MYSTERY FLOWERS AND HAPPY HALLOWEEN.

It is a lazy, wet Saturday and I didn't open up my front drapes until about 9:30. There, on my door mat was a beautiful bouquet of flowers. The card said, Too The Best Mom, with a rather unintelligible message. But the address was to a house I haven't lived in for 18 years. I thought, who calls me Mom but doesn't know where I live? Hmmm!

And, it is Halloween time and this bouquet is in a beautiful glass pumpkin. But, Halloween is a time for tricks and treats and maybe there is a bit of trickery going on here. I decide to call the company that delivered the flowers. She told me, "Our truck broke down on Pennsylvania Gulch Rd. in the middle of the road. A couple came walking by as the tow truck was hooking onto our truck and the driver, with bouquet in hand, asked the couple if they knew me?  No, they didn't but they walk by the Hanging Tree Rd. address and they offered to deliver the flowers for him. Hmmm!
I call the folks who live at the Hanging Tree Rd. address and they said no one had delivered flowers to them. Aha! The Plot thickens. The people who claimed they didn't know me obviously knew where I lived. I've called the neighbors and no one will own up to delivering me this beautiful Halloween Pumpkin filled with flowers. I'll eventually find out who sent them and I'll enjoy them in the meantime. But, since I love a good mystery, double thanks to whoever you are.
And, since I haven't blogged in quite some time, I will play catch up.  I had a surprise visit from my friend Maril:

We like the Firewood Restaurant in Murphys. Maril loves their fish tacos.

I'm a button collector, and Maril and I tooled around town and acted like tourists, which I love to do now and then. We came across this button festooned jacket collar, but I have too many clothes. I wouldn't buy it.  I might try decorating a similar jacket.

Calaveras Community Television has purchased the property under the Paul Moeller Studio. (Paul is our founder and it was so named by the County to honor Paul.)  Pam Quyle and I walked the property and found the boundaries that encompass a gold mine.  We have a heritage tree above it also. Just look at those roots.

It's kind of fun to have a goldmine on your property. But, this one panned out long ago and has no gold. We've arranged to have it "fenced" off with wrought iron stakes, (rebar) every four inches apart so no living creature can ever get caught in it. Yet, it allows water to flow through to the creek below.
And, CCTV will be changing hands with a group, under our name, who will have many hands to do fund-raising and support the studio. The only constant is change.

I saw this kid, zooming through a clothing department and stopped to see what he was wearing?

He calls them "Wheelies". It reminds me of that movie, Back To The Future, as in what will they think of next? Truth to tell, I love it. innovation, surprises, life is good! Happy Halloween.

I CAN'T COMPLAIN ABOUT THE RAIN

Spring is trying to spring, but the weather turns from warm with spots of sunshine to cold to windy to rainy to stormy to gale force downpours,  all within a short time. The last two days were wet and miserable. I feel guilty when I complain.


Whenever something blooms, I take a picture before the rain washes it away. Forsythia is one of three plants I have that bloom on the branches before it leafs out.


That is, excluding the fruit trees, like this wild Indian peach.


Dancing between the drops, I caught Karen, the Pied Piper with the chickens. They adore her and vice versa. They love getting out and wallowing in the green, grass. I love the green, too.


Paul was back in the hospital. Now he is in a convalescent home. Living is sometimes an uphill battle.


Pam, Wanda, John and I with our CCTV manager, Ed Lark had an important board meeting over the studio. Hopefully we'll get it transferred to new owners by the end of the year, freeing us to do things we like better. None of us produce television shows anymore. We are just cogs in the management wheel.


These last two years, we've taken to having dinner meetings. It makes things pleasantly social. John told us a great history about Hazel Fischer, a teacher who taught "everybody" in the old days, in a one room school-house. There are many stories about her quirky personality-some he claims are untrue. John is an "old-timer" to this area and he knew Miss Fischer.


I read in my local paper that Califoria is subsidizing low flush toilets. They'll reimburse you $100 for each toilet. So, I managed to put one in for me and one for my rental. I had already put in a low flush several years ago, but the new ones are better. It boggles the brain that they work. The engineering is so smart. I also have on demand water heaters in both houses. But the gas one needed a new computer board, which the company mailed to me free by Fed Ex. In all this cold, it was nice to have hot water again. The rain kept me inside long enough to read two days worth of newspapers and put a dent in my taxes. No, I can't complain about the rain.

GIRLS AND BEER.

I am very ambivalent about birthdays. I don’t celebrate my own, nor others, normally. Other people remember mine. I often don’t. But, Margo on the right, was also not celebrating her birthday, but here we are having a birthday get together for Margo. Basically just an excuse to have a girls night out. Amanda, on the left, is new in town and works at Quyle pottery. A new Brewery in town, we decided to try their beers. But, check out the glasses, Amanda’s glass is tall, Margo has a mug.


Pam and I each have a heavy “brandy” style glass?  Beats me. We ordered a taster and my favorite beer is Black Butte Porter. This brewing company doesn’t make a porter, but their stout was excellent and the rest of their beers were too. Glad we went, but, just a pass on the food. So, go for the beer.

Pam Quyle runs a pottery in Murphys that started with her parents 61 years ago. We’ve been long time friends and Pam decided we will have dinner at my house in February. She is the organizer so, now I know what kind of beer everyone likes. February it is. Maybe we’ll  not celebrate another birthday if we can find a friend born in February? I gave Margo the best card. We’re all single. On the front it reads, “I was trying to find a man for you.” On the inside it read, “But, why get something so useless.”

I know, its bad. I was the fourth recipient of that card. I scratched my name out and put in Margo’s. It’s a girl thing. It went well with the beer.

LEAVING DAY

Last minute chores before leaving made for a hectic day. A Calaveras Community Television Meeting at a local Pizza Parlor, along with the usual preparing the yard and house for someones care while I'm gone. No small task.

John Hofstetter, is a retired school principal and an avid volunteer for local causes, including computer expertise to share; he advocates and volunteers for the Logging Museum, and is a member of the board for Calaveras Community Television.
Paul Moeller on the right, is instantly recognized by everyone for his continual service to the community; gathering and copying historical photos for the public's use; videotaping every major and minor event in the county for public television. A massive task. He organized CCT and oversaw the volunteer building of a television studio here. This is a major accomplishment called the "Jewel of the Motherlode."

Pam Quyle, right, hugs Paul's wife Martha. Pam is a busy businesswoman, (Quyle Kilns) who still manages to take time out to serve on our board and that of the PEG Commission. John and Pam have been longtime residents. Paul and I are the newcomers. I serve on the board but I've only been here 33 years. Paul about 43 years. Hey, up here, if you weren't born here, you are a Johnny come lately. We always have a laugh about that.
When I get on the road with Jim, I miss my garden flowers a lot, as unkempt as the yard  has become of late. This year I got to see my daffodils. And, as I leave, I found two of my hybrid Iris in bloom. I probably have 25 different Iris. They are just fat and beginning to show. But, here are the two beauties I got to smell before we leave this morning.

See you on the road.

DEPRESSION YEARS PART 4

Friends my own age remember the depression through our parents, or aunts and uncles who told us stories of the depression days. Pam Quyle, of Murphys, learned about hard times from her mother, Joyce Miller, from South Dakota. Not only did they deal with the depression but, even worse, was the dust bowl. "My mother repeated to us about how awful it was when the locusts went through" explained Pam. "For miles you could see nothing but naked branches, not one green thing. Animals were killed because there was no feed. They ate what they could but without refrigeration, the meat was wasted. They lived on their oat crop with nothing but oats for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The whole (Miller) family moved away from there and escaped. My uncles eventually returned, but my mother never wanted to go back to South Dakota and didn't."
Kenneth Myles, 84, of Jamestown hailed from Terre Haute, IN. He remembers his father worked at anything he could find. "My mom took in laundry. She got 10 cents a piece for washing, ironing and starching a shirt. When the tomato factories were canning, she would work for three or four weeks."
Ken and his brother both dropped out of school at 14 to help put bread on the table. His brother worked the wheat fields for a $1 a day. "I carried newspapers and brought home $2.50 a week." Then they both got jobs at a bakery greasing and stacking pans. "Everybody was in the same boat and everybody worked together," said Ken. You can read about Ken in "friends and "neighbors" magazine celebrating Tuolumne Seniors.
To be continued

ACADEMY AWARDS AND POTATO SALAD

Some people love the Academy Awards, but I happen to love potato salad. I’m always lured by a different recipe for potato salad while my friends prefer the likes of Reece Whitherspoon and the handsome hunk from “Austrailia.” I will admit I enjoyed the awards better than in past years. I’m not sure quite what was different because our “girls night” chit chat was fun and we didn‘t stay glued to the set. And, of course, there was the potato salad. Margot Osborne made it. Red potatoes, cooked in skins, then peeled. A bit of red onion, tiny florets of curly leaf parsley, thin slices of English cucumber, capers, vinegar and a smidge of mayonaise. Slap that on a plate with salty olives and some German mustard. I was in heaven. (Margot doesn’t measure.)
I have to see “Slumdog Millionaire“, “Australia,” and “Milk”. I’m so glad Sean Penn was finally recognized for his great acting ability. And the “Reader” and…well…I do love movies. But, the potato salad, now that’s art.