SOUP AND BOOK WEATHER.

Yesterday, I had my pile of wood cut into usable chunks. The last of my wood pile had pieces so big they wouldn't fit into my stove. Dave and Jerrod from Cutting Edge Yard Service do a great job getting me ready for the next siege of cold and rainy weather. I got up on the roof and cleaned the screen on my chimney and settled in for a good read with a pot of soup on the stove.

It was a long quiet weekend and I took both days off. Retired people need days off too, so I indulged. I didn't do much reading this year, but I finished a book I had started and looked at my list:  Books Read 2015. I hate to admit that I have in the past re-read half way through a book before realizing I'd read it before. Thus I keep a list.  I began listing in 2008. I've read some good, bad, great and funky stuff.

Books I’ve read: 2008.
***Devil In The White City, by Erik Larson-Really enjoyed this historical book about the Chicago World's Fair and a serial murder. A kind of wayward read, but a good story, told thoroughly. True story and devilishly intriguing.

***The Glass Castle by Jeanette Wahls-Great book, real life story. Good story, amazing insight.

***Sea Glass by Anita Shreve-Wonderful book. New author for me.

***The First Women’s Detective Agency-My niece loved this book. I found it just OK.

***The Bone People by Kerri Hulme-Good, but disturbing in ways.

****Dirty Blonde And Half Cuban, by Lisa Wixon-Just okay.

****The God Delusion by Richard Dawkins-Lousy read. Couldn't get his point across with any interest

****Diana Gabaldon Books-Loved all 4 and want to reread them.
The Outlander- is the first book. Dragonfly In Amber-is another. Excellent.
I spent a week with my broken leg up in the air and took an amazing trip in these novels.
I think I 'll publish all of my lists,  since things I've read in 2015 are authors I started in previous years.
My cousin Bob and I often trade book suggestions. I'd love to hear your recommendations.
CIAO

SURVIVAL KIT, CONTINUED.

I began this blog yesterday, opening up two of my survival carriers. A foldable stool, and my backpack. My thought when I began putting this survival "kit" together about 40 years ago,  was based on thoughts of getting lost in the woods, or going over a cliff and having to rescue myself, or being stranded on a lonely road. No GPS, no cell phones, many lonely roads. The thought being, if I'm stuck in the woods for a night I can remain warm and dry. If I need to leave the scene, I can carry my back pack with any essentials, and attempt to get out of my predicament. However, over the years, what I've used mostly, is blankets that I've given to stranded motorists with kids, an elderly woman shivering in a park, a man laying on the road waiting for an ambulance, rescuers asking for a blanket to prevent shock. I've gotten overwhelmingly sleepy while driving several times, and pulled over, took a nap and used a blanket. I've used the toilet four times. Mary Jane said, "I'd just go out in the woods?" I won't go into detail of why I was in a place without woods and needed that toilet, once for a passenger in my car. I've repeatedly used jackets, towels, dry socks, gloves, scarves, for myself and others. It is very handy to have an extra jacket in your car at all times.


The last packet I opened, a sturdy carry bag contained, a stout cloth band that you could tie around something to portage it up hill, or drag wood pieces to a fire, or drag something with you that you may need.  Another jacket? Holy cow! A heavy scarf, two easy carry water bottles, a package with a space blanket, more bungee cords...


A closer look, two foldable hand saws, something to read to pass time, including an article on survival, a fishing hook pressed into a cork, a small film can with two very mini sinkers and fishing line, plastic lines to hold fish, a sturdy carry bag (blue) that can actually hold water like a foldable bucket. A quarter for a phone booth. Now I can laugh at that. A metal can to drink from or cook in for a cup of soup or tea, or just to heat water. Mary Jane asked me if I carry energy bars. At one time I carried lotions, chapstick and food items. They melted and made a mess. I also carried canned tuna and soups at one time, and in this bag you will see my can opener. But food aromas attract animals. I read the book by Euell Gibbons, Stalking The Wild Asparagus, years ago and I know what I can eat in the woods to survive. You can even survive on pine needle tea. I also tried carrying those items inside my car and a few hours in a hot sunny parking lot, melts lotions and lipstick, candy bars etc. into an unusable mess.

So in this sack, I had more socks, a scissors, a push button screemer to scare off anything, animal or human. Can opener, clothes pins, a single clip, another sweatshirt, a tool kit of screwdrivers, and my two easy carry water bottles.
I've learned a lot about this little exercise. Number one, how I've over done some things and lack others. My small hand pole with reel, I no longer have. No extra pants, or clothing for warm weather. No road flares, no meds, can't figure out what happened to my snake bite kit and first aid kit? I found one single package of band aids. Where is my ace bandage? No soap? I do have a comb in the car. And, I had no identification or medical information about myself in my pack, like the ones Jim and I carry in the refrigerator of the motor home. Yup, my survival kit is going to get a revamp. Food is a good idea now that  there are so many dried backpacking foods available.


I expect this exercise may have bored you silly. People usually laugh at my survival kit. It is something built into my psyche from my childhood. My dad always preached survival to my sister and brothers when we were kids. We lived in a log cabin in the woods where it was a necessity to think about such things. Someday, I'll tell you about the time my husband and I  left Murphys for Reno on a beautiful warm fall day, dressed lightly in leisure suits,  hit a bear, wrecked one half of our car, leaving us without one head light, and a door that wouldn't open on the driver's side. We continued on to see Sammy Davis. Left after the show, got caught in the mountains on the way home that night, in a freak snowstorm, that morphed into rain, hail, mudslides, and put us shivering, in a ditch. If you run the heater, you can run out of gas.  My husband no longer laughed at my survival kit.

A LONG INVOLVED DAY.

Today is Veterans Day, and no matter what your personal feelings about war are, it is important to remember and honor the men and women who have given of themselves to benefit all of us. Amen!! (I get to kiss a veteran today.)
Saturday, is play day for us. I think Jim just likes to get me out and about so I don’t rant on my blog. Anyway…I went for a haircut first.

Sue cut my hair after finishing this gent.

Then we went to the Food Bank, actually, a bus parked at Angels Market accepting donations. I brought Karen’s bag full and our box. And the need is so great, I wrote a check, too. They claim they don’t have the resources to give turkeys to people this year.

Our plan was to photograph some of the old barns and miner’s cabins we see all over the Motherlode. We call them endangered species since so many of them are literally falling apart. I’ve driven past this building for over 30 yeas and always wondered about it but knew nothing about it.

The owner explained to us that it was an old gold era inn called Monte’s Inn. It belonged to the Monte Verde family and the owner is a relative of the Monte Verde’s so it is still in the family. It once faced the highway, which has since been rerouted.  Monte’s Inn  had a bar and restaurant inside. They let rooms and during the depression, built a lean-to on the back to shelter homeless wanderers. I was delighted to learn about this building.

The next barn down the line, headed for San Andreas, is the Spence Ranch Barn. I believe they still run sheep.

The Airola barn is obviously still used in the family cattle ranch.

This feed barn brightly painted and advertising antiques is still an old barn. You can tell by the stacked rock foundation. It belongs to what was once the  Schaner Inn across the highway from this barn. They sell antiques. In horse and buggy days, Inns popped up about every ten miles or so to service travelers.

It was about lunch time when we reached San Andreas and this Mexican Restaurant, under new ownership, I was told has good food.

The restaurant is located right next to the VFW, so we decided to stop in and say hello, first, since the post was open.

And, there we met Don Cuneo, a friend of mine I hadn’t seen since 2001. I told him what we were doing, taking pictures of old barns, etc. and he told me he used to go to dances at Monte Verde’s Inn when he was a young man. There was a big dance hall there then.

For lunch I ordered two tostitas. Jim order chicken in his, I had chili verde in mine. Full of big hunks of meat. We got out of the place for $12.69 for two lunches. No drinks. We had a beer at the VFW.

After lunch, we traveled to Calaveritas and back to Angels Camp, photographing more barns. But, our goal was to return to Murphys by 2:00 for the unveiling of a remodeled master bedroom and bath. My friend and neighbor Jan, if you remember from an earlier blog, I took to the emergency room because she had fallen and injured her leg.

Jan lives in a two story house and shared expenses with a gentleman who lived in her Master bedroom upstairs for over two years. Unfortunately, it was pretty much demolished and a bid to repair it was over $7,000.

Jan decided to do the work herself, but she couldn’t climb the stairs. Her friend Cheryl, pretty much organized the group of friends who volunteered to remodel and refurnish the bedroom under her directions.  Jan was not allowed to know what was going on nor could she peek.

The graphic on the bathroom wall, tells it all. Jan is such a good friend to everyone, when the chips are down, everyone wants to help. Floor tile,bathroom tile, sink, all new.

Everyone came to see the unveiling. Becky hugs a tearful Jan.

We all gaped and oohed and ahhed and had a toast to everyone’s efforts.

And, her friend Leslie, who will move in to the room and share expenses,  couldn’t wait to try out the new bed, with the new mattress. She loved it.

Jan asked for one concession to her surprise decorator. Please don’t change my Dawn wall. She and her daughter Dawn painted the East wall, this golden color which faces the East and meets the dawn.  Cheryl promised. So the room was a complete make-over from tile, to carpet to bedding, furniture, lamps, wall decorations etc. Accomplished with $2,000 and a lot of love. And, Cheryl had so much fun, she decided to get a degree in decorating at Columbia Community College and hang out her shingle.