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.