Meet Calvin

This is not the surprise I mentioned earlier- that surprise is still pending. This is Calvin, the newest member of our family. An eight-week old border collie puppy, Calvin is a very good puppy so far- very quiet and well mannered. I hope it lasts.

I fear phone calls.

Also on my list of fears are leprosy, rabies, and suffocation. Leprosy has actually been on my mind lately, beacuse I just finished this book. It's an excellent story and I highly recommend all the Thoene's A.D. Chronicles.

But about phone calls, I called the number on a help wanted ad this morning. I so hate making phone calls, but my current state of poverty forced me to. Seeing a help wanted ad that is for something besides CNA work, trucking, power hosing hogs, or working with cattle is rare in this area. I haven't had a job for about a year now, and though I've certainly been busy I don't want to be a financial burden to my family. So I called, and found out even though it's a part time job it's still five days a week. Unnerved, I hung up and ate some chocolate to recover. Mom asked if I was sorry I couldn't take the job and work five days a week- not really. I'm too lazy to want to be away from home five days a week. I can't be gone that much anyway, because of our own business and family responsibilities. So here I am sitting in our business(working for room and board), high on chocolate, and no money to spare. But I don't really mind. Maybe it's the temporary effect of the chocolate. All the things I keep busy with, all my interests(Politics, sewing, art, cooking, military ministry), have so far not turned into lucrative avenues. I've been searching for opportunities for several months now, and none of them have worked out. So I'm waiting to see what happens, what God does: It could be life changing. Being a woman, I have speculated on what the reason I'm jobless might be: It may be because of a huge family change in the near future. And I can't tell you what that is, because it's a secret.

A Family Favorite

Layered Mocha Cheesecake with Oreo crumb crust. Perfect for any season.

Our Matriarch Reaches 90

Tuesday was the birthday of the U.S. Marines. It was also my Grandma's ninetieth birthday, and so I spent the day with her at her independent living apartment. We spent the morning cleaning out Grandma's linen closet. Anyone who knows Grandma knows she lives a spartan life, she's always cleaning out and getting rid of something, and her closets are already half empty as it is. So now, after yesterday's cleaning, her closet is pretty bare. But that's the way she likes it.

I ate lunch with Grandma in the dining room there, and sad to say either the food or the warm perfumed air(you know how elderly ladies often wear lots of perfume) gave me a terrible headache and upset stomach. Thankfully, elderly ladies also take naps, so I got to take one too. Nevertheless, I was very sick that night and I can promise you that I will never eat creamed beef chips with biscuits again. Yuck. It makes me feel sick just to type it here.

Grandma is an interesting lady. She grew up as an only child during the depression. She told me on Tuesday that when she was very young, around five or six, her mother would ask her to read to her while she was doing her ironing. I don't know many details about Grandma's life, but after a failed first marriage(which we never speak of), she married my Grandpa at age 28. They had a little girl, my Aunt, and then Grandpa was deployed to Korea during the Korean War. After he returned my Dad and his twin brother were born, and I'm sure they kept Grandma very busy after that. She's a independent, out-spoken lady, and even though she hasn't talked about hard times I know she's had her share. Now with her failing eyesight, we hope someday soon she will be able (and willing- at present she isn't) to move in and live with us. Anyway, I thought that Grandma, having reached the distinguished age of ninety, deserved to be memorialized online for all to see. Happy Birthday, Grandma, and many more!