Hats, Cleaning out, self discovery

We are still cleaning out Mom's and Dad's house.  It was built in 1962 and I grew up there.  Mom resides in an assisted living facility.  Dad passed away in 1995

I've made important discoveries.  The first is that my parents were nuts!  Well, at least pack rats.

And the second is that they liked hats.  There were tons of them.

Not that there is anything wrong with hats.

We just didn't know. Never saw them.  Don't know where they came from.  There is probably a story behind all of the hats.  And we don't know what it is.  

A third thing we learned about our mother is that she probably needed some additional care before we moved her.

Without revealing too many personal details, let's just say that the three items in this picture are a 1998 local phone book.  A 1997 calendar, apparently unused and a pack of standard staples, 5 packages of 5000 staples each wrapped together.  In case you are a little rusty on your arithmetic, that's an unopened package containing 25,000 staples.  All three of these items were sitting on her desk.  Back to the first thing I learned, above. 

  

Just another sample of our day. 

Staging in the garage.

A closet filled with my Dad's things as if he had just left them.  Remember he's been gone since 1995.

Step Son never knew my Dad.  Dad liked his shop.  It was always very tidy and clean.  He took good care of what he had.  Taking his shop apart was the hardest.

Just a second, tissue time again.  This collection hung like this in the garage.  Dad liked this.  My fellas are going to take it down and re-hang it in the reception area of our business.  That will make me happy.

Then they brought me this package.  They found it in the attic. It had been mailed from Cleo Springs, Oklahoma by Mrs. Boyd Noble to Mrs. John Bennett.  Obviously, Mrs. Noble's first name wasn't Boyd.  She was my father's sister, my Aunt Vera.  Mrs. John Bennett was my mother, Cathy. 

Anyway, this package was unopened and bound with twine when it was placed in my hands.  Why had it never been opened and what treasure was inside?  Want to see?

Clothes.  Shirts and skirts, home made on a sewing machine.  Another story here which I do not know.

A big trip to the dump.  Another big trip to Goodwill.  All I could take.  Went home and had a drink.  That's all I have to say about that for now.

No.  Two more things.  First, thanks to Daughter in Law for having a good dinner ready when we returned.  And second, Love you Mama and Daddy.    

Cali and Cleaning out Mom's house

Happy Birthday to the Beautiful and Talented Daughter in Law.  We love you.

Now, a Cali update. She is fitting in well after a few dramas.  Who knew cats were a little high maintenance? 

Not me.  I've never had a cat and Cali is not mine.  She belongs to Step Son and Daughter in Law who are staying with us. 

My Dad didn't like cats.  Should I tell this story?  Well yes, because it fits into the next one.  My Dad didn't like cats because they came into the yard and left little packages in the bark dust.  At one point, our yard was spotless and beautiful.  You'll see a picture of it now below.

So Dad would lie in waiting for the neighbor cat with a pellet gun.  He delivered a little package of his own to the maraudering cats' behinds when he got the chance.  He believed that it trained the cats to stay away, but it never really work. 

Anyway, I grew up thinking cats were the Devil.  I've come to like Cali.  Why she wants to be in our shower, I do not know.  Any cat lovers out there care to explain that to me? She is offered plenty of water.

The Golden Retriever has come to enjoy Cali's presence.  So much so that Cali has moved from the Barbie house to behind the couch.  Yes, this is really behind my couch.  Blogging is a personal and intimate medium.  Don't you think?

So to continue on another note, we've been cleaning out Mom's house with a plan of selling it or renting it. This was a house that my Dad built in 1962.  I was 3 years old when we moved in.  I'm 51 now.  I was raised here.  And left as fast as I could trot at the end of the summer of 1977.  Not wander, Melynda.  As fast as I could trot!   

It's pretty tough cleaning out Mom's house.  I say it that way because Dad passed away in 1995.  I opened a closet just after taking this picture and found his jackets and Carharts, a couple fishing rods and tackle boxes, a rain jacket, as if he had just left them.  It's all so weird.  My sister says she can only do it so long each time because it makes her soul tired.  Well said, my darling.  

This all seems a little intimate, but after all.  You've seen behind my sofa.  We are old friends.  This was my room growing up.  It's changed a lot.  It had a blue linoleum floor then, a bed along the wall to the left, a dresser along the wall to the right and a little desk in the corner in the center of the picture.  I didn't grow up with much.  I was a grown up adult before I ever saw a closet full of clothes.  It was such an extreme experience that I still remember it to this day.    

We made garbage piles,  Goodwill piles, and piles to try to sell.

But mostly the lesson for me is that this was a whole successful and interesting life.  The associated STUFF is unimportant, really. 

But the sentimental aspects are huge for those involved.  Let me grab a tissue and I'll continue. 

This little kitchen is where I learned what food was.  My mother was a really great cook.  Not a gourmet.  A Paula Deen sort of cook. 



She fried chicken in Wesson Oil in an electric skillet on the counter in the near right view of this picture.  She made the most fabulous homemade raised donuts.  I can smell them now as I write this. 

My mother and father were children during the Depression on farms outside Cleo Springs, OK.  They grew up in houses without plumbing.  My dad went to school in a one room school, literally. 

But their children went to College.  My mother went to England and Africa.  The distance they came in life was not humble or small.  And those who have something to say about traditional America can come say it to me.  I am the beneficiary a lot of hardship and pain.

I was in the front of the house, my sister in Mom and Dad's bedroom.  I heard her say, "OH GOD, OH GOD."  We had had a pretty big day.  Found some pretty amazing stuff.  I ran back. But nothing prepared me for this.  So seriously Mom.  What was this about? 

My father had a large collection of records.  You know records?  I looked through them carefully. 

I'm not a record expert. 

Who knows? There could have been something rare and valuable. But probably not.  Mostly Glenn Miller.  No Beatles White Album.  

Remember the Hans and Gretel post?  http://dinnerattheosbornes.blogspot.com/2010/12/big-changes-and-comfort-food.html and http://dinnerattheosbornes.blogspot.com/2010/12/my-trip-home.html and http://dinnerattheosbornes.blogspot.com/2011/01/meat-mom-and-meham.html

And, here is where I stopped to buy penny candy on my way home from school. You might imagine it looked a little different then.  Just a beer and lottery place now.   

You remember penny candy.  No?

Remember.  It's important.  

BIG, BIG personalities

What I'm about to tell you is going to sound like a tall tale, but I swear to God it is 100% the truth. 

Papa/Husband brought Brilliant Baby and a cup of coffee to me in bed this morning.  This kid is used to a little snuggle first thing in the morning, so he got right under the covers. 

But Curious George was on down stairs and I was watching the Channel 8 news so he wasn't likely to be happy for long.  I handed him my cell phone. 

He flips it open, smiles big and starts pushing buttons.  I leaned towards him to keep an eye on him, just to make sure he doesn't like call my sister or something.  Almost immediately, I hear a sound and look closely and he has taken a picture with my phone.  Well, a picture of the blankets on the bed, but a picture!  He looks up at me and says "ha ha"  and some other baby stuff that I can't translate.

He continues pushing buttons and I glance over to see that he has the menu of my address book open on my phone.  I say 'No No, Baby" and reach for the phone.  He says "Ahhhh" loudly and pulls away. 

Just then I see the screen where you send text messages.  It's just a wonder I know what it looks like because I rarely send text messages.  Almost never, if the truth were known, but I do know what it looks like.

Just then I hear a tone that I know is the tone when a text message is sent.  Okay, which of my friends or relatives did he send a blank message to?  So I take the phone from him.  He let's out the Indian warpath yelp.  He has sent a text message to his father.  And he has sent the picture of the blanket as an attachment.  To his father.  He has selected his father's name from a list in my address book.  His father.  No text, of course.  Brilliant Baby can't speak real words, let alone spell. 

Just then, I hear a phone tone in another room.  And I hear Step Son say "what the heck?" and I yell out, "Your son did that."  Step Son says, "Whatever!" in his surfer-dude voice (that's another story worth telling one day). 

We settle back into Channel 8 news.  He still has my phone and he did the exact same thing again.  Sent his Dad a blank text with the blanket picture as an attachment.  To his Dad.  With a picture of a blanket.   

We get up and start getting ready.  Now BB is an Osborne. 

And Osbornes have Big, Big personalities, every last freaking one of them.  I mean that in the nicest, kindest, most sympathetic and helpful way, Dear.  But It's genetic.  Just saying.

Look what fun we had.  

Hiding in Papa's Closet.

This was a good game.

And now to MeeMaw's closet.

And, Yes, he still has my phone.

Remember to have fun, but remember to be out of the job market when this kid and his generation enters it.

The Show Is The Thing.

I'm a behind the camera sort of person.  That's okay.  Not everyone belongs on the stage.

His sister is always practicing for the "show." 

I remember her talking about this for over a year.  She likes to be the center of attention.

Others are preparing for the show also.  

The Barbies have put on their best and have come out to watch.

Others want to see the show.

Jessica and Scooby Doo are waiting.  They've become good friends. 

Show biz people.  I mean really!  This one kind of worries me.  

Remember to practice for the show. 

Meat, Mom and Mayham

1.  If you are interested in local meat from a good source in the Vancouver, Portland area, let me know.  It would mean taking at least 1/2 a cow, but the quality is good and you can go look the cow in the eyeballs, if you want to.  Let me know if you have questions about how this works.  I'm getting some experience I'd be happy to share.

2.  This is my Mom and Sister.  I've blogged some about my mom being in an assisted living facility and us moving her when we found she was not receiving the care we had hoped.  I'm pleased to report that she is mentally clearer than I've seen her in a while and I think it is because she is getting her basic needs met better.  I asked the administrator what percentage of the people in her facility have family involved in their care.  She said 50%.  She said she has clients with family close by who never come see them.  She has one client with a restraining order against her own child.  And one client whose child has taken her money and house and is currently being investigated for it.  She has clients whose children have "grudges."  Heck, I've more than one grudge.  Who cares?  That doesn't mean I'm not going to take as good of care of my mother as possible.  Love You, Mama.  As you get older, take care of your parents.  I'm Serious, People! 

3.  Step Grand Daughter's favorite thing is a lavender and pink unicorn pillow pet. 

The unicorn's name is Polly.  Polly is a female unicorn.  I asked her what the unicorn does with her horn.  I thought she'd say "do magic" or something.  She said Polly "pokes bad people" with her horn, but her horn is "soft."  Not sure what to make of that.  Any ideas?

   

Don't get creeped out by this.  Brilliant Baby's favorite thing is a talking Elmo.

His other favorite thing is Sister's favorite thing. 

I'm pretty sure that choking a unicorn is bad luck, Right?

Remember to be nice and get along.  This is really important, People! 

Game Day

First, Did you know that cats don't come when called? 

Second, do you know how to get a cat out from under the bed if she doesn't want to come out? 

Apparently there is some football game.  Since I barely know what football is, I'm kind out of the loop.  But I went to U of O for 4 terms before I transferred to OSU.  And I'm the only one in the house who did attend and also the only one who does not own and is not wearing U of O clothing.  This school must be raking it in hand over fist considering the amount of green and yellow I saw today.

I'm not sure who Auburn is.  If you are a fan, I apologize.

Did I mention we have several employees who pre-arranged for a day off tomorrow because they are partying tonight.  We work hard and we play hard. 

 My barbecue meatballs with Josh's sauce hot and bubbly.  They are a lot better than my ability to take a picture of them. 

Daughter in law's taco dip, layers of taco meat, refried beans, lettuce, salsa, tomatoes, olives and avocados.  We ate it with chips and extra taco sauce.

Babies like it. 

Well, babies like everything as long as their big people are happy.

Remember to be happy.  

 

Oh, yea, this was about football.