A TRIBUTE TO BENNIE

Bennie in 1986

My dear mother-in-law, Bennie Ella Jones Warnock, passed away Friday, July 31^st, just 16 days shy of her 101^st birthday, which would have been today. (See her obituary here.) It had not been her desire to linger long in decline. She had hoped to make a seamless transition to the “next life.” In fact, she told me that she would not be available to celebrate the year 2000 with us, but of course, she lived well beyond that.

Bennie lived in Camden in south central Arkansas and we in Idaho, so we saw her about every other year and then usually for a week, but when we were with her, we made the time count. I remember especially those sweet visits when our children were babies. She was so good not to interfere with the baby’s routine but to support me and play with the baby during quiet times. The arrangement was unspoken but worked well. I wanted her to know her grandchildren and have a positive experience with them.

I remember one year she visited during the Fourth of July. I’m going to say it was 1978. “I want a nice watermelon for us,” she said, and she had other good things on her grocery list as well. Unsuspectingly, I drove her to the downtown Safeway where I expected her to make a selection from the watermelons on display. But no! – she walked up to the produce manager and said, “I want a really good watermelon for my family.” “You can’t do that here!” I thought to myself, distancing myself from her a bit, but to my surprise, the man said, “Yes, ma’am,” and disappeared through the swinging doors, returning soon with a large watermelon, which proved to be the best I’ve ever eaten. To this day, I don’t ask store personnel for favors, but I’ve always wondered if Bennie got the watermelon he put aside for his own family. Did she get the melon intended for the company picnic? Does the store really put back the best stock for little ladies with southern drawls?

Bennie’s reputation as a good housekeeper preceded her, and I inherited a certain expectation that the house and grounds must be in good shape for her visits. My own mother was naturally aware of my failings, but somehow we had to keep Bennie from knowing that I struggle with the housekeeping. So we tried to have everything spit-spot. Nevertheless, she could spot the weak places.  One year she painted our pantry cupboard. Another she did her best to spruce up our alley (back door) entrance, lecturing Mike on the importance of keeping the alley neat. “Everybody else’s looks neat and tidy,” she complained, “and yours looks so scruffy.”

While she was with us, she bought the groceries and did the cooking, often expecting us to sit down to the meal before Mike was ready. We complied with her wishes. I told him privately that we could do anything for a week.

Once, Mike was out of town for the evening and Bennie decided we should take the children to McDonald’s. Burgers were ordered and we sat down to eat. “I want another one,” exclaimed Milo loudly. It was quiet there; everyone heard. “We’ll have another burger here,” called Bennie, to which the counter person responded, “Coming right up!” He delivered the burger to Milo and collected the money from Bennie. Everyone was smiling.

In the ‘90s, I was working, so when Grandma Bennie visited I admonished the children that they were not to take advantage of her energetic ways. Calling home to check on things, I talked with young Hallie who said in confidential tones, “Mom, Grandma Bennie is cleaning my room. She insists. She insists!” I had no doubt.

I could tell many other stories about my southern mother-in-law and maybe I will from time to time. She was a character who grew up when the South was still very much a culture of its own.

Unfortunately, Bennie gradually slipped away before our eyes. We had the sadness of missing her while she was still with us, and that affects the memories of the younger grandchildren. “I don’t remember much about her,” said Hallie last week. “Just remember that she loved you,” I told her. If that’s all you can ever say, that’s enough. KW

2015 Colorado Caching – Part 1

Last September son Yancey and I began motocaching (Geocaching on a motorcycle) the counties of Colorado.  I had already logged some of the counties in the northwest part of the state on previous trips to visit Yancey.  I posted a series last year on our assault on the northern and eastern part of the state.  That trip netted me 28 of the 64 counties.  We ran into so much rain and cold weather on that trip that we decided we would do this year’s trip earlier.

I love traveling on a motorcycle but a little Interstate goes a long way.  I’ve made so many trips across Wyoming on that Interstate that I wasn’t eager to do another.  So I decided I would trailer my bike down and take the family (wife and dogs).  Besides, I miss them on these long trips.

Ken helps me load

My trailer is a small tilt trailer designed to haul a 4-wheeler and works pretty well for that purpose.  However, when combined with a wheel chock bolted to it, it hauled the motorcycle superbly once loaded.  Unfortunately it was about a three person job to load it and a two person job to unload it with much trepidation.

We left home the 30^th of July.  We would ordinarily stay the first night with son, Clint, in Gooding, ID, but he was in the midst of moving so we got a motel in Twin Falls.  Finding the motel was a good lesson in not letting the GPS instructions overrule your common sense.  We ended up going down a steep twisty road down the Snake River canyon to the river.  There was a beautiful golf course there but no Super 8.  Eventually we found the motel with a new found confidence in the trailer’s ability to securely hold the motorcycle.

After settling in we went out into the desert to find a couple of geocaches and give the dogs a chance to run around.  Of course, it was hot and Nellie can find a mud hole in the driest desert.  She got absolutely filthy.  Fortunately we were parked near a big truck stop and there was a nearby hydrant with a patch of green grass that enabled me to give her a pretty good wash down.

Long line behind us

Burned out

We set out the next morning after our Super 8 breakfast intending to stay in Rock Springs.  However, we were making such good time (no stops for geocaches) that we saw we were going to arrive in Rock Springs just a little after lunch so we called and cancelled the reservation.  We had second thoughts when we were stopped a short distance west of Rock Springs due to a semi wreck.  The truck trailer had blown an outside rear tire, tumbled off the Interstate down into a ravine and caught fire.  Somehow the truck tractor had caught fire as well.  There were huge bellows of black smoke and traffic was backed up for miles.  We were stuck there for an hour and twenty minutes.

Dogs waiting it out

Desert caching

We went on to Rawlins and found another Super 8 there which wasn’t quite up to par.  Again we took the dogs out in the desert for a couple of caches and again Nellie found a mud hole (slow learners) only this time Bess joined her.  After we got back to the motel I used their water bucked to haul water out to the parking lot to wash them.

We got another early start the next morning and were at Yancey’s place well before lunch.  They have a couple of Boston Terriers and the older one, Blanche, and Bess got into it right away.  It was several days before a truce was grudgingly declared.  Bess loves the truck and that’s where she slept every night while Nellie found a soft pillow in the living room. [To be continued] M/W

A SHORT TRIP TO THE HOMESTEAD

Our last stay at the farm concluded on Monday, July 27. I hated to leave. I had put much effort into the raised bed gardens this summer, successfully growing tomatoes and summer squash. We were just at the point of fruition and now I had to leave. Knowing I would be away for more than two weeks, I put extra water on everything, as if it would possibly be enough. I also purchased four sets (16) of “plant nannies,” clay spikes that support 2-liter bottles of water, allowing the water to seep slowly into the drying soil. It was the best I could do.

See Bess?

Looking southwesterly from the house

Yesterday (Thursday, Aug. 13) was our first visit to the farm after our trip. First thing in the morning we packed food, supplies, our electronics, and the dogs and headed up the Clearwater River. Naturally, we knew of regional wildfires, but as we traveled the radio told us of the fire in Big Canyon. Our farm sits on the edge of Little Canyon. Big Canyon is just over the next ridge, so we quickly realized that air quality at the farm would be poor. Arriving at the farm, we decided to return to town and the air conditioned house after completing some chores.

The farmhouse was hot and stuffy. I unpacked the cooler and the produce to keep it cold, my point being that I just had to pack it up again when we left in the afternoon – and unpack it again back in town. I put the supplies away and did two loads of laundry, but my major job was to water the stressed garden and vegetation.

A plume of smoke rises

Overall I was encouraged by the appearance of the garden beds, though everything was stressed by heat and lack of water. The plant nannies had done their work. All the bottles were standing empty in their holders. The “Early Girl” tomato plant seemed to have suffered the most damage, but I picked a number of ripe and edible tomatoes nevertheless. The “Champion” tomato plant fared better and also had healthy fruit. The four summer squash plants were still alive, though the fruits were hard and over-ripe and new fruits had not set on. Perhaps with care they will still bear into the fall. The strawberries, however, were thriving – blooming and sending runners all over the bed.

I hope we don’t lose the apple tree. It was badly wilted. The cherry tree was okay. The raspberries really need more water than they ever get. Even the lilac bushes were drooping so I watered them, too.

 

Little Canyon barely visible

And what did Mike do? Well, it’s a long story. In a nutshell, the old John Deere mower he bought had insurmountable problems in its electrical system, so the seller exchanged for another rebuilt machine, a Murray. Again, there were problems, but Mike was able to correct them, we think, and after lunch he mowed the lawn. The lawn didn’t really need mowing, of course, but he likes to knock the heads off the weeds and then trim the edges of the yard.

We returned to the town house by suppertime, and I fried a nice fish, a gift from Ken. KW

TINY TOWN, COLORADO

We arrived ten minutes before opening

Mike and Yancey left on their respective motorcycles to geocache on Sunday, August 2. They returned Wednesday evening and were in town on Thursday. That evening we went to dinner at White Fence Farm to celebrate Kelly’s birthday and then had cake and ice cream with her family. Mike and Yancey cached again Friday through Saturday evening, and early Sunday morning (prior to our loading up and leaving for home), I went with Mike in the Dakota to retrieve the final cache.

Behave yourself!

Emmy

Kelly took time from work on Wednesday (August 5) in order to take Emmy and me to Tiny Town, which is celebrating its centennial year. You can see more about the history and mission of Tiny Town here. The buildings in this little “town” are built to one-sixth scale. If you like the diminutive world, as I do, it’s an experience that sparks the imagination. And if your child is small enough, as ours is, he/she can enter some of the little houses and look out the windows. As far as Emmy's experience was concerned, I couldn’t help but think that we had come in the nick of time.

An impressive building

Emmy

Some buildings cannot be entered, but displays have been set up using dolls (mostly Barbie and Ken) as actors within the theme of the building. Imagine Ken working as a chiropractor and giving Barbie a treatment! I could tell by the expression on his face that he thought he had died and gone to heaven.

"Cat in the Hat" house in foreground

Cost to enter Tiny Town is $5 per adult, $3 per child, and $2 each to ride the train, which we did. Tiny Town is a non-profit organization and all the work is done by volunteers. Notice in this photo a volunteer is painting one of the buildings.

Where's Emmy?

Since Kelly was working, I had a lot of quiet time to pursue my sewing. At his request, I made shorts of some pajama bottoms for Yancey, and then I used the scraps to make a nightgown for Rosabell the Build-a-Bear, modeled here by Annabell, and also stitched up a pair of overalls for her. (Every teddy bear should have a pair of overcalls.) I’m happy to report that I finished the Teddy Bear afghan and gifted it to Emmy and Rosabell. (Notice – it’s a finish!) Lastly, I shortened slacks for Kelly.

 

Also numbered among my accomplishments: I diagnosed the problem with their washing machine – tears in the door gasket. (They knew they had a leak but couldn’t find it.) KW

HOME AGAIN, HOME AGAIN, JIGGITY JIG

 

Loading the Triumph onto the trailer

Mike and I have just returned from a nine-day stay with our Colorado son Yancey and family. The purpose of the trip was to finish the Colorado counties moto-caching challenge (traveling to geocaches on a motorcycle and successfully logging one cache in each county). I’m happy to report that this mission was accomplished. It cost two years of intense planning, two trips to Colorado, 5300 miles on the motorcycle, beautiful scenery, and experiences positive and negative.

Emmy and Bess

Traveling the interstate on a motorcycle is tedious, so this year Mike trailered his Triumph, pulling it with our old Dakota. And so, it morphed into an opportunity for me and the dogs to go. The family graciously allowed us to stay at their house where I set up my sewing operation on their dining room table and walked the dogs three and four times a day.

If you check here frequently, you know that what I left behind was the muse. The muse disappears in times of stress, and it wasn’t an easy trip.

We left Thursday, July 30 – seems like a hundred years ago. The first day we stopped in Twin Falls, Idaho, and as we settled into the motel, Mike discovered he had inadvertently left his driver’s license at home. As luck would have it, son Clint was in town and agreed to overnight it to Colorado. It was waiting for us when we arrived on Saturday.

Okay – so that was the first challenge. The second was a fire on I-80 that held us up for 90 minutes on that hot Friday afternoon near Rock Springs, Wyoming. We sat with the eastbound traffic watching from a distance as a semi burned – and did it ever burn!

Bess and Nellie in Wyoming

We were going to spend the night in Rock Springs but decided it was too early to stop. We drove a couple more hours to Rawlins. Checking email, I panicked when I saw a message from Sears stating that they would exchange the refrigerator on Monday, August 3. Frankly, we had given up on this since Sears had said they would call us July 14 to provide a delivery date, and that didn’t happen. Of course, we wouldn’t be home on the 3^rd, but I was unable to log into the Sears site to make changes and no phone number was provided. Eventually we were able to reach Sears through the “800” customer service number. It wasn’t easy, but by pleading with the rep, Mike was able to get the date changed to Monday, August 17. (And now I have email confirmation of same.)

Well, as if that wasn't enough, we received a call from Mike’s sister advising us that their mother, Bennie, passed away that day (Friday, July 31) in Memphis, just 16 days short of her 101^st birthday. Frankly, she left us years ago, so this was not unexpected or even sad. But – arrangements had to be made and discussion ensued. As it stands now, the memorial service will be Saturday, August 22, at her church home in Camden, Arkansas. Mike and sons Murray and Yancey will attend.

Yancey & Mike prepare to leave

Arriving in the Denver area on Saturday, August 1, we discovered that Yancey had just returned from a nine-day stay with a family member in crisis and would now have another week away from work in order to travel with Mike. He had it all worked out, but it was a strain on the family, and we’re grateful to all of them for making it possible to continue the moto-caching trip.

Mike with the final cache

We left Denver at 12:30 p.m. on Sunday, August 9, and drove to Rock Springs. We reached Boise mid-afternoon on Monday, and Mike said he felt good and thought we should continue home. I was overjoyed! “The dogs are being so good,” said Mike. “They know we’re going home,” I replied. Upon arriving here, Nellie was so happy that she actually ran. Bess also got out and explored but affirmed her love of the pick-up by hopping right back in. KW