The Friday 5'er

          From Robin at;  http://journals.aol.com/robinngabster/Thesearethedaysofourlives/entries/1636  

      Hi guys!!! 

I missed last Friday so here is my make up 5'er!  

If you want to play all you do is cut and paste these questions into your journal. (there is no deadline as to when you can do "The 5'er) When you have answered them come back and leave a link in my comment section.  On the following Friday I will have a new set of questions! Have fun!

 

LET'S PLAY!!!

1.  It's summertime and pretty much hot all over.  What is the hottest day you can recall?

Here in my hometown there have been a few (very few) where the temperature would reach up to 99* or 100*. But that is rare.  But it's so humid here, anything over 75* feels uncomfortable.

 

2.  How do you keep cool in the summer? Pool? Beach? Other?

Just stay out of the direct sun.  I hate to go out anywhere, because you have to close up the house when you leave , then you come home & the house is even hotter.

 

3.  Do you prefer to be sweating on a hot summer day or shoveling snow on a cold winter's day?

Well, shoveling snow is certainly not fun & being too hot is not fun. So I don't like either option.  How about 70 degrees, with a breeze and it rains every other night between midnight and 3am ?  That would be perfect !

 

4.  What did summer mean to you as a kid?

Summer meant Vacation Bible School when I was young, then 1 week of Church camp as a teenager.  But always there was work.  I lived on a farm and I had to help, like weeding the garden, etc.  Then after 7th grade I started picking raspberries, strawberries and green beans during the summer.  After I turned 16 and could drive...I'd babysit during the summer months.

 

5.  If you could be anywhere else right now where would you be?

Down at Westport on the ocean.

 

Bring on the Otter Pops....it's still hot !

RUNAWAY UPDATE

Lynnette called me early this morning.  She found her grand daughter in the city park in Puyallup, last night.  She was with a girl named Nicole. The frustrating thing is the family called Nicole's house first because whenever Cierra was upset with her mom and step dad, she would go Nicole's house for a reprieve. Nicole lives with her father and when they called, the father swore up and down that Cierra was not there and that he had not seen her.  Lynnette said that Cierra was reluctant to get into her car because she said she didn't want to go back and live with her mom and step dad at this time.  So right now, the girl is with her grandma.  This family still has a lot of issues to work out and Lynnette feels overwhelmed.  She's already raised 3 girls, mostly by herself and to take on a 16 year old grand daughter at age 62, is a huge assignment.   She is so very thankful for the thoughts and prayers but her final words to me this morning were..."please ask them to keep praying, I'm not sure I'm up to this (raising a teenage grand daughter)"  Hopefully, they can get some family counseling and Cierra can go home to her mother and step dad and live in harmony.  

It's a little cooler here today.  When I got home from work the living room temperature was about 86 degrees.  I've opened up everthing I can open and since there's a nice breeze (10-20 miles per hour) blowing out there...I'm hoping the house will be a little more comfortable tonight than it was last night.

Thank you again for your prayers and concern for my dear friend's grand daughter.  I think it's so wonderful that we have this "electronic opportunity" to support each other thru the good times and the bad. 

Until next time............Linda

YOUR MONDAY PHOTO SHOOT; Patterns & Textures

Your Monday Photo Shoot: Patterns and Textures from John at; http://journals.aol.com/johnmscalzi/bytheway/entries/6122

Part of the idea of the Monday Photo Shoot here is to try to look at familiar things in new ways. So:

Your Monday Photo Shoot: Find an interesting pattern or texture somewhere in your home. Take a picture of it.

When I first read the assignment, I thought there's nothing in this house as neat as John's couch. But them I went over and sat down at my dining room table, to go thru the mail.  I glanced down at my lace table cloth on the oak table and thought...I do have pattern and texture in my house.  So John, this is my entry.

MONDAY MORNING QUESTION

 

Monday morning question from Krissy at; http://journals.aol.com/fisherkristina/SometimesIThink/entries/1099

Describe a "sound" from your childhood.  What was it?  When did you hear it?  What does it bring to mind?

I grew up on 10 acres, and my dad decided that besides working full time on the railroad...he was going to be a farmer.  One of his farming adventures was raising holstein heifers.  He would buy them at the auction when they were just a couple weeks old, bring them home and I got to feed them and teach them to drink out of a bucket or a trough. After they were matured and breed, he would sell them. When I read Krissy's question I immediately heard farm noises in my brain...chickens clucking, pigs grunting and cows mooing.  The experience I had as a young girl and teenager left me with a deep love for cows.  I love to see them in the pasture, eating or lying down chewing their cud.  And I love to visit the cow barns at the fair every year.  I'm not even turned off by the smell like some "city slickers" are.   The picture I submitted was probably taken in about 1955 (my brother was born in 1950) and shows the gentle nature of those sweet girls.  My folks continued to have cows when Julie was little and my mom spoke of finding Julie out in the pasture, when she was about the same age, all snuggled up with one of the cows.   Thanks Krissy ...that was a great question.  Ahhh..... I can smell the smell of fresh dried hay even now.

SUPER HOT MONDAY

Last night was so horrible I literally got sick and couldn't sleep, so called in sick for work today.  Tomorrow I must go no matter what.  I'm sure I'm already in trouble for today.     Staying home allowed me to try an experiement regarding the heat and this mobile.  I kept everything closed up, mini blinds, windows, doors etc. But kept all the fans going, including the summer fan in the furnace.  A little after 4pm (when I would normally get home from work) I opened the house up.  The living room temperature actually was up to 90 degrees and my bedroom up to 88 degrees at that point. Hopefully both rooms will cool down before 9pm when bed time rolls around again.

I talked to Lynnette about 10:30 this morning.  They had still not heard from her grand daughter.  I told her that I had requested prayer for the girl's safety and comfort and a feeling of peace for the family while they all wait for her return.  Even though the police were notified of her disappearance, apparently there is not much they can do until she's been gone for 30 days.  That seems horrible to me but I guess they have to have guidelines to go by.   Anyway, Lynnette was overwhelmed that people all around the world were praying for this situation and she asked me to thank you all for your concern.  She'll keep me updated and I, in turn will update you.

It was interesting to watch Gabi today, move from place to place in the heat.  She spent most of the day on the wood entry way, off the carpet and her blanket which is on the sofa.  Right now, I see she's laying up on one of my end tables (again cool wood). She's got two bowls of water and she did seem to drink frequently thru out the day.

I watched the news and hear that our east coast is having a lot of rain.  I hope there is no flooding for those people.  And we'd be glad to take a little of it off their hands if they'd like to share. 

That's all for now, until next time.........Linda

Sunday Wrap up

First an update; I just talked to Lynnette and they have not heard from her grand daughter as yet.  She failed to show up at her job this morning, and now one of the other grand daughters, that's a little older, said that the missing one has been emailing a 20 year old guy she met on My Space.  The parents have called the police and reported her missing.  Keep praying that she'll return to her family safe.

It's very hot here...my living room is 86 degrees with 1 big window open in the front and both the sliding glass door on the east and the main door on the west open.  Plus I have the fan in the furnace going for air and a big stand up fan in the living room going at full speed. I also have a fan going in my room.  Unfortunately, it's the hardest room in the house to cool because there's no air that moves thru there even with the window open.

Now to the pictures;  #'s 1 and 2,  I took yesterday of our beautiful Mt Rainier, that you can see from all over this area. I'm about 60 miles from the entrance to the park so you can see that it's not just a little hill.   It's actually 14,411 feet high and is said to be the highest point in the whole state of Washington.   Picture #3 is of a Bleeding Heart, an early spring, shade loving plant.  When I posted some flower pictures last week Barb (aka; Queenb8261) asked me if the fuchsia was also known as a Bleeding Heart.  I think she left on vacation, but I thought I'd just go ahead and put the picture in here anyway. Picture #4 is a remarkable discovery I made at the Super Wal Mart in Puyallup.  Dairgold milk products has a 1% chocolate milk.  And it's wonderful, you'd never know it was low fat.  And finally Picture #5 is all of us old broads today after our lunch at Ruby Tuesday's.  We stayed there for a long time because it was so nice and cool in there and then they all came here for about 45 minutes.  And now everyone has left.  And it's time for me to get back to the real world.  I still should mow the back lawn tonight if and when it cools down and also get ready to go back to the "salt mines" Monday morning.  I have to work all five days this week, as I'm working Friday for a co-worker who needs to move her daughter home from college before July 1st. But...I'm off the whole first week of July on vacation.  On Monday the 3rd, I'll take my grand daughter Meghanne on her annual birthday outing (she'll be 14 on the 4th of July).  And then celebrate the fourth...somewhere ?!?   It will be good just to be home, free to come and go for a week.   

I'll keep you posted about Lynnette's grand daughter...until next time,  Linda

P.S. the weather guy on the evening news from Seattle just said said it's 88 degrees in Seattle right now and is supposed to get up to 92 degrees there tomorrow.  Our weather does not vary much from Seattle since we are only 35 miles apart. 

YUK ! WHERE'S THE FAN ?

It's going to be another scorcher here today.  It's already over 70 degrees on my porch, with a humidity of 40% and it's barely 9am.  I'm going to get right to my ironing and get it done as quickly as possible.   http://www.komotv.com/weather/

Lynnette and I did have a wonderful time at lunch yesterday.  We are planning on doing it again in a couple weeks when Barbara can join us.   Today I meet the other gals for lunch and after talking to Barb last night...I think she may be able to join us (she may have to sit at another table, however) (just kidding).  I plan on taking pictures today.   

Finally, I looked at my cell phone this morning and saw I missed a call from Lynnette at 6:30am.  I just called her back to see if everything was ok.  She is quite upset...one of her grand daughters spent the night with her and when she went up to her room this morning, the girl was gone.  She said she picked her up yesterday late afternoon, they went shopping, out to dinner, watched TV and had a great evening, laughing and talking.  They hugged and went off to separate rooms about 10:30pm.  Of course Lynnette had to call her daughter and son-in-law early this morning and give them this news.  The teenager was training to work in a coffee shop in her home town and was supposed to back there this morning at 10am.   Please stop and take a moment to say a prayer  regarding this situation.  Pray that she'll return safely to her family.  There are so many evil influences out there in the world today.  I was just reading about a 17 year old U.S. girl who flew off to Israel to marry someone she met on "My Space.Com."  I'm glad I'm not responsible for teenagers any more.      Thank you and I'll write more later.               Linda

BIG OOPS !!!

I've reported before that there is another Narrows Bridge being built here in Washington state.  The bridge connects Tacoma to the Olympic Peninsula and is so heavily traveled, that at rush hour there are huge traffic jams every day.  They are building a new one parallel to the exsisting bridge for east bound traffic, coming into the Tacoma , Seattle area.  Each bridge will be one way.   Well, the deck sections for the new bridge are being built in South Korea and the first ship load of these sections arrived a couple weeks ago and yesterday they attempted to position the cargo ship so that they could start lifting the sections into place.   That's where the BIG OOPS came into play.  I'll let you read it for yourself.  All I can say is; I'm glad I wasn't in one of the cars going across the exsisting bridge when the BIG OOPS happened.   http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/5865821p-5206818c.html

The weather guy is predicting high temps for us today and tomorrow.  At 8 o'clock this morning, the thermometer on my porch said 68 degrees.  I was going to get up early this morning and mow the back lawn before it got hot but when I looked out there, there was full sun on the back yard so I've decided to wait until about 7:30 or 8 o'clock tonight.  It will be in the shade and perhaps cooler by then.   Friend Barbara is "sicker than a dog" (her words) so can't go to our pre-cruise lunch today.  But Lynette and I are going to go anyway and then we'll just have to go again in a couple weeks when Barbara is feeling better.  Barbara is hoping she'll be feeling better tomorrow, so she can come when we have lunch with our high school friend Judy, who is here from Arizona.  That one we can't redo in a couple weeks because Judy will be back home.   

I had two planters on my little porch off my sliding glass door that were packed with weeds and grass.  I have a bird feeder near there and I think the birds dropped just enough seeds to grow a wheat field in these planters.  They also had bulbs in them so I carefully took out the bulbs and after I got them thoroughly weeded, I added new soil and replanted the bulbs.  The sunflower is supposed to be a minature one, only getting about 2 feet tall.  (If I get up one day and it's towering over the top of the house, I'll know the label lied.) Right now it has the one bloom and about 5 buds on it.  I used to plant bush sweet peas in this pot, thus the trellis.  I decided to leave the trellis in there in case I need to tie the sunflower up as it gets taller. In the other planter, next to the bird bath, after replanting the bulbs, I planted a pretty little perennial ground cover with dark mauve colored flowers.  I figure it should spread out and fill in nicely and then hopefully be there again next year. 

I have a corrogated heavy plastic type roof over the big main porch on my mobile.  There's been a crow come there every  afternoon to peck away at debris, etc that collects up there.  Gabi just freaks out when it starts pecking  around, she can't see it but she hears the noise it makes.  She runs for the screen door and is all stretched out, eyes big as saucers..... trying to figure out what's going on up there. 

Well. I must get ready and get out of here....have a wonderful Saturday and stay cool or warm..whatever the case may be.      Until next time,   Linda

CLICK

I went to see the new Adam Sandler movie "Click."  I was prepared for kind of a goofy, typical Adam Sandler experience.  The only reason I even went is because...I like him.  It seems like he always plays the under dog, kind of a weird nerdy sort of fella. I was pleasantly surprised.  I won't ruin it by telling you about the movie but I will say there's a lesson in it for all of us.  And yes it has the goofy, weird parts but there is a moral to the story.  I hadn't checked the full cast list and was pleasantly surprised to see Henry Winkler (The Fonz) playing Adam's character's father and Julie Cavnar plays his mother. 

The temperature has really climbed here today.  After the movie I ran a couple errands and came home to find the thermometer on my porch up to 82 degrees (this is in the shade by the way).  I wish I would have mowed that back lawn the other night when it was a little cooler.  But, I'm going to get into some cooler clothes and go out and plant those bedding plants.    

I do have a busy two days ahead of me...lunch tomorrow with friend Barbara and Lynnette (she's going to be my cabin mate on the Alaska cruise in August.)  And then Sunday it's lunch with friends Barbara, the other Linda & Judy who's visiting here from Arizona. I'm glad the weather is going to be nice...we have a lot of waterfront restaurants in this area and they are not pleasant when it's raining.       Until later.......Linda

MAMMOGRAM

I chose to do the "fun" stuff early in the morning on my day off.  This morning I had my annual mammogram.  The reason I share this is to remind everyone out there...if you haven't had one for awhile, don't put it off.  A few minutes of humiliation and discomfort is nothing compared to having undetected breast cancer.   I went to my appointment this morning and ran into a former co-worker Denise.  (we had a farewell lunch for her back in May   http://journals.aol.com/lsfp1960/LindasWorld/entries/987 ). She's very thin and the first words out of my mouth this morning were "Oh no, you're not doing my mammogram, are you?"  She assured me she wasn't.  I once told her that I thought it was some sort of a rule that all mammo techs must be flat chested, because I'd never seen one that had big boobs like myself. Another lady did it today and I was happy to see she was kind of chunky.  (I felt right at home.)  Anyway, Denise leaves July 6th for the east coast...I'm happy I got one last chance to tell her good-bye and to wish her well.

It's very pretty here today and I do have yard work to do but I think I'm going to head up the street to the theater and see Adam Sandler's new movie "Click."  Then I'll come back and finish planting the last of the bedding plants I purchased recently.  It's suppposed to be in the 80's all weekend.  Next week I am working on Friday for a co-worker who has to move her daughter home from college, so won't be able to go to my usual Friday afternoon movie.

My dear friends out there in J-land...don't forget....call today and get scheduled for a mammogram if it's been over a year since you've had one.       Linda

SUMMER"S HERE !!

The first day of summer in the beautiful Pacific Northwest was, well ah....beautiful.  The temperature was at about 74 degrees, with a gentle breeze.  The weather guy on TV says this coming weekend will get up into the low 80's....we'll see.   I spent about 45 minutes outside this evening, watering everybody...the hanging baskets really dry out quickly when the wind is blowing, even slightly.    Anyway, today is the longest day of the year and now they will start to get shorter.  Is winter just around the corner ?  No...we'll have our usual weeks and weeks of hot dry weather before Old Man Winter makes his appearance again.  It's 8:50pm right now and it's still very light out here.  

 Before I close I wanted to share a cute joke on the;  posts@cybersaltlists.org    website today.  It goes like this- A woman goes to the doctor for her yearly physical.  The nurse starts with certain basic items.  "How much do you weigh?" she asks.   "120 pounds" says the woman.  The nurse puts her on the scale and it turns out she actually weighs 150 pounds.  Then the nurse asks "what's your height?"   "5 feet 8 inches" she answers.  But the nurse measures her and she's really 5 feet 5 inches.   She then takes the woman's blood pressure and tells the woman is is very high.   "Of course it's high" she screams..."when I came in here, I was tall and slender and now I'm short and fat!"

That's all for now....it's getting to be that time, you know, where I head down the hall with my book and my kitty.   Until next time.........Linda            

P.S.  I got my Passport in the mail today, now I can go somewhere.  Any suggestions ????????

Happy Father's Day

I just want to take a moment to wish Happy Fathers Day to all the dads, step dads and foster dads out there.  Sometimes I think dads don't get the credit they deserve.  My dad was wonderful.  Bill Smith was hard working, always provided for his family, loved the Lord, volunteered at church and the Christian School their church sponsored.  He worked full time for the railroad but always had a business on the side.  For many years he had a refrigeration and appliance repair business besides his real job. He had a great sense of humor and loved my mom, my brother and myself with all his heart.  He passed away on September 14, 1990 and there's hardly a day goes by that I don't think of him and/or my mom.  Again Happy Fathers Day to all the dad's out there.

I went to see "The Lake House" this afternoon.  It was a touching love story.  Be warned...if you go see it, take some extra tissues.  It's kind of a tear jerker.   The weather here in the Pacific Northwest was perfect today.  Sunny with a breeze, about 66 degrees...just right.  After I got home from the movie, I mowed the front lawn and did some dead heading of my roses and other flowers.  And got all the hanging baskets watered.  I need to get back out there and feed my roses and spray them...the bugs are chewing on the leaves.  I got a sunflower plant at Wal Mart yesterday evening and I want to plant it in this one big planter I have but it will take me a week to get the planter weeded.  Grass is growing in it and I need to get all of that out first. I just decided... I don't have time to go to work...I have too much to do around here. 

Well, it's getting late and I'm tired so it's time to go down the hall with my book and my kitty.  Until next time....Linda

50 (well almost 50) Things About Me

If you read this.....FILL IT OUT!!! Learn 50 things about your friends and let them learn 50 things about you!  I got this from Robin at; http://journals.aol.com/robinngabster/Thesearethedaysofourlives/entries/1612 who She got it from someone else.

1. How tall are you barefoot?
5'5"  I used to be taller but because of a three level spinal fusion back in 1992 and getting old...I have shrunk almost 3 inches. YIKES !

2. Have you ever smoked before?
Well, this is a touchy one.  I never had the habit and I never inhaled (that's a true fact..it made me dizzy) but I did in my past, puff on a few cigarettes from time to time. However, it's been many, many years and again I'm happy to say I was never addicted to the nasty things. I guess I was a social puffer.

3. Do you own a gun?
I have a squirt gun...does that count?

4. What's your favorite sport to watch?
None...I don't care to watch any of them. About 5 minutes of the Jerry Springer show is enough sports for me.

5. How many letters are in your crush's name?
There are 4 letters in that special name

6. What do you think of hotdogs?
The ones from Costco are wonderful about twice a year.  And maybe once or twice one off the bar-b-que tastes good.  Again, I'm not addicted to them, because I always get horrible heart burn and it's not worth it.

7. What's your favorite Christmas song?
"Mary Did You Know"

8.What do you prefer to drink in the morning?
decaf Yuban with lots of liquid Coffee Mate (the unflavored one)

9. Are you in love?
I wish....

10. Have you ever done ecstacy?
Heavens no, only in the last few years did I even know what it was. When I was young, it was a state of mind.

11. Do you like Spam?
No, not really.  I had a couple cans in my emergency food supply when we were expecting some horrible thing to happen when the year 1999 became 2000.  Later in 2000 I gave it to the food bank.

12. Do you like painkillers?
I'm allergic to all the so-called good ones. So even when I had back and other surgeries all I got was Tylenol.

13. What is your secret weapon to lure in the opposite sex?
Believe me at my advanced age...it's much too late for any of that kind of business. I don't have the energy for such things.

14. Do you own a knife?
Just the ones in the kitchen drawer.

15. Do you have A.D.D.?
Nope. Unless it stands for Advanced Dietary Disorder.

16. Full initals?
LLS ...Which by the way... they have always been because my maiden name was Smith and when I got married I ended up with another last name that also began in "S"  

17. Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment.
    1. Poor Robin has cramps.

    2. I want to go out for Mexican food tonight

    3. Saturday if I do nothing else, I am going to go see Sandra Bullock's new movie "The Lake House."

18. Name the last three things you bought today.
    1. I ordered a couple new books on line

    2. 100 Postage stamps...I'm sick of never having stamps and it's pay day so why not stock up.   
    3. Filled up the gas tank....$2.98 for unleaded regular at a Union 76 station.

19. Name 5 drinks you regularly drink
    1.  milk  2.water 3. decaf coffee 4. decaf tea  5. Dr Pepper

   
20. What time did you wake up today?
about 7:15am

21.Are you married?
no unfortunatley I'm not.  I miss being married.

22. Describe your partner your wed to. (If you aren't use a friend).
I'm not wed so the friend I live with is; Short legged, grey and white hair (fur), big yellow-green eyes, long grey tail, and a flat face.

23. Current hate?
Robin is right..hate takes alot of energy.  But I do absolutely dislike and am totally sick of my job.  Something has to change & soon.

24. Favorite place to be?
anywhere but at the workplace, I'd rather go to the dentist than go to work.

25. Least favorite place to be?
the workplace

26. Where would you like to go?
After my Alaska cruise, I'd love to go to England so I could visit my cousin Doug, my former neighbor Terri and my AOL journal friends Sandra, Jeannette, Ally, Jan and Jeannette.

28. Where do you think you'll be in 10 years?
Oh wow, that a hard one..in 10 years I'll be 74 years old.  I hope I'm still alive and relatively healthy

29. Do you burn or tan?
I'm fair skinned and very blond...I do not tan.

30. Favorite color(s)?
lavender and blue (dilly, dilly)

31. Would you be a pirate?
To plunder and pillage?  No I don't think so.

32. Last time you had an alcoholic drink?
It was a little sip of champagne for a wedding toast in 1991.  I just don't like alcohol period.

33. What songs do you sing in the shower?
"Oh What A Beautiful Morning" then I go right into "Take This Job and Shove It."

34. As a child, what did you fear was going to get you at night?
I don't remember ever being afraid at night.

36. What's the last thing that made you laugh?
Something that was said at the MANDATORY staff meeting I had to attend today on my day off. It was so ridiculous, it was funny.

37. Best bed sheets you had as a child?
I can't remember...that was a long time ago. I know one thing..there were no nice fitted sheets when I was a child.

38. Worst injury you've ever had?
When I blew out my back in October of 1991, pushing a big fat patient in a wheel chair up a ramp at work.

40. How many tv's do you have in your house?
just two

41. Who is your loudest friend?
I can't think of any, most are pretty laid back, unless we're all together and then it's a different story.

42. Who is your most silent friend?
Gabi, my little flat faced kitty.  She doesn't meow, she just kind of squeeks.

43. Does someone have a crush on you?
Again, just Gabi...she thinks I'm wonderful.  She loves to be near me all the time, she worships and adores me.

44. Do you wish on stars?
Because I have to get up so early in the morning, I rarely see the stars.

45. What is your favorite book?
Well, I love my Bible of course but other than that..I guess Little Women

46. What's your favorite candy
plain Hershey bars, I can make one last several days...just break off a little square now & then.

47. What song did you last hear?
"Amazing Grace"  I was listening to a Christian radio station from Seattle on the way home from that stupid meetiing.

48. What song(s) do you want played at your funeral?
"Great is Thy Faithfullness", and  "No One Ever Cared For Me Like Jesus"

49. What were you doing at 12 am last night?
sleeping..I knew I had to get up this morning and prepare myself mentally for that stupid meeting at work.

50. What was the first thing you thought when you woke up this morning?
"Oh rats...I have to go to that stupid meeting at work and I'd rather go to a movie."

Finally! But since there wasn't a 27, 35, or 39 I guess you only really learned 47 things about me! Now I hope someone else will do this and pass on the results to myself and Robin.       Linda

The Friday 5'er from Robin

 

      Hi guys!!! 

It's Friday and it is time for what I call "THE 5'er!"     From Robin at; http://journals.aol.com/robinngabster/Thesearethedaysofourlives/entries/1611

If you want to play all you do is cut and paste these questions into your journal. (there is no deadline as to when you can do "The 5'er) When you have answered them come back and leave a link in my comment section.  On the following Friday I will have a new set of questions! Have fun!

This week's theme...Home Sweet Home.

 

LET'S PLAY!!!

 

1. What kind of home do you have?  Apartment? Condo? House?

I live in a double wide, 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom mobile home in a beautiful adult mobile home park.

2.  Did you have a tree house as a kid?

No...but I lived on 10 acres and there were several out- buildings that had roofs that were gently slanted.  In nice weather my friend Barbara and I would take blankets and pillows up on one of them and lay up there cloud watching, reading, talking about boys and hiding out from my mom and my little brother.

 

3.  Would your dream house be in the city, country, by a lake, by the ocean, in the mountains or on wheels seeing the world?

My dream house would be somewhere with a view.  I've lived in one of the most beautiful parts of the country all my life and never had a view of the mountains or water that surround this area.    If I could also afford a getaway house..it would definitely be up on a hill over looking the Pacific Ocean.

4. If you could have an extra room in your home that you had total control over design and all what kind of room would you create?

I would like a room big enough for a fabric cutting table (at the right weight of course), which would also serve as a gift wrapping table and craft table. It would also have lots of cupboards all around the room so that all the wrapping paper, craft stuff and my mailing stuff that I use when I sell on eBay could be stored out of sight.  This room would also house my treadmill so then of course there would be a TV & DVD player in one corner.

5. And finally....how many houses/apartments have you lived in up to this point. Counting as a child if you can remember that far back.

 Well my dad went off to WWII when I was 6 months old, so at that age I moved with my mom to her parent's place in eastern Washington, then my dad came home in 1945...so 5 as a kid. When I first went to work at the phone company, in 1960,  I lived at the YWCA for a couple months, then into the one and only aprtment I've ever lived in..so counting the Y forward, I've lived in 10 different places here in the same old town.  A couple of those places were only for a couple months, however.

Thank you Robin, that was fun.  We all hope you are once again in a house and the 27 foot trailer is strictly used for camping trips and vacations.     Until next time....Linda

FLOWERS, FLOWERS, FLOWERS

I've been so intrigued by the pictures that people have posted of their yards, I decided to go out and take some pictures of some of the flowers in my yard.  That first picture is not real clear but that little miniature rose bush is loaded with the most beautiful little roses right now.  At one time I had as many as 50 miniature rose bushes but over the years they have succumbed and I'm now down to only 3 of the little jewels.  They are really my favorite type of rose as the can be planted in planters and easily moved around the yard. 

Well, that's all for tonight.  It's just about time to head down the hall with my book and my kitty.    Until next time...........Linda

"BARBARA" ENTRY POST SCRIPT

Oopps  I forgot to mention.....Barbara and her husband were the first ones to sign up for the Alaska Cruise I put together for my high school class.  In fact it was after discussions with her that I went to the travel agent to get that event going.  So, when we leave the dock in Seattle on August 11th .....Barbara  (and hubby) will be there too.  

Now...I must get busy......Linda

This Entry Especially for Barbara

This entry is for Barbara at; http://journals.aol.com/mastersblynn/ConfessionsOfAnAngelWaitress/entries/1349

She put her name "Barbara" into Google and came up with some very interesting information.  Of course we all know it's not really all about her.....or is it ?  Anyway I commented that I wondered if there were more "Barbara's" or " Linda's" in the world and I thought that perhaps it was a toss-up.    Then I got to thinking about my friend Barbara.  We first met when we were in the 6th grade (back in 1953-54).  Her folks had moved to a house less than a mile from where I lived.  We rode the same school bus and fate put us both in Mr. Anderson's 6th grade class at Midland School. I wish I had a nickle for each trip we both made back and forth on our bikes those years we were growing up.  I dare say that in all the years since 6th grade....we have never gone more than a couple weeks without talking on the phone. And we see each other at least once a month.  We've shared so many experiences...I couldn't even begin to list them. Back when we were in school, I always got off the school bus first.  But I usually stopped in to see either my grandmother or my great grandfather as the bus stopped nearly at their front door.  Then I had to walk down our long driveway and by the time I got in the house I knew Barbara would be home.  Either I'd call her or she'd call me to finish the important conversation we were having on the bus. I can remember my dad coming in the house and finding my ear glued to the phone.  The conversation with my mother went something like this....."who's Linda talking to?"  My mom would answer "I think it's Barbara."  Dad..."didn't they just see each other at school all day and then sit together on the bus?"  Mom..."yes, they probably did...but apparently they didn't finish talking to each other."  Then dad would stomp back out of the house and go about his business.    Now as older, mature lady's we still talk on the phone.  But, it's more about the agony of still going to work each day and then about our kids and grandkids.   Barbara is still blessed to have her mom alive.  I think of her as kind of my "second mom."  Because all those years growing up, if I wasn't home I was at Barbara's house and the same with her.   Barbara and I talked just last night...our high school friend Judy is coming from Arizona in a couple weeks and wants to get together for lunch with Barbara and I and our other friend...Linda.  Yup another Linda.  So we'll be four old friends...2 Linda's, one Judy and one Barbara.    I'll have to see that we get a picture of the four of us and post it after we have lunch on June 25th. 

I'm off to see a movie this afternoon.  "A Prairie Home Companion" is playing at The Grand Cinema....you know that sweet little privately owned theater I go to every now and then.   Have a wonderful Sunday afternoon. Until next time......Linda

Ezra Meeker Day Festival in Puyallup

This weekend is the annual Ezra Meeker Festival in Puyallup, WA.  Blocks and blocks of the city are set aside, for food booths, crafters booths, the farmers market and fun things for the kiddies to do.  You can buy almost any craft item you can think of and some you would never in a million years think of.  Tonight the Ventures will perform live on the stage set up in the middle of all the activity and Sunday afternoon the Wailers will perform.  Both are local groups that made rock and roll history back in the late 1950's and early 1960's.   It was a fun day, walking around, checking everything out but I can tell I'm getting old....my feet are killing me. 

The weather man talked about rain today but it hasn't happened yet.  I'm glad for those who are down there selling their wares.  It would be miserable in the rain. 

Well, I'm going to go put my feet up and relax.  Until next time.....Linda

YOUR MONDAY PHOTO SHOOT, THE LETTER "M"

Your Monday Photo Shoot: The Letter M

From:  http://beta.journals.aol.com/johnmscalzi/bytheway/entries/6020

The Photo Shoot is back! After an untimely disappearance last week (due to me being trapped in airplane hell) we're ready to continue your photographic explorations into... well, whatever we feel like exploring this week. And this week, I feel like exploring one of the letters of the alphabet.

Your Monday Phoot: Take a picture of something that starts with an "M".                From marshmallows to muscilage, it's all good.

I know I'm  a little late , I know it's four days past Monday, but I'm off today and catching up here.  When I saw this assignment, the first "M" thing that came to my mind was MILK.   Good with chocolate cake, chocolate chip cookies, and great to dip graham crackers in.  It's great on your breakfast cereal and in your coffee or tea. How about that late night snack of bread and milk ?  Or just a warm glass of milk to calm the nerves when you can't sleep.   Anyway, this is my entry....a glass of moo juice. 

PHOTO SCAVENGER HUNT #78

Photo Scavenger Hunt #78...from; http://journals.aol.com/valphish/ThereisaSeason/entries/1736

The entries for Photo Scavenger Hunt #78 will be due on Sunday, June 11, 2006 at 11:00 PM EST

Category:  Black and white

Your subject(s) can be black and white or your photo(s) can be black and white.  No rules!!  Place the link to your entry in the comments section below.  Thanks for playing!  Have fun! xox

Here's my contribution.  Of course colored film was available in 1962, but it seems we mostly used black and white.  Now, I see there's a return to black and white, even when it comes to wedding pictures.  I think they actually look very neat.       Linda

Ziploc Omelet

I got this from my longtime friend Nancy.  She sent it in the form of an email and I think it's such a great idea I decided to use it for a journal entry.   It's called "Ziploc Omelet" and you could use it for a group of people or just one or two people. And I'm going to try it this weekend.  Let me know if you try it and how it turned out, OK?

If you have a group, have everyone write their name on their Ziploc freezer bag with a permanent marker, so they don't get mixed up.    First crack 2 large eggs into the bag (no more than two), shake to combine them.  Then you can have a variety of ingredients such as cheeses, diced ham, chopped onion, chopped green and/or red pepper, chopped tomato, cooked crumbled bacon, or salsa, etc.   Each person adds prepared ingredients of choice to their bag and shake well.  Make sure to get all the air out of the bag and then zip it up.  Place bags into rolling, boiling water for exactly 13 minutes.  You can usually cook 6-8 omlets in a large pot.  For more than that just make another pot of boiling water.     Open the bags and the cooked omelet will roll out easily.  Be prepared for everyone to be amazed.   Nice to serve with frest fruit and coffee cake.     You can even make up the bag(s) the night before, leaving them in the refrigerator until your ready to cook them the next morning. 

It's been sunny and breezy here in Western Washington today.  I think the tempature was about 65 degrees (just right).  They are saying rain is moving back into the area but after four or five sunny, breezy days everything is drying out again, so that's ok with me.

Until next time............Linda

"And A Good Time Was Had By All"

WOW !! What an evening we had.  First of all, the food at the Elks was fabulous !  Our buffet included green salad, fruit salad, pasta salad, potato salad, rolls, steamed baby carrots, little red potatoes, baked chicken and prime rib roast. The dessert table was equally full, with German chocolate cake, chocolate cheesecake, sliced pound cake with fresh strawberries and whipped cream, lemon cake and little dishes of chocolate and vanilla pudding and tapioca.  All for $20 a piece including tax and gratuity.   I think there were approximately  80 people there, we expected about 100 but there are always some who think they can come and then for one reason or another they can't make it.  We really didn't really have a program planned other than a few words by those of us who planned it and then a toast to the long time owner Mr Fite, who is now 95 years old.  His dear wife brought him out for this special occasion.  But one thing led to another and we had a session of "open mike" and one after another got up and shared humourous stories of their experiences while working at this dealership.  There was much laughter and then some tears as we remembered those who were special to us, who have passed away.  I gave a ride to Dorothy, who was in her early forties when some of the rest of us were only in our twenties.  She was like our "mom at work."  She worked in the Parts Department doing inventory control.  She knew how many of each little nut, bolt, muffler, etc the Parts Department had on hand at any given time.  Anyway, Dorothy is 81 now...she's in the picture I've included in the turquoise jacket.  In later years after she lost her husband she married Dean who was the Parts Manager back in the late 60's and they had 24 wonderful years before he passed away just a little over a year ago.  At one point during the evening she looked at me, with tears in her eyes and said.."Dean would have just loved this."  So like I said earlier, it was a bitter- sweet reunion of sorts.  Everyone wants to do it again, so probably sometime next year we'll plan another one and hopefully some who couldn't make it this time will be able to attend next years event.  

Over the years, I remained friends with not only Dorothy but Dick and Donna.  They met and married while working at the dealership.  Donna is the gal on the left end with the white blouse and her husband Dick is the second one over from her in the burgandy shirt.  Their oldest daughter is 8 months younger than my son Jim and when Donna went back to work after having her, I baby sat her for several months.  They have remained dear friends all these many years.

My Saturday didn't go quite like I planned.  My goal was to get some grocery shopping done, too.  I went over to the local Safeway and the parking lot was so full, I thought "I'll just get groceries Sunday afternoon."  So then I headed for a youth group car wash that  my grandchildren were participating in.  As they were washing my car, I noticed that my right rear tire was getting lower and lower. One of the men that was there helping the kids volunteered to change it. When he got it off we found a screw neatly imbedded in the tire.  After he put on the spare,  I headed to the nearest tire shop to have it fixed. Meanwhile, the minutes were ticking away and it was getting closer and closer to when I was to pick up Dorothy.  I still had to iron my blouse and get ready to go to the Elks.  I dropped off the tire, raced home, freshened up, ironed my blouse, got ready and then went back to the tire shop where they mounted the repaired tire and I was off and running.

Today I will be grocery shopping (unless another tire is flat) and getting ready to go back to work tomorrow.  It rained hard during the night and now it's 64 degrees, very windy, raining very hard and overcast.  This morning's paper said we have had our normal June rainfall already and it's only June 4th.  Hmmmm....does that mean we are going to break a record here in Western Washington ?   

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend, until next time.........Linda

Freaky Friday

Wow, the weather was really weird today (well I guess it wasn't weird for Western Washington).  We had sun, sprinkles, wind, heavy rain, showers, sun and wind.  One minute it was sunny and then it was raining "cat's and dog's."  All of this was to blame for a huge pile up not too far from me on highway I-5.  Here's the link to the story; http://www.komotv.com/stories/43732.htm   It's amazing there was only one person seriously injured.     What's the difference between showers and rain anyway?

I've been so blessed by Barb's CD...I called her up today.  It was great talking to one of my "electronic" pen pals.  

My dear neighbor man slipped yesterday afternoon stepping down from his porch onto his carport.  He is so active and is always out with his leaf blower cleaning not only his property but mine too. He always is there to lend a helping hand.   Anyway, he broke his ankle in two places.  Please remember Mr. Newton in your prayers.  He will have a very difficult time staying down for his ankle to heal.....and remember to pray for Mrs. Newton, too.  I'm sure she will have her hands full in the next few weeks trying to keep him from being too active.

Well, tomorrow evening (Saturday) is the reunion of those that worked at Walker Chevrolet.  In adding up the names and making up a roster for the Elks Club, we have approximately 100 people who have said they are coming.  The three guys that I've been doing the planning with, have called and called...then they call me and give me their updated lists.  I've been doing the computer work for them.  I've got a  roster with names and phone numbers on one floppy disk and another with just the names in alpha order for the Elks Club people.  I was only there a little over 2 years so there will probably be about 88 people there that I don't know.  Many of those that were there when I worked there (1968-1970) have passed away.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend....I think it's time for me to head downthe hall with my book and my kitty.   Until next time.........Linda