MIKE’S BIRTHDAY – 18 Saturday, December 1, 1990: Woke at 8:40, felt so good to sleep in once. Got up & turned up heat, fed Sam. Dressed, opened Sam’s door. Sunny this morning but clouded up & had a storm w/snow about 5:P.M. Had juice & choc. Shake, started working in family room. Pulled out fireplace & hung pictures, put new clock works in clock pictures. Seems to be running O.K. & keeping good time, cleaned behind fireplace & TV. Have about ½ of room done now, still can’t get one speaker on stereo to work. Had lunch, worked on fam. room some more. Tried to call Linda, not home. Also Carla & Paula, not home either but they called me later. Judy called, Cindy (brought in mail) came over. Got ready to go over to Nancy’s, got supper. Just ready to leave when Judy called again, walked over & was kind of slick. Visited a while, watched VCR when I got home. Brushed teeth. To bed at 12:35.
Sunday, December 2, 1990: Sam woke me at 7:10, (turned up heat) sure mad at him. Read till 8:00, got up & fed Sam.Washed & dressed, had breakfast. Opened Sam’s door, snowed a little more during night. Finished getting ready, left early as it looked slick. Sang in choir, Communion today. Went down for coffee hour, Nancy & Cindy didn’t go today – Cindy sick. Got home about 1:00, changed clothes. Laid down to rest, Carla didn’t come over so I slept till about 3:30. Sure felt good. When I got up, read old papers; sorted & threw away papers on work table. Watched VCR from 6 to 7, got supper & ate. Did dishes. watched TV & read some more. After news watched VCR again. To bed at 1:45.
Earthquake? Monday, December 3, 1990: Woke about 6:00, back to sleep till 7:40. Got up & turned up heat, fed Sam. Had breakfast, opened Sam’s door. Called Linda but no answer, found out she had to work. No answer at Nancys either but Cindy didn’t go to school, she’s better this eve. Got lights & some decor. up from basement, folded sweaters & hung up blouses (Xmas gifts). Wrapped gift for tonight, got cookies ready. Had lunch, Helen came & left Linda’s order. I worked on pile of stuff on kitchen counter, then on pile on kitchen table. Tested lights, went out at 4:00 & put up lights on front porch. Have to check them tomorrow as one string doesn’t light, swept porch. Washed & changed clothes, took out garbage & took cans to front. Got in mail & paper, shut Sam’s door. Got supper & ate, finished getting ready. Went w/Linda to party, real nice Got home about 11:00, watched VCR & napped. To bed at 12:45.
Tuesday, December 4, 1990: Woke at 2:35, 6:10 & at 7:30. Got up at 8:00 & turned up heat, fed Sam. Dressed, had juice & Shake. Opened Sam’s door, went out & worked on lights. Finally got them fixed, guess it was a bad bulb kept shorting out. Put tiny lights on little Alb. spruce tree, later on put bells on S. side of iron work & hung wreath. About froze my hands, came in & did Bible lesson. Had lunch, water & fertilized flowers. Also violets, didn’t quite get them done. Got sleepy so took nap, looked at old mail. Judy called in A.M., wrote letter to Matt in afternoon. Took it out to box, brought in mail & paper & garb. can to back. Made crab salad dressing, fixed supper & ate. Did dishes, ran dishwasher. Read paper & watched TV. Watched VCR, then the News. Back in & watched VCR again, then brushed teeth. To bed at 12:40.
Wednesday, December 5, 1990: Woke at 6:00, turned down heat. Forgot it last night, went back to sleep till 7:50. Got up & fed Sam, washed & dressed. Had breakfast, let Sam out a while. Finished getting ready, shut Sam’s door. Left for Bible Study. Afterwards went downtown, got money at bank. To P.W. Drug for med., etc; to M&W for a few things. Went back to church for Guild dinner, Frieda invited me. Had turkey & all the trimmings, very good.Blanche was there, Henrietta F., Clara Leusman, Frieda M., Mamie ?, Mrs. Harms, ____, ____. Also Rev. Quail & Cindy. Left there about 3:30, got groc. Got home about 5:00, unloaded & put away groc. Got supper & ate, went to choir practice. Emptied dishwasher, did dishes when I got home. Brought in mail & paper, 1st greetings came today. Watched TV, read paper. Watched VCR, Days of Our Lives. Brushed teeth. To bed at 12:45.
Thursday, December 6, 1990: Woke at 6:50, turned up heat. Couldn’t go back to sleep so got up & watched VCR, fed Sam. Dressed, had O.J. & choc. Shake. Opened Sam’s door, called Linda but no answer. Washed load of colored clothes, started addressing cards. Mailed a few, had veggies for lunch. Paid Mercy M.C. bill, also for medicines. Soaked my feet while I worked, quit at 2:30 & changed my clothes. Left at 3:00, went w/Nancy to pick up Cindy – then to Boise for Cindy’s cello lesson. She dropped me off at Bests & I got suitcase set for Linda (for Megan), lamps for Linda & Carla for me. Just have to get gifts for Nancy (house), Bill & Jim now, guess I’m doing pretty good. Got home about 5:20, looked at mail. Got supper, did dishes. Watched TV, read paper. Went in & watched VCR, brushed teeth. Judy called tonight. To bed at 12:45.
MATT’S B’DAY – 19 Friday, December 7, 1990: Woke about 5:50, back to sleep till 8:00. Got up & turned up heat, fed Sam. Dressed, opened Sam’s door. Had breakfast, called Linda but no answer. Finished drying clothes, put away. Vacuumed carpet a little in fam. room, put card table in there to do cards. Washed & put up hair, had lunch. Mailed letters & put catfood out, went in & worked on cards while I watched TV. Put meat on to cook about 3:00, fixed vegs. for stew. Called Linda about 4:00, tried to call Nancy about stew but no answer. Got in mail & paper, finished up supper & ate. Went in & watched VCR, worked on cards. Did dishes, read paper. Went back in & worked on cards, watched VCR. Just about thru’ addr. cards – now for the letters. Brushed teeth. To bed at 1:55. Took little nap in P.M.
Saturday, December 8, 1990: Woke about 6:00, turned up heat & went back to bed. Slept till 8:40, got up & fed Sam. Opened Sam’s door, had O.J. & Shake. Folded & put away rest of clothes, took shower & dressed. Hung up clothes, Nancy & Cindy came over so I gave them the stew. Had Nancy exchange Mike’s shirt for me, worked on greetings again – almost all addressed. Vacuumed kitchen, then bath, hall & living room, also dining room. Got in mail, got supper & ate. Did dishes, watched TV. Looked at mail, read paper. Watched “Wheel of Fortune” & worked Globe X-word. To bed at 12:25. Brushed teeth.
Sunday, December 9, 1990: Woke about 6:30, turned up heat a little, back to sleep. Telephone woke me at 7:45. Linda called & wanted plunger – they were having toilet drain problems. I washed & dressed, fed Sam & opened his door. Had breakfast, finished getting ready. Youth had coffee hr. today, stopped at Alb. on my way home. Changed clothes, watched painting. Laid down & napped a little, Carla came about 2:30. We visited, then I got supper. Ate about 5:30, she left about 6:20. I cleared up & did dishes, ran dishwasher. Read paper, watched TV. Got up a few more decorations. Watched VCR. To bed at 1:45.
Matt comes home. arr. about 10:00? Monday, December 10, 1990: Up about 6:00, back to bed & slept till 8:00. Got up & turned up heat, fed Sam & dressed. Opened his door, had breakfast. Called Linda but no answer, started to water violets. Also other flowers, got out more Xmas decor. Put up garland over door, also on light pole. Decor. in living rm., also dining R. Worked on cards a while, got a lot of them ready & mailed them. Had lunch, went in & wrote letters. Worked on flowers but didn’t get done, ^took nap called Linda about going to Boise, talked to Nancy later. Got in mail & paper, looked at mail. Got supper & ate, then got ready to go to Boise. Left here about 9:15, plane got in about 9:53. Paula was there, not Carla. Got home about 10:30, read paper. To bed at 1:45.
Tuesday, December 11, 1990: Woke at 7:45, turned up heat & went back to bed a little bit. Got up at 8:00, fed Sam. Dressed, opened his door. Had O.J. & Shake, read a little. Tried to call Linda, no answer. Finished watering violets & other flowers, took out garbage & mailed letters. Worked on Bible Study, short lesson. Had lunch, then worked on letters & greetings. Hunted up & paid Discover Bill, also P.W. Drug invoices. Nancy called, Paul got home. Talked to Linda, doesn’t think she has to work tomorrow. Worked on letters again, got in mail & paper. Got supper & ate, emptied dish washer & did dishes. Read paper, watched TV. Brushed teeth. To bed at 12:40.
Wednesday, December 12, 1990: Woke about 6:00, turned up heat. Went back to bed & slept till 7:50, got up & fed Sam. Washed & dressed, opened Sam’s door. Had breakfast, finished getting ready. Matt called about a ride down to school. Left about 9:40, Linda teaching again today. After Bible study went out to K-Mart, then to Shop-Ko. Came back to Caldwell, paid Ins., went to P.W. Drug, then to Bank, Kings, got groc., then home. Unloaded car, put away groc. Looked at mail, got supper. Went to choir practice, got home about 8:50. Read paper, watched TV. Watched VCR a while. Brushed teeth. To bed at 12:40.
Started snowing about 9:00. Thursday, December 13, 1990: Woke at 6:30, turned up heat. Back to bed but couldn’t sleep so got up & watched VCR till 8:00, fed Sam & dressed. Opened his door, had O.J. & Shake. Called Linda, didn’t have to teach today. Made a big batch of fudge, half w/nuts & half w/o. Then worked on cards the rest of the day. Had veggies for Took nap in A.M. lunch, stopped doing letters about 4:30 & washed & changed clothes. Got ready to go to Cindy’s concert, had supper. Nancy came about 6:45 & we went to Jewett, roads pretty slick. Got home about 9:00, did dishes & watched TV. Then watched VCR, brushed teeth. To bed at 1:00.
7° last night. Friday, December 14, 1990: Woke at 6:30, turned up heat a little & went back to sleep. Woke at 7:55, got up & fed Sam. Turned up heat rest of the had breakfast. way, dressed. Opened Sam’s door, paid Dr. bill. Washed & put up hair, went in & worked on cards & letters. Mailed those I had ready about 12:30, had lunch. Went back in family room & wrote more notes & letters. Put up a few more decorations, went out & got mail & paper about 5:30. Shut Sam’s door, looked at mail. Got supper & ate, did dishes & ran dishwasher. Read paper, watched TV. After news went in & watched VCR. Brushed teeth. To bed at 12:30.
Saturday, December 15, 1990: Woke at 6:30, turned up heat & went back to bed. Slept till 8:30, read a little. Got up about 9:30, took shower. Dressed, opened Sam’s door. Had O.J. & toast, called Paula. Went in & started working on letters, quit about 1:00 & mailed what I had done. Had lunch, put up a few decor. in fam. room. Went back to letters, quit again at 5:15. Went out & got mail, looked at mail. Got supper, emptied dishwasher & did dishes. Baked cake for tomorrow, sliced ham. Made sandwiches, called Linda. Finished slicing ham, didn’t get cake iced. To bed at 1:10. Back kind of hurting again. Still no snow.
Sunday, December 16, 1990: Woke about 7:00, turned up heat. Went back to bed & slept till 7:50, got up & fed Sam. Washed & dressed, opened Sam’s door. Finished getting ready, decided not to stay for soup & sand. lunch so didn’t take cake & sandwiches. Stopped at M&W & got tree, also groc. When I got home, about 1:05, unloaded groc. & put away. Changed clothes, watched painting. Had sandwich, coffee. Put tree in boiling water, Carla came. Got down tree decor., put tree in stand & brought it in. Put on lights & decorations, Mike came by and helped. He called Cindy & she came & helped too; Really looks & smells nice. Nancy & Paul came over, too. After they left we had sandwiches & pot. salad, also cake. Carla left, I called Linda. Then did dishes, read paper, soaked feet & watched TV. Wrote letters, watched VCR. To bed at 1:10.
Monday, December 17, 1990: Woke at 7:20, tried to go back to sleep. Finally got up at 7:45, fed Sam. Turned up heat, dressed. Had breakfast, opened Sam’s door, went in & worked on letters. Quit about 1:00 & mailed what I had ready, had lunch. Made another batch of fudge, ½ w/nuts & ½ w/o. Worked on letters a little more, nearly done. Cleaned off & waxed top of piano, dusted & put up record pole. Got in mail & paper, took out garbage. Got supper, did dishes. Made small batch of divinity, oh yes, Helen F. came today. Read paper & looked at mail, watched TV. Went in & watched VCR a little. Brushed teeth. To bed at 12:45.
Tuesday, December 18, 1990: Woke at 7:20, turned up heat & fed Sam. Went back to bed, read Bible lesson. Dressed, had toast & O.J. Opened Sam’s door, put up hair. Finished letters & greetings, paid tel. bill & mailed letters. Put away divinity, took fudge out of pans & cut in pcs. Took heat tape & outdoor ext. cord out & wrapped oil line, covered it w/plastic – all ready to plug in if it gets cold enough. Had lunch, started to wrap gifts – Linda, Paula, Mike, Cindy. About 4:30 started to get ready for Meg’s recital, left about 5:15. Sharon N. came just as I was leaving so left books & my stuff. Recital over about 6:40, Ted came home w/me. I fixed & ate supper, did dishes. Watched VCR, then news. Got calendars marked, got Mr. Shaws & Ruths ready to mail. Looked at mail, didn’t have time for paper. To bed at 1:00. Meg was best one at the recital.
Saratoga Hotel burned last night! Margie’s B’Day. Wednesday, December 19, 1990: Woke at 7:20, turned up heat & fed Sam. Went back to bed & worked on Bible lesson, didn’t get it finished. Got up at 8:00, washed & dressed. Had breakfast, opened Sam’s door but he didn’t go out so closed it again. Finished getting ready to go downtown, Lind wasn’t at Bible Study so guess she had to work. Stopped & got catfood, went out to Anthony’s and got some red Hush Puppies & some shirts. Had lunch, came back & mailed pkgs. Went to P.W. Drug, then Paul’s for groc. Stopped & got gas on way home, took decor. to cemetery. Really snowing by then, bro’t in mail. Unloaded car, put away groc., etc. Meg called, they cancelled concert because of snow. Got supper, did dishes. Got candy ready for neighbors, made another batch of fudge. Watched TV. To bed at 12:40.
Really snowed & blew last night. Getting cold tonight. 4° above. Thursday, December 20, 1990: Woke at 5:30, back to sleep. When I woke again was little after 8:00, forgot to set my alarm. Got up, turned up heat. Fed Sam, dressed. Had O.J. & shake, watched WHEEL. Saw announcement “no school” so called Linda, none tomorrow either. Got last cards ready, Mike & Cindy cleaned off my sidewalk & driveway. Mailed cards, finished watering violets & watered most of rest of flowers. Started cleaning in fam. room again, had lunch. Worked in fam. room, Helen McB. called & brought over treat. I gave her theirs & also Jan & Larrys. Mike & Matt came by for some candy. Called over & Meg said she guessed there was still choir practise so got ready. Got supper, practise at 7:00. Got home about 8:30, did dishes & ran dishwasher. Judy called & I called Carla,. Made double batch of rocky road candy. To bed at 12:40. Turned on fm. room lite & plugged in heat tape tonight.
Really cold tonight – therm said 10° – already before I went to bed. Friday, December 21, 1990: Woke about 2:30, back to sleep till 6:30. Couldn’t sleep so read paper, may have dozed a little. Got up about 8:00, turned up heat. Fed Sam, didn’t even open his door today – he won’t go out anyway & I’m glad. Dressed, had breakfast. No school again today, talked to Linda a little. Doorbell rang, it was Meg, Amy & 2 boys. Played a Christmas Gram for me, was really pretty. Mike & Cindy here a little bit, they decided to go to Marie Callender’s in Boise, so called Carla & had her call Paula. Put away candy, cleaned in family room. Have it nearly done, about 5:00 washed & changed clothes. Got ready to go to Boise. Checked heat tape & wasn’t working so took heating pad out & used it for tonight. Started to clean off dining table, Sam wet in suitcase! I was sure mad at him. Nancy coming over to help clean tomorrow. To bed at 1:15.
-25° last night – this is absolutely uncalled for! MOM’S B’DAY – 1892. Saturday, December 22, 1990: Woke about 7:00 & turned up heat, furnace was running, so happy to know the heating pad is working. Fruit room O.K. too. Went in & watched VCR (Dallas) until 8:00. Fed Sam, dressed. Had O.J. & toast, Nancy called – nobody can get their cars started. Linda called & asked if she could use my car so Ted came over & got it, had a little trouble getting it started. Nancy came over about 10:00, dusted & vacuumed liv. rm., hall & bath. Then did kitchen, dining room, sm. bath. I swept utility & we picked up dirt w/sweeper. Bro’t in old suitcase & I put papers in it, had lunch. Nancy took candy to Dennetts & Ila for me, I did dishes. Finished up family room, found lights & put them on mantel & over piano. Got in mail, just ready to get supper when power went off so we went down to Wendy’s. It was on when we got back, watched TV & finished clean off dining table. Took shower. To bed at 1:10.
Put el. blanket on car, hope it will start this morning. Not supposed to be quite so cold. Sunday, December 23, 1990: Woke at 7:00, back to sleep till alarm rang at 8:00. Went back to sleep! & telephone woke me – Nancy calling to see if my car would start. Told her I’d let her know before they left. Washed face, brushed teeth. Dressed, got ready. Tried car & it started right off. Called Nancy. Had breakfast, left about 9:50. Nancy & I were greeters, had Sunday School Program this morn. Had cookies & coffee afterwards, then choir practise. Stopped at store & got groc. (turkeys), just carrying in groc. & put blanket back on car when Carla came, she brought her gifts. I made divinity candy, then got supper. She left about 5:30, I did dishes. Watched TV, cleaned off stove & work tables. Read paper, to bed at 12:25.
CHRISTMAS EVE! Monday, December 24, 1990: Woke about 5:30, back to sleep till 8:00. Got up, dressed. Turned up heat, fed Sam. Had breakfast, started wrapping presents. Worked at that all morning, put away candy & [illegible word]. Cleaned off table & cabinet, also stove. Brought turkeys in to thaw, fixed stockings for tonight. Had lunch, still wrapping. Took little nap, Mike stopped by. Later on Meg & Cindy were here, called Linda about church. Washed & changed clothes & got ready. Had soup & salad, Linda & Ted picked me up. Church service was very nice & we sang a lot of songs, both choir & congregation. Got home about 9:00, Linda, Ted, Meg & Cindy stopped by & brought in presents. Had candy & Linda looked at cards. I ate more supper. Cleaned turkeys & put out in car, hope they don’t freeze again. Finished stockings & wrapping. To bed at 2:30.
CHRISTMAS Tuesday, December 25, 1990: Woke about 7:00 but didn’t get up, back to sleep till 8:00. Got up & dressed, fed Sam. Turned up heat & turned on all Xmas lites, played Xmas carols. Did odds & ends – cleaned sink in bathroom, put away sweeper, etc. Mike came over & swept my sidewalks; Nancy, Paul & Cindy came & we had breakfast. Linda, Ted & kids went to church, got here about 11:15. Rest late, too. I got turkeys in oven about noon, then we opened presents. Everyone did their thing till I got dinner ready about 4:30-5:00. Carla & Bill left about 6:00, dogs were not behaving. Ran 1 load in dishwasher, had a concert (Cindy & Megan) about 7:30. Rest played Farkle & 31, I cleaned up food & kitchen. Finally sat down & rested a while, pretty tired & feet hurt. Kitchen still quite a mess. To bed at 12:55.
Wednesday, December 26, 1990: Woke about 7:30, got up & fed Sam. Turned up heat, went in & watched VCR till 8:00. Dressed, had O.J. & snacked. Started straightening up kitchen, vacuumed floor. Brought table back, emptied dishwasher & put away silver. Carried dishes into dining room, went out & swept paths. Took garbage out, had lunch. Mike came by & finished cleaning off drive, Cindy over a while, too. Feet & back hurt so sat down & soaked feet for about an hour; cleaned off turkey carcass & boiled it for soup. Clipped finger washed dishes. nails, went in & watched VCR again. Got in mail & paper, got supper. Washed rest of dishes, ran dishwasher. Read paper, watched TV. Finished watching new tape on VCR. Brushed teeth, To bed at 1:30.
Thursday, December 27, 1990: Woke at 7:00, back to sleep till 8:00. Watched “Wheel” in bed, didn’t get up till 9:00. Turned up heat, fed Sam. Dressed, had O.J. & snacked. Called Linda, said she’d probably be going downtown tomorrow. Finished paper, emptied dishwasher & put away rest of dishes & silver. Cleaned meat off bones in turkey broth, put in vegetables & had lunch made soup. Watched VCR some, cleaned meat off other turkey & got it ready to cook bones. Judy called to see how I was doing, I made up deposit for Linda to take down. Put out some crumbs for birds, also scraps for cats. Took nap, watched VCR again. Got in mail & papers, got supper. Did dishes, more VCR. Read paper & watched TV, then more VCR. Have 3 tapes emptied now. Brushed teeth. To bed at 1:40.
Friday, December 28, 1990: Woke about 7:00, tried to go back to sleep. Watched “Wheel” in bed, then got up & dressed. Turned up heat, fed Sam. Not quite so cold as it has been, snowed again last night. Took Sam & we went out & swept sidewalks, Mike came and did driveway. Nancy & Paul came up & hung my squirrel feeder, don’t know if they found it today or not. Matt came over w/his coat for me to fix, Linda & Meg came & took my deposit down, got my pkg. It was the clothes. I finished putting away dishes, vacuumed dining room & moved table back. Took boxes & bows out of living room, vacuumed floor. Had lunch about 2:30, Linda got in the mail. Went out & got paper, got supper. Did dishes, read paper & watched TV. Went down & sewed Matt’s coat, then sewed on button. Watched VCR a while, brushed teeth. Tried on clothes. To bed at 1:30. Wind blowing tonite!
Saturday, December 29, 1990: ^Sam woke ^me about 7:00, dozed a little. Got up about 8:45; called Linda about going to Boise. Said she would call me later, I fed Sam & turned up heat. Took shower, washed hair. Got cutting equip., rollers, etc., ready to take along, left about 10:15. Roads clear, Linda & Ted started to clean & Paula cut my hair. I put up front & she put up back for me. Then we just talked & she showed me her new water bed & bedroom upstairs. We got ready to leave about 4:00, all went to Wendys & had Sandwich. Went downtown & got books for Matt, came out on new Connector. Got home about 5:45, discovered furnace was off so checked downstairs. Finally had to call Ted & he decided oil line was frozen – can’t figure it out – but when he poured hot water over it was O.K. Ran all evening, put trouble light on it so hope that keeps it going. Got supper, did dishes. Read paper, watched TV. Brushed teeth. To bed at 12:46.
Sunday, December 30, 1990: Woke early, back to sleep. Woke about 7:55, got up & turned up heat. Fed Sam, washed & dressed. Had breakfast, finished getting ready. Left about 10:00, guest minister today. Had coffee after church, stopped & got groc. on way home. Carla here when I got home. Put away groc., then fixed dinner. Carla left about 4:20. I went in to watch VCR & fell asleep. Linda called, got their new phone hooked up. Did dishes, ran dishwasher. Read paper, watched TV. Watched Fun. videos on VCR. To bed at 12:15.
GOODBYE 1990! Monday, December 31, 1990: Woke at 7:30, tried to go back to sleep but couldn’t. Read a little, got up about 8:15. Turned up heat, fed Sam. Dressed, had breakfast. Called about oil, girl said they couldn’t get up here till Fri. Dennis came about 11:00, didn’t fill tank but said he’d come up in a few days & finish filling it. Called Nancy & she said she’d be up & vacuum for me, surely a big help. I had breakfast, started cleaning vegs. Emptied dishwasher, watered flowers & part of violets. Cooked mac. for salad, had lunch. Finally finished vegs., made salad. Had soup, got in mail & paper. Changed clothes, read paper & watched TV. Paula & Jim came, started a puzzle. Nancy & kids & Paul came, Linda, Ted & kids came about 10:00, went to church first. Put ^out snacks, Played games & worked jigsaw puzzles. After midnight had lunch. Matt & Cindy left. Megan played & we sang, Carla left. Called about 2:10, got home OK. Others left, I finished putting stuff away. To bed at 3:59. Now it’s 1991. Wonder what the year will bring.
Grandma's Diary 