Chicken, Past the 'Best By' Date, It's been Five Years

One thing I didn't write about in my last post was that my dad died on 9/11, in 2019. We had seen him in August and he was doing pretty good for 93. Just a couple weeks after we left though, he fell and broke his hip and was put on hospice.

I flew back to San Diego and got to be with him when he died. Most of the family got to say their goodbyes. We all flew back down in October for the memorial. I sometimes dream about him. The other night I had a dream about him, my mom and my sister. An interesting thing, whenever I dream about someone who has died, they never speak. They'll laugh, we're doing things together, but they never talk.

Okay, on to lighter things. Beth has been asking me if we could make chocolate chip cookies so Monday night after work I got out all the ingredients. Since our kids have grown up I just don't bake anymore. So all of our flour was expired. Well I don't know, does flour actually go bad? It was definitely past the 'best by' date so I tossed it. Same with the vegetable oil, we were out of butter... sigh. So I jumped in the car and ran to the store.

Beth puts in the flour, baking soda, salt, she helps add the eggs, runs the mixer, then puts the dough on the tray. I let her make one tray, then she gets to take those downstairs for herself. In this picture she's telling her friends, "Hey everyone at All Aboard! I'm making cookies!"

Have you been able to see the Aurora Borealis this year? It seems to be happening a lot lately. I headed outside this week and looked up through my camera and all I saw was pitch black. Holding my phone up and looking at the screen, there was nothing. But as I took pictures, I could see a light image appear. When I got in the house, this is what I had:

 

 

Just a little bit of pink, but it's there! I was shocked! There really was nothing to see with the naked eye, not even the clouds. It was dark. I don't like the dark so I'd be outside for just a minute, then come back in. Then I'd go out again a few minutes later. I'm such a chicken. 

Fall, Old Cars, Graduation Gift

 We woke up the other morning to this...

 

 

Today we have blue skies and it's gorgeous out but it's cooler than it has been. You know when 70 degrees in July is different than 70 degrees in September? I think it's time to put the comforter back on the bed.

 

I went to our local car show last weekend. I don't know a lot about cars, but I sure love lookin' at 'em! Especially the older ones.

 

 

 

Do you see the Queen waving from the hood?

 

 

My first car was a 1969 Mach 1 Mustang. My dad gave it to me for my graduation. I only had it for a couple of years but I sure got a lot of attention when I drove it around. Didn't know why at the time. Now I know! I sure wish I had taken better care of it.

 

 What was your first car? Did you have it for a while?

 

A Day of Remembrance - For Two Reasons

I've had the privilege of seeing the 9/11 Memorial 3 times. Well, once it was still Ground Zero. Our family visited in 2004 and they hadn't quite started rebuilding yet.

We went again twice last year. Once when Sharaya and I went back to Pennsylvania in May to help Diana shop for her wedding dress, and then Chuck, Beth, Ally, Sharaya and I went two days after the wedding. That time we went into the museum as well. It's a humbling, solemn experience.

 

 May 2022

 

 

 September 24, 2022

 

Three years ago today, September 11, 2019 my dad passed away. He was 95. He fought in WWII, had 4 daughters and lived a long, full life. He and I were very close and when he was put on hospice I flew to San Diego to be with him and my sisters. I'm so grateful I got to be there to say goodbye. Love you dad.

 

Perspective

I've always loved photography and I've realized in the last few years that I get it from my dad. Most of the time he was the one behind the camera taking pictures of the family, or our vacations or of flamingos. 

We were all watching home movies one time and most of them were of flamingos. Forget me and my sisters, we have hours of film of those crazy pink birds standing on one leg... we never let my dad live it down.

Now that he's gone, I watch those movies and smile. 

I have his Brownie, the camera he used to record our memories in the 1960's. I also have my grandpa's (mom's dad) Polaroid.

One thing I love is Aerial Photography. The perspective it gives you is phenomenal! We took our girls to the Grand Canyon, I think it was in 1999 and I took this picture the day after a monsoon. The day before you couldn't see a thing!

 

And I think Peter was the one who took this picture. The Grand Canyon from 30,000 feet.

We've been to Yosemite. I think everyone who visits has a photo from this very spot because it's an over-look just as you're heading into the valley. 😊

El Capitan is the massive rock face on the left and you can just see the tip of Half Dome in the center of the picture. When Chuck and I were coming home from San Diego in February we flew right over it!

 

Maybe this will help...

 

And Mount St. Helens. It erupted back in 1980. Chuck, Beth and I went there a few years back and my camera wasn't working right, so I'm sorry the picture didn't turn out well. Honestly, it was probably more operator error than anything else. 😁

And from an airplane seat high above the earth...

I just love the different perspective an airplane can give you. Sometimes I'm blown away by the fact that people can fly. Just hop aboard and up we go! It's mind boggling to me but man, I love it!

Do you like to fly?

Do you fly very often?

Who takes the pictures in your family?

Memories Bring Back Memories Bring Back You

I just got back from San Diego and that song has been going through my head the last few days. Memories by Maroon 5. 

My dad died a year ago September and my sister's been so lonely. He moved in with her many years ago and his death has hit her hard. She came up here this summer and stayed for a few weeks, and she's taken her grandkids camping but for the most part she's completely alone now.

 I flew down this week to spend a couple of days with her and to help clean out our dad's shed. She had started to a few times but just couldn't do it so between the two of us we got it done in one afternoon.

 Before

After

We found old dishes and pots and pans that he had when he used to live alone; there was camping stuff and fishing gear. We even found these:

We don't believe he ever wore them, but there they were, among all the stuff in his shed! We threw out a lot of stuff and organized the rest. We were both surprised that we got it done in one day!

The next day we drove down to the cemetery and I got to see where he was interred.

I reached up and touched his name and started to cry. I looked over at my sister and she was crying too. It's surreal to see his name there. More than a year later and it's still hard to believe he's gone. My dad drove trucks for most of his life and his CB radio handle was Flying Eagle. He's interred at a military cemetery and there are planes and helicopters constantly flying overhead and I told my sister this was the perfect place for him. (Even though we know he's not really there. He's with the Lord now, probably talking His ear off about planes and motorcycles) 😇  

Theodore ~ Teddy

 I had a quiet and relaxing day today. Did some reading, worked on the puzzle, watched a movie. All day yesterday I was planning my day for work and then I'd remember that it was a holiday, woohoo!! That's the best feeling!

This week is going to be busy with both of our schools reopening. Just figuring out where everyone will enter and exit, creating one-way hallways, placing desks 6 feet apart... our gym is going to be used for P.E. all week but it's also being used as overflow for Sunday services and Prayer Meetings, group gatherings in the evenings... the logistics of all of this has kept some of us up at night.

Our maintenance guy is on vacation so he showed me how to fill and heat our baptistry for this coming weekend.

I just got an email from our Senior Pastor letting me know someone spilled their communion cup on Sunday so we'll need to clean the carpet in the Sanctuary tomorrow.

Plus, Thursday marks one year since my dad died. I've been thinking about him - and my sister - a lot. The hospice place he was at had a service that would create teddy bears out of your loved one's shirt or jacket or whatever. My sister ended up getting one for me and surprised me with it when she visited this summer.

 My dad wore this jacket a lot and this is what she gave them to make my bear.

 The ribbing on the feet and ears are from the collar and the wrists of the jacket.

As I was saving these pictures to my laptop I noticed the 'Hurricane' label was worn over my dad's heart; plus I quickly and randomly saved these pictures as Teddy... and remembered my dad's middle name was Theodore.

Reminiscing

Today was Father's Day, as you all know, and this is the first one without my dad.

We didn't always have the best relationship, in fact when Chuck and I got engaged we hadn't spoken in a few years and I wasn't even sure I wanted him at the wedding let alone to walk me down the aisle. When I finally got up the courage to tell him I was getting married... well actually, I don't even remember making the call. But he ended up walking me down the aisle after all. Things have been good since ever since.

Except for a couple of years, he's lived in California his whole life and I've been in Seattle for more than 30 years so even though I didn't spend Father's Day with him I would always send a card and I would call him.

He often called me Sweetie and was always, always glad to hear from me. I'd ask him how he was doing and he'd tell me about his latest motorcycle ride or fishing with his nephew. In his later years he'd tell me about his newest injury or something he and my sister had done together.

His mom's family has held a large reunion for many years and my dad went back to Iowa for a few of them. Two years ago Chuck, Beth and I drove through there and met some of his cousins, who gave me a copy of a huge notebook of our family history. It's a book they've been creating for decades.

My grandma moved from Iowa to California when she got married so there is very little about her and our family in it. This year we're able to go to the reunion so I'm creating pages for the book. Pages of my grandma and grandpa, (he died before I was born) my dad and his little brother. Their children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, and the births, marriages, and deaths.

My grandma

Grandpa and Grandma

Grandma and Grandpa with my dad

 

 With my dad's little brother

My dad and his mom

It's going to be bittersweet being at the reunion but I'm excited to learn more about my grandma and her family. 

Hug your dad if you have a chance. Tell him how much he means to you. Share a fun memory you have of him, a time he made you smile. 

There's nothing like the relationship between a daughter and her dad.

Chuck and our girls