My 88th Birthday has come and gone and didn't do any decernible damage. Last visit with Dr. Mitchell discovered nothing new. Guess that's cause for celebration for me. Hooray!

     There was a party for me at Hildy and Dan's. All my kids were there and only Liz missing from the "in-laws". It was a school night for her. Fun and a decadent chocolate cake. Hildy made a huge bowl of Lemon Bavarian Cream. Oh, Boy! Haven't had that for a long time. Yum!

     Hildy really came up with a gorgeous present for me. She did a fancy scrapbook of pictures taken on the trip interspersed with bits and pieces of the story I wrote for Big Smoke, the annual put out by Pend Oreille County Historical Society. They asked for the story, but I have no idea how long before it will appear. I wrote one for them in 1991 which came out in their 1993 edition...

     Right on my birthday, I received, in the mail from Lee Stark, the Miner newspaper with the story for which John and I did telephone interviews. It was (John's comment) "stunning"! The young reporter really did a great job. John had given him my web site address, so he had a lot to guide him, but, even so, it was much more than I had anticipated it would be. I'm hoping to get copies made to share. My own copier won't take sheets of the required size.
      Sure appreciate having neat things like that happen these days. Learning to cope with "lo-vision" is difficult. I have an appointment next week with a clinic which promises to teach me how to make things easier. I can use the help. Nancy has already found a gismo with which I can scan a line of type and it will COME UP MAGNIFIED on a TV screen. Vern's birthday present to me was a reading lamp with a full spectrum color range. That makes reading much more comfortable. Things are getting better already!

     Okay, Family...... I need input if you want to get your names mentioned in this column. You all know my e-mail address!! It's lonesome sometimes here at the top. (Just kidding) I was just too full of my own news this time.

     Dixie/Dorothea Senior Editor