This whole day has been taken up with watching the funeral ceremonies for Ronald Reagan. I have been so glad to hear such good things said about the man who touched my life so briefly, but for whom I have always held a special feeling.
     Read the story in my file titled "Do-it-Yourself-Kindergarten" and you will know what I mean.
     We were just a group of housewives and mothers who put together a kindergarten for our kids in 1959. It won notice and an award. Our certificate was presented to us by Ronald Reagan, who was then PR man for General Electric.

     When he was spoken of today by world leaders and such as being warm, gentlemanly, courteous, and caring, I know that was how I have remembered him all these years. He was genuinely interested in our small enterprise and I have never forgotten that crooked, warm smile.

    I finally bought the smaller freezer I have been wanting for so long. It fits nicely into the hall closet and will make it unnecessary for all those difficult trips up and down the basement stairs. Paul took the big, old freezer to History House, where it can be useful.

    Russ is in town and looking great! He is deep into his chosen study called Wilderness Pursuit. He brought wonderful pictures from their most recent outing, a ten-day ski trip into the high mountain country of Southern Colorado. He has now set his heart on getting a new snowboard like one of the participants owns. This new version can be split into two short "skis" and fitted with canvas slipcovers to walk up snowy slopes and then be rejoined for the downhill ride. He did this trip with long , telemark skis, and really envied his companion.
     He and Ryan arrived just in time to help me unload the big freezer, bring everything up the stairs where I waited to stuff it into the new box. Stuff it, I did. One of these days it will need to be sorted and rearranged.
     Dave brought fish and chips and Vern made us each one of the strawberry smoothies Nan showed him how to make. I had made a peach cobbler, so it was a community effort. And good!

    This past weekend marked the end of high school for Christopher (Paul's) and Christa (Dave's). Christopher has been going to high school and to Shoreline Community College on what is called "Running Start". This gives kids a chance to start earning college credits while still in high school. It does much more than that. It makes their Senior year at high school a lot more interesting and makes a bridge into their college experience.
     Christopher plans to start at Shoreline in the Fall. So far, he hasn't made up his mind as to a career, but that will come with time.
     I hear Christa is enrolled at Clark College, near Boston. She will be far away from home for the first time....

    This was our Monday to travel. Every other Monday will now be devoted to a day trip with Nan being chauffeur. It was Vern's time to choose the destination, so we roamed Fort Lawton, where he used to go when he was a kid to stand behind the soldiers during rifle practice. The fort is no longer being used as an army base, but there are many Navy families housed there. Part of it is now home to Daybreak Star Cultural Center (an Indian center) and there is a huge water treatment plant there on what would have been a beautiful, sandy beach, if not needed for that. There are many acres of forest land, criss-crossed with trails for public use. It is a beautiful piece of Seattle..... except for the treatment plant.

    After driving wherever we were allowed to drive, we cut over to Magnolia Bluff for the eye-stretching view over Elliott Bay. Then, on to below the bluff for lunch at Maggie's Bluff, a very good, casual cafe on the marina. The sun shone and the food was delicious. Vern and I indulged in hot Dungeness crab sandwiches (Oh, Mammy, they were good) and Nan had a Rueben sandwich that looked so good I ordered one to take home for our dinner. That took care of two problems. I didn't have to tear myself to pieces trying to make up my mind which I wanted, and I didn't have to cook dinner.

    Our weather has been extraordinarily beautiful. Tonight, at sunset, we had half-a-skyful of shocking pink, puffy clouds to compete with the blue sky. And, it is warm enough for us to be grateful for the portable air-conditioner we bought last summer.

Dixie/Dorothea, Senior Editor

    Yesterday, the 7th, was our youngest grandchild's birthday. Zoe Alice is now a teen. HAPPY THIRTEENTH BIRTHDAY, ZOE.... and many, many more.

    Hi! It's been a while since my last note. I've had a few bad days when I didn't even feel like writing! A very unusual thing. Anyway, here I am back and just as "talky" as usual.

    Note from Yvonne Piper says our much worked-over manuscript about the family trek to Tiger in October is now in the hands of the publisher and should be in this year's issue of Big Smoke. The final version looks wonderful.... very professional, with side bars and many pictures. Nan and I, who did most of the work on it, are pleased. It should be out the first week in July.
    Yvonne has been urging me to come to Newport for their big celebration the week end of July 6, but I have decided not to go. My dream trip to Tiger and the homestead in October will do me just fine. Nothing could be more satisfying. John and Nan are considering going, and I hope they do.

    Had a "hang-out" day with Hildy and Dan on Saturday. Hildy and I sat out on her driveway manning their yard sale until about noon, when she shut it down for the day. Their whole neighborhood does a yard sale at the same time, which makes it pretty worth while. Vern came out late in the afternoon and Dan barbecued London Broil, made Caesar salad and criss-cross French fries (baked). We finished off with lemon pie. Yum.
     My big thrill.... Dan let me choose one of his paintings. Bright, clear colors, with a tree in the foreground and mountains in the distance. Nan says she will help me frame it and help me figure out where it can hang on our crowded walls. I'm thinking the back bedroom.....

    Russ called us with news about the Wilderness Pursuit classes he is taking at Gunnison. He has been chosen to be second leader on one of these adventures which sound like the Outward Bound things. He sounded happy and excited about his college.
     He is living in the 1971 Ford Econoline RV he was given by the lady he helped move from Virginia to Colorado last year. They met while they were both working for the hotel at Snowmass.

    Nan came up with a real bonanza from that "free" website she has been checking. For History House, she got 25 bookcases from a used book store in Tacoma. She and Paul drove their trucks down (twice, I think) and brought them back. They will be well used. History House collects used books and then re-sells them cheap for some additional income.

    Caroline's latest note says she has put 15 new chicks under a couple of her setting hens. Adoption seems to be working just fine. She lives happily and well on her little, hillside farm.

    I was much surprised to find myself listed as an "Unplanned Link" in HistoryLink's newsletter. I quote:

"Unplanned Links
Dorothea Nordstrand, our ace People's History memoirist, sent along this sweet note about a recent connection via HistoryLink:

    A wonderful thing happened a couple of weeks ago. Some young lady down in Las Vegas was surfing the Internet on Google, idly typing in her family's names, when the name of her grandfather (now deceased) made a "hit". She traced it to one of the stories up on HistoryLink.org. There, she read about him being one of my neighborhood playmates in about 1921. She e-mailed her whole family and I received notes from all of them. Then, Nan (daughter-in-law) took an old snapshot of our group out of my oldest album and scanned it for them, so they now have a picture of their grandpa at age 5. So I heard from them all, again. That was a precious experience. I wanted to share it with you since you helped make it happen."

    Vern has been getting some of the many stories he has "lived" into print, so they won't be lost. He is not comfortable with a keyboard, so is putting them on tape. Nan is taking them from there and getting them into computer form.
     His story about the beginnings of the Saicoms, that close-knit group of highschool boys, will be published in September's Ballard High School alumni paper.
     He just finished one telling about his building of the mock up of the Boeing B17's first tail gun turret, that big surprise to enemy fighting planes that were used to coming up behind the big planes where the earliest ones had no protection. It's a fine story and something for which our whole family can be proud. That tail gun turret made a great difference in the effectiveness of that famous plane.
     Both of these stories are now on Dixie-Press under the link called Vern's Stories.
     Check them out.

Dixie/Dorothea, Senior Editor