Saga of the Red Shirt

Several years ago, my friend, Rosemary, (ex-sister-in-law) embroidered a few cartoon designs on this red denim long-sleeved shirt I had bought. She's got one of those fancy machines.  I wear it year-round cause it's just the right weight to have over a sweatshirt when it's chilly and just the right weight to wear over a t-shirt when it's warmer. Plus it's a comfortable shirt, and bright and cheerful.

The day we left her house with it, we stopped at a Barnes & Noble book store to browse.  A woman struck up a conversation with me and after a while, asked me what I did for a living.  I thought it was kind of odd and mentioned it to my daughter when we got to the car.  She laughed and said: She was probably hitting on you and you didn't even know it.  Must be that shirt you're wearing.

Ever since then, we refer to my favorite red shirt as the lesbian shirt.  It still makes us laugh.

Anyhow, today I had the shirt on and was leaving Walmart and walking across the parking lot to my car.  This guy (probably ten years younger but who can tell these days) walked alongside and said:
Are you the voice of Minnie Mouse?

Huh?

Minnie Mouse.  Are you the voice Disney uses?

I laughed and replied that no, and that has to be the oddest question I've ever been asked.

He went on to tell me that he heard there was a woman who lives in either Sequim or Port Angeles who always wears red and who was the original voice of Minnie Mouse.

I thought about it later as I drove away.  Had either of the twins been with me, they would have made cracks about how "he wanted me."   They make comments like that everytime ANY male and I exchange words.

Now I'm wondering...is my shirt a date magnet?  I probably should start wearing it more frequently. You never know.......

Drizzly Friday--but that's fine

Made a pan of cinnamon rolls this morning using yeast.  Takes a bit of time and prep but man, is it ever worth it!  Wanted to give some to Jenni, Wayne, and the kids but she said no, they never seem to eat them.  Which I find odd.  Who doesn't like hot cinnamon rolls right out of the oven?  She suggested I just freeze them so I'll have them later.  I suppose I could do that but I know how I am when there's pastry in the house.  It's all I can think about. (It's called an eating disorder but I can live with it.)

Been noticing that the cookbook I made a few years ago is getting pretty shabby.  Also found a couple errors so I think I'm going to add "cookbook revision" to my list of to-do projects.  I did get a few pictures sorted this morning but I still have quite a few waiting for me.  And I'll have even more once I start the scanning process of pictures I have in boxes but want on my hard drive.  Busy work.

I ran a few errands after I took the rolls out of the oven.  Thankfully, Walmart let me return a $15 pair of rotary scissors without the receipt.  I bought them for my sister but she decided later, she wouldn't use them.  I stopped at Safeway on the way home and picked up some some Chinese food for dinner tonight.  Looking forward to kicking back and having a yummy dinner already prepared.  I'll finish up  the 5th season of Good Wife tonight. I haven't checked yet to see if the 6th season is available on Netflix.  I sure hope so.  It's getting really really good.

I love watching what people are wearing on this show.  And of course, plenty of them are nice to look at too.  So many stars show up on episodes, I often have to go to IMDB to research and see what show so-and-so was on before. The story lines always have an interesting twist you weren't expecting, and I can usually find myself laughing out loud at least once during every show.  I don't usually laugh out loud at things on TV and I've noticed that my guffaws during this program usually happen after the scene is over and I'm sitting there taking it in.  Most of the time, my laughs are loud
HA HA HAS!

You learn stuff too and I like that.  Probably the only downside to the show is the sex scenes now and then. They aren't as soft pornish as some shows and they do show restraint but I'd just as soon not see any of it.  But that's just me, I guess.  I've turned into an old prude in my old age.

Hunter is coming over tomorrow to help me string some outside lights in the back yard.  I may see if I can get him to swing a broom overhead in the garage too. When I got up on the step stool the other day while out there, I got a hairful and mouthful of cobwebs.  Once I started investigating upwards, I saw a whole bunch of webs that needed to be disposed of.

I saw this guy on Ellen the other day and LOVED HIM!

My Christmas decorations

It's been a pretty productive day for the most part.  I was only going to set out a few Christmas decorations but once I started looking at them, I decided the living room needed some perking up.

 I love this little tree 'cause I can put it away later with all the ornaments still on it.  It sits in the only window I have that faces the street.

 I hung half a dozen things on the wall as you enter the front door.

 My Santa Claus collection lines the other hallway wall.

                                        Other favorites went to various tables

 Hunter is going to help me hang outside lights on the two little trees in the backyard. I have three bulbs on them for now.

My sister-in-law, Lill, stopped in for a couple of hours.  I fixed tuna sandwiches for lunch and drove down to Walgreens to pick up some reprints.  She left to shop at Costco.

I posted on my Town Kid Blog on the Leader website this morning and that may be the extent of what I get done today.  So happy it's warmed up. Tomorrow I may bake up a pan of yeast cinnamon rolls.  Have to be in the mood to go to all that trouble so we'll see.

Got my first Christmas card today.  One envelope I received yesterday LOOKED like a Christmas card. It even had a return address sticker in the corner that looked Christmasey and had somebody's name and address on it from California.  It was a direct TV promo ad.  Guess they figured out that all their ads were going straight to my recycle bin without being opened.

Bring on the rain!

Brrrrr... my fingers are cold.  Lookin' forward to the predicted rain and warmer temperatures.

I ran a few errands around noontime.  Stopped at Goodwill but their puzzle supply had been depleted except for a bunch of 1000-pieces.  I did pick up a couple of 500-piece boxes and will probably set one up this week. I spent a lot of today working on my photo project.  I can see I'm going to have to do a lot more scanning over the  next few months.

I studied a few old postcards sent in the early 1900's and some gave me more clues on where my grandparents were living.  I'll have to do some studying on it, though.  References were made to Little Falls, Wash. and Rickreall, Oregon, and Kent, Oregon. I recognized others like Galvin and Napavine.
I'm pretty sure he's not a relative but this postcard was in the collection too.

On the back it read: No. 274x23  Did time on Skip Island 1928-29. Broke parole on bull gang. Dangerous (maybe) put out of Painter’s union recently. Last seen between mill and town. Liberal reward if taken hungry. Registered finger prints.

I stopped at Serenity House to see if they had a small plunger and I noticed the premises were looking a whole lot neater and tidy.  I asked about it and the clerk said they had new management.  It's really being cleaned up better.  They didn't have a plunger but I did find one at Big Lots for $4. Also picked up some bird seed which seemed to be cheaper than other places.  Was disappointed with customer service at check out, though.  Two checkers working and maybe 6 or more standing in line.  Jenni told me that during the Friday night sale at Walmart (big crowds attend) they had every single aisle manned with checkers.  That would have been interesting to see. Most of the time, they only have a couple working and it irritates me.

Was going to stop at the bread store but traffic was busy and I couldn't see a parking space.  Drove on down to Walmart as I needed a few odds and ends anyhow.  I did find a wall hanging I liked at Goodwill.  Hung it in my bedroom. I wish I could applique like this. So pretty.

I sure had a weird dream last night (or this morning?)  Some guy had picked my pocket but I caught him in the act and went over and grabbed my red wallet out of his hand.  I noticed my credit cards, license, etc. were all missing and I proceeded to shake this large oversize drawing tablet that was lying nearby as I was told my cards were inside.  An earwig fell out and then more earwigs and then a snake and then more snakes and then this REALLY UGLY BOOGIE MAN MONSTER or something?  Looked like a very unhealthy cancer or sac full of gunk.  

For some odd reason, I wasn't really afraid. Just mad that I was having to deal with it to get my cards back.  It went on with other stupid events too and I was kind of glad to wake up and leave the area.

Well, got a piece of fish baking in the oven and it's probably done so guess I'll whip up some carrot sticks and have din din. I'm too tired to proof read this so forgive me if I made errors. It happens.

Examining old pictures

I've been looking closer at photos I've had in my collection and am wondering if this picture

(which has 4 or 5 guys in it that I never noticed before) is work being done on my aunt's house on Clay Street AND if this next picture is another view of the rockery they were working on.  Also noticed two people in this picture I hadn't noticed before.

There's a car parked on the right but I can't see enough of it to figure out if it's the same time period as the old car in the top picture.

Settling In

I got my Christmas cards in the mail yesterday and finished up the last of my shopping and wrapping.
Since I don't bake like I used to and probably won't decorate quite as much, the holidays are open for me to PLAY.  I looked over my jigsaw puzzles out in the garage as I was kind of in the mood to set one up.  I didn't really want to do a 1000-piece, however, so I decided against that for now. I'll look around Goodwill for some 500-piece puzzles later.

I knew I could set up my sewing machine and I almost did but that would require a lot of ironing as I bought a stack of fat squares and they're still folded up.  I knew what I really wanted to work on was my genealogy files.  Once I sat down and examined all my notebooks, picture albums, and various notes, I realized I've got a heck of a lot of organizing to do.

I pulled out my family photo album with really old pics in it and looked over the index I typed up to go with it. (Virgos are notorious for making lists)  It had several descriptions that needed correcting or that needed more info but unfortunately, I couldn't find the file on my computer; just in a booklet I had put the pages in.  There's over 200 photos so I wasn't keen on having to type everything up again.
But....oh well....if I want the information correct (or as correct as I know it to be) I've got to retype it and amend the errors.

Actually, I love stuff like this.  Anything that keeps me on my butt is a plus.  ha ha

As I go through these pictures, I intend to research what I can.  This one, for example....

My aunt Velna is 3rd from left in the back and Uncle Arthur is far right in the back. Aunt Elva is 1st on the left in second row and Uncle George is 4th from left in the front.  I estimate this picture to be 1920 taken at Lincoln Creek School in the Centralia area.  Now I'm going to research Lincoln Creek and see what I can find.  This particular shot may have been in Galvin or Doty.  The notation on the back says: Last day of school. Class going on a picnic.

Once I started to really look at my old photos and old notes, I realized there were clues I was overlooking.  One of the pictures in my grandmother's files, for example, shows a picture of her sister's kids (Skaggs family) along with a neighbor kid named Blanche Gould.  I plan on researching ole Blanche and see if I can get a copy of this to her family.

Before sitting down to start this project, I went outside to take some pictures around the neighborhood.  Irritates me every time I see the block nearby where they took down all the trees and didn't fix the place up like they said they were going to. Here's a before and after.

Other winter shots below..... they're kind of boring but you gotta go with what 'ya got!

And here's three pictures John Ecker took.  His views are much more interesting.

                     Whoops!  Correction.  John says a friend of his son took these photos.

I used to watch shows  about people roughing it in the wilds of Alaska and silly me....I thought that would be a fun place to live.  If I was younger, that is, and could do the chores required. I've since changed my idea about that, however.  I had to put my long johns on again this morning as I just couldn't warm up.  I'd hate to live in a place that had cold temps a lot of the time.

Well, back to work.

And December arrives......

I need to go through the house and change the calendars again. Seems like I just did that.  It's 10 a.m. and I just finished vacuuming, mopping, taking out the trash, and unloading the dishwasher.  With little company dropping in and no kids hanging out, my household chores have become much less than the old days.  Good thing too as I find my low back and hips don't especially appreciate my mopping, sweeping, vacuuming, or even making the bed.  Still.... I don't feel relaxed sitting down at the computer to play if my chores aren't done first.  I need to get over that!

One of my Facebook friends is the younger sister of Joanne Plattner Bennett --Patty Schulze. I ran into her at her 50th reunion this past summer. Anyhow, she lives in Thailand now and recently posted a doctor bill she received after seeing a doctor there. I thought it was pretty interesting.

After 2 weeks of GI discomfort with a few days of low grade fever, and an excursion coming up the middle of the month, I headed over to Chiang Mai Ram Hospital without an appointment to be evaluated. Did I want to be seen by a GI specialist? Not necessary. Have a seat. 5 minutes later: full vitals taken. 15 minutes later being seen by GP doctor. Probable diagnosis given. RX prescribed. If not better in after 3 days, return to see GI specialist. Next stop: pharmacy for meds and to cashier.

Doctor Fee: 400฿ = $12.14

Hospital Fee (includes 3 medications): 984฿ = $29.94

Discount: 197฿ = $5.99 (not sure why… maybe because private pay?)

Total bill: 1185฿ = $36.09

CM Ram is a state of the art medical facility. I received an electronic "after visit summary," my medication sheet not only had my meds, directions, indications, side effects, etc., but at the top of the page a digital picture of me, along with having to sign verifying it was indeed me.

Even with Medicare and a Medicare Supplemental Plan in America, I cringe at having to go to a doctor…. co-pays, HUGH deductibles.. in ADDITION to monthly premiums. How can we spend SO MUCH on wars and SO LITTLE to provide healthcare! Other than greed, there is no reason for any American to lose everything to a major medical problem.

I love America and we have a lot of things going good for us but affordable health care ISN'T ONE OF THEM!  (This last sentence is mine)

Last night, Jenni,Wayne, Hunter, Maddie, Sue and Paul all came over so we could celebrate Sue turning 50.  We had two pizzas and a pumpkin pie.  Also, a beautiful cake that Catie had delivered to her mom with balloons. (Catie returned from Hawaii with Mary and Andy and Jake last night)

I've been saving all the "Hawaii pictures" being sent via email and Facebook.  Well, most of them anyhow.  ALL the ones with Jake, of course. Here's a couple of my favorites.

And here's a picture of Hunter's first pick up truck that he bought after selling his Dad's bronco on Craig's list

He's only 14 so can't drive for a while yet but he'll have fun the next couple of years fixing this old truck up so it runs.  I can't wait to ride in it.

And here's a picture I saw on the Leader website that I was especially fond of. Chetzemoka Park.

I had intended to get busy on sewing projects again but yesterday I decided I still had genealogy in my bones and wasn't quite ready to set it aside yet.  There are so many websites out there devoted to this hobby that I may never get back to my sewing machine.  Which is an exaggeration, of course, 'cause I do like to play around with fabric too.

One of the things I was looking for was in my Aunt Elva's folder.  I was curious where she graduated from high school. I knew she married in 1929 in Hoquiam but I'd been told the family lived in or around Camas before moving to Port Townsend.  I emailed the principal at Camas High School and much to my surprise, he answered right back. Said he'd check their archives to see if Elva was in a yearbook.  Here she is in July of 1930 (in Camas I believe) holding her firstborn, Joan.

Gonna head into the back bedroom now and see if I can't get a few more ribbons on my wrapped packages.  Pulled out my long underwear last night 'cause I just couldn't warm up.  I'm more than ready for the rain to return.

Finished Season 4 of the Good Wife on Amazon Prime and started Season 5 -- totally hooked! Think I'm gonna have to invest in some bird seed too.  I've got three feeders in the front that the pigeons haven't discovered and I'm getting a ton of smaller birds (that I like to see) Even had four hummingbirds coming around to the nectar I've hung out.