Traveling up the Washington side of Columbia River

Tugboat...pushing a barge
And when we got home... we still had some flowers still blooming... even after the frost.

On the road

The pictures loaded up backwards so bare with me...

This is some of the chess pieces at MARYHILL

Outside of Maryhill.... from the parking lot
This is the lower parking lot...over looking the Columbia River, you are looking at the Oregon side from the Washington side

This is Oregon so many areas of it was like this... so many orchards.

This is at Bonneville Dam and fish hatchery.
Ducks... and on the other side of the bridge was rainbow trout, to make a fisherman's mouth drool
These are the Peacocks at Maryhill
Another chess set at Maryhill..... next room was a vast Native American display and the other side a Rodan art works...

This is California....

This is up by Mt. Shasta


This is in Oregon....start of an huge overpass....

ei

So good to be Home again

It is so good to be home...Our travels went
well. The car was excellent. And great
mileage. Which was handy when you have
to fill up at outrageous towns. Gas $3.49.
In Bakersfield. Next time we will know to
fill up before.

Well, I am off to finish unloading the car.
Going down to get it Idahoized. And doing
the usual after trip things, like washing and
etc. So will be back blogging on Monday.
Will post some more pictures over the
weekend.

Did I say it is great to be back HOME???

How downsizing went.....

On June 1st we gave up television.
Meaning cable. We still used it for
Netflix. And it went well. I really didn't
miss the babysitter for adults.

But then at the last week of July, the
King couldn't take it anymore. And he
found a cheap way to watch network
television. Good old St. Vinnie's had an
antenna for $5. So he put it up. We got
channel 4. He told me that he knew I missed
the network news. lol.. yea, right.

He found two weeks ago, in the upper
channels of 46 and 35 he could get Krem
and Fox. So he is happy. And back to being
put to sleep with television.

I have found it is amazing how this is the
way I started to watch television about 37
years ago. With only one channel. You know,
the old stand on the roof while some one
yells from inside, how the screen is doing.
And when You are standing on one foot,
hanging over the eave, they said that's it.

This time went a little easier. We pointed it
the same as the neighbor who uses it for
local channels. And I have figured it out, that
this is enough. Yes, I miss the Discovery, A&E,
and TLC channels, but found out I can rent most
from Netflix. So don't think we will connect up to
cable this fall.

The newspapers went too. And those two were
not missed. Found our lives a lot lighter. Not all
the negativity of the paper. And finding out things,
a day or two later was not a bad thing. And as far
as the local, well, gossip runs well in this town. And
a little more reliable than the local fishwrap.

But as I said, I did weaken when they dropped the
price to a buck a week. This way I can see who
got married, who had kids, what group of people
have 5 generations and to see if I am in the obits yet.

So sitting for 2 hours reading the papers, watching
the news for another hour... wasn't missed. And we
had plenty to do in the yard and around the house.
And got a nice tan to boot.

Once again you all are going to have to fend for
yourselves for a week. We are flying down to lower
California and driving back. This ought to be interesting.
So will yak at you next week near the end.

So party on....

Newspaper troubles.....

I think I am getting the hang of
why the newspapers are having
trouble.

It is the garbage that is in it. Front
page is getting to be commercial and
scandal sheet like. Even our local
paper is getting to be mostly a
social page. They did pretty well
this past Tuesday with news.

You know news, the WHO, WHAT,
HOW, and WHEN... part of news.

And to be honest with you, I don't know
what all I want from a paper, but I do
know it is taking me less and less time
to read it. I cancelled both paper this summer.
Over all, I didn't miss them. And that is sad.

I did sign up for the local, because they were
so desperate for readers, they offered their paper
for the unheard of $1 a week. So I sign up for a
year. After all, that kind of deal won't come again.
I do buy it in the summer on Fridays, for the Clip
and run yard sale column. Also for the social
part of it. And of course we all read the obits, to
make sure we aren't there. So for 50 cents more
I get the rest of the week.

The Sunday is worthless to me. Local is within
the first 3 pages. So that and the magazine part
is the only part worth reading. Rest hits the fall,
as it is all Coeur d Alene or National news we
already saw on television.

But the media is getting harder and harder to
sit thru. I am so sick and tired of OJ, Brit, and
the rest of them. Who the heck cares besides
the 2% who really do. And then you have Bid,
using the media to scare the rest of the world.
Heck, he doesn't need any weapons but the media.

ok, I stepped down off the box..

Winterizing

Well, it is that time of the
year... time to get ready for cold.

We already started in our garden.
Only pumpkins and tomatoes are
left.

But now the house. Out went one
air conditioner yesterday. Another
today, and then cleaning out the
filter on the heater.. Thankfully
that hasn't kicked in yet. It is
good that Avista is going to
give us a break this winter. Every
bit helps.

Got to find the storm windows
when we get back from our trip.
Start putting the yard furniture
away.. that is the part I hate.
Because that is admitting
summer is over... and I am not
ready for that yet.

So off to help the King..

The Story of the Picture

In the fall of 1975, we bought a house(?)
in Cooke Canyon, outside of Ellensburg.

The question mark is for the fact that the
building had two rooms. One "L" shape,
which was the living room and kitchen
combo. The other was a bedroom.

We had bought it from a single older
gentleman. It was on 10 acres at the
end of a county road. With a creek
running thru the property near the
building. Had a mountain of sorts,
meaning a huge 40 foot rock type,
on the south side of the creek.

Very secluded. There was one home
pass us, that was used in the summer.
This was a great place for the kids.
This is where the kids could play for
hours. Up on the hill, and even over the
hill on the north side of the property.

When we bought the house, it was pretty
bare. There wasn't a sink, nor water. We
did have a well and well house. So we had
to bring the water to the house. There wasn't
a bathroom, so we had an outhouse.

So one of the first things in order, was to get
a sink and bring in water to that. But we still
didn't have a water heater. So hot water was
made by boiling water on the stove and putting
in to a metal tub for baths, and into a pot for
dish washing and clothes washing. Which is
the why for this picture.

I was washing dishes first. Then as you can
see on top of the wood is the laundry basket.
The wood was stacked along side the porch,
about 4 or 5 feet high and 21 feet long, two
stacks deep. As we had wood heat.

My mother loved this picture. She said the
only thing missing was a gun. It was a good
time of my life. I was 35, the kids were happy
with their play ground of too many acres to count.
A gravel pit to play with their Tonka toys, and their
German Shepard dog called Heidelberg.

The following year, I designed an addition of 24x28.
Which gave us 3 bedrooms and a large bathroom.

My Kids should be in Therapy

Not really, but they joke about it.
That they should be.

After all, I made them go to school
even in the worse of weather. Just the
other day the youngest was telling how
HER mother would make them walk
across the 10 acres of our land and the
neighbors 10 to get to the road for the
bus stop. Thru 3 feet of unplowed snow!
Even bring out hot chocolate for us, to tell
us the bus was going to be late, for
another 20 to 30 minutes.

Well, at least I brought out chocolate.
Besides look at the stories they can tell
their grandchildren..... "I had to walk thru
10 feet (always increase it) of snow, just to
get to the school bus."

They tell how I would wake them even at 2 am,
to tell about the fresh new snow that was
deep enough to make the first snow man
of the season. And of course, to throw
snowballs at each other. I would tease
and conjole them to get up and join me,
even as the sleepy heads protested. I knew
there would be no school with the snow
falling like it was.

Then there was the game called Zorro, that
I played on them. A lipstick mark of "Z" on
the forehead as they slept in the summer.
You should have seen them laughing at
each other.... until it dawn on them, they
had a "Z" too.

I took them camping without tents, or
campers or stoves and etc. Just a sleeping
bags and camp fire. No camp sites with
bathrooms and showers. Just the natural
woods. And fish in the creek for dinner.

And then there was the time my son
decided to smoke. He was caught standing
outside of a store, that the kids hung out
at in town. So I made him smoke cigarette
after cigarette until he started to turn green.
Kind of upset me that he had started to
smoke. See he was in a class a year
before, where he came home from school
and informed me that I was going to die,
because I smoked. Guess he didn't think
he was going to. But I almost convince him,
he as going to, by the 3rd one.

I guess I shouldn't tell these tales.
Some one might turn me in for child abuse.
Nah, statute of limitations is expired.

But my youngest does mention something
about therapy... I don't know if it is for her or
me.

Anxiety Attacks

A vacation.... a trip to see friends,
a wedding, a social gathering in a
hall. All wonderful events. But not
for all.

The idea is great. Yes, you want
to go, and looking forward to it.
Until..... the day before or the day
of the event.

That is when, the best description
but not the only one, a feeling comes
over you. The best description is dread.
It is like a heavy cloth that covers you.
Starting at your shoulders. The weight
feels like about 25 pounds. Some times
it is accompanied by chest pressure.
You know it isn't a heart attack. But it
is an anxiety attack.

Then comes the excuses. You have other
things that came up. You like to, but you
just can't. Which is closer to the truth than
most excuses.

You can't describe why. You aren't afraid
that you will die. You aren't afraid of the
people you will see. The place or people
you want to go to, you like that place or
people. But..................
you have the feeling of dread, the feeling
of cutting and running the opposite way.

You know if you break thru these feelings,
you will have a good time. You will enjoy the
event or people. But....................
the barrier, the heaviness of the feeling. The
invisible shroud that weighs heavy on you.

You hide it from others. From your family, although
some will guess. You are even in denial yourself.
Others if they guess, will make light of it, which
makes it worse yet. Is it social anxiety? Some
even get therapy help. If you can recognized
the symptoms and just making yourself go. No
excuses... but the heavy shroud is there, until
you leave and head down the road.

It seems like more and more people are getting
these attacks. Is it the isolation of computers?
Not that I am aware of... as the feelings have
been there for years for many. Either more people
are admitting it, or there is more people suffering
from it.

Kids School Clothes

What does a school district in
Tulsa, Ok and North Carolina
have in common?

They both want to regulate the
style of clothing of their students.
This is an age old problem, but
has become more intense in the
past year or two.

Maybe Columbine has brought
that to the surface. But as far as
I know.. they only wore trenchcoats.
Can't be terrorist, as they wore the same
as the rest of us. To blend in. So I guess it
is the gang related idea... Some how national
flags and tuck shirts seems a little overboard.

How the students wear their hats,
(getting rid of the backwards style) is
one of them they have tried to ban for
a couple years. Now in the news is the
ban of how they wear their shirts and
what is on the shirt.

Oklahoma wants to have the shirts stuffed
in to the pants. North Carolina wants to ban
the wearing of the flag on the shirt.

While I am sure there are good reasons why
the school districts have tried this but it seems
a little over kill.

Keeping the shirt tails out of the pants, seems to
me, to be a good thing, considering how low the
boys wear their pants these days.

And wearing the flag. Needs some clarification.
I can see not wearing clothes made out of the
flag material. That has been a law for quite some
time I believe. But not having the flag design on
your shirt is overkill.

We all have had some kind of shirt with a
American flag on it. Especially after 9-11.
Some have a Harley-Davison with a flag behind
it. I have seen different brands of semi trucks
with the same. Some just have the flag waving,
and patriotic saying.

All of this shows our pride in our country. And
myself, I am tired of the old excuse that we
are offending others. They are offending me,
because even with all its warts, it is still my
country, and I am proud to live here. And I
haven't seen any studies of how the one's
wanting in here, have decline in numbers.

Yes, I understand that others will say,
especially in North Carolina.. that there will
be those who will wear their own flag. Even the
Dixie flag. With the Dixie flag, they are over a
100 years too late to stop that. It is everywhere
down south.

Being from a town known for the Italians, Portuguese,
and English. If anyone wore a flag of their families
country, I would not have been offended. It would
show their pride in their ancestors country. Same
with Mexican's wearing their type of shirts, or the
flag of their country. It just shows pride of what makes
them. It is just a shirt. It doesn't say that other
countries are no good and only that flag is good.
Get a life people.

When I was in school, it was too short skirts. The
limit was an inch above the knee. No shorts, and
no pants for girls. Seem the girls were the ones
who were sent home for improper clothes. Now
it is the boys. Even my children had clothing
issues, which some of them I let pass and some
I didn't. I found that 99% of the time, if you ignored
a fashion statement, it pass quickly. So as long
as they are covered, and the language on the
shirt was clean, it got a pass.

And unless schools start having uniforms like
the private school do... there will always be
conversations like these.

Safe Place

Have you ever been a Safe place
for someone? A place where a
friend can come to get away?

Now days there are shelters for
women or women with children to
go to. Thank heavens for that. And
to those who help keep them in
place.

But in the 60's and 70's there were
very few if any. So a woman had to
depend on a friend, or sit it out in
their home. Sometimes friends
didn't want to help, in fear they too,
would be harmed.

There were times friends came to me,
to just cool off, after a heavy fight.
Stay the night and go back the
next day. Some times, they would
run for their lives, and stay a week.
One time it was a man and his
children who came to my husband
and I for help.

Prescription Drugs...abuse

So many times we think of
druggies as the guy who is
sitting in a park or some one's
living room with glassy eyes, or
bizarre behavior.

But one of the worse group of
druggies are the legal ones. The
one's who are like Elvis, who have
doctors who don't pay enough
attention to their patients or don't
care. And can the fault lay with
the pharmacy? But they aren't
police officers, so it isn't up to
them to turn in what could possibility
be an abuser. And besides the abuser
uses different pharmacy to get their
prescription filled.

Maybe there should be a data base,
that collects how many pain meds
that are addictive, that are given to
a patient. That the pharmacy has
to turn in names of people who are
renewing their prescriptions.

There are people who will get hurt
on purpose to get renewal prescriptions.
So this date base could also see a
pattern of users. The abuser will change
doctors, and the pharmacy, but this would
still collect all the information.

There are a lot of them out there. Who will
put down a street druggie, but don't consider
themselves one.

Ya Gotta Love Them

Politicians. Will Rogers had
a whole career on just making
fun of them.

We now have, "you got to know
when to hold them, and when to
fold them" Thompson, throwing
his hat into the arena. And even
though he announced it on the Jay
Leno show (like Arnold, must be
a new Republican deal) and no one
stomped his hat in the middle of
the arena, so I guess he is off and
running.

One thing in his favor, is the rest of
them have already spent millions getting
to this day. And he is just starting to spend.
So they have blown MILLIONS and the
race still has 14 more months to go. Looks
like he is on to something.

Even with the WHO family. You know,
Huckabee WHO? and what is the other one?
Brownback WHO? Tancredo WHO? Gravel
WHO? ther are a few who declined to run, too.
Which all of us older ones, remember the
last one of the WHO family to run. Remember
Jimmy Carter WHO????? So don't laugh..he
won.

What I would like to see, as a member of good
standing of the Cafeteria Party, at the next
debate on both sides of the fence, the game.

The one that people play lots of times. It is called
the "IF I WAS PRESIDENT" game. But instead of
the usually "what would I do, if I was President"..
I would like to hear.... "who I will have in my
cabinet team.".. Nothing has brought that so much
out front to us in the past 7 years as Bush Administration.

We all think about the President being the force. But
we know without Cheney, and Rove and Rice..Rumfield,
Bush would have been toothless. So let's have them ask
the candidates to play... "Who I would chose to have in
my cabinet, if I was President."

Store electric carts.

Have you ever had to ride on
one of those electric carts in
a store?

I was going on errands today
with Miss Cannonball. And
what an eye opener. Even
with the King, when he was
using them.

It seems that people will stand
right there while you are trying
to get by, and block the aisle.
While that is true of all carts,
you would think one would be
more alert to an electric cart
coming. After all you can hear it.

The other thing, they will cut
you off and then stop. Like
the cart has brakes. Yes, you
let off of the handle to slow down.
But that doesn't just stop the
cart like a car.

Also are there people who are
angry at people who use the
carts? You see so many people
scowl at some one who is trying
to get thru the maze of carts
and aisles or bins. What is with
that?

Maybe what we need is for everyone
have to use an electric cart for a week
in a store, to find out, it is no pleasure
trip.

Not the best of weeks...

We had a horrible, freakist accident
near our town two days ago. A tree
fell across the highway and wiped
two riders off of their motorcycle.
Both were killed. The daughter
was a well known person from Post Falls
No one can believe how it happen.
Such a freak type of a accident.


We have lost two Opera Singers this
year.. Sill and Pavarotti. I am not an
Opera fan...but I do like some of the
songs. Who knows, if I actually went
to an Opera, maybe I would be. I love
the 3 Tenors concerts on television.
And I enjoyed just listening to
Pavarotti and Sill so much.

We have flip flop Craig. Will the
man just step down, and get it
over with. Why does he jump back
and forth. Because a few people said
don't? While I didn't like how fast the
party dumped him, the more time goes
by and he talks, the more embarrassing
it is.

Nope, not a good week at all...

Second Thoughts

Life's aggravations get to me, from
time to time. Like yesterday...

Went to the beauty (?) shop.
After all was said and done, I
went to pay. Then the dilemma.
How much to leave for a tip? Is
it like the restaurant where you are
suppose to leave 10% or 15% or
what. Just what do you leave a
hairdresser? I don't have a lot of
money, but I don't want to be
cheap either. No, the thought of
just a dollar never cross my mind.
$5. did.. is that cheap? But, much
more, I might not be able to afford
the work done. I have gave $10,
when the gal has gone extra..or
I have played hairdresser or cutter,
and they have to clean up my act.

Then the other aggravation. Telephoning
a company. Put in your account number.
Chose from this section... after choosing..
chose from this selection... chose one,
then chose from this selection. But there
is nothing there that pertains to what I
wanted to talk about. No selection of
talking to a human. And hoping and
praying they know enough English that
I can understand. Nothing. So back to
the Main menu. Maybe I didn't catch the
right one the first time. Nope, it is all the
same, so back to Main menu again. Tried
another subject that was near what I wanted.
(help, I want to talk to a human!!) and no..
this wasn't working either.

Then the lightbulb went on in my pea head.
O... you have gotten that email that tells you
to hit O and you will get a human. Well, I did
that. Nope, that is not a selection, the recorder
tells me. But by this time, I am frustrated.. so
out of frustration, I hit the O... 3 more times...
GUESS WHAT???!!!. I got a human. I could
understand most of what she said. (starting
to have doubts in my hearing.) and after all
the information we exchanged she asked
if there was anything else she could help me
with. Yes, I told her... tell the company to put
in the main menu a selection of being able to
talk to a human. Some times, the subjects at
hand don't work. Such as mine. I told her how
out of frustration that I got her...by hitting the O
3 times. She said well, I will tell you a secret way.
Next time you call, put in your number as asked.
But when asked to select one of the many numbers..
don't. just hang on and a representative will answer.

My question is (to myself) as I hung up.. why does
this have to be a secret?

As I fumed over the day about these two... I
finally had it dawn on me... it is the way I look
at it. So second thoughts, is... at least I tipped
the gal. And the good news is I can afford to
have my hair done a couple times a year.
It sure beats having the King do it. (did I ever
tell you that one?) And at least, I finally figured
out and got the straight skinny on how to call
next time.
Ah, to be grateful for the little things of life.

Can we last that long?

We still have 14 more months of
campaigning to hear. On the news.
And how long before we start getting
the commercials? At least we don't
have them here yet. But the news seems
to be one long commercial of where they
are and who they are.

It kind of irritates me because the media
and the parties seem to think that Iowa and
the other states who are jumping the gun,
are going to pick who I want to run. It very
well could be, in the first of May, be all
decided before they even have the conventions.

And the rest of us states won't even have a
chance to weigh in. And the other thing is the
endurance. Not only the candidates but us voters.
Will our glances become glazed over? And it sure
doesn't leave much for us, of the Cafeteria Party
to chose from, in some states we aren't even allowed
to vote in the primaries, because you have to declare
a Republican or Democrat party as your own, to vote.

Something wrong with that. But then again, here in
Idaho, we don't have much of a chance if you aren't
Republican .... as the state is as red as an old barn.
Wish we were as strong as that old barn.

SHOULD HE HAVE OR SHOULD HE HAVE NOT?

Should he have or should he have not?

This is sad to say. But I don't know much
about Senator Larry Craig. Yes, he is my
state's Senator. But I don't know his voting
in Congress record. I don't know of any thing
he has done to be outstanding (before this
past week). I have never had to call on him
for help, so I don't know how much he does
for the voters of Idaho. But....

In less than a week the media and the
Republican party tore down a Senator's
career.

Granted he made the choice to walk in
to that bathroom and allegedly, did a
series of steps that is known to police
officers to be signals for gay men.
And these allegedly steps lead to his
arrest.

His 2nd bad choice, was to do a plead
bargain (not much of a bargain) instead
of getting legal advice.

His 3rd, was not to tell his wife of many
years about it the same day it happen or
at least as soon as he got home. To have
the media starting its news storm, and then
telling her is unforgivable. No matter what
the truth is..

The media and people in general, made
a judgment call on this, like a fireball rolling
thru the forest, going down hill.

4th bad choice, was not to come clean on this,
even if it were to be true. He would have saved
face if he had pulled the "Jimmy S. I have sinned"
card and come clean on it. It surely would have
doused some of the flame.

It is hard to believe his story.
Surely he doesn't think we are dumb
enough to believe him with the "I thought
it would go away if I did it fast" bit. The
rest of us would have been bellowing loudly,
that police were out of their mind. That in
no way did we do it. We would have been
screaming for a lawyer. To plead guilt to
have it go away quickly, is a very poor judgment.
Not a Senatorial judgment. (well, not the
kind we want).

But with all that said and done, should
he have stepped down? Was he voted for
his sex preferences or for his voting style
and record? Granted a gay sex preference
could close down some of the voters, but
we have many elected persons who are of
the gay persuasion. And they are doing
fine in Congress.

Why so fast? Doesn't one try to get all of
the facts before a conclusion is brought
forward? Wouldn't we all want to have all
the facts brought out if it was us. To be
judged and convicted in the media and
party in less than a week? It is really
surprising how fast he was condemn by
his own party. Was that their way to
quickly get it swept under the rug, before
the big elections?

I can understand why he would want to.
The way his party chewed him up and
spit him out, also to save face for his wife.
He owes her that much. She is a stand by
your man, type of wife. Now time will tell,
if there is more to it than appears, will he be
able to save face or will he become a trivial
question?

I am sure happy to be a member of the
Cafeteria Party.