Happy Birthday to my Baby Sister

NNT circa 1956

Well, saying Happy Birthday to my "Baby Sister" on my blog is kind of pointless, I guess, because she doesn't READ my blog - (to quote JarJar Binks "how rude"), and, even though we don't always see eye to eye, (what sisters do...) I still wish her a happy big 6-0 - 



PS - Stay tuned on Friday for big exciting noos from the kittehs! 



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My favorite views & a Family Reunion

One thing about going "home" to North Central Washington is the wide open spaces. Actually I only lived there for the first 20 years of my life and have lived on the west side for twice that long...but it is amazing how the sights and smells are so evocative of my childhood - the scent of the sage that grows along side the roads - quite frankly- even the dirt smells different over there.

And sky - you can see clear to Canada from our plateau- and this time of the year, the wheat is so beautiful and green.  Soon it will be golden and ready to harvest, but right now it just looks lush over there. 



Geologically speaking, the soil on our plateau is rather new to the party.  It is essentially ground basalt and benefited greatly from the ash that fell on the area when Mt. St. Helens erupted in 1980 - the farmers use a summer fallow system of planting to add organic matter to the fields.


Many of the farmers are now also using "bio solids" - the bi-products  from sewage treatment plants around the northwest.  The dark piles in the fields at the bottom of this hill are even labeled as to what city they come from -  hmmm - Our farmer did say, however, that his yields had increased after spreading this product on the fields - and that the benefit had lasted for several years.  They are carefully monitored by the EPA to make sure no heavy metals or other pollutants get into the ground water

Sage brush in the foreground - the green bushy plants in the mid section were planted in this draw by my dad about 50 years ago.  The plantings were sponsored by the DNR to provide areas for bird and other wild critter habitat. 

A true view of "home"

With all the trees leafed out, you can't see much of the houses, but after the wheat (the green in the foreground) turns golden, it will look like a green oasis in an area of seemingly arid land.

A new view - yellow Canola blossoms - 

Another thing that is different this year is that our farmer has planted Canola in one of the fields around the houses.  This was the very end of the bloom - I guess the week before the fields practically glowed in the dark.

There is more Canola planted in Douglas county than anywhere else in Eastern Washington - There are almost 7000 acres planted in Canola right now. 

My nephew Chris

A view of family - 

The real reason for going over to "The Ranch", as we call it, was for a family reunion of my dad's side of the family.  Unfortunately many of the "younger" generation (my first cousin's children) already had plans and were not able to attend.  But my nephews and their families both attended - it is amazing how fast kids grow when you only see them every couple of years.

And, of course, we went from "oh, are we going to have enough food?" to "what are we going to do with all this food" in a matter of minutes. 

My Grandpa used to say that our family was the first to get to the party and the last to leave.  It becomes a contest of will when you all have the same last name...ha, ha...

One branch of our family tree holds some particularly talented quilters.  My three cousins delighted us with a "quilt show" of their beautiful creations.  I will show you more of them in one of my next posts. 

Our farmer and his family live in the house that I grew up in- -  this view is from the kitchen of the house my dad was born in - where my Grandpa Pete and Grandma Dot lived for some 50 or so years. 

That is the same lilac bush that is behind them in the picture below that was taken in the late 50's / early 60's.

Grandpa Pete and Grandma Dot

I think they would have had a good time at our picnic - my grandpa loved a good party - pretty soon he'd have pulled out one of his harmonicas and the music would begin.

Can you hear it?






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A Weekend Get Away

Our family had planned a family reunion for the Memorial Day weekend.  In Eastern Washington - about a 500 mile round trip - you go about 60 miles south on I-5 to Everett, then go east on SR 2 over Stevens Pass - and up the hill from Wenatchee to where I grew up - not a big deal, until the day before you are supposed to leave, a truck runs into a corner strut on the I-5 Bridge over the Skagit River, about 30 miles south, and the dang thing collapses - ALL FOUR LANES - splash, right into the drink.  Luckily there were only two vehicles on the bridge at the time and both of the drivers & one passengers got out OK, with a minimum of physical injury - only possibly having the c**p scared out of them when the bridge disappeared out from under them.  This has completely closed the Interstate 5 freeway at Mt. Vernon, WA and will push about 70,000 vehicles a day onto the side roads and alternate routes that the state has figured out.    (I took this picture Saturday a.m. out the car window on the fly, but I think you can biggafy my picture and see on the right side of the bridge, where the metal "x"s disappear - that's where the bridge "disappeared" into the river)

The Shepherd is a planner - and he doesn't much like heavy traffic - (it took one of my co-workers over an hour and a half to get through the detours on Friday afternoon) but, since we left home at about 8:00 on Saturday morning, we hoped that we wouldn't have too much trouble - luckily we breezed right through the detours, and were on our way - only a few minutes extra added to our trip.

We figured since we were going to E. Wash. and due to the fact that The Shepherd is looking for a new ram, we would make a little bit of a sheepy tour out of the trip and contacted a couple of Shetland breeders in East Wenatchee and Rock Island - just a few minutes from each other.  

First we went to see Amy in Rock Island.  She and her husband and kids have both Shetland sheep and Dwarf Nigerian Goats (and a few other goats that we didn't meet)  Very nice animals, and can you believe that I left my camera in the car?  So when we went over to Amanda's I had to take a few extra pictures to make up for it.

I can't remember what this little HST ewe lamb's name is, but she is a real sweetie!  It must be a personality trait, because she was a lot like HB - just a little politician -  she comes walking up and acts like "Hi - how are you, what's your name, will you pet me???"


 As you can see, she had everyone's attention - That is Jackie C. in the blue - we met her last year at Black Sheep. 

That is Amanda in the brown coat.  She will be bringing some of her sheep to Eugene in June so we'll get to see her again soon. 

A big thank you to Amy and Amanda for showing up their flocks. 










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"Ya'll come back now, y'hear?"

Happy Father's Day

This was my Great Grandpa - (on my dad's side)

He was a sea-farer turned farmer.  As a kid, I was always fairly scandalized by the fact that he had an EAR RING!

And then I went to college - all the guys had ear rings.  Oh, no big deal GG.  











This is my grandpa - my dad's dad - he and Grandma lived on the same property that we did - my sisters and I spent many hours at grandma & grandpa's house -

We'd run over and pretty much barge into their house - I don't think I was ever told to knock...

Now, I wonder if they ever had any privacy...

This is my dad as a young man.  He was running the tractor that pulled the threshing machine (we had a wheat farm in North Central Washington)

It's a hard life, but guys are still doing it - so it must be fulfilling. 

I was about 10 years old in this picture.

My dad died when I was 26.  There are so many things I wish I had asked him. 

Oh, well.

Happy Father's Day daddy.

The Stuff I'm Made Of...

 

 On March 17, 1903, the Steamer North Star stopped at Bonita Landing in Douglas County, on the east side of the Columbia River.  James and Emma Reed, and their 4 daughters, Zella (3), Ida (9), Georgia (11) & Henrietta (14) disembarked.  James had sold his profitable farm in Troy Grove Illinois and moved his family and all their possessions to Washington State, what must have seemed like the ends of the earth, under the promise of good farmland, a wagon and a team of horses.  

When they got there, it was so muddy, they had to camp at the landing for a couple of weeks until the road was dry enough for the team to make it up to the top of the hill where their property was.  It was so windy that their tent only lasted a few days and James proceeded to excavate and build a log bunker, buried half underground to protect them from the elements.  The bunker, its logs chinked with mud and the remains of their canvas tent served as their home for several years, furnished only with a stove, table and bunk beds.  

Times were tough and sometimes, the family ate cornmeal mush 3 meals a day.  James finally was able to get a cow, and get a garden planted and he traveled about the countryside selling vegetables and cream.  

This story, from the book “Pioneer in Pigtails” tells of the hard life of the pioneer families that came to North Central Washington around the turn of the 20th century. The oldest daughter listed above, Henrietta was my paternal grandmother.  Several years later, Henrietta, or as her family called her, Dot, would meet and marry another homesteader, Pete Thomsen.  They built their home just east of Mud Springs, a home which, because my grandpa was afraid of spiders, had something unusual for the times, an indoor toilet.  That is the home where my father and his brother and sister were born and where my three sisters and I had full reign while we were growing up, because our house was only a couple hundred feet away.  

So, that’s the “stuff” I’m made of.  My grandma had passed by the time the Pioneer in Pigtails book was written. She definitely was hardier stock than I am... I never thought to ask her about the trip and her early days, but after reading the story, I realized why they always had a cellar full of jars of home canned food and why her garden, which she tended daily,  – even in to her 60’s and 70’s - was almost a quarter of an acre (although toward the end of her gardening days, it was more flowers than food - it also explained why she would cook one chicken when our family of 6 came to dinner).  

To say I'm grateful for all the advancements of the 20th century would be an understatement. 

Happy Mother's Day to all you moms, grandmoms, furkid moms and "dad" moms out there! 

It's been a "week" that's for sure -

First off, my assistant at work is having "back problems" - so far, she's been to her Nurse Practitioner 2 or 3 times, a chiropractor a couple of times - unfortunately disasterous - and then there were the three trips to the ER - to top it all off - she's only worked about 1/2 time in the past 10 days and word on the street is that she won't be coming back for another week!! Eeek - we are so, so very far behind.

Secondly, The Shepherd and I had planned for a month or so to go to Yakima (in eastern Washington) this past weekend for the one year anniversary memorial service for my Brother in Law. In the Native American culture of the Yakima Indians, the family of the deceased gives a sort of mini "Potlatch" where the family gives a feast for the guests, proceeded by singing, stories, and a "give -away" of items to the guests - some items which had belonged to the person who passed away, some items which were purchased new. It was really wonderful to hear the stories that his friends told - a very nice service.

We received a ceremonial canoe paddle and a beautiful fleece blanket (ironically the pattern on the blanket was by an acquaintance of ours, Bellingham artist Jodi Bergsma).

It was just an "overnight" trip (about 5 hours driving each way) - although we had time to stop in Monroe and take some more fleeces to our friend and Washington Wool dot Net member, Gretchen Wilson, and our house sitter worked out well - she had a good time and even Sinda slept with her on the bed at night.

And these beautiful pears came from my sister's in-laws orchard. Yes, they are as sweet and juicy as they look.

From the "Olden Days"

My cousin Janet recently sent us some copies of family pictures that she used to make a "story board" for the Mansfield Museum.

My dad (John Reid) is the one on the tractor. He was born in 1918 and appears to be, maybe, in his 20's in this picture. He was such a handsome guy.


"Pete" was my Grandpa and Wallace (on the very back of the harvester), was my uncle.



















Here is another picture of Grandpa Pete and Grandma "Dot". Grandma & Grandpa's house was about 100 yards from our house. We spend a LOT of time over there when we were kids.

He died in 1963 - I was 11. Sadly, I don't really remember much about him, although, I remember that he was quite the "kidder" and that he played a mean harmonica.
Grandma's real name was Henrietta - but everybody called her Dot - She was not much for housework and would only cook one chicken for dinner when our family (mom, dad & us four girls) were invited over to dinner (I think I always ended up with the back or a wing!) But she loved to garden and often won prizes for her beautiful flowers.

When I was in High School, I got to drive her to many of her club meetings (Garden Club, Sunshine Club, etc) that she would go to during the month. I'll never forget her talking about "all those 'old' ladies" at her Sunshine Club meetings - mind you, she was in her 70's at the time...

Hope you enjoyed seeing some of my humble roots.

"Well, it's my birthday too -- yeah"

Hidden behind all those trees are the houses I grew up in. On the left is the house where my dad was born, where my grandparents lived when I was growing up. On the right is the house where my family lived. A dad & mom & 4 girls - a very "50's" type of family. It was a good place to grow up.

My grandma kept a daily diary - (I suppose you could call her an "early blogger") Every year, she would get a date book from her insurance company - it would have from six lines to 1/2 page for each day. And each day, she would write - about the weather, how many eggs they got that day, and short bits of "personal" info - "ordered seeds for next summer's garden" - "Wallace & Viola (my uncle and aunt) were by for supper" or "Went to Garden Club at Ida's today"

When we cleaned out her attic after she and my parents had all passed away, we found boxes of these yearly date books. I was most interested in finding the 1952 book. What would she have said about my birth?

Well, there it was - January 12, -(a RED LETTER day, you know) and there I was - sandwiched in between the weather and a Pamona Grange meeting. "Reid took Glennie to the hospital today. She had a baby girl. They are going to call her Tina" What? That's all? Yup. My grandma was not one to "wax poetically".

And here I am 56 years later. I got flowers from The Shepherd at work today. I brought them home so I could enjoy them over the weekend - and this afternoon, our good friend Diane brought me a lovely piece of Tiramisu cake with a candle in it. Since neither my office mate or The Shepherd like coffee flavored things, I had to eat it all myself. Ha, Ha. The Shepherd and I always take the other out to dinner for our birthday - we're going to The Black Angus this year. (Actually, if we had an Outback Steakhouse in town, that might be where I'd pick, but the closest one is 30 miles away in Burlington - so the Black Angus will do just fine.)

What? You forgot to get me a gift - well check out our On-Line Auction to benefit the Black Sheep Creamery. You are sure to find just the right special item - (OK, I was just kidding - it was simply a shameless plug for our auction)



"You say it's your birthday
Well it's my birthday too--yeah
You say it's your birthday
We're gonna have a good time
I'm glad it's your birthday
Happy birthday to you"



(The Family Shrine, as we call it - my picture is the girl in the green dress

And we are ever indebted to John Lennon & Paul McCartney (yes, the one who was in the other band before he was in WINGS) for one of the most rockin' birthday songs around.

Happy Birthday, Jordin

There are daughters "of the womb" and there are daughters "of the heart" - This is the daughter of our heart. We met her 13 years ago when she joined our choir. There have been ups and downs like there are with any child, but things right now are looking up. She is just graduating from City University as a teacher. We are so very proud of her!

Jordin was the bright spot in our week - we have both been very sick with a viral cold thing that has our heads stuffed up and has kept us awake at night coughing our (stuffed up) heads off. But Thursday was her birthday so we took advantage of the fact that she is up here from her home in the south Seattle area to house sit for her mom and dad when they went on a business trip, and took her out to dinner. Jordin, I won't show them the picture, but here was her reward for sitting there in that silly sombrero. . .

Sopapillas - a deep fried flour tortilla that has been sprinkled with cinnamon sugar and decorated with whipped cream, strawberry & chocolate syrup. Sliced up in wedges, like a pizza.

I think the "original" ones are a deep fried bread with butter & honey spread inside them, but the local Mexican restaurants generally use this style - a quick & easy & inexpensive treat to give your customers at the end of a meal - sort of like their answer to fortune cookies.

Anyhow, we had a lovely evening, forgot about our colds for a while. Her folks got back today, so she has gone home to her lonely husband. And who wouldn't be lonely when you didn't get to see this sweet smiling face every day. Glad you had a good birthday sweetie. We love you.

Moving Day

Did someone hear the gate open?














I think so - outta the way! We're comin' thru!



MOOOOOve it -








Hey, what are we, chopped liver - why do you guys get the belly high grass?



This was the scene last Saturday when John started the process to combine the flock - the babies are old enough to keep out of the way of the older girls - they still got chased around a bit by Gwendolyn -







Her Supreme Royal Highness kind of took over while Queen Regina was out of the barn, but I understand that she has been demoted...that's the way of the barnyard.







Thanks for the kind thoughts about my bro-in-law - the surgery went better than expected. They removed the tumor and he is doing well. He will be having chemotherapy starting next week. This was so unexpected, and has caught us all by surprise. I can't think of anything else to say, but "Get well, James - miracles do happen!"

Sometimes life just ain't fair...

The phone rang at 6:30 yesterday a.m. - I hate it when the phone rings at 6:30 in the morning, generally the news is not good - and it wasn't - it was my oldest sister, Wisten, and she was calling to tell me that our sister Merrill's husband James had been taken to the hospital - he had gone to the Dr. on Monday because he wasn't feeling well and they sent him straight to the hospital - "They say he has cancer" she told me.
"They would be doing more tests today. "

I talked with Merrill tonight - my brother-in-law has been diagnosed with colon cancer. Please hold him in your hearts and prayers. He will have surgery tomorrow (Thurs. May 10) at Yakima Memorial Hospital.

Thank you.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, EMMA!

NEELIX SAYS "HAPPY BIRTHDAY EMMA! - IF I HAD TWO DEAD MICE, I'D GIVE YOU ONE!







SINDA WOULD GLADLY
SHARE SOME OF HER CREAM - "HAPPY PURRTHDAY, EMMA!"





PRINCESS GWENDOLYN SAYS "HAPPY BAAAAATHDAY, EMMA!" FROM ME AND ALL THE SHEEPS ON THE FARM.





EMMA'S A FINE YOUNG LADY
WHO'S 7th BIRTHDAY IS THIS FRIDAY
SHE LIVES FAR AWAY
SO ALL WE CAN SAY

IS WE LOVE YOU AND SEND YOU

A HUGGAY

(Ok, so huggay really isn't a word,

but it rhymes, doesn't it? - And I did send a HUG for you with Grandmom)
HAPPIEST OF BIRTHDAYS EMMIE -
XOXOX
love, Aunt Tina & Uncle John