A Year of Change

We sure need the power of prayer right now. Lots going on that I won’t get into as there’s too much that I wouldn’t even know where to start, but we can finally see some light at the end of the tunnel. I remember pretty much feeling I was responsible for something since I was about 10 years old. Either myself, my brother or sister or sometimes even my Mom, whether I was or not, it just always felt that way. Well fast forward 40 or 45 years and decades of pretty much the same thing and now we’re looking forward to taking a deep breath. We just need some divine intervention to get through our challenges during the next few months. Work, the misses health issues, finances, it’s all coming to a point where it looks like we can change or fix em all but we still need help so say a prayer.

By the way, here’s a comment from my little sis, she’s pretty smart in her own way,

robi says:

That’s all for me, here’s the misses.

Okay, the entire State of Colorado needs everyone’s prayers.  A neighborhood caught fire and the pictures depict a scene out of a movie…343 homes destroyed…it looks as if a bomb went off.  It’s devastating for the families and staggering for those of us viewing the photos.  The Rockies baseball team shot off fireworks at the beginning of their game the other night…I find that unbelievable when we have a fireworks ban in the State.  As previously mentioned please, please pray for Colorado.

The oldest had a great time hiking up to St. Mary’s Glacier and then sliding down on a slippery, giant trash bag.  He looked a bit weary when he walked through the door.  We are skipping the swim meet today to give the boys a break…maybe to give their parents a break.  Both kiddos are still fast asleep…which is really unusual for the youngest.  The youngest is like my own personal alarm clock…up a 6:00a.m…..it’s already 7:30 and no sign of movement upstairs.

The yellow dog helped herself to the trash last night….she opened the cabinet, pulled the can out, had a little snack and left the rest all over the floor for the Mister to pick up.  Lucky guy!!

We went over to the neighbor’s for a bit last night and the 5 boys were telling “Yo Mamma” jokes.  The jokes were actually quite funny, in fact so funny that they brought tears to the neighbor lady’s eyes.  It was a full 30 minutes of each boy taking a turn at the audience…I wish I had a video camera or at least my phone to capture the moment.  Next time I’ll be prepared.

I think we are going up to Red Rocks for some exercise once the munchkins get up.  I was so sore last time and all I did was walk down the stairs and then lunge up the seats, back down the stairs and then up.  It didn’t take too much time, but my heart was working and my legs were burning.  The Mister seems to be in better shape…he was not sore at all.  Of course our young guy leaped and bounded all the way up and down with no apparent fatigue…..ah, to be 8 years old!

Time to get the day started….God Bless, here’s a great van!

Thanks to Grandma Annette for her comment yesterday, here it is,

Ok since no one commented yesterday, here’s one,

“Apparently, I’m supposed to be more angry about what Mitt Romney does with his money, than what Barack Obama does with mine.”

I have to get the politics in early before Grandma Dixie tunes out! Yesterday was the annual 5 team relay swim meet at the pool. It started at 2 and was over at 9:30pm. Lots of fun for the kids but a long time for the parents. Early in the morning after we dropped the oldest at camp the 3 of us went to Red Rocks to climb the 70 rows of bleachers a few times, Mom’s legs are sore today!

We’re all tired today and will probably take it easy although the oldest is already at camp.

Hard to believe the Supreme Court upheld the mandate that Congress can make people buy something, WOW. This will have long term ramifications on many issues to come. Now I do think everyone should have access to health care but don’t think the government should be able to make a person buy something. Our company decided if this was the decision, we will now probably be dropping health care for our employees and instead give them some money which is too bad as we won’t be able to give enough for someone to buy it without kicking in their own money. We jut can’t afford it under the current scenario as our premiums are up over 100% since it was first implemented. Oh well, it is what it is.

Time to run, have a great day,

I think we have over a dozen fires burning in the state. It was 90 degrees at 10pm and the news channels were all showing houses burning. The latest fire broke out yesterday afternoon around 3 when lightening hit near Boulder. This one looked close but it is 20 miles away. The smoke is almost unbearable. It’s almost to the point where you shouldn’t go outside. They say the big fire down by Colorado Springs will burn for at least a month while the one up north has been going since June 9th. There doesn’t appear to be any end in sight and more could start with the slightest storm. It’s bad.

Here’s a comment from Annette and yes we do love the pouches, thanks!

Yesterday, the oldest came home from camp dirty from the dust, tired from the heat and cranky because the camp guides would walk four feet and point out a tree…walk four more feet and point out a blade of grass. Needless to say….he did not feel that the first day of camp was very informative. The temperature reached a record shattering 105 degrees…UGG! Hopefully, today will be better…the camp and the temperature!  The kids are walking through tall grass today and I have no idea what the guides will be pointing out.. The kiddos are required to wear long pants today…grass cuts or snake bites??  I pray for no snakes and no hay fever…you all can throw your prayers out there as well.

The youngest got out the school directory and proceeded to call friends for a play date.  The first friend was home sick and the second was overjoyed to be invited over…as was his mom..I’m sure.  The kiddos played here for a couple of hours and then we went to the pool for a couple more.

We had an uneventful dinner…no one liked my lemon chicken on a stick but me.  I did make a lemon pie (my mom’s recipe) with the meyer lemons from her yard.  I think the family liked the pie…however, the oldest just informed me that I put more filling than usual….and the youngest doesn’t really like lemon…he would rather enjoy a chocolate bar for desert.

My Dad sent us home fully stocked with smoked salmon that he caught.  We already defrosted a package to gobble up this afternoon…yum!!

The Mister just left with the oldest to drop him off to ride the camp buss to the “Tall Grass”, and the youngest is lobbying to play on the computer.

I need to vacuum…the boys warmed up rice for themselves last night, and by the feel of the floor underneath my bare feet… they got as much on the floor as they did in their mouths! I can’t begin to describe the unnatural feeling of dried rice mixed with “Fido” hair under my bare tootsies…”EEEWWWWWW”, pretty much sums it up.

The youngest has literally hundreds of Legos to pick up from the floor in his room….when you step barefooted on Legos it’s more of an “Ouch” or “@#$%” than “EWW”.  Neither is very pleasant.

Grandpa Jim sent us unexpected and fabulous treasures in the mail yesterday. Two leather powder pouches that his grandpa brought to the USA from France during WW I. They’re really, really cool.  Thank you, thank you Grandpa Jim.  Oh well, time to run….a lot to do today.  Take care and have a great day.

God Bless,

LLF

We made it home from our lost weekend around 6pm. When I say lost weekend, all I mean is it’s Monday again and it doesn’t feel like we had any rest. If I gave the idea that the misses didn’t have fun, that’s not right. All I said was that sometimes reunions are not what you expect, however she did have a good time. It was good for her to reconnect with several of her close girlfriends.

As a side benefit, we did see Grandma Dix, Pa Don, Grandpa Bob and Grandma Eleanor. We made it back to the airport in time for our 1:30 flight which was delayed due to a busted overhead compartment. Thankfully we had first class so it wasn’t too bad.

We had one comment from Annette yesterday and her it is,

You are right Doug, reunions are never what you expect. I have my 50th(OMG) in Sept. and don’t know if I will go. I’m still close with my best friend Kathy and have reconnected with a few people on facebook. I found people at reunions are still playing the same games as high school and who needs that. A best friend of my brother passed away last week and I called a few people I hadn’t talked to since Mom’s memorial and Jean and I are having lunch with 2 of them. Thats a hard way to reconnect with people but maybe we will keep up with their lives a little better now. I’m sure Lori was the most beautiful girl at the reunion and you were the most handsome man.

Today the oldest goes to day 1 of his 5 day summer camp. He goes each morning at 7:30 and gets home at 4pm each day. There are 12 fires burning in the state so we’re a little hesitant about him going but the park he goes to today looks pretty good. The air quality though is not very good. On top of that today will be the 4th day in a row with temps over 100 degrees. This is really bad for June as it’s never this hot. The youngest is lobbying to skip swim team this morning as his brother will miss it all week.

We have a lot going on these days and especially this week. I need to pick up a load of wine today and then have about 200 cases being flown in from Italy on Friday. It won’t be long until we have boxes strewn all over the house again.

In closing here’s something to think about as you go through another day in your life,

We have bigger houses, but smaller families;
More conveniences, but less time;
We have more degrees, but less sense;
More knowledge, but less judgement;
More experts, but more problems;
More medicines, but less healthiness;

We’ve been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet the new neighbor.

We built more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but have less communication.

We have become long on quantity, but short on quality.

These are times of fast food, but slow digestion;
Tall man, but short character;
Steep profits, but shallow relationships.

It is a time when there is much in the window, but nothing in the room.

~ Dalai Lama

Take care,

Did you ever see the movie Sabrina with Audrey Hepburn? It was remade a few years ago with Harrison Ford. Anyhow it’s about this young homely girl that goes away to Paris and comes back this elegant worldly woman. Well, that’s pretty much what the reunion was. It seems that everyone had been stuck in a time warp here in Sacramento while the misses left and now returned as a princess.

We landed in California around 1pm and grabbed our rental car to head to Grandma Dixies. After visiting a few hours, the misses two good friends showed up to visit as they weren’t going to go to the reunion. That should have been our first clue! She had a good time with them and soon it was time to head over to the dance hall. We walked in to 3 people sitting at a table and I was promptly handed my badge as Mr. Sorensen. It was a bit awkward at first until she found her friend Terry. Thank God she was there as this is who the misses bonded with most of the time we were there. Some old friends, boys and girls were recognized but it seemed as though everyone was intimateded by the misses. She just looked like she was in a different league, which she is. It was also kind of like the movie Grown Ups if you know what I mean.

We hung around for a few hours but left early as there wasn’t a whole lot more to it. I’ll let the misses chime in with a comment but wanted to get something up before we head to the airport. It’s good we came to see her friends but if there’s any lessons from reunions it’s you can’t go back in life, there are no do overs and people change in 30 years. I think these events are never what you expect n’or do they live up to your expectations. Anyhow I told the misses she was lucky to reconnect with 3 girlfriends as I didn’t reconnect with anyone at mine.

So, I’ll load up my elegant worldly beautiful wife and head home to our beautiful wonderful 2 boys in a few hours and it’ll be back to our life in Colorado. Sacramento will have to wait awhile for Sabrina to visit again but I’m sure they’ll all be talking about her and her trophy husband!

God Bless

Here’s two more comments,

1. Tom says:

   June 22, 2012 at 1:58 pm

   First thought that pops into my head is, must be the most memorable, is being at the cottage in Wisconsin and playing baseball. It was Grandmas turn to bat, she took a full swing and spun all the way around and fell to the ground. We all rushed to her thinking she was hurt and she just got up laughing and was totally fine. As for my Grandpa, my most vivid memories are him coming to visits us in Colorado he would always sit up on the landing close to the tv with his hand cupped around his ear to be able to hear. The other was when Ricky our cousin a good size boy at the time did something to upset G’pa and he being a small man went over grabbed Rick by the collar of his shirt and lifted him off the ground. I learned that day not to piss off G’pa. As for the parents, I have to many good times to mention. I will say we had a blast at all the bankers conventions. In all honesty all my memories with mom and dad are special. Christmas was always a beautiful event at our home, birthdays at Taylors supper club and going to the ranch fishing. See I told you I could go on and on.

   Reply
2. Annette says:

   June 23, 2012 at 3:14 am

   My grandma Annette (Mom’s mom) lived with us from the time I was 2mo. old. When we were little Grandma let us climb into bed with her in the mornings and she would read us books. She also had a parakeet that she taught to talk . We liked it when she would let it out of the cage and it would fly around and land on our head. Grandma Annette also hand made and knitted a lot of my doll clothes. My Grandpa Angus lived in San Jose with my step Grandmother Ann. Dad’s mother Serena died when he was about 16. Grandpa and Ann had a 2 story house with a carpeted staircase that we spent hours sliding down. The first time I stayed at grandpa and Ann’s I was about 4 1/2 (I don’t remember but Mom did) Mom really missed me and couldn’t wait to see me. I cried because I wanted to stay at Grandpa’s. I think she wanted to strangle me. Serena did the same to me and Mom was very pleased. Ann had a lot of antiques. I got to sleep in a double bed that I needed a step stool to get into. Grandpa was a carpenter and had a shop in the garage. We watched him make things and it smelled like fresh cut wood in there. He also played the bagpipes. We thought that was really funny. We always thought Grandpa and Ann’s yard was so big. They had a lot of fruit trees. Ann canned the fruit (I got to help) then we put the jars in the spooky old basement. They also had a cat (we had a dog) that would sleep with me when I was there. Jim and I went back to the house a couple of years ago and the yard was a lot smaller than we remembered. Grandpa also smoked a pipe and it always smelled so good.

   I remember clear as day Grandma playing baseball with us, she couldn’t have been more than 4’10” or so but stepped right up to the plate. I don’t know how old she was but when you were a kid everyone looked old. My Mom was writing down some stuff yesterday also that we’ll have to incorporate into the blog next week.

   When I was a kid my Dad also smoked a pipe and it too smelled good, there’s something about pipe tobacco that has that sweet smell unlike cigarettes.

   This morning we’re off to the swim meet and then the misses and I will leave for the airport around 9:30. The oldest and I have had upset stomachs for a few days and today isn’t much better. Oh well, you just have to power through it.

   It’ll be 102 or 103 here today which is way too hot! Hope the fires don’t flare up. I’ll try to write in the morning but it might be tomorrow night when we get home. have a great weekend, God Bless,

Well, at the last minute, we’ve (or should I say she meaning the misses) has decided we’re going to California tomorrow for her 30th high school reunion, Oh boy! We’d talked about this months ago but had decided, or so I thought, that we were not going to make it. I’m not sure what changed but now we are going. The only way this is possible is by using 100,000 United miles for our tickets. For that many moles we could each go round trip to Hawaii or Europe! It just kills me to use that many miles to go to Sacramento as I usually save these for trans Atlantic trips but whatever the misses wants trumps all else. We couldn’t find a flight until around noon so we’ll arrive just in time for the big party and then we fly out around lunch time on Sunday. So, it’ll be a quick trip and sorry that we won’t be able to see any of you but it’s just a quick in and out.

The misses has been burning up Facebook (I refuse to join myself) with all her friends letting them know she’s coming. I hope she has a good time as mine was kind of anti climatic. It is funny to see how people turned out 30 years later. Often the “cool” people in high school are not so cool now. Anyhow I’m sure she’ll have fun. I’ll tag along and be the trophy husband that I am!

Now on to yesterday’s comments. We’re so glad that a bunch of you are participating. I’m kicking myself for not suggesting some of the ideas that make everyone comment long ago. It’s much more fun to have feedback from everyone than just us rambling on and on. So, here are yesterdays thoughts from some of you!

1. Tom says:

   June 21, 2012 at 2:31 pm

   This is now getting to be a little scary, yesterday Robi and my first thoughts matched and now today I match your thoughts. One correction it was some other kid that came by and looked in the box of fireworks with a sparkler in his hand that set it all on fire. Remember all the fish jumping at the sparks. Another good memory was, I was at Grand Lake one year and they had a huge fireworks display over the lake one went up in the air and didn’t explode and landed in the lake about 20 feet of shore and about 15 seconds later it exploded from under water and the sparks came tumbling down on all the spectators we all had to run for cover. Sounds a little scary but it was one of the coolest sites I have ever seen.

   Reply
2. Annette says:

   June 21, 2012 at 4:25 pm

   When we were little kids Dad would bring fireworks home from Nevada, you could buy anything there (and he did). He and the dads would put on a show in the street for the whole neighborhood. We always went somewhere to watch the fireworks from S.F. and Oakland (we lived in Richmond). July in the bay area was always foggy so you could see the fireworks on the ground or go up in the hills and see the high ones over the fog but not both. One of the most exciting 4th of July’s I spent was with my cousin Lynn and my aunt Marge and Uncle Don. I went with them to a cabin somewhere out of Jackson with their neighbors across the street. The neighbors had a small gold mine up there, also a son about 16. I was about 13 my cousin about 11. We rode in an a small truck with no doors all over the mountains (very exciting). We had to be careful of all the mineshafts that wern’t covered very well . That night my uncle and some neighbors thought since we didn’t have fireworks they would throw TNT at some open space around the mine(I think some drinking was involved). We thought it was great and very exciting. I think my aunt and the neighbor lady were very unhappy. When I got home after the week-end my Mom was horrified and my Dad laughed. My uncle Don was the quiet one. I think my Dad wished he had been with us. When we moved to Stockton we would watched the fireworks from one of the parks and thought it was great because we didn’t freeze. We now take the houseboat to Old Town Sac. or out in the delta to watch the fireworks. If you are on the top deck of the houseboat you can see fireworks from all the towns around the area because the delta is so flat.

   Reply
3. Robi says:

   June 21, 2012 at 4:29 pm

   How funny – while I was reading I too was thinking about Lake George and I think Uncle T is right – it was another kid that set the box of fireworks off. I also remember dad taking us down the street to the fireworks stand and we each got to pick out our own fireworks. I remember loving sparklers and roman candles and I would dance around in the backyard – hehe! The good ole days!

   My Mom also chimed in with a few memories. You see yesterday was not only her dad’s birthday but also the day her mom passed away. (I think I have that right) How freaky is that? So with that in mind, todays homework is to write something about your parents or grandparents. This means Uncle T, Aunt Robi and I can write a memory of our mom or dad or grandma or grandpa. Same goes for Dix and Annette, you can write about your parents or better yet, your grandparents! Let’s keep it going.

   Lot’s to do today, I have a couple of phone conferences this morning then a lunch at 11,  then pick up some pants being hemmed, then a quick trip to the annual Wild West Show since I will not be here this weekend. This is a big sacrifice for me as I wait all year for this weekend and the big auction. It’s not that I buy anything but I just like to go see all the stuff. Sometimes we do trade a piece or two. You might remember last year they sold the only known photo of Billy the Kid for $2.3 million dollars. This was an old tin type photo measuring 2X3 inches. At least we got to see it in person. Oh well, that’s just the kind of husband I am, miss my favorite most anticipated event of the year, anything for the misses!

   It’ll be 100 degrees today and stay that way for at least the next 5 days, not good. We hope everyone is well, take care, remember to write and have a great day. God Bless,

Let’s keep it going, here’s 3 more comments,

1. robi says:

   June 20, 2012 at 4:49 pm

   My favorite summer memories were going to Wisconsin to visit grandma, grandpa, cousins, aunts and uncles. Remember staying at the cottage, sleeping in the attic in the heat and humidity. I remember going to fish frys, and baseball games where the stands were wood with no frills like today. I remember going out in the boat and fishing. Remember those one piece swimsuits you and Uncle T wore? PRICELESS!

   Reply
2. Tom says:

   June 21, 2012 at 6:27 am

   Ditto to Robi’s comment. Thought the same thing when I read the post. I also remember being at G’ma and G’pa’s house, G’ma teaching us how to make bread and play cannasta (sp) the card game. Doug and I stayed with G’pa one time and all we ate for dinner one night was corn on the cob right from the garden, so fresh. Believe I ate 11 ears that night. Don’t forget the little store around the corner for push up pops. Good memories.

   Reply
3. Annette says:

   June 21, 2012 at 7:58 am

   We usually went camping the old fashioned way. Tent, sleeping bags ect. My dad always found the most out of the way places in the middle of nowhere. One year we went to Vancouver B.C. to visit my moms cousin. They had 2 girls, one my age and one my brothers. They took us to the local drive-in and we had french fries with vinager. We thought they were nuts. When I was 7 I got to go to Girl Scout Camp for 2 weeks each summer in Mendicno on the coast in the redwoods. We traveled in a school bus for about 3 1/2 hrs. on a very winding road (someone always got sick). My dad was not very happy about the bus and said he might follow it all the way up there. We stayed in tents with wooden floors, 4 to six to a tent. I was a little home sick the first year but I loved it and went every year until I was fourteen. The last year I went we had a new camp out of Soda Springs near Tahoe. We had one of the only warm lakes in the Sierras. We were the oldest girls that year and slept on the ground. It was a new camp and the only tents were for the youngest girls. I really learned a lot through Girl Scouts. Mendicno was mostly a fishing village then. I loved it then and I love it now. I wish I could afford to live there. The other vacations I remember were over Washingtons Birthday. We went to Disneyland the first year it was open in 1955 and went a lot of years after that on Washingtons Birthday. I also still love Disneyland and would go any old time, with or without kids.

   Great stuff from all of you, thanks.

   I too remember the fish fry’s on Friday nights in Wisconsin. It was a big deal and everyone went. And yes the cabin, I can still see it clear as day and the boat house where Uncle T and I would spend hours with that green boat and fishing on the lake. Lot’s of relatives around all the time and the hole in the floor of the sporting goods store in Cecil where they had fish, what fun.

   Grandma Annettes experiences sound like lots of fun too, thanks for sharing. I love the camping stories, the boys and I are determined to go camping this summer, we’re just waiting until later when the west nile virus and the ticks are gone. Both are unusually bad this year due to the early heat and drought. They say Deet is as important as sunscreen this summer. I don’t remember a year like this with 100 degree temps and almost brown yards in mid June. Hope we get some rain.

   Today the misses is getting her hair done and the boys will be hanging with me for a few hours. I’ll have to work around them. Yesterday Mom cleaned out the fridge as something was really smelling bad. Every time you opened the door, it would hit you in the face. She couldn’t figure out what it was until she had all the stuff out. You should see our fridge now, it looks like it’s brand new all sparkling and clean. We almost hate to put anything in it!

   I went to bed early again last night trying to catch up on sleep. I must have dozed off around a little after 8 and slept until 5 which is a lot for me. I’m going to head to the gym when I’m done writing this morning. It was only around 80 yesterday which was great but today will be back to 100 with no relief in sight.

   Your assignment for today is to tell us about your July 4th memories as a kid. I’ll give you a taste of mine. When we were kids we were at Grandma Miller’s house on Lake George and one of us (maybe me or Uncle T) dropped a spark into the bag of fireworks sitting on the dock and the whole thing went up like a scene out of a movie. I remember kicking the bag into the lake but things were still flying all over the place, it was something else.

   Ok, now your turn, let’s keep the comments coming, have a great day, take care and God Bless, and oh yea, Uncle T and I looked good in those one piece wool swim suits when we were kids. I remember us standing there and flexing our muscles, I think mine was dark blue, I looked like a kid out of the 20’s!