Mt Baldy - What a Wonder!

When I walked out the office door this afternoon I looked up and this is what greeted me. The mountain is only 5 miles from our place and it never quits amazing me with its changing beauty. You can actually sit and watch it change before your eyes. What a beautiful place to call home. I never get tired of looking at the mountains. I am so thankful that I am able to enjoy such simple pleasures. Having lived in Oregon my whole life and never having the chance to see much of the United States I find that at times I tend to take things like the beautiful surroundings for granted.
But after a visit from our daughter and family in March. I do not think I will ever look at the mountains the same. I can still see the amazement on the faces of the Grandkids and Brian as we wound through the mountains going from one spot to another. I will never forget the tiny little water fall we stopped at on the way to the redwoods. I have passed that waterfall many of times and never gave it a second thought. But when they saw that pitiful little thing, they were as excited as if they had just found an untapped gold mine. That moment has stuck with me and it helps me every day to remember to cherish all the little things in life. The things we take for granted may be the most beautiful thing in existance to someone else.
I am so thankful for so many things in my life. But mostly I am thankful for Michelle and her family for allowing me to be a part of their lives. For being the missing part of my life.

Thanksgiving Potluck for Residents

We had our annual Thanksgiving Potluck with our residents here last night. As always I managed to eat to much. It is hard not to with all that great cooking. Laurie cooked a 20 lb ham and a 22 lb turkey and one of the residents also cooked a 20 lb turkey. Surprisingly there was not much left at the end of the night. We asked all our residents to please bring a non perrishable item with them for donation to the local food banks. Everyone did and we ended up with 5 orange boxes of food. I will take it to the food bank today so that it can be distributed in the Thanksgiving food boxes going out this week. It seems like this area is being hit pretty hard with more demand on the food banks and less donations going to them. We are very proud of our residents for stepping up to the plate and helping with their donations. We make sure that the food bank knows that the donations come from all our residents - even those who cannot afford to help.
We had a good turn out. There were 54 people who showed up. It was a little down from last year but it was still a good turn out. I think the part I enjoy the most is setting back and watching the expressions on the faces of those who worked so hard to make this dinner happen. Believe me when I say there is a huge amount of preperation that has to be done for one of these dinners. It is pretty cool to see the look of satisfaction and contentment on the faces of those who worked so hard. They seem to bask in the enjoyment that others are having in their efforts. The interesting part is that most of the people enjoying the meal have no clue what it took to make it all come together. All they know is that there is lots of good food and good company! I am very proud of my wife and all others for their efforts in these endeavors.

A Day of Recovering

Yesterday my Mom and I went to help sort food at the food bank. I was told it was going to be at 9:00am. When we got there they told us that the food would not start arriving until at least 10:00. I decided it was a good time to take Mom out to breakfast. We went to Shari's and had a great meal. It was good to be able to just sit and talk about how things are going with Mom since she moved down here. She still amazes me with her spunk. She will turn 74 on the 3rd and she runs circles around me!!. I think it is really neat that she always wants to be there to help others. She has told me that she will be there to help hand out Christmas meals with the Salvation Army, but she will not be able to help with the bell ringing this year. Each year we volunteer to help with the bell ringing to help raise monies for the programs within the Salvation Army. Mom really enjoyes it but the cold last year really got to her. I just hope that if I live to be her age that I am able to do even half the things she is doing.
I am basically grounded today. Laurie is keeping an eye on me like you would not believe. If I even try to move she hollers at me. Just because I strained my back some yesterday! I have spent most of the day just sitting around with the heating pad. I am hoping that I will be healed enough to work tomorrow. Even though Laurie has already told me that I am staying home. We had 5 hot water tanks delivered on Saturday and Ed is going to need help installing them. I have to much to do to allow a sore back to keep me down. Yes,I am a stubborn one!. But I know my limits.

Food Bank Day

Well I am off this morning to help sort food at the food bank. Laurie and I volunteer for this every year. Today is the day the Boy Scouts collect food for the needy. They bring it to a warehouse and a group of us sort it into appropiate boxes. The boxes then get distributed to the local food distribution points in the county. It is a lot of work but it is also very rewarding for us. My Mom also is involved in this endeavor and really enjoys it.
Today Laurie will not be going with us. We have a lot going on here on the property today and someone has to be here to oversee it. It is quickly becoming that very busy time of year. We love it though and would never change it for anything. Tonight I need to start pulling out the Christmas lights and get them sorted and checked. Of course both the cats will be right in the middle of it. But that is part of the fun of it.

I still cannot believe that Grandma got a tattoo!! She is very pleased with it and is real excited when she shows it to someone. She has been making some changes in her life and it is interesting to be a part of it. I never know what to expect.

A Nice Surprise

After work today I had quite a surprise when I got home. Grandma gave me an envelope with a phone number on it. She told me to call the number and that I would want to add it to my contacts list. When I called the number I was very pleased to hear the voice of my Granddaughter. She is excited as her daddy gave her his phone. It really made my day to hear Erins voice. Today was one of those days that no matter how hard I worked I just could not seem to get caught up. Tomorrow should be a better day. And rather than rain we should see some sun for the weekend. That will be nice.