Mice and Men

Good morning! I just looked through a folder of pictures that came mostly off my mom’s camera. It looks like some came off Grandma’s as well. They basically cover about two years and chronicle Grandma’s visit out here in 2012, my mom’s quilting life, a couple of my mother’s trips to Oregon (as evidenced by pictures of Alicia, Aunt Cindy and her cat, and lots and lots of fabric as well as perhaps a trip to see Marie), a trip or two by Marie and Oliver to my mom’s, a couple of Christmas’s, and Laura’s wedding. That was fun. Laura and Blaine are approaching their 1^st anniversary so it’s time for more pictures.

I happen to really like this picture. For a couple of reasons but one I'm not going to mention right now. The other is the feet. To me, those feet represent my family. They are real and down-to-earth. They are getting things done (in this case, taking picture of work accomplished and work that needs to be done).

Laura called yesterday to let me know that she is not able to take money out of the trust accounts for Amena, Cedric, Seth, and Joseph other than in person. Since she’s not planning a trip out until Christmas, 2017, that might be a while. After a conversation with my mother via Facebook messenger, we’re going to see what we can do. Since I’d told Dan I wanted to get out to California I called him to let him know that it just isn’t going to happen and that we’ll be doing well to get to Idaho. Of course, he’d like to further complicate things by having one or two of Amena, Cedric, Seth, and Joseph fly from Idaho to CA which probably actually means Spokane to Portland which seems almost silly but, you know, that’s how some people think.

In my conversation with my mother, she mentioned that Paul is still trying to get Laura and Blaine to move out here. I had a mini epiphany this morning while looking at pictures. In spite of the fact that houses are not really any more or less expensive here or in Idaho (it depends on specific location more than anything and I found a 10.1 acre lot near Diane Vaniman in Sandpoint that looks lovely yesterday), property tax is approximately three times as much here and prices in general seem to be lower for groceries in Idaho. I’m not sure why anyone who has grown up in the west would want to move here.

Still, this little epiphany. Paul made a lot of money when he was younger selling cars. Specifically, used cars. This means he is very good at persuading people to do something. In this case, he is attempting to persuade people to move to Massachusetts. I don’t think it is going to work. In fact, I know it isn’t. The dilemma is how to help Paul see and understand this. His insistence on not moving is not going to prevent me from doing so.

Today I will do some more checking out of things and hopefully develop a plan from which to work for travelling to points west. The most important thing is for me to be in Utah when Laura has a baby. The second is for children to get to Idaho. We’ve been in Massachusetts for seven years now and have not once been back to California or Idaho. It is time.

In other news, Amena came downstairs at 6:32 and asked if the bus had already gone by. That is a certifiable first. She has her first track meet this afternoon. I’m not sure if Seth and Joseph will want to go but I’d like to see her so I’m not sure they’ll have any choice. Cedric asked if he could stay and I told him he could. She insists that we don’t have to watch her but I think it’s important that we do.

In other news, the drier just finished so I need to take care of some laundry. I’d really like to get it all as caught up as possible today.

Therefore I will bid you a good day!