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Wednesday, November 3rd, 2004
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3:05 pm
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I am hoping to learn how to update my journal. Thanks, Carter. I'm afraid I am a Dork when it comes to computers!!!!
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2:47 pm
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I am hoping to learn how to update my journal. Thanks, Carter.I am hoping to learn how to update my journal. Thanks, Carter.
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2:08 pm
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This afternoon Carter visited me from San Jose. I am hoping to learn how to update my journal. Thanks, Carter.
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| Thursday, August 19th, 2004
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5:23 pm
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| Sunday, July 4th, 2004
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5:58 pm
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| Friday, February 6th, 2004
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11:58 pm - My Recovered Wallet
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Goodness, I just realized it’s been 18 days since I last wrote. A lot has happened since then, but the most important was my getting my wallet back with everything in it. I suppose I should be delighted, but actually I’m furious. It was my fault to start with for leaving the wallet in Rite Aid store, but the fact that they kept it for ten days before making any effort to find me infuriates me. My personal checks had my address on them, and they could have found me through my bank card. Instead I spent a great deal of money and wasted time because of their thoughtlessness. I haven’t visited the manager of the store yet, but when I do I will tell him that I will never use his store again,
AND neither will many of my friends who are as disgusted as I am.
A couple of really nice things have happened at work recently. One day an attractive couple came in for wine tasting, and the wife was Japanese. It turned out they have a home very near where I lived in Tokyo. The husband is an engineer who works for a Japanese company, so they have the best of both worlds. They were soooo nice, and I think I finally found the digital camera I want after seeing theirs. It’s a Sony, but so far it hasn’t arrived in the U.S. yet. Just as well, because with my Vietnam trip coming soon, I wouldn’t have the cash to pay for one anyway. BUT….some day!!!
Then on another day a beautiful black couple came into the winery. I knew immediately that they weren’t American, just by their bearings. I was right; they came from Tanzania in Africa, but they knew Uganda and Kenya where I have been, so we had a wonderful time comparing notes. The husband is a computer engineer working in Silicon Valley, and he had a fabulous sense of humor.
Then, when I arrived at Simi Winery today I was told as soon as I entered that an old friend of mine was there. Not only was there one friend, there were two. One was a handsome French lady, Chantal who used to work at Simi. We hadn’t seen each other for ages, so we hugged and caught up on each of our news. The other person was my very very dear friend, Wendy. She had worked five years at Simi’s, and it was she who actually was responsible for my first getting a job there. We see each other a couple of times a year, and she kindly cuts my hair for me. It was also with her family that I had the unbelievably lovely walk in Armstrong Woods among the giant Redwood trees on Christmas morning two years ago. Wendy hasn’t worked at Simi’s for a couple of years now so it was a delight to see her again. She has promised to cut my hair again just before I go to Vietnam. So seeing those two ladies started my day off perfectly. It was a very slow day, so I was able to read the newspaper and also the article about Saigon in an old Natural Geographic magazine I found,. These chilly mornings it is my job to start a fire in the fireplace and to keep it going all day, I love that!!
My computer was acting up again, so that, plus my laziness, has kept me from writing, but I have good intentions from now until I leave for Vietnam on Feb. 23rd.
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| Monday, January 19th, 2004
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2:32 pm - Stolen Wallet& a Week of no Internet
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My computer has been down for about a week, so I couldn’t add to my journal. It’s been a wild week in some ways, because I lost my big fat wallet (or more likely it was stolen) and I have had to spend several days canceling and renewing everything that was in it. The worst was my brother’s check for $400.00, but fortunately he cancelled it in time. The other pain is the loss of my driver’s license because without it as identification I’m stuck. I spent a couple of hours at the DMV, paid $19 and received a temporary license, but I’ll have to wait for the card with my photo. Costco gave me a card, but without a photo until I show them my license. Fortunately I have no credit cards, but my ATM card is a debit card, so of course that had to be cancelled, renewed, and sent to me later. It hasn’t arrived yet. Then there was Social Security (dumb dumb me! I had my S.S. card in my wallet. Warning to all—DON”T keep your social security number in your wallet!!!!!!) So now I have to wait for a new number, and I finally had the old one memorized. Dern! And then I also had my check book in the wallet. Ho Hum! Boy these are hard lessons!! So I have to order new checks and meantime the bank gave me some checks with the new numbers but NOT with my name and address. Soooooo… I have $3.00 in my new (old) wallet and the bank is closed today.
The other day when I was in Costco I saw a Vietnamese Mother with triplet daughters about 5 years old. I have never seen anything cuter! They were exact images of each other with the same haircut, same ribbons in their hair, same adorable dresses and same shoes. My grandmother had triplets and died after their birth. The baby girl also died, but the two boys lived into their 80’s and one of them was my favorite uncle. I always hoped I would have at least twins, but no luck. I wish I were friends of that Vietnamese family, because I would love to watch them grow up. I know some people don’t believe in dressing twins or triplets exactly alike, but rather to give each a separate personality. But if the truth be known, and if I had had twins, they would have been dressed identically.
The last three days were very busy at Simi Winery because we were part of a big event that included 85 wineries in all. It was fun talking with all the visitors, but when I got home last night I collapsed on my couch and went to sleep.
Now to try to do something useful. I feel so lazy today.
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| Saturday, January 10th, 2004
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11:41 pm - Lost Wallet--Healdsburg, Calif.
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Today was a bummer. When I was getting ready to go to work I realized my wallet was not in my purse. I made a thorough search of my apartment even though I always kept the wallet either in my purse or on my coffee table. I still had hopes that maybe it was at work, so as soon as I arrived I made another thorough search in the area where I always keep my purse. No luck.
I took off for the bank and cancelled my debit card (fortunately I don’t own any credit cards), but that also means that all my checks will be invalid. Of course the next two worries are my driver’s license and the check my brother had just sent me. It was in my wallet ready to be deposited in the bank. There wasn’t much money in the wallet, but my check book was, along with cards from Costco, AAA, the library, Safeway, Kaiser Permanente, plus a couple of other lesser important ones. I keep thinking the wallet will suddenly turn up, but so far it hasn’t. The last time I remember actually using it was after a doctor’s appointment at Kaiser when I went to the cafeteria for a sandwich day before yesterday.. But I called the cafeteria and the hospital’s security and no go. I feel like crying or screaming. I’ll have to ask my brother to put a stop payment on his check, and unfortunately he gets very cross with me when it looks as if I’ve done something stupid. I dread having to tell him. Also I’ll have to get my driver’s license renewed right away, or I’ll be driving around without one. Ohhhhhhhhhh Dern!!!!
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| Friday, January 9th, 2004
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10:52 pm - Birthday #7--Foster City, California
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Today was so s-l-o-w at the winery that there is nothing to tell. Perhaps one reason for the lack of visitors was the pouring rain. Anyway, before hitting the sack I will try to remember another birthday.
When I first came back from Japan to start to school after Frank and I had legally separated, my little daughter, Ronnie, came with me and we went house hunting together. We decided on a spacious apartment in Foster City, and of all the places I have lived I think it was the most comfortable. It had two big bedrooms, two baths, a lovely living room opening to a balcony where I fed sparrows every day, a kitchen and a dining room. There was a pool in the garden and a Sauna and exercise room. The rent was $500 a month!!! Unbelievable when I think of it now. I went back some years later when I was again apartment hunting, and the price had gone up to $1500.oo a month.
The apartment building was across the road from the bay, and there was a raised path for walking and bicycling that ran north under the San Mateo bridge and clear up to San Francisco Airport. Immediately across the path from us was a spit of land, and it was here that thousands of birds often settled . I loved the early morning when I started out for school, and the sun was rising over the bay.
After high school I attended a secretarial school for a year, but other from that I had had no advanced education. I spent the next year and a half working for an A.A. degree at San Mateo Junior College. Frank came to California and took Ronnie back to Japan, but I had several of my children staying with me off and on. The main guests were Monique and her British “friend”, Anthony. We had known Anthony in Japan, and he was famous for being a master chef among other things. As Christmas approached Anthony went hunting for all the necessities for Christmas dinner. Chief among his purchases were “crackers” for each person to explode and find a little toy inside, cranberries for sauce, the makings for Pate, and those small green “cabbages” only that isn’t their name, and I can’t think of it right now. Christmas morning he went to work and by afternoon we had a magnificent meal. Early Christmas morning, while opening presents, he also made some delicious drinks with Champagne and Orange Juice.
Two days later it was my birthday, and bless his heart, Anthony, after asking me what kind of cake I wanted, baked a beautiful layer cake and iced it with Orange frosting. I was so grateful to him, and it saddened me terribly later, after he and my daughter had been married for a few years, that they divorced. He is now in Uganda working for a
British company, and she is in New Zealand with a new husband and two young children. But the memories of that Christmas and birthday will always remain .
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| Thursday, January 8th, 2004
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11:22 pm - Prickly Heat Jan 2004
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Today I breathed a great sigh of relief! For about ten days I have been bothered with painful prickly itchings—like tiny hot needles. It jumps around my body—sometimes my back, sometimes my tummy, sometimes my upper arms, etc. I began to get scared that it might be Shingles, so I went to the library and read about that in a medical book. Wow! That was REALLY scary! Shingles can be so serious and so painful that people have been known to commit suicide. But it also said Shingles is usually concentrated around one’s waist and there is a rash or eruptions. Mine has been everywhere, including the waist, and I have no rash or eruptions. Nevertheless I took the books advice and got an appointment to see a nurse practitioner.
Low and behold all I have is very dry winter skin. I’ve been using the wrong soap (DOVE is the one recommended by the experts), and worst of all, each morning I have turned the water on my shower as hot as I could stand it. The pain of that nearly boiling shower pounding against all the itchy spots was ecstacy. All wrong. They even recommend taking only three showers a week and having the water cool or luke warm. Once out of the shower it’s best to slather body lotion thickly all over the irritated places—which is most of my body except my legs. Even the lotion I’ve been using on them is wrong. Unfortunately, when I was in Baltimore I bought a package containing eight or ten bars of soap—all the wrong kind, it turns out. Anyway, it was a huge relief to know that I don’t have Shingles. Phew!! Tomorrow I start my three days of work again, so I’m off to bed.
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| Tuesday, January 6th, 2004
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11:19 pm - Birthday #6 New Zealand
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Every morning the song from WW2 goes through my head as I try to get up the courage to jump out of bed into a cold room and run to the hot shower. The song is “Oh how I hate to get up in the morning! Oh how I’d like to remain in bed!” On the other hand, I hate losing a good hour or two of the day—especially at my age. Every minute is precious!
Yesterday I had planned to take care of a lot of errands, but friends advised me to make sure my car was completely fit. So Bill, the mechanic, ordered a necessary part, but I had to wait most of the day for him to bring it here and put it into the engine. Then, just as I was about to take off, my nephew, Richard Conarroe, telephoned me from Chicago. He doesn’t call often, but when he does, it is a real treat because he is so blasted funny!! It’s such wonderful therapy for me to laugh and laugh and laugh. We talked for an hour, and he has promised to come visit sometime. By then it was too late to go out, so I spent the time until bedtime straightening bureau drawers and watching my two favorite TV shows—FRIENDS and DR. PHIL
Today I started out about noon, visiting the post office, library and bank before driving the 15 miles to Santa Rosa and Costco to leave reprints to be done. The best thing that happened today was discovering the complete reading of Charles Dickens’s BLEAK HOUSE on cassette tapes in the library. For me it was a find! I’ve read and listened to this story many times, and I think I have even seen it on BBC TV, so this will be about the umpteenth time for me. As soon as I was back in my car I popped the first tape into the receiver and sighed with contentment as the story started. Incidentally, my car s now running like a dream after about $800 worth of work was put into it. Oh dear! And I did so want to have a little stash for Vietnam.
One of my daughters, Monique, her husband and her two children are all living in Christ Church, New Zealand now. It makes me think of the Christmas and birthday I spent in the south island of Otago with Ivy Hansen and her husband and grandson.
I first met Ivy when, together with my daughter’s Mother-in-law, I took a week’s coach trip to and around Scotland. Sometimes on the bus Ivy was my seat mate. She had been visiting her son who worked on an oil rig in the North Sea, and she was taking the Scotland trip before returning to New Zealand
When I returned to Japan I started a correspondence with Ivy, and about a month before Christmas she wrote and told me she had just finished making her Christmas cakes. Immediately the thought popped into my head, “Why don’t I go to New Zealand and eat some of Ivy’s cake?” So that’s exactly what I did. Before going to the south island, I toured the area north of Aukland and also visited the cathedral and the botanical gardens in Christ Church. It was summer in that southern area, but in Otago and down at Milford Sound it wasn’t very warm. Christmas trees were decorated with balloons, and besides the Christmas fruit cakes, each New Zealand housewife made her own version of a Pavlova dessert—named for the famous ballet dancer who once made a visit to their land. This was absolute murder for the waist line because it was meringue filled with heavy whipped cream among other things.
The Hansens’ 12-year-old grandson had Downs Syndrome, and I shared a bedroom with him. I have so much admiration for the patience and love people give to their not-so-perfect relatives. Christmas day was spent quietly at home with a visit or two to friends, but on my birthday Ivy and I started out on another coach trip which took us on a boat through Milford Sound and to some caves, black as coal, but with millions of Glow Worms alight. We viewed them from a boat, and we had to be very quiet because the least sound would turn them all off. Awesome!!! One of the things I will never forget, besides the thrill of watching Ivy’s sheep herder brother shearing his animals, was the quantities of food the New Zealanders can pack away at a meal. I couldn’t start to keep up with them at the inns where we stopped for the night. And…..I managed to resist the Blood Pudding! Ugh! All in all it was friendly and educational visit. Ivy still sends me a New Zealand calendar every Christmas.
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| Saturday, January 3rd, 2004
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7:09 pm - Birthday #5 Columbus, Georgia
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It’s Saturday, and it was really hard to get up this morning., I always sleep in a cold room with the window open right over my head, but the problem is getting out of my cacoon of blankets into the chilly room .Anyhow I made it to work exactly on time—10 o’clock—and when I walked into the winery my mouth flew open. There, waiting for me, was my good Buddhist priest friend and his lovely 21 year old daughter. He was taking her up to the geyser area to see the land he has bought for his meditation building, and they had kindly stopped to say hello. I was so thrilled that I rushed over to throw my arms around each of them. In so doing, my handbag caught a bottle of Walnut oil which was on the very corner of a shelf and it smashed to the ground spilling the slippery oil over a large area of the floor. Yikes!! I didn’t let it ruin my very short visit with them, however, and after they left Damme, my boss, Michael our cute actor part-timer, and I managed to sweep up the glass, soak up part of the oil and finally mop the area down. The danger, of course, was making sure no visitor slipped and fell. A month or so ago a lady missed the last step on the way down to our fountain and broke her hand. We had the fire department rescue workers, ambulance and Simi personnel involved. I understand Simi paid all the medical expenses and sent flowers. The very next day a metal banister was installed from top to bottom of those steps!
Fortunately I was not charged for the lost oil, and Damme even tried to say it was his fault for putting the bottle too near the edge of the shelf. Four years ago when I first started working for Simi and was upset about having to go to court to declare bankruptsy, I dropped a whole case of red wine. Six bottles broke and spread wine all over the rug in the store room. Thank goodness it WAS the store room and not out in the Tasting room. That time too, they did not charge me. I don’t make as much money as some other wineries, but Simi personnel have become like a family to me, and I love them all dearly.
As long as I’m here at the computer, I will continue writing about some of my birthdays. As I said before, they are all mixed up chronologically. This time I’ll go back to Columbus, Georgia when Frank, my husband, was stationed at Ft. Benning.. It was our first Christmas together, and I wanted it to be a lovely one. We purchased a big tree and after he put the lights on, I covered it with beautiful balls and angels, and lots of other things. It looked so pretty. Next day I was in another part of the house ironing when I heard a sickening crash. Ohhhhhhh!! Our tree and all its trimmings were spattered on the floor. I was heartbroken and even after the tree was replaced upright and decorated with whatever had survived the accident, it just wasn’t the same. Frank tried to make it up to me by giving me a lot of little presents two days later on my birthday. I’m trying to remember which birthday that was, but it’s difficult.. I think I was in my mid thirties.
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| Friday, January 2nd, 2004
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11:32 pm - Birthday #4-Mt, View, Cal.
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Happy New Year! Well, it actually started yesterday, but I was too beat to write anything. It’s the Year of the Monkey, so hopefully it will be a fun and good one for everyone,
Today I went back to work, and it felt good. My workmates kindly waited for me to start the fire in the fireplace, because they know how much I like doing that. Then I set up the little jars of Tapinade and poured some of the Sesimi/wasabi marinade, all for visitors to taste, and hopefully to buy. We had a wonderfully successful day and we each carried a nice bottle of wine home with us. This is known to be the slow period among wineries, so we have been very very lucky of late. I was sorry to see Toshi go yesterday when friends came and picked her up, but in a way I was happy to be able to pack up all the Christmas decorations and start getting my apartment back in shape. One of my weaknesses is a loathing for clutter, something that always caused friction between my “ex” and me.
Speaking of him, he was living in Mt. View, Calif. when I was in Japan teaching. One Christmas I came back and stayed in his house so I could enjoy the holidays with some of my children. Most of the visit was very pleasant, and then on my birthday he gave me the money to buy some clothes. I ended up with a stunning top of colored sequins and black velvet pants. Since I attended many Embassy parties in Japan, this was a wonderful gift for me. New Year’s Eve all the kids were gone, so there was just the two of us. I almost hoped maybe we could recover a little of our old romantic feeling, but he left me alone in the house to attend a neighbor’s party. Next day he was putting things away on a shelf above the garage when he fell off the ladder onto the concrete floor. It was lucky I was there, because I drove him to the hospital and waited while he was checked. Shortly after that I returned to Japan, so that was one more of my birthdays, although I can’t remember which one.
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| Tuesday, December 30th, 2003
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11:28 pm - Vacaville Visit--Dec.30, 2003
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The Weather changed from torrential rain to bright, crisp air today. Toshi and I started out at 9:15, and to our great relief Rte. 101 was clear. Yesterday was a nightmare because just as we were about to get on the highway we encountered police cars and blockades. So instead of a speedy drive to Navato where we were to meet our friends, we inched along bumper to bumper on a back road for a full half hour. When we did finally get back on the highway we were only as far as the next town Windsor.
So today the coast was clear and we had a smooth drive from Healdsburg to Vacaville through some of the most beautiful wine country ever. I never cease to be amazed at the acres and acres and acres of perfectly pruned vineyards at this time of year. Who does it? It must take weeks of back breaking work, and yet I’ve seldom seen any workers in the fields.
After dropping off two films to be done at Vacaville’s Costco, we made a bee line for the outlets. Toshi headed for Gap and other sports shops and I bought two pairs of shoes at the Naturalizer outlet—second pair half price. For several years now that is the only brand shoe I wear—so comfortable and yet nice looking. However, for me the high point was finding a CHICO shop. When I’m working at Simi as a Greeter I can always tell when someone is wearing a Chico. They are completely unique. The prices are usually sky high, even when on sale, but I found a lovely lavender silk blouse and an exquisite little satin and velvet and embroidered vest to go with it. I don’t know where I can ever wear it, but I couldn’t resist and the price was right.
From there we drifted into my favorite restaurant, Fresh Choice, and we both loaded up on salads, clam chowder, apple cinnamon muffins and dessert. Boy, that’s the best feed of its kind I’ve had in ages, even considering all the holiday meals.
The main reason we went to Vacaville was to visit my precious elderly friends, Dick Washburn 80, and his sister-in-law, Marian 92. I had gifts for both of them, and I love being with them. Dick showed us his new printer, scanner, and he was delighted with the box of miniature cowboy paraphernalia I gave him. I gave Marian a small fondue set for chocolate and fruit. I had meant to write more about past birthdays, but that will have to wait. I’m sleepy.
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| Monday, December 29th, 2003
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9:45 pm - Birthdays #3
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Here I am again—safe after a harrowing drive back from a wonderful Japanese lunch with friends in San Francisco. We could hardly see through the torrential rains and it was black as pitch in many areas. But I drove, and my Japanese house guest, Toshi, kept an eye out for signs and road impediments. It always makes me laugh when people ask “Do you still drive?” H---- yes, I still drive; the day they take my license away they might as well kill me. Anyway, Etsuko, my friend and practically my daughter because I love her so much, fixed a magnificent spread, and then I had more presents to open—silver earrings and home-made jellies. My 80th wasn’t especially memorable, but this 81st just keeps going on and on and on like the TV batteries.
Actually, I have spent a lot of time visiting and living with these friends, so it seems the right time to mention the Christmas and Birthday I spent with them in El Cerrito, California. I was on holiday from my teaching job in Japan, and since my own children were spread all over the map and my husband (#2) and I had been on a separation agreement for a few years, I accepted their invitation. It was very cozy and loving with a fire in the fire place and a tree a-sparkle, hovering over piles of prettily wrapped presents. There was an elderly man in El Cerrito who for many years had decorated the empty lot next to his home so lavishly for Christmas that people drove from miles around to see it. We were among the throng, and the scene he created was so amazing it was almost unbelievable. I was having a wonderful happy time enjoying visitors, opening gifts and eating Holiday food—happy, that is until the mail man left what seemed like a psychological bomb. It was a letter from my “ex” enclosing divorce papers to be signed. Even though we weren’t living together, we had parented four children ad shared the grief of losing Baby Charmaine, so I had hoped to at least stay friends. But that was that. Before returning to Japan I joined my friends on their balcony overlooking the city far below. It was New Year’s Eve, and at midnight the sound of guns and Uzzis being shot into the air all through a tough neighborhood below was pretty scary.
That’s enough for tonight. To be continued.
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| Sunday, December 28th, 2003
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10:46 pm - Birthdays#2
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It’s 10 o’clock and my Japanese house guest and I just returned from the most boring movie I’ve seen in years. It’s Jack Nicholson’s “Something’s Got to Give”. Ugh!!! I could hardly wait for it to end. Jack is so fat and so ugly; I think it’s time for him to be put out to pasture.
A very heavy rain storm is predicted for tomorrow and the next day which is bad news since I plan to drive to San Francisco for lunch with my very dear friends (a late birthday treat) and the next day to Vacaville to visit my two precious elderly friends. Rte 101 here in northern California is beastly in the rain, and kind of scary too. Anyway, I want to get to bed early, so I will continue my birthdays by mentioning only one or two mor
Columbus, Georgia, December ’52: My three children and I were living in a very cute Windmill House while my husband was fighting in the Korean war. It was while there that I became 30, and while it seems ridiculous now, at that time I felt as if I had reached old age! I decided to give myself a “wake” so I invited several friends to a party, and I dressed in a very sexy black dress. It was all very foolish, but the truth is I did foolish things sometimes in my life.
Hawaii, Dec. ’71: My second husband and I had separated a few months before my 49th birthday, and I was feeling very low. After divorcing my first husband and living through the death of my little Mark (he was hit by a 16 year old driver), I married another Army officer and had four more children. Again I lost a child—my 6-months old Charmaine—to Crib Death. We were all in Japan at that time, and when I heard of a cheap Christmas trip to Hawaii; I grabbed it. Christmas day I drove a rented car to the far end of Bellow’s Beach and spent the entire day all alone on the empty beach, The sand was white and warm, the sea turquoise and green, and I communed with nature for hours on end,. Late in the afternoon I stopped in the Kahala Hilton Hotel which was decorated with a huge Christmas tree and watched people coming and going.
Two days later on my birthday Sapatu , a native musician whom my children and I had befriended when we were living near the Kahala Hilton, invited me to take a dinner cruise on the boat he entertained on sometimes. It was a balmy evening; the food was great, the music was sublime; and best of all as we sailed up to Diamond Head and back there was the most glorious sunset followed by all the twinkling lights of Waikiki.
Tokyo, Japan, Dec. ’72: Now let’s speed ahead to the next year. Frank and I had reconciled, at least for awhile, and I was back living with the family—also for awhile. For the only time that I can remember my husband arranged a birthday party for me—my 50th-- and invited some of my dearest friends, the Gelwicks and the Sakimuras, plus some World Book Encyclopedia couples who were in Hawaii on vacation. I remember it was a really lovely party, and it’s sad to think that the happiness didn’t last. More soon.
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| Saturday, December 27th, 2003
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9:25 pm - Birthdays #1 Dec 27th, 2003
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My goodness! It’s almost worth it to reach 81. I have received two weeks of love, gifts, cards, attention , hugs and meals with today, Dec.. 27th, being my real birthday and culminating in a whole tasting room full of visitors, all strangers, singing “Happy Birthday to You” to me and giving me hugs, hugs, hugs. Wow! How lucky can a person get?! I’ve already written about the surprise party my Simi Winery work mates gave me last week, and last night in bed I tried to remember as many of my past birthdays as possible. I did the same today, in between giving out samples of Tapanade and Sesami-Wasabi marinade. I wrote them down as I thought of them, so they are all out of sequence, and I find to my amazement that my early life up until I married has no birthday memories at all. The only thing I can remember about those birthdayas is that everyone gave me gifts which combined my birthday and Christmas, and I hated that
On the other hand, little by little memories started coming back, and I was surprised in how many places my birthday popped up. Here are a few:
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New Orleans: During WW2, I, a new bride, lived with my Mother-in-law, Amenie in a shotgun cottage on Camp Street. This was where my first child, Mark, was born while his father, recently graduated from West Point, was overseas fighting. I was a D--- Yankee , so many things were strange and difficult for me. For one thing, Amenie, who had married her husband straight out of West Point when she was 16, was still in her 30’s and very domineering. I had never seen giant cockroaches before—the ones that f lew and lived in the palm trees--and the humid heat was oppressive. There were no air conditioners in those days, so at night a window fan in the front of the house pulled some air through from the open window in the back. What I remember about Christmas and my birthday that year were the flowers everywhere—Poinsettas and Azaleas and Camelias brightening everyone’s garden. It was winter, and yet everything was blooming. A real surprise for someone like me who was used to bitter cold and snow in New Jersey in December
Mobile, Alabama: At the end of the war my Father-in-law, a full colonel, returned, and we all moved to Mobile where he was District Engineer. By this time little Mark was about two and very bright and very cute. That Christmas and birthday we had a big tree and lots of presents but my husband still had not returned from the war. Little Mark and his granddaddy got on just fine, but the latter insisted that we feed the child grits and eggs every morning.
Penrith Plantation, Jackson, Louisiana: My inlaws bought 600 acres and a house after the war, and my growing family—by then my daughter, Stirling, was born—spent much time with them. One Birthday was the most outstanding of my life. There were several plantation homes in the area, most of which contained many black families. On this particular birthday, black plantation workers gathered from all around and then paraded down the dirt road and into our driveway, singing the most gorgeous gospel songs I have ever heard—before or since When they were a arranged in our living room they kept singing for “Miss Janey” and when they put into words the crucifiction of Jesus, tears were running down all their fac4s. Needless to say there weren’t any dry white faces either. I have regretted over and over that I had no tape recorder in those days. What a precious gem that would be to have.
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| Tuesday, December 23rd, 2003
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10:51 pm - Srprise of a Lifetime! Dec. 2003
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Today was one of the most wonderful and precious of my entire 81 years. I was given a complete surprise party at Simi Winery—the first surprise party I have ever had in my entire life. It was cold rainy day, and after I built a fire in our tasting room’s fire place and set out the samples, the day dragged on and on with no visitors. I guess everyone was either out Christmas shopping or hunkered down in their warm homes. Anyway it was really boring, although I did get a chance to read two newspapers.
About 2 o’clock Patty, the winery’s receptionist who is one of my dearest friend, (It was she and her husband who took me home and cared for me after my cancer operation) asked me to come into the other room. Whenever that happens I immediately worry that I have done something wrong and am about to be chastised. She opened the door into a little back room where we often eat our lunch, and suddenly a whole group of people started singing “Happy Birthday to you”. I was in shock when I realized it was for me! My birthday isn’t until next Saturday, the 27th, but since many of them will be going over the holidays they secretly planned this for me. When it finally dawned on me what they had done and I saw the balloon which said, “I Demand a Recount!” and the gifts and the smiling faces, I burst into tears. Pam put her arms around me and held me until I could get control of myself, and then they all told me how much they loved me. I still can’t believe it! I told them that since my own family is spread so far and wide, they have become my true family—and I really meant it.
My gifts were splendid. Heidi gave me the lovliest little box with a fairy (or angel) with sparkly wings on the top and a sparkly tiny bow inside.. Patty gave me a pretty tin box with a stack of note paper and a pen inside. And most amazing of all was the tiny real Christmas tree covered with $5.oo bills for decoration. Wow! And Katherine, whose husband, Jerry, came over just for the party, gave me a great little book all about Vietnam. Pam’s gift was the most amazing. She had covered two bottles of wine with adorable miniature brocade Chinese dresses. AND there was my favorite food—pumpkin pie. All in all it was a day to remember, and once again it made me so grateful that at the age of 81 I am still able to enjoy life to the fullest. Lucky, Lucky me!!!!
Later: My computer has been frozen, so I couldn’t transfer this from “Word” to my journal.
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| Monday, December 8th, 2003
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10:57 pm - Wow! I'm Back--Dec. 8, 2003
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Wow! I just checked and realized I hadn’t written in my journal since November 17th. For one thing my computer has misbehaved a lot of the time, but that’s not the only reason. I am now working four days a week—long tiring hours—and I have used all my free time to get all my Christmas cards written and addressed ( 250-- 80 of them for overseas) and Christmas presents purchased and wrapped. Tomorrow I will mail all of them. Every year I say I won’t send cards or give many gifts, but as the time approaches I can’t resist. I have given away or sold much of my big collection of Christmas decorations, crèches, Santa Clauses, etc., but I still seem to have way too much. So I HAVE decorated, but no tree this year.
Festivities have started, and tonight after work I rode with friends in the dark way out in the country to Preston Winery for a great party. They have one of those old fashioned wall ovens and make fresh bread every day. Tonight they made the best pizzas I have ever tasted! As we left the winery to return home I looked up just as a shooting star flashed across the dark sky. It was the first one I had seen for many years, and it made me very happy. Then too there was a full moon, and all through the dark distant hills Christmas lights were twinkling on houses and on trees that seemed to be suspended in the dark.
Between now and the end of the year there are already several fun events scheduled both at work and at friends’. After that I will have to start preparing for my trip to Vietnam at the end of February. There are shots to get and a visa for my passport and lots of other things. But to prepare for a trip is often for me even more exciting than the trip itself.
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| Monday, November 17th, 2003
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11:31 pm - Frankie Communicates at last! Nov. '03
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Well it looks as if I’m back on line after a couple of days of nothing. Today at work it was very very slow, so I had a chance to read one whole book about the wine industry in Napa and Sonoma. It is such a fascinating subject! There were times when it looked as if the wine industry in California was doomed. One thing was a disease caused by a kind of bug that destroyed the vines from the roots up, and then there were the many years of prohibition when supposedly wineries were forbidden to make or sell wine. I think most of the winemakers secretly made wine in their cellars, so when the prohibtion ended they had supplies to sell right away. And then, too, churches were allowed to buy sacramental wine. It’s interesting, too, to read about each varietal such as Chardonnay, Cabernet, Syrah and all the others. Each is so distinctive and each pairs well with certain foods. It’s odd that all those years when my husband was buying and drinking the best French wine I never even tasted any. I still don’t drink very much—just a half a glass at the end of a working day. If truth were known, I would much rather have an ice cream soda or a chocolate milk shake, but then I have always had a sweet tooth.
Last night I was very tired from two days on my feet for over six hours each. So for the first time I abandoned everything else and hunkered down on my couch to watch a PBS movie. It was “Kayote Waits”, a mystery by Tony Hillerman. I have read every single one of his mysteries which all star a Navajo Detective and his sidekick. The last time I drove across the country with Tetsuzo Okudaira we stopped at Window Rock which is where the Navajo Nation Headquarters are. I fully expected to see Hillerman’s Chief Dectective walk out of one of the buildings. Incidentally it was on that trip that I was so embarrassed that someone from another country—Japan—could see in what miserable condition many of our native Americans are living.
But before settling down for the movie I had a wonderful surprise. There was a message on my answer phone from my son, Frankie, whom I hadn’t heard from in a couple of years. He and his Air Force wife have been living in Japan, but they are now in Okinawa and it seems it will be easy to communicate with them through Santa Rosa. I don’t understand how it works, but I’m so happy to be in communication with him again. He’s my rascal of a son, but I love him dearly. Maybe he inherited some of his naughtyness from me. My two husbands would certainly agree to that!!!
Tomorrow we are having an early Thanksgiving feast here at Fitch Mt. Terrace. Rod will cook the turkey and potatos, and the rest of us will supply other stuff. As for me, I will hit Safeway early to buy the usual whipped cream cake which is my donation. It’s such a pure joy to realize I have three whole days free from work. Off to bed I go!
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