Goodbye 2010

A few years ago I didn't think I'd live this long, let alone have so much fun doing it. I still hobble, but I've mastered that so I appear to be simply clumsy, not crimpled. I get around well enough, some people with two good legs didn't get to do as much as I did last year. I'd like to thank my own personal Jesus, who looks like Fonzie, by the way, and isn't a representative of any formal religion. For those of you who are members of formal religions, don't get your panties in a wad about this, just keep doing whatever makes you happy and so will I.

I'd also like to thank my ancestors on both sides: hard-headed Polish and Dutch (the Blawats and the Millers). Sometimes being a rockhead has its advantages. There's some English thrown in there too, back to the original 13 colonies. Having read a number of English blogs this past year, I think that tempers my personality somewhat. It makes me a rockhead with an acid sense of humor. Thank you to my Belcher ancestors. Tell me having a name like that doesn't require a sense of humor. Erp.

I'd like to thank friends I reconnected with this year. Merlene took me on a fast trip through Texas, driving like a pro. I hope I was able to repay her on our trip to Olympia later in the year. Thank you to Katherine for prying herself loose from Wilton and giving us a reason to travel across the U.S. It looks like we started something - keep on truckin'.

Thanks to Jim and Carolyn for the trip down memory lane to the horse show, and to Carlotta, who is always a trip. I enjoyed meeting your kids, I hope to see more of you this coming year, and anyone else we can think to torment.

Thank you to my brother Jerry for being a good buddy. I'm sorry I ruined your life by sending you the Caro book about LBJ and the complete collection of FarScape DVDs. Hopefully when you're finished with them Mo will still be living with you. Or maybe she's happy you have some projects to keep you busy.

Thank you to Sarah, Libby, Dominic, and Joe for adding a new generation to the families. It's not easy, but you are all doing such a great job. Keep it up. And send pictures. Thank you to the aunties and uncles who taught these kids to be such good parents.

Thank you to my coworkers. We've had a real roller coaster ride for the past 3 years, but have managed to stay friends who care about and help each other. That's priceless.

I'm thinking today about Blanche, Loretta, Kathy and Aunt Barbara, who have been ill. I wish them love and peace. I'm thinking about Amber, whose first baby is due in 2011 and will soon have no peace for a while. Lots of love, though.

My goals for 2011 are:

Get the trees trimmed, hopefully before spring when the birds start building nests and I won't let anyone touch them.

Get the back porch finished. It's the last room in the house that's still a mess. Well, except for Bob's room, but that's a different problem.

Raise a few good chickens for someone (not me) to show.

Do some watercolor painting and some gourd painting.

Take some weekend trips to visit friends and do fun stuff.

Retire before I'm laid off, or at least shortly thereafter.

An Award!

Wow, I never won an award before. This one is the Yorkshire Pudding award for "Best Blogger in Sloughhouse, California." I am soooo honored.

Fun Times

We had a great time over the holidays in this house. Everyone except Charley, that is. He'd just settled down in Bob's lap with his favorite new toy, fresh from the Kitty Stocking, when George jumped up and horned in. Those ARE the green eyes of jealousy that you see.

Bob and I hosted part of the family on Christmas Eve. It was great to have people here to share our unusually clean house and eat dinner from the plates we only use once every two or three years. Aunt Sharon and her kids and grandkids (my cousins and their children) were here.

This is Aunt Sharon. She was so lovely I had to take her picture.

If you have read my blog for a while, you'll know that Bob went to India and Thailand a couple of years ago with Aunt Sharon, my cousin Callie, and Callie's husband Krishna.

This is the newest member of Aunt Sharon's branch of the family - Libby and Paul's daughter Lexi.

There aren't many people who can resist kissing baby cheeks like these. The smile is courtesy of Lexi's big brother Levi, he has her trained to smile and laugh, it's obvious she adores him.

This is Levi and my cousin Kreg (Levi's uncle).

Yes, the picture on the wall is crooked. I'll go fix that in a minute.

And this is cousin Callie, Lexi, and Lexi's mom, my cousin Libby.

My carpet was so clean, a baby could play on it. And did.

On Saturday morning I headed to town (Sacramento) to visit with John's side of the family. I didn't get to see the newest baby in the family (Joe and Anne's), but Dominic and Kristina and their two kids were there. This is little Nico impersonating the baby Jesus, minus the hay and sheep, but no crying he made.

Nico's big sister Lexi (remember, we have 2 Lexis) posed with her new sock monkey on her grandpa's lap.

Next I got to go to Placerville to spend Christmas evening with Carlotta and her family. Carlotta and I were friends from the time I was in high school. She's a bit younger, so we didn't go to school together, but we showed horses and had some great times.

If you have a big event you want to pull off with style and panache - say the Queen of England is coming to your house for dinner - you would hire Carlotta to manage it for you. I'm sure the people who shared Christmas dinner with Martha Stewart weren't as well treated as we were at Carlotta's house.

Here, she explains the complicated rules of the gift exchange - Sicilian-style, with hands. One of the wonderful things I got to do at Carlotta's was meet her son, Spencer. He's a skier and a filmmaker. I was privileged to get a copy of his DVD as a gift. I watched it as soon as I got home. I don't know anything about skiing or snowboarding, but even I could appreciate the skill of Spencer's camera work, and how much work it must have taken to set up the stunts. I'm really glad my own kid can't do all those tricky things on skis, like taking off from a cliff and doing a somersault between two trees before hitting the snow half a mile down the hill. Ack!!

I got to tell Spencer that his mother didn't get into trouble when she was a kid. She CAUSED trouble, however.

Another wonderful thing at Carlotta's was getting to see her ex-husband, Johnny Hyde. If you grew up in Sacramento in the 60s, you knew about KROY radio and Johnny, he's a legend.

He's also a warm, friendly, totally cuddly fellow. I was so happy to see him and meet his wife Maxine, who is a Raider fan.

Carlotta and I decided we're going to make an effort to visit our old friends this year. We're making our list. You guys know who you are, look for us! This will be so fun, I can't wait for next year to come.

For those of you who have read the news about floods in California, that's only been in Southern California. It could just as easily happen here, but so far it hasn't this year and we're OK. Thank you for your concern.

Christmassing

I got most of the Douglas Fir needles off the carpet by hand. Probably should have had Christmas music playing in the background to make it more festive. On Tuesday the sainted cleaning ladies finished the job. We got a lot of use out of the tree before it expired.

I like having green things in the house, especially in the winter, don't you?

Bob had a rather large Christmas party earlier in the week. Bob, Gwynessa, Jon, Courtney. They were the first ones here. Take a look at the tree, it didn't last much longer.

Jon wanted me to point out that Gwynessa forced him to wear the hat. It had blinking lights.

I read an article this morning about how to destress your animals if you planned to have Christmas activities at your house. That's not necessary in this house. Gollie is always stressed. She hides when she hears the first strange car in the driveway. Velcro sleeps on her heated pad, right in the middle of any group. George and Charley are party guys. The more laps available, the better.

In the picture below Charley says, "Where did these animals come from?"

They're party animals.

I had a fun Christmas season at work, too. From the first day in December I wore something seasonal every day. You know, red, green, red and white. It's not hard to do, especially if you were a 4-H leader and still have those green clothes.

But I work with professional people. In the winter they wear black. Every day they wear black. I went around periodically and inspected their holiday wear. "This is the birthday," I'd remind them. "The funeral is at Easter. You don't wear black to a birthday." I was dubbed "The Christmas Nazi," a title I'm proud to have. Here I am with Sharon on a day when she spruced up her professional black.

There were some other high points – conservative Tami had festive sparkles woven into her hair! Mark had a lovely collection of holiday bowties. One that he inherited from his grandfather had bells on it, that's my favorite. Nathan made us all snowflakes and brought them in to put on our doors. Some people brought in Christmas treats, and we had lots of poinsettias. There is an austere atmosphere in the edbiz these days. We didn't exchange gifts, we didn't party. We did have a nice potluck lunch.

Bob and I have some family events tomorrow and on Christmas day. I'll be thinking of you all and hoping you're sharing good times with your friends and families.

To Uncle B, thank you so much for the three hugs from across the ocean. That's my favorite kind of gift, something that won't take up storage space in my house, but I can use it any time I want a nice memory. I send three big, warm California hugs back to you.

John G, I send warm thoughts your way to melt some of that snow and ice. There's nothing worse than trying to take care of animals in freezing weather. Unless it's having a bulldog in heat. (You always make me feel so good about my own animals in comparison.)

Last night Hulu had Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy episodes available. I watched a couple, they're always fun. Something about Arthur Dent reminds me of my buddy Yorkshire Pudding. Maybe it was the scene where he was writhing in pain, having been forced to hear bad Vogon poetry. YP, when you go to Thailand be sure to take your towel.

Merleen, I used the wonder gloves yesterday to clean chicken pens with my bare hands. They are wonderful, thank you for that early, early Christmas present.

XOX
Jan

Only in California

Less than 12 hours after the winter equinox, and in a sunny but brief break between storms, there were guys out spraying Round-Up this morning to stay ahead of the weeds.

Raccoon Assassin

Aeryn Sun is on the job here in the house, keeping Chicken safe from raccoons. Now if I could just find a Peacekeeper to handle the job outside! I haven't had a problem for a while, but it's about that time when the nasty little critters come poking around the hen houses.

5 Mile Creek

This is a random, disjointed post, it's been that sort of day.

To whom did I loan my DVDs of 5 Mile Creek?

I have seen all the FarScape DVDs twice now (all 4 years of programs) and thought I'd switch over from the Australian sci fi to an Australian western. But the danged DVDs aren't where I thought I'd put them. I assumed John had them, but he stopped by tonight and denied it. Well, sorta denied it. He doesn't remember things like that much better than I do. He can tell you all about parts to a 65 Ford truck, or the names of his first boss's kids, but not whether he borrowed something last week. If you have the DVDs, please let me know so I can stop looking for them.

The creek is back in its banks. The river never got high enough to get out of its banks from this round of storms. We're waiting for the next storm to blow through, but everything is hunky dory tonight.

Except I can't find 5 Mile Creek. Oh, and except that I had to take down the Christmas tree. It had dried out and was dropping needles already. Lots of needles. We got 20 days enjoyment out of it and now I won't have that chore after Christmas. I planned to use the shop vacuum to clean up after the tree, but couldn't find it, either. Bob located it under the overhang on the carport. It was full of water. He said, "You could probably just let it dry out and it'll be fine." OK, but I can't live with 2 inches of pine needles on the carpet for a couple of weeks.

So I had to sweep the carpet with a broom. Wasn't that just a fun thing to do? No. I'm not amused by housework. I'd rather be cleaning chicken pens, or even horse stalls. And if I have to deal with dirt, I'd rather it be out in the garden.

To Kath in England, I ordered an Amelanchier a couple of weeks ago. I just got 3 bareroot saplings this afternoon (Merry Christmas to me!!). They came from a nursery in Tennessee, and they probably had to be chiseled out of the ground. I requested they be sent early. Usually the eastern nurseries send bareroot saplings in late April, and that doesn't work for California. We're often cutting hay in early May, it's dry and hot here by then.

I'm going to have a nice cup of tea now and hope tomorrow makes more sense.

Just Ran Out and Checked

I just ran out and checked the water level. Well, no I didn't run, I can't run. I waddled out in a drizzle and came back like a soggy pooch. But this is what the river looks like at 11:30 in Sloughhouse.

The river is on the right. It has probably 5 more feet until it's out of its bank and onto the floodplain. That's when we really start watching it because the levee on the left is narrow and ancient. It has squirrel holes and old roots left from Caltrans cutting trees on it about 10 years (let me take a moment to convey my love for the two-bit idiots at Caltrans). It can probably withstand the water coming up and going down within a 24 hour period, which is what usually happens here. It's not like the levees near Sacramento, where the water level can be higher than the outside ground level for days at a time.

Flooding in Sloughhouse

Do NOT be concerned about news reports of flooding in Sloughhouse. Yet.

As many of you know, Deer Creek floods easily. Every time it comes up there is a lot of water around the Sloughhouse Inn and since there is easy access there for the media, they feature it a lot. Water surrounding the Sloughhouse Inn means absolutely nothing, there is no danger to anyone, there is no damage incurred. The water comes up, then the water goes down.

Deer Creek originates in lower El Dorado County. Even a modest amount of rainfall, over a period of a few days, will cause it to overflow its banks. In a normal year this might happen two or three times.

The real problem in Sloughhouse is the Cosumnes River. It will handle a lot of rain from the foothills. We only get in trouble with the river when there's a warm, heavy rainstorm at high elevations (Pineapple Express). Then the snow melts fast and, combined with rain runoff, it can get pretty scary down here.

So far that hasn't happened in this series of storms, though they are expecting some warm storms in the week to come. So we're keeping an eye on things. Thank you to all our friends who help us do this, and the ones who have volunteered to help move animals and things out if necessary.

If you'd like to know how high the water is, this is a good website: Flooding.

Scroll down to Cosumnes River/North Delta.

Deer Creek at Scott Rd. crossing and Cosumnes River at Michigan Bar are uphill from us. On our 80 acres here in the Cosumnes River Valley, Deer Creek is our north boundary and the river is our south boundary. The creek is at the far end of our property, and at just enough lower elevation that it would take a monstrous amount of water to be a problem. We've had the creek levee wash out a few times, and the highway has had to be closed for a day, but it is not a danger to anyone, as I said before.

The river levee is about 150 yards from my house. When the water is at the top of the levee, it is about the same level as my roofline. I hate that, it really makes knots in my stomach. Right now there's a knot starting to grow that probably won't leave until March, even though this house is over 100 years old and has never to my knowledge been flooded (knock on wood, thank you God).

So today everything is fine. You can watch the news about Deer Creek and chuckle, knowing it's just the news people looking for a good picture on a slow news day. I'll keep you all informed if the situation changes. We'll have a river watch. That's when we sit around the kitchen with a pot of coffee and go out to check the levees every hour or so.

Farriers and Philosophers

If you have horses, you already know that horseshoers are interesting people.

I have met a couple who were dumber than nails. One pulled into my driveway 2 hours late and asked if I had a radiator cap that might fit his limping vehicle. I did (how sick is that?). He spent most of the next hour using my tools to fix the truck.

Another had just driven away after shoeing my horse. As I led her off the crossties, one of the new shoes fell off. I had to put it back on myself.

In my best days, I could shoe my own horse. Not very well, but I could do it. I had to. My horse might pull a shoe 29 miles from nowhere, so I always carried spares. I hit my fingers a lot with the hammer, and was always getting my jeans ripped on nails before I'd get them clinched.

So I count among the happiest days of my life the ones when I met a good farrier: one that not only showed up on time, but did a good job.

This is Ron. I've known him since 1984, I think.

In real life he has a world-class smile and a great sense of humor. He's the best all-round horseshoer, metal artist, story-teller, philosopher, and fun fellow I know. And this is not an advertisement. I don't think Ron needs new customers, and he only keeps customers he likes.

I got to see Ron a couple of weeks ago at Katherine's and got a Christmas hug. These pictures are for  the old friends I used to trail ride with, who always ask, "Have you seen Ron lately?"

Yes, I have, and he's still a prince.

Katherine Smiles

Many of us have known Katherine the Artist since she was a little kid. To many, she seems very serious and somber. That's because you haven't seen what makes Katherine smile.

A Best of Show at a poultry show would probably put a grin on her face. Selling artwork for big bucks would do it, too. But what really makes her smile? Cowboys!

The more, the better.

Last night we went to see the Bar J Wranglers in Oroville, which is about 90 minutes north of home. Katherine had seen them this past summer in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. They sing cowboy songs and spiritual songs, and threw in some Christmas songs, too. And they are very, very funny without being risqué.

The group was evidently started 57 years ago by Babe Humphrey. This is Katherine getting Babe's autograph on the CD she bought.

Babe is in the Western Music Hall of Fame. Two of his sons are in the group now. Their music reminds me of Sons of the San Joaquin, which is also a "family" group. Why is it that family members can sing such lovely harmony?

My favorite band member is Donnie Cook. He sat at the edge of the stage, surrounded by a big assortment of instruments, and he could play all of them very well.

Plus he's an old guy. As you know, I adore old guys.

In your own real life, do you know guys who sing? I don't, and I even know several who went to the Waldorf School, where everyone is encouraged to sing. I also know a bunch of real cowboys, and some cowboy wannabees, and none of them sing. Maybe these family, cowboy-type guys learned to sing in church.

I asked Bob this morning why guys don't sing. He said, "You have bad information. I, for example, was just singing yesterday at work." He said this as he was walking out the door to another day at work, singing in a nice baritone, "Nobody knows the trouble I've seen...."

To Put You in the Holiday Mood

Settling down for a long winter's nap,

with visions of sugarplums dancing in his head.

Occasionally Smart

Sometimes I even surprise myself.

I got the tree and the house decorated for Christmas. That left me with my second-to-least favorite job – storing all stuff in the hall closet that I had to move so there would be room in the house for the Christmas things. This is a small house, you know?

I hate the hall closet. I've said this before. Everything is neatly stacked, but it's no-man's land in there. No matter how carefully I label a box and try to remember which stack it's in, when it goes into the hall closet it disappears. Sometimes for years.

Plus, all that stuff has to be taken back out at the end of December so the Christmas decorations can be stored for another year. That's my first-least favorite job – trying to stuff the Christmas decorations back where they came from.

I put it off for a week, but then as I was sitting with my 3rd cup of tea (because I'd rather drink tea and think about the chore than actually DO it) I got this mind-boggling idea! We aren't buying presents this year. The tree looked weird with nothing under it. I was going to just wrap some empty boxes and put them under the tree. Instead, I filled the boxes with the things I intended to store temporarily in the hall closet. I'm wrapping and labeling them and putting them under the tree.

When it comes time to put the decorations away, there will be nothing in the way, they can go right back in the spaces they just vacated.

A third thing I don't like about decorating is that I usually have to do it all myself. When I was sick, Bob did it. Otherwise the guys in the house have been pretty much useless on decorating day. Like Charley and George in this picture, their attitude was "wake me when it's over."

Velcro has seen 12 Christmases. Her favorite spot is under the tree, waiting for Santa.

Where the Wild Things Were

At my brother's house, on Thanksgiving.

Jen, Tessa, Sarah

Baby Fun

The Blawat side of my family is pretty small. We do a good job of practicing Zero Population Growth. Uncle Jim and Aunt Beth were the only grandparents for quite a while, and they've gotten a lot of mileage out of their granddaughters Emily and Jennifer.

Em, Jen, and Sarah have all been married for a few years. They have good jobs, good spouses, and have even bought houses. (Bob is the youngest of the group, he's just starting out.) 

It's always fun to see my Blawat cousins. This year was extra special because we all got to meet our newest member, my brother's granddaughter Tessa. She's 14 months old. She speaks a few words and knows some sign language. Of course she's very talented already. She can play lots of songs on her little electronic keyboard.  

She not only plays songs with her fingers, she plays them with her toes as well. How cool is that?

Tessa is learning to walk, but she much prefers hanging onto dad or mom's fingers and running. I'd estimate the 3 of them did at least 2 miles a day like this, plus Tessa went up and down the stairs 2 or 3 times an hour. 

She was very polite and patient as she sat and listened to Grandma Mo read a book. Check out the title - Let's Get Moving! - it must be her favorite book.

Tessa is already a very helpful young lady. Anyone need their glasses cleaned?