April brought Paul, our youngest, into our lives.  He is a sweet guy, and we love him dearly.  He and his dear wife of over 30 years, Elizabeth (he calls her Biz), have given us five precious grandchildren.  And so the family flourishes and grows.
          This little anecdote tells a lot about Paul:                                       
          Paul’s father-in-law and his brother-in-law were both avid fishermen and hunters.  Paul was fine with the fishing, and joined happily in their annual trip to Anaheim Lake, in Canada, but found excuses not to go deer hunting with them in the fall of each year. He never expressed his feelings about it to me, but I assumed he was just not comfortable with the idea of killing one of the beautiful animals.
          One year, the two Abbott men informed Paul that he was going with them on a special hunting jaunt to Nebraska… that they had bought him a place in the group that would be hunting deer.  He felt he really had to go.
          After the trip, I was curious to know how it went.  He hadn’t bagged a deer. “After all, Mom, “he told me, “It is really easy to miss what you are aiming at.”

Paul 1959

Testing the new furniture

          The other April birthdays are Christopher, who is Paul’s son, and Christa, who is David’s daughter.

          My book has been edited to the best of my ability and has been sent to the editor who will do the next-to-final editing.  The next step for me is to find pictures to go with the stories.  I anticipate that this will be another time consuming, but fun, project.
          This is a very exciting time for me.  I can hardly wait to see the finished product.
          When I told my friend, Clydean, that the name of the book was going to be Pork Neckbones, Sauerkraut & Rutabagas, she laughed with delight and said she had grown up with pork neckbones and beans.  It crossed my mind that there were a lot of families at that time who couldn’t afford the pricier chops and roasts.  The ‘20s and ‘30s were difficult times for a lot of people.

          I was very surprised to get a message saying I had been nominated for an award from AKCHO (Association of King County Historical Organizations).  I have been invited to a ceremony where the awards will be presented later on this month.  I feel very honored by the nomination.  It has to do with my stories that HistoryLink has published on their website.

          Looking through some of the numerous papers on my desk, I came across one where I had written out the jokes that were my Mom’s and Dad’s favorites.  Just for fun, I’m copying them here for others to enjoy.  These are the ones I heard over and over from them, so I assume they were their favorites.

Dad’s: (wouldn’t you know they were both connected to animals?)

          “Fella calls the vet and asks for advice on how to deal with a constipated cat.  Vet misunderstands and thinks he says “calf” so he suggests (chuckle) he give it half-a-cuppa caster oil and wait for that to take effect. (chuckle)
          Vet calls him to see how things are going (chuckle) and the fella tells him, “That is one busy cat!  He has hired twelve cats to help him.. (chuckle)..six digging holes and six covering up.”

          “Fella calls the vet and asks how to give a pill to a sick horse.  Vet tells him to put the pill into a tube and put the tube into the horse’s mouth, then blow on the other end of the tube to send the pill down the horse’s throat. (chuckle)
          A little later, Fella calls the vet and says, (chuckle) “Okay, Doc, now what do I do?” (chuckle) ‘The horse blew first!’”

Mom’s:

          “A very near-sighted young lady wanted to impress her gentleman caller, so before he arrived, she walked about twenty feet from the porch where they would be sitting and stuck a pin into the bark of a tree.  Later, when they are sitting there on the swing, she says,”What is that shiny thing sticking into that tree?”
          When he says he can’t see anything, she says, “I will walk over there and get it to show you.”
          And, on the way over, she tripped and fell over a cow.”

After all these years, I still get a grin out of those jokes.

Dad & Mom

          April 22, the AKCHO Awards ceremony was a great treat.  I didn’t get an award and would have been very surprised if I had.  The winners were people or groups of people who had made huge contributions to the history of our region, either through many hours of volunteering or other major gift.  One award was given to the Snoqualmie Railroad Museum.  I was very flattered to have been nominated into such company.  It was good to meet so many of the people I had been e-mailing with for some time, now.  The best thing was that my four kids and their mates came, and Gwen, one of Vern’s caregivers, brought Vern in a wheelchair. One grandkid, Ryan, came, and my nephew and his wife, Gordon and Alice, from Renton, and grand-niece, Kirby, showed up, too.  Bless their hearts.
          I am still resting up from being out after dark, for a change.  It wears me out.

Sharing a toast with Alan and Priscilla, of HistoryLink.org

Our family

          Our weather is crazy.  Two weeks ago, we had a snowstorm that covered the ground and made a mess of our highways.  The weekend before, we were bright and sunny and I spent some time outside watching the birds at our feeders.Today, the 28th, we are back to sunny and warm.  I’m hoping Nan and I can plant the lettuce I have started in the kitchen window into big containers for the back yard.  I hope to have lettuce, tomatoes, and herbs close to my back porch, this year.  If I don’t make it easy, I might have to forego the fun of picking salad stuff just before dinner.  That’s unthinkable!!

          Dave is organizing a work party among the family to help undo the damage the latest flooding did to the cabin near Skykomish.  Vern and I bought it in 1961 to use as a place to stay while skiing at Steven’s Pass.  After twenty years, we sold it to Dave, who is the only one of our kids who has continued to ski.  The major flooding it has experienced has all happened during his ownership, due, I think, to somebody’s unwise clear-cutting somewhere up the river.
          With family to help, they can accomplish a lot more than he could alone.  Besides, they will make it fun with a pot-luck and lots of banter….lots and lots and lots of banter.

          Our yard is awakening to Spring.  The flowering crabapple is showing signs of color… the prelude to the gorgeous ball of color it becomes when in full bloom. First, the leaves appear, a tender green, followed by dark red buds that open into pink blossoms that turn white before they fall.  Most times, the huge tree is a mix of colors as the blossoms come and go.  We start anticipating the glory of that tree as soon as Spring shows up on the radar and it never disappoints us.

          Vern has been envisioning some big, cobalt blue pots to sit along our brown fence, and we finally found a couple at were exactly what he wanted.  Nan planted a coarse ornamental grass in each one.  They look striking against the dark brown, just as Vern wanted them.  Later in the spring, we will plant something bright in the containers on the fence.
          It will soon be time to plant the window boxes that help bring outdoors into the dining room and kitchen.  I usually lean to deep, bright, rosy-red geraniums with blue lobelia and white alyssum.  Maybe, this year I will find something equally bright, but different.  I will know it when I see it.

          A very good friend, who labels herself as “A Very Good Looking, Damn Smart Woman” sent me the following motto to live by:

          Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, chocolate in one hand, wine in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming, “WOO HOO what a ride!”    
         
          It’s a little late for me to do the attractive and well preserved deal, but perhaps I should go for the chocolate and wine bit……..

          On that cheerful note….
HAVE A WONDERFUL SPRING..

Dixie/Dorothea, Senior Editor

Home Page: Dixie-Press.com

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