SharivilleLife stories from Shari

This blog is esp for Angie, who has requested a blow by blow, little play on words there, of my journey with my 6th knee surgery.  Took me until now to take this big step.  I will likely reread it too just to remind myself that I can’t possibly have another knee surgery, unless I grow another leg.

I think anytime you have an impending major surgery there are lots of fears and often brings your attention to the really important things going on in your life.  I always find that to be so.  Suddnely family becomes important and the small things do also.  Jerry and I spend a lot of time taking care of each other, and we are not about to stop now.  It’s difficult to think of one without the other.

It was a really lovely drive from Chico to Sacramento this afternoon.  The rice fields are in flux.  Three different stages of growth.  The completely flooded fields, the fields with some partial rice starting to poke their little green blades out of the water an the most beautiful, the fuffly developed rice.  it has the look of green velvet, very soft and comforting. The white Egrets atand out as they gather their water bugs and crowdads and frogs.  Rarely these days do we see a Great Blue Heron now.  They are very rare.  There’s occasional Mallard duck pairs,  they are so very pretty , esp the males. They seem like such lovcing little couples.  The canals are all full and running  clear blue water to keep the rice covered.  The signs along the read read, ” Food Grows Where Water Flows.” Ive always felt so fortunate to live in an area that grows so much fruit and produce.  Jerry and I have traveled all over and we are always glad to return to Calif. The land of no accent and humidity, except in the rice fields.

We arrived at Sutter Memorial around 2 PM.  Jerry set up the trailer, we have a decent spot, with electricity and water, so he and Teddy  will be quite comfortable during their stay here.  There’s a nice green grassy area behind the trailer to make Teddy happy.  Teddy loves to ride in the truck and is really happy to be in the trailer.  All we have to do is say, “Load up,” and he’s good to go. Of course Jerry is quite at ease pulling this sled thru the Sacramento traffic.  He never gets rattled   even during the rush hour.  He’s the best driver and I always feel safe with him driving.  Tommy is another one I feel that way about because of his Nascar driving experience. We are both lucky gals Angie.

Spent the rest of the day relaxing in the trailer, we have a great air conditioner, because all of a sudden we have summer.  Can’t remember Spring.  Had chicken soup , a banana and milk for dinner,  I just dont seem to have much of an appetite lately, must be nerves..Talked to the anesthesielogist this evening.  We are going with a spinal and propothol and a femeral nerve block for the surgery. That way I wont feel the pain when the Doc starts sawing and grinding while they dessemble my knee joint and glue in a new one. I will sleep thur it all.

Angie and Felecia called to give me a boost and good wishes. .    I think Im finally resigned  and ready to go.  Tomorrow is the big day and I want to blog as much as possible about the experience . Tomorrow is another day, wish me well………….Hugs to all         Shari

I used to call the garden ” my garden”, I can no longer do that , as Jerry has pretty much taken over in my absence, for the last 5 yrs.  It seems medical problems have kept me more or less housebound for these past yrs.  That’s about to end.  I will be back out in the garden in the fall. I have so missed it.  Prior to that everything done out there was done together.

I woke up this morning to the sound of hoeing under my bedroom window.  Jerry was out there clearing the weeds out of my wonderful row of lavender.  He also got rid of the Morning Glories around the tomatoes.  We have a big yard area with lots of things planted.  We also have a huge empty acrage where we took out the almond orchard.  Jerry keeps is disced and mowed , fire hazzared and snake problems otherwise.  One year when I talked him out of mowing the field, feeling that my wildlife and birds, Quail and Pheasants, rabbits etc. would prefer the grass land we killed no less than 8 rattlesmakes, of all sizes.  Therefore,  No more grass lands.

Jerry is very fond of his tractor and mower and disc.  I never knew anyone so happy to be out there mowing or just moving around mounds of garden brush.  He spends countless hours just pushing bush around  out there.  I think he likes this because  it reminds him of the old row cropping days.  Every spring and summer we go thru the same thing, I say “Oh dont burn that pile,  its spring and the birds need it for nesting and nesting material. ” In the fall its the same thing ,” Oh dont burn that pile, the birds need it for winter protection. ” And so on and on it goes, and the piles just get bigger and bigger.  We have lots and lots of bird feeders, they take care of my garden, for sure.  And then there’s the Hummingbirds, Jerry is very factidious about keeping them in sugar water. Jerry is very fond of the Hummers. We spend a fortune on bird seed, I use only the quality seed, otherwise the birds just toss out the cheap stuff.  I have some wonderful ground feeders, I have a huge covey of Quail.  They are so much fun to watch out my bedroom window.  Sometime look up why they are called a covey.  They are beautiful fun little creatures.

Awhile back I took a precarious walk around the yard, it was a beautiful day and all kinds of plants and flowers were in bloom. We have every kind of fruit tree, including Pomagranite and  Persimmon.  We have 3 cherry trees, never see the friut from those tho, we planted them to close to the Redwoods and the birds take advantage. In younger days I picked the plums, I have 4 varieties, and made jelly, maybe someday I will get back to that.

We have a glorious Blue Spruce, which we are very proud of.  Love, love Blue Spruces.  We have the most lovely Betty Boop rose bush, like no one else, by the pump house.  The pink carpet roses are beginning to bloom all along the driveway, they are stunning when in full bloom.  Of course there is a Kitchy part of MY garden, where I have an old footed bathtub an old toilet and lots of garden art, like the precious pink flamingo that Tommy gave me awhile back.  It just got home this year, brought back in our trailer.  The banana tree is still recovering from a very cold winter, also got our avacado tree, not sure if it will recover.  Got most of my lime and pink lemonade tree.  If they recover at all they are really set back.  We have several bird baths, because of our huge bird population.  Teddy knows just where to get a drink and wash his feet.  Im really sure the birds appreciate that. Twelve yrs ago a neighbor donated his palm tree to us and it has grown from 3 feet to  30 ft.  It’s lovely, we have a couple of Mexican Palms to flank it.  I have lavender and believe one cannot have enough lavender or Japanees Maples.  We have several. .I have a fondness for roses, not so with Jerry,  he is constantly being attacked by them.  I have two precious Josephes Coat climber roeses,  and several other rose bushes.  I will be planting more soon, in a sunnier area. The play house for the grand daughters, who have long out grown it will be our new Garden Shed. Its all finished inside and even has a ceiling fan.  I just have to change the paint color inside, take out all the toys, some antique, I will save for Felecia’s little ones someday.  Jerrys old high chair is out there, generously given back to Jerry by his daughter, Debra.  It has raised two grand daughters at our table.  I have pictures of Felecia and then yrs later of Sarah eating in it at our table.  Jerry is proud of that chair.

Well that about wraps up my garden tour of our garden and thank Jerry with all my heart for keeping it all going until I can get out there and help him again. He has really become a serious gardener and is proud of his yard.  Make no mistake our place is not a show place, its very rustic and bird friendly, we stll do have fox tails and Johnson grass, but not a much.  We are completely organic, mybirds take care of the bugs, you can eat the fruit and vegies right off the trees and bushes.  That we are proud of.    Well more later……………..Hugs S and J………….PS, Teddy showing off his credentials.

Well hello again.  Things continue to move right along.  I can’t find anything I’m looking for, I cant remember to reorder scripts, I even for the first time ever will have to hand deliver my voting ballot, because I forgot to mail it before now.  I will surely be glad to get this surgery over with and so will Jerry,seems he has to suffer with me all my mistakes and avoidance’s too. My mind is just elsewhere.

We did miss the McCloud outing with the Good Sams of Durham, just to much walking etc at this time. We will make up for it at a later date. Thurs. night  we did manage to attend the graduation of my nephew Jessee and Denise’s daughter Mia on the West side,in Princeton.  There were a total of 18 graduates. Both Jessee and Mia got nice scholarships.  Mia was Salutatorian and gave a nice speech.  We are so proud of her.  Jesse was just radiant up there on stage.  Jessee had done some home schooling and was behind on credits to start with, so he had to work extra hard to get caught up to graduate with his class, but he came through like the trooper that he is.  It reflects good fetching up. Jessee will be attending Butte JC in the fall and Mia is going all the way down to Fresno to a 4 yr college. I love graduation ceremonies, they are so important and represent such milestones in these kids lives.  Felecia, our granddaughter will be graduating with a degree in business and entrepreneurship  from North Texas University in Aug.  She has managed to work full time and go to Europe for 3 mos, and still get through with flying colors. She is in the top of her class.  We are proud grandparents too. In between it all she’s been very active in her Sorority. She’s just phenomenal, and beautiful inside and out.

Sat we attended the graduation party held at a local hotel in Willows for Jessee and Mia.  It was a swimming party for the kids and lots of food.  Shawn made carnitas, and Denise made 7 layer dips and lots of fresh fruit and salad. There was a big turnout and the kids really had a great time.  We parents and grandparents and aunts and uncles really enjoyed the festivities too. Rene did the decorations and some of the food and there were two cakes for both Jessee and Mia.  It was a beautiful setting and the weather was wonderful.  We were able to eat outside on the patio. It will be fun now to see what these kids, including Felecia, will go on and do with their lives. Angie and I personally know what a college degree is worth and are proud of ours.

I don’t know about you, but when I get behind it preys on my mind, I have only a few more days now before knee surgery, and not knowing when I will feel like blogging, its safe to assume I should try to do some catching up.

A couple of Sundays ago I spent one of THE most enjoyable days ever.  Jerry and I attended the Chico Portuguese Holy Ghost and Fatima Club festival.  About 3 yrs ago I became reacquainted with my niece Tracy and her husband and in laws.  They have become like family to both Jerry and I.  We call them our West Side Family. Mary Hubbard is my niece’s mother-in-law, and has become one of my dearest friends ever.  Mary and her two daughters, Denise and Rene and son Shawn are very dear to  my heart, as are their families.   This had been for me,  exposure to the Portuguese culture.  I was raised as a little girl in the Italian culture, they are similar in many ways.  The Portuguese people are very outgoing and loving people, the food is of course wonderful and this was a food event.  The meal was Soapas, which is french bread and cabbage soup with roast beef and potato salad on the side and orange drink or beer or wine if wanted.  It’s served family style with unending refills of platters of Soapas and roast beef.  The meat is cooked in an oven at the Portuguese Hall.  First they heat the oven to about  700 degrees, then rake the coals out.  The temperature drops to about 50o degrees then they  put the meat in, in huge amounts, and close the door to the oven and the meat roasts about 4 to 5 hours. and comes out fork tender and delicious. Really delicious. French bread is put into a bowl, covered with boiled cabbage and beef broth and served. Like I said potato salad served as a side dish.  Very different food but very good,  Jerry had 3 servings, and he’s not a “Foodie.” There were tons of people in attendance, eating both inside and outside the hall. It’s a big deal for the Portuguese people,  and I can see why.

Mary’s family is from the Azures, specifically from the island of Ler  Ceira.  At the Hall, after dinner there was a Portuguese lady entertaining. Her name is Emily Silva. She is renowned here and in Portugal. Mary has a lot of her tapes.  She was singing Portuguese songs and playing the keyboard.  The festival draws people of all ages.  This especially appealed to the older folks who still speak the Portuguese language on a fairly regular basis.  There was lots of dancing, both young and old.  There was a very old gentleman in a wheel chair who was able to dance briefly,  it was an emotional event.  They danced The Chicken Dance, that was hilarious, so much fun.  There was a Folk Dance,called Chamarita.  The dancing was so enjoyable to watch and the music was so special. Mary and Rene danced together as did Mary with one of her cousins.  Mary also danced with an old friend, one she used to dance with over 60 yrs ago, when she was 7 yrs old and attending festival.   It was obvious he still had eyes for Mary. Next year Jerry and I will dance, I will have a new knee. The Portuguese in our area are a close knit people. They enjoy life and family and are close to God. Both Jerry and I are really getting into this culture and enjoying it so much.  This was the second year we attended the Festa, already looking forward to next year.

In the Hall there are statues of Fatima and also of Queen Isabella, yes, the same one who sent Christopher Columbus over to discover  us.

Well after 100 blog posts I suddenly ran into writers block.  Got some personal,  not so good news , and just shut down.  Angie has been hinting that I need to get back into the swing of things so I have decided to get with the program again.

Jerry and I find the the month of May is always our busiest month except the holiday months. Thank goodness I have lots of pictures to remind me of this month.  We started out the month going to the Garden Show, one of our local Chico events.  Tom and Joann Husa joined us.  Actually the salad lunch was better than usual, they changed the pasta salad recipe and it was really tasty.  Of course the guys would likely disagree. They are not fans of the luncheon.  There were only 4 yards in the garden show, poor response this year.  I’m not alone in rethinking next year if they cant do better.  I was able to make it to 3 of the yards, so personally it didn’t bother me, but come on only 4.  I sat out the final long walk yard, one I couldn’t walk any more and this yard had been on the tour a few yrs before.  For the most part we 4 agreed that the best yard was the smallest yard , and it was made up of mostly potted garden flowers and plants.  From the garden tour we headed to Kwando’s for the Asian buffet, which is always wonderful.  Once again Jerry lost out, he does not like Asian food.  So he eats salads and jello and desserts.  Oh well.  He’s a good sport.

The next May event was a trip to my orthopedic surgeons office, only to find out that no one in Chico is really capable of doing my knee surgery because it is so complicated.  What should I have expected.  I have been dealing with these knees from birth and this will be my 6th knee surgery. I guess I have run the gamut and should have expected something wouldn’t jive.  So now I will be going to Sacramento June 15th to have what they call one of the “Super Stars,” do the surgery.  I really like the surgeon and he seems confident he can do it OK.  So now its no longer in my hands. Need prayers guys.  I will be in Sacramento’s Sutter General for a few days, Jerry will bring the RV and Teddy down for the duration and will hook up to utilities at the hospital.  So he won’t have to  drive back and forth.  It will all work out I’m sure. It is just such an inconvenience to have to travel out of town for surgery.  Who would have thunk it.

On the 13th Angie had Dave Gergenti, founder of,”Wish Upon A Hero,” on her show, and to also show the Wish Mobile that Tommy wrapped for the charity.  It’s an awsome mobile, The show was also awsome.  After the show we were off to the little town of  Princeton for a spaghetti dinner to support the kids in their funraising.  This was in support of our West Side Family, who are such an important part of our lives.

We had a very special Mothers Day tea at Kathy’s care home.  I make those cute and tasty little tea sandwiches, you know the ones that you cut the crusts off and cut 4 ways.  I made 6 different fillings and supplied some of my sandwich plates , I have almost 70 now, for the traditional effect.  You know those glass center handled plates, I really must stop collecting them.  I hardly see them any more now, I must have them all.  A Mary Kay rep came to the house and did facials for the ladies that stay at the home.. It was fun.  Kathy participated fully even tho it was really difficult for her. Shes really movement impaired now.  Shes a good sport too and I love her great spirit.  There was a good turn out and such a wonderful idea for a mothers day event.  Altho Kathy never became a mother, she did share Angie with me, and Angie claims her as her God Mother and vice versa. Kathy is a good role model for my daughter.

Next day Jerry went in for his yearly echo cardiogram to see if the new aortic valve is working as it should.  Must be cause we haven’t heard otherwise. That was our mistake last year before we left on our trip we should have had that test done. It was my mistake because I should have followed thru, what was I thinking, just because he seemed to be doing so well, one never knows.  A valuable lesson for me.  It might have saved us some really scary times.  But then what?  He still would have needed the surgery and let me tell you it could not have happened in a better place.  Good grief, we might  have had to settle for Sacramento. I guess every thing happens for a reason, that’s what Angie keeps telling me and she’s seldom wrong. Bless her heart, and she and Tommy were there for the much needed support.  The only reason I was not such  a basket case was because I was able to stay right with Jerry in the same room for the entire stay post surgery.  What a wonderful hospital Baylor Heart Hospital is.

Sunday was the church barbecue.  It was a splendid affair.  All my favorite people were there.  Shawn Hubbard my nieces husband and church cook, as he’s so good, cooked some awsome  ribs. Everyone brought very tasty side dishes and wonderful homemade ice cream.  Lots of good fellowship and food.  I brought Jerry’s fav, 7 layer dip, he never gets enough of that, with of course, La Comida chips.

Oh good grief, only half of May has past, there’s still more to come, but at a later date.   Stay tuned, I perked up again.  Hugs………..Shari and Jerry……………PS these are pictures of our West Side Family, love them lots.

Jerry and I are looking forward to tomorrow, Monday, so we can rest up.  We had a rip snortin weekend, non stop.  Usually April and May in our area is very busy with Festivals and parades and esp get togethers as the weather is so wonderful.

We started Sat morning having breakfast with George Augustine at Home Town Buffet, went from there to Hodges Nursery just down the Midway toward Durham, about a mile from our house.  Hodges has an Heirloom Tomato specialist come in every spring and give a seminar on those wonderful tomatoes,  the only kind I ever plant anymore.  He spoke for a couple of hours and was very informative and handed out lots of material for reference.  Then for goodness sake, they served lunch.  We did not expect lunch.  They had a hot dog grill, which even if Jerry was stuffed like a tick he would still eat, and did.  They had beans, potato salad, vegies with dip, fruit and cookies and cake, coffee and juice, just for showing up.  That was a really nice surprise.  It’s also a great place to buy garden stuff.  In fact we bought 12 Heirloom tomato plants.  I have to have fresh home grown tomatoes for Angie.  She loves them and will be here in July for her class reunion. We all esp. love the Heirlooms.  They just have so much flavor.  So we will have red, pink, green, orange , yellow and black tomatoes to serve when she and Tommy are here.  She’s already happy.

From there we headed for the Patrick Ranch, also on the midway even closer to our place, for the Nut Festival.  I was ready to write out a check for 50$ for the tickets, as we wanted to support the first Nut Festival ever, when a group of people walked up and gave us two tickets they had left over.  What a deal.  Personally I think fifty bucks is to much to pay to get in, esp. since most are free; and it was just an OK festival.  On admission you got a wine glass and red and yellow tickets to use to food and drink taste.  Like we were going to eat again, not really.  We ended up using the drink tickets and giving most of the food tickets away.  It was all local restaurants and vendors for taste samples.  We tried the wine, for one ticket each we could taste 5 different wines from each winery.   I could never get past the 3nd sample, which amounted to about one swallow.  I think they were afraid to give out a real sample.  Point being the wine was so dry it would suck up a mud puddle. We both enjoy wine, but a Riesling, more fruity wine.  All they were serving was the pucker up kind.  They were so proud of their , like Chardonnay, type wine, I already cant stand Chardonnay.  So that was a loss, but the Sierra Nevada booth was wonderful, Jerry loves the Summer fest and I love the pale ale.  So out tickets went there. They were also more generous, you got a glass ful.  There were also lots of samples and freebies from the local fruit and nut people.  We got to taste pomegranate syrup and sauces.  They have 20 acres of pomegranates located just behind our property, and I can tell you if we were younger we would plant pomegranates on this property. They are fab and soooo good for you.  Maybe someday Angie will plant them here, I’ll leave that up to her when the time comes.  We visited with my friend and house sitter Liz, she was manning the cancer booth for Enloe Hospital.  bought some raffle tickets for a cat quilt that took my eye.  If I win the quilt goes to Liz anyway.  She has a thing for beautiful quilts.

Sunday took us out to George’s for a nice lunch and tour of his totally awsome garden.  It just gets better and more lovely.  His garden was in the garden show a couple yrs. ago and now it’s even better.  He invited a couple gals he used to work with who have wanted to see his yard.  George fixed a Chile Relano casserole, mexican corn bread, we brought a salad, called overnight salad,and one of the gals made, for scratch, brownies, who even does that anymore.  We ate outside in the pavillion and it was beautiful, dining alfresco.  George has become quite the cook after Kathy got sick.  He keeps the yard beautiful and the house looking fine.

From there it was home to grab Teddy and take him to the Dog Park.  He had the time of his life out there. There were lots of dogs to play with, once the butt sniffing and checking of the credentials was finished.  With each new arrival the process was repeated.  After everyone was content there was ball playing and wrestling.  Teddy is one tired dog tonight, so he will join the two of us who are also tired in bed tonight, yes, he does sleep with us and we love it.  Got to go, The Country Music Awards show just started……Hugs,   Shari and Jerry.

I’m excited,  have you ever been invited to participate in an event, not knowing most of the people there.  This happened to us this past weekend at the Durham  Good Sam Club outing.  And have you ever had the almost instant feeling that its a fit, personalities just seem to mesh, this is the feeling we got.  We were fortunate enough to have been invited by Chuck and Judy Birtcil to come to an outing as their guest and we took them up on it, much to our delight.  Chuck is a ” Class of 60,” classmate of mine, that’s the connection.

This turned out to be a delightful camp out.  There were 14 rigs in our caravan, with Orland as our destination.  We started out with breakfast for the whole bunch at The Waffle House  in south Chico.  We immediately knew this would be a fun weekend.  Most all of these folks are retired, but definitely not tired.  They were a fun bunch to begin with. This club is a close group of individuals who seem to have a high regard for each other and absolutely out to have a good time.  The food and service was very good considering the large group that showed up.  They made a good choice to start the week end off.

From there we caravaned over to an RV Park in Orland.  The club usually schedules events close enough  to make it convenient for everyone.  No really long distance driving.  The coming itinerary for the rest of the year really looks like fun get togethers in very interesting  places.  I know we are looking forward in participating in the outings and hopefully be accepted by the Club as new members.

Friday afternoon the group met at the clubhouse for crafts and card games.  Cathy our host for this outing had planned to teach us how to make earrings, and had all the beads and tools.  It was funny trying to get about 12 ladies to figure that one out.  More beads were spilled than used I think, but turned out several nice pairs of earrings.   ”Happy Hour”, followed by heading out to the Berry Patch for dinner.  Jerry  had his usual hamburger steak with all the trimmings and I had the most wonderful barbecued ribs. We had dinner with Sandy and Ruth and Win and her husband, John De Kleine, who is also the president of the group.  There was another couple there as guests also, Jackie and Mel, they have been married since 1945, figure that one out, congradulations.     Everyone seemed to enjoy their dinner.  Back to the club house for a really fun dice game called, Left, Right, Center.  We played for nickles and it was hilarious.  Back to our homes on wheels for a restful night.  Sat. some of the ladies from the group went antiquing, a few couples headed for Woodson Bridge to check  out antique trailers on display.  Jerry and I stayed behind and watched the Rock and Roll Hall of fame.   Back for ” Happy Hour,” and a truly delicious potluck. The surprise for me was that there were actually two pineapple upside down cakes. YUM!!!  Anyone who knows me knows that’s my favorite cake.  Did I luck out or what?   I know from experience that campers make the best food.  After the dinner the club had their monthly business meeting.  The meeting  filled Jerry and I in on the way the club is run, Chuck Birtcil, the wagon master, caught us up on up coming events that are planned..  It was also funny to see the club president awarded  “The Ding-a-Ling award.  He was caught driving down the road with his awning unraveling as we went along.  He was totally unaware. I have a picture of Sandy and her little Min Pin “ Levi,”  he’s the smallest member of the group, only 2 mos old and precious.   More games Sat night and back to our home on wheels for another restful night. 

Sunday morning was a breakfast pot luck with some very good and interesting dishes.  More comaradarie and jokes and laughs for all.  Ate breakfast with Chuck and Judy Birtcil, our hosts.  Then it was time to pack up and head for home.  All in all it was a most fun filled weekend with some really fun folks. The time went by TO quickly. Looking forward to many more get togethers with this group.  Thank you Judy and Chuck Birtcil for the invitation.  Stay tuned for more to to come ………..Hugs,   Shari   &   Jerry                                                                                                                  

Win and Bridgette doing crafts.

What a great lunch meeting we had for the class of ” 60 “, today.  This month it was held at Olive Garden and we had about 16 in attendance.  Everyone has some summer plans or have made some changes recently.  Most of the group had the soup and salad with bread stix for lunch.  Olive Garden does a good job with this, the soup and the salad is always good, the bread stix wonderful.  I will tell you about some of the on going plans of some of today’s participants…….Claudia Jenkins ….. is busy taking care of her 92 yr old mom.  She is also planning a 5th wheel trip to Genoa Nev. for some much needed R and R.…….. Greg Watkins and his pardner Dave Owen are planning to attend Greg’s nieces wedding  in Santa Barbara, and Greg is deciding his next step in regards to work to be done on his R ear to improve his hearing after his extensive surgery due to the tumor removal……..Judy Snow Dye has sold her home in Magalia and is headed for North Carolina the end of this month. One of her daughters lives there and her other daughters will soon be relocating there……..Mable Little is working 6 hours a day at a school in Orland with reading and math and such and just loves it………Larry Wahl is thinking of leaving city office and running for county supervisor.  It was so nice of Larry to order a lovely appetizer of Calamari, because we all got to share as Larry had to leave before his food arrived.  Thanks Larry……….Chuck and Judy Birtcil and Jerry and Shari Greenfield will be heading out tomorrow for a camp out with the Durham Good Sam Club, with about 12 other rigs.  Good food, fun and games, did I mention good food.?……Betty Fish and LG, her husband are soon heading for an Alaska tour with 14 other rigs for a grand total of 50 days.  The itinerary sounds wonderful, they will be gone most of the summer.  ……….Mike Brown is semi retired, down to 2 days a week now.  Enjoying some free time……You can see how tired he is, sorry about the picture, Mike, guess you blinked……  Gary Imhoff is undergoing some radiation therapy for his recent L leg surgery..  We missed Rosemarie today.  I didn’t get to visit with everyone, the others in attendance were Linda Lund and Cathy Young.  It was a good lunch with lots of conversation and of course lots of summer plans discussed. I will share some pictures.    Thanks to all until next time. Have a wonderful spring.
 Shari

Have you ever been invited to someones house, gone there, and knew immediately you were in a safe, loving environment.  The atmosphere and surroundings were idyllic, peaceful and you knew you wanted to spend more and more time there?  That’s the very feeling I get each and every time I set foot into the wonderful home of Mary Hubbard.  Mary probably has the largest home in the little town of Willows, and it is filled with love and love from past generations.  Mary is a collector of beautiful things past and present.  She’s also a collector of people.  People are drawn to Mary like bees to honey.  She has a wonderful caring and genuine feel for people, people in various phases of their life.  Mary seems to know when a person is in need, she had become a very personal and cherished friend in my life.  Whether it’s a personal, or a spiritual need or just a good meal.  She just draws people to her because of her loving, caring nature. Jerry and I were so fortunate to spend after Easter services at The Ark , at Mary’s welcoming home for a simply great beef rib dinner.  Mary has talented cooks among her children.  Shawn, my niece’s husband and Mary’s son,  should have his own restaurant along with her daughter Rene who performs miracles with food.  We had the best roasted ribs, with potato and green salads and a delightful raspberry jello dish, we has asparagus and calico beans and rolls and for dessert Rene had made Portuguese sweet bread.  Believe it or not I had never tried it.  I have seen it for sale in the markets but just never bought it.  It’s wonderful and just melts in your mouth.  Mary also had a Red Velvet cake, which Jerry loves.  Everyone brings something and is enjoyed by all.   Rene sent home a care package of potato salad and Portuguese Sweet bread. Mary has 5 children 3 of whom are living close by and with their children it makes for a wonderful family group and we have been included into many family fun events, for which we are so grateful and happy to participate.  We now refer to them as our “West Side Family,” and thank God every day for them.  They have helped us so much in our spiritual growth, and Lord knows I need all the help, I have so much to learn.  We love the great family atmosphere and the love that just radiates from that house.

Mary kept popping up into my life the last few years in various strange unassociated ways.  She’s whats called a “shirt tail relative.”  Not to be construed in a rude way. Her son is married to my niece, Tracy Hartman Hubbard.  I had not been in contact with my niece Tracy for many many yrs. she is my deceased brothers daughter and I have not been close to that side of the family.  The icing on the cake was when Mary’s daughter,Denise,  purchased our previous 5th wheel trailer, via an Internet add.   Mary came over from Willows with Denise to get the trailer and that was it, we just connected.  Mary invited me to a woman’s retreat through her church and sight un seen I accepted….. How often do you meet someone that you immediately click with and trust  so completely.  That happened to me with Mary and her daughter Denise.  The Woman’s Retreat, led both Jerry and I to their church, The Ark, in Willows.  Soon after  attending a couple of church services  we were hooked.  We felt comfortable and welcomed by the church family.  Jerry and I had been considering looking into finding a church and” Wa La ‘ here it was. After the pastor’s first service we felt we had found what we were looking for.  This is a very spiritual church with like minded folks trying to make a difference, and they certainly have for us.  Another thank you to Mary.  I think when she met me she could feel the need I was experiencing and held out her hand to include me that day in the wonderful experience of the woman’s retreat.  It had an immediate effect on me and I was sure Jerry would be able to identify too. I have to admit The Ark is a church of fully participating worshipers who welcome the Holy  Spirit into their  realm with gusto and praise.  I was used to a much more docile atmosphere during church services.  I have come to realize that this is an  expression of powerful   love of the Lord, with lots of music and singing praises.

So this was how we spent our first wonderful Sunday, Easter Sunday, home after almost 7 mos.  It was a very special welcome home Easter holiday.  Thanks to our “West Side Family.”  Jerry and I love all of you…………….S  and  J.

What a totally wonderful drive from Carson City to Chico.  We have done this drive so many many times, but this time was different.  It was different because after having been to so many beautiful places so recently it could have been a very mundane trip.  Instead I noticed many many things that I might not have paid all that much attention to.  This time the drive was bringing us back home after such a long absence.  All the lovely places we have recently been to were no more beautiful than the drive thru that Feather River Canyon on Sun.  We have been out of the state for 6 + mos. and coming home was, for me, somewhat bitter sweet.  Was I so sure that “absence makes the heart grow fonder.” It was thought provoking but  the canyon was glorious.  All the deciduous trees were beginning to unfurl their leaves, the Red buds and yellow Sweet Brooms were beginning to bloom.  In the lower areas the California Poppies and Lupins were starting to show their spring best.  The  waterfalls are starting to glide down the walls of the canyon, bringing wonderful new life to the canyons flora and fauna.  I began to get more and more  excited about getting home to Chico.  As we passed thru  Portola, and Quincy and further on down past Belden Town,  the Stone House and Yankee Hill, I was very in tuned to my surroundings.  Spring in the Feather River Canyon is such an awe inspiring sight to see.  The Feather River, I love that river, was meandering, as it has from time immorial  through the canyon floor  carrying  life giving water to all in its path. Of course when we crossed over Lake Oroville I was at a loss as to just where all that meandering water was, because it was obvious where it wasn’t.  Oroville lake looked like it was an extension of the Feather River, except it was full of moored houseboats strung out along the way.  I’m hoping that all those wonderful waterfalls pick up speed and fill up Oroville Lake.  The trip to Chico from Carson City took us 4 hours.  We were coming home with our family of 3 cats, Sophie, Ziggy, and Scooby Doo and our new puppy, Teddy, after 6 mos. We have had a wonderful last 6 mos, some good and some not so good.  We have had the good Lord riding sidesaddle with us and the angels were our constant companions.  And we had Angie and Tommy for the best support possible.    As we drove in I realized how happy I was to be coming home, Chico is my hometown and we live on the property I grew up on and yes, I was excited.

 We drove down our private road and it was plain we had missed almond blossom time, but the trees are filled with baby almonds.  When we turned into our driveway I could see my georgous yellow Lady Banks rose in bloom.  It’s a climber and has really spread out.  It’s climbed into my bamboo and is splendid.  My yard is what you would call rustic landscaping, I don’t do a lot of pruning except around the house.  My birds are very appreciative of that.  In fact my little piece of Paradise is” for the birds.”  I have about 10 bird feeders, and everything planted here on our 6+ acres has been planted by Jerry and I, and all of it benefits the birds.  We design, Jerry digs, and I plant, and together we take care of it. We have lots of fruit trees and citrus, even a pink lemonade tree.  Yes, when you cut the lemons open they are pink. While Jerry was parking the trailer and hooking it up in the yard, Teddy and I took a walk around the house and property.  I was wondering if  Teddy had any idea about the big responsibility he would soon be taking on.  This would soon all be his to protect, I think he will be up to it.  The first thing that happened is he spotted my garden gargoyle and came unglued.  It took me some time to get him to actually approach and see that it was only concrete,  he looked so foolish when he figured it out.  But then Teddy is still not 5 mos old until the 30th of this month. All of the fruit trees have blossomed and have tiny fruit on them. The wonderful wisteria and Lilacs are in full bloom, so sweet smelling and delightful. My purple in really popping and the white Lilac, that Kathy gave me , it starting to bloom out too. My lavender made it thru the winter and the Japanese Maples are mostly leafed out.  I feel one cannot have to much lavender or to many Japanese Maples.

My yard looks marvelous, despite the need for some serious attention. The pink and white crab apples are in bloom , the Red Maple is leafing out.  All the cherries are in bloom.  Jerry’s avocado tree looks like it finally bit the dust, too much frost in Dec.   Liz had her gardener out to mow the lawn and weed eat and spray around the house.  It all looks great.  I see the trellis needs fixed and the pump house needs painted, looks like lots of pruneing needs attended to.  I think we will need some help this year.    I look around and I am so glad to be home  again, and to my peaceful garden.  Got to get it all in order because we have to all be ready to travel again in the fall. There’s still a lot of my America to see and we will be there to see it.

  Remember, “Never Give Up.”   More later,   Hugs S and J.