Those 70ish Girls

My cousin, MG, is a great wife, mom, grandmother, writer, blogger…geeze, auto correct wrote “booger”…and a camper, and when younger, a runner. But a talent that amazes me and shocks me is that she is also a poet. She writes lots…gobs…of touchingly funny, witty and lovely poetry. Honest.

If you have never ever read her poetry, I suggest you purchase one of her books of poetry. It will blow you off…uh…away. One I personally like is titled: A Whimsical Day. How many people use the word “whimsical”? Maybe 6? It does have a musical ring to it. Sounds better than A Musical Day. I’ll give her that. Bet you can find many poems in Rhymes For All Times that you will like. How does she do it? It all works and even better- her poetry rhymes! You will be caught up in her story, even His Story, her journey through life, her emotional experiences.

As I said earlier, she was once a dedicated runner. She ran marathons. She ran in competitions. She ran for fun. She looked super thin and fit. AND when we met last year in Rapid City for the All School Reunion later in Murdo, she looked like a svelte, fit and healthy youngish ex-runner. In short, MG looked great. How can she be a poet on top of all that? It’s not fair.

Some people just have loads of genes in their cards that make them successful. MG was dealt a good hand. Every bet she placed paid off. Almost. So I guess you’ve gathered that I am jealous of all her accomplishments. Who wouldn’t be? No, I am not jealous. Much. But we should all try to be more like her. I’m starting today. Pretend it’s yesterday. Yesterday was Mary Day. No, sorry, May Day.

Lastly, I have decided to gather my wits, whatever is left of them, and try a poem. I am dedicating this to my cousin, Queen MG, with due respect and regard for her work.

THE TRY IT DIET By Val

My cousin inspired me. You might know her name, MG.

My old plan was bombed and blown apart … kinda like Napoleon Bonaparte

Eating was my Waterloo, bet you’ve been there, too.

I’m trying to lose weight and right out the gate, I tried a new diet! You might wanna try it.

You just eat the same and you’re not to blame.

Hey, believe me it won’t sting, so here’s the truthful good thing:

Just eat one half of everything.

Boom.

“As soon as we hang up, I’ll call and see how soon I can get a flight out. Will you be able to pick me up at the airport, or should I rent a car? I know it’s a long drive.”

I was talking to my cousin, Tara, who had just phoned to tell me our Aunt Marti had suffered a stroke. She was at the ripe old age of 99 and things weren’t looking good.

I knew without a doubt that I wanted to go there. I had to say goodbye to the last of my mother’s siblings.

“What?” Tara sounded incredulous.”I never thought for a moment that you would want to come. You haven’t been home in twenty years!”

“Can you pick me up or not?” I asked, a little too impatiently.

“Of course, Dee. Just let me know when you’ll be arriving. I can’t wait to see you, and the long drive back to Pleasant Run will give me a chance to bring you up to date on everything. Small town or not, you’ve missed a lot.”

“Okay, I’ll make arrangements and call you back either this evening or first thing tomorrow…and Tara, thank you for calling me with the news. Give Aunt Marti my love.

One day later, I was on my way. It wasn’t until I had boarded the plane that I finally asked myself the question that Tara hadn’t asked. Why was I going? It wasn’t as if I had ever been especially close to Aunt Marti or anyone else in that town except for Tara. Still, I knew I wanted to be there.

I had asked Tara to make a reservation for me at the local hotel, but she informed me that I would be staying at Aunt Marti’s rambling old house. “It’s just a few blocks off Main Street and within walking distance from where Tom and I live,” Tara had reminded me. “Aunt Marti very well may not be coming home, but regardless, she has plenty of room.

Commerce City was much larger than Pleasant Run, but the airport was small. I had no problem recognizing my cousin Tara, who was standing inside near the little baggage area. She was a fabulous older version of her fabulous younger self. Suddenly, I felt frumpy, but it was a little late to worry about that. As it was, I was trying to stop thinking about the half-eaten bag of sour cream cheddar cheese chips stuffed away in my handbag.

The years melted away as I returned Tara’s smile. It was hard to believe we were both 70. We had gone through twelve years of school together, and then I left Pleasant Run and Tara stayed. I had been back a few times to attend class or family reunions and my parent’s funerals, but all counted, I hadn’t been there more than 20 days in 50 years. And as Tara had mentioned, it had been twenty years since I had been back to my hometown at all.

“Good grief.” Tara said when she saw my bags. “You must have been rather indecisive when you packed. If I’d have known you were bringing this much stuff, I would have tried harder to get my grandson, Jeremy, to come with me.”

“Oh, come on,” I teased. “We can get it all in one trip. How much time do we have for you to catch me up on things in Pleasant Run.

“It’s a two hour drive,” Tara said as she slipped into the driver’s seat. I’m so glad you’re here, Dee,” Tara said as she drove down the desolate highway toward Pleasant Run.

By the time we pulled into Aunt Marti’s drive, my head was spinning. I probably wouldn’t remember half of what Tara had told me, and in a small town, people expect you to remember names and faces not to mention which gossip was okay to repeat and which was not.

I’ll come in and show you where your room is.” Tara said when we arrived. “This is an old house, but I think you’ll be very comfortable. Remember how we loved coming here when we were little?”

My room was lovely. I took the time to hang up my things in the very generous armoire. I was glad I came. This was exactly where I needed to be. I prayed that Aunt Marti would be able to come home. I needed to spend some time with my mother’s sister.

Yesterday I attended an invitation only “Bow wow and Meow” Breakfast at a lovely hotel banquet room. It was for donors and volunteers. I drove along the beautiful Pacific Ocean for about 40 minutes in slow traffic, but I made it on time. After checking in with the SPCA workers, I entered a huge room with 32 tables set for 10 people each, white table cloths were laid out with glasses of orange juice, ice water, and plates, mugs and silverware set atop tables in an unusual manner: fork and knife aside a sparkling white plate, then another fork and knife laid across the top edge of the plate on the table. There was a large serving plate with pastries and another plate with sliced honeydew melon, fresh pineapple, and strawberries. Thermal type coffee pots were brought out also. I randomly chose this table with the board member’s name set up on a card in the center of the table. Her name was Joan and I didn’t know any of the nine people at my table but Joan took care of that almost from the beginning. I felt at home with fellow animal lovers and immediately started to relax.

Joan greeted me and made me feel comfortable and happy. She got me a name card and a server to send hot tea since I’m not a coffee drinker. She was a gem. Everyone started chatting about their admiration for what the SPCA does and how they themselves help either with donations or volunteering. One lady wore a beautiful beige and pink sweater set with stitching of dogs and dog paraphernalia all over it. She even had a necklace with a dog pendant and earrings to match. The other lady next to me talked about the four dogs she and her husband adopted from the SPCA. She explained their breeds and how she’s trained them and loves them. Another lady loves horses and another birds. They asked me about my dog, Ninny, and would I adopt any cats or more dogs but I said my husband wouldn’t approve that. (I often use him as an excuse for not doing things) We had fun together. We were all in love…with animals.

The one nice older gentleman sitting next to me left for a minute and the handsome president of the SPCA sat down there to chat with the beige dog-decorated sweater gal. When the nice gentleman returned, he said, “I leave for one minute and you 9 ladies don’t even save my seat for me!” He said it in a funny way and was smiling. The president laughed and got up apologizing.

After we ate for a while and watched the large screens showing animals, rescue teams, and SPCA volunteers and employees over the years, the board president got up to speak and introduced the man who had taken the chair next to mine. He was the President and CEO for the entire SPCA and gave a great speech. We hadn’t had the Bow wow Breakfast since 2019 and now some people wanted it called the Bow wow and Meow Breakfast so he agreed. However, he would not let anyone add on The Whinny, Squeak, Tweet or Chirp Bow wow and Meow Breakfast. This got a big laugh.

He asked people to stand who have donated for 5 years then 10 years, 25 years and so on. Next he had volunteers stand and I proudly stood up. Then he had a rescue and animal officer who handles animals in danger or abused animals get up and speak. This young man told about horrendous rescues during the winter storms and after the levee broke on the nearby river, his team, police officers and National Guardsmen went out to rescue people’s animals. They had to use high water vehicles and sometimes wade through waist deep water to find scared and hungry animals. He said one rescue that stuck out in his memory was an older lady who had evacuated and whose house was flooded, calling to ask if the SPCA could find and save her older blind dog and her parrot, who were her only companions. They did end up rescuing her pets and many others.

I had one of my best days at this breakfast hearing stories about 250 animals rescued during the floods and how many pet owners relied on this great organization to save their beloved animals. Lastly, adorable pets were brought up onstage to our oohs and ahhhs! We all loved this part the best, especially seeing little puppies. (Please adopt when you can.)

I also ate quiche and home fries. It was all delicious. It was fun to be there with over 300 lovers of animals and share the love.

Love to eat breakfast with lovers.

First, I want to let everybody know that I brought Kip home from the hospital today. His back surgery yesterday went well. Now comes the hard part. Rehab and healing. Thanks, everyone, for your thoughtfulness and prayers. Keep them coming.

I made an important life decision. I’m going with my gray. I’ve been gray for decades, but only my hairdresser knew exactly how gray. I’m the old hair color stylist, but I’m done with the dye and down with the gray. I had the color lifted out – thanks Amanda at A Touch of Grace Salon in Ben Wheeler. You are the best. Heather knows her stuff, too. I watched her color and cut a lady’s hair while Amanda worked on me.

I highly recommend A Touch of Grace Salon. It was a fun experience, and I love the results. No more dying my roots every few weeks. I’m very excited about that! Though I tried to only dye the roots, the ends were getting really dark and dry.

I’ve included some before and after pics of my new do as well as some other local Ben Wheeler color.

Step two is making the filling which you pour on top of the warm crust then bake for another 25-30 minutes at 300 degrees. You will need theses ingredients:

LAV BAKES

We have all heard the saying, WHEN LIFE GIVES YOU LEMONS. Lav can identify with that phrase, because a few days ago her generous neighbor brought her a large basket of organic lemons fresh off the tree. This is what Lav did with a couple of the juicy lemons.