Thursday, June 23, 2005
NOVEMBER....1993
On the first day of November, my diary reads, “The day was cold and routine at Hartville today. I wrote letters. Fires are burning in California….terrible Santa Anna winds are burning thousands of acres in the wealthiest part….mansions of the rich and famous. The immensity of these fires is awesome.” It struck me as odd because I had just turned the morning news off and fires are again burning in California, burning many homes in their path. In the Mid-West we are already as dry as we normally are in July with no sign of rain. When I read John’s blog this morning about things that make us feel “life is good”…..I was thinking how in our area we are always grateful for rain. It seems it either rains all in one place to flood and run off or others get no rain at all…..either way, no one benefits from a good soaking rain. Rocky is figuring out a sprinkler system to water our vegetation since I seem to be a risk for serious heat stroke.
The second day of November I noted that it was a cold, gray and rainy day. Miserable to work in…..and the next day I made mention that the sun broke through the clouds and we worked without jackets because it was so warm. The weather is definitely fickle at best……..
Uncle “Buster” and aunt Phyllis came to visit on a Friday evening. They drove in from Nebraska to spend the week-end and we were always glad to see them. He tried to come near the time mom was buried every year but we hadn’t seen them for two years. We did some shopping the next day but he became ill so we came home and he rested the remainder of the day. He complained of dizziness and being unable to focus his eyes. The next day was better for him and we had a leisurely day at home. Heavy rains in the area made flooding in towns all around with water in many of the businesses. I had to go back to work on Monday and uncle Buster and aunt Phyllis left a little before I did.
Evidence of the high water was everywhere. We were amazed that some of our offices had water in them the following week…….the worst was at Ellington, MO. where we worked out of the City Hall. The whole town had flooded terribly because it was built on a creek bed. We worked in a cold and wet office all day but managed to take care of the applicants.
On Saturday the 20th we were excited because John’s were coming from Covington and George was driving down from Shawnee. It would be wonderful to have all three kids together at the same time. George was first to arrive around 3:00pm and John and family arrived about 5:00pm. I had supper ready and we spent the evening catching up with everyone’s news and laughing our silly heads off. The next day we had a lazy breakfast….football in the afternoon and evening….Barbara and Becky were working on cross-stitch and doing a very nice job. Both girls were adept at the craft.
Monday, Becky had to go to work but I took off. We loaded up in the van and headed for Branson to see a show and shop the Outlet Malls. We decided on the Osmond Brothers which we all enjoyed. They are a gifted bunch of guys and extremely pleasant. Their mother and father were standing out in the lobby as we left and I stopped a minute to speak to the mother. The next day we split up and went in different directions. Barbara and I shopped our home area while Becky worked; the guys did their own thing. John took his “run” after missing a couple of days. The day before Thanksgiving we went back to Branson to exchange some things and then on to Springfield to go through Bass-Pro…..it is the headquarters for the string of sporting goods stores and a real Mecca for guys. The aquarium and natural setting for the animals that had been restored to life-like specimens in their habitats were impressive.
The next day was Thanksgiving and I got up early and recruited lots of help to get our traditional meal ready. Jennifer and her fiancé, Jamie, made it in time and we had a family wedding shower for them…..it was an altogether wonderful day for all of us. Later that evening we began getting sleet and freezing rain. Everyone decided to leave the next morning because the weather reports didn’t look good. We had a wonderful 5-days together and everyone made it home safely. As John said in his blog today…… “Life is good.”………….
Until tomorrow,
Essentially Esther
The second day of November I noted that it was a cold, gray and rainy day. Miserable to work in…..and the next day I made mention that the sun broke through the clouds and we worked without jackets because it was so warm. The weather is definitely fickle at best……..
Uncle “Buster” and aunt Phyllis came to visit on a Friday evening. They drove in from Nebraska to spend the week-end and we were always glad to see them. He tried to come near the time mom was buried every year but we hadn’t seen them for two years. We did some shopping the next day but he became ill so we came home and he rested the remainder of the day. He complained of dizziness and being unable to focus his eyes. The next day was better for him and we had a leisurely day at home. Heavy rains in the area made flooding in towns all around with water in many of the businesses. I had to go back to work on Monday and uncle Buster and aunt Phyllis left a little before I did.
Evidence of the high water was everywhere. We were amazed that some of our offices had water in them the following week…….the worst was at Ellington, MO. where we worked out of the City Hall. The whole town had flooded terribly because it was built on a creek bed. We worked in a cold and wet office all day but managed to take care of the applicants.
On Saturday the 20th we were excited because John’s were coming from Covington and George was driving down from Shawnee. It would be wonderful to have all three kids together at the same time. George was first to arrive around 3:00pm and John and family arrived about 5:00pm. I had supper ready and we spent the evening catching up with everyone’s news and laughing our silly heads off. The next day we had a lazy breakfast….football in the afternoon and evening….Barbara and Becky were working on cross-stitch and doing a very nice job. Both girls were adept at the craft.
Monday, Becky had to go to work but I took off. We loaded up in the van and headed for Branson to see a show and shop the Outlet Malls. We decided on the Osmond Brothers which we all enjoyed. They are a gifted bunch of guys and extremely pleasant. Their mother and father were standing out in the lobby as we left and I stopped a minute to speak to the mother. The next day we split up and went in different directions. Barbara and I shopped our home area while Becky worked; the guys did their own thing. John took his “run” after missing a couple of days. The day before Thanksgiving we went back to Branson to exchange some things and then on to Springfield to go through Bass-Pro…..it is the headquarters for the string of sporting goods stores and a real Mecca for guys. The aquarium and natural setting for the animals that had been restored to life-like specimens in their habitats were impressive.
The next day was Thanksgiving and I got up early and recruited lots of help to get our traditional meal ready. Jennifer and her fiancé, Jamie, made it in time and we had a family wedding shower for them…..it was an altogether wonderful day for all of us. Later that evening we began getting sleet and freezing rain. Everyone decided to leave the next morning because the weather reports didn’t look good. We had a wonderful 5-days together and everyone made it home safely. As John said in his blog today…… “Life is good.”………….
Until tomorrow,
Essentially Esther
