Monday, I hit over 200,000 views?

     Wow when did that happen?  I just don't really pay attention.  It took over 2 years to hit 100,00 and then less than 1 year to hit 200,00?  Who reads this crap?  Get a life, I tell you!  Well except sissie as you are my life.  You can check on me 100,00 times a day;)

    Mom is doing much better.  In fact every time I call her she is out doing something.  Even her voice is better.  I am told by a neighbor that she looks great!  I hope this will buy her more time as her health is bad and also tat she will have happiness at the end of her life.  She certainly deserves it.  Just the fact that she is getting out and doing things is good, it means she feels good enough to go and do.

     Sissie and I will be going home after Christmas to get the house ship shape.  We will take a week and just clean and organize.  It will be fun to be together.

     The phone has rung off the hook this morning.  I have so much to do as we have a performance this weekend at the lighting of the Christmas park.  This is when the holidays really start for me.  So much to do for Nutcracker.  I just don't even want to think about it as it becomes over whelming.

     I took a 4 hour nap yesterday afternoon.  It was lovely.  Hubby woke me up at 5 p.m. or I think I would have slept through the night.  Leaves had blown into the drive way and were about 4 feet deep almost blocking the way into the garage and shop so we had to pick them up.  We did 18 bags of leaves to empty the tunnel.  It was dark outside, but we got it done.  Now it will fill up again, this will go on for the next couple of weeks.  We have not even started on the back yard.

     Cont: 

     We moved into an old home next to the University.  I remember the dormitories were right next to us down the block.  Most of the older houses were split into duplexes.  If you rented the upstairs you got the attic and if you rented the downstairs you got the basement.  We rented the upstairs.  We had these huge wide old fashioned wooden stairs that turned and curved up onto a large landing.  I loved that apartment and I remember being very happy there.  There was a long hall all around the staircase banister and rooms were off the hall.  We had a small kitchen like a galley with a dining room.  There were two good size bedrooms and an front room.  Also a bathroom which I really appreciated.  But the best part about the house was the attic!  Long narrow stairs that led up to a steep pitched attic.  Boards were place along the rafters to walk on and you could not get really close to the edge as you would walk into insulation.  The attic had two windows one at each end of the peak.  One end was a finished play room.  It had a linoleum floor and was painted all white.  It was so bright and cheery up there.  You could hear the rain on the roof and the wind blow.  The wind ever stops blowing in North Dakota.  Sis and I had all of our toys up there and we played all the time.

     The downstairs was occupied by a large family called the Von Barks(name change)  Mr and Mrs. Van Bark were older than my parents.  They had 7 children.  I do not know what Mr. Von Bark did but Mrs. Von Bark stayed home.  They had two little girls our age and 4 older siblings plus a little brother.  The oldest boy was in the army.  I did not meet him until much later in my life, I just remember his picture.  They were very proud of him.  The two older teenage girls must have been pretty wild as I remember they were always in trouble.  I was fascinated by them.  They had a basement bedroom and were always sneaking out and getting caught.  Mom was working somewhere and I don't remember what she was doing but she was not teaching as she was pregnant and you could not teach and be showing in the state of North Dakota.  You know all those farm kids did not know where babies come from and had to be sheltered. (sarcasm)

     Sis and I went to a pre school and I believe mom took lil sis to Lou's house.  Lou had been our land lady when we lived in the basement apartment before lil sis was born.  I loved Lou and I was jealous that lil sis was watched by her.  The school was scary.  It was a large building, actually an old Nunnery.  It had a huge yard surrounded by chain link fence and a honeysuckle hedge.  This was sis and my first taste of discipline or rules out side of home.  I think we rebelled. 

     Everything was regimented.  You had a locker with a picture of a animal above it.   Everything was pint sized.  You had a hook up stairs for your coat with that same animal.  In the bathroom you had a hook with a comb and a wash cloth with the animal.  My animal was a panda bear.  There were bells and a strict schedule.  The teachers were very strict.  We had a big play room with tables and books.  We also ate in that room. Each of us had a chair and you guessed it, it was marked with our animal decal.  This was the first time I remember not being right next to my sister.  It bothered me.  I wanted the locker next to her's.  I wanted to sit by her at meal time, I wanted to be in her group and I was not.  After lunch we were sent up stairs to a huge attic.  It was full of small cots.  We were required to undress, fold our clothes and put them neatly at the bottom of the cot.  We had a thin flannel blanket and no pillow.  We were to take an afternoon nap on this cot.  I really hated this.  I did not like to take naps, I did not like to undress in front of people and I was cold!  I wanted a thicker blanket and we did not have pillows.  The attic was always so dark and gloomy and there was a matron who sat in a rocking chair by the stairs with a small light.  She enforced the rules.  I did not like to sleep without my sister.

     We were in this school for about two years.  I felt like I was in a military school.  I played and had fun but there was always this menacing feeling that I would be in trouble soon.  So many rules, and of course I thought I should be exempt, because I was so special. One particular matron was tall and thin and she had Auburn red hair that she wore in a ratted up flip.  She always had on a straight wool skirt and a sweater set.  I thought she was a glamorous witch.  I avoided her as much as possible.  But she seemed to catch me almost daily in and infraction.  We had many play rooms.  One was full of doll things.  It had a small little kitchen and doll beds and you could play house.  You could go into the room with tables and books and look at picture books and put together puzzles and draw on scratch paper. There was a big back room with huge blocks and it ran the width of the house.  This room led to the outdoor garage where there were tricycles and wagons.  We had a nice playground, with a big slide.  The slide alone had about 10 different rules, so many rules.  I think I spent most of my time seeing how much I could get away with, the red headed matron and I would do a dance almost every day.

     Cont:

     I have to go round up costumes which I hate.  Calling parents and trying to get them to bring in old costumes.  Also making sure everyone is ready to go for Saturday.  There is also plenty to do in the shop.  My goal this week is to totally catch up so I can get busy on the Nutcracker.

     Have a great and productive day!

Kim