Almeda Brown Christensen

For Momma, who inspired everything good in me.

2010-11-22T15:48:00.000-08:00

Look through my eyes.

Cusps of snow frame the view you'd love.

I wear your boots and watch the lovely snowfall

behind the house you built for me.

You left and I can't follow, so

Look through my eyes.

Kaye Christensen Roberson, 2010

Memoirs by Almeda B Christensen

2010-11-16T12:05:00.000-08:00

THE BEGINNINGS

She awoke early on that chilly morning in March with the realization that her baby wasn't going to wait the full nine months. It was just eight months. Her husband was out of town on business, and nothing was ready. Bert, her oldest stepson had already left the house and Elliott, 14, and her stepdaughter, May, 10, were stirring. Then her son, Charles, only 17 months old himself, woke up. The mother rose, packed some toilet articles in a bag, left the little one in the care of the older ones, and got ready to go to the hospital.

She checked the contents of her purse; not really enough for cab fare, and any incidentals the children at home might need. So she didn't call the cab. Instead, she went to the corner, boarded the street car and went to the hospital by herself. At four o'clock that afternoon, in the middle of a snowstorm, the black-haired baby girl was born. I was that baby.

I don't remember anything about our family life in Salt lake City. The family lived in a large two- story house on 13th South near 9th East. Later we moved to another house on Main Street on the hill leading from the Temple area up to the Capitol Building on the north bench above the city. Years later I went back and took pictures of the first house, but the second was gone by then.

Sometime when I was three, we moved to Brigham City, where my first memories begin. We rented a house on the west side of town, set down below its neighbor on the south. There was a cement retaining wall on that side. I was frightened every time we drove into that driveway. I wanted to get out of the car and get away from that Wall! When I played outside, it was always in the middle of the yard, or better yet, on the north side of the house where I couldn't see the wall. (I guess the fact that my mother was just learning to drive at that time had something to do with that fear!)

In spite of this fear of the wall, I had a happy time there. My father's consulting business took him away a lot. But one time when he was home, he built a little table for me to use when I played with my dolls. I had some nice toys which had been handed down to me from my sister, May; an oak rocking chair, a little red kitchen chair, an electric stove and electric iron (which I wasn't allowed to plug in until I was older, or when May or someone else grownup was there) and a doll bed. This table, though, was made especially for me, and it made a big impression on my young mind. I used it with a little table cloth embroidered with a peacock, and four little napkins, made by my Grandma Brown. Sometimes my brother, Charles, would come to my "dinner."

I was always close to Charles, who was less than a year and a half older than I was. At that time we didn't use our given names with each other or with other members of the family, but were called “Brother and Sister.” Sometimes, though, when there was reason for emphasis, say when we didn't come when called, then it was "Charles F.!" and "Almeda!" I was small for my age, and that earned for me another nickname, "Midget," which my cousins, Bob and Tenney Johnston, always used, even when I was grown up.

Later that same year we moved to a red brick duplex on North Main Street, and it was there that I had my fourth birthday and a party. Our special friends were Steve and June Johanson, who lived a few houses to the north, and Donald Day, who lived on the corner beyond them. There were two more girls and a little boy whose names I don't remember. At the party we played games, led by my sister, May, including a trip through the bedroom, which was supposed to be a jungle with wild animals. The little boy whose name I don't remember, was frightened and upset, so he took the present he had brought and went home. The other children stayed for cake and ice cream, and I opened the other presents. My mother gave me a little boy doll, and a doll trunk to hold its clothes and the clothes of the other dolls. That little boy doll became my favorite, and I named him Eugene.

There were some severe rainstorms that summer. The thunder and lightning scared me, as much as going through that downstairs bedroom where the wild animals were supposed to be. During one particularly bad storm, we were huddling on the couch, when the lightning and thunder came right together. The lightning struck a tree down at the corner. After the rain stopped and the fire engines were gone, we were allowed to go down and look at what was left of the tree, black and awesome.

Not long after that the family decided to drive to Salt Lake City. We got as far as Willard, where we were stopped, because there was a huge pile of dirt and rocks on the road. The houses were half buried in mud. I asked a man what happened, and I thought he said a big giant had moved all those rocks and mud, and was still in the muddy water coursing down. What he probably said was that it was as though a giant had done it, and there was still danger in the stream. But impressionable as I was, I really believed the giant story! There was nothing to do but turn around and go back to Brigham, since there was no longer a road there.

Many years later I learned that my husband and his family had tried to take a trip to Ogden from Bothwell, that same day, and they got to Willard after the road was gone, just as my family did! Every once in a while throughout our life together, he and I have discovered we were in the same place at about the same time, but we didn't know each other. As children we lived about 34 miles apart, so those times were not too often; but of course when we were in college, that could have been often during those first two years.

Back to my childhood again, things went along quite smoothly during my fourth and beginning of the fifth year. My mother was working away from home, and Charles and I missed her when she was gone. To help us understand her going away, she had taken us to see where she worked, in the county Court House. Charles was a bright boy, and he remembered the way. Whenever we had trouble with the baby sitter (an older woman who didn't really like us, we thought) we would run away and go find our mother. Then she would have to leave work and take us home again.

We really would rather stay with our sister, but of course she had to go to school and didn't take care of us very often. One day, though, we were alone with her, and to keep us busy and happy, May decided to make fudge. Soon the candy was bubbling, and delicious odors of chocolate filled the kitchen. Then suddenly as May was beating the candy, the pan jerked from her hands, and spilled the hot viscid liquid on her arms. We ran to the neighbors in the other side of the duplex, and the lady took care of May and got her to a doctor. None of us realized it at the time, but this accident was the first indication that May had developed a disorder know as St. Vitus Dance, or chorea. It is a nervous disease, in which there are irregular jerking movements caused by involuntary muscular contractions. It was frightening, but by avoiding things like hot pans of fudge, she gradually recovered, with no more serious accidents than broken dishes occasionally.

It was some time after this that we went to Salt Lake to visit my Aunt Hulda, Mother’s sister, and her husband and family. Uncle Adrian was a guard at the state prison, and they lived in a grey stone house, the second or third house up the street from the prison, which was built on a square of the same grey stone, with a high grey stone wall around it, with a watch tower at each corner. It was with a feeling of dread that I looked at it, and I transferred that dread to the grey stone house. I didn’t like being there, and I was glad when Uncle Adrian left his job and took the family to homestead a farm in eastern Utah.

In front of the house on North Main Street were two tall evergreen trees in which many birds lived. In the spring one of the baby birds fell out of the nest and died. We children picked it up, and someone decided it needed to be buried. We located an empty match box, lined it with scraps of cloth, put the bird in, and had a funeral. Charles and I were too young to have known much about funerals, except that our Grandfather Brown had died in Loa, and our father went to the funeral and burial. It must have been older children who planned that funeral.

That summer we moved again, this time to South Main Street, to a lovely big old house which had been divided into two apartments. We had the south side, and really enjoyed living there. One blight on our happiness was May's operation on her leg. She evidently had suffered from Polio as a baby, when she had a very high fever and almost died. Now when she was fifteen her left leg had drawn up and become shorter than the other. The operation cut cords in her leg, and then a cast was put on it. She got used to the cast, and soon she could run almost as fast as I could, even with the cast on her leg. It finally came off, and the leg slowly healed, but the scars remained all her life. Later the leg became shorter again. This time nothing was done to it.

There were children in this neighborhood, too, and we made friends again. We played war games, and the bad guys were the always the Germans. The rhyme that sticks in my memory is, "Kaiser Bill went up the hill, to take a look at France. Kaiser Bill came down the hill, with bullets in his pants." The big hero of the day was Jack Dempsey, who had just become the World Champion Heavyweight boxer. I was proud that we had lived in Salt Lake City on the same street as his mother, and where he grew up, although I was too young at the time to remember even the house we lived in. Charles started school, in the first grade, and he really liked it. I missed him while he was gone, but fortunately it was for only half a day.

We made two trips to Logan that year, where Mother had meetings to attend at the college. The first time we stayed in the Plant Industry Building, which had been built during World War 1 as a barracks. We took showers in the gym and had our meals in the cafeteria. It was fun. The next morning when we started home, we found in our car a car robe. Someone must have slept there and left the blanket.

The next trip we stayed in an upstairs apartment on 4th North. Daddy would walk with us up to the college, stopping on the way to rest under a big tree about half way up the hill. The grass was long, and I learned to braid, and made necklaces for all of us. When we got to the Animal Husbandry Building, we had ice cream cones. First, though, Daddy insisted we drink a glass of buttermilk first. I guess that's where I learned to dislike buttermilk. Elliott came to visit, too, and he taught Charles and me to make battleships out of folded newspaper, and we had mock battles on the little balcony off the apartment.

As Christmas neared that year, my father took me to the store to look at dolls, so I would know what kind to ask Santa to bring me; he always telephoned before Christmas to ask what I wanted. Sure enough, that Christmas, there was a lovely red-headed doll, just like the one I had picked out in the store!

That Christmas was also noteworthy, because we had flu. When it was my turn, I was ensconced in a bed in a little alcove off the living room, instead of upstairs in our airy rooms among the trees. As I was beginning to recover, my half-brother Elliott came home. He had been working in Salt Lake City, where he was studying for the competitive exams for entrance to the Naval Academy, where Bert was already studying. Elliott brought for my Christmas present a little tea set made of orange colored metal with black flowers on the rims. I had that tea set as long as I played with dolls and was almost grown up, when I finally gave it and other things to some second cousins, who didn't have much.

THE EARLY LOGAN YEARS

Not long after Christmas, Mother's work took her to Logan, and the family moved there. Since Charles and I had just recovered from the flu, we went with Mother on the train. I had a new thick wool cape, woven in knife pleats, in red and yellow stripes. Daddy and May drove the car. They met us in Logan at the station, and we went to the Bluebird restaurant for dinner. I had the first of my favorite suppers, a grilled chicken sandwich, called a "toastwich." We rented a house just east of the 4th Ward L.D.S. Church. It had a furnace in the basement, and it was our first experience with central heating. We were all happy with that. Charles, though, didn't want to go back to the Benson school after just one day there. No one ever knew why he didn't like it, but my parents agreed that he could stay out a while and didn't force him to go. That was nice for me, because he was there to play with. He had an electric train and an Erector set, and I was allowed to play, too. We also had Lincoln logs, and various other toys. Outside there was snow and a new sled, which livened things up, too. My doll population had grown to 17, counting all the tiny ones, and I was allowed the hall closet to house them and my other toys.

The winter gradually turned into spring. My birthday came and went, and I lost my first tooth while eating a peanut butter sandwich. May had made friends who liked to get together in the evenings and sing songs. When they gathered at our house, I joined in and learned songs such "Yes, We Have No Bananas" and "It Ain't Gonna Rain No More." There was a boy named Jack O'Neal who lived up the street, and the girls all liked him, even me, (but I don't know what happened to him in later years.) That summer May went to the Church MIA Camp in Logan Canyon. On the last night our parents took us up to visit and have dinner with the group. I was so thrilled and impressed, I couldn't wait to get old enough so I could go to Camp, too. (Unfortunately I was ill three times in my teen years, and the doctors said I shouldn't go.)

My father wasn't well that summer, and our Grandma Brown came to stay with us. She had the deepest voice of any woman I have ever known. When she called, you came! She was kind to us, though she seemed to prefer the company of May, who was older. Daddy went to the hospital in Salt Lake City for surgery, and we went down to visit him, staying nights with Rhetta Emery's family. Rhetta had been one of Mother's students when she taught at the L.D.S. Business College there. The family owned peacocks, and I was enchanted by these beautiful birds. There was a nice thing that happened at this time; Bert had finished his studies at the Naval Academy, and was home on leave before going to sea duty. When we were at the hospital visiting our father, Bert called him "Pop," and he didn't seem to like it much. At home again Daddy soon was recovering.

That summer Bert and Jean Jones were married. They had known each other the four years of high school, and kept their love alive afterwards through all those four years of separation, while Bert was at the Naval Academy. The wedding was at the Jones home, a big older house on the east side of Salt Lake. There was a long curved stairway, and Jean and her bridesmaids came down this stair, and I thought it was the most wonderful thing I had ever seen. Afterwards I was given a piece of the wedding cake, and told if I slept on it, I would dream of the man I would marry. Well, I didn't dream anything, but the cake was a piece of good fruitcake, which I ate the next morning.

THE COWLEY HOUSE

That summer, also, marked our moving again, this time an apartment in the Cowley home at 353 E. 5th North St. Sister Cowley was one of Matthew Cowley's plural wives, my first knowledge of that practice early in the Church history. At the Cowley home one of the first things I remember was the Indians who came asking for food and clothing. Sister Cowley let them in, and an Indian mother breast-fed her baby as we children watched, until we were shooed out. That was my first experience with that.

There were no girls my age in the immediate neighborhood, but Ann Ryan (called "Toots" in those days) was my special friend, although she was two years younger. We still see each other when we can; she lives with her husband, Lane Palmer, near Philadelphia, so it isn't often. Grover and Mark Carter and their sister Carol lived two doors east. Marie Daines, about four years older than me lived just east. That year we had breakfasts with the Daines family, and I learned to love homemade white bread--huge, fragrant, hot buttery slices, which made it possible for me to choke down the oatmeal and egg. Marie had an older sister, Wanda, who was beautiful and had a boyfriend, who gave her big boxes of candy that she hid under her bed. I remember the excitement and joy Marie and I had of slipping under that bed and taking just one chocolate apiece, so it wouldn't be missed. Another sister, Carmen, who was married and studying for her Master's degree, would be at our apartment when mother or May wasn't there when we got home from school. She was good to us, making cakes and cookies sometimes.

My first cultural experiences came about this time. When I was still five I took ballet lessons from a talented lady from New York, a Miss Hinman. She made me feel very special when she called me her "little Pavlova." Pavlova was the famous Russian prima ballerina of that time. Another thing was my being a flower girl in the performance of Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing." I loved my costume of deep red velvet. The other flower girl, Beverly Hodgenson, whom I knew from Dancing class and from the fact that her father and my mother both worked at the College, had one of a teal color, and the adult members of the cast all had very elaborate costumes. Those impressed me more than the audience out in the dark in front of us, or even the actual words of the play. It was an outdoor theater, with the seats going up the college hill and the stage at a flat place a little way down. From then on Mother took us to see the Shakespearean play each year at the College. One year Ann Ryan's big brother, Miller, was "Hamlet," and so that was really special. The next year he was "Macbeth". Miller also had a radio, which he played with earphones, and he let me listen to it. This was my first experience with radio. It was another two years before we got a radio, this time with a speaker we could all hear.

BEGINNING SCHOOL

The fall I was six, I entered Whittier School. I was in the first grade, and the first week or two Charles was in the same class, since he had stayed out the last half of his 1st grade. However, the teacher soon realized he was far beyond the rest of us, a few of whom had a few weeks of kindergarten. He went into the 2nd grade, and we didn't have a class together until a physiology class in high school, that comes later in my story.

But to get back to grade school; my school was different from most, I guess because it was an experiment of the teacher training program of the Utah State Agricultural College, where our mother was now employed. It was called Progressive Education, in which the child was allowed to learn at his own speed without much direction. No Phonics were taught, and as a result, I didn't really learn to read until the 3rd grade. The classes were large, but every six weeks a new group of 5 student teachers would come into the classroom. They helped with study groups, when there were any. The classes weren't structured very well.

There were big trees all around the Cowley house, so in the fall there were leaves everywhere. My friends and I raked them into rows, for walls for our play house. We had a wonderful time, with dolls and furniture, and then later we raked them into a huge pile, and took turns jumping in it. In the early evenings the older children taught us to play "Kick the Can", and "Run Sheepy Run", and on Saturdays we would play ball, or "Cowboys and Indians" and an early version of gang fights. The college football team would run down the hill from the college to Adams Field, in the block just east of ours, and we would go up and watch the scrimmage after school, and then sometimes we got to see a real game there.

Another of my favorite memories of that time, was the evenings we spent together as a family. We had no radio, and TV hadn't been invented, so Mother read to us. "Winnie the Pooh", "Alice in Wonderland" and "Through the Looking Glass" were favorites, Later came the works of Rudyard Kipling. Through Mother's influence we were able to go to the Children's Library at the College, which at that time was for the use of student teachers, not children. We checked out other books, which she read to us.

That first Christmas in this house stayed in my mind for a long time. Our Christmas tree was set up in the combination living and dining room. What had been the "parlour" was shut off by very heavy velvet drapes, and was used as a bedroom in winter. Since there was no central heat, there was a large grey coal heater in the living area, and that's where our Christmas tree was set up. There were candles on the tree, and wreaths made of popcorn, some of cranberries, and others of paper chains, of which we all had a hand in making. Santa called me on the phone, as he did every year, and I asked for roller skates.

On Christmas Eve, my Father lighted all the candles on the tree, and we all watched and loved to see the light and shine on the wreaths and some glittery ornaments we had on the tree. The only trouble was that my Father wouldn't let them burn all the way down, because the tree might catch fire. When we opened our gifts, there were my skates, and I was thrilled with them. Daddy helped me put them on and guided me around the kitchen on the linoleum and down the hall. There was a low step down from the kitchen, and it was several days before I could manage that without falling down.

The next morning Charles told me there was no Santa Claus! I didn't believe him. I knew the skates weren't there earlier, because I had looked over all the packages, as kids do. Charles said they were put there while I was at the Daines house. I just couldn't believe it, and I worried for weeks. The other children told me, too, and finally I believed. It was a shock for a six year old, but at least the other people in the family gave each other presents, so it wouldn't be so bad. Later in the spring I had great fun on the skates on the sidewalks in the neighborhood, and that special interest lasted several years.

About two months after Christmas, we got our piano. It was a great event, and my Father played it, and we all wanted to take turns, and did. Mother had some music she had bought once when she was taking lessons, but she didn't play too well. Charles and I both started our music lessons, with Mrs. Walter Welti, the wife of the head of the music department at the college. Sometimes after my lesson I would take her baby for a walk in his buggy. ( Much later he grew up to be an important radio and TV announcer in Salt Lake City.) I also would sometimes take the Carter baby, Carol, for a ride. (When she grew up and had a family of her own, my children knew her as Carol Hanson, in San Bernardino.)

It was in the spring of the first grade. The Cowley home was the second from the corner, and around the corner was the house of Mr. Aimes, whose son, Erwin, was my age. He had a brother a year younger, whose name I have blanked out of my mind.

Mr. Aimes had ordered a load of sand delivered, because he meant to pour some concrete walks around the house. He hadn't gotten to it, so the sand pile made a wonderful place to play with buckets and shovels, or to build roads for our toy cars.

The two Aimes boys made a tunnel to play in. I was one of the children who greatly admired it, but I didn't want to go in. The sand was wet enough to hold its position, but the next morning it was drier. I wasn't over there, but I heard the dreadful news, the little brother was in the tunnel, and it caved in and covered him. The people worked frantically to get him out, but it wasn't in time. He was dead.

It was decided that since he was so little, that the children who had known him would be part of the funeral arrangements. Six bigger boys carried the little casket, it seemed little to me then, although it was almost my size, I guess. I was one of the little girls who carried flower baskets into the chapel, just ahead of the casket, and then to put them in place around the casket. I dreaded doing this, because I couldn't think of anything but that little bird we had buried just a couple of years before. I couldn't stand the idea of that boy, whom I had known and liked, being put into the ground.

The odor of those hot house flowers became connected in my mind with death. So when my uncle Adrian died about a month later, and then my cousin Mildred that winter, that odor haunted me, and I dreaded their funerals, too. My mother understandingly didn't take Charles and me to the uncle's funeral, But we did travel with her to Vernal for the cousin's funeral.

Following the death of the little Aimes boy, the rest of the children in the neighborhood seemed sort of obsessed with the idea of tunnels. Together we dug one in the Carter's back yard. However, Mr. Carter insisted the covering should be of blocks of reinforced plywood. We didn't get to play in the tunnel, though. The first day, Kent Ryan, another of Toots' older brothers, (who later became an All American Football player, also professional player,) came into the tunnel with us, sent by the parents of the neighborhood. They knew of course that we would listen to an older boy, more readily than our own parents. He told us there was an epidemic of spinal meningitis in town, and we should not be in crowded places with other people, in case we would catch it. Well, we listened, and the tunnel was filled in. In a few weeks we had proof of the disease, a college student who lived at the other end of the block got it. When he was recovering, (fortunately), he sat up in bed in the living room window, looking out and playing his ukulele and singing for us.

Although we escaped that disease, we did have bad cases of whooping cough and measles. With the latter, Charles's eardrum broke. Since I was almost well, it was my job to make cotton swabs for him by rolling bits of cotton around the ends of tooth picks. Fortunately he didn't lose his hearing. In those days doctors made house calls and after such a visit, if the doctor diagnosed any disease, the county sent a man around with a large placard with the name of the disease in big letters, and no one who hadn't already had it, could come into that house. It was quarantined. There were different colored placards for the different diseases.

After Uncle Ad's death, Aunt Hulda came to stay with us. It wasn't a stay of a few days or a week, but she stayed months. That's the way family members visited in those times. At Christmas that year I got a newborn baby doll, and Aunt Hulda sewed a complete layette for it. She did the same for my cousin Mickey Johnston., who got the same kind of doll. We both loved them. The other dolls were children look alikes.

Daddy was working at an engineering job in Tooele, and he took us down and showed us around the smelter. There was a tramway up over the mountain, and ore was brought over to the smelter on that. People didn't ride in it, darn it! It was either on the way home from there, or perhaps another car trip with the three of us, that Daddy asked Charles and me what we would think if he and Mother were divorced and he married another lady. Charles didn't say anything, just sat there stony faced. I cried quietly all the way home. Fortunately it was not mentioned again.

The second grade went along pretty much as the first, with the same teacher, just a different room. We didn't receive report cards with A's, etc. just a Plus or Minus in each subject. Interestingly enough, I didn't get a Minus in reading, although I couldn't read. Maybe the teacher thought that would discourage me and I wouldn't try. I knew all the letters and could write them, but the idea of words just didn't come across. I could add and subtract numbers and liked to write them. Music class was fun, also recess. I learned to play hopscotch and jump rope.

At home, besides playing with dolls and making clothes for them, and roller skating, I played other games. One of my favorites was jacks. One of the Cowley nephews came down from Blackfoot, Idaho, and he played, too, along with Toots and me and other girls. I really wanted to win, to prove to him how good I was, and I cheated! No one saw it, but I did. I didn't feel good about myself after that. Winning didn't seem at all important anymore. I suffered in silence, and I never did tell anyone how badly I felt. Finally I came to the conclusion that I would never cheat again, in that game, or in any other thing. I did learn to play better and eventually managed to beat everyone in the neighborhood, but my resolve stayed with me, and I never cheated on anything again. I liked myself a lot better!

The Ryan’s house had only half the basement excavated. The other half had one high window with three feet excavated below it. Up this hill, we children built roads for our toy cars, and we had cardboard houses along the road.

About this time I was attracted to one boy in the neighborhood. He was David Jr. Murray, who lived in the fourth house east of the Cowley's house. His father was at the College, too. He was quiet and shy, and quite different from the rowdy ones. He liked books, and so did I, now that I was learning to read, so we had that in common. I wanted him to fit into the group when we played with our toy cars in the sand and dirt, so with my allowance one week I bought him a little car. That helped get him in, and soon he was in the other games, too.

One day, after we had been playing a while with our little cars in the unexcavated part of the Ryan's basement, I climbed up an unfinished wall partition in the larger room to reach a piece of bicycle tire the Ryan boys had nailed up there as a basketball hoop. As I hung from this hoop, it gave way, and I fell to the cement below. I was knocked unconscious. I came to later out on the lawn where Mrs. Carter had carried me. She had come to get her boys for lunch. I had no broken bones, but was sore for a while. I wonder if that fall had anything to do with the back aches I developed later in life.

THE BATT HOUSE

The next summer we moved again, to 527 East Fifth North, just two blocks up the street. It was a house owned by Charles Batt, and so we always called it the Batt house. There was central heating again, thank goodness! No more huddling around the stove to keep warm. Next door lived Ruth Jenkins, and it was she who stayed with Charles and me when there was no one of the family there.

Before my eighth birthday Mickey Johnston, my very dear cousin, died, but we didn't go to her funeral. I found out later that her father had such difficulty accepting her death, that he didn't want to see me. She was just my age. When I was baptized in the Logan Temple, I wore the white dress her mother had made for her. At that same baptism, I was baptized for her and for 72 other people. That helped me accept her death.

There was a basement in the Batt house, and we had one bedroom down there and a big playroom, for when the weather prevented our playing outside. I had a doll house made of two orange crates for my little dolls, and my friends and I spent a lot of time there.

I had a new friend, Hazel Owens, and I liked to go to her house after school and play. It was always "Cinderella", and we took turns playing the prince and Cinderella. When we got tired of that, we would make fudge, if it was all right with her mother. I was supposed to be home by the time Mother got home from work at 5, but sometimes I forgot, and I found myself walking up the hill from the Island (so named because the river ran along the south side and the canal on the north) and then along those three long blocks in the dark. It was scary, with the shrubs all looking like trolls, but I always hurried along, and nothing bad ever happened. Small towns were quite safe over 60 years ago.

I was now in the Third grade, and I finally learned to read! It was slow going for a while, but it was worth all the effort. The teacher was Miss Jensen from a little town called Mantua, on the way to Brigham. Half way through the year she got married and became Mrs. Hill. There was a rule no married woman could teach school, but for some reason the powers that be let her stay until the end of the year. My birthday came on Saturday before Easter, and fortunately Mrs. Hill took the class on an Easter hike that day. We hiked up to the first dam in the canyon above the town. Ray Hughie was a classmate and his father was in charge at the dam, and he showed us around. After our tour, we crossed over the dam and climbed about a third of the way up the hill, which seemed like a mountain to me. We rolled Easter eggs down the hill, and they almost all got away from us. But we had brought sandwiches and cookies for lunch. I found what I thought was Indian pottery, but later it turned out to be only a broken piece of an insulator from the power lines above. I was disappointed, I thought I had made a real find.

Charles and I got flu again, and I thought it was entirely unfair. We had this nice house with central heating, and we should have stayed well. Daddy came home while the Doctor was there. Later he brought us balloons as we were feeling better, and we lay on our beds and batted the balloons back and forth. We had our first radio, with a carved leather front on it. Mr. Skanky, who had the little grocery store on Fifth East, sold it to us. Anyway, that radio helped us get well, too.

One day while I was playing with my little doll house in the basement, Mother and Daddy came downstairs and started going through boxes that were stored in the bedroom closet there. I wandered in, but I was shooed away, and didn't see or hear what was going on. Later Daddy left again. After he had gone, I noticed that a picture Grandma Brown had painted of Black Rock on Great Salt Lake was no longer hanging in the dining room. Mother just said Daddy wanted to take it with him, and that was all the explanation I got.

May graduated from high school and went to Salt Lake City to stay with Aunt Dell (Daddy's sister) while she went to nurses' training. She came home on holidays, though. We sometimes went to visit at Aunt Dell’s and stayed overnight. Charles and I and our cousins slept on beds on the living room floor. We did the same thing when we visited Uncle Joel and Aunt Alice in Provo. Their son Ralph Brown is the only Brown cousin I hear from regularly. All my cousins on my mother’s side are dead.

That Christmas I got my biggest doll, a walking doll, so tall I could hold her hands above her head while I "walked" her by swinging one of her legs and then another. She could still fit in the doll bed and carriage, though. She could wear regular baby dresses, too.

Aunt Nettie and Uncle John Bates came for a visit, and then that summer I went with them and Aunt Hulda Ross to Southern California on the train. It was my first experience on a long ride, and I was very excited about it. We rode all day, and I looked out of the window for a while, then I had toys to play with as we rode along. It was an overnight trip, and I was amazed when I got back from brushing my teeth that night, and the births were all made up. Instead of rows of seats, I saw a narrow corridor with dark green curtains along each side. I was allowed to sleep in the upper birth, with Aunt Hulda in the lower. There were heavy straps to hold me in, so I wasn't afraid. I woke up, though, when someone walk down the aisle, but I soon got over being startled.

The next morning Aunt Sara and Uncle Seth Perry met us in Los Angeles, and I stayed overnight with them. Uncle Seth was taking a course in radio, so he could go back to Vernal and open a radio sales and repair shop. Aunt Sara planned to open a dress shop next door, which I thought was a nice arrangement.

They took me to Aunt Nettie and Uncle John's house in San Diego. Aunt Hulda and I shared the room that had been my cousin Mildred's before she died the winter before. My cousins Royal and Parker Bates were still living at home, and they slept on a sleeping porch that stretched across the back of the house. They were both working that summer for a fruit company. I made friends with a little girl my age, named Virginia, next door. We played together all that summer. Sometimes we were movie stars, like our favorite, Bebe Daniels, and sometimes we were radio announcers and commentators, with a microphone we made out of cardboard.

One day the neighbor on the other side invited Aunt Hulda and me to go to the beach. There was a little girl living there because her parents were divorced. Another girl was invited, too. We had a good time, my first swim in the ocean. I enjoyed it thoroughly, and next time they went, I wasn't invited, nor was Aunt Hulda. (I guess she was invited to keep track of me the time before.) I asked her why I wasn't invited to go again, and she said, "You know why!" I didn't know, and no matter how I begged her, Aunt Hulda would never tell me what it was I did to be banished that way. I asked her again years later, and she still wouldn't tell me, and all she would say to me was that I knew. I never did find out what it was.

I did have another chance to visit places with Aunt Nettie, Aunt Hulda and friends of Aunt Nettie's, who had a son my age. I can't remember his name, but maybe as I delve further into my memories, I will come to it. Anyway, we went Balboa Park several times and to the Zoo. There was a big Merry go round at the entrance to the Park, and we children really enjoyed that, as well as the picnics in the Park, and to see the animals at the Zoo. Another time we all went to La Jolla for the 4th of July and had a picnic and watched the most wonderful fireworks I had ever seen.

The destroyer Bert was on came into the bay, and he invited me to come on board to see the ship and to have dinner at the Officers' Mess. It wasn't a "mess" at all, but it was my first experience at a formal dinner, with all the extra silver I wasn't used to. I worried that I would do something wrong, but somehow I got through it without any calamity.

Bert came out to Aunt Nettie's house several times, and once he took me swimming in the ocean off Coronado. Jean wasn't there, she was busy in Salt Lake having her first baby, my niece Elizabeth Anne, now known to my children as Betty Murphy. I was thrilled to be an aunt, and I told all my friends when I got back to Logan.

By the way, I came home by train, this time in the company of the family of our grocer. He had a store downtown, and Mother would call him when we needed groceries, and he would pick them out, (always the most expensive brands) and the delivery man would bring them out in a panel truck. When we could, and the weather was good, we drive down and got our own. We would stand there in front of the counter, tell him what we wanted, and he would load them in paper bags. We ran an account and paid once a month, when Mother got her check. We also got our laundry done out. Once a week another panel truck would come by and pick up what we needed washed. It would come back in a few days, with the sheets, pillow cases, tablecloths, napkins, and dish towels all ironed, but we had to iron the rest. This was called "rough dry" laundry.

THE SWENSON’S HOUSE

We moved again, this time to an upstairs apartment in the Dan Swenson house. He was head of the Manual Arts Department at the College. The day we moved in, the Swensons asked us to have dinner with their family-- mother, dad and eight children. During the table conversation someone said I was a little heavy for my age, and Dan Junior said, "That's what makes her so darn cute!" He was my good friend from then on. The fact that he was a little heavy, too, probably had something to do with his remark about me. When we went sleigh riding, he took me on his sled, and we raced down the road from the college hill, and just managed to make the turn onto Fifth North, and then into their driveway at No 669, second house from the corner. This was the beginning of many happy days spent with that family. We lived there through my fourth, fifth and sixth grades.

Our apartment was upstairs, and we got to it by coming through a small glassed in foyer and a central hall in their house and then up the stairs. There was a door at the bottom of the stairs, with glass panels in it and with a with a curtain covering. Upstairs we lived among the trees, and I really liked that place. I had a little room at the back of the house for my play room. I had my little doll house set up there, and Charles wired it for electricity. Across the room I had a toy box, and in the closet was the rest of my furniture, like the two chairs of May's, the table, the stove and iron and ironing board. In the main room I had a desk that folded up against the wall, where I sometimes wrote letters to May or Daddy. I remember Grace Swenson, the girl closest to my age, reading one of them, and she said I should write better, and spell the words right. I was almost a year older than she, so I was cut to the quick by her criticism. But we stayed friends.

A door led from this room to a balcony, where we kept our ice box. Twice a week the iceman would come and put a chunk of ice in it when the weather wasn't cold enough to keep the food. Before the three years were up, though, Mr. Swenson bought one of the newly invented electric refrigerators, which was put in the kitchen. There was already an electric stove, too, so there was no more using a stove that burned coal and wood.

In the summers I went to the six week's summer school at the college, where I took swimming or dancing lessons along with the college students. Most of these were teachers who came back to college to get more training. Many of our friends, whose parents were on the college faculty, also took these classes.

After the classes were over, sometimes I would stay to hear the eleven o'clock lecture in the big auditorium, sitting on the balcony so I could see better. There were special guest speakers, who were hired for the summer, from other colleges and some professions. I remember one, who was called the Tune Detective, because could he could trace plagiarism in music. He had been called to consult in several lawsuits, and was famous for that.

There were lots of other things to do at the college. I learned some of the facts of life in the museums. There were stuffed animals native to North America, along with their life stories (when I learned to read enough to understand them), and besides that, a whole display of human fetuses at various stages of development in jars on the shelves in the middle of the room. There was also a plaster cast of a dinosaur footprint left in mud thousands of years ago. The rest of the geological exhibits didn't interest me much.

The Art Department was another of my favorite places. One summer there was a class in painting on china plates. I was fascinated, and would have liked to do it myself. But I never did enroll in an art class until I was college age, and they didn't do china painting anymore.

One of our favorite places in the summer was the bell tower on the Main Building. If we could find the attic door unlocked, or could talk one of the workman who knew us to let us in, we could roam around in the huge attic and look at all the old theater scenery and props that were stored there, and then climb up to the actual tower where the chimes and the big bell were. Every morning all year when school was in session the bell was rung at 7:30 and again at 8, telling the whole east end of the town it was time to get going. The chimes were played only at noon, after the noon bell rang. There was a marvelous view of the campus, the whole town, and up and down the valley, and across to the Wellsville Mountains. We could send paper airplanes soaring, and sometimes down on unsuspecting people.

Since this college was agricultural, it had what they called a Farmers' Encampment. In the summer farmers would come, and live for a week or two in tents provided by the college, and pitched on the main quadrangle. Indians would come, too, and live in teepees on the same lawn. It was an exciting time for us children, who were accustomed to using the campus for our playground. The children of the farmers and Indians were with us sometimes, and we compared our upbringings. But they were mostly shy, and kept to themselves. There were programs at night, including native Indian dances, and movies shown on the lawn by the President's house. Because of the agricultural interests of the farmers, there were classes and seminars on the best methods, and nutritional and other training for the wives.

Sadie O. Morris was a Farm Bureau Agent and a friend of my mother's. She was giving health and nutritional lectures to some of these women. She needed a model of a healthy child, and since she didn't have children of her own, she "borrowed" me as an example. I had a pair of new green panties to wear, and that was it. I stood on the table in front of the audience and demonstrated exercises Sadie described. When it came time to talk about foot exercises, she asked me to pick up some marbles with my feet. I did that, and then on sudden inspiration, I threw one, with my toes, down the aisle of the audience. I missed, and hit a woman sitting on an aisle seat! It was quick and fast, and she didn't have time to duck. Needless to say, Sadie didn't ask me again to be her example of a healthy child!

East of the campus was a grove of trees that made a nice place to play Daniel Boone and other outdoor activities. Farther east and then about half way down the hill to the "island," (so-called, because a canal ran along the foot of the hill and the river ran down the far side of the small valley between,) the Boy Scouts had built a small log cabin. Although the boys in our group were too young to have helped build it, they knew about it, and showed the rest of us.

One day I went out to play, and there was no one to play with, so I went off by myself. I cross the campus, went through the grove of trees, picked some sego lilies that were blooming on the hillside, then went down to the cabin. I pretended it was my house, but I soon tired of this solitary play, and decided to go home by way of the canal. I followed the trail down, but it seemed there was someone on the path above me. I was frightened, and ran down as fast as I could make it through the brush. Thankfully I soon burst out, crossed the canal on one of the logs bracing it, and ran faster along the path by the canal. I couldn't see anyone behind me, because of the turns and trees along the canal, but I could hear him! With my throat aching with my wild run, I finally got to the place were the path met the road. I thought briefly of running on to Hazel Owen's house, but instead I went up the hill toward home. Whoever it was following me, turned and went the other way. I hurried on home, but I was one scared little girl, and I resolved then and there not to go off to play by myself!.

In the basement of the Swenson's house was another apartment, which was rented to college students during the year. In the summer, after summer school was over and all the students gone, the children of the family and their friends often played cards at the dining table there. I enjoyed these games, even helping Beth, who was five, to play her cards.

Another gathering place was a large tree house Mr. Swenson had built in and around an apple tree in the back yard. You could pick and sample the green apples as you sat there, talking or reading something. It was there that Dan Swenson taught us to sing silly songs, such as: "It was midnight on the ocean, and not a streetcar was in sight, I stepped into a drugstore to get myself a light. The man behind the counter was a woman old and grey, who used to peddle shoestrings on the road to Mandalay." There was a chorus and many other verses, I guess each singer could make up his own.

George Swenson was not to be outdone; he did reckless things like jumping off the side of the treehouse, and off the roof of the garage. He earned my admiration, and he took David Junior Murray's place in my affections. But that never did amount to much; we were too young to have boy friends or girl friends.

This winter May became very ill, and they said she had rheumatic fever. Her heart was so weak, she could no longer live at that altitude. She was taken by train to Long Beach, California, where she lived in the family of a practical nurse. I would write to her, and she would answer my letters. She was mostly bedridden.

The next fall I entered the fourth grade. It was taught by Miss Robertson. She was generally the best liked teacher in the school, although the students knew they had to learn. She taught well, and we all learned what we needed to know. This was the year for long division, and in preparation we had time tests on multiplication tables. I got along well in that, so the long division wasn't hard. I also learned to read a dictionary and an encyclopedia that was in the room. I still like to do this upon occasion.

Every afternoon we had a snack time. The college dairy delivered 1/3 quart bottles of milk, one for each child and it was good, provided the truck didn't come early and the milk was still cold. While we drank our milk and any cookies or other goodies we had brought from home, Miss Robertson would read to us from "Tom Sawyer" and "Huckleberry Fin".

There is another thing I remember about this time, As a class we made soap in a big kettle in the hall outside the room. The whole school smelled of this soap for what seemed like two weeks, although it might have been a shorter time. Next we made paper, and that didn't smell quite so bad.

This year a new girl came to our room, the first time we had anyone new in our grade. She came from Idaho, and her family was poor. Her name was Arneda Christensen. She wasn't well liked by anyone, so I made friends with her, so she wouldn't feel so alone. She was there through part of fourth and fifth grades, then she left. I didn't hear about her again until my high school 45th reunion. One of my friends was teaching school in Idaho, and met her. Arneda remembered me, and said she thought a great deal of me, because I was the only one to be her friend all the time she was in Utah.

In the early spring of the fourth grade and during recess at school, I was outside on the playground when I got a terrible stomach ache. I sat down on the ground and leaned against the building. I didn't realize the bell had rung and everyone else had gone back in the school. I don't remember just how it happened, but I was taken inside the school, and someone called my Mother. She took me to the doctor, and it was decided I had appendicitis. That night I went into surgery. I was very scared, because it was in just such circumstances that my cousin Mickey died. Under the anesthetic I had the same weird dreams I had had before, when I was delirious with measles and whooping cough.

I didn't know until years later that my slow recovery was due to my having gangrene in the incision. I spent 18 days in the hospital, and Daddy came to see me, and brought me a red silk kimono with a lovely dragon embroidered on the back. He brought it from San Francisco. Mother brought me new nightgowns and yarn and knitting needles, and I learned to knit to pass the time. When I got home I remained there another 2 weeks, and the doctor would come to the house to see me and to change the dressing on the incision. Finally I got back to school again.

I had missed a lot of classwork, and I was worried about how to catch up. Miss Robertson told me not to worry about it, I could catch up all right. I wanted to take books home to study, but she wouldn't let me; the books always stayed at school. Everyone had gone home. I went outside sat down on the steps and started to cry. Roy Swenson, the oldest of the brothers, came by on his way home from high school. When he found out I was crying because I couldn't take any books home from school, he said he wished he didn't have to take books home, and I would have plenty of time to take books home later. He talked some more, and I felt comforted, and we walked on home together. I'm sure it was slower than he usually walked.

That summer was the usual one, taking classes at the college, playing with the Swenson children and others in the neighborhood. I don't remember anything particular happening. We did find some snakes to play with, just little garter snakes and gopher snakes, but the boys took them away from us girls. We didn't like that, but we still all played cards together, and touch football. I had a pair of spring skates, with two coil springs on each skate instead of wheels. I spent lots of time on those, and on stilts Daddy had made for us before we moved to Swensons. The college campus was still a playground, too, since most of the children had one parent employed at the college, either as a professor or a research person. Mother was one of the latter and Head of Purnell Investigations for the State of Utah.

Elliott came home for a visit from the US Naval Academy. We enjoyed his visit, played games, and walked around the campus. As we played cards he would hum or sing snatches of "I Took My Sugar to Tea."

Uncle Tom and Aunt Hattie Johnston by this time was getting a little accustomed to the loss of Mickey, so we were able to visit Vernal again, as we had done for a week or two every summer before she died. Now that we could go again Charles and I enjoyed this, with our cousins Bob and Tenney, although we all missed Mickey. I spent time in the drugstore when the boys were there, and I learned to mix my own cokes at the soda fountain. I have always been fond of cokes, but now after sixty years, I have finally gotten over drinking them every day.

The next fall I started fifth grade. The teacher was Miss Garff, who was an art major. I enjoyed this year, too, because we could do a lot of drawing as well as other studies. We divided into reading groups again, but this time each group wrote an original story, and we each made an illustration. These stories were bound into a large book and donated to the school library. This library was just a small room, partitioned off the hallway where we hung our coats and put our boots when it was winter.

One winter day there had been a heavy snowfall. By afternoon the sky had cleared, and Miss Garff took us for a walk in the snow. It was beautiful and still, and the sun glistened on the snow on the ground and on all the tree limbs. We walked west from the school, to an empty lot, where there had been a house, where Mother had lived one year when she was going to college. Miss Garff explained the nature of snow, and why it was so beautiful just after it fell. I think all of us were impressed by this trip.

On November 15 Charles and I didn't go to school, and Mother stayed home as well. She told us Daddy was dead. She didn't go into any details, that I remember. After school my friend Arneda Christensen came over, and she told me the newspaper had said he was killed with a shotgun. I never did see an account in either of the newspapers, and later I found Mother had asked Mrs. Swenson to pick up our two papers and destroy them. When Edith Hayball, one of her good friends came over, Mother told her, and us, she was sure it was an accident; our father would never do a thing like that to himself or to us. Charles and I didn't go to the funeral in Salt Lake City, because Mother said if we didn't go, it would seem as though he was only away on one of his business trips. Edith Hayball went with her. Edith was the aunt of two of our friends, Bill and Paul Thomas.

When we did go back to school, everyone was kind. My friends, Patty McGee, Dee Louise Parker, and Betty Pedersen, the Wintergren twins Ted and Carol, Keith Sorenson, Ned Clyde, all said they were sorry. Also, one of the student teachers told me she had recently lost her father, and she knew how I was feeling. I appreciated their sympathy. I thought about him while I was at school, especially while I did my art work. I remember drawing a big brown bear, and a group of people in colonial costumes, but it was a long time before I could come to terms with his being gone entirely.

That Christmas I got my last doll, a sort of a forerunner of the Barbie dolls my daughters played with years later. She was about 15 inches tall, with hair cut in the Dutch style. She came with panties and bra, so I immediately started sewing clothes for her. Aunt Hulda was back for another visit; she offered to help me sew, but I wanted to do it myself. Of course my sewing wasn't as good as hers. I did ask her help on a dress for my big doll, and she taught me how to make small stitches, all hand sewn. It was a good dress, but I got sloppy again on the next one I made, and she was slightly disgusted with me. But she would still make apple pie, if Charles and I would peel and cut the apples.

I learned about ground hog day this year. As I walked home from church on Feb. 2, the sun was shining brightly, melting the snow left on the sidewalk after the horse- drawn plow had gone by very early in the morning. I didn't want winter to last another six weeks, but it did. Finally, though, spring came, and then May Day. The teachers made a big deal of that. We had a party on the lawn on the south side of the school, with games and refreshments. Then we braided a maypole. There were alternating streamers of purple and gold, the school colors. The boys and girls alternated in a circle around the pole, each took a streamer. The boys walked in one direction and the girls the other, weaving the streamers around the pole. I never forgot it, and I set up a maypole for my daughter Karen's sixth birthday party.

That summer we did many of the same summer activities. The swim and dance classes at the college, and card games down in the basement apartment. There was one thing different, though. Although I was bigger and could play better, the boys wouldn't let me play football anymore. I was so upset, I went to Mother and complained bitterly. She gently explained to me that I was growing up, and so were the boys, and they we beginning to think differently about girls. It had nothing to do with me personally, it was just part of growing up. I still didn't like it!

We went to Vernal for our usual visit, stopping on the way at Aunt Hulda's ranch out of Duschene. My cousin Helen and her family were living there and helping Aunt Hulda run it. After than we went on to Vernal. My cousin Tenney Johnston was running the projector at the local theater, and he got us in free to see the movie. It was Eddy Cantor in "Roman Scandals," a funny musical, which I saw five times!

This year May Swenson went to New York, where she lived most of her life. She wrote poetry and had it published in lots of magazines, and she had books of poetry published. She came back to Utah State University as a guest lecturer, just a few years ago, shortly before she died.

After May had gone, Sunny Swenson, a cousin of the Swenson children, came to live for a while. She gave dancing lessons at the Dansante Ballroom downtown, and those of us who could, walked there after school twice a week for lessons. My mother made me a lavender dotted Swiss dress with a full skirt and lace trimming to wear for the lessons. The dress was perfect, and I really enjoyed the lessons.

At home again, it was fall, and Ruth Jenkins still came to stay with us whenever Mother was away. Besides that, she came on Saturday mornings to clean house (all except my playroom, which was my responsibility) and she gave me piano lessons. I had stopped taking from Mrs. Welti after we moved from the Cowley house. Sometimes, when there was a home football game at the new stadium at the college, Ruth would take me with her to the game. We would sit in the student section, and hold up colored cards at half time, to spell things. I thought this was great.

Back at school, I entered the sixth grade. The teacher was Miss Lewis, who was also the school principle. I walked to school with Patty McGee, or in good weather she rode her bike and let me ride on the seat while she did the pumping. That was easy for me; I just had to be sure my legs didn't swing and put her off balance; we spilled when that happened.

. In math, we studied decimals (begun in fifth grade) and then percentages. Reading was never a problem to me now. I read all the Nancy Drew mystery stories I could buy, get at the town library, or borrow from or trade with other students.

We still had four or five student teachers. every little while. One of these was a young man named Jessie Reeder from Box Elder County. I remembered him later when I was a freshman in college. He came back to school to get a master's degree. I dated him a few times, even went to his family reunion in Brigham Canyon, but we split up soon.

Back to the sixth grade, though. One of my new teeth came in with a really sharp point on it. A little membrane under my tongue kept getting caught on it, and it was very hard to get it off, and it hurt. Also, I couldn't answer the teacher's questions. When my classmates explained to the teacher why, she said she wished some of the other people had that happen! Well, I went to the dentist and had the point filed down. I had to go to the dentist very six months anyway, my teeth weren't very good.

In connection with our social studies classes where we studied the founding of our country, we had a big Sesquicentennial Celebration, I think it was called. As well as learning the governmental history, we learned how the people lived in those days, what they ate, what they wore, and what they did for fun. We learned the Virginia Reel and some other dances. The culmination of this celebration was to be a colonial dance at the college gym, with other sixth grade classes from other schools who had studied the same things. Aunt Hulda was visiting, and she made me an a colonial dress, authentic in every way. The main part of the dress was yellow and long with a full skirt, with panniers of a yellow print with lots of small flowers all over, long sleeves ending in a wide ruffle, and a white lace neckerchief to set it all off. Mother piled my hair on top of my head and added a braid of her hair (that had fallen out when she had scarlet fever and was made into a braid) . I tied on pierced gold earrings that Aunt Hattie had given me, and I went happily off to the dance, held in the afternoon. It was a big success in my mind.

Before school was out that spring, I managed to beat everybody at jacks (and no cheating!) and hopscotch, but I wasn't very good on the rings. Both boys and girls had softball games, and I remember the feeling of great satisfaction when I could hit that ball all the way across the diamond.

The boy's team played the teams of other schools in the town, and I remember going to a school down on the "island" to watch one of those games. I wore my first pants suit; girls just didn't wear pants up until that time. This outfit had long wide legs with cuffs at the bottoms. As I was running across the lawn to get to the ball field, I caught one foot in the big cuff of the other leg of the pants, and fell and rolled over and over. Thank goodness I wasn't hurt, and there was only one rip in my new outfit, and some grass stains. It was print material, so that last didn't show too much.

Summer came again, and my activities were much the same, although the dancing lessons were again by Sunny Swenson, the cousin of Grace, Ruth and Beth, at the Dansante Ballroom downtown. I enjoyed this, and for the recital I got my first long dress. I never did get another chance to wear it, but that comes later in this story.

Each evening in the local newspaper there was a chapter of a novel, called "Dime a Dance Girl." Each afternoon I would sit on a bench on the front lawn and read that episode. One day Eccles Cain, who lived next door and was a year younger than I, came a sat down beside me and started to talk as I was trying to read. Annoyed, I turned around on the bench, with my back to him. That was a mistake. He was whittling on a stick, his knife slipped, and ended up in my back! Mother took me to the doctor, who, instead of stitching it up, just put butterfly bandages on it, which of course pulled out.

I still have that scar on my back, and evidently Eccles' bad luck has continued. He grew up all right, and was an army officer in W.W.II . He was tall, dark and quite handsome in his uniform, and a tall pretty girl married him. Not long after the war they were divorced. Ec, as he was now called, got a job in a bank in Salt Lake City, where his uncle was a vice president, and he married again. When I went to my high school 55th reunion, I sat at a table with friends from the old neighborhood. They told me about Ec and his latest experience. It seems these three women and families now living in Salt Lake all had bought houses on a lake in Idaho, and Ec. bought one, too. Ec was barbecuing on his deck, and set the house on fire! It burned to the ground. The other people had to scramble to prevent the flames from spreading to their houses, too.

Back to my childhood; I had a new adventure that summer. I went to spend most of it with Aunt Hulda and my cousin Perry on their ranch. It was a great new experience. The ranch had been sold, but Aunt Hulda got it back when the people couldn't make the payments on it. Those people evidently didn't keep it very clean. There were bedbugs, my first experience with them. There was no electricity, so we had kerosene lamps. Each night Aunt Hulda would go around the bedroom holding a lamp under the hapless bugs on the walls, and they would fall in and be killed. There were still some to bite us, though. There was no plumbing in the house, either. We dipped water from the ditch that ran outside the back door, let it settle, and then used it for all household needs. There was a water jacket on the coal and wood cooking stove, and that supplied the washing up water, and also the clothes washing water. We washed in a galvanized tub outside the back door and used a scrubbing board.

Mother was afraid I might not get enough green vegetables, so she told me that each day that we didn't have anything green, I was to pick and eat the young leaves of dandelion and Lambsquarter plants. I did this faithfully. We did have good food, though, fresh strawberries, milk from the cow Perry milked every morning and evening, and gooseberries that made wonderful pies and jam to go with the homemade bread.

I made friends with a girl on the next farm, and we spent time together. One day she rode a horse over, and took me for a ride. We rode bareback, my first time, although I had ridden the Ryan's horse, Shorty, and one of the Pedersen's, but never bareback. When that horse galloped, and then ran, I was sure each moment would be my last! It was a dirt road, in sandy soil, so I probably wouldn't have been hurt if I fell, but it seemed an awfully long way to the ground. Fortunately nothing happened.

I had a lot of spare time since there was no radio or TV to watch, and I read all of Shakespeare's comedies, and McBeth and Hamlet. I had seen many of them on the stage at the college, and the language is about the same as that used in the King James Bible. I think this reading became the background of my love of the plays. I also sewed a dress, my first, with Aunt Hulda teaching me what I needed to know. I really enjoyed that summer.

JUNIOR HIGH IN BERKELEY

Mother had asked for sabbatical leave, and it was granted. We packed up our things, stored them with friends, or gave them to my cousin [Aunt Hulda's daughter], Helen Mar Fullmer's family, and set off for Berkeley, Calif., where Mother attended the U. of Calif. We drove in tandem with the Stott family (he was also on leave), and we had Mary Greaves in our car, too. She was about 4 years older than I, going to visit her brother who was doing graduate work at U.C. Berkeley. I enjoyed having her along, and we waved to all the truck drivers we saw, and they waved back.

The fourth night of the trip we stayed in Albany, just outside of Berkeley. I went to a little store to buy 10 cents worth of grapes, and I came back with a big bag, such an amount we certainly didn't get in Utah. That was our beginning of a year of surprises in California.

We found an apartment to rent in a fine old apartment building called The Lafayette, which stretched all through the block. There was another family from Logan, the Vince Cardon family, living about a mile up the same street. Our rent was $25 a month. As soon as another apartment was available in the building to the east, we moved over there, and paid $35 for a newer nicer apartment. The Stotts living in the same building.

We were within walking distance of the Sather Gate entrance to the University, off Telegraph Ave. and also of Willard Junior High School, in the opposite direction. Every school morning Mother would set off for the University, and Charles and I would go to the junior high. It was very different from the elementary school, where I stayed in the same room all day, and I knew everybody. Here, I didn't know anyone but Charles, and I didn't see him very often at school. I went from room to room all day, and my classes were English, Math, Latin, Social Studies, Sewing, PE alternating with Singing, and a study period at the end of the day. I also had a violin class once a week, during the study period. I had enjoyed the violin in the 6th grade, but here it was different. I was in a class with three other girls, who all played better than I did. And I would forget to practice, since I had real homework for the first time, and I would forget to bring the violin on the day of the lesson.

My home room where we met first thing every morning was in the sewing room, and we came back there for the study period. I made a friend there, Luanne Boynton. Her father was an instructor at the University. One time when I had forgotten the violin I was in the storeroom crying about it, and Luanne came in and comforted me. From then on we were friends. She wore her hair short in almost a boy cut, but she wasn't a tomboy. She was quiet, yet friendly, and she invited me to her house on some Saturdays. To get there I would walk through Sather Gate, past the Live Sciences Building where Mother did her research, and on across the campus to Luanne’s house on the east hillside. She had grown up here, and was as familiar with this campus as I was with Utah State campus. She showed me around, and I most impressed by the Library. They had a huge collection of books. Above Luanne’s house was a big "C" on the hillside, and from the house, we could look right down over the campus. They had a sun room with windows all around, and it was a perfect view, all the way to San Francisco on a clear day.

One Saturday when I was visiting Luanne we went out on the hillside and looked down on the football stadium, where the Berkeley team was playing Stanford. We should have had field glasses to really see the game, but since I had seen the Utah State team play often, I could follow the action. It was this day I learned one of their fight songs. "Up on the wooded eastern foothill, Stands a symbol clear and bold. Big "C" means to fight and strive, and win for Blue and Gold. The golden bear is ever watching. Day by day he prowls. When he hears the tread of lowly Stanford Red, From his lair he fiercely growls." For some years, after watching the Berkeley team, I kept track of their games, as well as those of the Utah State team. I really enjoyed my association with Luanne, and we wrote to each other for years after I left Berkeley.

Latin class was hard, but I enjoyed it. I learned more about English grammar than I had in elementary school, as well as the Latin grammar. Words always had a fascination for me, and now I was learning where a lot of the English words came from, and I was learning the history of the Roman Empire, too.

Math was a precursor of Algebra, and we learned ratio and proportion, but not by those names. Once in a while the white- haired principal came in and taught the class, not replacing the teacher, just "butting in" for a while. He was an old Math teacher and liked that better than being principal. The teacher was a Mrs. Hardy, and many years later when Mother was coming to Santa Barbara on the train to visit our family, the year after Kaye was born, Mrs. Hardy was her seatmate. She remembered me, although I was in the school only one year, 23 years earlier.

The PE class setup was better than any I encountered later in my school days. There was a good sized gym, where on rainy days we did some gymnastics and learned the grand march, that I didn't do again until the military balls in high school and college. We were in alphabetic order, so I always had the same partner, a red haired boy, who was friendly. Not a lot of boys that age cared about girls. He was my only other friend, besides Luanne, and the blond boy who was the crossing guard I went by each day, and who delivered our paper every afternoon after school. This junior high was in the better part of town, so everyone you met was a nice person, not like the rowdies on the other west side of town.

The girls' locker room was beneath the gym, and stretched the length, and half the width of the gym. There were lockers along each side, and in the middle, two rows of dressing rooms, with a shower between each two, with a door to the dressing rooms on each side. If I hurried fast, I could get in the shower before the girl in the other dressing room, and get out in time to reach my next class in the five minutes allotted. If she got it first, I really had to scramble. In this scramble, I once lost the belt to my green gym suit. I had to go buy material as near in color as possible, and sew another. Thank goodness I had access to a sewing machine at school, since we didn't bring anything but absolute essentials with us from Utah, no machine.

In sewing class, my earlier instruction from Aunt Hulda came in good stead. My small, regular, hand sewn stitches were admired by the teachers, even to the point of showing them off to visiting dignitaries. With the machines, we made either a slip or panties and bra, and I chose the latter (it was harder,) Then I made a dress, too big for me, so Mother wore it! Needless to say, I had a stupid teacher that term.

In Singing class I particularly enjoyed a song about Bonny Prince Charlie, when he was fleeing the English troops and went to the island of Skye. "Speed, bonny boat, like a bird on wing, Onward the sailors cry. Carry the lad that's born to be king, over the sea to Skye. High the waves roll, loud the winds roar,.... Baffled our foes stand by the shore, Follow they will not dare." If I can find all the words, I will add them later.

I won't comment on the English and Social Studies classes, they were just the usual stuff taught then, and now.

As Christmas approached, we decided to go to San Diego, and spend the holidays at Aunt Nettie and Uncle John's house. We packed up the car, and left rather late in the day. That same day, Congress had repealed the 18th Amendment, and we didn't know what to expect in the way of celebrations. We drove as far as Hayward, and decided to stay at a motel there, in case there were a lot of drunk drivers on the road. We heard a lot of singing and carousing, but nothing serious happened that night.

We drove on, and finally reached Long Beach, where we stopped to visit with May, who was living with a family of church members. She was confined to bed. She helped me finish dressing a pin cushion doll I was making for Mother's Christmas present. It was dressed much better than I could have done by myself, and it had a reverse hem at the bottom of the long skirt that held several spools of thread. I was grateful to my sister for her help. We drove on to San Diego the next day. It was warm and pleasant, and we enjoyed Christmas. Charles and I both got roller skates, and we used them right away, and I got re-acquainted with the neighborhood, all the way along Felton Street from Adams Avenue to Mission Canyon.

On the way back to Berkeley the car broke down near Buelton, and we spent three days there waiting for a new part to come from Los Angeles. Bert and Jean had sent me a book, "An Old Fashioned Girl" by Louisa Mae Alcott, and I read it through, and then started reading all the newspapers. We thought of walking to the Mission, but it was about three miles, so we didn't. I really did enjoy the book, and it remained my favorite until I read "Jane Eyre" a couple of years later.

After the three days in Buelton, the town of "Anderson's Split Pea Soup," we drove back to Berkeley. School was about the same, except that I took cooking instead of sewing. That was not my favorite by any means, although I did learn to make a few good dishes.

The roller skates were a welcome addition. I could skate around in the parking lots at the apartments, and also see the paper boy (also the crossing guard at school) when he came by. He was blonde with blue eyes, and a great smile. We talked a little, but not much. Come to think of it, he was a lot like the man married later in my life. I also skated to school in good weather, and used them on weekends on the University Campus. Charles and I would go with Mother to feed her experimental animals, guinea pigs and rats (that she used to test the diets of rural Utah school children) in the Live Sciences Building, and I would also skate around the campus, in the dry fish pond and along walks. I guess that wasn't really allowed, but I didn't know it. Charles used his skates to go further afield. I remember once he skated down Telegraph Avenue all the way to Oakland, the city to the south. His skate wheels were worn down before mine. Of course they could be replaced.

On the top floor of the Live Sciences building were cages containing animals, mostly dogs, which I learned were used in experiments on hearts. I didn't like it then, but perhaps the work they were doing helped pave the way for the heart surgery that May had later, and our daughter Karen needed, and the pace makers my husband now needs.

It was this spring on March 10, 1933, that there was a disastrous earthquake in Long Beach. We worried about May, but a telegram came, explaining Elliott was with her, and neither was hurt. Later we learned the chimney had fallen down, across the door to May's room, and they couldn't get out until someone came and dug them out. Many people lost their lives, so Elliott and May and that family were very fortunate.

Later Elliott's ship came into the Bay, and he invited us out to visit it and him. It was the battleship New York, a huge ship. I had been on Bert's destroyer, but this was much larger, and had big 16 inch guns. I was really impressed. While the ship was in port, Elliott had some shore leave and took us sightseeing around Berkeley. It was good to be with him again. Being a naval officer hadn't changed him. He was still the same good big brother.

Although I learned to swim at the college in Logan, I had never taken the life saving course offered by the Red Cross. I had a chance in Berkeley, because it was offered at the YWCA in downtown Berkeley. I would take the streetcar downtown, go to the lesson and take the streetcar back home. I never did pass my test, because I just couldn't seem to stay on the bottom of the pool long enough to pick up all the coins that the test required. I enjoyed being in the water, though, and learned to take off my outer clothes in the water, and to do the swimmers' carry, so the class wasn't a complete loss. At the end of the course there was a little party with cake and ice cream, and a magician performed. I had never seen one before, and I was properly mystified.

Shortly after President Franklin D. Roosevelt took office, he declared a bank holiday. That meant no one could cash a check, and that was the way we got our money for food. Mother had a friend who's mother had a charge account with a little family grocery near the apartment, and she let Mother charge food items on her account. That was a very friendly thing to do, and we didn't starve those few days. Food is very important, especially if you don't think you will be having it. We could get along without a lot of things for that year, but not that.

Speaking of food, we had a special thing we liked to do occasionally, and that was to have dinner at the Pepper Tree Tea Room. It was a little restaurant tucked right under the branches of a big old tree, and they served a great chicken dinner with homemade biscuits. It cost thirty-five cents, and we really enjoyed it. Also, there was a bakery on Telegraph Avenue up near Sather Gate that made a wonderful chocolate cake roll, that we would get for a special treat sometimes. Recently I tasted one just like it at the home of a friend here in Fallbrook. She gave me the recipe, so I will make it as soon as I have a good excuse for doing it.

An old friend of Mother's, Dr. Ray Fisher, lived with his family in Oakland. There were a daughter and son still at home, but they weren't near our ages, except Bruce, who was younger. The Doctor invited us over to their house, and we got acquainted. We did go some places with their family, but because they lived in another town and he was busy with his practice, we didn't do a lot of it. He was quite a remarkable man. Everything he had anything to do with, his house, his practice, his car, the town, was in his eyes, perfect. One day we were riding in his car with him, and as he drove, he read poetry to us. Another time he stopped right at the top of a hill, in the middle of street, to show us Mt. Tamalpias across the bay, north of San Francisco!

Later in the spring, though, I was glad we knew this family. I got a kidney infection, called acute nephritis. Dr. Fisher took care of me, sent me to bed for over a month, and had me eat a completely salt-free diet. It was awful. He also gave me a drug for menstrual pain, which I later found out was opium. I knew about opium, from hurrying home from school the year before, to listen to "Dr. Fu Man Chu" on the radio. Also, I had read all of the Sherlock Holmes stories by then, and opium was talked about there. I finally recovered from the infection and was able to go back to school. I finished up the year and got my grades, to take back to Logan to the junior high there.

BACK TO SWENSON’S APARTMENT

Back in Logan, we rented the same apartment at Swensons, and our junior high was located in what had been the high school. It had all the necessary rooms, offices, auditorium, and gym with dressing rooms, but it was a far cry from Willard Junior High in Berkeley. I soon got used to it. Instead of going to school on roller skates I rode a new bicycle, new to me, that is. There weren't many girls riding bicycles, but I rode along with the boys and didn't mind that. We didn't have gears on bicycles then, so I was very proud of myself when I could pump all the way up Temple Hill. When the snow came, I rode the city bus and took my lunch or ate in the bakery on Main St.

My home room this year was with my English teacher, Miss Afton Thain, a distant cousin of Bert's wife, Jean Jones Brown. I liked her very much and she became a model for me to pattern my life after. Besides teaching English, she worked in the office, and she always dressed very nicely. I was thrilled when Aunt Hattie sent me a sweater just like Miss Thain's, but white with red dots instead of yellow with brown dots.

Since I already had junior high cooking and sewing in 7th grade, I wasn't required to take them again this year. Instead, I had a library period, and I assisted the librarian, Mrs. Merrill. The Social Studies teacher was Mr. Kilburn, and he taught from the next book in the Harold Rugg series I had started in 7th grade. Algebra was the math class, and I liked that better than social studies. My only elective was art, and I liked that, too. Science was taught by Mr. Combs, the father of Charles' friend, D'Monte Combs. PE was taught by a Miss Green, a distant cousin of mine.

As the year wore on, I became extremely sorry for this girl. She was pregnant, and although there was a ruling about not letting married women teach, they let this poor girl finish out the year. Maybe they thought having her there would teach the students to stay out of this particular trouble. Some of the students were cruel to her, but she took it with only a fiery red face below her red hair. She never did lash back at them. She left town after school was out, and I never did see her again.

There was one thing that was a sort of problem with me. Many of my old friends from elementary school had found new friends from other schools in the junior high the year before. But Toots Ryan and the Swenson family remained my fast friends.

THE MERRILL HOUSE

At the end of the year Mother had decided that we needed to have a place of our own, so we could learn something about taking care of a house and having a garden. She rented a little house on 5th East, from my first and second grade teacher who lived next door with her college age son and daughter. She rented rooms to college students, too, and I met some of them, whom I admired from afar. Two were Frank Fister and John Aamodt.

About this time Bert was ordered to the east coast, and Jean and Betty Ann brought their six-month-old German Shepherd pup to stay with us for the summer. He was a handful, but a lovable dog, who made good friends with our kitten. They often slept together. Charles took a picture showing the kitten sleeping within the front paws of the dog.

Jean also needed someone to drive to the east coast with her, and Mother found a second cousin, Eugene Gardner, who needed a ride east. He came to our house to meet her and Betty Ann, and they decided to travel together. This cousin later became a nuclear scientist, at the Lawrence Radiation Laboratory when it was still at Berkeley. He was accidentally exposed to radiation and died of radiation poisoning. He carefully documented his decline, and he left a valuable record. Time Magazine, in reporting his death, called him one of our country's great natural resources.

In the fall I started the ninth grade, the last grade in junior high. I had literature from a Miss Morrell. We studied the Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner", and the novel "Silas Marner", and we read Shakespeare’s "Julius Caesar". I had already read it, so I was ahead there. More about Miss Morrell later.

This year I started to play the oboe, but I didn't do very well. The band master put me on the alto horn, and I made it as far as the "B" Band. I was chosen to be a band sponsor, one of three girls who carried a banner whenever the "A" band played in public or marched in parades. The highlight of the band year was the state band contest that was held that year in Ogden, Utah. I stayed the two nights I was there with one of Mother's dear friends from her teaching days in Mexico, "Aunt" Lydia Tanner, who was teaching at Weber College. That way I didn't get into any trouble, although Patty McGee and I started to go into a movie with two boys from the band, when Patty's mother appeared out of nowhere, and stopped us. We were too young to date, even in the afternoon.

Besides the literature and band classes, I had Social Studies taught by Harold Bateman, Biology by Mr. Peterson, Sewing by Mrs. Lund (her favorite expression was "Thank God for the uplift Brassiere!"), Speech by Miss Cardon, who later in the year played Beatrice in Shakespeare "Much Ado About Nothingl", the play I was in before I started school. I enjoyed seeing it, and sat again in the balcony at the college auditorium as I used to do when I was younger.

I got quite a crush on Mr. Bateman, the Social Science teacher. He was in the army reserve, and two days a week he came to school in his officer's uniform, complete with jodhpurs, Sam Brown belt, and all the rest of the things. He maintained order in the classroom in a masterful way, but was gentle at times, when things were going well. Since he was older, and married, I tried to transfer my feelings to his younger brother, who was in my class, but he just was just a pale and uninteresting copy. I did dance with him , though, at my first night dance at the school, and he wasn't too bad.

Speaking of dancing, reminded me that each ward of the Church's young men's and young women's program would have a dance once a month, after the usual Mutual classes, which were always held on Tuesday evenings. That's where we learned to dance, by going each week to the dance at the ward that was having one that week. With ten wards in town, we could pick and choose. There was always live music, provided by the various young men's bands about town. Charles played the trombone sometimes in the one Grant Holman had organized, and they played at some of these dances. I enjoyed the dances. One sticks in my mind; I was dancing with the son of the Band leader at school, and he danced very fast, and thought he was very good. Well, he was, until he slipped and skidded clear across the room. Thank goodness he let go of me! I also enjoyed the road show plays that I was in, at MIA in these years, in junior high and high school.

Mr. Peterson's Biology class met in a room several steps up to a small landing, then into the room. When the students were coming in, Mr. Peterson would stand on the landing, and reach out to touch all the girls that came up the steps. We tried hard to avoid him, but he had quick hands! He got married half way through the year, and we thought that might reform him, but it didn't. No one thought to report him to the principal, as I guess girls would do now. We just tried to keep out of reach, but almost always failed.

As I said earlier my English teacher was Miss Morrell, who had a limp, and a sharp crooked nose, but she was able to inspire some people to read. I won the reading contest she set up for the school, by identifying the most of the fictional characters on her lists. She was a member of the Professional Women's Club that Mother was the president of, and she told Mother that I had a good wardrobe for school; some girls had too much, but mine was just right. Speaking of that club, Mother was the state president when I was in high school, and she was written up in the newspapers. I guess more people knew her that way than through her research, although she wrote scientific papers and was a member of Sigma Xi, and went to Washington DC at the invitation of the President for the Conference on Children.

This was the year I got Hepatitis. My skin and eyes and fingernails had turned yellow, and my brain got fuzzy. I stayed out of school for four weeks, and when I went back, I was sent home again for another two weeks. When I finally got back to school, my skin, eyes and nails were normal again, and I had lost ten pounds and looked great in a new knit dress. When I walked into Band, I got a real cheer. Later I even smiled at Mr. Peterson on the stairs leading to his room, and he said, "You should smile more often. You don't know what you can do with that smile."

I was chosen Valedictorian, but I was afraid my brain wouldn't let me write my speech. Miss Morrell stood by me, encouraging and reassuring me. Evidently the Hepatitis affects the brain as well as the skin, eyes, and fingernails. Anyway, with Miss Morrell to correct my writing errors, I finally got the speech ready. I practiced it in the auditorium, and I felt I was capable of delivering it. Mother bought me a new pink dress, and everything went well. People congratulated me, and I was happy.

Summer came, and with it another trip to California. This time it was just vacation. Aunt Hattie and my cousin Bob came with us. Aunt Hattie still sometimes looked sad when she looked at me, then she would give me a hug. And I knew she was thinking of Mickey. I loved her for it, and I was very glad that she didn't resent my being there when her own little daughter was dead. We went to Berkeley first, and we enjoyed showing my aunt and cousin around. We rented an apartment in the old Lafayette where we lived when we first got there. I had forgotten that when the building went through the block, the ground sloped up, and the first floor became the second. When I went out for some groceries, and came back, I came down the hall and entered the apartment, walked right to the kitchen where two men were sitting! That was really one of my most embarrassing moments, up to that time.

We went to see the Fisher's, and it was on this trip that I discovered he was Aunt Hattie's beau before she married Uncle Tom! I kept expecting something really exciting to happen, but they seemed to be were beyond any emotion, except maybe curiosity to see each other again after all these years. Maybe they just hid it well. Mrs. Fisher didn't lose her cool at all, and I kept thinking if I'd been in her place, I would have! She was quite gracious, and she even loaned Mother a summer coat to wear on the cool evenings, since she had come without one.

I don't remember how it happened, but Mother sprained her ankle. We talked of giving up the rest of the trip, but she wouldn't hear of it. She had it bandaged, and got some crutches, and we kept on. We planned to visit all the missions, as we went south, and she even went to all of those. In the San Jose area a Catholic father who was the guide, was very careful to be at her side, whenever there might be some danger.

We went from there to Santa Cruz to visit my cousin Perry Ross, who was living there with his wife and working as a carpenter. Aunt Hulda, his mother, was there, too, so we had a visit with her. Marian, Perry's wife, had a dress shop in Capitola, and I bought a cute short set from her, that I wore a lot the rest of the trip.

We also visited the Carpenters, Aunt Hattie's brother-in-law and sister-in-law in Santa Cruz. She was Uncle Tom's sister. While we were staying at their house we went to the beach with Bob's cousins on that side of their family. I thoroughly enjoyed the day, but that night I had the worst sunburn of my short life! I couldn't stand anything on my back and shoulders, and couldn't sleep with the pain. Also, the brother-in-law snored so loud you could hear it all over the house. The next day Mother made a halter top for me that tied around my neck and waist and didn't touch my back anywhere. That was great. The Carpenters were Catholic, as was Uncle Tom, and drinking wine in the evening was a custom. I had my first taste if it here, and I thought it was awful. I haven't change my mind much in the last 60 years.

We drove on south, visiting the missions on the way. Santa Barbara was one of our favorites. We reached San Diego, and Aunt Nettie and Uncle John went with us to the San Diego Mission. After we had looked all around it, including the cemetery, Aunt Nettie told us a story that horrified me; when workmen were digging to put in a foundation to restore a room, they found the skeletons of lots of newborn babies. Aunt Nettie said the inference was that these were the remains of babies born to the nuns, fathered by the priests at the mission. I could understand maybe this happening once or twice, but not lots!

This was 1935, the year of the big Exposition in Balboa Park, commemorating the Exposition of 1915 when most of the buildings in the park were built. It was a great place for teenagers, like a big state fair, only more so. We enjoyed it all, and Mother's ankle was better by now, and I think she and Aunt Hattie enjoyed it, too. We saw it all, the Art Gallery, the History of Man, the International House, the performances at the Ford Bowl, everything but the Nudist Colony, which was limited to people over 21. For getting around in the Park there were buses that were jointed in the middle, so they could turn corners more easily. I have looked for such buses since, because I thought it was a good idea, but I have never seen them again. Of course there were all kinds of foods, and we tried lots of them.

There were some trips to the beach, but one stands out in my memory. We were with the friends of Aunt Nettie and Uncle John, who had a son my age, that I had played with on my first trip there. Now he was grown into a tall rather interesting person, and I wanted to make a good impression. That proved to be difficult, because I was coming down with a bad cold, and didn't have even one hankie or Kleenex with me. I had to sniff in and either swallow, or unobtrusively spit when no one was looking. This was a miserable day, which was followed by several more I spent in bed, while the rest of the group continued enjoying themselves.

We started home, and it was a hot trip over the desert in southern Nevada. Mother became so overcome by the time we reached Baker, that she had to lie down in the shade, where it was 115 degrees. Air conditioning hadn't been invented, either for cars or buildings. Charles and Bob did most of the driving as we took several days to reach home again.

SOPHOMORE, HIGH SCHOOL

I started high school, the 10th grade, in the fall of 1935. The location was the campus of the old Brigham Young College where my mother taught school many years before. There were lawns and trees around the building with the classrooms and offices, gym and swimming pool, and the building housing the auditorium and music departments. There was a canal behind these buildings, separating them from the football field and track facility and a shop. There was to be a new gymnasium, but it hadn't been built yet. It was a much more beautiful setting than other schools I had attended, and I remember many times that I spent time outside, enjoying it all.

To get to school I rode the city bus with a student ticket, and I walked home in good weather. I had traded my bicycle for a bow and three footed arrows, and I was enjoying them. However, I regretted getting rid of the bicycle. I still could have used it for recreation, even though I no longer wanted to ride it to school. In the school yearbook next spring, there was a picture of my shooting with the bow and arrow, and wearing the shorts outfit I had bought from Marian Perry the summer before. It was the sport I enjoyed most, next to swimming, in my PE classes.

My schedule of classes was: English and Literature with Miss Morrell, who moved to the high school that year; Sewing with Mrs. Brown,(who was a distant relative, but on my mother's side instead of my father's;) Biology with Mr. Hodges; Social Studies with, to my delight, Mr. Bateman, who had moved to high school also; French with Miss Aldath Thain, a sister of Afton Thain, who taught me English in junior high; and P.E. with Mrs. Hall.

I liked all of these classes. My Latin in junior high helped me to catch onto French. Mother had spoken a little French, German and Spanish around the house as we were growing up, and I liked French the best. Also, it was supposed to be the cultural language of the world, and I thought it might help me out in the future.

I gave up trying to play a musical instrument. I guess I was lazy. I could have probably made it if I had really tried. Instead I took a chorus class, and I liked that. That meant I was no longer connected with the Band, and I wasn't elected Band Sponsor. I felt bad about that. However, at the end of the year I was invited to join Cantadoras, the girl's glee club. That was an honor.

To get to the Biology class in the winter was something of a challenge, because the door the girls had to use was outside, over 100 feet away from the door of the school. The boys could go through their dressing room beneath the gym, but the girls' dressing room didn't go through. One time when there was a blizzard outside, a bunch of us girls ran through the boys' dressing room on the way to class. There was nothing much to see, because it was between classes, and the boys were dressed. We didn't do it again, at least I didn't.

Fate, though, paid me back one afternoon. I had just got out of the shower room, after swimming class, and didn't have my towel. I had to walk across the landing at top of a short flight of steps that led to the small pool, and the door to the pool was open. The boys' coach was standing across the pool, and got a full view of a naked girl! I hoped he'd never recognize me again.

I was 15, and the Church hadn't made it definite that boys and girls shouldn't date until age 16. I had my first date with a boy from Smithfield, who was the leader of one of the dance bands young people had formed. We didn't go out much, because he never knew when he could come to town, and we couldn't set up dates.

I was quite flattered when a senior, Gorgas Paulsen, asked to meet me, and I started dating him. He was 6 ft. 2 in. (a little awkward, as though he wasn't used to it yet), and the son of a doctor in town. We went to the Harvest Ball and most of the other big school dances, and to a movie now and then. George Swenson finally asked me out, but it was only for a couple of times. There were some other boys I dated; one reason was because I didn't want to appear to be "going steady". However, Gorgas seemed the most interested in me. He was on the debate team, and got me to join, too. Mr. Bateman was the coach, and that was another attraction. We went to meets at North Cache High School and South Cache High School and I enjoyed it all, maybe because it was a new mental exercise. The topic for Sophomores (10th grade) was Socialized Medicine. I liked most to debate for it, because I really believed in it, and couldn't get too enthusiastic debating against it.

When my MIA teacher insisted we should date only Mormon boys, I didn't agree, and kept going out with Gorgas. I even started going with him to the youth group of his Presbyterian Church. There I met two southern boys, or I should say men, because they were older college students. I dated one of them, Andy Grey, and then later the other, Lucas Dargan.

I got acquainted with Gorgas' family, and his mother, who was an artist, painted my portrait. The next spring the Utah Federation of Business and Professional Women's Club, of which she was a member and Mother was State President, gave an exhibit of Esther Paulsen's paintings, 52 of them; the one of me was among them. Later Mother purchased it, and now it hangs in Karen's Victorian house in Denver. I enjoyed that exhibit, along with Gorgas and the other friends of ours and Mother's who were present. Gorgas's portrait and one of his younger brother were also hanging there. There were refreshments served, and there was a piano recital by Thelma Fogelberg, another member of the Club and a fine musician as well as a French and Spanish professor at the College.

About this time, someone told Gorgas Paulsen a made up story about Mother. He said he was told Mother had married in polygamy a Mr. Tanner, and that was why she went to Colon Guars, Mexico, before I was born. Of course none if it was true, she was hired to teach at the Church Academy there. I guess part of the story got circulated because of my going to stay with “Aunt” Lydia Tanner in Ogden when I went with the Band to the band contest there when I was still in Junior High School. Charles and I called her “Aunt’ just because she and Mother were such good friends over the years.

This was the first year of the Junior Reserve Officers training Corps. at the high school. They added a presence to the campus, with their parades, and then the Military Ball in the spring. Charles joined with other friends of his, and so did Gorgas. The next year Charles was made Battalion Commander, and that was a big honor and I guess a lot of responsibility for him.

I had enjoyed my sewing class with Mrs. Brown, so the next summer I took another class from her. I made a white wool summer coat, which I wore when Charles and I drove with Mother in our new Ford car to Seattle, where she had meetings to attend. I don't remember where the others stayed, but I was at the YWCA, where my room cost 25 cents a night. The convention was at the Olympic Hotel, where the room rates were much higher! The highlight of the trip as far as I was concerned was a ferryboat trip to Vancouver Island, Canada, to the town of Victoria. It was very British, and I'm sure that it was even more so, because they wanted to appeal to the American tourists who came over there. I wished I had more spending money, but I did buy a pair of Japanese wooden slippers, which caused my arches to fall. I'm sure of it, because they were so painful to wear, and later I was flat footed.

On the way up or back, I don't remember which, we went to Yakima, where my cousin Annona lived. She was Aunt Hulda's daughter. Later Annona's husband died of lead poisoning, which he got from the lead spray he put on his apple trees. Our route must have taken us near Richland, where our daughter, Kaye, lives now. I know we went through Pendleton both times and once down the Columbia Gorge. It was spectacular then, too, although I don't remember all the dams.

Back home again, the summer went much as previous ones had. I swam, took dancing lessons, and went to the 11 o'clock lectures, all at the college. One new thing this summer was that my dates with Gorgas continued, movies when he could afford the tickets, and outings with his church's youth group. One of those was a hike to the old Jardine Juniper, way up the hillside of Logan Canyon. It was 4,000 years old then, and I suppose it's still there. Another trip was to the cave where Logan River began. This one wasn't a hike, because we could drive to it. But there was another hike, up behind the Girls' Camp, where I should have been with the MIA girls from our church.

I really must have been stubborn, because this year I was well enough to go to the church camp, but I was still upset about the church not wanting young people to date outside the church. I stopped going to MIA meetings. Gorgas' grandfather had been a Mormon, but when he died, he left his money to the Church, and left Gorgas' father only a building block on West 1st North St. Their family lived upstairs there, and had the medical practice. They rented the downstairs to various businesses. The doctor never got over his antagonism, which he transferred to his sons.

THE JOHNSON HOUSE

JUNIOR YEAR

We moved that summer to a house on West 2nd North, owned by the Johnson family. We had a large living room across the front, the dining room and kitchen were behind it on the east, and there were two bedrooms and a bathroom on the west. There was a screened porch across the back, but we used it mainly for storage.

I started my junior year at high school, and it was a walk of only four blocks, so I didn't ride a bus. This year my classes were Speech with Miss Morrell, French with Miss Thain, Social Studies with Mrs. Merrill (a different Merrill widow from my 1st. and 2nd. grade teacher, and not the Merrill widow, the librarian of Junior High, whom I assisted a while), Chorus with Mr. Baugh, and Physiology with Miss Norda Finlinson. This was the only class I ever had with Charles, after those first few weeks in 1st grade. He came to Physiology class, but he didn't take many notes. I drew pictures of the muscles and bones we were to learn about, and kept up with my notes, until I sprained my right ring finger playing baseball in gym. My notes were a mess after that. At the end of the year, we had to turn in our notes to get a grade from the class. Charles borrowed mine, typed them up, and got an A, while I got a B. I resolved to learn to type!

My only class with Mabel Bott, Charles' girlfriend, was in chorus and Cantadoras. I got to know her better, and I really liked her. I don't think Charles was ever serious about any other girl, so I knew she was special, because he was such a great person, as well as my brother! I have always been glad they stayed together.

This year I was selected as one of the three Band Sponsors. That was good, because it made up for my missing out on it the last year. Our uniforms were white tops, white skirts, and maroon jackets and caps, and a white Sam Brown belt. These were the school colors, and the same as the Band wore. I really liked being a Sponsor, and that made up for missing out the year before.

This year I stayed with the debate club and was vice president and joined more clubs. In addition to the Cantadoras, I was invited to join the social club Called Zeta Tau. It was patterned after a college sorority, but the high school banned the name, and it was the ZT club from then on. I also joined the French club, and the Girls' Rifle Club. This was the first year for that club, and it was popular with the ZT girls, and others who wanted to learn to shoot. I joined because I thought it would be good to know how to handle a gun if I ever had to.

It was here that my friendship with Elise Stillman began. She was the daughter of the Major who had come to Logan to form the ROTC. She was tall, about 5 ft. 10 in. and I was 5 feet. 2 in. That didn't make any difference to our friendship, and we are still friends after all these years. While we were still in high school, I had my lunch each day at the Bluebird Cafe on Main Street. I guess this was because Mother didn't want me to go home and eat alone. Our street was the main one leading into town from the railroad, and there was almost always a "Knight of the Road", a sort of tramp, walking along there, sometimes coming to the door and asking for food. When Mother was there, she had the man sit on the front porch, she would make a couple of sandwiches, and put them on the back stoop, or little porch, and have him go around and get it. These times she kept the doors locked.

Anyway, what I was leading up to, was that once a week Elise Stillman would come and have lunch with me at the Bluebird. We enjoyed these grown-up times. She had been around to various places that I had never seen, and she would tell me about them. She was never proud of it, or overbearing, but was just a good friend. Every once in a while she would come to my house, or I would go to hers, and we would sew together. We both were taking the classes from Mrs. Brown, and also cooking classes with Miss Roland.

There was another thing that happened when I would have lunch at the Bluebird. A young man named Willard Thornley, who worked at that time at the Cardon Drugstore, would also come in for lunch. When I wasn’t having lunch with Elise, I sat on a stool not far from Willard. I planned my lunches with economy in mind. One day I would have a sandwich (15 cents) and a coke (10 cents), and another day a bowl of soup (10 cents) and a piece of pie (15 cents.) Sitting at the counter there, I became better acquainted with Willard, a quiet and shy young man with heavy glasses. Each day we would talk about what pies were on the menu, and which would be the best to order. Outside of that and the weather, and a few people we both knew, we never did talk very much.

My good friend Mary Louise Rector was well acquainted with Willard; she had worked at one time in a printing office where Willard was working then. Many years later when I was visiting her in Logan, she mentioned Willard, and she told me he was writing poetry that was good, but he was almost totally blind. She would visit him when she was in Logan to see her mother. I told her then about my sitting by Willard in the "Bluebird," where we enjoyed the pie and small talk that year. She said she would tell him, he would be pleased that I remembered him.

Later that year a package came from Mary Lou, containing a book written by Willard's sister Gwendella. She was Professor of Speech and Oral Interpretation at U.S.U. until her death in 1968. She had the book published privately, and after her death, Willard inherited several copies. He had inscribed this one to me, inside the front cover. The year, 1983. He had asked her to send it to me. I wrote him a letter thanking him, but I'm ashamed to say I haven't written since. I will ask Mary Lou next time I see her how he is getting along. Being blind must be very difficult for him.

Back at my story of high school, in the spring The Contadoras went to Tremonton to the Region One Music Festival. Mr. Baugh had taught the Cantadoras a couple of rather difficult songs, and we didn't know just how well we would do. We waited for the judges decision; they didn't grade us, just said, "It was a good attempt at Bach!" We were satisfied with that, because it was much more difficult singing than the other groups had "attempted."

As for my social life, I was still going out with Gorgas Paulsen, although he had graduated and was going to college. He joined a fraternity, Sigma Nu, and I went to fraternity dances with him. Also, I asked him back to high school for a couple of ZT parties, so we were still going together. However, I still went out with high school boys. One was a new boy, Dean Farnsworth from California. His parents had moved back to Utah because they didn't want their children to grow up there. He was interesting at first, but he got on my nerves at a dinner of the French Club that I was in charge of, and he tried to take over. The one boy, besides Gorgas I spent most time with was Earl Anderson, the son of the Anderson Lumber Co. president. All that was fine, except that sometimes I felt a little squeamish when I was with him; he had a part time job at the local mortuary. I didn't ask him what he did there, I really didn't want to know! I also went out with Andy Gray, the Southerner I mentioned earlier.

Something happened this year that made me wonder about Gorgas Paulsen’s family. He came over one night about 2 a.m. and woke us up. He was very upset, because his father had hit his mother. Gorgas was really what Mother called beside himself. He said he couldn’t take his dad in a fight, because he was taller and outweighed him. Gorgas choked out that if he had a gun he would kill him. This was probably what he would do, because he was in a black mood. Of course this was an extreme situation, but it seemed as though he was always very happy or very sad. I preferred him when he was very happy.

The summer of 1936 our family made another trip to California. Mother had some meetings to attend, and Charles left her there and drove me to Long Beach to stay with May, and went on to San Diego. May was feeling a lot better and was up and around. In fact, she had a little perfume shop in the beach section of Long Beach.

She mixed her own perfume, mostly orange blossom, and sold it under her own label. She could arrange her own hours, because she was the only person in the tiny shop. There was just barely enough room for us both to be behind the counter, which opened right onto the lobby of a large building on the beach. I would stay sometimes with her, and sometimes go swimming right out in front of the building. That was before the big breakwater was built, and large waves came clear up to the beach. There were three Mexican strolling musicians who strolled around in the building, and I learned some Spanish songs from them.

While I was visiting there May had a boyfriend who was a marine, and another who was the elevator operator in the building. She asked me a couple of times to spend time with the Marine, so she could be with the elevator operator. We would go out on the beach , or along the “Pike” as the board walk was called, or go on the rollercoaster or other rides. It was sometime that week that the mother of the Marine came up from San Diego to meet May, because her son wanted to marry her. I don't know how that came out, but May didn't marry her son.

After visiting May for a while, I went to stay with my brother Bert and Jean and Betty Ann (who had been born that first summer when I was at Aunt Nettie's). Bert's ship the Quincy, a heavy cruiser, was stationed at San Pedro, so they had bought a house east of Long Beach, along the waterway which had been built for the 1932 Olympic Games swim meets. I enjoyed the visits, and also swam every day in the waterway. It was connected with the ocean, so it was tidal. Bert took me sailing on a lagoon near there, and I enjoyed it, but I ran the little boat aground. Fortunately Bert was a good sailor and got us off.

I went with Jean to buy furniture, and I got some good ideas of what went with what when you are fitting new purchases together to make a home. Some of the things Jean bought then, were still in their house in Maryland when I last visited there 49 years later.

Since our father died, Bert, and to some extent Elliott, tried to be an advisor to me. Sometimes I resented their attempts at guidance, but I realized that they were concerned about me, and wanted to help me grow up properly. I was proud of both of them, and wanted their approval as much as I wanted Mother's and Charles's. The approval of those I love has always been very important to me.

SENIOR YEAR

In the fall of 1937 I became a senior. My classes were English with Miss Spencer, Chemistry with Mr. Pederson, History with Miss Mitton, and I think a P.E. class. I remember going to gym classes and doing modern dance, and going swimming in the big new pool in the new gym that had been built, but that was about it. I was part of a bicycle group that did formations. We performed at half time at a college basketball game, and so I got my picture in the college yearbook the year before I was in college. Also, I spent some time in the Sewing department, and I made a pink wool suit.

I was in the senior play, and judging by some comments made by my classmates when they wrote in my yearbook, I must have done a good job with it. I have always enjoyed dramatics, and this was no exception. We rehearsed on Saturdays and after school, and it was no problem, it did not interfere with my classes.

The English and Literature class was good. We studied literary style, and read Hawthorne's "Scarlet Letter" and Shakespeare's “Macbeth.” Also, it was the first time since fifth grade that I really enjoyed poetry. In fact, I wrote a couple of poems myself. One was when we were studying Middle English, and I had an assignment to either write a short research paper or a poem. I wrote while I was at rehearsals for "Senior Hits", the variety show the seniors put on every year. I was one of team of Egyptian dancers, and there was a lot of time waiting around, so I used it for writing the poem, in Middle English style. The other poem was for a speech I gave at a dinner dance of the ZT club at the end of the year. The club was to be disbanded, and I don't know if another club took it's place the next year.

I had put off Geometry until my senior year, because I hoped I would be smarter than when I took Algebra in the eighth grade. It seemed to work, because I caught on easily and helped out my classmates. Another thing I remember was that the teacher was a shy young man just out of school himself, and Dee Louise Parker flirted shamelessly with him, and he used to blush a beautiful red. Chemistry was something entirely different but interesting. We wore rubber aprons and worked with chemicals and Bunsen burners. I managed to spill acid on my new navy blue wool dress, but fortunately I wasn't burned. I learned all about periodical tables, but now since the atomic age, everything has changed. I'd have to go back to school to know anything about Chemistry.

Mr. Bateman didn't teach seniors, so I had to have Miss Mitton for History. It worked out all right, though. I got a job, my first, correcting papers. She paid me twenty-five cents a set. Dee Louise Parker and I decided we wanted to be Egyptologists, and talked about it during class. We were reprimanded, but I can't remember what the punishment was, if any. Neither of us ever followed up on it, but I still like to read about new finds in Egypt.

I seem to have dropped out of debating, I can't remember anything of it. I was president of the French Club, and we held all our meetings in French. I imagine our accents weren't too good! Elise Stillman was president of the Rifle Club and I was vice president. We didn't do much, except fire our rifles when we met for our meetings at the rifle range. We did have one dinner party, though.

My social life was divided between college parties with Gorgas and occasionally with Lucas Dargan, the southern fellow, and high school parties with different boys. I still went out some with Earl Anderson, and also with Paul Thomas, a boy from the old neighborhood and son of college professor. Gorgas and I had an understanding, that after he finished pre-med and medical school and was set up with a practice, we would marry. I was beginning to feel a little disturbed about joining that family. Part of that was due to his father’s treatment of his mother, and also the fact that his aunt was in a mental sanitarium.

It was sometime after I turned 18, that I got a letter from Andy Gray, the first Southerner I went out with. We had exchanged letters since he graduated and went away. This letter, though, was a real shocker. He wanted to marry me, now! I got Mother to help me write a letter back, explaining that I was very fond of him but didn't love him, and wanted to finish high school, go to college and graduate before anything else. He stopped writing soon after that, and I learned later from Lucas Dargan that he had married a piano teacher in Alabama not too long after.

I wasn't chosen Band Sponsor this year, and it was a disappointment, as it had been in my sophomore year. In fact, it even overshadowed in my memory the fact that I had been one in my junior year. But I was School Historian, and I was editor of a new registration catalog. Before this time, there had been only a few mimeographed sheets mentioning the classes available. Now with the help of a good staff, I produced a nice booklet, telling about each class, the time, and the teacher. I was proud of that booklet and the people who helped on it. This year I also won a writing contest. The prize was $5, which I spent on new gold colored evening slippers to wear with my flame colored evening dress that I wore for graduation. We didn’t wear caps and gowns. There was a dance after the ceremony, and of course I wore the flame colored dress. It was cut longer in the back, and Mr. Baugh, the chorus teacher, watched the dancing, and a couple of times he told me he was afraid I would step on the dress and tear it. But I didn’t.

The summer after graduation I went to California again and stayed with May. She and Russell Hiner, the elevator operator, had married during the year. He had a son and daughter by his first wife who had died, and they lived with May and Russell. May got along quite well, but it was a strain, and she spent most of each day in bed. I helped with whatever I could around the house. The real test came, when I had to cook a rabbit for dinner. I had always thought bunnies were cute, and the idea of eating one was revolting. I did get it cooked, but I had a time trying to eat it. However, I enjoyed being there and also enjoyed the children, especially when May was feeling well, and we could go to the beach together.

After my visit I came home again. I was very tired, but I had time to become rested before entering college in the fall.

Eulogy by Ken LoFrano

2010-11-15T21:10:00.000-08:00

Good Morning and thank you for being here to celebrate and reflect back on the life of Almeda Christensen. I’ve had the privilege to know the Christensen’s for more than eight years now and I can tell you that there is no one that would make you feel more welcome in their home than Almeda and Wally Christensen.

Almeda was a wonderful and amazing woman that lived quite a life. I’ve learned so much about her in the last few days as I’ve read through her memoirs.

Almeda Brown was born March 27, 1920 in Salt Lake City, Utah. She was the youngest of five children. Her brother Charles, 17 months older would remain closest to her as she grew up. Her stepsister, May, and two stepbrothers, Bert and Elliot were quite a bit older. Almeda’s family left Salt Lake when she was three and moved to Brigham City. It was the first of 14 moves she would experience before her 18^th birthday. She grew up making new friends wherever she went and was continually learning.

Not only was she close in age to her brother Charles, they did a lot together. He looked out for her as did the rest of her brothers. The Brown family did move around a lot, but they always seemed to vacation or take trips to various parts of California. In fact in 1932 her mother, a researcher at Utah State University and Head of Purnell Investigations for the State of Utah, took a sabbatical and moved the family to Berkley, California to study in the Live Sciences Department at the University of California. There Almeda started junior high school. At school she only knew her brother Charles but soon made friends. She became fast friends with Luanne. They would spend their time together sitting on the hill watching the Berkley football team play or they would go to the university library where there was a wonderful collection of books.

Almeda loved to read, she finished all of Shakespeare, Nancy Drew and even the Sherlock Holmes series among countless others and just recently finished again the Harry Potter series. It was during her time in Berkley that she took her first language class. She loved it and claimed that she learned more about the English language while taking Latin than she had ever learned before.

As a young girl Almeda had a Doll collection that she cherished as she got older she was fond of swimming, roller skating and even archery. She actually had a picture in the school year book of her with a bow and arrow. She said that was her favorite sport next to swimming. She was an accomplished seamstress at this young age and was recognized for her talent many times. During her high school years she was chosen as a band sponsor, she especially liked the uniform since it was the same as the band members wore, vice president of the debate club, a member of the French Club, a member of the ZT girls, a high school sorority, and the girl’s rifle club. She said that she joined the rifle club because she thought it would be good to know how to handle a gun if she ever had to.

By this time her sister May had moved to Long Beach, California, a popular destination for summer vacations. Bert and Elliot were in the Navy one on a battleship the other on a destroyer. Almeda actually got to tour the ships that they were on while at port in Long Beach and San Francisco. She was very excited and proud of her brothers and sister.

It was also around this time, after moving back to Utah, that she first saw her future husband. He played guard for the Bear River football team. Wallace Russell Christensen. Almeda officially met Chis as he liked her to call him the following year when he came to study with her brother Charles. Another year went by before they met again. After that they met often and regularly.

Charles and Chris were both in the ROTC at college and were instrumental in getting Almeda elected sponsor of the Corps. Chris and Almeda were both in B Battery, so they marched each Tuesday and Thursday, and went to all the Military Balls and other school affairs and the dances at the School of Engineering. They were often with Charles and his future wife Mabel Bott. Charles and Mable were married just before graduation.

At Chris’s Graduation Almeda met his parents. She wanted to be married someday but resolved to graduate first. Charles moved to Riverside California and Chris was now in the Army. During that summer as Almeda put it “her resolve started to dissolve”. She went to visit Charles and Mable over the Labor Day weekend. Chris got leave and joined them. Chris and Almeda took a day trip to Catalina where they talked about marriage but there wasn’t time on this leave since it was only a couple of days long. After visiting her sister in Long beach she returned back to Logan Utah. A short time later a Diamond ring arrived in the mail and her marriage plans were official.

A wedding date was planned but just as quickly got changed. This was in 1941 just before the USA entered world war2 and military life was very unpredictable. It took them three times setting the date before Almeda and Chris final were able to get married in Reno, Nevada on November 24^th. They had a two day honeymoon and then went to their rented house in Sausalito to settle down as a couple only to get orders to report to Detroit for training a few days later. They arrived in Detroit on December 7, 1941 the day Pear Harbor was attacked. That changed their plans and after three more moves in the next six months, Chris was deployed and Almeda went back to Logan to finish College. During his deployment Almeda and Chris kept in touch by letter lots of letters. Chris never missed a special occasion and would wire a bouquet of beautiful flowers to his young bride. Almeda graduated Phi Kappa Phi in the spring of 1943 with a Bachelors degree majoring in Language from Utah State University. She continued to be active in the Alpha Chi Omega sorority alumni. It would be 2 years and 3 months before Chris got his first 2 week leave to be home with Almeda. He left again for retraining and then returned to live again in the San Francisco area. Eight Months later Chris was gone again but this time for only 3 months since Japan surrendered and the war ended. He came home this time for good.

Almeda and Chris stayed in California for the most part of their 69 years of marriage moving at least 15 times. Raising their three children Karen, Carla, and Kaye in the process. Almeda went back to school in 1967 while in San Bernardino to receive her teaching credentials so that she could teach at a Catholic boys High School where she was offered a job. Almeda and Chris finally retired in 1975, built a home in Fallbrook and pretty much stayed there except for various trips to visit family and take vacations in Europe and Canada. They finally came to Oceanside in 1998.

I was fortunate to meet them shortly after that and became their home teacher, Bishop, and friend.

I can tell you that although I wasn’t officially part of their family I sure did feel like I was. I learned so much from Almeda and Wally, as I call him. Every time I would visit with them she always made me feel comfortable. I learned so much about unwavering faith from her. As sick as she often was, I would never hear a complaint or a discouraging word. It was always, “ I’ll do my best and see what happens.” She would ask me to give her a blessing but it was her faith that brought about the results. She was a remarkable woman. Now that I’ve had a chance to review her life she is even more remarkable to me. To be a woman college graduate in 1943, move over 30 times in her life maintain a home, raise 3 girls, be a teacher and have a testimony of her Savior that is as strong as any that I have been exposed to is remarkable. When I was the Bishop and would make an appointment to visit I would always be met with don’t worry about us you’re so busy we don’t want to keep you from what you need to do but if we can help you just tell us what to do. Almeda was always so willing to give of herself to others and to serve. During the fires that evacuated people from their homes in 2007 we were asked by the Church to help those families by volunteering to go and clean up the fire areas and homes that had been destroyed. Almeda and Wally couldn’t go and physically work in the fire area so they opened their home to their friends in Fallbrook so that they would have a place to stay until they could go back to their home. She was a wonderful example to me and to all those that she came in contact with. I know that she suffered a lot with pain and other illness. In these last few years she was physically weak and couldn’t do all that she wanted but let me tell you she loved her family and was so very proud of all of them from her daughters to the great grandchildren. The computer helped her keep in touch with everyone so far away. She started blogging just about everyday at the age of 87 letting everyone know about her day as if they were there with her. I would often hear of the family accomplishments even if she couldn’t be there personally to witness them. Being a long distance grandparent myself I totally understand. She did visit the doctor quite a bit the last few years but she would love to stop at Tamarack beach and watch the waves and surfers on the way back home from a doctor’s visit. She enjoyed going to lunch with her husband and friends either at a local restaurant or a picnic at Tamarack. She enjoyed their Monday night family home evenings where her and Wally would sit and read together from the scriptures or the church lesson manual for next weeks lesson. She was a lady that lived her life and knew how much she had been blessed. I know that she is happy and pain free right now and has made it through this life in such a way that she will enjoy the blessings and promises made to her by her Father in Heaven.

The family has asked a few individuals to come forward and share their memories of Almeda with us. Could you now please come forward.

Tribute by Rex Smith, Son-in-Law

2010-11-13T21:42:00.000-08:00

Nov 11, 2010 How do you avoid comment when your daughter finds a boyfriend who doesn’t quite measure up to the high school sweetheart that was clearly bound for medical school and this new guy is a little too short, skinny and his hair and beard are too big? How do you make a new boyfriend feel welcome and like old friends in your RV when the errand you are on is to get a pacemaker (this is when the pacemakers first came out and they had no idea if they extended life) or just gave you a little comfort with your time. How do you appear genuinely thrilled when the guy Carla was dating finally gets his act together enough to ask the perfect woman and daughter to marry? (and it had nearly been 3 years) Is it just OK to have to try to do a wedding a thousand miles away when you live in California and it is your daughter? How can you endure the political differences that your husband and newly minted son-in-law feel the need to discuss? (literally for years) maybe even today. How do you patiently wait with no complaints for your first of their granddaughter’s birth when your son-in-law is clearly surly because something (Brittany) is going to change in his life? How do keep from appearing like a know-it-all when clearly you are the only person in the room who knows the history associated with the discussion or what date the event occurred that every one else has forgotten? How do you smile when you prepare the perfect dinner and the very people you prepare for are late? How do you keep quiet when your idea of spring cleaning is another move and building another house? How do you settle for visiting the beach when you would love to live there? How do you tolerate the stress of getting an education because your husband has had medical problems that have made widows out of his brothers’ wives? I’m not certain how you do these things but I am clear who has, Almeda B. Christensen. She is the best mother/mother in law anyone could ask for. I am so grateful that I can call her my own. She is the kindest, smartest woman I have ever met. I am so happy that my wife and children have many of these beautiful traits. I can think of no greater compliment than if anyone could say “you are just like your mother” and that mother was Almeda. I love her and miss her very much.

Memorial Service will be held

2010-11-13T11:58:00.000-08:00

There will be a Memorial Service for Almeda on Monday, November 15, 2010 at 11am: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints

2080 California St

Oceanside, CA 92054 All are invited, but it is short notice and many of you cannot attend. Your fond memories of her are welcome and we ask that you keep her in your heart. Condolences can be sent to her husband: WR Christensen 4075 Johnson Dr Oceanside, CA 92056 (posted by Secretary, Kaye)

Ann Peters sent this encouragement

2010-11-12T22:24:00.000-08:00

Death is not extinguishing the Light it is putting out the Lamp because the Dawn has come --R Tagore

Son-in-law Kyle sent this comfort that morning

2010-11-12T22:21:00.000-08:00

Son-in-law Kyle sent this to comfort, sung by Libera with lyrics below : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQ8EGg-0lYc&feature=related Do not stand at my grave and weep, I am not there, I do not sleep. I am in a thousand winds that blow, I am the softly falling snow. I am the gentle showers of rain, I am the fields of ripening grain. I am in the morning hush, I am in the graceful rush Of beautiful birds in circling flight, I am the starshine of the night. I am in the flowers that bloom, I am in a quiet room. I am in the birds that sing, I am in each lovely thing. Do not stand at my grave and cry, I am not there. I do not die -- Mary Frye

Poem marked in Almeda's book

2010-11-12T18:12:00.000-08:00

The dust cover was turned in to mark ODE XI of Odes Book 1 Horace, translated by CE Bennett. The Latin text was on the left, a translation on the right; I don't know which she was reading.

Ask not, Leuconoë (we cannot know), what end the gods have set for me, for thee, nor make trial of the Babylonian tables! How much better to endure whatever comes, whether Jupiter allots us added winters or whether this is our last, which now wears out the Tuscan Sea upon the barrier of the cliffs! Show wisdom! Busy thyself with household tasks; and since life is brief, cut short far-reaching hopes! Even while we speak, envious Time has sped. Reap the harvest of to-day, putting as little trust as may be in the morrow!

Tu ne quaesieris (scire nefas) quem mihi, quem tibi finem di dederint, Leuconoe, nec Babylonios temptaris numeros. Vt melius quicquid erit pati! Seu pluris hiemes seu tribuit Iuppiter ultimam, quae nunc oppositis debilitat pumicibus mare 5 Tyrrhenum, sapias, uina liques et spatio breui spem longam reseces. Dum loquimur, fugerit inuida aetas: carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero.

Almeda's Blog is finished.

2010-11-11T14:02:00.000-08:00

Almeda Brown Christensen left this world about 1:30 in the morning on November 11, 2010 at home in Oceanside, CA. She is survived by her loving husband Wallace Russel, daughters Karen, Carla and Kaye, multiple grandchildren and many, many friends. Everyone who met her eventually became her friend. She was a very active member of the Church of Latter Day Saints and also of her sorority, Alpha Chi Omega, from Utah State where she graduated Phi Kappa Phi. Almeda always thought the best of everyone she met, and in doing so, caused each to want to live up to her good expectations. We will miss her. Posted by Secretary, Kaye

Great Grandson Caden with Cold Hands

2010-09-15T23:19:00.000-07:00

This was taken Sept 15 in Jack in the Box so Caden could eat French fries. He was adorable. He was saying Honk when I mentioned cars, but I misheard until his mom straightened me out.

2010-08-08T19:15:00.000-07:00

I missed writing, so Chris took over. I'm still a little groggy over my small surgery. I can't wear my glasses over my scar from the minor surgery on my head. But I have used a magnifying glass to read a little, but I slept most of today, waking just for meals and a little bit of trying to read the paper. There's not much on TV, so sleeping works fine for me. Now it's time to get ready for bed, so I'll go do that, and I'll try writing again tomorrow.

2010-08-08T13:56:00.000-07:00

2:00 PM. I will try to fill in for Mom while she is recovering from her illness and associated medicine. Today Karen picked us up and we went to the beach to watch the waves. It was a beautiful day and the beach was well used but we managed to have a nice time in spite of it. At home here we have been bringing our meals to the room because it is a lot quieter and less stressful than in the big group. Almeda had a good night last night and seems to have had no major changes. it will be fine until the pills run out. Love- DAD

2010-08-06T19:38:00.000-07:00

After yesterday this has been a very quiet day. We slept in a while and then got up and went to breakfast. One of these days we will be back in our house, fixing our own cereal and eggs and stuff. I guess we will just have to wait until I'm over this queer illness I have. After breakfast we came back to the apartment, and I went to sleep and slept on a recliner until noon. We went to lunch, and when we got back to the apartment I was able to stay awake the rest of the day. My visiting teacher came for a visit, and that helped. She told me when her daughter will be back in town. She is the person who will come to bring or fix a hot meal for us 5 days a week. We can manage at least Saturdays and Sundays, I think, with frozen dinners. Karen will be here in town most of the time, until we all move up north.

Great Grandson in July

2010-08-05T20:40:00.000-07:00

This movie was filmed in July at Kaye's house. You can hear him saying choo choo and playing with the train he made of appliance coasters...

2010-08-05T19:54:00.000-07:00

This will be a quick report on our trip to San Diego today. We left here at 11:30 and quickly drove to the Vandever Kaiser Clinic. We were early for the appointment, so we went to Carl's Jr. and had some lunch while we waited. Then we went to check in with the proper department, and there the woman at the desk said she had been trying all morning to call us to cancel the appointment. Well, after some 15 minutes or so of discussion, she was able to set me up with an afternoon appointment at the other San Diego clinic, on Zion street. So we went over there, and waited another hour, and finally got to see a doctor. This doctor, another woman, and her assistant set up the surgery to get a biopsy from an artery in front of my right ear. The doctor said the artery was dead. Later I saw a bunch of rubbuge with some blood on it. Maybe that was just from the inch-long cut in front of my ear. Anyway the surgery was soon over and we came back to the apartment.

2010-08-04T19:55:00.000-07:00

I have been watching TV, and that has put my own day in a different mode. I worry about other people instead of me. We have had a good day. We got up in time for breakfast, and after that, we came back to the apartment until Karen called. She suggested she drive us down to the beach to watch the waves for a while. We did, and the beach was covered with people, with some going in the water and others just lying on the sand, or kids digging in it. There was an article in this morning's paper about someone digging a tunnel, and couldn't get out. That was awful. I'm glad we weren't where that happened. Back at the apartment we had our lunch, and then we just tried to plan when we would move back to the house. We will stay here as long as we have these medical tests to go to. It's just too much of a strain to move and do that too. My head is still a problem; we will go to San Diego for a biopsy, and that will be the end of the tests, for me, except for one more. Then Chris has one in San Diego. Karen has been so sweet to drive us where we have to go.

2010-08-03T20:46:00.000-07:00

This has been a quiet day. We got up in time for breakfast, and I had oatmeal and juice. Then we came back to the apartment and read the paper. I just rested in one of the recliners, watched a little TV, and then just as we were having lunch in the apartment, Karen came over and visited while. It was nice to have her here. This illness in my throat, mouth and eyes is a real bother. I don't feel like doing anything, but I'm not really sick. I've just done dumb things like filing my fingernails, and wondering just when we will move back into our house. I hope it's soon, at least it will be a different setting to feeling this way in. I talked to a lady who has had this problem. She said it lasts a long time, and then quits suddenly. I hope it isn't very long. I dread the trip to San Diego for the biopsy, but maybe they can find something that will cure the disease in a hurry.

2010-08-02T16:38:00.000-07:00

I have not being feeling very well, and we have been going to doctors. Well, as a result I have been taking new medications, and this afternoon I had a reaction. I was sitting in the living room of the apartment looking at a clothing catalog, and I saw a dress that suddenly transformed me to Europe. I was with Candace and Danya, in a town in Italy. I guess my mind just picked it up, and I had to go ask Chris if this all really happened. And he said yes, I did take the granddaughters when Karen and Bob had planned the trip for them, and then they couldn't go. And I had also been on a trip to Europe with Carla. I am amazed at all this, that I just now remembered. It has been a strange experience. When I woke up to where I actually am, and I did do these things years ago, it's a strange experience. Chris thinks the medications the doctors have given me have probably caused it all to come back. Now that I'm back to myself here in the apartment, the visions have completely stopped!

2010-08-01T19:42:00.000-07:00

Today I have stayed in the apartment all day, except for short stays on the balcony, and one trip to the lobby to get a newspaper. We have one change in our plans. We will stay here for the rest of this month, and then move back to the house. It may be before the end of the month, but we will just have to wait and see. We might as well stay here as long as we have these doctor appointments to go to. My health isn't bad, it's just a darn bother. My head will ache, my eyes be tired, and my mouth hurt somewhat. I haven't even been to a meal, I'm just too tired to bother, when Chris will go get them and bring them back to the apartment. Karen came oveer twice, for short visits, and bringing our dinner to us. That was very nice of her. She and the other two daughters are our pride and joy. My eyes are beginning to be fuzzy, so I will stop writing now and go back to my chair in the little living room here at the apartment.

2010-07-31T20:11:00.000-07:00

This has been a quiet day. I have stayed in the apartment all day, except for going out on our little balcony here for a while. It has been a warm day, and I was comfortable there. I didn't stay long, though. I have had all my meals in the apartment here, because I didn't feel like facing all those people. Chris stayed with me, too. We have decided quite surely, that we will move back to the house as soon as it's reasonable to do. Of course that will depend on when I feel up to it. I am taking the new medication and it should help me soon.My eyes and mouth seem to be improving, and I am not cold anymore. I already have help lined up to fix our hot meal of the day at the house, and she will be there by the 18th. So we might as well stay here until she is back. Karen is back in town, and she will drive us to the doctor appointments we already have lined up.

2010-07-30T19:56:00.000-07:00

Almeda asked me to write her report tonight. She has had a strenuous day going to the Doctor to see if he could get her something to relieve the symptoms she was having. tonight at 4:30 she saw Dr. Garcia who gave her a lozenge that is intended to change the chemistry in her mouth and ease her discomfort. He carefully explained that her underlying symptoms suggested the possibility of a dire outcome if she did not continue massive dosage of the corticosteroid. I think that both she and I have the message. she has resumed her proper dosage and has my personal sympathy. Looking back, the day was a classical collaborative effort of Karen, Rex, Kaye to get their mother and me to do what we now know we must do. Only time will will serve the outcome, but all will know they have done what they could. This is Dad for Mom.

2010-07-29T20:18:00.000-07:00

I haven' t done much today. I have stayed in the apartment, except for going to the dining room three times for meals. My head and eyes don't work very well, and I'm starting to sneeze. So, I think the best thing to do is go to bed and watch TV until I get sleepy. It's a good thing we have a TV in there, and I can just rest the rest of the day. My eyes are a little better than yesterday, and I think my body as a whole is getting better, too. There is nothing more to write, so I will get off to bed. We have talked to Karen and Kaye, And briefly to Rex. He was the one who put us on to the problem with my mouth. He thought it might be thrush, or maybe that was Dads guess.

2010-07-28T20:51:00.000-07:00

Today I have still a sore mouth and eyes. I guess I will just have to wait for it to go away. But I will call Dr. Donahoe and tell him about it tomorrow, if I'm not better by then. Rex says it's Thrush, I have heard of that, but just in connection with babies' illnesses. I guess old people are just as likly to get it as babies. Chris had breakfast and lunch as take-out, so I wouldn't have to go out, just stay in the apartment. But later this afternoon we did go outside for a little walk around the grounds here. Then we went to dinner. It wasn't bad, not many of the people were there, and those that were, didn't give me a second glance. Then tonight we have watched an old James Bond movie, that we hadn't ever seen, and that took up the evening. We called Kaye and talked to her, but we didn't call the other daughters. I think Karen was still busy with Danya, who wasn't leaving until later, and then we had talked to both Carla and Rex last night. there's really nothing more to write, so I'll close here.

2010-07-27T20:57:00.000-07:00

This morning I woke up with a swollen face, sore swollen mouth, and eyes that took turns cutting out seeing. It turns out that a new medication I started on was the cause of it all. So, I have stopped taking it, and I will not return to the doctor in Mission Bay that prescribed it. She also wanted to do a biopsy of a piece of my artery in my forehead. I am saying definitely no to that! I will have to call my regular doctor tomorrow and tell him that. I don't need that done at my age! We are still at Las Villas de Carlsbad, but we plan to move back to our house on Aug. 6, if all goes well as planned. The renters were sort of trashing the place, but now it has new carpet and the walls all painted. We will only have the problem of the yard to clean up, and Chris has already talked to the man who used to do it. And Roy will come to clean the house once a week, and we will have our dinner prepared by a a friend who has agreed to come every afternoon and cook our main meal of the day. And she will drive us to doctor's appointments, too.

2010-07-25T18:13:00.000-07:00

This has been a completely different day. I didn't sleep well last night, and today I didn't feel very well. I skipped breakfast, except for some toast Chris brought me from the dining room. I just sat in my chair and rested, after that. At noon we had another snack, and I still didn't do anything. We are trying to plan our move back to our house. As soon as we have everything out of this apartment we can stop paying them rent, and that will help with our other expenses. But they aren't bad ones, just enough to be a slight bother. There's another week in this month, and I guess we will stay here at least until then. Our helper in the house is out of town and she won't be back until Aug. 18, so there is no need to hurry out of here. We might as well stay here a while longer. We will see how it turns out. Danya has come down to spend a few days with her mother. We thought we would see her at church this morning, but since we didn't go, we will have to postpone it. We talked to Karen, and I'm sure she will arrange for us to see Danya.

2010-07-24T18:42:00.000-07:00

Today Karen came over and took us to San Marcos Kaiser Clinic where I had an appointment for a test called a Catscan. They gave me a quart of some liquid, and then I had to wait an hour and a half before they did the actual test. This test was one where they put me on a little couch and then it took me into a big round machine, and a man's voice said inhale, and then exhale, about five times, and that was all it was. For this I had to take off all my clothes, except my panties, and shoes and socks, and put on two hospital gowns, one put on as usual, and the other used like a coat or jacket. It took only a few minutes when we got to it. We were out of there soon, and we went to lunch at a little restaurant near our house. Then Karen brought us back to Las Villas. We rested a while, and then we had dinner here. And while we rested, we planned when we would move back into the house. Only, we didn't set an actual date, I guess that will depend on how much more rent we have to pay here before we go. After dinner here, Ramon Beltran, the man working on the house to get it ready for us to move back, came over and collected his wages for hanging the new lights in the living room of the house, and some other chores I can't remember just now. But we will be able to move back into the house as soon as we can arrange for movers to take us.

2010-07-23T21:18:00.000-07:00

Karen came over and took us to Home Depot. There we picked out with her help a new light fixture for the living room at the house. Also, we bought new shades for the lights in the kitchen ceiling and a new toilet seat to replace a broken one. We took them back to the house, and put them there for the man Ramon to put them up. The neighbors, Bonnie, Frank's daughter came over, and also Senor Lopez, who did the yard work when we were living there. He agreed to take over the job again, but we have to go by there in the morning on the way to an appointment I have at San Marcos Kaiser Clinic for some tests, and give him some money. I didn't get just why we have to pay him before he starts work, but he and Chris figured it out. Karen will come over again and drive us there and on to San Marcos in the morning. We got back here in time for lunch, and then I went to the beauty shop here at Las Villas and got a new perm. I didn't have her put any hair spray on, because I thought the nurse told Chris I must not have on hair spray or makeup when I go in for the test tomorrow. So, my new hairdo probably won't last very long.

2010-07-22T20:11:00.000-07:00

This was another busy day. We went to breakfast, then we drove over to the house to meet the man who was coming to lay the carpet. He was going to do it all by himself, and that kind of bothered me. But we went back about 2 p.m. and it was all laid, and he was vacuuming the top. One thing does worry me a little; as he ran the machine over the carpet, there were definite sections where the machine went, sort of strips of the fabric lying down, or something. We will have to see what happens when we actually move in. I hope it works out all right. That will be as soon as we get a new light fixture for the living room. We will ask Karen to shop with us for it. We did go to Home Depot and check them out this morning, but we couldn't decide on which one to buy. Also there is a crack in the kitchen window, and the shades over the kitchen light are broken. They will have to be replaced. The glass in front of the fire- place is missing, we will have to replace that, too. We had birds come down into the fireplace when we lived there before. We came back to Las Villas to spend the remaining part of the day, and then went to dinner. And that was our day.

2010-07-21T20:38:00.000-07:00

This morning we spent as usual, breakfast, then time spent deciding what to do with the rest of the day. Chris needed a prescription that had been filled at the Kaiser Clinic, so we went down there and got it and ordered one for me to be picked up in a couple of days. Then we went to Home Depot to pay for the new carpet. That took a while, they seemed to be so busy there, I was quite surprised when it seems there is a recession on just now. You would think people wouldn't be buying stuff. Maybe it's because of the recession - people are doing their own work on their houses because they can't afford to get someone else to do it. Thank goodness we have a good man and his crew working on our house, to get it ready to sell. From Home Depot we went to the house, and the vertical blinds are all in place. As soon as the paint on the walls is dry, the carpet will be installed. The house will look nice, I'm sure. But the yard is something quite awful. We will have to get someone to fix it up, and do some repair to the brick walls that are coming apart. The lemon tree is covered with tiny little green lemons, and I hope they do develop into really good lemons. Later in the day Ramon Belten, who is doing the work on the house, came over to Las Villas to get a check in payment for what he has already done. He has paid for the materials he used, like all the paint for the house and for his crew, so we gave him a check for that. We will have to give him more before the house is ready. But will be worth it, I hope, when we are able to sell it.

2010-07-20T22:06:00.000-07:00

I forgot to write a blog last night, but it wasn't really much of a day to report. So, I will just go to today. This is the day I went to see Dr. Schannon. He helped me calm my fears about going to that lady doctor again. He suggested I go see our regular doctor and talk it over with him. I just don't want to have my head cut open to have a piece of artery taken out to analyze. I can't think that a too rapid sedimentation rate could be all that bad. and she thinks I need to have this done. I have had that rate for 50 years or more, so why worry about it now? The other thing that concerns me somewhat is the problems involved with moving back to the house and getting it ready to sell. We went to see it on the way back from the doctor's, (my visiting teacher and her daughter were driving us) and the walls have all been painted and look great. The next thing is the carpet, which Carla had picked out, and I think it will make a charming house of it. We have another four weeks before we leave this apartment, but we are both ready to leave any time!

2010-07-18T18:34:00.000-07:00

This morning we went to Church at 11 and stayed for only Sacrament Meeting. We met Karen there and sat with her and with Sister Jensen, a woman your Dad used to visit teach. After the meeting I meant to find Sister Pawlaczyk and be sure we would have her to help us when we move back to the house. But in the mix-up of people after the session, I missed her, and we went outside with Karen, and talked to her a little. She is leaving in the morning for Arroyo Grande for three or four days. Everything seems a little mixed up to me, what with the moving out of here and back to the house, there is not a lot else I can keep in my mind. I am supposed to go back to see that doctor again, too, but I think I'll skip that. I feel OK, except there's a lot on my mind just now, and I don't really want to see her again. I just talked to Kaye, and she is reassuring. Chris is playing the piano, and he can play the same notes I had just been playing by reading them in a book. I mean, I was looking at the music book to do it, and now he is picking it out and not even looking at the book. Smart Man!

2010-07-17T19:44:00.000-07:00

Today we still intend to move back to the house. We drove over there, and the workmen were there getting the walls and ceilings ready to paint. They had the paint there, and said they would spend the rest of the day and tomorrow, doing the painting. The boss man said they would be done by Tuesday, and then we should wait a week to let it dry, before putting in the new carpet. So, we have our work begun. And we also have to get new vertical blinds and have them put up. The next thing I did this afternoon was to call Teri Pawlaczyk, a friend from Church, whose mother is my visiting teacher. She has agreed to come over 2 hours a day to help us, and Roy to clean once a week, and Teri to take us shopping, do the cooking, and take us to doctors' appointments. It should work out all right, if we just remember to schedule the appointments when Teri can take us. Karen is going to Arroyo Grande next week on the train, I guess to check up on their house there. I'm glad she won't try driving again, it's hard on her. And she seems tired, taking care of us and Terry, when he is sick.

2010-07-16T21:59:00.000-07:00

This morning we drove back to the house, and the people who are the Mexican neighbors who had taking care of the yard for us, but not for the renters, greeted us with hugs. The little lady can't speak English, but her daughters can, and we told them we were moving back, as soon as we can get ready. She hurried to their house, picked a lovely rose, and brought it to me as we were driving away. We went to Home Depot and ordered the paint and the new carpet. We will meet the man who will do the work tomorrow morning, and firm up our agreement. Then we came back to Las Villas for lunch. For some reason I am having trouble with this computer tonight. Anyway we have spent the afternoon watching a movie on TV and making our plans about leaving here. I have to stop, it's not working right.

2010-07-15T20:07:00.000-07:00

We have made big decisions today. We are for sure moving back to our house, after it gets new paint and carpeting installed. That may take a couple of weeks, maybe more. We have picked those out out and have someone to install them. We also have someone lined up to shop and do some cooking for us; at least I hope that's settled. I'll have to check with her to be sure she wants to do it. I didn't realize how much my husband wanted to leave Las Villas, until he had made the connections with the people to help us with it. I don't really know what our daughters think of the move back, but I'm sure they will be behind us in our decision. especially if I get the help I need to live there, like some housecleaning, and shopping and perhaps cooking. It will be good to see it lived in, not just sitting there empty.

Our Trip to Mission Bay

2010-07-14T20:02:00.000-07:00

Last night we had made an appointment with a taxi cab to take us to Mission Bay Kaiser,where I had an appointment to see a doctor. The cab had one of those direction finders, that didn't work right; it took us on a different freeway, and then all over San Diego, before coming back to Mission Bay. The charge for the trip was $97! We went inside, and I saw the doctor that our Dr. recommended. It was a young woman, who didn't bother to examine me, just looked at my ankles, and recommended more tests, which we can get near here. Then we called the taxi and the driver just came straight up I-5 to Carlsbad, and this time it cost only $69! We were back in time to have lunch and a long rest. We did talk to one of clerks downstairs, and she figured if we had only two rooms here, we could have them for $$4,030, instead of the $5,680 we pay now. And we wouldn't have to move out and back in. Well, that's one idea. Another is to move back to the house as soon as it has been painted and carpeted, and stay there until Karen and Terry move to Arroyo Grande. Right now I like that better. My visiting teacher has already suggested her daughter can come to shop and cook for us each afternoon. I haven't talked to her, but that's an idea

2010-07-13T19:59:00.000-07:00

We have spent a sort of mixed up day, going between staying here at Las Villas while the house is being fixed up for sale, or moving in, and if it's sold before Karen goes north, we will come back here to live. But I doubt it will sell right away, there aren't a lot of people looking to buy just now. One man, a friend of a friend of Al, has offered to buy it, but it wasn't what we think it's worth. Karen is upset with us, because we talked to her about moving back, and she's all up tight. Carla has picked out carpet and paint for the house, and she didn't say anything about our moving in, maybe she doesn't know. I haven't talked at all about it to Kaye, so I guess I won't bother her with it right now. The clerk here is offering us a cut in rent if we stay here, and don't go over there. I tell you, it's all up in the air. And I've got a doctors appointment to go to San Diego in the morning, and we are going to use the discount dollars Karen gave us, to pay for the taxi. I'll report on it all tomorrow night.

2010-07-11T20:31:00.000-07:00

This is Sunday, so we got ready for church, went to breakfast, and then drove to church. Karen wasn't going, so we just drove ourselves. We left after the first meeting and came back to Las Villas and had our lunch. After that we went to the apartment, and waited to hear from the people who will clean the house and get it ready for new carpet, etc. Chris will meet him at 5 at the house. In the meantime, we heard from Bianca, and she and her two friends, Hanna, and I can't remember the other girl's name, came, while Chris was still gone to the house. I took them into the dining room and we ordered dinner. He got back in time to have it with us. Then we came back to the apartment and had cake and ice cream, from Travis Westermeyer's birthday party. The three girls had spent yesterday there, and then came up to see us on their way back to their colleges. We enjoyed their visit. It's nice they will come to see us when they can. Bianca is going to spend more time in other cities in connections with her doctorate degree she is working on, and we probably won't see much of her.

2010-07-10T20:34:00.000-07:00

Today we haven't done much, just the ordinary things. I was hoping we could start getting the house ready to show. I still think we should move in when it's ready, so we can show it as a house lived in. We need the new paint and carpeting; but the man who did Karen's painting isn't available just now. But we can get someone in to remove the carpet and pad, and that is necessary before the painting anyway. There were three samples of the carpet Carla recommended, but I don't know exactly which she means that we should use. I'll have to go back to the store and look at them again, after talking to Carla once more about it. You know, I have never coughed much in my long life, but I guess it's the long life that's started it. I do have another doctor's appointment this month, and maybe this new man can help stop it. It has been with me since that last pneumonia bout. We talked to Karen, and she seems to be recovering fine; she did say, though, that Terry is sick today. So we haven't bothered them again today.

2010-07-09T20:07:00.000-07:00

I'll start my blog with the most important news first; Karen had her new battery installed, and she is home again resting up. She is certainly an active woman! Each day she does something special. I hope she will take some time to rest up, she has been so active, with the trip to San Francisco and all the others she has been on this summer. She did call tonight, to tell us she was home, and I'm glad for that. We talked to the other daughters, too. Kaye is enjoying her new house, and Carla gave us the information on the carpet and paint she recommends for the house in Oceanside. We went to the house today, after going to look at the samples she suggested. And we agree, they are good colors. While we were there, John's girl friend from across the street, came over and talked to us about the people we had let live in the house; it seems they annoyed all the neighbors with the antics of their dogs and children. It seems they turned the dogs loose in the neighborhood every night, and let them do anything they wanted. The neighbors are all happy, she says, that we had them leave. The house wasn't in really bad shape; it just needs new paint and carpeting. And some curtain rods need replacing. Also, there is water leaking on the kitchen floor, and there's a broken window we'll have to replace. After we got back to the apartment, I had my hair done, and we had our dinner. I'm tired out, this time. I guess I tried to do a little too much all in one day. And of course it was an emotional visit to the house.

2010-07-08T20:10:00.000-07:00

Today was supposed to be the big barbeque out by the pool. We had invited Peggie Plylor and her husband to come with us, but the sun never did come out and the forecast wasn't good, so it was served in the dining room instead. It was nice, but noisy. We had a good visit with the Plylors, and then afterward she visited me as a visiting teacher from church. We have talked briefly to all three of our daughters. Karen got back from San Fransisco in time to have her blood work done, so she can have her new pace maker put in tomorrow. Terry will drive her down to Scripts Hospital to have it done. We would like to, but I guess that time has passed for us. Carla is sending us a sample of carpet that she has used in her apartments, and I'm sure we can get it here and laid as soon as we get the painting done in our house. This carpet is at Home Depot, and that's near the house. Kaye had a good time last night at her Writers' Group. It sounds as though she has completely recovered from her trip down here. I'll be glad when we move up closer to them. I haven't talked to Karen yet, about our going up to Arroyo Grande shortly after they have moved up there. I hope we can sell the house by then. I'm slower to get over the pneumonia this time; my strength is slower to come back. But things are looking up for us, and I'm sure it won't be long until it does.

2010-07-07T20:08:00.000-07:00

I am glad I have the opportunity to write these blogs. Years ago I started to write my autobiography, but somehow I got side-tracked on it. I think there are parts of it in our records somewhere, but these blogs will have to do for now. For some reason I have shaky hands and arms tonight, so I will be brief. We did our usual things this morning, breakfast, then Gentle Yoga, then a walk around the area here, not off the grounds of Las Villas de Carlsbad. We are trying to decide whether to move back into the house while we have it painted and new carpet laid. We would save enough money to pay for these improvements by just moving back until it's sold. We still haven't made up our minds yet. There's no point in staying in this area after Karen and Terry go. If their house sells first, they will surely go, and we will follow as soon as ours is sold. There's nothing solid about either sale. There is a man who wants our house,but I doubt he will pay our price. He is a business man, in houses, and of course it's his business to make a profit on everything he handles. So, we will just have to wait and see what happens. We talked to both Kaye and Carla, but we didn't discuss this selling business. We will get a little closer to the actual deals before we make a big thing of it.

2010-07-06T19:14:00.000-07:00

Today started out as usual; we went to breakfast and then we did some quick runs, first to the Library to return some books, then to Wal Mart for some supplies. That took only one and half hours, so we had to rest of the day to use up here; reading the paper, mild exercise, having two more meals, etc. I have had two naps, I can't imagine why I am so tired when I don't do much of anything. I guess it's just my age! I had a call today from Kaiser, and they wanted me to go to San Diego. I don't have a ride that far. I like what medical care I can get up here, so I'll just settle for that. We are going back to our house, to see what we can do to fix it up to sell. We don't want to stay here longer than Karen and Terry do, and they already have a home set up in Arroyo Grande. We will check that area out after we get things settled here, even if that means moving back into the house for a while. It's easy livin' here, but we can do what is best to do. The weather has been cloudy all week, and I hope it improves soon. It's cooler than Southern Calif. usually is this time of year. Last year the sun was shining and we could enjoy swims in the pool, but I have no wish to go into it this year! In fact, it was drizzling a little bit while we were out this morning, but this afternoon, it's just cloudy. I woke up about 4 a.m., and it was raining then.

2010-07-05T21:04:00.000-07:00

Monday is a busy day for us. We get up and go to breakfast, and then the housekeeper is supposed to come and clean. Well, she didn't get here, so we just went to Gentle Yoga class, and then came back here. She still hadn't finished, so we went back downstairs. I read the paper, and Chris got some coffee in the little coffee house opposite the desk in the lobby. We stayed down there until almost noon, and she was finally done with our apartment. We went back, and I went to sleep on the couch until lunch time was almost over, but we did get there in time to be fed. Back at the apartment we got a call from Jane and Gary Oddou. She is the new Relief Society President, and Gary is the Executive Secretary in the Ward. They are good friends of Karen and Terry. They have an old house in France that they go to each summer to restore. I think it was Gary who inherited it. It was nice of them to come to see us, just before they leave. They will be back in the fall, most of their children and grandchildren live near here. Karen and I were her visiting teachers. I haven't gone teaching with Karen since we moved here, probably because and I've had pneumonia twice. Anyway, we had a nice visit with them. After they left, I had a short rest, and then we went to dinner. We arranged to have Peggy and Paul Plylor here for the big Barbecue on Thursday night, starting at 4 p.m., as our guests. We do owe them a dinner, we lost the free dinner tickets to Marie Calendar's Restaurant, I think, that they gave us. It will be nice to have them here. Peggy is my visiting teacher.

2010-07-04T20:28:00.000-07:00

This is Fast Sunday, but neither of us was feeling too well, but we did have a small dish of oatmeal. Karen came and picked us up to go to church. We got there in time to get seats in the back of the main part of the chapel. It was a good meeting, with lots of good testimonies. I meant to talk to my visiting teacher about help we could get from a church member if and when we move back into the house, until it is fixed up and we sell it and move north when Karen and Terry do. By then we will probably be happy to move into the assisted living place up there! By then we will have gotten rid of some more junk, so we will fit in. Before we go, though, we will have as many of the family as can come, and take anything they value, that we would have to get rid of. My visiting teacher will be here next week, so we can talk to her about it, too. She may know someone who would like a job shopping groceries for us, and perhaps fixing some meals, too. We can probably get Roy to come again to clean house when we need it. We have already arranged for our gardener to take care of the yard.

2010-07-03T21:02:00.000-07:00

This is the beginning of another month, and there are so many things I want to get done, while it is still here. I want to go back to our house and see if we can live in it while we get it ready to sell or rent. We will do that on the way back from Church in the morning. It's a Fast Day, so we don't even have to see about food before we leave, and we can see the house quickly on the way back. Then there's food here when we get back. Today I haven't felt too well; I choked on lunch, and then I rested all afternoon, until about 4:30, when Chris and I went for a walk around the grounds here at Las Villas de Carlsbad. The swimming pool has been completely re-finished, and now it's ready to use again. Maybe I'll feel like going in sometime next week. It looked inviting when we walked by this afternoon. There's going to be a party here next Thursday. Maybe we will invite friends across the street. It will be out on the space around the pool. It was a nice party last year, and I would like to invite them. They are members of our Ward, and that's how we met. Karen suggested inviting them, because she and Terry will be out of town somewhere. I can't remember where they are going, but it's probably back up to Arroyo Grande again. They won't be moving up there before next summer sometime. So we don't have to worry about being alone here. We can stay here or go back to the house, or up to Arroyo Grande, if we decide to.

2010-07-02T20:00:00.000-07:00

It's hard to realize that it is Friday already. We went through the usual morning, shower, then breakfast, and then reading the paper. Then we both went to the Gentle Yoga class, after putting a load in one of the washing machines down on the 2nd floor. The exercise class is right near the washing room. Chris put the clothes in the dryer, and then we went back to the apartment while they dried. When he went back to pick them up from the dryer, someone had taken them out, even though they were not yet dry. He brought them to the apartment, and we hung them up here to finish the drying. After lunch I had a long nap, and felt quite rested afterward. Then Karen came to take us to her house to have dinner with her. Terry is still up in Arroyo Grande, where he helped his granddaughter, who graduated from Santa Cruze U, but doesn't have a job yet, he helped her get settled in their house up there. Karen is already packing some things and throwing away others to get ready for their move up there. But it probably won't be until her birthday next April, unless their Oceanside house sells quickly. She wants to keep her Kaiser membership as long as possible. She needs a new pace maker soon, and wants it done near here. We, too, are a little hesitant to leave Kaiser, we do get good medical care here, and there's no Kaiser up there, unless we drive to Fresno,or Ventura, a long way off.

2010-07-01T20:19:00.000-07:00

Today was my appointment in San Marcos with the Hiemotology Dept. I met a nice Dr. there, who interviewed me first and then did a did the physical exam. He did only the usual things, like listen to my heart and lungs, check my joints, and that was all. He didn't do any of the oncology exam. I wonder if Dr. Donahoe will approve, or will he send me back for the rest of the exam I was expecting. I hope not. Maybe he will be satisfied with this doctor's diagnosis. Karen drove us over there, and she and Chris both got protime tests. Later we went to lunch at the Mexican restaurant we used to go go to before we moved here. We had nice Mexican sandwiches and each had a drink. That was all the food we needed. We came back to Las Villas, and then Karen went home. Here we rested up from the trip, and we talked to Kaye. Carla and Rex had been to visit her and Kyle, for three hours, Then they left and Kaye went to get her hair cut. It was down to her waist, I don' t know how she managed it. I know I need more exercise, so I'm going to try to do it starting in the morning. This letter is off the page on two sides, so I don't know how long it is, but I will quit anyway, and get ready for bed.

2010-06-30T16:23:00.000-07:00

Chris wants me to write my blog right now, and it's not quite 4:30p.m., and I usually do it at night. But I'll go ahead. He is not feeling too well, he is on a bunch of medications and they upset him. But I might as well get it done now. Today I did the washing, and while it was in the washers, I went to the mild exercise class for the first time in over a week. Fortunately it isn't hard work, so I did it OK while the clothes washed. I put them in the drier, and it wasn't long until they were done. I came back up to the apartment ,and then I sat down and went to sleep in my recliner. I woke up in time for lunch at 1 p.m., and I've been up since then. We talked to Carla and then to Kaye. Carla and Rex are leaving on a vacation, and they will stop and see Kaye and their new house on their trip. She had to hang up and take another call, so I didn't get any more details about their trip. Chris has opened the window, and there is big train going by and tooting it's horn to clear the way. I hope we won't have this much traffic going by in our location in the middle of Calif, when we go up there when Karen and Terry move up there next year. There's also a freeway close by, here, and there are constantly cars on it. We don't usually open the windows for just that reason. But Chris isn't himself today, with all the medication he is on. But I said that before, didn't I. Anyhow, We are getting along pretty well. The renters are moving out of our house, tomorrow, so we will have that to look at soon. I'm in no big hurry. With those two little kids running around there, I can imagine what it is like now.

2010-06-29T20:21:00.000-07:00

Kaye has been here a week, and I have been busy with her, and completely forgot my blog! Now I will try to catch up a little. We didn't do anything that Tuesday, after she got here, except have dinner and settle down for the night. The next morning after breakfast she and I drove down to the beach and watched the waves a while, then we went to the Carlsbad Library and checked out a couple of movies. But you had to use batteries to run them, so we didn't look at them. We also brought fish tacos back for lunch. Chris was feeling better than in the morning, and we talked and she and Chris worked with the computers until dinner time. The next day was similar, except Kaye and I didn't go out alone, it was all together in what we did. We talked a lot about her new house and looked at the pictures. I'm so glad she and Kyle have moved in, and she is certainly happy with the move. Stellan and Sara and Caden have moved into their old house in Burbank, and it seems to suit them. The rest of the week has gone on similarly, with our discussing our fixing up our house in Oceanside, and eventually selling it when Karen and Terry move to Orrolo Grande. Whether we move into it while we are fixing it up, is the question now. Should we, or shouldn't we? Things are complicated by the fact that neither of us is in good physical condition. Maybe we should just fix it up and sell it..Kye left today on the 1 p.m. plane, and we went from the airport, with Karen, of course, and Chris had his eye injected again at the Kaiser offices in San Diego. We came home, and now it's bedtime again.

2010-06-22T20:13:00.000-07:00

First all today, I must correct some mistakes I made in yesterday's blog. It's true that Kaye is coming tomorrow, but instead of our going down with Karen to San Diego to meet her, Terry will go instead. It seems that Chris' doctor appointment is not tomorrow, but it is on the day Kaye goes back to Richland! So it should work out that day, too, that Chris can get his eye injections when Karen drives Kaye back to San Diego, and we go along ,too. We haven't done anything important today, just our three meals, and straightening up the apartment, so Kaye can fit in when she comes tomorrow. I did finish reading Karen's book on perfumes since "BC" times until now. It's interesting, since besides to text, there are great pictures to illustrate each period in time. We also watched a movie on TV, called "Becket" that we ordered from Netflix. I remember seeing it once before, but I had forgotten many of the interesting details. At first we couldn't get the picture on the TV to work, when we were just watching local news. But it was fine when we watched the movie. By the way, Kaye's new address is 667 Tanglewood Drive, Richland, Wa. 99352 . I just found that note on my desk.

2010-06-21T19:41:00.000-07:00

This morning I put the clothes in to wash, and while they washed, I went to the Gentle Yoga class. I expected Chris to join me, but he didn't get there until I was back in the laundry room. But we did get the clothes washed and dried in time to meet Karen to drive down to the beach for lunch. She insisted on bringing all of the lunch for us, as a sort of celebration of Father's Day. It worked out fine. Later we drove down to the Kaiser clinic, where we had appointments to see Dr. Donahoe. He prescribed more tests, which I am not crazy about. But I guess we will go ahead with them in a week or two. Kaye is to arrive on Wednesday, and Karen and we will meet her in San Diego. Chris has an appointment to see Dr. Dick about his eyes on that day at 4 p.m. in San Diego, so we will meet Kaye, and then go to the doctor's. We will have to wait a while, but we can visit, so no time will really be lost. Thank goodness it's summer, and the days are long, so we can come back here in daylight. I did say the days are long, but time seems to fly by, as though they were very short. I just noticed that the sky is getting dark already, and it's only 8:20 p.m. right now. It's time to start to think about going to bed. So, I guess I will start my ritual.

2010-06-20T20:05:00.000-07:00

After all my worry yesterday, today has been much more relaxed. I realize now that we don't have to do anything in a hurry. Karen has evidently a good house painter, who has been painting her house, and we can hire him as soon as the renters move out. She is coming over tomorrow and we can talk about the job the man is doing on her house. Terry is back from Arroyo Grande, but he has spent today in bed. I guess the work on the house up there has been a real strain on him. I hope he recovers OK. This morning we went to Church, but we stayed only for the Sacrament Meeting. We saw some friends, and that was nice. That's the trouble with moving again, we will have to make new friends. Fortunately they have a church close by Arroyo Grande, and we can make new ones there, and also in the senior community where we will probably live. It is smaller than this one, only about 50 retired people living there now. There are about 250 here. I am still reading in the book about perfumes, and it's really interesting. I didn't realize some of these scents we enjoy now have been around since 5000 BC! I'm up the 19th century AD now. They have someone here who will polish the ladies' finger nails about once a month. I missed this yesterday, so I will have to do my own. Fortunately I do have polish here I can use. It just takes time, and I can do it in the morning. It's dark now, and by electric light it's hard to get the right amount of polish on each nail.

2010-06-19T19:40:00.000-07:00

We still haven't made any decisions about when or where we will be when Karen and Terry have left for Arroyo Grande. Of course that will be about ten months from now, so we have plenty of time to make up our minds. We went for walk this morning after the fog lifted. It was only about a block and then back to the Villas. But at least my legs took it well. I think I am recovered. We will see Dr. Donahoe on Monday, and see what he thinks about it. We had a long talk with Kaye this morning. She will arrive here on next Wednesday for a week's stay. I'm sure we will enjoy that. I'm looking forward to her visit. She is in the new house now, and she should be more relaxed than she has been lately, waiting for it to be finished. Maybe she can give us some good ideas on how to fix up our house so it will sell. We would like to get a good price for it. Karen's will probably sell much faster, since it's in a better neighborhood than ours. Karen should be happier up there, where her daughters are closer, and their families, too. And Karen likes the central coast. I have spent most of the day reading the book, "Scents of Time, " all about perfume over the years. I still have about half of it to read, but it is interesting to learn when all the perfumes originated. It starts in Ancient Egypt and goes to the 21st Century. I didn't realize some of them had been used so long ago.

2010-06-18T20:02:00.000-07:00

I still haven't come to any conclusion about whether or not to move back to our house. I do know, though, that whatever the final decision is, we have to get it cleaned up and ready to live in. After the people move out on July I, we will have to decide that. It looks all right from the outside, but I guess there are things we have to do to it inside. It will need painting , according to what Karen and Carla said about it when they went to see it while Carla was here. The back yard will need help, I saw that when we were over there some time ago. And if we decide to move back there, I'm sure there will be things to do inside, too. Living here is easy, but I think we can do things to fix up the house if we are living there. We will have to see what the other family members think about that. We are no longer independent as we once were. We will need some help, but not the total care we get here. Roy, our house help when we were in the house, came to see see us today. If we do move back, we will ask him to help us again, if he has the time. He is a good friend now, and I think he would come if he can. To get back to our condition here; I think we could take more care of ourselves, if the business will allow it. As it is now, we go to the dining room three times a day for all our meals. We could easily take care of at least the breakfast and lunch here in the apartment, if it were allowed. I will have to see about that. Kaye is coming down next week for a visit, and we will enjoy that, I'm sure. Karen will be out of town part of that time. Terry isn't' here now; he is up at Arroyo Grande, supervising the fixing up of their house there.

2010-06-17T20:04:00.000-07:00

Today we got up at the usual time, had breakfast, and were back in the apartment when Carla called. She told us she had dropped Brittany off in the station in Fullerton where she had left her car when she came down by train yesterday. Then Carla was at the L.A. airport, waiting for her plane to Eugene. Just now we called her, and she got home OK. As her dad said, she was busy, and just forgot to call us. So that was all right. We didn't do anything spectacular the rest of the day - just went to the meals, and took a walk all around the compound. I have spent a lot of time thinking about whether or not we should move back into the Oceanside house. There are a lot of reasons either way in deciding that. There is no point in our hurrying to get it sold, just fix it up, either to sell or move into. I wonder what is the right thing to do. Chris leans toward moving back, and I just don't know. We have moved so much, that I have gotten used to the idea of forgetting the house we were living in, when we moved to a new location. That's what I did about this house. Now, my feelings are all mixed up. If we go back, will that be the best idea, or is that all wrong? It will take me a while to get that settled in my mind about it. I hope it doesn't keep me awake tonight.

2010-06-16T21:01:00.000-07:00

It has been a very good day. We went through the usual routine in the morning, and then Carla arrived. We enjoyed her coming, and had a good visit. Then she went to visit her uncle, Al Barthez, and she had lunch with him, and then she met the train at 1 p.m. and picked up Brittany, who also had come down to visit. We had a great afternoon with them, and then we all went to Karen's house for dinner tonight. Terry was in Arroyo Grande, so he wasn't there to visit with. But Karen and her cat were just fine to visit with and have a good dinner, as usual. Karen even served the last of my birthday cake which she had saved, and served with ice cream. It was a very nice evening. Afterward Carla drove us and Brittany back to Las Villas , and we were locked out! There was a fellow member here who had come down for his mail, and he let us in the front door. We came back to the apartment, and Brittany finished some things she had put on Chris' computer, I don't know what that was, because I was visiting with Carla. In a little while she and Brittany left, to go back to Karen's for the night. Carla said they would try to come back to see us once more, in the morning and then drive back to Fullerton, where Brittany is going to the University. Then Carla will leave there and fly back to Eugene, Ore, where she and Rex live. We talked to Kaye, too, so it was nice that we had connection with all three daughters, and a granddaughter.

2010-06-15T20:10:00.000-07:00

It has been a different kind of day. After breakfast I went downstairs and read the paper, and then after lunch I started to go for a walk, and Carla came back. She and Karen had been to San Diego, and after being held up by a huge traffic jam, they went to check on the records at the bureau that had the papers about our house and the discripion that had checked out our owning 9 acres of land, along with the house in Oceanside. Of course they found that wasn't so on the official records, and someone had just goofed up on saying we did. With that straightened out, we can go ahead with fixing up the house and selling it as soon as the people in it move out. And that will be at the end of the month. Later today Carla went with us to our two banks and added her name to our accounts, so she can handle them if and when we can't do it ourselves. That solves a problem that we would have if Karen left here, and we were alone and unable to do it ourselves. And Karen and Terry will leave for the Arroyo Grande house as soon as they sell their house here. This evening Karen, Terry and Carla are going over to our house and check out the condition of it and the grounds around it. We will be waiting to hear what they have to say about it. The man and his wife who rented the house are the younger brother and his wife, of an acquaintance of Terry, and Terry feels sort of responsible for whatever condition the people are leaving the house in. That's an awkward situation to be in -- neither Terry nor the older brother is responsible for whatever has happened there.. We are waiting to hear whatever they (Karen and Terry and Carla) will say about it.

2010-06-14T21:06:00.000-07:00

June 14. We got up and went to breakfast as usual. Then I went downstairs to find a newspaper to read. Then Karen called, and said that Carla was in Fullerton visiting Brittany and would be down to see us this afternoon. In the meantime she suggested going down to the beach with her for a short visit and to enjoy the ocean. So we did, and it was a nice visit with Karen, the first since she got back yesterday from Arroyo Grande. Karen brought us back to the apartment, and went home. In a little while Carla arrived. We visited a while, then went to lunch. Carla wasn't hungry, and just had a drink while we had lunch. Afterward we came back to apartment, and Chris told Carla about our monetary situation and showed her our records. We went to dinner later, and then went back to the apartment and continued going over our records. Carla will take care of things for us from now on, and with that in mind, she is going to San Diego tomorrow to find out exactly what what are the records on our house in Oceanside. The people renting it are moving out at the end of the month, and then we want to fix it up and sell it. There is still a problem of deciding if we will move back there while we clean it up. I hope not. I personally, would rather not move until it's time to go to Arroyo Grande.

2010-06-13T19:52:00.000-07:00

Today we slept in an extra hour, but we were still able to get breakfast here. My legs are are getting better, I scarcely have pain during the day, and nights are better, too. My new medication is running out, so it may be that they are really getting better because of it. We will see what happens tomorrow, when it is gone. Chris went for a walk around outside the buildings here, but otherwise we didn't go anywhere. We didn't go to church, it was a little too much, since we would probably have to drive ourselves, because I didn't think to ask if the driver here goes to Oceanside, where we are still members. We were happy to have Bianca come to see us. She came late in the day, but she stayed to have dinner with us, before she had to go back to her medical school. This coming week is full of exams for her, so she couldn't stay over with us. I'm sorry about that, but she has to do what she must to get her medical degree. Her next schedule sounds horrendous, classes in New York, Michigan, and I can't remember where the rest of them are. We both hope and pray that things will go well for her.

2010-06-12T19:47:00.000-07:00

Today we didn't do anything spectacular. After breakfast we discovered that Chris' cell phone wasn't working. We talked to Kaye about it, and she told us how to fix it. But we couldn't seem to do it, so we drove north on Jefferson, until we came to a shop that has nothing except cell phones. The first man we saw fixed it right away. We stayed around a little while longer and looked at new cell phones. We didn't find anything I liked better than I already have, so we left. Back at the apartment I read the morning paper, and Chris saw the news on the computer. He had a little nap until lunch time, and then we had lunch, and came back to the apartment. He had another nap, and I guess I must have also, because I don't remember doing anything else, except watching Rick Steves' two-hour special on Greece and other countries in that part of the Mediterranean. I enjoyed that; it is a good substitute for going there in person, at my time of life. On my travels in Europe, I never did get farther than France and Italy, and that was something I regretted. Now I don't have to go there in person. Carla will be coming down next week, and then Kaye on the 23th, and Karen comes home tomorrow. So we are looking forward to those occasions.

2010-06-11T20:44:00.000-07:00

It has been another quiet day here. After breakfast we took some clothes down to the laundry and got them washing. I got a newspaper from the office and read it while the clothes washed and again while they dried . Chris came to help me, and we had them all back up to the apartment by noon. While I was there as the clothes washed, I saw the instructor of the Simple Yoga class, and I told her we would soon be back to the class, as we got entirely well again and have the strength for it. After lunch we watched "The Sound of Music" that we got from Netflix. In the middle of it, I went to the beauty shop on the second floor and got my hair done. There was a substitute operator, and she didn't do as good a job as the regular one, but it will do, I guess, until the regular woman gets back. We talked to Kaye today, but not the other two daughters. I guess they were busy with their own problems, and didn't need to hear about ours. Karen and Terry will be back from Arroyo Grande on Sunday sometime. Terry's granddaughter graduates from UC Santa Cruz tomorrow, and they will go to that, then drive back to Arroyo Grande, then drive to Oceanside on Sunday.

2010-06-10T19:58:00.000-07:00

We have spent another quiet day. We went to all three meals and that was the only activity. We have rested, taken our medications, and watched while the janitors were here to clean up some spots on our "white" carpet. After they left I found, as the sun faded this afternoon, more spots they missed while they scrubbed the living room. Oh well, we will probably get more spots before we leave here, to follow Karen and Terry as they move up north. There's another problem we have to solve; the people renting our house have two dogs, and we have had two complaints from the neighbors there, that the dogs were a real problem. One thing we are doing right away, is to give the renters notice to be out by July 1. We raised the rent, and they seem willing to go now. But our problem is whether we will stay here while the house and yard are cleaned up before selling it, or if we should move back in the house while it is being cleaned up. I can't make my mind about that yet. We would have to get someone in to help us, like get groceries and prepare meals. I doubt we can drive safely to do all we will have to do at the house. And someone 90 years old drives a car, and gets in a wreck, I'm sure the 90-year-old will be blamed for the wreck. We will have to think this through the rest of the month, and decide how we will handle the cleanup of the house.

2010-06-09T20:02:00.000-07:00

This won't be much of a communication. I feel tired tonight, and I don't have much of anything to say. I have gone to the meals today, and brought them back to Chris. He doesn't feel well, and preferred to stay in the apartment. I also went to a meeting for people with poor vision, hoping I could get some new ideas for Chris. But there wasn't much said about it; the speakers seemed more interested in selling people magnifying gadgets. I didn't get much out of it. I have spent most of the day in the apartment, and Chris hasn't felt well, and that was also a reason I stayed here. Tonight I feel tired, and I will go to bed as soon as I've brushed teeth, etc. Dr. Donahoe's office has tried to reach me, but I couldn't get through to them before their office closed. I don't know what he could have told me more about my physical condition, I'm still getting over the pneumonia, I guess. And my legs are sore.

2010-06-08T20:58:00.000-07:00

This morning we went to breakfast as usual, and then we got ready to go to see Dr. Donahoe. Then we went downstairs and I read the newspaper, and we talked to various people there. Then, when it was time, Joe came up with the limo he drives to take us to the clinic here in Carlsbad. We got down there just about in time, and soon were in the doctor's office. He checked over my record, and looked and my legs, mainly around the ankles, where the inflammations and pain are. Then he came to his conclusion; I didn't have enough blood. So, he gave me a new prescription, and we got it filled in the pharmacy. We called Joe, and he came with his limo and drove us back to the Villas. We were too late for the regular lunch hours, so we ordered sandwiches which we ate in our apartment. In the rest of the afternoon we watched TV and then went back to the dining room, where we had our dinner. We sat with some new people, and the man and Chris talked almost all the way through the meal. They seemed to be interested in the same sort of Calif. history, and what each did during his working years. The man is about 20 years younger than Chris, and they got along fine. The woman and I didn't say much. There was not much we could find in common. The rest of the evening we have watched some TV, and now it's bedtime. First, though, I'll mention the program we watched. It was about the Mayan culture in Mexico and Central America. They have managed to crack the code of the writing there.

2010-06-07T20:29:00.000-07:00

This morning we went to breakfast, and then instead of going to the Gentle Yoga class, we came back to the apartment. Karen came over, with a prescription for me that she couldn't get the other day. Since the housekeeper was coming here, we went down to the lobby and sat there a while and visited. Karen is going back to the house in Arroyo Grande tomorrow, and she is taking some things, so she and Terry can stay there for a few days at a time, to keep up on the renovations they plan for that house. Terry will fly up there later in the week. She left, and we went back upstairs to the dining room for lunch. Then back at the apartment I napped and Chris worked at the computer, trying to figure out our books and deciding what we should do. Carla is coming down next week, and she is good at that sort of thing, so I am looking forward to her ideas for what we should do. After dinner tonight I read some more in the book Carla gave me for my birthday. It's written by a member of the Relief Society's General Board, and she has some interesting ideas.

Caden

2010-06-06T14:14:00.000-07:00

This is Caden at his soon to be home, coloring with his "Bomma" or it sounds like "Bolla" or "Baha"his word for me. At end he asks to "Bolla car?" then does the sign for and says drive car...

2010-06-05T19:18:00.000-07:00

We have spent a quiet day. We went to breakfast, and then came back to the apartment. My legs continue to give me trouble, with a skin problem of some kind. And the sort of little headaches, that come on one side of my head and then the other side. I told the doctor last time, but he didn't say anything about these things. He just had me take blood tests and an EKG. Tomorrow I go to San Marcos for another blood scan; I can't imagine why, I did it just a few days ago. The nurse who called said that clinic would be open, even if it is Sunday. Then we have appointments on Tuesday, June 8. with Dr. Donahoe again. This afternoon we both napped a little while, and then we talked to all three daughters, and also to Brittany and to Race. Kaye said they would be out of the old house today, and Race was cleaning up the yard, before Stellan and family move into the old one. I am so glad Kaye is having a new house again, and I sincerely hope they can stay in this one a long time. When we talked to Carla, she and Rex were painting the house they bought on the beach. I don't know what they will do with it, rent it out, I guess, and then maybe move to it after Rex retires. I forgot when I talked to Brittany to ask her about the things she left in the storage shed at our house in Oceanside. We are thinking of cleaning up that house up and selling it when Karen and Terry move to Orroyo Grande next year. There's no point in our staying here when they have left the area. Karen has found a retirement place in the same town, and I guess we will move to Orroyo Grande, too.

2010-06-04T20:03:00.000-07:00

I'm still resting up, to get over the pneumonia the doctor diagnosed. His office nurse called today, and they want me to take more tests, this time at the San Marcos clinic. She said they were open over the weekend, and Karen said she can take us, or just me, on Sunday. But not on Saturday. I hope they are right, and the blood taking clinic is open that day. It's better than going to San Diego, so I hope it works out OK. We go back to Dr. Donahoe on the 8th, whatever day that is, I don't have a calendar here to check that out. I just found out, and it is Tuesday. And I don't know how I changed the printing on this, but I will just go on. Today Karen came over, and she agreed to go to the clinic in Carlsbad and get us a prescription. They didn't have it, so we have to wait until Tuesday. It was Cozar. We just had dinner, and it's not settling well, so Ill close here and go lie down again in the recliner.

2010-06-02T20:42:00.000-07:00

When we got up, I showered and then I put a cream on my lower legs, since I was out of the lotion the doctor had ordered. And I have had problems all day with pain and burning sensations in my legs. I have used pain tablets, and I can see I must use another one as soon as I'm through writing this. When we go to the clinic tomorrow, to have some tests done over, I will try to get the lotion the doctor ordered for this condition. I can't remember what it was, but the pharmacist may be able to help me. If not, I will go directly to the doctor's section and ask for a nurse who may be able to tell me. The doctors don't work on Wednesday afternoons! Chris hasn't been feel well, either. He went to breakfast, but he skipped lunch. I brought him decaf coffee and a piece of toast. I noticed that over the day he ate the toast, as well as drinking the coffee. Tonight we both went to dinner, but neither of us ate a lot. My leg was bothering me, and Chris had trouble breathing. He is better tonight, and I hope it lasts. Tomorrow we are invited to lunch by Karen. I'm not sure what that entails - maybe it will be at their house, and maybe it will be a restaurant, or lunch at the beach. I hope it's a nice day for it. Did I write yesterday that Carla is coming down this way in a couple of weeks? It will be good to see her, and hear about their new acquisition, a house right on the beach, in Bandon. Terry's granddaughter, who just graduated from college, will "sit" their house in Arroyo Grande, and be there when people come to develop the yard, and whatever else they plan to do to the house. She will stay until she gets a job somewhere else.

2010-06-01T20:42:00.000-07:00

This morning we went to breakfast, and after that I went down to the coffee shop to read the paper. Then I came back upstairs, and we got ready to drive to the Kaiser Clinic where we had appointments with Dr. Donahoe. I did the driving down and back, because Chris' eye hasn't recovered yet. The doctor diagnosed pneumonia, and gave us new medications to fight it. We have to go back again on Thursday, and I can't remember just what it is for, maybe more tests, we will see. I do know we have to go back on the 20th, I guess to see if we are cured. In the meantime, we have new prescriptions to take. We talked to Kaye, and she is resting at their new house, and she does sound a little better. I think she should go to a doctor, and I will say so tomorrow. I can't think why Kyle hasn't taken her in before now. I'm glad, though, that they have enough furniture moved in, so she can stay there. It will be more cheerful for her in the new house. We also talked to Carla, and she got the files Chris sent her. With his eyes bothering him so, I'm glad she agreed to take on our accounts for us. Kaye had been doing it, but she isn't well enough now to do it. And I am not smart enough anymore to do it. Carla is coming down to L.A. to visit Brittany on June 14, and then she will come down to see us, too. That will be nice to have her here. It has been a while since we have seen her.

2010-05-31T20:37:00.000-07:00

Monday morning went as usual. We went to breakfast, and while we were there, the cleaning lady came to clean, and we went to the coffee shop downstairs. I read the paper and Chris glanced at the headlines. He soon went up to the apartment, and we met later at the Gentle Yoga class. The main teacher is still on vacation, and the sub still hasn't yet learned the routine; she has to read the paper she puts down on the floor, and sometimes picks up, to find out what the next exercise is. This will be her last week, so we will have the regular teacher back next week, thank goodness. We didn't do much, except go to lunch, which we ate lightly, because Karen and Terry had invited us to a barbecue at 4:3o. After lunch we went for a walk just around the neighborhood. There was a strong wind blowing, so it wasn't that great. When we got back I had a rest and Chris worked at the computer until it was time to go to Karen's. I did the driving, because Chris still has trouble with his eyes, although he didn't like to have me driving. It was a good thing it wasn't far the Karen's, and we made it there and back safely. It was a nice dinner and we enjoyed the company. Karen sent a piece of the steak home with me, because I told them we didn't get steak here, I guess because many can't chew it! After we got home I called Kaye, and she still sounds sick with that darn cold. I hope she soon gets better. She was too tired to talk, so it was just a few words, she was tired having just had a shower.

2010-05-30T20:25:00.000-07:00

This is Sunday, and after breakfast I went down to the coffee shop and read the newspaper. then I went up to the apartment and picked up my purse, and Chris and I went down to the lobby to meet Karen who was driving us to the church. A new friend here, Dorothy Stolte, came with us. One of her sons is Mormon, and all his family. She didn't tell us that at first, she just asked if she could go to church with us. Of course we said yes. It was a long Sacrament Meeting, with lots of noisy kids. When our children were young, there was a separate room, with glass in front of it, just off the chapel. The people with noisy children would take them there during the service, but they could hear and see everything going on. I thought that was a splendid idea, and I was sorry the church gave up that policy. Karen's husband refuses to go to this Church because of all the noise. He goes to the Presbyterian Church just down the street from their house, although he was baptized a Mormon. We got back here in time for lunch, and today mine stayed down. We had a rest, and then we went for a walk, just around the Villas, and then came back inside for our dinner. It was all right, but I spilt tomato sauce on the skirt of my "Le Suit" suit. It is polyester, but lined and everything, so it says "dry clean", and I will have to take it in. I did try to sponge it off, but I don't know if I did any good doing that. We'll see after it's dry cleaned.

2010-05-29T19:51:00.000-07:00

For some reason I had a restless night, and I woke up an hour before the alarm went off. I didn't get up, though, I waited for the alarm. Then I did get up and showered. Then we went to breakfast. All went well, and I came back to the apartment, sat in my recliner and fell asleep. When I woke up, it was almost time for lunch. So we waited a little while before going to the dining room, where we both had lunch. Back at the apartment I had a coughing fit, and I lost the lunch. With that over, I just sat in the chair again, and read the paper. We have an appointment with our doctor next Tuesday, and we will see if it's just that we are getting older, or there is something else wrong. I had a light supper, and it stayed down, so I guess I am better, from whatever was wrong. We watched a "Star Trek" movie we had seen before , but it was still interesting. Then I went to see Dorothy Stolpe, who told us the other day that she would like to go to church with us. So, we arranged to go together, and Karen is going to pick us up. This lady has a son who is a member, along with all his children, and I guess she just wants to come with us and see what it's like. I hope the children aren't too noisy, and that she enjoys the service. We will stay for only the Sacrament Meeting.

2010-05-28T20:00:00.000-07:00

We spent a rather quiet day. After breakfast we got the laundry ready and I took it down to the laundry room. There was one machine ready, and soon another was, so I got our things into them. Then we went both went to the the mild exercise class, and we had a competent leader for it. After that I went back to the laundry room and got the clothes in the dryers. Soon they were dry, and I took them back to the apartment. Chris didn't feel very well, so he rested while I was gone. After about half an hour we went to lunch. Then Karen called, and she said she would be over, about 3;3o, and we would go down to the beach. I went to get my hair done, and Chris picked up the mail and checked out the program for the rest of the day. There was nothing we wanted to do, so we stayed in the apartment until Karen called and we met her downstairs. We drove with her to the beach, with a soda pop each, and we enjoyed the beautiful day and the ocean, while she told us about her trip to Arroyo Grande, and what was going on at the house she and Terry had bought. It was being repaired and furnished, so Terry's granddaughter was going to live there over the summer, until she gets a job. She just graduated from college, and her payment for house sitting and overseeing the remodeling will be a small used car that Karen and Terry will get for her. We talked to Carla, and things are OK with them. We called Kaye, and she has a very bad cold. Kyle was there, and he told us about it, since she couldn't say much. I'm glad he has Fridays off, as well and Saturday and Sunday, so he could take care of her.

2010-05-27T21:16:00.000-07:00

After breakfast this morning I read the paper and Chris got the news off the computer. Then we went to the advanced exercise class. The sub in this class didn't even know what the exercises were, she had to look at a paper she had, then direct the next exercise. About half way through the hour, Chris started to cough and couldn't stop. He left the room, and after some minutes I followed his to find out what was the matter. He was all right; he told me he thought one of the women must be wearing a perfume that set off the coughing spell. We just didn't go back into the room, but went back to the apartment. After a little while, it was such a nice day that we decided to go out for a walk. We took the walker, with me behind it and him holding to one of the handles, with a cane in his other hand. It worked fine. We walked down Laguna Dr. to Jefferson and back to the Villas. That was plenty of walking for both of us. After that we watched part of video we started yesterday, in the "Lord of the Rings" series, until lunch time. After lunch we came back and watched it a while longer, until my visiting teacher, Peggy Plylor came over. she stayed an hour, and told us all about their recent travels around Washington D.C. and New York, and she didn't get to her message at all. So she gave me a copy of it. We talked briefly to Kaye, and she has a cold, darn. Also we talked to Carla, and she is in Bandon, cleaning up their little apartment at the golf course, because a friend was coming to stay in it a few days. She also told me more about the beach house they have recently bought. It needs new windows, because the frames aren't functioning right. I guess they can fix that.

2010-05-26T20:04:00.000-07:00

Today has been quieter, since we had done so much yesterday, we are resting up! We did go to all the meals, though. And I went downstairs to read the paper, since we don't subscribe to one anymore. When I got back Chris and I went to the Gentle Exercise class. The usual teacher is on vacation, and our substitute is the same girl who substituted in the pool last summer. She was very good, even more so than the usual instructor. Of course, we got more tired, but it was worth it to get good exercise. I'm still reading in Patricia Briggs' latest book to be published, and I did that in the morning and part of the afternoon. But most of our time was taken up by watching two different videos of "The Lord of the Rings". One was "The Two Towers" and the other was "The Return of the King", which we haven't finished yet. I have forgotten many details of the story, so it's fun to watch them again, after several years. We talked to Karen, and she has talked to the yard man at the house they bought in Arroyo Grande. She feels better about the yard now, but I couldn't tell if she had him cover up the pools in the front yard. I missed part of the conversation. But she did go shopping in Santa Maria, and she did see Lynn and all the children, including the new baby. She will be back in a couple of days, and we will get the details then. We talked to Kaye, and she was going to their literary group meeting tonight. I didn't get where it would be, for some reason I had trouble hearing the cell phone. And I have misplaced my cell phone, darn.

2010-05-25T20:19:00.000-07:00

This is supposed to be the warmest day of the week, and the beach will be free of clouds by noon. So, we had the dining room prepare us sandwiches, and we took them and went to Tamarack Beach, where we can park in the handicapped section without paying the $2 it will cost the other people there. We sat and looked at the beach, water and waves and blue skies, while we ate our lunch. Then we decided to go walking, as we used to do there. We had brought the walker, and I used it and Chris held on the one side, and walked with his cane as we went along. We didn't walk as far as we used to do, but we did go about half way there. We stopped and watched the waves, and then we walked back. It was a good long walk for us. We drove back to Las Villas and came upstairs to the apartment, and we rested a while, and I read in Patricia Briggs' new book, "Silver Borne", which I think I have read some of before now. It seems that way. I'm sitting at the big computer in the extra room, and the heat just came on. It feels good. Although it has been about 67 degrees all day outside, we like it warmer in the apartment. At least I do, and Chris puts up with me on that. What should be warm, feels cool to me, I don't know why I need more heat than other people seem to do. It can't be loss of weight, because I have gained back all I lost when I had pneumonia just after we moved here, and I have gained a little more. Karen called, and she will come home on Thursday, and she is still happy about buying the house in Arroyo Grande, and that's good, I guess. She and Terry are both tired of the heavy traffic down here. And it's also close to Lynn and Jamie's children and grandchildren, and both Candace and Danya will be closer, too.

2010-05-24T20:00:00.000-07:00

I missed writing on Sunday. I can't think of any reason, I guess we just went to sleep all afternoon, and then watched some shows on TV in the evening. But we did go to church. Karen came and picked us up, and she brought us back here after Sacrament Meeting. There is a woman here who wants to go with us next Sunday, so I'll have to remember to ask Karen if that's OK when she gets back from Arroyo Grande on Thursday. She went up there to check on the pond she doesn't like in the front yard. Now I'll get on to Monday. Today after going to breakfast, we went to our bank to deposit a refund check from the I.R.S., and then we went to Walmart in that area and walked around to see what they have done by way of remodeling and adding a bigger food section. It is a mixed-up mess, except there is one good thing they are doing, and that's not having the shelves so high. I could see over them, and that helped us to find some soap we wanted to buy. We came back here for lunch, but there was a message saying Chris needed to have blood drawn. So, I drove us down to the Kaiser Clinic in south Carlsbad, and he had it done. I also made appointments for both of us, together, to see Dr. Donahoe on June 1. We both feel we need a consultation on our conditions, and possibly some more medications to relieve some minor problems. We talked to Kaye a couple of times, today was her shot day, and she needed cheering up. Also, we had a nice surprise call from Candace, telling us they have bought a motor-home and plan to use it when they aren't busy at their jobs. She remembers trips we used to take, with both Candace and Danya, when they were young, in our various motor-homes.

2010-05-22T20:48:00.000-07:00

Another day at the "home", as Al calls these retirement communities. We had breakfast, and then Chris went for a walk while I sat in the living room downstairs and read the paper. My ankle and foot are still swelling, so I sat with my feet up on a little settee. When he got back we went up to our apartment, and after giving Chris his eye drop, I read a while, until it was time to go to lunch. We went to the lunch, and while we were there Karen called, but didn't talk, said she would call us after lunch. We went back to the apartment, and Karen soon called and asked us if we would like to go for a ride down to the beach. Of course we said yes, and went downstairs, I mean by elevator, and met her at the door. She drove down to Tamarack Beach, and we sat there in the first handicapped space, and watched the waves. There was a sign saying Danger, no Swimming. The waves were huge, and there was an undertow, and there were only three surfers in the water. They tried to ride the waves, but they had a bad time, sometimes being thrown in the air, and sometimes just covered with the waves. They were brave souls, to be in there at all, the waves were much taller than they were. After a while Karen told us there was trouble at the new house, a pond not working right, and the man she had hired to take care of the yard wasn't doing it. Terry had come back from there, and had reported this, and the yard man had talked to her on the phone, and she told us she would fire him when she goes up there and hire someone else. When we got back to the apartment, Kaye called. She also sent an email of the new sofa and recliner she and Kyle bought for the new house. She is thrilled with the house, and can't wait to move in.

2010-05-21T21:02:00.000-07:00

My ankle began to swell last night, and it was painful to walk. Chris gave me a Tylenol tablet, and that helped stop the pain, and I went to sleep OK. This morning I could walk, but a little more slowly than usual. We had our breakfast, and I read the paper while Chris looked at the news on TV. After that we went to the mild exercise class, and then came back to the apartment until Karen called. She had been having medical tests in San Marcos, but she invited us to go with her to the beach for lunch. We got out our sodas and ordered a sandwich from the dining room, and we met her at the front entrance at noon. She drove us along the beach to the stretch just before Tamarack street. There was a wind, so she parked along the grass strip, and we stayed in the car to eat our lunch. We had the windows facing the ocean open, so we got just a little of the breeze going by. We watched the ocean, and enjoyed our sandwiches and drinks. Afterward Karen drove us back here, and we were here just in time for me to go to my hair appointment. The operator was behind in her work, so it took me two hours to get done there. Back at the apartment we rested a bit. I had been putting a drop of medication in Chris' eye with every meal we had, and I will give him another one at bedtime. His eye seems less red and he says it doesn't hurt much anymore. And he can use it to see now. He doesn't do computer work, but he watches the TV, and also some old programs we have saved. I think by the time he is done with the five days of eye drops, his eye will be working all right.

2010-05-20T20:01:00.000-07:00

After breakfast this morning, Chris went for an half hour walk outside, mostly around this area. After he got back, I went for a walk, hoping to get down to Jefferson St. in 15 minutes. I was about three houses from that street when the 15 minutes were up, so I went back to the apartment, in the next 15 minutes. I had to stop three times, though, because I got tired. I still have a long way to go to get my strength back up where it was a month or so before we moved here. I guess I just didn't realize what an effort it is to move at our time in life. There will be one more move when Karen and Terry move to the house she just bought in Arroyo Grande, and we follow them up there. Chris' eye seems to be improving today. It's not as red as it was yesterday. I hope what the doctor does keeps his sight for him. I'd hate to see him lose it, like Bob McDonald did ; he is legally blind now. This afternoon we did the laundry, and while it was washing, I had my fingernails painted by the athletic director here. I don't think I will try that again. I can still do a better job than she did. I was 12th in line to have it done, maybe she was just worn out. We talked to Karen and to Carla and to Kaye today, and that was about the best thing that happened. They all seem to be getting along well. Karen is already packing some things for their move, but that won't be for almost a year from now. Carla is expecting Logan and Meret to move back to Eugene soon, where Logan will finish his schooling, and I suppose Meret will work as a lawyer. Kaye is happy about their new house, and she and Kyle will be getting ready to move into it.

2010-05-19T20:06:00.000-07:00

Things went today just as we expected. Karen picked us up at 7:20 this morning and we drive to San Diego in rush hour traffic. Fortunately she had allowed enough time to get us there just at 8:30, in time to get into see the doctor at 8:45. There were people working on the road in front of the offices, but Karen was able to get us there where we could get out and go through the parking garage, and into the building. Chris got in to see the assistant, who checked and dilated his eyes, and the doctor saw him right afterward. Dr. Dick put several different things in his eyes, that hurt, and when Chris would move his eyes from looking straight up, because each thing hurt, he told him to look straight up. So, I knew it was hurting him, and that made me feel hurt, too, out of sympathy. When the doctor was through doing this, he gave us a prescription to have filled at the pharmacy, and said he should come back every month for more treatments. We picked up the medicine at the pharmacy, and then left to drive back here. Karen dropped us off and went home, where the cat was to greet her. Terry had gone up to the house in Arroyo Grande for four days, to take some of his things and arrange them there. We had a rest, and then went to dinner. The eye was still sore from the treatments, but Chris handled it well. We sat with friends, and he talked with them and ate a good fruit salad . So, he is handling the day, and the realization that he will keep the sight in this eye for a while yet.

2010-05-18T20:43:00.000-07:00

We had our three meals here, and we spent most of the time waiting for a phone call from Chris' eye Doctor in San Diego. Chris' one remaining good eye has been reducing his vision for over a week now, and so he called his office for an appointment. Finally, about 4:30, we finally got a call back, which said the Doctor's only time available was at 8:45 tomorrow morning, before he leaves the office, on a trip, I guess. Karen said she would drive us down there, starting at 7:20 a.m. from here. That will be during rush hour, and I hope we make it in time. We have spent the day mostly in the apartment waiting for that call, but after we got it we did go for a short walk around the buildings here. The fog had cleared, and we had some sunshine for a while. I enjoyed getting out. I'm hoping that this doctor can do something to save Chris' sight. It would be a shame if he loses sight in his right eye, as he has in the left one. I hope and pray it will be all right. Kaye called, and she told us the floors in the new house need another surface coat, and she hasn't been able to get the finisher to come back and do it. I do hope the builder will get him back to put it on. She must be happy in this new house; she has lived in that old one too long as it is.

2010-05-17T22:01:00.000-07:00

Today we went to breakfast as usual, and then came back to the apartment. I got out the clean sheets for the maid who comes on Mondays to clean the apartment and put clean sheets on the bed. She also takes the towels, and she will bring them back clean tomorrow. It's a great deal here at Las Villas. All meals are prepared and served in the dining room. Sometimes we take things back to the apartment, if we can't finish them in dining room. So, sometimes we don't go to all three meals. We have both gained weight since we moved here. I keep thinking I will cut down on what I eat, but I don't. We have thought about missing the noon meal every day, but we haven't yet. We talked to Kaye today, and she was at the new house again. Her voice echoes in the empty house, but they are moving in slowly, a few boxes at a time, and soon they will be done. I'm so glad they will have a nice place to live from now on. We also talked to Carla, and things are going well with them. Bianca is going home for a visit at the end of the month, and that will be a nice thing for her parents, and for her, too. It would be nice if Brittany could go, too, but there has been no talk of that. Every night I go walking (with the walker) in the halls of this floor, at least two rounds, yesterday three. I think it helps me sleep. Often Chris does the same thing. I thought he would now, but instead he has the TV on in the living room. We have been going over old movies to see if they are worth keeping, and some aren't. Parts are missing on each of the old ones.

2010-05-16T18:45:00.000-07:00

Karen called last night, and she said she would come over and pick us up at 10 a.m. today, and we would go down to the beach for half an hour, and then go to the church. I put on the dress Kaye gave me for my birthday, and my long sweater coat, and it all happened as she had said. At church I had both my hearing aids in my ears, but as Chris had told me about his, the hearing aids just magnified all the noises around me, especially all the children in the building. I couldn't hear what most of the four speakers said. Next time I will leave the hearing aids home, and get one of the hearing aids from the church library, that are connected directly with the podium, and also with the Sacrament table. They cut out almost all of the noise of the children in the audience, and you can really hear the speakers. After the Sacrament Meeting we came back here and had our lunch. Since it is Sunday, I had the pie for dessert and was really filled up. Back at the apartment I sat and read in the book "The Firm" that I started once before, and I never did quite finish. It's interesting, but I have to pay complete attention, because I would miss the real meaning if I didn't. I wouldn't finish this time, but I want to get it done, so I can put it away for good. We talked to both Kaye and Carla, and my conversation with them was almost entirely on our proposed trip up to see them sometime this summer or fall. I hope it happens.

2010-05-15T19:40:00.000-07:00

Today is Saturday, so there are no classes we wanted to attend. After lunch we went to Stater Brothers, because it was the closest market to this place. we couldn't find what we wanted, so we drove another half mile to Walmart. They are remodeling everything, and it took a long time to find only part of the things we went for. but we finally left, with most of them. Chris did the driving, although his eyesight isn't very good now. He did well, and we got back here to Las Villas in good time. This afternoon I put on the new nail polish I bought to go with the new dress Kaye gave me for my birthday. I will wear it to church tomorrow, and I had to get rid of the bright red polish I had put on one day here. The dress is a soft mauve, or maybe some maroon in the color. Kaye says she has one just like it, and she thinks Karen has one, too; I'll have to ask her about it when we go to church in the morning. The rest of today we spent the time watching a movie, and also some TV. We should have gone out and gone walking, but neither of us thought of it. We will have to walk in the halls tonight to make up for it. I guess we were just tired after the shopping earlier. We talked to Tom and Beth Weiland, our former neighbors in Oceanside. Now they live in the mountains east of Cedar City, Utah. They were good neighbors in Oceanside, and we miss seeing them. We talked to Kaye, and she is already happy in her new house, although they don't have all the furniture moved in yet.

2010-05-14T20:26:00.000-07:00

It has been a busy day. First of all after breakfast I took the clothes down to the laundry room on the 2nd floor and put them in to wash. Then at 9:30 we went to the mild exercise class on the same floor. Afterward we went back to put the clothes in the dryers, and this time I stayed with them. Chris came down just as they were dry, and we brought them back up to the apartment. Some are put away, but I still have some to do. By then it was time for lunch on this floor, so we went to that. There were two new waiters, and we had one of them. But they are just as able to do the job as the ones that have been here since we first came, over a year ago. After lunch I drove, as we went to the Kaiser Pharmacy to pick up a prescription for Chris. There were clouds along the coast as we drove down the highway, but there were enough clear spots to make the ocean a light blue instead of the gray it is when the clouds cover the sky. We were tempted to stop at Tamarack Beach, but then we came on back here. after getting the medicine. We had some phone calls to make, and also needed to try to figure out just what to do with the house in Oceanside. Karen and her real estate agent will go to see it on Monday, and Carla will call and alert the renters. That gives them an opportunity to clean up the house, but I doubt they will have cleaned up all the weeds in the yard. We will see what Karen and the agent have to say about it after they have been there. We talked briefly to Kaye, but she was busy, so it was a short visit.

2010-05-13T22:01:00.000-07:00

This morning we didn't go to the harder exercise class. I don't think it is good for my legs, they still have the lesions on them. Instead we stayed here until it was time to meet Al, to go to Karen's house for lunch. It was a nice lunch, as always, but Terry wasn't there. I wonder if perhaps Karen planned it that way. He was at the ship in San Diego harbor today. I had forgotten that. Karen told us more about their trip to Greece. She said she expected it to be mountainous, and it was. But there were lovely green valleys in between. There were lots of monasteries, mostly up on top of hills they had to climb. When they did climb up, they were happily surprised to be able to see them. They ended up in Turkey. When we got back to Las Villas we watched two episodes of Inspector Morse on the TV, I mean after having a nap and dinner. Now it is time to go bed, so I'll stop writing early tonight.

2010-05-12T20:48:00.000-07:00

Our Day was much different from what I expected. After breakfast we went to the mild exercise class. Then I went to the beauty shop and checked on my appointment for Friday's hair do. It is still on. And I really need it. I can't skip a week from now on, my hair is a mess now. After lunch we drove to the College shopping center and picked up Chris' new eye glasses . While we were in the neighborhood we decided to go over to our house and see what we had stored in the sheds. We were shocked to see the yard. The front was overgrown, but not weeds. But the side and back yards are a mess of weeds, growing unchecked all over the yard. we couldn't even see the fence on the west, and the east fence is almost falling down, except for a few reinforcements placed along the whole side. Karen was going to have a real estate agent check it out on Monday, but we will have to get it in better shape before she comes. Of course we will get Carla, who is in charge of renting it out, to raise the rent, so we can hire someone to clean it up. That we will have to talk to her about. Later we went out again, this time to drive to the Kaiser Pharmacy for medicine refills. The ride was along the ocean, and it was clear and beautiful. We got the meds. and got back here in time for dinner. After that we watched the news, and I left the TV on, and saw part of World War II, that I had forgotten about, the British sinking the French fleet, so the Germans couldn't use it to invade England. It was awful to see the actual movies of it all. I hope I can sleep tonight without re-living it in my dreams.

2010-05-11T20:36:00.000-07:00

We got up when the alarm went off and went through our usual morning routine. After breakfast I read the paper, and then we both went to the Stress and Flex exercise class, much harder than the Yoga one. We left after half an hour, because we were both tired. Back at the apartment I sat in the leather recliner and went sound asleep. Karen had invited us to go to the beach with her, so we picked up a sandwich and some sodas and met her in front of the building here. We drove to Tamarack Beach and parked right down by the sand, in a handicapped parking. We gave Karen a sticker to use when we were with her in her car, so we didn't have to pay the $2 they charge for regular parking places. We had our sandwiches while we watched the blue water and white waves. Karen said she had never seen water so blue as they saw off Greece and Turkey. She was really impressed by the color, and the also the green fields, and flowers that were in bloom in the villages there. She was really quite thrilled by it all. After she brought us back here she went home to plan for their move eventually to Arroyo Grande. She is faced by having to get rid of some things, because the house they are buying up there is large, but some of the rooms are awkwardly arranged, like one has the corners cut off, so there's planning to do. She said Terry is already planning how he will set up his study, and what to take and what to get rid of. That will be our problem, too, when we go up there. But that won't be for quite a while, from what Karen tells us of their plans.

2010-05-10T21:20:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I don't know what to write, but today was unusual, because Karen and Terry are back from their trip to Greece. She came over this afternoon and told us about some of the things they did. The one problem they had was with walking. Terry has Parkinson's disease, and his leg swelled up with the unaccustomed walking, and they couldn't always keep up with the other members of the group. This was a different company conducting the tour this time, and I guess it was a little harder to keep up. When they got to a place where they had to walk up 100 large stone steps, just to see another abbey on top of a hill, Karen and Terry just stayed at the bottom and enjoyed the view of the landscape. Later today Karen was to take Terry to see a doctor, and we haven't heard from her since. I hope the leg gets better; Terry has a lot of volunteer work that he does usually. We had our regular three meals today, and I read two chapters in the book Carla gave me. Oh yes, Karen brought me a cute little box from Patmos, with a scene of the town painted on top. It will be nice to keep special pieces of jewelry inside. After she left, I had planned to go for a walk, since the clouds had parted and the sun was out, but I went to sleep instead. Since we moved here, three of the people living here, or in the care center in back of the three buildings of Las Villas, have passed away. It's a shock, but it shouldn't be; most of the people here are older than we are. And we should expect things like this to happen here. I guess it is the same at the other senior communities, also.

2010-05-09T20:11:00.000-07:00

It is Mother's Day, and first of all, we got a phone call from Karen, and they were back in San Diego, and just getting their car to come home. Then I opened my presents, a book and candy from Carla, and a dress from Kaye. The dress fits fine, I just have to sew up the neckline a little, before I wear it. Kaye said she has one like it, and she thinks maybe Karen has one, also. It's a great dress for travel, and still pretty. The candy from Carla is good, and I'm sure the book will be interesting to read, it's by the first counselor on the Relief Society General Board. And Chris gave me an orchid corsage, that I wore to the dinner here, and now it is on display on our dining table. We did go to Church, and stayed for only the Sacrament Meeting. I'm not sure we could last through the other two meetings and still have the energy to drive back here afterward I'm anxious to talk to Karen about their trip to Greece. I've never been there, and it is a great place for the history of life in those early times when it was the center of the civilized world. In college my major was French and my minor was History. In spite of my age, I'm still interested in both; although my understanding of things is of course getting weaker. We just saw a Sherlock Holmes Mystery, that is about the extent of my involvement nowadays. We got an Email from Kendra Gillian, and it's nice that she still remembers us. Their youngest child will start kindergarten in the fall. It's been about six years since they left here. They are finally going to be sealed in the Temple, and that's good.

2010-05-08T19:35:00.000-07:00

There was nothing spectacular happening today. We went to breakfast, lunch, and then dinner. But the last meal was a disaster. I tried the French Onion soup, and I swallowed a peppercorn. I started coughing and couldn't stop. Finally I threatened to throw up, so I went to the rest room. There was nothing really to come up, but a lot of mucus. Then, I went back to the dining room. I had part of a bowl of jello, and then came back to the apartment with Chris. I brought with me a slice of lemon pie, and half a glass of skim milk. In about an hour and a half I ate the pie, and I'm feeling OK. Chris ate something, half a sandwich and some ice cream, after his soup. We had a big breakfast and lunch, so we aren't in need of more food. I've gained 12 pounds since we moved here 14 months ago, and Chris has gained, too, but he hasn't got on the scale to find out how much. We can both tell we have gained because of the fact that our clothes are all a little snug now, except the red outfit that I will wear tomorrow. By the way, I had red polish put on my finger nails, to match the red outfit tomorrow. We talked to Kaye today, and it was a shot day, so she was mostly resting in bed. She said it wasn't as bad as usual. And she had talked to Caden on the phone. Karen called from New York, and they will be home tomorrow! That is surely good news. We miss her; and she is always here if we need her, and she is willing to drive us places if we can't get Joe , the bus driver here, to take us.

2010-05-07T18:32:00.000-07:00

We just talked to Kaye, and she was in the new house, and she said the refridgerater is working and she put a sandwich in it, at least I think that is what she said. But she was happy with everything and that's what is important. She talked to Stellan and Caden, and that also made her happy. We had an e-mail from Karen and she said they would start home tomorrow. I hope that darn volcano stops erupting, so they won't have to fly so far south to get around it. She has told us that they did have a good time in Greece and Turkey. It will be good, too, to have them safely back home. We went to our three meals as usual today. However, we did do something different this afternoon. We went to the bank where we have a safety deposit box, and we got a list of the bonds we have there. I'm hoping that we won't spend any of them, but keep them for our daughters. We got back in time for a get-together in the living room downstairs, in honor of one of the women living here, who was a Wasp during World War 11. She told all about the women picking up new planes at the factory and flying them to the pilots who would take them overseas. Also, they would fly the planes that had been repaired, to make sure they were safe for use in the overseas battles. She was, and is, a brave little lady.

2010-05-06T20:12:00.000-07:00

It has been another usual day at Las Villas. We haven't gone anywhere, just for a walk around the block, that took only about 1\2 hour. We didn't go to the hard exercise class, just used the walk as our exercise for today. The meals were as usual, and we came back with cookies, which we have since eaten. We talked to Carla and she says Bianca is come home for a few days. That will be nice, because it's Mother's Day on Sunday, and I know both Carla and Rex will be happy to have her there. Karen and Terry are starting home on Saturday, so they will soon be here, probably the next day. He has a brother in New York, so they may stay there a little longer. We get e-mails once in a while, so we don't know for sure. We talked to Kaye, too. and she said they are still having trouble with the sand coming in the new house. But she has plans from stopping it. I suggested the builder could put something on the bottom of the front door to stop it. I hope that works. The washer, dryer and range are already in place, so I guess they will be moving in as soon as they can get packed up and over there. I hope it all works out for them, and they can stay there as long as they want to. Chris has talked playfully about our moving back into our house, but I really don't think we will. Living here seems to be a good idea, at least as long as Karen and Terry are in Oceanside, so near us.

2010-05-05T19:56:00.000-07:00

This morning after breakfast, I went downstairs and read the paper. Chris took at walk, and then we met at the Gentle Yoga class. The leader was a women who didn't know the exercises, and between them she had had to refer to a paper each time. It wasn't as good as the regular woman's leadership, but we did get some useful exercise in. Back at the apartment we both had a nap, until it was lunch time. we had that, and came back to the apartment. I read in the first of the French books Kaye has sent me, of Patricia Briggs in French. I can always look up what I can't make out, in the English version. I got to only page 110, so there's a long way to go yet. We talked to Kaye, more about the sand coming in under the door of the new house. She was in a hurry to get some shopping done, so I didn't talk to her long. It seems to me that this is a problem the builder should take care of. I hope she asks him to do it. I don't think I had time to tell her that, but I will next time we talk. I went for a walk, down to Jefferson St. and back. It took me half an hour, and I was ready for a rest. We listened to the news on TV, and the oil spill in the gulf is still the main topic of it, plus the attempted bombing that was threatened in Times Square in New York. I think it's good they did find the man that was responsible for it, and that should at least put some fear into anyone who thinks of doing something like that. The other news was on the election of a new Prime Minister in Great Britain. I don't care for anyone running for public office, and not wearing a tie, along with his suit!

2010-05-04T20:59:00.000-07:00

We had our breakfast as usual, and then we went down to the lobby and read the newspaper in front of the fire. Chris didn't feel very well, so he went back up to the apartment. I made a mistake, and I went to the exercise class. I didn't realize at first that it was the more difficult program, but I stayed and exercised for half an hour. The rest of the group stayed another half an hour. Back at the apartment Chris found out what the problem with him was; he had stopped taking one of his medications, and so he called the doctor's office. He learned that the medication was one he could take or not, but it did make him feel better. So, he is back on it, and feeling better tonight. This afternoon he felt well enough to go to the Target store, over by Karen's house. It has been remodeled and is much better- appearing. It took us a while to locate what we needed, so we got a walk around the store. I did the driving, over there and back, and it was easy since it wasn't very far from Las Villas. Later we went to dinner, and afterward we talked to Kaye. She was upset because sand was coming in the new house, under the front door, and she was afraid it would spoil the hardwood floors. Chris suggested a large cloth at the base of the door, to hold the sand out until it could be fixed by the builder. That's what we did in Denver when snow came in under the door. We also got another E-mail from Karen. She said they had left the boat to go into Bulgaria, and would start home on Saturday, only four days away. We have missed them, and we look forward to all their pictures and stories about the trip.

2010-05-03T20:04:00.000-07:00

Things worked out quite well today. We got up early, because it's today that our house cleaner comes. The regular one still isn't back, but her substitute did well, too. The spots on the carpet have come back up again, and we'll have to do something about that soon. While the lady was here, we went downstairs and read the paper. The man who delivers one to us must be off this week. I have stopped paying for it, and that may be the reason we don't have one unless he is here. Anyway, we went to the Gentle Yoga class next, and the regular trainer wasn't there. The sub had to look at the instructions on each exercise as she went along. That cut the actual time exercising about 1/4 of what it usually is. After a short rest we went to lunch. After that we went for a walk down to Jefferson St. and back. That's 3 California blocks down, and 3 back. That's our longest walk so far. There's always a breeze here, and sometimes it's cold, so we don't go that far each time we walk. We talked to Kaye, and things are going OK with her. Karen sent an E-mail from Santorini, I. They are now on the boat and are cruising along the coast of Greece, and will end up at the end of the week, and then they will start home. I don't know if they will stop in New York again or not. That's a good place to take a break in the long trip.

2010-05-02T20:43:00.000-07:00

We got up a few minutes before the alarm went off, and that got us up, showered, and at breakfast by 8 a.m. After that we came back to the apartment and finished getting ready for Church. We forgot the monthly offering, and I got it ready on the way to Oceanside. But I forgot to put the actual check in the envelope with the donation. Neither of us remembered it. At the church were Bishop Peterson and wife,from Fallbrook. she had told me yesterday after the funeral that they were coming over here for a family reunion, and they would come to church. I figured they would come to the 9 a.m. session, but they came to ours. It was nice to see them again. We left after the first meeting and came back to the Villas. We went to lunch, but all we ate was a banana split each. It filled us up, as it always does, when we get them the first Sunday of each month. Then later, at 4:30 we went to a real dinner to make up for it. Tonight we talked to Carla, and they had just returned from Logan and Meret's graduation, and two weddings of relatives in Utah. Logan and Meret will go to Eugene, where he will go to graduate school, and I guess Meret will look for a job. She is a lawyer now, having finished all her requirements. We talked to Kaye, and she wasn't too happy with the progress on the house, but she said maybe they would move in, and then have the builder put on the screens and an enclosure in their bathroom. She was tired, and resting when we called.

2010-05-01T20:40:00.000-07:00

This morning we got ready to go to a short breakfast and then to the funeral of Jack Jones, in Fallbrook. My visiting teacher and her husband were kind enough to come pick us up and take us with them. I will admit I try to forget certain things every time we move, and since it was two moves ago that we left Fallbrook, I had to try to remember where we were going and how to get there. Fortunately the Plylors knew the way to the church. After the service, we met several old friends from Fallbrook, Lenon Bezzant and her two daughters, the former Bishop, Cook, and several more people. My former dentist, Floyd Packard, was one of the speakers, and I met him in the lobby, and he was cordial. After the service we took the Plylors to lunch at our favorite restaurant there, La Caseta. We enjoyed the meal, and then they drove us back to Las Villas, where we now live. I couldn't help remembering good times in Fallbrook, but I can't remember ever wanting to move back there. Life is easier here, and we have a small but more regular view of the ocean, and it's near enough to drive down to, or on our way to our doctor's office, also near here. Those are definite pluses. We talked to Kaye, and things are progressing up there. I think they may be moving into their new house soon. She didn't say anything more about Caden, so I assume he is getting along all right. He is getting tall, but still thin, we can see in the pictures she sends us on the computer. Stellan called the other day, and we actually heard Caden talk, but we couldn't understand the words.