Are You Missing A Key

I am sorry to be so slow on this one. I have been "bumping" into these keys for several years as I have gone through stuff trying to figure out what to do with some of the little odds and ends I have. Today it finally dawned on me that perhaps those of you who have some of the little chests from Mom and Dad just might want a key that goes with a lock. So, take a look at these keys and if you think they might fit a chest you have, please let me know and I will send them around. I have even wondered if one of them goes to Grandpa's rolled top desk.

THANKSGIVING

No photos, just a Thanksgiving wish.  Lots to be thankful for this year, hope everyone else feels the same way.  Love from NY

Another Look at Grandpa Working in the Beet Field

I don't have time to try and play with this photo, but thought it would be worthwhile posting the companion photo to the one Elizabeth just posted. Does it look as though Steve and I were driving Mother crazy and so she sent us out to "help" Grandpa in the beet field? Or maybe Dwight wanted us to pose for this photo op. Hopefully you can enlarge the photo and see the facial expressions on these "angelic" looking children. I suspect once Grandpa got bent over it was really difficult for him to stand up straight - at least as straight as his frail body could stand.

Sugar Beets

The month of October has come and gone, as has the sugar beet harvest. In the "olden days", the beets were dug up in a long row, then the workers would come through with the curved, sharp beet knife, pick up a beet with the hook on the end, hold the beet in the left hand, and chop off the tops on the right hand. The tops would go on one row, and the beets on another. The beet loader would come through and pick up the beets, and the tops would be picked up to be used for cattle feed for the winter. In spite of his age, Grandpa would go out and top beets with the other workers. There is another picture of Ann and Steve posing by him - but this is the only one I could find in a hurry. I assume that Dwight took this picture? You recorded a bit of history here.

Preston, like many other farming communities, once had a sugar beet factory, and it was a favorite money crop. However, the company that owned the factory moved away, and it now stands, tall pipes against the sky, and windows broken out - an eyesore on the countryside. On the other hand, the sugar beet farmers in the Big Horn Basin banded together, purchased the factory, and have successfully run it during this time. I'm still glad we don't have to thin, hoe, and harvest sugar beets anymore.

Ann is Always Right

After a Sunday dinner of fish, which was yummy, I put one last uncooked piece on the stove to cook and promptly got distracted downstairs.  Bob went to the kitchen for a drink and found the kitchen in stinky smoke.  Yes, the smoke alarm, even with new batteries,  had failed.  I scrubbed and scrubbed, but the oder has lingered with us.  Today I called the expert:  Ann.  She said to put white, not red, vinegar in an open glass, not plastic and not metal,  container.  It sounded like the routine Grandma used to tell us when we wanted to get rid of our warts, but I followed Ann's instructions to the letter.

That was 4 hours ago.  We left for a couple of hours and just came back home.  Opened the door.............and you are right if you think that it worked!  Thanks, Ann!

Mary Lynn's Kitchen

Except for a little of this and a little of that, this beautiful kitchen is almost done.  With a lot of hard work (how many different times did Steve stain the wood for the floor?) and amazing craftmanship, the result is this showcase kitchen.  Let's all go for dinner, what do you say?

Penrose, Mid 1960's

This occasion in Penrose when my little family was there, at the same time as Dwight and Velna and their children. There were some choice pictures that came from this time. You have to excuse my hairdo + cat-eye glasses, but remember, it was the mid-60's.

We must have gone to church.

Another Long-ago Picture

The names written on the back of this fuzzy, out-of-focus old picture says "Russell Blood & Jack Riddle". Dad's stance gives him away - you couldn't miss him. Just thought this was an interesting picture - taken at the ranch in Sunlight? Who knows? More history to this? Since no one is playing these days but Steve, we might never know any more.

Dad and the Lilies

This picture of Dad among the lilies, dahlias, and astilbe in my Tumwater garden was always a favorite. Dad was always willing to have his picture taken to make the subject more appealing. I was a little unhappy this morning when I really looked at this picture and saw how blurry it is. I watched a short feature yesterday on a new program that Photoshop is developing that sharpens impossibly blurry pictures. Don't throw them away yet. We're waiting for that one.

A Person from Dad's Past

I found this picture of Paul Hineman (sp?) in my folder of old pictures. Evidently, he was a friend of Dad's from Cody High School. Remember Dad talking about having to move the rocks off of the football field so that they could play football? Dad never finished high school, being more homesick for the ranch in Sunlight north of Cody than he was fond of learning. Dad did talk about having a letter sweater, and it looks like Paul had one, too. How about the striped pants? I remember Paul Hineman from when we lived in the little brown house, because he came to visit a few times. I was fascinated, because he smoked cigarettes and blew smoke out of his nose. We didn't see people smoke, so that alone seemed strange. I always wondered if the smoke could come out of his ears, too, but it never did. His voice was distinctive because of a slight cleft lip.

Here's a Gem

Look at what I found this afternoon!  Name the year, the place and which Tanner for the big prize!

Mary Lynn's New Kitchen

Steve has talked about this kitchen project for awhile.  It was no simple task.  Look at that flooring!  Ask Steve the story on that.   He built the cabinets from cherry and maple, and the hardware is his personal creation.  What a showcase kitchen!  Steve, write the rest of the story......

Happy Birthday, Brother Dear

Dwight was the picture taker in our family - pictures of him in his youth are few and far between, but I always liked this one, probably taken by a buddy - note the FFA jacket.
This is sort of a professor-type picture - family reunion in Orem.
And, we're only missing Steve - Sweet memories of laughter and tears shared over the years.
Love this picture from the past. We always look forward on our birthdays - sometimes the scenery looks a little uncertain, sometimes we know the path. Life is always throwing us a curve, and we often go into uncharted waters, but it's important to know that family is always there to support and love us on.

My New Recipe

We ate every crumb so there is nothing left to take a picture.
So easy and so good if you like peppers.  Enjoy!

3 Pepper Quesadillas
1 cup each thin strips peppers:  green, red & yellow  (or whatever you have)
1/2 cup thin onion slices  ( used more)
1/3 cup butter
1/2 t. cumin ( didn't use any)
1 pkg (8oz) cream cheese
1 cup (8oz) shredded cheddar
10 flour tortillas
thick & chuncky salsa (forgot to use that)

Cook veg in butter for 4 min. Drain . Save butter.

Spred 1/2 tortilla with soften cream cheese.  Sprinkle grated cheddar.  Top with cooked peppers and fold in half.  Place on cookie sheet.  Brush top with remaining butter.
Bake 425 degrees for 8 mins.  Don't burn your mouth

Get Cookin'.

POINTS OF INTEREST

We all remember these two points of interest when we were growing up.  First the stories of the bridge that Grandpa worked on in Yellowstone, then the narrow road of the canyon that took us up the North Fork.  We also probably remember how much Father did not like the canyon drive.

Elizabeth and Ron Came to Olympia!

We had so much fun.  Not many somber moments, not even for the camera.

Giving each other advice.......the hands, you've got to watch the hands!

While the ladies watched the new Jane Eyre movie, the men escaped to the shade in the yard to get a little reading (and sleeping) done.

What an event to have the Gages traveling to Washington again! 

New Technology To Watch

"A company in American Fork has announced the release of its M-DISC, which is the first permanent file backup disc technology that will protect your information for up to 1,000 years." This is quoted from an article in Tuesday's Daily Herald. Two BYU professors came up with idea. I have included their web site so you can research this on your own. Can you imagine someone coming across this disc in 1000 years, looking at it and wondering if it was just a shiny frisbee? However, the idea of being able to preserve photos and genealogy and whatever else we have, without the data deteriorating would be wonderful.
The projected cost of the discs in a 20 pack is $26.95. I suspect there would be an additional purchase of the drive to burn the disc. At least that is what I gathered from their web site. Happy learning and let us know what you find out.

http://millenniata.com/

Penrose School: Page from Mom's Black Photo Album

Apologies if this has been posted before.  What is amazing is how many people and children there were in Penrose once upon a time.  The picture on lower right is, if memory serves me, Lucinda Wasden.

Mother's Tatting

Oh, yes and something else that should be included. And do you recognize the scarf?

The Penrose School

This is a very poor photo but I think it is worth adding to our history. This is the Penrose School. The photo was in an old photo album of Uncle Brooks that I was able to borrow from our cousin, David Wasden. There wasn't much of interest in the album, except for this photo. There is one of a young Uncle Brooks that I will post later. Hopefully you can at least get an idea of this little country school that Mother and her siblings attended.

What A Difference a Year Makes

Ok, I know, I need to have my own blog, and I just may surprise you one of these first days. However, it is important to put the next chapter on the blog to follow up on a post dated Wednesday May 12, 2010.

The photo above seems to ask, "who needs a garden gate?". The squash and melons have a mind of their own.
The flowers across the front of the family room windows have been beautiful this year.
One days' harvest. It is time to make catsup and beet soup, maybe even some dilly beans. Work to do, work to do! The tomatoes are a jungle, the squash and melons (including 12 watermelon) are merrily filling in any empty space they can find, and life is good. This has been a great team effort this year, and feels really good.

Russell M. Blood and Friend, Denver

This copy of a picture was in my files - hope someone has the original. It is a picture of Daddy with his friend, Dwight Tabler (whom brother Dwight was named after). Wasn't he the one whose father helped Dad make connections with Elsie and Dewey? Sorry you can't enlarge this picture well - the pixels just break up. Nevertheless, the dress, which was everyday school dress for Denver schools, seems quite formal. If we could see the whole picture, I think these were short pants, with knee socks. This is one of the few pictures we have of Dad in this period of his life.

How We Got Through the Great Depression

During the 1930s our Dad was gone much of the time looking for a day's work here and there leaving Mother alone with first, Louise, then me (Dwight), then Liz, and a bit later in the decade, Judy.  We lived in a two-room uninsulated home that would probably be called a shack today.  Here are the resources Mother had to get us through that troubled decade:

1. Maybe three or four pans and a cast iron skillet.
2. Two coal stoves, one for heating the bedroom, one for cooking and heating the kitchen.
3. An enamel dishpan, which sprouted a hole midway through the decade.
4. Two kerosene lamps.
5. A can of kerosene.
6. A stash of coal and green cottonwood for burning in the stoves.
7. A cellar full of canned peas, beans, tomatoes, corn, peaches, pears, apricots, strawberry jam, plus some potatoes, carrots, cabbage, and a few apples.
8. Mustard for mustard plasters.
9. A water bucket for carrying water into the house from the outside pump.
10. A scrub board.
11. A galvanized metal bathtub for laundry and baths.
12. A big garden and an apple orchard in the summer.
13. Two beds, one of which my two sisters slept on, and the other, a cot, which I slept on, and a sort of couch that Mother slept on in the other room.
14. A rolling pin and bread pans.
15. Irons Mother heated on the stove for ironing clothes.
16. Surely I have left something out.

What we did not have:

1. A car.
2. A telephone.
3. Electricity--until 1939.
4. Inside plumbing and bath rooms.
5. Washing machine.
6. Many toys.
7. Many clothes.
8. Store bought groceries of any kind except for a few staples.

But what we did have that got us through the Great Depression:

1. Love in great abundance.
2. Warmth.
3. Great imaginations for inventing things do do.
4. Mother's indomitable will, perseverance, mustard plasters, and lonely days and nights.
5. Dad's sacrifice in looking for a day's work anywhere and everywhere and showing up some Saturday nights with the Denver Post with its "funny papers" and making a kite for us that flew and pulling us around in our red wagon and playing his harmonica for us and giving us hugs.  And then he was gone again.

That is how we learned to get by on our own throughout our lives, to tough out the bad times, and to stay close to one another.  So we really came out ahead, didn't we?

For Sale: Roncoe Rotisserie, Pressure Cooker, Bread Maker. Make an Offer

My sisters are just like sheep.  If one of them says, "buy this!", they all march out and buy it.  Except Ann is usually the one who propagates this mania and gets everyone else to buy some worthless piece of merchandise, and by the time everyone else has all gone out and bought it, Ann has decided she doesn't want to buy it after all.

Let us take the Roncoe Rotisserie of Set it and Forget it fame for example.  For a brief period, chicken rotisserie mania set in.  I remember when Velna and I went up to Preston to see Liz and Ron and they proudly presided over two properly trussed birds as they rotated themselves into splended states of rotisseriness.  Judy dissembled for years claiming she had one when everyone knew she didn't.  Some where she will pay for this dissemblement.  I suckered into this epidemic and bought one, with splendid visions of perfectly rotiserried chicken, steaks, salmon, kabobs, etc., etc.  As far as I remember, we may have rotisseried three fowls.  It took half an hour to truss them up properly, haul the monster machine out of the pantry, and turn it on, watching the spit turn round and round and round.  The chicken itself was fine but then it took two hours to scrub up the rotisserie.  I figure my three Roncoe rotisseried birds cost a mere 75 bucks apiece or some such amount.  The solution? Pay 5 bucks at Costco for a perfectly wonderful rotisseried chicken and put the rotisserie in the store room.  For five bucks, two people can eat for weeks.  First, you pick a little chicken off for a couple of sandwiches.  Then you chew on the thighs, drumsticks, and wings.  Then you make some other dish like chicken enchiladas.  Then you berl up the carcass for broth, chuck in some frozen noodles, and eat chicken and noodles for approximately two weeks.  All for five bucks and you don't have to clean up the stupid rotisserie.  But if you are enamored with the Music Man con man who peddles these things with his adoring audience chanting "set it and forget it," I will sell you mine cheap.  As far as I know, all of my sisters' rotisseries have met a tragic fate.  But maybe we have all been too dumb to see the potential here.

Now my sisters didn't connive to get me to buy a pressure cooker and a bread machine.  I did those deeds myself.  I pressure cooked one roast and one batch of pea soup.  My wife kept saying, "What is the advantage to that?"  "You can roast a roast in a short time and berl some pea soup in a jiffy anyway, and besides, what else do you have to do that is so important that you need your roast or your pea soup in a few minutes instead of an hour or two?  I just took my pressure cooker down to the store room.

We did use our bread machine quite a bit when we had more family at home.  Bread machine bread is wonderful when it is first baked.  But after three or four fresh slices, the loaf sits around and turns to stone and no one ever eats the rest of it.  So the bread machine is now headed for the store room.  Maybe I'll try one more loaf first.

I know Ann has been like Eve and the apple on several other occasions of sending her sisters scurrying to the stores or to Amazon.com or to DI to get something she has had a current inspiration about, but my brain has fogged in these regards.  Perhaps others can fill us in on these multitudinous details.  Why is it we have never learned, however?  Irregardless [sic] of how many times we have listened to Ann peddle something to us, we still go out and buy whatever her current fascination is?  Why is that?

Currently we have the Vintage Sewing Book Saga.  A sad story beyond all human imagination.  Ann finds this book about how to sew 100 year old underwear and convinces her sisters to all buy the book.  Then someone paid for them and mailed them out and now nobody is smart enough to figure out how the heck much anyone owes anyone else or who mailed what to whom or who paid postage.  Meanwhile we have burned up 41 comments on what is supposed to be a dignified family history blog with total, utter nonsense.  No wonder Congress is so screwed up if we highly educated Blood family members have no idea how to do addition, subtraction, and long division.  Why would anyone want a vintage sewing book?  What if I suggested we all buy an economic analysis book so we could correct all of our mistaken notions and understand Supply and Demand?  How many would buy it?  Besides, there is an element of gender discrimination here in spending so much time, energy, computer space, and continual click click clicks to see if some robot has added the next comment to an inane list of previous comments about a book about old ladies underwear.  What a sad commentary.  Mother would be appalled that her children do not have anything better to do, that they do not know how to do arithmetic, and that they don't buy a treadle sewing machine to make real stuff with.  I have worn myself totally out with the effort required to write this epic piece.  I hope I have shed light and inspiration on these important subjects.

Siblings of Russell Blood

Kathryn Blood - a half sister

Paul Blood - a half brother.

Birthday Party

The special entertainment was a bagpiper. I was so caught by surprise and loving bagpipe music the second I heard the sound from the hall I broke down and cried. It was so amazing what my kids thought of for me.

As you can tell, I enjoyed it immensely.

Kevan's group, Lattigo, entertained throughout the evening. Here they are playing Happy Birthday.

Kevan getting into Orange Blossom Express. He is amazing. (Does my motherly pride show?)

Here's Whatcha Do

Dear Louise, This is the whole story about your book on vintage sewing. I found the book on line right before Judy's birthday. Called Ann, and asked her if she thought it would be good for Judy and for your birthday. We looked at some of the pages on Amazon (I think), and then decided that all four of us should have the same book. So, Ann was already putting in a book order at Amazon, so she said she would order her own birthday present (why wait until December 1st?). I proceeded to put in an order (I thought) for the other three books. A couple of weeks went by, and I realized that no books had come. Back to Amazon, My Account, and there was no evidence of an order - what hadn't I done? So, naturally, the thing to do was to place another order, which I thought I did. (Note: I order books from Amazon all the time, and never had any problem. In fact, two other orders came from them in the same time I thought this order should come.) Again, no books, and Ann had had hers for some time. Soooo - the third time is the charm, right? The books finally came - in time for my birthday, two months after the intended first order should come. The upshot was that now we had to figure out who owed who what for what book. Your book, Louise, was to be your birthday present from the three of us. Judy was gang-pressed into paying her fair share for the three gifts. How do you figure this out? Ann finally came up with the following solution, which is pretty darned good, I think. However, Judy had to mess the whole thing up by sending me too much money, so now I owe her something like $3.64. Sigh. We're just sorry that you couldn't have been laughing with us while all of this nonsense was going on. The one thing I'm struck by is how simplified the sewing and fashions were in the late 1920s. Love, Elizabeth




Ann came to the rescue with the following solution.

Begin forwarded message:



 From: Ann Tanner

> Date: June 1, 2011 11:30:35 AM MDT

> To: Bob and Judy Petersen , Gage

> Subject: Here's Whatcha Do Maybe

> This is a story book problem at its best.


> Major accounting issue:


> 1. Louise's book $20.00 divided by 3 = 6.35 paid by E. J. A.


> 2. Judy's book $20.00 divided by 2 = 10.00 paid by E. A.

> 3. Elizabeth's book $20.00 divided by 2 = 10.00 paid by J. A.


> 4. Ann's book $20.00 divided by 2 = 10.00 paid by E. J.

> So, now, who owes what to whom, you ask.


> Well - here's whatcha do.

> Elizabeth bought three books, Ann bought one book.

>

> Elizabeth, Judy and Ann send Elizabeth 6.35 each for Louise's book.

>

> Elizabeth and Ann pay 10.00 each for Judy's book.

>

> Judy and Ann pay 10.00 each for Elizabeth's book.

>

> Elizabeth and Judy pay 10.00 each for Ann's book.

>

> So each one of us owes $26.35 somewhere, somehow.

>

> Now, this is where it gets tricky.

>

> Judy sends Elizabeth $16.35 for Louise's book and Elizabeth's book. She sends 10.00 to Ann for her book (that she bought for herself, so does this qualify? If so, I can see a small business with potential. Shall I let you know when I buy more books?).

>

> Ann would normally (Is any of this normal????) send Elizabeth $26.35 for Judy's and Elizabeth's and Louise's books, but since she got in a hurry and bought her own book (yes, some of us remember to click on "place order" on Amazon so it doesn't take forever for an order to arrive), and paid for it herself, she really complicated matters. Elizabeth would owe Ann $10.00 for her (Ann's) book, however since Ann paid for it herself, but owes Elizabeth money, then this will balance (?) out. Ann will owe Elizabeth $16.35 - just wait - it will work out, maybe.

>

> Elizabeth would normally (? ?) send Ann 10.00 for her book and pay $16.35 for Louise's and Judy's books, but since she already paid for the books, that is Louise's and Judy's books, Elizabeth won't send anything to Ann, which will, in turn pay for part of Ann's portion.

>

> Now, the question is, does this balance out?

> Judy will pay $26.35. (She owes Ann $10.00 and Elizabeth $16.35)

> Elizabeth will pay $26.35, which she has already paid (she owes Ann $10.00, Ann owes her $26.35, so subtracting the $10.00, Ann now owes Elizabeth $16.35)

> Ann will pay $26.35, however see note directly above. So Ann owes $16.35.

>

> So - the total ins and outs should/will come to $79.05.

>

> Now, if Judy sends Elizabeth $26.35, then Ann will need to send Elizabeth only 6.35, because instead of Judy sending money to me (Ann) that I would then send to Elizabeth, it would definitely simplify ??????? the situation.

>

> And that's whatcha do. Whew, I am going to play in the flowers.

Birthday Party

Yes, there really were 80 candles, but we were outside and there was a breeze so they didn't all get lit at once, even with the connecting trail. It did make quite a flare-up for a second.

There were some trick candles that wouldn't go out so I was getting some help.

Louise Blood Celebrates 80th Birthday

This beautiful formal portrait of our sister Louise, must be part of our blog record.  Her birthday party was held on Saturday, July 16 with her children honoring her in meaningful detail.  We hope to bribe those who had cameras to share their photos for all to see on the blog.....

DOG DAYS OF SUMMER ?

Hotter than the shades of Haiti's so I helped Mary Lynn get her hammock up.  Lily recognized at once that this was the place to be.  (It's really to early to call them the "dog days of summer'" but it just made a good title.