THE DUST WILL WAIT

My granddaughter and my daughter, and my granddaughter, and my grandson, the taller one on the right. Yeah.  Those are the ones that take after grandpa.

There hasn't been a dog in residence for over 10 years now.  In dog years, that is a life time. Many times I get that little pinge in my heart when I'm out walking and stop to pet another walker's furry friend.  Most of my neighbors have dogs that are the recipients of the doggy treats we keep in the garage for just that occasion.  Oh yes!  Lots of scratches behind their ears and baby talk. It is easy to get a "fix" of doggy love at my middle daughter's house.  They got a puppy last summer  - some kind of a fox terrier, Jack Russel, and Pomeranian mix.  "Mugsy" has ears that stick up and make him appear much taller.  He is a blur when he runs, and he can jump up and peak over things that gives one the impression that he is on a trampoline.   For some reason he has decided I am  his long lost mother.  I have to meet him by the door because he gets so excited that he goes potty.  Then he bounces and yips  and won't stop...

These wild turkeys in my neighbor's yard don't know what happens in November. During the summer there were two adult females and 17 "poults" that wandered through our neighborhood daily.  They have all grown, and the count is down by at least two.   I'm not exactly sure what they are eating in "Bill's" yard, but there may be lots of tasty grub thriving under the new fall of walnut leaves. Listening and seeing these wild creatures is enjoyable.  However, knowing that their introduction to the hills around the valley has not been kind to the native grouse is not .

When my mama and her eldest sister passed away in the summer of 1993, there were some boxes of old photos that came into my safekeeping.  Some had belonged to my grandmother Grace.  Others were from her mother, Augusta.  I spent many hours the following year sorting, scanning, and making attempts to identify them. There are yet photos that no one knows or recognizes and I have them filed under the category "Unknown."      This particular photograph has been the object of much conjecture and curiosity - especially when my brother Mike and I have discussed our genealogy interests.   Mike recently had the opportunity to read the journal written by the grandson of my great Aunt Hattie, my grandmother Grace's older half sister. Hattie was born in 1869 and married Herbert, a photographer, in 1887.  We knew that one of the reasons we inherited many interesting pictures was because of Herbert's livelihood.   Hattie's grandson Newton wa...

When I left the house the other morning to head West on a 4 hour drive that takes me through the gorge, I wasn't expecting the fierce wind.  Teach me to check the weather report through the Columbia Gorge. When I joined the trucks and cars on I-84, I feared we would all become bumper cars for the gusts that channeled through the gullies.  We were certainly targets for the tumbleweeds that had long lost their tumble in exchange for bullet intensity.  The anxiety and my morning coffee combined to make me so appreciative of an Oregon's highway rest stop... they really are nice and well kept ...but I could barely get my car door open, not to mention the struggle to get the heavier restroom door to respond to my road weary arms.  If I had designed that particular rest area, I would have put the men's room on the prevailing wind side. Deeper into the gorge the rain was relentless, but the wind backed off a bit. The river, however, was doing its best to impersonate t...

Grandchildren Grandma: Dinkum -- let me give you a hug and a kiss Dinkum, 5 1/2: If you have Fifty-five bucks. *** Z-bub, 7 1/2, shares his brother's  belief that he’s too old to be kissing grandma. The other day I was showing him one of those cute videos on U-tube with dogs and cats. I was completely caught off guard when he leaned against my shoulder and put his fingers up my head and began to caress my hair.  I never said a word… just enjoyed the moment. *** Dinkum: "What does Hallelujah mean?" Mom:  Well, it’s like being thankful and full of praise.  A word for worship. Dinkum:  “Then why does that one song say it's raining men, hallelujah ?” *** Dinkum: "Grandma! We had chinese food." Grandma: Yum!  What food did you eat? Devo: I had chicken on a stick, pineapple chicken and spilled water. ***  Saw this picture on another forum recently and felt I had to post it in honor of Dinkum.  It speaks for itself. *** C...

The years keep rolling. The 60’s, The 70’s, The 80’s, the 90’s Doesn’t it seem that  Y2K was just last year? ( Hey,  what did we call the decade ending in 2010? The Aughts?  My daddy might have said “Twenty aught one, Twenty aught two.) If you are reading this you survived the 2012 apocalypse. Now, what do we call the next seven years? The teens? That sounds ominous. This is the future that at one time in my life appeared so distant that it seemed unattainable.  I was certain to never grow to be that old. But it was. And, I am. It   is not what I thought it would be. I am disappointed in planes, trains, and automobiles. I am in awe of computer technology and medical science. I am grieved by the exclusion of formality and the derision of etiquette and respect.   I am astonished by satellite, 9oo9le e@rth , and  instant awareness. I am frightened when I look in the mirror.  But I’m excited each morning that I am still a...