This is going to be my first ad I publish. Hope it works!

Amy is here and this is where we went.... Bishops Castle above Beulah.

I am just going to post this slide show and then I will be back later.  Ok, now I am back.  Amy got here on Friday, the 6th of January.  I have never known anyone who would drive 3 days and 2000 miles just for the sole purpose of meeting me.  But Amy and I had been visiting in the chat rooms and by email since November 24, 2010.  I know this cause she told me so.  I have never been one to remember dates and I envy her that ability.

So here they came and arrived on Friday night.  Saturday morning we got up and went to Beulah to the coffee shop.  Course Jan was tickled to see me and meet my friends.  I of course, took a lot of pictures. One in particular of a man named Bill Moulton.  Do you recall a hundred years ago when doing the laundry before washing machines there was a divice that looked like an upside down funnel?   In the top of this you placed a stick and then put your clothes in the tub with soap and used that "Easy Washer" to stomp them clean.  Well he did not have the stick in his so he was setting there with the thing on his head and Jan and I decided that he bore a most striking resemblance to the Tin Man in the Wizard of Oz.  So I took several pictures and promised to send him a link when I put him on here.

So the first problem seems that of the 75 pictures I took that morning of Bill, Jan, Beulah, and Bishops Castle , there is no record what so ever.  Gone!  Kaput!  Like my life.  So I called Jan and she will have her son email me copies when he gets around to it.  At that time I shall do a big spread on the Tin Man/Bill Moulton.  And if the kid does not send the pictures, he shall live in my mind.

After we left the coffee shop, we drifted up and I showed them the Dragon Tree carved by John Clay.  Then on up the mountain to Bishop's Castle.  Course it was very snowy up there, but the roads were dry.  That Castle is sure worth the trip up there.  It was uilt from the ground up by one man, Jim Bishop.  He placed every rock and welded every piece of metal.  Fascinating piece of work that will never be completed as long as he is alive, because he will never stop.  Google it.

Sunday we kind of kicked back and they discovered the joys of Colorado Cuisine, namely Green Chile.  Course later we discovered the plumbing was plugged up very tight.  That is another Colorado joy.  After much plunging and cussing we gave up.  Early Monday brought the Septic Tank pumper because when the plumbing doesn't work it is inevitable that it is the tank is full.  Well, for once that was not the case, but since he was here anyway, might as well get that done.  He was followed by the roto rooter guy.  You guessed it, tree roots in the line, so I will get that taken care of this spring.

Then we cleaned up the kitchen and made chicken and noodles with mashed potatoes.  Taught Amy how to make cookies with a cake mix.  Also made a Root Beer Float Cake.  I guess since they had just finished 2000 miles of sight seeing and were getting ready for another 2000 miles of the same thing, sight seeing was not a biggie this weekend.

Then bright and early this morning they hopped in the car and drove away.  I talked to her just a bit ago and they were in Wichita Falls, Texas, and headed for Dallas.  I know I am missing them already.  I know there are those of you out there who may think we are nuts, but so be it.  She did tell me "I can not beleive I did this.  Drove all this way.  I can not believe I did this.  This is crazy!" I know that when I met Amy it was like I had always known her and this weekend just cemented a friendship between Beachgirlbaby and MOUNTAIN MOMMA! 

Since Amy really likes snow I was very glad we got a little skiff Saturday night.  Wish I could have talked God into a little more, but then there was that plumbing problem to contend with.

Amy will be here today!

A long time ago, I became friends on the Internet with a girl named Amy who lives with her husband and mother in Daytona Beach, Florida.  Amy loves cookies, but she does not cook.  So I make her cookies and send them to her and she eats them, that is the deal.  So now I guess she is coming to see just where these cookies are coming from.  So she called last night and they were in Kentucky.  The GPS said they will be here at 8:30 this morning.  Now I rather doubt that because they are surely going to need to have a rest stop and they might even want to eat.  Knowing Amy, I am sure they are going to eat.
And Amy likes the cold, so guess what the forecast is for this next week?  I think today is going to be up over 70 degrees.  So she may not get the cold weather she wants, but we will be making a trip up to Beulah to see Jan at the Stompin' Grounds.  Oh, and Rye.  Pretty sure there will still be snow up there. 
Of course there are those who are concerned that I may be murdered in my bed, never stopping to think that perhaps I might be the one who is going to do the murdering.  You know, slip a little something in the cookies?  A couple years back I stopped in Missouri and met a  lady named Cindy.  Went right to her house.  The wiccan was with me.   Now if anyone had a right to be scared, that woman should have been terrified.  She lived on the edge of a lake and no neighbors for quite a little radius of her house.  Her husband drives a truck over the road so I could have done her in and no one would have known for days.  She turned out to be lovely lady and showed us around Crescent City and bought us an ice cream at a quaint little ice cream store.  Yummy.  (Hi, Cindy!  See I still think about you!)
Years ago we had pen pals that we wrote to and put a stamp on the envelope and mailed.  These pen pals were sometimes overseas, or far away.  Sometimes we would read in the paper about "meet and greets".   So why was it safe back then when we exchanged a few letters with a post mark on them and is not safe now when with the click of my mouse I can get the whole history of her Internet address?  I can type her address in Google and a camera will pan in on her front door and I can go out back and see how much trash is piled there? 
I think you would be amazed if you knew how many "Internet Friends" I have.  Some of them last a long time and some of them are just here for a while.  They are still my friends.  They send me pictures and cards and video's and touch base regularly.   If I ever get rich enough to travel there are a few people I would like to meet in New York, a couple in California, Florida, Missouri and one in Texas.  I did correspond with one fellow for over a year, but I never felt like I knew him at all and it turned out I was right.  So, see, there are ways to tell.  I would never have jumped in my car and gone there, nor would I have had him here.  Just a premonition sort of thing I guess.  But Amy has always been open and honest with me and anyone who knows me, knows how important that is to me. She has been through a lot and shared most of it with me. 
So, I am waiting for Amy as we speak!  I am going to cook for her and Bernie and I have cookies in the freezer, and lots of milk and got the sheets already to put on the bed.  I think we will have a lovely visit and I am probably not going to have time for the blog for a few days.  But get ready when it is over I am going to have a ton or pictures for you!  And she is going to have to drive 3 days to get back home!

Yes, Virginia, the Post Office is in a bit of trouble!

 Label/Receipt Number: 9101 1501 3471 1091 7220 14
Expected Delivery Date: December 21, 2011
Class: Priority Mail®
Service(s): Delivery Confirmation™
Status: Processed through USPS Sort Facility
Your item was processed through our DENVER, CO 80217 facility on December 31, 2011 at 5:08 am. Information, if available, is updated periodically throughout the day. Please check again later.
 
 
    
     
     Enter Label/Receipt Number. 
  
Enter Label / Receipt Number. 
     
    And I did enter all the info.  See I never send anything through the USPS without a tracking number because it just has a a way of going lost.  So let's follow this package.  I sent one of my purses to a lady in Denver (paid for by a mutual friend.) on December  20.   It went immediately to Colorado Springs.  And 2 days later it arrived in Bell Gardens, California .  Apparently they realized right away that it did not belong there.  It was then sent to Denver where it has been kicking around now for  3 days while they search for the address before declaring it Undeliverable as Addressed.  Then they hung on to it for 4 more days.  before they ran it through another sort facility.  Today is January 2, 2012, 14 days, or 2 weeks after I sent this on it's way.  I have no idea where it is now.  No doubt it is probably still in the sort facility in Denver.  Does this tick me off?  Yes it does.  Why?  Let me tell you why...
I sent this Priority Mail, which costs extra with confirmation, which costs extra.  I have the correct address on it with the postal code the Post Office gave me.  Now I could punch this in my GPS and drive right to her front door.  The Post Office will be receiving another increase in postal fees here pretty quick.  They need more money.  They occasionally slip one in on us online buyers anyway, but that is neither here nor there.  What frosts me is that this is the most unreliable shipping service in the business today.  Do you know I can ship Priority (with2-3 day delivery) cheaper than I can ship Parcel Post (2-9 day delivery).  Does that make sense to you?
I live in the county and have a mailbox at the end of my drive.  It is not uncommon for the mail person to just lay a large package beside the mailbox (assuming that everyone who passes it is honest and will not steal it.) rather then bring it to my door and put it on my porch.  One day the door bell rang and a neighbor stood there with a small, dripping wet package.  It was addressed to me and was floating in his irrigaiton lateral.  MP3 player and it is just a damn good thing the Chinese double wrap everything in cellophane.  Since this was not the first time I found mail in the ditch I called and complained.  So now parcels appear on my porch which I greatly appreciate.
Now today is a holiday for the Post Office, poor overworked souls that they are, so I will have no updates on my package.  But, ah tomorrow is coming.  I am assuming that they can get it back to me, but who knows.  Then I can buy postage once more and see where it goes, or wait!  I can give it to the guy who bought it and let him drive it up their to this illusive address.
So that is my story and I am sticking to it.  Oh, yeah, Happy New Year and here's hoping some people are making a lot of resolutions to break.  I will not be breaking mine cause I gave up making them years ago.  Keep in touch!






  Detailed Results:
 
 Processed through USPS Sort Facility, December 31, 2011, 5:08 am, DENVER, CO 80217  Undeliverable as Addressed, December 27, 2011, 6:53 pm, DENVER, CO 80224  Out for Delivery, December 27, 2011, 9:28 am, DENVER, CO 80222
 Sorting Complete, December 27, 2011, 9:18 am, DENVER, CO 80222
 Arrival at Post Office, December 26, 2011, 7:56 am, DENVER, CO 80222  Processed through USPS Sort Facility, December 24, 2011, 10:40 pm, DENVER, CO 80217
 Depart USPS Sort Facility, December 23, 2011, BELL GARDENS, CA 90201  Processed through USPS Sort Facility, December 22, 2011, 3:05 pm, BELL GARDENS, CA 90201
 Depart USPS Sort Facility, December 21, 2011, COLORADO SPRINGS, CO 80910
 Processed through USPS Sort Facility, December 20, 2011, 9:22 pm, COLORADO SPRINGS, CO 80910  Dispatched to Sort Facility, December 20, 2011, 7:06 pm, PUEBLO, CO 81005  Acceptance, December 20, 2011, 2:03 pm, PUEBLO, CO 81006
 Electronic Shipping Info Received, December 20, 2011  

Well, what shall we write about today? Aunt Lena!

Yesterday I went to the dentist and I am now able to say I know exactly what Mother meant when she whacked me upside the head and told me to quit opening bottles with my teeth.  Wish she would have told me what would happen if I continued using them for a pair of pliers, but she didn't.  And of course the trip across town rendered the usual idiot that passed me on the left, cut in front of me to get to the right turning lane and then swerved back when he finally figured out which way was left while all the while keeping that damn cell phone firmly attached to his ear!  We seem to not have any laws concerning that sort of thing as "Johnny Law"  remained unperturbed behind me.  I thought about tapping my brakes to wake him up, but I know how my luck runs and I do not need a husband named Sally at this point in my life.
So that is what I intended to write about today, but when I woke up I had Aunt Lena on my mind.  Now I do not have a picture of her and Sister Donna is not awake yet, but I can see her as clearly in my mind as if she were standing right here in front of me. 
Aunt Lena was born to Johann Jakob Haas and Maria Dorothea Schrade (nee) on May 6, 1893.  She was given the name Magdalena Haas.  This was in keeping with the name Maria Magdalena, a daughter born to his first wife in Dettingen, Germany who was born in 1874 and passed in 1876 at the tender age of 1 year and 10 months. ( This was common to rename a new baby for one that had not survived.)  Aunt Lena was the 12th of 13 living children born to Johann Jakob.  Two children had died in infancy.  Prolific old fellow if you get my drift.  ;)
The Haas family settled in near Plevna, Kansas.  Now some how this gets very confusing.  The Gagnebin family lived near Abbyville, Kansas.  Helen Gagnebin married Frank Miller.  They had two daughters, Josie and Helen, and  one son,  Lewis Miller.  At some point in time Helen and Frank Miller wound up living next door (within a mile of each other.) to the Haas Family.  At that juncture my grandfather, Christoph Adam Haas (from Great Grandfathers first wife deceased)  in Germany married Josie Emma Miller in 1900.  She became my grandmother.  Seven years later Gottlieb Haas (Who replaced Gottlieb Haas who had only lived 7 months and died the year before Uncle Goll was born.) married her sister, Mabel Helen Miller.  All of these children are double cousins.  When Uncle Lou Miller cast his eyes on Magdalena Haas, Great Grandmother  came un wound and said "No!  Too many Haas's have married too many Miller's!"  Back in those days children actually listened to thier parents, so Lou and Lena were not married.  Uncle Lou later married a lady named Eva.  Aunt Lena never married.  She remained in Plevna and I think she took in sewing and cleaning and laundry.  I am sure she never worked at a job, per se, but she managed to be self sufficient.  I know she rented rooms to "old maid school teachers", but we never called her an old maid.  No way!  She was just Aunt Lena who was not married. 
But she was great!  I remember going to her house which was a block or so from Grandma Haas.  Aunt Lena kept a stock tank there full of water and let us kids get in it in the summer when it was hot.  Course we wore our clothes, but that was the fun part; letting them dry on us when it was really hot!  My first taste of air conditioning.  Her house had two or three bedrooms and was very simple.  Every where was crocheted doilies and table cloths; the same as grandma's house.   I recall the porch and the Lilac bushes all over her yard.  When I smell Lilac's in the yard now, I am transported to Plevna, Kansas and my dear Aunt Lena.  I do not think she ever painted her house.  Seems like it was always old gray bare wood.
She had an old car, which was probably new at the time and sometimes she would take us for a ride in the country.  If we spotted a creek she would whip that old Packard (?) over and we would leap out and climb the fence.  Aunt Lena knew how to pull the front of her skirt between her legs and tuck the tail in the waist band.  This made us wear pantaloons!  We did not dare to get that muddy water on our clothes or we would have been punished.
A funny thing I remember about Aunt Lena was the way she talked.  She never opened her mouth.  It was like her teeth were stuck together.  I'm sure they came apart because she had to eat, but not necessary to talk.  Aunt Lena was never sad, nor happy.  She would tell stories of the old days.  She knew every family member and what they were doing and when they had a new baby and everyone's birthday and where anyone with a drop of Haas blood in thier viens was at any given point in history.  I guess she was the family Historian.  She was my grandfathers sister and since I never knew grandpa she would tell me things about him.  I do not remember the stories, but I remember her saying "Your grandpa."  Never called him by name, just my grandpa.  I do wish I had known him.
Her and Aunt Mable made me a quilt and hand quilted it when Duane and I had been married for 5 years.  They made a quilt called Postage Stamp.  It probably had a million tiny squares and it was so pretty and the stitches were so tiny.  To this day I do not know where it went, but I do know where it isn't.  I think someone stole it when I was in Garden City, Kansas.  It was one of those now you see it and now you don't things.  I remember putting it away in a very safe place in our apartment on Jenny street.  And then it was just no more.
Aunt Lena was tall, or so it seemed.  Back when I was 4 feet tall everyone was tall.  And I remember Aunt Lena was so wrinkled.  I mean her face.  Maybe it was a combination of the hot Kansas wind and the farm life and maybe it was just my imagination.  Or it could be that when I lived with grandma Haas in 1955, Aunt Lena was 63 years old.  But she was the same wrinkled when she died in 1994 at the age of 101.  She lived alone in her home until just shortly before her death.  As I recall some kind soul had made arrangements for Meals on Wheels to deliver food to her on a daily basis.  That did not last long as she couldn't eat tha stuff.  One thing the Haas family is famous for is cooking.  And cook we do.  We use cream, butter, bacon, yeast and when a meal hits the table there are no boxes in the trash.  Kind of hard to eat institutional food after doing it yourself for 90+ years.  I know for supper every night she had popcorn.  Dry, I think.  But sometimes she put milk on it.  Popcorn is a staple here at my house, but it is just an occasional snack, not a meal!
The last time I seen Aunt Lena was at the family reunion that used to be every September in Plevna, Kansas at the high school gymnasium.  That was all that was left was the gym.  Aunt Lena was there and she must have been about 98.  Earl Boyd was also there.  He was a second cousin by marriage or something.  I will have to research that.  (And I will because there is another story to tell.)  Earl was probably 85 or so, but he had macular degeneration and could barely see.  Aunt Lena and Earl were visiting and I over heard there conversation.
"Lena, I would love to go see the old home place, but I don't have a car.  Do you have a car?"
"Yes, Earl, I have my car and it runs good, but I do not drive that far. (The home place was 4 miles away, but you had to cross highway 50.) Can you drive?"
"Well, yeah, but I can't see.  I am blind. But I can drive.  Can you see?"
"Yes, I can see really well, but I just can't drive."  Then Earl had a brilliant idea.
"I can drive and you can direct me!  We will have to go very slow cause if we wind up in the ditch we will be in big trouble!   I don't have a license any more and they would give me a ticket."
Then they both fell into silence and sat there a few minutes before Earl said "This old age sure ain't what it is cracked up to be."  Then they both chuckled and I could not help but smile.
But it is sad.  I told them the next time I made it to town (and at that point I always took Earl with me) I would round them up and go wherever they wanted to go.  But of course time and tide wait for no man and that never happened.  I never saw Aunt Lena again, but how lucky I am to have my memories.

If only the refrigerator lasted as long as the light bulb.

In 2002 I bought this refrigerator.  Last weekend the light bulb burned out.  So off I went like the little red hen to Lowe's to buy a light bulb for the refrigerator.  While I was there I intended to get a one inch screen for the bathroom sink drain.  I had bought one that was 1 1/8 inch but it would not go in the hole.  So I first looked for the screen.  I only found  1 1/8 inch one.  I asked the lady and she said that was the smallest they made.  That did not make sense to me.  If I have a sink that needs a one inch one, why do they not make one?  So I wandered along and decided I could put the plunger thing in and that would work.  Lot harder than dropping a screen in a hole, but what do I know.  As I reached for the plunger apparatus I spied a one inch screen.  Aha!  The expert was wrong. I grabbed that sucker and headed for the lighting department.
Well, that is not where light bulbs are located.  Silly me!  They are on the other end of the store.  Special aisle for them.  And then I started to get dizzy.  Do you have any idea how many different light bulbs there are?  And how many watts?  and what size screw in or snap on or tube and Lordy, I thought my head would explode.  I finally found what I wanted.  60 watts.  Can be used inside, outside , for appliances or lamps.  Just what I wanted,  but wait one minute!  They come in packs of four.  I have one refrigerator.  The bulb that just burned out had lasted 9 years.  If I bought the four pack could I expect my refrigerator to last another 36 years?  No.  I would then be left with extra bulbs and I am trying to break this hoarding habit I have.   So I continued to comb the aisle looking for a single bulb.  Or I could buy three refrigerators and hope they had no light bulb.  That was not feasible either.  At last I gave in to the giant conglomerate that runs the hardware store and put the 4 pack of bulbs in my basket.
Upon arrival at the check out I decided, against my better judgement, to do the self check.  Ok, scan the little 1" screen.  "Put item in the bag."  I did that.  "Place item in bag." I tapped the bag.  "Place item in bag!"  Now she was getting firm with me. I poked the one that said "skip bagging" and she seemed to relax.  Scanned the light bulbs and went through the whole thing again.  I poked finish and pay.  Fed a $10 bill into the greedy little slot and waited for my change.  Change shot out one hole.  Dollar shot out across the way and the receipt fell to the floor.  I gathered my money and receipt and looked at the man in charge.  I looked at him and said "I hate that bitch!"  He never flinched, just asked me, "So do you want your stuff?"  Red faced I grabbed my bag and hurried to the car and home to my little piece of heaven where no one hollers at me and I am always right.  And if I so choose, I can skip the bagging area!

Merry Christmas from the land of ice and snow!

I missed church last night.  First time that has happened in many years.  My driveway is about half a block long and according to my calculations we got over a foot and a half of snow on the level.  Course a little breeze did whip me up a few drifts that were well past my knees and made walking to the goose house to tend my feathered friends a real chore.  Out here in the county when the snow plow goes on South Road the end of my drive gets a double dose.  Now my neighbor man has a four wheel drive so he can get out.  A couple daughters came bearing gifts, but then again, we have the 4 wheel drive factor.  I do not know if any of you have ever tried to drive a small front wheel drive car in the tracks of a big 4 wheel drive truck or SUV, but that is one feat you are not going to accomplish. 
Yesterday morning I did manage to make it to the road but I had to shovel my young self out 4 or 5 times.  I finally quit counting.  I made up my mind that if I could just make it back home I would not leave until spring.  So when I made it up the drive and slid into a place where I could leave the car, I jumped out and ran inside.  And here I still am this morning.  And here I shall remain,but then...
Yesterday evening when I saw church was not an option, I went down to sew.  When I came up I looked out and the good fairy had came and cleared the drive and  the parking in front of my house and the neighbors house.  That was a sight which made me most happy.  I strongly suspect that it was the neighbor man's father in law.  He has a bobcat and while his name slips my mind, he is a very nice man.  So now options are opening up for me again here on Christmas day.  I think I will drift over to the step daughter's house or Kenny's ex wife's and then wind up at the Zane house for dinner (the one at noon).  Then I may cruise up to Florence and see Amanda and the Bretster.  Going to load the new serger up and have him show me how to thread it properly.  The sucker has 8 threads and is way beyond my scope of expertise.
But I thought I would just pop on in here and wish you all a very, very Merry Christmas and remember that Jesus is the reason for the season!  While I know most of you think of me as a Grinch, and that would be because I told you I am, I do have a tiny little spark way deep down that loves Christmas. 
Oh, not the shopping, or the sales, or the hoopla that surrounds it, but the quiet little time when I can look up into a clear December sky and focus on a very bright star that twinkles at me and reminds me of the night so long ago when the baby Jesus was born in a manger.  (I know December 25 may not have been the actual date, but it suffices for us to accept that date. ) As I think about that scene with Mary and Joseph and how far the wise men traveled and the Shepard's and the sheep and all of that, I think I can hear the angels sing.

Merry Christmas To All and God Bless Us Everyone!