4th of July (SPT)

When I think of the 4th of July, I always think of my mother. Every year she opens her home in the mountains of northern Arizona to the entire family and their friends. We eat, go to parades, eat, play in the water, eat, go to rodeos, eat, watch the fire works, eat, watch movies, and eat some more. My husband once said when he goes to my Mom's house he just sits down in the recliner and opens his mouth and she puts food in it.

I wish I had pictures of all the crazy things we have done together. I would love to have a picture of all the moms and grandmas marching in a parade for the children because we missed the parade that year. We all had newspaper hats and various pieces of decoration as we marched and sang "I'm a Yankee Doodle Dandy."

Another picture I wish I could share with you is the picture of my sister-in-law, Nan's, face the first time we had a chocolate sheet cake and one of us ate a piece out of the middle before it was cut and then everyone just sort of took a little here and a little their until it looked very unappetizing. She had never seen that before, it was totally unstructured fun.

And then there is the inevitable water play. Children of all ages in varying stages of dress, mud, dogs, water guns, buckets of water and lots of laughter.

The sad part is that as we all grow and our children get involved in other things, fewer and fewer of us are able to go and join in the fun. Every year some of us join with Mom, but it seems to be a different bunch every year. We hope to go this year for a weekend.

However, to finish this spt, I will tell you that we live on top of a hill with a 360 degree view of the Valley. We can see fireworks all over the place from east to west. We always have a dessert party at our house, open to anyone who knows about it. So, if you are in town, as soon as it begins to get dark, come on up and bring a dessert and enjoy the view. We will take your children up on the roof for the best view. They will love it. We will try to get some pictures and I will add them later.

God bless America.

Germany

I love America, but there is so much to see and experience in this world and I don't want to miss any of it.


We lived in Germany for two years when I was in 2nd and 3rd grade. We lived on base for part of that time and Rachel and her Mom are living in the exact same complex we lived in while we were there in the 50's. It was weird, as we drove up, walked up the stairs in into the apartment, I said, "I know where the bathroom is, right behind the front door." It was, weird.

The past two weeks in Germany have been relaxing and fun. These are real pictures we took, not post cards or commercial shots. This country is really this beautiful and clean.

Eating in Europe is an experience all in itself. There is no rush, no loud music, no one making you feel like you need to get out so the next customer can sit down and spend money. No one is pushing more drinks on you and you will not get a bill until you ask for it. Neither of us had indigestion the whole time we were there and we often ate at 9:00 o'clock at night. We want to remember that and slow down.

We walked miles and miles. There are beautiful walking paths everywhere. You don't need a car. Between the walking paths and the train system, you are set. We walked from Meisenbach to Lanstuhl. It took 1 1/2 hours. We took the train back 1.50 Euro and 5 minutes.

Our time with Rachel was precious, it is fun to see young people with the future shining bright before them, go into the world with enthusiasm. It renews my own personal enthusiasm for life.

And guess what? We got bumped on one of our flights so we have a free round trip ticket to Ireland for next year. I don't remember Ireland, so this will be a great exploration for me.

Snake Story

Last night, my husband fixed a wonderful dinner of gazpacho soup with shrimp, a green leafy salad and crusty bread. While he, my crazy mother and I sat talking the conversation somehow turned to snakes. Here is another story about my Mom that must be preserved.

We were living in Mountain Home, Idaho. My father was stationed there at the newly reopened Air Force base. The base was out in the country and not too many people had been assigned to the base yet, so they were a really small community.

Mom had to go down some steps to the outside to her washing machine. (It was an old ringer washing machine). One day, when Dad was gone on a mission somewhere, she went outside to do the laundry and when she opened the lid, she found a large rattle snake curled up inside the the washer. She slammed the lid back down and ran upstairs to call the MPs (Military Police).

Five MPs came out. They were all from Chicago and New York. She says they knew less about what to do about a rattle snake than she did. One of them carefully lifted the lid while the other four drew there pistols to shoot. She screamed and said, "You are not doing that to my washing machine." They slammed the lid back down and began discussing how they could get the snake out.

Just then the milk man came by (this was in the 40's when milk was still delivered fresh from the truck rather than purchased in the grocery store). He knew just what to do. He got a stick with a fork on the end, carefully lifted up the lid to the washing machine and pinned down the snakes head. He then grabbed the snake and quickly threw it into the field next to the house where five MPs emptied their guns into it.

Life returned to normal but Mom still looks before she puts laundry in the tub.

Crocheted headband

I saw this on someone else's blog and I lost who it was, so I share it with you with full disclosure that it is a copy from another crocheting blogger. The instructions are simple.

• Make a chain long enough that it measures the same as the headband.


• Single crochet down one side and then chain one and turn


• Single crochet down the other side of the chain.


• Now, fold the two sides of single crochet together and slip stitch them together so you form a tube.


• Don't close one end of it.


• Slip the headband into the tube and stitch the end closed.

That's it. I am going to make one for each of my granddaughters.

Friends (SPT)

Having been raised in the Air Force, I have grown up with the mentality that you make friends while you are there and when you leave, you leave everything behind, including your friends. Consequently, I have 4 women who come to mind when I think of good friends (outside of my family). Becky, Connie, Gwen and RoseAnn. None of them are on the computer like I am, so our friendship must be sustained by letter and phone. I am terrible at that. However, every time I get together with one of them, it is like time never passed.

Okay, I have it all figured out--blogging friends only know the side of you that you want them to know. That makes these friendships kind of like being a grandparent. Why do grandchildren love their grandparents so much? Because we have no issues, we don't need to correct them, we don't need to monitor them, we just need to listen to them and love them and spoil them and send them home to reality. They only see the side of us that we want them to see.

But seriously, have you read Bryn's post today? http://thebestofdays.blogspot.com/2007/05/when-boys-are-away.html. This is who my truest friends are. I love my daughters and my daughter's-in-law. If I could spend a day doing just what I wanted to do, I would want to do it with them. They truly are best friends.

Mother's Day (SPT)

I did not have a normal childhood. My mother is crazy. Now, don't get the wrong idea, she is crazy in all the right ways. She is full of life, full of energy (even at 84), full of opinions, actively seeks education. She is a compassionate person giving the last she has to help someone who has less. So, why do I say she is crazy?

When I was in high school, she woke up one morning and decided we needed a day off in the middle of the week. She took my sister and I up in the mountains for the day. We didn't do anything spectacular or amazing, we just drove up into the mountains, had a picnic and took pictures of each other. I love those pictures (mom is the one beating her chest like Tarzan). Then she wrote an excuse for the Principal which my sister and I gleefully took to school the next day. When the Principal read the note, the sparks flew--the Principal just knew my sister and I had written the note and signed our mother's name, surely a mother would not just take her children out of school for no good cause. She had to go to the school and he had to apologize to us.

We have wonderful stories in our family about Mom with a broken leg, Mom with a bowl of moist candy in the living room, Mom leaving the car keys in Dad's pocket and how she got them back when he had flown off on a mission for the Air Force, Mom put in jail in Germany, Mom getting a speeding ticket for going 120 mph and refusing to pay, Mom stealing chickens from the Bishop, Mom with her toe caught in the bathtub faucet (oh wait, that was Lucille Ball).

Whatever, was going on in her life or ours she wanted to participate. I remember hurting her feelings one time because of her innocent exuberance to join in the fun. We were walking home from Church. There were three or four girls and my Mom. We were all talking about bleaching streaks in our hair and doing it for each other. Mom, said "I'll do it for you, Sandi." I said in the typical teenage voice, "Oh, not you." Immediately I could see she was hurt. I don't recall any more of what happened about that incident, but I do remember that my Mom bleached a spider in the front of my hair and I don't recall any of the other girls being allowed to do it.

Once Mom was in a shopping mall and she walked into a piano store. The salesman walked up to her and asked her if she would watch the store while he went to get some lunch. Caught off guard, she said "okay." When she retells the story she recounts how silly she felt standing there and that she can't figure out why she stayed. Luckily no one came in and soon the young man returned with his lunch in hand and she went on her way.

I can see my Mom when I was a little girl and we were traveling all over Europe in a little car with no air conditioning. She always wore a nylon dress (they dry fast when you sweat). She would roll the window down, pull her dress up around her knees, let the breeze from the window billow her dress, fan herself and start to sing. We learned every song she knew.

Mom taught me to love my elders and treat them right. She taught me to be honorable. She taught me to be kind, loving and forgiving. She taught me to love the Gospel of Jesus Christ. She taught me to be creative. She gave me exuberance for life.

In fact, if I had to choose one word that described my Mom, I would choose exuberant. I love you Mom.

dieciséis de septiembre (cinco de mayo for real) (SPT)

Googled Cinco de Mayo (so I would be sure to post my first SPT properly) and found that it is much like St. Patrick's day. Celebrated in America but no so much in Ireland/Mexico. "A common misconception in the United States is that Cinco de Mayo is Mexico's Independence Day; Mexico's Independence Day is September 16 (dieciséis de septiembre in Spanish)." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinco_de_Mayo)

The discovery that it is simply a celebration for the sake of celebrating allows for this celebration. I bought the tickets to go to Germany for 12 days--June 2-14. Whoohoo!

This is a birthday present for my husband.



Did you know you have a golden birthday? It is the day when the age you turn is the same as the day in the month you were born. My golden birthday was December 31, 1977. When was yours?