought it would get sharper if I ate asparagus.

I know I think about myself more than I think of us.

But I doubt that even bothers me… and thus

far I’ve found no answers for my inner vacuous.

Hey! I know who I’ll talk to. I think I’ll go call Gus.

Oh wait! Is this his birthday? I can’t call him and fuss…or cuss…or discuss treasonous. But I’ll tell him he’s A Plus to us.

Happy Birthday to a man who has been a wonderful part of our lives for over 47 years. A second father… Gus.

I’ve been taking a lot of days off, haven’t I? It’s because I’ve been working on some other projects that are causing me to pull my hair out. I stay up late, get up early and never stop in between. At this age, you would think my life would settle down, but it won’t until I do. I worry that I’m not spending my time on the right things. I think it’s called prioritizing. Yes…I’m pretty sure that’s what you call it.

I like the way this lady thinks.

Let’s see…what else?

A friend of mine commented about having a nightmare that caused her to be claustrophobic in her sleep. I think the dream was directly related to her life. She spent her day pretending she was a queen. She didn’t have a convertible, so she decided a car with a sunroof would be a good substitute. She has a friend who is willing to try hair brain ideas with her, but only one had the nightmare.

I had a nightmare too. It was so real, that I woke up in a cold sweat. I dreamed all of my teeth turned to powder. It started in the front. My two front teeth began to disintegrate. It happened so fast, I couldn’t do anything about it. I felt inside my mouth and I only had tiny little stubs where there used to be teeth, and I had white powder all over me. Okay, maybe the powder had just a hint of yellow in it.)

I woke up about then, and my hands flew to my mouth and I discovered I still had all of my teeth. I vowed to call the dentist and make an appointment. I would rather take a beating than go to the dentist, but I believe that vivid dreams are your subconscious trying to tell you something, and mine was telling me to make that call.

That was three days ago. I still haven’t called, but I haven’t had anymore nightmares and I still have all of my teeth. I guess it might be a little like a foxhole prayer. When the crisis is over, the anxiety lessens and procrastination sets in.

My second father, Gus, reads the blog, so he’ll keep me honest, but I remember Mom telling me she took the car one day to go get donuts. This was several years after they moved to California. Anyway, she thought she knew where the donut shop was and intended to take the side streets, but accidentally got onto the freeway. She said she promised God if he got her off of that freeway, she would never drive again. I think she ended the story by saying, “And I didn’t.” It could be that I have embellished the story for a few years and now I believe it. I’ll let you know what Gus says.

Speaking of Gus, I want to write about his years in the service for Memorial Day. I know he served during the Korean War, but I’m going to try to interview him on the phone to learn more about his experiences. I read that thirty-six thousand Americans died in that conflict. Gus was only nineteen in 1950 when the war started, but I don’t think he had to go overseas. He’s a proud veteran and has done a lot with, and for, the American Legion.

I hope you all are having a good beginning of the long weekend. The kids are out of school and I’m sure the lake will be busy. I can hear all the firecrackers going off right now.

I had my friend Judy over for a fun lunch today. My first guest in the tiny home. We ate chicken caesar salad, fresh bread, fresh strawberries, and lemon cake. I sure know where to buy good stuff. I was going to fry a turkey in my new turkey fryer and make homemade ice cream, but time just got away from me…maybe tomorrow.

We had such a good time visiting, I forgot to take a picture of her.

Time to shut her down for the night. Sweet dreams everyone!

A little tiny house update before we talk about the big birthday bash. 

I bought the shams that matched the cheap quilt, and we started cleaning out the garage. Kip was like a drill sargent…for a little while. About a half hour into it, he said he had to go inside to call a few garbage collectors and line one up to pick up our trash. About an hour later, I went in to refill my ice tea and he was sleeping in his recliner. In all fairness, I heard the hold music, so I knew the trash company had put him on hold for a long time, and he had put his phone on speaker. He came back out to the garage a while later and said he had it all taken care of, and we had to hurry, because they pick up on Tuesdays, and we had to have our trash by the curb at seven in the morning.

Kip informed the girls at the Mother’s Day picnic that we were going to unpack all of the crates of photos, photo albums, and miscellaneous mementos and they were to come out the weekend after Memorial Day to go through all of them. They will have to take whatever they want, because we aren’t going to keep any of it. He told me to get in touch with the boys and let them know in case they have any special requests. Craig lives close enough to come if he can’t bear the thought of missing out on any of the thousands of treasured photographs, old school papers, awards, cards and all of that stuff. He’ll probably remember when I made him go up into the hot attic with me and find pictures for the blog last summer…and take a pass.

A couple of hours into sorting through our collection, Kip ran across a big box of treasures his mother had given to him. He sat in one of the chairs he has already set out for the viewing, and went through all of it. He found a letter he had written to his mother telling her he had gotten a speeding ticket and the fine was $25.00. He told her not to pull it out of his account because he was going to quit school and get a job to pay for it. (I smell manipulation.) He must have been sixteen, at least, and he lived at home. He wrote a lot of letters when he was a kid.

When we moved from the country to the small house, we put all of the crates of pictures in the attic along with several other boxes, and we never looked at any of it for three years. (I looked a couple of times.) That’s what really impacted us with this move. We probably have another day of sorting and unpacking, and the back of my Jeep is already full of things to go to Goodwill.

(Can you see the chairs all lined up? I can’t wait to see them all fight over the wedding clock on the right. Never buy someone a gift with their names on it. They can’t give it away.)

We made a pact not to bring one other thing into the house, and so far, so good.

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So…I personally think Prince Charles’ 70th birthday bash will be a really snoozer, but maybe we should take Lindy Bergh and Airy Heart up on their offer to fly us over to the palace. I sure hope I don’t have to parachute this trip. Those two are easily distracted and overshoot the landing strip most of the time. They did say they were going to serve those little wieners in BBQ sauce. It doesn’t seem like such a good idea when you think about it. One little air pocket and you’ve got BBQ sauce all over your party clothes.

Should we wear hats or crowns? I know Cam will have a hat on, but I’m not crazy about her style. They all look like they could double as a donut in case her hemorrhoids act up.

Well…Lav can be in charge of the RSVPs. Maybe some Murdo people will want to go, too. Of course, Windy Lindy and Airy will probably have to make a couple of runs, so we’ll probably have to chip in for gas and wieners. It’ll be a hoot!!

After a somewhat frightening flight, Lav and I finally made it to watch the royals tie the knot. You wouldn’t believe how crowded that place was. I guess no one knew what time the nuptials were, because some of those Englishites stayed outside the church all night waiting for the wedding to get started. Lav and I barely made it. We didn’t even have time to change which was okay because we forgot our gowns, anyway. I’m sorry to say we fell asleep before Prince Charles walked Meghan down the aisle. We missed the whole thing.

Good thing our crack-up reporters were all there. We’ll get a full report when we meet up with them later today.

Later today…

PG hooked up with Queen E. just as she was getting out of the car at the church. Unfortunately, she forgot Prince Philip back at the palace and they had to jump back in the car to go get him. She told PG forgetting Philip was worse than forgetting her pocketbook, although between them, they don’t have two nickels to rub together.

At the last minute, KK pulled up in a van filled with her own flowers leftover from Mother’s Day…..”WAIT!” She yelled!

After the nuptials were over, Yram took a ride with the bride and groom in the carriage. Doesn’t the Duchess look surprised to see Yram in the backseat?

When they got to the tea and crumpets, guess who was serving the cake? Miss Patricia said they got twitterpated with her for cutting the pieces too big. Good thing she brought along some of her delish brownies. Those Englishites are tight with the edibles.

By the time Lav and I woke up, we had to go in search of a bathroom. The only one we saw had a guard guy standing in front of it. We tried to tell him we really needed to use the facilities, but he wouldn’t even talk to us. I don’t think those Royal Guards know how to speak United States.

Woops…wrong picture…Those girls were ahead of us. We were so happy to finally find an unguarded chamber throne.

So, when it was all said and done, everybody had a lovely time. We got a royal sendoff and Lav even snagged an awkward Cam hat.

We managed to catch up with those same high flying pilots who got us pretty close to home.

Hope you enjoyed our accounting of the events. We told Queen E you all said hey. She invited everyone to Charles’ 70th birthday, but Lav and I are busy that day.