December 30, 2008. Mexico. Working Out.

Exercise places are all different. The machines are different and the sizes are different. But the people are all the same. Today some seriously fit ladies were at the gym. They were skinny and very strong, lifting very heavy weights. I could not tell if they were together because all they did was use the machines and weights. Then they were gone. All gyms have seriously intense people working out, but usually they are men, but today, it was the ladies who were the hardest working people in the place. Of course, every gym has at least one or two people who are there to work out and also to be friendly, so they take their time using a machine, and then talking to someone. I always want to have a stop watch, to track how much exercising they are actually doing, except I don't really care, except when I hear their constant and inane conversations. The people I really love to watch are those good folks who really want to get fit, but just can't break a sweat. The weights are very light and the repetitions are few in number, and of course the rest periods are lengthy and the water cooler breaks numerous too. It all seems to be a good idea, but the whole concept is just too tiresome. They always wear good clothes though. The life blood of the exercise world are the good folks that come in and get on with their work out and never say a word to anyone. They sweat, lift weights, use the machines then get on with the rest of their day. Now I want to be in that group. At the moment, the best
part of my work out is having a hot tub after my exercise program is over.

Yesterday, Ken and I read all day. I almost finished "The Private Patient" by P.D. James, one of our Christmas books from Dave and Irene. I am lacking a dictionary here, and as Ms. James has a large vocabulary, I missed a couple of words which is very irritating. The three things we want to do this trip in Mexico is to loose some weight, walk every day, and work out three times each week. The rest of the time we will read. I will be in heaven!!

December 29, 2008. Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico. First Day.

By now the order is set. We are greeted like family by the young men who run the front desk. They ask about Ken's health, we chat about the past few months, we sign all the forms, get the keys to both the condo and the locker, then come up to get ourselves organized. I unpack the books we have brought while Ken brings all our belongings from the lockers. This is the first time he has done that job, so I guess he is all better now. By 5:20 we are ready to take the shuttle to the Hotel for dinner and to check into our unit. When the kids are all here, we also reserve a one bedroom unit at the hotel for ourselves, and we discovered last year that the TV channels are better at the Hotel, so we just kept it this year, even though neither Family was able to come this year. This is a bit of an indulgence I understand, but it makes life easier. Now we are set, both wearing white shorts and sandals and comfortable shirts and feeling like we belong in The Tropics

The best part of the day was having dinner at our favourite restaurant right at the end of the Hotel area. We dine there often at the noon hour, but do not often eat dinner there. Last night was the perfect spot. The evening was lovely with the sun just beginning to set and the temperature a pleasant 78 degrees. Ken ordered a bottle of red wine, and we enjoyed the whole thing. After the airplane food, we were ready for a real meal. I started with a perfect first night salad, hearts of palm and artichokes and mushrooms with avocado. I have had that salad before but never have I enjoyed it so much. Ken ate fruit as an appetizer. The rest of our dinner is waiting for us in the refrigerator or our room at the hotel. Ice cream in Mexico is excellent l, so of course, as a welcome treat, I ate vanilla ice cream for dessert. Now we both must watch our intake of food, as we have been eating heartily since Thanksgiving. Now that we are settled into our home, I am looking forward to a time of reading and walking. So here we go.

December 27, 2008. Double D Ranch, Texas.

Three girls burst into the Top House while Ken was cooking the bacon and biscuits for breakfast. They drove up on the red mule, driven by Sarah. When the girls are 8, they are allowed to learn how to drive the mule around the ranch, which means both Abigail and Sarah are able to drive both mules. We have two because Abigail backed into a tree and a part broke off, which meant a trip to the shop. As the mule belonged to Ken and we were coming to town, David bought a second mule, but one with a second seat. Now we can all go together around the ranch in the mules, which is a good thing. Abigail was not being careless, she just forgot that there was a top over her head, and branch pushed the top out of place. When the girls arrived they gave us good news. David and Abigail shot a doe this morning when hunting together. Soon Suzanne, David and Abigail would come up to join us for breakfast. While the three girls were waiting, they made themselves toast and peanut butter. They are very resourceful girls. They love to come to the Top House. They love the views and the art work on the walls, but most of all they love to play Hide and Seek. The hiding places are numerous and unusual, so after toast but before the real breakfast was ready, we four had a rousing game, with me the first one It. Those girls are very small and can hide in very little places, such as cabinets and small closets and even drawers. I on the other hand have very limited spaces to hide, due to my height and width.

After breakfast we all drive over to our friends ranch, as Robbie has wood to be hauled back to our fire pit area. Many fires are built outside at our ranch, so we are always happy to have more wood. We are especially happy to have David and Suzanne and the girls with us, as David and Suzanne do all the work while the girls play and I cheer. Ken comes over with a third vehicle just in case it is needed. Ken tries to fix the chain saw, and finally succeeds, when David tells his the information. Now that is a passing of the guard!! Finally the girls are bored with working and walk home, where they play outdoors with their bicycles. Finally, by one o'clock, the work is complete and out stack of wood is huge. This afternoon David is cutting up the branches into smaller usable sizes, then he will take the girls to practice their shooting. Allison and Samantha own BB guns, and Sarah and Abigail have 22s. Our next task is to drive home via Fredericksburg to pick up David's deer sausage, eat dinner in one of the restaurants there, then drive to San Antonio. Tomorrow Ken and I leave for Mexico.

Now this day constitutes a wonderful day for us. The weather is cool and clear and breezy, and the children are happy and busy and the adults are productive. It doesn't get any better than a day like today at the ranch!!

December 26, 2008. Harper, Texas. Boxing Day.

Not today. The children are not boxing up their old toys to deliver to the poor. Not today anyway. We are doing what everyone else does on Boxing Day, which is to enjoy the rest and relaxation. In the U.S. it is really only called The Day After Christmas, but I still call it Boxing Day. For many years when we were in Hamilton for Christmas, all Family and friends went skating, and my sister rented a rink just for us, which was very nice, because Andrew and David were just learning to skate. In Canadian rinks, the skaters move very quickly and the crowds are often dense, so when we had the rink to ourselves with just friends and relatives we had the space for our lack of skill not to get in the way of everyone else on the rink Ken of course grew up in the north and skates very well. I grew up in Vancouver. My sister bought me new skates for Christmas, 1953, and I used them for the rest of my life. By now we lived in Toronto where everyone skated a lot, and I had skated when we lived in London and Calgary, but those years in between left me without great skill on the rink. But I was not dangerous. We have pictures of both boys being helped around the rink by a kind relative, and always on Boxing Day. As an aside, I sold those skates when we moved from our Franklin Street house.

Now we are going to spend the weekend at the ranch. Ken and I woke at seven to find a very quiet house, so we left after breakfast but before anyone else was awake. This is unusual, as normally the little girls are the first ones awake. They are now on the road to the ranch after a good sleep-in by both children and parents, a well deserved rest I must say. Ken is now replacing a screen in the porch at the Top House, and I soon will walk down to the ranch house to hang the latest family picture in the hall. As is my custom, I keep family pictures in every house. They will soon be here for lunch, at least I hope so, as we have not brought any food.

This is an article worth reading: " Speculators, Politicians. and Financial Disasters," written by John Steele Gordon, and published in the November Commentary. This article goes back to 1836 and gives an excellent assessment of the present from the past. You can probably find it on commentarymagazine.com. It is worth the time and effort. As you can see, I am still not up to the present date for my magazines, but soon I will get to at least December. Sometimes being compulsive is tiresome!!

December 25, 2008. San Antonio, Tx. Some Assembly Required.

Last night this household had no items that required assembly. Suzanne and I were proud of ourselves, when we realized after the children were in bed and our evening was complete, other than put out the gifts under the tree. Today, Ken and Abigail assembled two American Girl beds, but that was in the middle of the day today. In times past, every parent has spent many hours trying to put these toys together, to be ready for Christmas morning. Once we spent hours trying to inflate a type of trampoline, built of a tractor tube covered by cotton fabric. We were at Dave and Irene's home in Ancaster, and after the boys were in bed we expected to take twenty minutes to pump up this darn tube. The bicycle tire pump was clearly not up to the job, so when Kenny came home he produced a foot pump which helped a bit. Two hours later, while we were still taking turns on the foot pump, we decided to ask for help from a neighbor who has lots and lots of tools. By now it is almost 1:00a.m. I do not know how this jumping toy every got together, but I do know that I decided to only buy toys that were all put together. The worst thing about that object for the boys was that the jumping toy never did bounce properly, so it was a huge effort for a very badly designed toy. But we all still laugh about it.

Our day was low keyed and quiet. The girls played with their gifts all day. Later this afternoon Samantha asked if I would come outside to watch her ride her bicycle. She was still using training wheels, but her bike would not work properly, so we both came to ask Ken to remove her training wheels, which he did. Now, Allison of course could not be left behind, so Ken removed her training wheels from her bicycle too. David came out front to help them both, and when I came out ten minutes later, they were both riding like champs. It was an amazing thing to see. The timing was perfect. For the rest of the evening, they rode the circle at the end of the cul-de-sac. They must have taken several hundred circles, beaming all the way. They were thrilled. At dinner tonight, each of us told something that we liked best about the day, and both twins told about riding a two wheeled bike. It was exciting to watch their enthusiasm and excitement. Now we go to the Ranch tomorrow, where they will be able to ride all day.

December 24, 2008. San Antonio, Texas. Perfect Day.

A trip to the zoo is a perfect activity on the morning of Christmas Eve Day. Four little girls along with Ken and I all agreed that it was a first time we will make a zoo trip a tradition in the life of The Dickie Family. We were there by ten o'clock, and were only a few others there, so we had the whole place almost by ourselves. We saw everything in the San Antonio zoo, except we were rather speedy in the bird department. Those girls move quickly. At times they actually ran circles around us, which means they cover three times the distance that I walk. Our instruction from Suzanne was to be home by 2:00, and we were home right on time, so every one was happy. The train ride all around the park was a big hit too. Lunch at IHOP after the train ride was a good choice, except we all ate too much.

Five o'clock was church time, so the girls had to shower, dry their hair and dress in their fancy clothes, ready to leave for church in plenty of time to get a good seat all together. Sarah was an acolyte, so she had to be there early to put on her robe. I must say, she looked beautiful. The service was lovely, with many carols sung and the only sermon a story told to all the children, who were brought up to the front of the church. After church, Suzanne and David have the tradition of serving
Mexican food. It is a very good idea, as they live in San Antonio with a 70 percent Hispanic population. The food is delicious and is easily served. After dinner we all watched Frosty The Snowman, Suzanne read The Night Before Christmas, and now all the girls are up in bed, trying to go to sleep. Actually, as it is 9:30 and no sounds are coming from upstairs, I assume they are all asleep. They had a busy happy day. Ken and I did too.

December 23, 2008. Canyon Lake, Texas. Storms.

It certainly could be worse than just cold weather. The wind was so strong and gusting that the top of the hot tub blew off, even though strong straps were holding it down as well as the usual tabs to keep the top in place. First strong winds, then freezing rain, which left two inches of ice on the top of the water in the tub. Jackie and Bryan rescued the top from down by the water, and put it back in place with new straps, and they hope it will stay in place the rest of the winter season. And then the snow came down, which meant there was a delay getting out to check out the house. No damage to the house, except the furnace was not running, but when they hit the restart button, the furnace came back on and now is heating the house. "Hurricane level winds, followed by gusts over 100 miles per hour," they said. Thank heavens for good caretakers who diligently monitor the house and the hot tub and the Carriage House. When the weather is calm, trying to picture the storm is almost without imagination. I have heard the wind, but I have never been there when the snow and freezing rain comes down in force. One day we will get lucky and be in Nova Scotia during a bad storm.

At home in Bethesda, River Road is closed due to a water main break at Seven Locks Road and River Road. I can imagine the traffic mess that will cause. Of course, the break occurred during rush hour this morning, where the traffic is already congested. Fortunately, many people are away for the Holiday Season, and the schools are closed, but a lot of traffic still comes along River Road. Oh mercy, what a mess. Today I went for a walk around the neighborhood to see what has happened here since last we were here. I reported back to Ken that one new house is under construction on the water side. One ugly older house on the center of the circle opposite the water had all the furniture piled in front of the house in a state of disarray. I could not find anyone to tell me what on earth has happening to this ugly house. I hope it is coming down, but at least someone will take all the stuff from in front of the house. This is an unpleasant thing to think about, all these couches and rugs and coolers and chairs just piled outside for all the elements coming on top of the pile. I wonder what has happened? Once again, I am left to realize that I may never find out the answer.

Now we are going to eat lunch at The River Cafe. The restaurant is small and serves only lunch. For eight dollars you order their special and eat a full dinner, with soup and meat with vegetables and potatoes along with dessert. From the outside it looks awful, but the food is good and service is quick. All the local working people eat lunch there, along with us. Certainly no tourist would ever go in... unless someone was told about it. We are brave and cheap and hungry, so we go anywhere.

December 22, 2008. Canyon Lake, Texas. Hedonist.

Here at the lake the temperature outside is 36 degrees F. The ranch last night went down to 20, so we did what all prudent people would do. We drove over to the lake this afternoon. Tomorrow morning we had to come anyway, because the presents for the children were at the lake, so we had no option than to come over to get the gifts. Ken was anxious to check on the water troughs at the ranch, so we drove out on Sunday afternoon before dark. Arriving at the ranch is always a great pleasure, but last night was just too cold. Perhaps our clothes are not good enough, or the house took too long to get warm, but I got chilled and never really got warm. I read all morning and then after lunch I suggested we head over to the lake to have a hot tub. This just takes the cake; to indulge ourselves to this level that we change our plans to get warm in the hot tub. The worst thing is , in my haste to pack up, I left two shirts that match the vest and jacket and pants that I had intended to wear to Christmas Eve church and Christmas Day. Hedonistic behavior always costs. Now I have two choices. Go shopping or borrow a shirt from Suzanne. I have already borrowed a pair of shoes from her, when my shoe fell apart at the party on Saturday night. How can the sole of a shoe just break apart? Now I am going to borrow a shirt from her to wear under my vest and/or jacket. Suzanne is six feet tall and weighs about 135 pounds, so the shirt might not fit well, but no one will notice I bet.

It is always interesting to me, the question of when a person indulges themselves and when they do not. For the most part, I was brought up to pay little attention to myself, but to just do my duty and do my best, so many acts that folks do and for themselves seem ridiculous and hedonistic. And then every so often the self indulgence just takes over, and we come to have a hot tub just so we can feel better. I suppose the desire to treat oneself is bred in the bone. Several times in my life I have met good folks who are just not interested in anything at all except their own lives and their own family. I guess the term is ego-centric. They seem to do well enough with their life and their careers, but it always seems to me so very boring. But then again, there I am, driving all over the state just to have an early hot tub. Humans are so very complicated.

December 21, 2008. Harper, Texas. A Cold Day.

This morning we awoke to freezing temperature, which for San Antonio is unusual. The little girls, when heading out for church were admonished by their Mother to wear a coat, but of course, their garments are not even close to keeping them warm. And of course, no one wears socks or tights, so the bulk of the time they feel cold. I did too. Fortunately, the church was full, so the building did warm up. Now we are at the ranch, having come here late this afternoon. The temperature here will be in the twenties tonight, so tomorrow we must bundle up. A hot tub would be very nice tonight. All looks well at the ranch, although there has been very little rain so no winter grass at all. Hay is being brought in for the cattle. Most importantly though, the heat is working in both houses, and the small heaters Ken set up in the pump houses are working., which is a great blessing. Last year the pump house for the Top House froze and it was several days pumping water out on the ground before anyone was aware of the burst pipe. Not this year.

The Sunday before Christmas, the Sunday School puts on The Christmas Pageant during the morning service. Every child is included. Sarah was Mary, Abigail one of the Three Wise Women and Men, Samantha a cow and Allison a mouse. The Christmas Story was read by an adult, with appropriate lines spoken by the main characters, then all the eleven verses of all the creatures who honor Jesus was sung by the congregation, as the various animals come up to the alter from the back of the church. It is a lovely programme, and as it is in lieu of the sermon, enjoyed by children and adults. On the way home, Sarah told us that the same pageant is given every year, with different children playing different parts, up to the fifth grade. When you reach sixth grade you are no longer able to be in the play. The whole thing was very sweet, with all the children in costume. One little blond girl spent the whole time playing with her halo. Of course, she was an important angel, standing right beside Mary the whole time. She was clearly not thinking about the Christmas story. The first thing that happened was the halo slipped down over her face, and she noted the fluff attached to the ring of the halo. She discovered if she blew on the fluff, a small amount would fly through the air, where she would quickly grab. Now she was in the third grade, and all the other third graders did their part well, but she was just too interested in that darn fluff. At one point Sarah, who is in the fifth grade, spoke to her, and for a while she attended to her angel role. But it was just so darn boring, standing there playing angel, so soon she started to amuses herself again to see if more fluff could be blown away. It was a large production and was enjoyed by all, especially the proud parents and grandparents. I wonder what that little angel will hear from her Mother? Will she hear words complementing her or will the Mother tell her to stay quietly next time. We will never know. Certainly all four children did themselves proud!!

December 20, 2008. San Antonio, Texas. A Day.

It is a sight to behold. Four little girls helping their parents get ready for the party tonight. While we all eat Pizza for lunch out at the deck, jobs were assigned. First round was cleaning their bedrooms and making their beds, while I peeled potatoes. Next phase was assembling the ginger bread houses, done by Ken and Abigail. It took an hour for the two of them working together to get those darn things to stay together, but they got the job done. David and the twins worked in the yard, first harvesting the tomatoes and hot peppers, then cleaning up the flower beds. Of course, nothing is always what you expect. I clogged the disposal with the potato peels, which needed David to fix, and Sarah helped with the mess under the sink. The last task was clean the quails, pets of Sarah and Abigail. By 4:15, everything was ready for the party, so Samantha and Abigail went to play with a friend down the street, while Sarah and Abigail visited the neighbor to get their instructions. They are tending to their pets while the neighbors are away for Christmas. Two Families and their children are coming for a Christmas party, making a total of ten children and eight adults, so it will be a busy active evening.

Now the evening is over and the two families have just left, happy and sleepy. It is now almost eleven o'clock. At first the children played in the backyard for half an hour, then formed themselves into three groups to decorate the ginger bread houses. Suzanne thought that the three families would each decorate a house, but the children preferred to form their own three groups, so we had a serious group and an active group and a young group. The houses look great, and you can tell whose group made which house. Next on the agenda was the gifts to be given to the children, followed by cookie decoration. Games came next, which lasted all the rest of the evening. We had six boys and four girls, and no unhappy children all evening. These children are a credit to their parents, and it was a pleasure for me to watch the interaction. In truth, the adults primarily stayed in the living room, while the children were on the deck or the back yard or in the Family room. No one told the children to stay outside or in the family room, but I think they figured out that adult talking can be boring, so they stayed away most of the evening. The oldest boy was in the eighth grade, and the youngest was three years old, but they all play together very well, which was obvious by this evening.

In the middle of the evening we ate dinner and dessert, the children on the deck and the adults sitting around the kitchen table. The adults exchanged gifts, which were interesting. The gifts were hi-tech or wine accouterments, all carefully selected for each family. These three Families are good friends, in fact all own homes at Canyon Lake, and it is reassuring to see the friendships between these families. They are very close to our Picnic Group Friends. David thinks I should not be blogging and drinking. David chose good wines for the evening, which we all enjoyed. It was a wonderful day, just a few days before Christmas.

Samantha is worried. It is only five days until Christmas, and the presents under the tree are not very numerous. I told her to have faith.

December 18, 2008. Chevy Chase, Md. Parties.

Our parties just get better and better. I am not sure why. Perhaps it is because we have a lot of young people in the office. In recent years, many agents have hired administrative staff, who tend to be young and lively, but that is really not the answer. When I looked out at the dance floor, most of the dancers were in the mature group, not the young ones. In fact, Ken was hoping that Gary was fit, as he certainly was getting a workout on the dance floor. He looked spectacular in Melinda's red shawl. But Will, a young man, was the best sport, dancing with all the ladies and doing it very well too. Carol E can always get the group dancing, and Linda P and her husband were a great asset on the dance floor. The food was good and the drinks flowed freely, which always makes for a good party. I think the real reason for the success of the party is that these folks really do like each other, but they are so busy with their job that they never see each other on a regular basis. Other than sales meetings, which are short once a week, the agents and the staff come and go and come and go again, never staying in the office for a long period of time. Another reason the parties just get better is that many folks have been at the Holiday Party for twenty one years, so the spouses know each other by now so they can catch up on the past year's activities. But whatever the reason, it was a great party. Maureen waved her magic wand and organized the details at Tommy Joe's, and we all just arrived and enjoyed the event. Of course, we have some traditions. Being wreathed by Peppy is important. Now we look forward to a dynamite 2009, and our celebration at the Holiday Party, 2009.

December 17, 2008. Chevy Chase, Md. Birthdays.

This is the week of Birthdays in my Brother's home. There are so many birthdays this week that I have trouble keeping track of who all have birthdays. I am sure I should know, but one thing I do know is that they all celebrate all together, which seems like a good idea to me. One year soon Ken and I will go up to Hamilton and celebrate with them. They are all good friends. I have always wondered how this happens, how in one family the birthdays are predominantly clustered around one week. My brother will be 77 this year and a very active 77 he is. Both David and Irene work out at the Y three times a month, and they walk several times through the week. They both keep thin. Trombone playing runs in our family. My Father was a good trombone player, but stopped playing when he was 50. In those years, almost everyone quit playing when they were "old". My nephews Norman and Ben both play trombone, in fact Ben played professionally for several years. My brother is still a good trombone player and I have listening him practice all my life. Now that he is retired, he plays in three different groups, and he practices most days. He thinks that he is playing as well as he ever has, although he does not play solo pieces, but he still enjoys playing the best music in the world. We wish all those birthday people in the Buckley Family a very Happy Birthday.

One Christmas of fifteen years ago, Ken and I and David drove up to Hamilton to spend the season with my Brother's family. Andrew was living in Japan, and he could not come home for Christmas, so we were all feeling a bit blue about it, so we headed north. Also David had been accepted at Skidmore College, as an earlier admission student, and he wanted to see the campus for the first time. We three had a wonderful time in Hamilton. We ate the whole time. Friends and relatives invited us over to see us and to visit, and of course every one served us a cup of tea and lots and lots of Christmas goodies. This happened every day the four days we were in Hamilton. We would devour all the goodies and drink the tea, then we would drive to the next relative or friend for another round of goodies. Boxing Day, Norman and Sara invited us over for tea, for a mid morning visit. Norm is my nephew. Now we had just spent three days eating, and we had just eaten breakfast, but when we arrived at Norm's, we all sat around the big dining room table and ate. One big tea pot was at each end of the table, and covering the table were all the cheeses and pates that Sara had brought home from her gourmet deli. It was wonderful, but we wondered how on earth we could eat so much food. It was a wonderful Christmas and we three still talk about the Christmas we ate all day long for four days straight!!

David caught a cold and on the way home and he was feeling miserable, but we still had to visit the college of his choice, Skidmore College. The weather was miserable, with snow everywhere and the temperature close to zero. David hated the place. He was confronted with the task of telling the college and his own school that he would not attend Skidmore. The College was gracious but unhappy, while the school was really upset. We all weather the storm. David decided that he was going to live in the south, perhaps south of Highway 10. And that he has done.

December 16, 2008. Chevy Chase, Md. Alvin Dickie.

Ken's Uncle Alvin has died. He had the good fortune to die in his sleep at age 92. Many things about Uncle Alvin were fortunate. His wife Margaret was lovely and his children are competent and kindly. The life he lived was productive and pleasant and the few times we were with him were memorable. Alvin and Margaret still lived in Ninette, Manitoba, and when we attended our nieces wedding, we spent quite a lot of time talking with both and Margaret, and Alvin told me a wonderful story when I asked Alvin how he went into the carpentry business. This is the story he told me.

He lived in Parry Sound and when he graduated from High School, he and several of his friends went to Sudbury to apply for a job at the mine. All the young men were full of enthusiasm and confidence, and one by one they were interviewed and hired, except for Alvin. The Medical exam showed a heart murmur, so the mine authorities would not hire him. He was in the depths of despair. All the friends stayed in Sudbury to begin work, while he had to return to Parry Sound with no job and no hope of a job. "I was in the depths of despair," said Uncle Alvin, so he went and signed up for the armed service of Canada. He passed their medical and when asked what he wanted to learn to do in the Army, he recalled that he had always enjoyed the Shop classes, so he put down carpentry. The next thing he knew, he was shipped to Manitoba for carpentry school, and while there he met a group of people from Ninette, many families who settled there from Iceland. He told me that from then on, his life changed. He met and married the lovely Margaret, who was still by his side when he died, and he inherited all the other energetic people from Iceland who were very helpful to each other. After the war, they of course lived in Ninette, where their children were born and raised. He owned a lumber yard there and also used his expertise in carpentry. What started from a sense of despair turned into the chance of a lifetime.

His life was full and fun, and we will miss him. His life carries on in his children and grandchildren and great grand children. I am grateful for his life.

December 15, 2008. Chevy Chase, Md. Christmas.

The Christmas season is such a busy time. Between the gifts and the cards and the cooking and the entertaining it is hard to enjoy the holiday. When you add the church events and the decorating, it seems that the to do list never ends. Real Estate agents often get involved it a transaction, which of course takes precedence over all the personal tasks, so at this time of year agents get anxious. How are all the tasks every going to get done? The most impressive thing about the agents at work is their generosity. They contribute to Bethesda Cares, and a major support for Pediatric Aid. They give canned food for The Manna Center and toys for Toys For Tots. In addition they give money to the administrative staff, all pooled together so the staff gets to go Christmas shopping. This is an anxious time for Americans where everyone seems somewhat apprehensive for their job. Of course, Real Estate agents never have job security, so even tho the papers are full of doom and gloom, our agents are confident but careful. That is why their large collective efforts on behalf of other is so impressive. My hats are off to them.

My tasks for Christmas have changed a lot these past few years. I have plenty of time to complete my tasks. This year I have not decorated the apartment or the farm, as we have been here for such a short time. We entertain in restaurants. And soon we go to Texas to be with David and Suzanne and the girls, and I bet life will be busy there. Our routine is to take ourselves out of town every few years so our children and their spouse and children can spent time with the in-laws. Over the years I have seen my friends held hostage to their parents and in-laws where the demands to see the children seemed not pleasant for anyone, so we made sure we would not be a burden on our children. But this year we go to Texas, and we will have a grand time. Suzanne is so organized that I bet there will be no toys to assemble at midnight on Christmas Eve. At least I hope so!!

December 14, 2008. Chevy Chase, Md. Jobs 2

My summer at the Trust Company taught me several things. I learned that the girls were interested in doing their job only. I learned that a new person doing a job can always figure out how to perform the task easier and quicker. I told the girl I was replacing all the changes that made the job more efficient for me, but the girl did not want to hear it. Now I got along with these girls very well, but what I should have done was to tell the bosses, because they could have fired half the girls and get the tasks done, but of course I just did my job and kept it in my memory bank. Of course, as business machines became more complicated, that department must have been totally changed. New brains make for better systems, and rewards for behavior you want pays off, that's what I learned.

At another job, I learned that even though you could do everything right and worked very hard, success may not come your way, at least not every day. I worked on weekends, which was Friday night and Saturday, in the clothing department that sold good casual clothes for women, at Eaton's, a large store in downtown Toronto. I was in the twelfth grade. Several students worked there, also several teachers supplementing their income. We had fun together, and we all did well and worked hard. At the end of the day, we were required to turn in the list of our sales. One Saturday, at mid-afternoon, I realized that even though I had been working hard, I had sold nothing all day. It wasn't that I was goofing off either. That day, no one I was helping with their purchases, wanted to buy anything. I started to try harder but the more I tried, the worst it went. I turned in my blank list to my Supervisor, who looked at my list of sales. She said to me, " How did you manage to work all day and not sell anything at all? You are usually the top salesperson of everyone." I had to answer her truthfully, and say that I had no idea. What I learned from that job was that when in sales, sometimes the sales do not come, even though you have tried very hard. Now this simple little job where I failed only one day out of about 8 months was a big help for my Real Estate career. And I learned while I was in the twelfth grade.

December 12, 2008. Bethesda, Md. More Jobs.

Every job teaches you something, very often telling you something that you never want to do again. One summer during high school, I worked at a Trust Company in Toronto. This was probably in 1955, obviously pre computer. Eva, a friend of my Mother and a fellow member of The Danforth Songster Brigade was the head of the department responsible for keeping track of the details. Now she had a big job there. Half of her job was overseeing the machine operators and the other half was overseeing who tracked to be sure the information put into the machines was accurate. I was assigned to the latter part of her job. My job was to learn the work for one week, then relieve the girl when she went on vacation for two weeks. The women were always called girls, even though some of these folks were much older. As the summer went on, they gave me one day to learn the job, so the bosses figured out that I was a quick study. They also probably figured out that I was more concerned with speed than accuracy, not an asset in a Trust Company I would think. At the end of the summer the big boss called me in and doubled my salary if I wound stay working for them, and not pursue my education. He actually told me that I knew everything I knew already to be successful, so urged me to join their team permantly.

I am and was, a cheerful soul, but I absolutely hated that job. I learned during that summer several things that saved my future sanity. First of I realized that I can not sit still and that being in the same office all day was very boring. But the most important thing I learned was that many folks would preserve their position rather than learn a new system. I learned the job in a day, then the following week or two I did the tasks that were done for the task. The first few days I was stressed. The next few days I figured out how to do the job faster and more efficiently, so by the second week I was finished my day by noon each day. At first, I tried to show the system to the older worker when they came back from vacation, but they did not really want to be efficient. They wanted to be paid for the job they were told to do. They received no rewards for being efficient, just to do their job. What I learned about that job that was so important for my life, was that to get better at anything, everyone has to have their brains engaged in getting better at their job, and that if you want results, rewards had to be in place. Whether or not you are doing it intentionally or not, you will bet back whatever you reward, and those bosses were getting back competence, but no creativity. Now those ladies were not smarter than me. They just had a higher quotion of boredom. And of course they could sit still.

December 11, 2008. Chevy Chase, Md. Jobs.

One day after school I went to work, only to find a whole swarm of people in the building. No one I knew from the business was there, at least I could not see them. I was told in no uncertain terms that the assets of the owners had been seized and the business was now out of business, As the business was closed, I had no job, so I went home and never heard a word from anyone again. I was irritated at having to find another weekend job, but as I had been paid on the Saturday on my last day at work, I was not out any money. Now I learned a lot from that short time at this job. The business was running a butcher store and frozen food locker and home delivery service, owned and run by a couple and a younger brother of the wife. The place was always busy, with phone and mail orders coming in all the time. I had worked Friday evening and all day Saturday, and when I was not playing or practicing after school, I worked a few hours each day at their request to help run the meat counter. I was sixteen years old and knew nothing about different cuts of meat, but this did not seem to matter to the owners. I learned on the job.

I only worked at this store for a few months but I learned a lot about how not to run a business. After a short time, I made sure never to answer the phone, because the irate customers who had been promised the delivery of their frozen food had not arrived. I could hear the owners tell the buyer that the truck had left the store but had been detained, but the order was on it's way. In truth, the order had yet to be assembled, yet alone put on the truck. The three of them knew how to generate the business, but had no ability to organize an efficient staff to handle the volume. And they turned the front counter over to a sixteen year old. No wonder they went out of business. The sad part was that they were very nice people who worked hard. Of course, they paid me in cash and they all lied through their teeth to their customers, so I was not surprised at all when the business went down the tube. That job provided me in a few months a perfect model of how not to run a business, which was a very valuable lesson. I was really ready to quit that job anyway. The place was always cold and damp!!.

December 10, 2008. Chevy Chase, Md. Working.

All my life good folks have commented to me that they felt sorry for me that I work so hard. Just a year or so after Ken and I married in 1958, several friends commiserated with me because I had to work, as Ken was at Medical School and I was still teaching. I laughed at them, because had I not been married, I would certainly be teaching. At that time, it was the custom for ladies to stop working and have children immediately, but that was not our pattern. Now I hear the same kind of comments. A good friend mentioned to me, while talking to me on the phone while I was at work, the fact that "Poor, Ruth. You are at work". I just laughed at her but did not respond.

Now I have thought about work long and hard, and have decided that people who think that about work probably did not enjoy their job. Or perhaps they only did what they were told. I have been fortunate in my choice of employment. For ten years I taught Physical Education at the Junior High level, for seven years in Toronto and then three years in Texas, working in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, in service treatment. In both instances I was in charge of a program of activity to organize and implement for the young people. As I have always had oodles of energy, that was good work for me and I enjoyed every minute. Next in line was raising the children and attending graduate school, also a job I enjoyed. Once again, I had the responsibility to organize my days and the activities of the children. Real Estate came next, for ten years as an agent and for the past 21 years as a Manager of an office. These two activities are very different, but still allowed me to control my hours and my activities, something for me seems to be a requirement. Now I have enjoyed my work and felt rewarded for my efforts, so for me, work is a pleasure, not a drudgery. Also, I have observed that many people who retire do not do well, and seem to loose competence and confidence. In the modern world, perhaps the proper time to retire should be 70, or perhaps more retired folks could work part time, just to keep themselves sharp. The trick is to figure out just what you want out of the next ten years.

So do not feel sorry for me. I like my job.

December 8, 2008. Bethesda, Md. Jackson.

Jackson is a very nice city. It is a better and more livable city than I expected. I am not sure what I was expecting, but Mississippi has had a bad press for so long that I was surprised at the charm of the city. It has a population of about 300,000 people within the city with a total of 500,000 in the surrounding area. The roads are good, with big highways going right through the city both north and south and east and west, so it is easy to get around. In fact it takes about fifteen minutes to get anywhere in Jackson, which is a nice change from Washington where you can not get anywhere in fifteen minutes. The people are very friendly and polite and enthusiastic about your visit to Jackson. Now I am sure most people do not really feel overly friendly, but at least they seem friendly and polite. Churches are everywhere, in fact I asked Christina if she had ever met anyone who did not attend church and she said no. The second question I was asked was where we attended church, and I am told that this is normal.

From my limited experience of one week in Jackson, most people in Jackson are from Mississippi and they are surprised that Andrew and Christina have moved there. Without the introductions from Nelson and Katie, the brother and sister-in-law of Christina, I suspect that making friends would make for slow going, but because of them and because of the Home School affiliation, Andrew and Christina have already made several very nice friends in Jackson. I suspect the population will grow as the city has everything needed to attract new workers. Mississippi has gotten almost no credit for their huge efforts to resolve the devastation from Katrina, in fact they are a bit bitter about the lack of any appreciation. The Mississippi Coast took the direct hit from Katrina with the first two streets full of houses and big buildings totally gone. But everyone and everything was looked after very quickly, with no fuss or muss. The press paid no attention. My own opinion is that the reputation from the Civil Rights era has never been altered. The truth is that Jackson is a very pleasant city...just do not tell anyone that you do not go to church!!

December 6, 2008, Jackson, Ms. Birthday # 71.

I am so fortunate to have reached the age of 71. Many friends and relatives never made it this far along. Ken is not in love with birthdays. He thinks that we should forget them, once you reach the age of eighteen, but not me. I like to celebrate. And today we celebrated my birthday with Andrew and Christina, Kate and Mary Frances and Molly, and of course, Linda Creath. We were a congenial group. This afternoon the ladies and girls attended a baby shower for a friend of Christina. They kindly invited me along. In addition to the ladies there were at least fifteen little girls, all dressed up and looking beautiful. In addition to their charming looks,they were a big help to the hostess, serving the drinks and cake. It was a lovely event and I enjoyed the whole scene, although trying to figure out who was related was not easy. The drink served was a cold coffee cream punch, which was delicious but definitely not lo-cal. But the truth is that I have been to so many showers in my life that I quickly loose patience with the speed of the opening. But I behaved myself and I enjoyed getting to know a few of the ladies of Jackson. They are a very nice group, and certainly have given Andrew and Christina a warm welcome.

I still do not understand why the good folks of Jackson seem inclined to cast disparaging remarks about Jackson. Of course, every one else at home have been surprised when told that they have moved to Jackson. The old images of Mississippi in the sixties has never really been replaced by anything else. Certainly the State suffered huge damage from Katrina, yet New Orleans was the only place that got much coverage on the National press. The Mississippi Coast was devastated and has been rebuilt, and immediately after Katrina the state officials took care of the people, but no one seemed to care about Mississippi and their efforts to feed and house the indigent successfully. Perhaps that was because the Governor was a Republican. I really do not know the answer, but I do know that the good folks of Jackson need to pay attention to the great benefits that come from living in Jackson. All the good folks in Arizona who are running out of water need to move to Mississippi, where they have 52 inches of rain every year. We have enjoyed our time in Jackson and will certainly come back soon!!

December 5, 2008. Jackson, Ms. Eudora Welty.

She was such a fine writer, yet I have not read her for several years. I wonder why? She was born in Jackson and lived here in the same house the rest of her life, except for the few years she lived in New York. She was born in 1909 and died in 2002. Next year will see a yearlong celebration of the 100Th anniversary of her birth. Today I spent two hours peeking into her life and habits when I toured her home in Jackson, Ms. It is always interesting to find out how people do their jobs, especially folks who are so accomplished and famous, but when you find out how ordinary were their routines and patterns you wonder why everyone doesn't write a book resulting in a Pulitzer Prize. But of course, even a very humble person such as Eudora Welty has talent beyond the normal person.

So many aspects of the tour were reassuring. She was always short of money, at least up until she gave her house and belongings in 1980 to the State Dept of Archives. From then on she lived in her family home until her death, while the State maintained her house. She had books everywhere. Book shelves were built in every room in the house, with books piled on every table and couch. Her desk and cabinets have stacks of paper. For a period of time, in order to earn money, she took speaking engagements, and she taught at Millsaps College, so she was so busy she was not able to write very much. Once she was so disgusted with yet another rejection that she burned the story in the kitchen stove, only to be asked to resubmit the story. Robert Penn Warren was upset at her lack of response and he kept at her, and finally she sat down and rewrote the story, which was published. I loved seeing her house and her desk and her work patterns, but I do not know where this standard comes from. Now I am going to read her again, and Reynolds Price too. It was worth the trip to Jackson, just to see her house.

December 4, 2008. Jackson, Ms. Driving.

We have been from the far West to the far East of Mississippi. These past two days we have spent driving and we enjoyed every minute of it. Andrew had appointments, so Ken and I just went along for the ride. Our deal was that we would go along for the ride and he would drive our car, so it worked out for all of us. Greenville was our first stop on Wednesday. Now to get there we drove through some of the flattest fields in the land. These fields are also very productive. We saw cotton fields and rice fields in abundance. Now the Mississippi Delta has a certain mystique, but to me it just looked flat. B.B.King Museum has just opened and many signs point to it from everywhere we went, but we were on a mission and we did not go in. Greenville was an important town when the River carried lots of freight, but now the town is in decline. For some reason, everyone here told us to be sure to visit the Delta, but I am not sure why, other than for the history of the Blues, which originated from the Mississippi Delta.

Today we drove up up Columbus, on the far side of the state. That small city seems alive and very well kept. The downtown buildings are all restored and now have apartments on the second floors of the old buildings. Now this city was never burned by Sherman during the Civil War, as did all the other towns. We went to Philadelphia and then Meridian, where only six buildings were left standing after the Union forces blazed through the city. The east side of the state is much more to my liking. The soil is black. Hills, although small, do exist. The highest part of the State of Mississippi is just over eight hundred feet so we did not expect high hills, but a few hills here and there makes for a more attractive topography, at least to someone who has lived in Maryland for the past 38 years.

We found our two days of driving very interesting. Of course, no place took more than two hours to get to, so we came home each night. Jackson is a pleasant place too, as the roads are excellent and the traffic is light. Restaurants are everywhere and with great variety. The good folks from Jackson are very surprised that Andrew and Christina have moved here. For some reason, the do not have many good things to say about Jackson and Mississippi. Now I have to find out why they feel that way. I only have two more days to figure it out, but I am going to try.

December 2, 2008. Jackson, Ms. Art Studios.

At least eight people were hard at work in the studio. Two young women were putting glaze on the birds and the rest of the folks were packing up the articles for a coming Mistletoe show in town. The first studio we visited was held in a small house which was jammed with beautiful birds and Nativity groupings of all sizes. They were charming. When we left I told Kate that it was quite remarkable that we did not break any objects. So many good folks all making their living from the sale of these beautiful birds is quite unusual, it seems to me. They make 100 ornaments of red birds, and they told us that they will be sold out by mid December. They have Nativity scenes in all sizes and again I am told they were all gone by Christmas. The artist was not even there. Of course we bought a bird for each girl, to be given to them on Christmas Day.

The next stop was a gallery and studio in Clinton, a small town west of Jackson and the home of Mississippi College. The artist and his wife were there. We had a delightful time talking to them. Wyatt Winter is a fine artist who paints mainly with watercolors. He also has illustrated several books about Christmas and Mississippi, so of course I purchases one of his books for each girl to be given at Christmas. We bought a small original of an old pickup truck with a Christmas tree in the back, with a boy standing by the side. It is very sweet. Of course I have no place to hang it, at least not yet.

The Frog's Legs is where we ate lunch, which was excellent. The Art Museum of Jackson was next in line and all six of us were weary by that time, but my goodness, it was wonderful to see all these artists from Mississippi. The had four rooms called the Mississippi Story, so that was the only part of the Gallery we entered, because every work of art was by artists from Mississippi. We all enjoyed the show, and arrived home in time for Molly to nap in the afternoon from 3:30 to 5:00. I am not sure whether or not the girls really did enjoy the art appreciation day or whether they just got to stay away from their school books for another day, but they certainly seemed to enjoy the day, and so did we.

December 1, 2008. Jackson, Ms. Vicksburg, Ms.

Many things today were new to me, in fact the only two facts I did know were that Vicksburg was on a bluff overlooking the mighty Mississippi River and a major Civil War was won by the Union forces, led by General Grant. All other details were unknown to me...until now. The military museum and cemetery are very well done and very interesting. The extent of the battles were extensive and over a very large area. It was interesting to see the events through the eyes of two young girls, especially two girls who just moved to the south from Yankee land. Their loyalties are not at all divided. I tried to engage them in conversation regarding the reasons the South were fighting, and that perhaps the South had rights that needed correction. They really only understood the slavery issue and they knew that the right side won. We all felt very badly at the sight of the seventeen thousand Union soldiers buried in the cemetery at Vicksburg. The Confederate soldiers were buried in Vicksburg. Mary Frances spoke for all of us when she commented that it was difficult imagining this beautiful place was full of horrors.

In 1863, when the battles were fought, Vicksburg was a very important city in the Mississippi River, certainly it was important for the Union forces to supply the troops and the country in the North. It was a bustling town of over five thousand people. Now it is a slightly seedy river town with an old Mississippi River boat serving as a casino. The town itself is forgettable, but the tour of the battle fields along with the CD telling the story as we drive along is well worth the visit. The girls loved it all, especially climbing on the canons.

Probably the highlight of the day was eating lunch at a Chinese Buffet restaurant. Even Molly, who is one year old, loved the food, especially the desserts. We drove south for a while, then found the Natchez Trace to find our way home. They thought for a long time that we were lost and they did not like that feeling much, but finally we were home and everyone was happy. We spent the whole day out on our field trip and enjoyed every minute of it. The country side is lovely with farms in every direction. Tomorrow we are doing an art appreciation day and will visit three galleries in Jackson. This home schooling has it's benefits.