Life in the fast lane--where's the on ramp?

By Pat_B - About Me - E-mail this page - Add to My Favorites - Add to Blog List - See other blogs in Journal

Wednesday, August 17, 2016

Salkum Redux - Conclusion

That winter, our first in the Salkum house, we discovered the linoleum rug in the bedroom – the furthest room from the oil heater and the kitchen stove – had become an ice floe. If we missed the slipper as we put a foot out of bed, the linoleum was so cold it burned. Sometimes you could see your... Sign in to see full entry.

Tuesday, August 16, 2016

Salkum Redux - part 2

Mom had the puppy house trained very quickly; she’d ‘speak’ when she needed to go outside. Jim hurried to play with her the instant he got home from school, and they were always together. She wasn’t yappy like some small dogs, but if someone walked past the house, she’d alert us with a sharp,... Sign in to see full entry.

Monday, August 15, 2016

Salkum redux...

We accidentally-on-purpose lay low for a while after Mom dragged us back to Salkum. The bullies didn’t realize we were there until the first day of school. Staying out of sight wasn't entirely deliberate: Mom had a lot of chores lined up. For several days we cleaned the house from top to bottom,... Sign in to see full entry.

Sunday, August 14, 2016

Finding Salkum part 10

7. Salkum Redux We didn’t move straight back to Salkum from the Vogel farm. It seems the renters had a one-year agreement, and they weren’t leaving until late August. So we lived for a couple of months in a rent house outside the town of Winlock. The owner was a fire fighter, off for the summer to... Sign in to see full entry.

Saturday, August 13, 2016

Finding Salkum - part 9 --

Spring Thaw In late March there was a break in the weather, the sleet and snow turned to rain. Sam called it the spring thaw. Our pathways to feed the animals and do the chores had been frozen all winter. But when the thaw hit, they became mud-pits, slippery and gooey. Mud sucked at our thick rubber... Sign in to see full entry.

Friday, August 12, 2016

The President's Wall

WACO: SUB-DISTRICT 5: Nov. 10, 2018 Justine set a large coffee mug in front of Milo and poured. “Need room for cream?” she asked. “Please.” Milo reached for the insulated pitcher in the center of the table. The café was crowded with uniformed agents, both male and female, it was rush hour, time for... Sign in to see full entry.

Thursday, August 11, 2016

Finding Salkum - good news

One Sunday afternoon in early January the phone rang. it was bitter cold and sleeting outside so we were all in the house. Sam was reading the paper in the kitchen, Ethel was putting the finishing touches on the dining room table after dinner. Rose and Jimmy were playing upstairs, and I had Ethel’s... Sign in to see full entry.

Wednesday, August 10, 2016

Finding Salkum - Part 8

I gained weight at the farm: muscle. I went through a growth spurt of three or four inches. Rose also got taller, stronger and more confident. When we first started working with the cows at milking time, she was scared of them. She’d watch while the “girls” ambled their way to their appointed... Sign in to see full entry.

Monday, August 8, 2016

Finding Salkum Part 7 - Farm Life

The barn in the center was about twenty feet high, and the top of the “A” was almost as wide as the farmhouse. It held a huge hay storage area, interior plank walls with one-inch gaps for air circulation stood about ten feet high, but the hay was piled all the way to the top of the barn at harvest... Sign in to see full entry.

Sunday, August 7, 2016

Finding Salkum - Part 6 -- After we kissed Mama goodbye...

Ethel rang the bell on the porch before we could complete our tour. It was time for us to kiss Mama goodbye. The hugs and waves as Mama backed Susie out onto the road and pulled away were as I think back on it a bit of stagecraft. We’d already said our farewells, promised Mama we’d be on our best... Sign in to see full entry.

Headlines (What is this?)