Serving on the water board

It is raining heavily today and it is almost as dark as night. My little cat went to the door, looked outside and went back to her bed on the hassock. She knows where her options are Usually she can't wait to get outside, but today she is content to be inside where it's warm, and I can't find fault with her judgment. I myself haven't walked outside for almost a week. Bill did walk down to the creek to watch the water rush past and reports that the creek is pretty high. Sometimes the road down below the house floods out and no cars can get through. One year I was visiting Judy and George in their house up here and I couldn't get out for ten days. We washed diapers in water we caught from the rain gutters (the power was out and we had no water or electricity) and cooked on the wood stove. At first it was fun but we were very relieved when the power came on again. The water board has obtained a generator so we don't run out of water now due to electrical shortages.
I served on the water board for a number of years, and distinguished myself by obtaining tax free status for our water company and if someone asked me now how I did it, I would have to admit that I have no idea. It took about three months of research and correspondence with the tax board, and when I finally got the papers affirming our tax-free status, I could hardly believe I had done it. That was several years ago and I doubt if I could do it today. It involved typing up the by-laws and getting them printed out and given to each of the members, among other things.
Serving on the water board was a pretty daunting task in any case, since if the water tested out unsafe to drink, we had to drive around and leave notices on the door of each residence using the water. One time we had to do it during a pouring rain, with me checking out the addresses and Bill trudging up to the houses to affix the notices. The driver of the car had a pounding migraine headache and went home sick afterward. Whatever crisis developed, the water board was responsible for fixing it. When I broke my hip, I had to resign, as I could no longer be of any help.
We have lived up here for over fifteen years - It seems like only a year or two. How time flies!

A momentous event happened today - the Kennedys endorsed Barack Oboma! At least it seemed momentous. The Kennedys still wield a powerful clout in spite of all that has happened. They have good speech writers, of course. And when Ted Kennedy sends forth his powerful voice, it makes quite an impact. It makes Hilary Clinton seem pallid in comparison. I have already cast my vote, so I suppose it is a waste of time for me to watch the debates and related events, but I still like to keep abreast of what is happening out there. We lead very quiet and sheltered lives here in our little community, so thank goodness for television!
It has been unseasonably cold for the past few days, so I have taken to wearing my husbands thermal underwear, which on me looks like I am wearing a jogging outfit. It is so warm that I don't even mind that we have run out of logs for the woodburner and are constrained to keep warm with a small electric heater mounted on the wall and a portable DeLongi heater in another room. Bill gets along by wearing a couple of sweaters and an outer jacket. When he goes to bed he has an electric blanket, three single blankets and a comforter, and he tops it all off with a throw blanket that surely was intended for an Arctic outing. Believe me, when he goes under the covers, he is there to stay!
A flock of birds was outside my window again today. My neighbors cat was prowling around amongst the rose bushes but I think she went home without catching anything. It is only the end of January but the return of the birds makes us think that Spring is going to come any day now.

An experience to rememher

When I wrote about fragrances yesterday, I remembered one odor that I didn't mention - that of ammonia. Fifty years ago I worked for a newspaper where my job was to read and proof the full page ads printed by the newspaper, and these pages were processed in an ammonia bath. After I had perused these pages with the attending fumes for an hour or so, I was almost intoxicated. It usually took me about three hours to finish this task, and it would take me a good hour to recover afterward. My job was to read for accuracy and I was expected to catch and correct any misprint that I found. Since the printers were not averse to enlivening their lives with a few jokes, sometimes I was treated to some pretty narrow escapes. I particularly remember one Saturday special which featured a local celebrity, both an heiress and an adventurer. Her name was Louise Boyde and her mansion was a prominent feature of the San Rafael landscape. The front page of the Saturday special featured a frontal photograph of Louise, or it should have. But one of the printers inserted a snapshot of some decrepit old gentleman making a face showing off the fact that he was toothless. The magazine came out with the wrong picture on it, and our usually unflappable editor was livid when he saw it. "Who proofed this?" he demanded, waving the picture in our faces. I remembered reading this, but couldn't remember if I had corrected it. I nearly sank through the floor as I confessed that it was I who had read it. "Go get the proof," he demanded. Down the corridor I hurried, all eyes upon me. Ah! Here it was! To this day, I can see in my mind's eye that proof. I had indeed read it, and I had circled the picture in black pencil, with the words scrawled in large letters "This is Louise Boyd?" The editor snatched the proof and I can only imagine the tonguelashing he gave the printer. I must say, however, that Louise was a good sport. She bought all of the copies she could get her hands on and gleefully gave them out to her friends and family, Another ad, this time a full-page ad for a local market, featured a special on fresh crab. Unfortunately the b was printed as a p, giving the ad a totally new meaning. The market manager was given a corrected ad at no cost, and put the erroneous ad in full sight in his window, with the notation underneath that it was indeed a bargain. The poor soul who proofed this ad was so mortified that she quit and we never saw her again.
Some apparent errors, though I suspect they were made on purpose, included a memo that some local speaker had been given a round of applesauce (applause) for her speech, and the notation that two of the local duck hunters had been pleased to bag their limit of five ducks, with the letter f inserted instead of the d. All of this was long ago, but I am happy to remember them now. Those were the days!

Fragrances

I spot-cleaned the carpet this morning, and the fragrance from the cleaning agent stirred some old memory of perfume or the scent of flowers, but I could not resurrect the memory completely. It made me think how much of our memories are tied to fragrances. The scent of Old Spice aftershave, the fragrance of a wild rose bush or the faint scent of the lily-of-the valley, all conjur up memories. There used to be a wild rose bush beside the road on the way to Aunt Marie's house, where we lingered for a few moments to enjoy the scent, when it was in bloom, of course. My husband used to use Old Spice aftershave, and if I caught a whiff of it now it would bring back memories of those carefree days sixty-two years ago, when we were young and romantic. The daphne bush growing outside my windows sends forth a strong fragrance that can be enjoyed all the way out to the street.
Some memories are tied to particular places. My grandma's soap always smelled like lemon. My Aunt Kate's house had huge lilac bushes growing in the yard. My family home had a fairly good-sized apple orchard which sent forth the smell of apple blossoms in the spring. I will never forget the fragrance of Pond's cold cream. It was advertised with a slogan that read "She's lovely! She's engaged! She uses Ponds!" I found to my discomfort that Ponds did not make me lovely, nor did it lead to my being engaged. It gave me a severe case of exzema which caused me to be sent home from school, and took weeks to clear up. It had a strong fragrance that I well remember.
The scent of the cleaning solution has faded now, and I still cannot remember what it reminds me of. It gave me something to ponder on, and did get out the spots, so I came out ahead, anyway.

The Debate

Spent last evening watching the Democratic debate on TV and must say Obama and Clinton made me think of two six-year- olds pointing fingers of blame at each other. They won't win my vote that way. They both seem well-informed however.
But enough of politics. The stocks and bonds are in an uproar, everyone is worried about a recession, and I can't find anything to watch on television anymore. So I am going to concentrate on my knitting and my cross-word puzzles, and try to compose my mind by meditating.
I never really learned to meditate. Even when I attended Sandeepany West and studied the art of meditating, the best I could hope to do was to fall asleep during meditation. I suspect that many of the other students did the same. The dark room, the melodious chant of the teacher, the soft breathing of the other students, all soothed my restless thoughts and sent me into a trancelike state, but that was about it. But I remember with great pleasure my annual sojourn to the center on the Eel River.
My knitting is coming along very well and I am almost done with one good-sized blue blanket. I plan on making two, using different stitches for them.
I hope to find some omments from time to time. It is fun to keep in touch.

The Big Game and a Small Adventure.

Spent most of the afternoon watching the Packers battle the Giants in the frigid air of Greenbay, wondering how they kept going with their bare arms and tight uniforms. A rousing good game, and I especially enjoyed it because I watched it propped up on pillows, covered by my electric blanket (turned on, of course). I had no chocolate candy to munch on, nor did I have any wine or brandy, but I did have some walnuts and raisins, which I consumed. I ignored my household chores, and since the game went on past dinnertime, I let Bill do the cooking and he made a memorable meal. Such luxury!
We had a small diversion in our lives yesterday, although it will seem minor at best to others who lead more active lives.
What happened was that our absentee neighbor called and asked if we would go over to her house and check to see if her hot water heater was leaking. Her electric bill was almost four times as large as usual, and she was worried that the water was leaking out and using an inordinate amount of electricity. We were happy to help her out, but to be honest, we wondered just how we were going to do it as she has a high fence with a locked gate. Still, we ventured forth and luckily Bill was able to jiggle the gate around and it actually opened up. A couple of cars went by while we were breaking in, but no one seemed to think that two old seniors breaking into someone's yard was unusual. We closed the gate again and found our way down the path to the house. It was like going into an area that had been hit by a huge windstorm. Limbs and clumps of needles and leaves were everywhere and we had to push our way through banks of ivy and low bushes. It was peaceful and quiet and the house was empty and silent. My neighbor has been in ill health and only comes up a couple of times a year, so the yard work has really piled up. We couldn't see any leakage under the water heater, but when we checked the electric meter, we could tell that the meter reader had made a mistake. She had given us the latest reading when she called, and the numbers were far out of line. Good news for her, and a very small adventure for us. The view from the back of her house is spectacular. As we walked home, we felt as though we were back in time, two young, foolish people going somewhere where we were not supposed to be. It brought to mind the time that Bill led a group of us through the forbidden temple of the Mormons. A serious transgression.
Otherwise, everything has been going on as usual. I wonder how many thousands of people watched the game today.

Cold weather

Watching the weather channel this morning I see that frigid air is sweeping over the midwest, bringing the temperature down to as low as twenty degrees below zero. I well remember my sibllings and I struggling through the snow to school, wearing the thin cloth coats and snowboots that were grossly inadequate for the cold we were enduring. When we got to school, we took off our coats and boots and gradually warmed up. On particularly cold mornings we were allowed to sit by the woodburning stove to thaw out. Walking the four miles to high school was a particularly dauntng experience. I had a typewriting class immediately after arriving at the school, and my hands were usually so cold that I could hardly type, let alone get up any speed. Why didn't our father drive us to school and save us from the freexing walk? I can't say but only remember that he never did.
Be that as it may, we are now ensconced in warm California, sun shining brilliantly in the windows, the little cat snoozing under our little electric space heater and Bill snoozing in the reclining chair. The reclining chair was given to us by a generous neighbor, and at first I really didn't want it as it takes up so much space in the family room, but it has proved to be a blessing to Bill, who can relax there and nap whenever he feels the urge. I grab it and recline in it whenever I get a chance.
Never in my wildest dreams did I envision the llfe of leisure and tranquillity that we now enjoy. Would we trade it for anywhere else on earth? Not on your Nellie! We have taken root and are here to stay.