Twenty nine years ago we hitched up our covered wagon

We hauled it over the hills and down to a little Delta island.
My journal entry for May 26, 1979 reads:

Tonight, I am sitting in our trailer on the Island. It was quite a day… It took us all morning to get ready to go. We had to stow lots of things away. … All the hitching seemed to be so complicated. … I must admit I was nervous about our journey. We started off slowly and stayed on back roads until we got to the Blackpoint cutoff…. Today was a hot day. There was a lot of gusty wind between Vallejo and the island. We sure were glad we had the stabilizers and anti-sway equipment…. We pulled in here about 4:00 p.m.
I like the feeling of having our very own place here. It is so nice and quiet.

We had sold our craftsman Victorian house in Santa Rosa and bought a very small lot on the island in April of 1979.

We bought the trailer so we would have a place to live while we built a new house. I’d worked out plans and made a model of a simple house. I could envision it taking form on the little lot.
Twenty nine years later I am sitting in our very real little house on the island. I still have the battered model.

Time out ...

I think it is something I ate.

Back soon.

Update on Time out – May 29, 2008

Yes, it was something I ate. Three of us went to lunch at a local restaurant and enjoyed our meals on Wednesday, May 14. On Thursday, our guest reported she was sick all day. On Friday, Robert started feeling bad. He had several really bad days. Then, Monday night I joined the group with a vengeance. My ordeal lasted a long time. Robert was still feeling poorly, but he managed to fix Jell-O, rice and chicken broth. (Thanks Dear.)

We are all feeling pretty good now, but not up to running marathons.

I want to thank all those who wrote to me for their good wishes.

Wednesday's Word -- Cat

Blackie the cat really likes the new office. He's found a favorite perch.

My friend Jackie told me today that she is disappointed when she clicks on my blog and finds nothing new. So, to fill the gap when I have nothing to say or post I'm introducing "Wednesday's Word."

Tour of my new space

Finished, at last -- my new office/design area, the workway hallroom, and my sewing room.
I shot my first video with the Flip Video Ultra.

Kyra Hicks posted her first video on her blog. She made a video featuring the Harriet Powers Bible quilt. It inspired me.

They told me to drop out

Way back in 1974, I ran for a seat on the Santa Rosa (CA) City Council. Two women ran for office that year. Iva Warner was the other woman. Her committee members called me and told me to drop out of the race because I would “split the women’s vote.” Iva and I were the first women to run for the council.

Here is my campaign photo by Marlene Nordstrom.
I didn’t drop out of the six person race – three incumbents, one big businessman (who accused me of being “a member of The Women’s Liberation”), a lawyer, Iva, and me.

The three incumbents won. I did not come in last!

I’m glad I ran because it opened the way for other women to run for a council seat and win. Donna Born won a few years later and she was even elected mayor. My friend Nanci Burton ran in 1984 and was elected. She was elected mayor in 1986 and was re-elected again in 1991.

Here is a photo of Nanci pondering some weighty council business in 1990.
In a 1992 Press Democrat interview she recalled that she had entered public life in an era when female candidates often got questions like: “Sweetheart, do you really understand how a business operates?” She replied by saying that she kept the books for her husband’s catering business and “…if I didn’t take care of the payroll…and taxes my husband would have been in jail because he is not going to do it.”

My dear friend Nanci died on April 15.

We shared many other interests besides politics. We first met when our children were in grammar school and we tried to tackle the Superintendent of Schools about curriculum. We took Lydia Van Gelder’s spinning and natural dyeing classes at Santa Rosa Junior College. When I left Santa Rosa in 1979, Nanci took over my job as director of Junior Achievement.

Flashback Friday -- My Dad

A birthday anniversary is a good day for remembering someone we loved.
I wish I could tell my dad about my new toy. I am sure he would think it is really neat. It is a Flip Video Ultra. (Click on the picture for more information.)
I found reels (probably 20) of 8-mm film while cleaning and sorting for the sewing studio/office/design area. They are the large reels – 200 feet each. My father loved taking movies and splicing them together. Aside from the usual birthdays and vacation reels, he loved to shoot mountains. Miles and miles of mountains. Because mountains don’t move and he was making a movie, he would pan slowly back and forth. Oh, so boring.

I plan to take some shots of Mt. Diablo (sunset, snow-peaked, cloud enshrouded, dawn) but not too many, and I won’t pan back and forth. My Daddy did teach me some important life lessons.