Memory Eternal (sorry I'm late, Dad)

In memoriam: Vernon Lydens, 5/28/1932 - 11/30/2003. Memory Eternal. Also for Adrian Lydens, 10/16?/1889 - 5/30/1957. (My dad's 25th birthday was spoiled by losing his father.)

Why late: Auditions for the quiz show Jeopardy! in Washington, D.C. After that, Bob and I went to all the memorials on The Mall. We made sure to see the Lincoln Memorial, Vietnam Veterans Memorial(s), and the Korean Veterans Memorial. They're clustered together on the west end of The Mall.

More on this later.... my bum knee is killing me from all this walking!! Someone there has Segway tours; how about Arthritic Senior Citizen Scooter tours?? Bob wound up the next day pushing me through the Smithsonian Castle, Museum of the American Indian, and the Air and Space Museum in a wheelchair. :)

Thanks, Lord, for today

Today dawned bright and sunny. I was scheduled to take the last computer class today, and I actually got up before the alarm. I had enough time to negotiate with Verizon to lower the price on our DSL after breakfast. Got a break, too. Rachel was up to help me put stuff in the car and I got off on time. The commute was a little thicker on the traffic than I had experienced before, but I still got there on time.

With a one-on-one with the instructor, I cruised through the MS Excel class. The beginning was shaky, but once I woke up.. :) I finished the class an hour ahead of the time normally allotted to it. (This accommodates multiple students' questions.) I received certificates for finishing the class and the total course, filled out a course review, and said goodbye. I'll still be in touch by email.

Since the school is 13 miles from home (in the opposite direction from Paradise - see post on art) and I had the car, Bob expected me to shop my way home. Considering I only had 5 dollars cash and some change, this took some planning. First to Produce Junction, a fruit, vegetable, and flower wholesaler 1 1/2 miles away. Three heads of green leaf lettuce and 3 pounds of carrots came to $2.75. Then to the Dollar Tree store for the county newspaper, 75 cents. Check out BJ's Wholesale (local Costco competitor) to see if the 2# burger chubs were near expiration date. No luck, try next week.

So I had 3 greenbacks left - used the change on the paper and the veggies - so I considered rye bread at Acme (local Albertsons). I didn't find our favorite unsliced caraway light rye on the shelves, so I went to the bakery to ask for some. The baker had it, but she tagged it at a price 50 cents higher than the sale price on the shelf sign. I pointed this out, and got the break. So I had one dollar left for white bread for the girls' PB&J. Over to Giant, where I had a question on a previous shopping trip.

I didn't get a break on the other trip - a double coupon contention - but I found the house brand soft Italian bread on sale for a buck. Home, do-it-yourself supper (the girls were still at the barn), and fall asleep with my feet up in my recliner.

Classes done and some good financial deals for today. The organic horse fertilizer may hit the fan tomorrow, but Lord, thank you for all the good things of today.

Seeing double or triple?

Do these look like the same person? The color pic is a dead giveaway, but don't the faces look alike? Cousin Nancy sent me a group picture with the exclamation, "Doesn't the older girl look like your mother?"

I replied with another picture. "My husband thinks our oldest daughter's baby pictures look like my mom." Strange, how genes pop out in strange places.

As for the pictures, the top is my grandmother's cousin Louise, who would be 92 if still alive. Middle is my mom's high school graduation picture. And the bottom is Anne. Cue the Twilight Zone music.

A mixed bag

Condolences to friends Nikki and Daniel. Dan's father passed away Saturday night. They will traveling back to CA... and Nikki is around 6 months pregnant. I told her how I survived going home for Grandpa Walter's funeral when I was 5 months pregnant with Maria. She will have it easier than I did, because: 1. Her husband is going with her... or more like, she's going with him, because it's for his father. And 2. She won't be chasing two rambunctious pre-kindergarten kids - smile, Tom!

Anne fixed little cans of Fancy Feast frosted with a thin veneer of mashed potatoes and decorated with food coloring for each of the cats, to celebrate their "birthday". Haruhi, the spotted girl cat, nipped into hers even as Anne held her and Maria took pictures. Gotta find the pix and post them. Anne wouldn't have spent the bucks on Fancy Feast for any other occasion.

My sister Grace got out to see the Star Trek movie on their birthday. She implied that Kirk was a young punk and was given the choice of jail or Starfleet. I've got to see THIS! Dad would have loved it. I had made the 3-way call to her and my mother, and Mom told us that our sister Deb, her kids, and grandkids came to visit after Mother's Day. It feels strange for Deb to have a 9-year old granddaughter when Grace and I are both older than she, and NOT grandmothers. Life deals interesting hands to all.

Tomorrow I go to make up that MS Excel class I'd missed for a 102° fever. Time to start job applications.

Also, I've been exchanging emails and pix with cousin Ray, the youngest of my cousins. Given that his dad was my dad's oldest brother, it's another "feels strange" hand dealt by life. He dug up a really good picture of Dad and my uncles that he labled "Lydens brothers jam session". That one's priceless. Judging from the two wedding pictures on the piano, the picture dates from 1946-1947 and my dad is the teen on guitar.

Dan's father is perfectly welcome to join their jam session in Heaven, especially if Dan inherited his musical talents from him.

Mom Bragging Rights

Pretty good, considering Tom's had to work all his post-high school life. This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased.... most of the time. :)

In other departments: I just had my bum leg checked for a 3-year check up. So stay tuned. My bum insurance requires me to go up to the hospital for x-rays, rather than having it done in the orthopedist's office.

And the girls have chosen May 12, Rachel's half-birthday, as the kitties' official birthday. They plan to frost some Fancy Feast with some mashed potatoes for a kitty birthday cake.

This one's for Tom

I got your Mother's Day card today. Thank you. Maria's already looking at the cds and the copy of your diploma is cool - only I thought you got the credits jammed through for an Associate of Science, rather than an Associate of Arts. Sounds like someone at Saddleback College told you to take the money and run.

Too bad about Cal State Long Beach freezing transfer acceptance because of the budget crunch. Dad got a token raise in his pension. But if they start biting into it there will be protests to Gohvenuh Ahhnold for sure. Go CSUF Titans.

Cousin Ray Lydens (Gord's brother) called me yesterday after a lot of email exchange. He's got a page on classmates.com, which is how I found him. Aunt Grace (sis) called me today to say her phone is on the fritz and Ma Bell is coming out. She and her family will be taking the paratransit bus to a restaurant and a movie on Saturday. (for anyone else reading this, it's her 54th birthday.) The restaurant they chose is 1 block from the theater so they can roll her to it. They haven't decided on Wolverine or Star Trek yet. Grandpa Vernon (my dad) would have loved both.

She made me think of the last time I saw Grandpa, when I called him Professor X. He didn't know X-Men characters so I had to explain. "Professor X is in a wheelchair, reads your mind, and kicks your butt when you're bad. And he's portrayed by Patrick Stewart of Star Trek Next Generation." He got it then. Grandpa loved a good sci-fi or fantasy story.

Looks like you had fun with Brittany at Disneyland.

Do we want a charger for Anne's phone? YES YES YES YES YES YES I thought I was going to take the cover off the transformer plug and splice the wires into it, and I found the cover is held on by stinking tri-wing screws, like the one on the iron. Radio Shock wants $30 for a universal charger. Anne said stick it. I say tell me how much it weighs for paying the postage. Grandma Jean (my mom) loves it when I run a 3 ring circus call with Aunt Grace.

Your sisters say hi. Love Mom