I Won a prize in Carol's contest and I have to post this!
That story's kind of fun--How can it possibly be??
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
You never get tired of seeing those elk!
This is actually part of the next post, but I don't know how to download more than 5 puictures at a time, so read the next one, too. This shows only a few of the elk we saw, and frequently see, on the way to the 480. We can usually depend on 100-200 head at any time of the year in this area. These were only about 1/2 mile from our place (The 480, as it's commonly called)Ahhh Spring
Spring is such a great time of year! It always prompts a few little changes around the house--like in the kitchen--Can you tell what's different?
Nothing like new bedding to spruce up a bedroom and make y ou wish you could paint a room by yourself!
Oh yes, don't forget a 4-wheel ride in the great outdoors! The Terry family joined us for a fun day in the mountains!
Well, this is a different mountain--the 480. Krissy was feeling a little spry because of the beautiful weather and the great picnic we had!
Back to the 4-wheeling and another great picnic, which Krissy and Brian are really enjoying!
Nothing like new bedding to spruce up a bedroom and make y ou wish you could paint a room by yourself!
Oh yes, don't forget a 4-wheel ride in the great outdoors! The Terry family joined us for a fun day in the mountains!
Well, this is a different mountain--the 480. Krissy was feeling a little spry because of the beautiful weather and the great picnic we had!
Back to the 4-wheeling and another great picnic, which Krissy and Brian are really enjoying!Spring is my favorite time of year! The weather is wonderful, the trees and fields are so green and gorgeous, family comes to visit, and the flowers are so beautiful. And now summer is here, and that's not too bad, either!
Monday, June 22, 2009
Getting to Know My Dad
Well, I wanted to put in a p icture of my dad, but I didn't have one I could put in (limited knowledge on transferring pictures!) But, father's day prompted me to think of my dad. My children knew and revered their Grandpa Waite, but they never knew their Grandpa Calvert in "real life". So, in this tribute, I hope they learn a little more about him and what he was like
My dad, "Bill Calvert" was raised on a poor dirt farm in Montana. His mother, a hard German Woman, threw his dad out when he was very young. He became the breadwinner for his mother, 3 brothers and one sister. He quit school in 9th grade to go to work for the railroad so he could support the family. He was 14.
He worked hard all of his life, but became a very wealthy, well-respected and well-known community member in La Grande, Oregon. Without a formal education, he became "self-educated" He faithfully read the local paper, the Portland papers and the Wall Street Journal everyday. He owned, managed and did the books for his own well-known restaurant. People came for miles to eat in the Royal Cafe, and many travelers to and from Portland,Oregon, planned their trips so they would arrive in La Grande at meal time. Prior to this adventure, he owned a shoe shop across the street from the restaurant, and made shoes for people during WW II when shoes were rationed. When the war ended, he bought the restaurant and the pool hall on the corner. He converted the pool hall into a banquet room and sucessfully ran the restaurant until he died in 1965.
Some of the traits my dad passed on to me:
*Hard work is important--it involves self-dicipline and always pays off
*You can do anything you want to do if you set your mind to it. He always told us, "You have two sides to your brain, use them both" In this day when people say, "She is right-brained or left-brained" as an excuse for not doing some things well, I can proudly say, "I am whole brained, and my linguistic, musical and mathematical abilities proves it!" Thanks dad.
*Practice makes perfect. He wisely flowered us with praise when we played our musical instruments or got A's on assignments. This made us want to practice more. I still play the piano and organ fairly well, and I love writing short stories These are skills I learned through practice. Thanks dad.
*Don't give up I can't tell you how many times I fell off those water skies before I finally got out of the water, or how many times we stayed up late into the night when he was helping me with a math assignment. Here was a man who didn't finish 9th grade helping me with my calculus and getting it right! Thanks dad.
*He was forever a teacher. He would stop at power damns when we were traveling and explained to us very young children how they worked; he would show us moss on the rocks and trees and teach us a lesson about that; he would teach us history, math, science, geometry--anything we wanted to know about. He could do anything and knew something about everything it seemed. And, in his teaching, he was patient beyond belief! I became a teacher, largely because of his example. Although he was never a "professional" teacher, he was the best teacher I ever had. Thanks dad
*He was always loving and kind to our mother and to us kids. I only remember one time in my whole childhood when he raised his voice at me (I wanted to go to a party instead of go to work at the restaurant, and he had worked already 16 hours that day and needed a break) He raised his voice a little when he told me I needed to be responsible and do what I said I would do (work). Needless to say, I chose work and cried for 2 hours because I felt so bad about even asking. Other than that, all he had to say was, "I'm disappointed in your choice", and that was discipline enough for us. He always led by example. thanks dad
This is getting too long, and no one will want to read it, but it was important to me to do something to remember my dad and think about what he meant to me. I am so lucky to have had such a great dad! Thanks dad
My dad, "Bill Calvert" was raised on a poor dirt farm in Montana. His mother, a hard German Woman, threw his dad out when he was very young. He became the breadwinner for his mother, 3 brothers and one sister. He quit school in 9th grade to go to work for the railroad so he could support the family. He was 14.
He worked hard all of his life, but became a very wealthy, well-respected and well-known community member in La Grande, Oregon. Without a formal education, he became "self-educated" He faithfully read the local paper, the Portland papers and the Wall Street Journal everyday. He owned, managed and did the books for his own well-known restaurant. People came for miles to eat in the Royal Cafe, and many travelers to and from Portland,Oregon, planned their trips so they would arrive in La Grande at meal time. Prior to this adventure, he owned a shoe shop across the street from the restaurant, and made shoes for people during WW II when shoes were rationed. When the war ended, he bought the restaurant and the pool hall on the corner. He converted the pool hall into a banquet room and sucessfully ran the restaurant until he died in 1965.
Some of the traits my dad passed on to me:
*Hard work is important--it involves self-dicipline and always pays off
*You can do anything you want to do if you set your mind to it. He always told us, "You have two sides to your brain, use them both" In this day when people say, "She is right-brained or left-brained" as an excuse for not doing some things well, I can proudly say, "I am whole brained, and my linguistic, musical and mathematical abilities proves it!" Thanks dad.
*Practice makes perfect. He wisely flowered us with praise when we played our musical instruments or got A's on assignments. This made us want to practice more. I still play the piano and organ fairly well, and I love writing short stories These are skills I learned through practice. Thanks dad.
*Don't give up I can't tell you how many times I fell off those water skies before I finally got out of the water, or how many times we stayed up late into the night when he was helping me with a math assignment. Here was a man who didn't finish 9th grade helping me with my calculus and getting it right! Thanks dad.
*He was forever a teacher. He would stop at power damns when we were traveling and explained to us very young children how they worked; he would show us moss on the rocks and trees and teach us a lesson about that; he would teach us history, math, science, geometry--anything we wanted to know about. He could do anything and knew something about everything it seemed. And, in his teaching, he was patient beyond belief! I became a teacher, largely because of his example. Although he was never a "professional" teacher, he was the best teacher I ever had. Thanks dad
*He was always loving and kind to our mother and to us kids. I only remember one time in my whole childhood when he raised his voice at me (I wanted to go to a party instead of go to work at the restaurant, and he had worked already 16 hours that day and needed a break) He raised his voice a little when he told me I needed to be responsible and do what I said I would do (work). Needless to say, I chose work and cried for 2 hours because I felt so bad about even asking. Other than that, all he had to say was, "I'm disappointed in your choice", and that was discipline enough for us. He always led by example. thanks dad
This is getting too long, and no one will want to read it, but it was important to me to do something to remember my dad and think about what he meant to me. I am so lucky to have had such a great dad! Thanks dad
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