Mauri and Sherry

Posted by Sherry on August 30, 2010

Attending an outdoor concert was a first for our 16-year marriage. As Mothers/Fathers Day gifts, our local “kids” gave us tickets to see Garrison Keillor/Prairie Home Companion at the Portland Zoo on Saturday night. We joined the masses, hauling our chairs and blankets and picnics through the zoo to the open-air amphitheater, and got comfortable.

It was also John’s birthday.

Binoculars would have been useful, but we decided these “seats” were just fine. We remember what Garrison looks like.

But then he walked halfway up the hill through the crowd, and we didn’t have to use our imaginations after all.

It was a very fun show, and the people-watching was at its best. Near the end, Erin pulled out cupcakes, lit a match for John to wish on, and we whispered the “All Day Long” birthday song during Garrison’s 20-minute tale of Lake Wobegon.

A half a day later we were again loading ourselves and our concert gear into the car of our friends Bob and Peggy Hanson for yet another outdoor concert…our second in 16 years of marriage.

This one was held at the Edgefield McMenamins in Troutdale, an hour from home.

We trekked a long way across the parking lot we did not choose to stand in a long line with 6,000 other Bob Dylan concertgoers.

Did I mention the line was long? Yes, I think I did.

Once again we settled in to our chosen spot, here next to the Ankenys, Mark and Becky.

Becky and Peggy are die-hard Dylan fans. Becky took advantage of the wait time to show Mauri her iPhone’s collection of Dylan songs, pointing out her favorites.

Look familiar? We had plenty of time for more people watching. I figure in a public venue like this, everyone’s fair game. No doubt we were watched as well.

That’s why I’m careful to make sure any unsightly cracks and crevices are concealed.

(This is a stock photo.)

Bob Dylan is 69 years old, but here he is touring the country, collecting a bazillion dollars from folk like us who are fans or just plain curious, even though he’s, shall we say, past his prime.

So, since Mauri and I are in the latter category (just plain curious), we were content to sit close and enjoy watching the fans zig and zag to the somewhat familiar tunes.

One could almost believe we sat beneath a silvery moon.

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Posted by Sherry on August 26, 2010

It isn’t every day I get to be such a near attendant to the birth of a grandchild. My role in Cassidy’s birth seven years ago today was to keep the older two occupied while the real work occurred in a room just down the hospital hall. It was unforgettable, even from my vantage. Shortly after Dusty danced to the waiting room to announce “We have a Cassidy Laine!” I was snapping pictures. Like I needed to tell you that!

Little did I know that almost seven years later she would inadvertently pose for these match-ups:

Happy birthday, Cassidy Laine. We’re so glad you were born!

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Posted by Sherry on August 21, 2010

This was one of those pictures I couldn’t not post. Here’s the context:

…a cool jam session on the church lawn this evening. I wish you could hear them! Wait…you can!

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Posted by Sherry on August 20, 2010

My coworker Denise spends most of her days these days completely focused on the task of inputting information into a website that will manage all the plots and history relating to our church’s cemetery. So focused, in fact, that she was unaware I took this picture.

Yesterday she broke her concentration long enough to come across the hall to tell me she had discovered two Graves and two Coffins all in a row. So before I left the office for the day I asked if she’d write down their location.

Evidently, Mauri and I don’t have enough excitement in our life, because it didn’t take much to entice him to drive over to the cemetery with me. Add heading from there to Sonic for a foot-long chili dog and his motivation was complete!

My continued interest in cemeteries surprises me, since I have no intention of ending up in one myself. I’ve posted stories about my attitudes in favor of cremation. We are quite content to have our spouses buried right here in our little rose garden.

You’re probably wondering what we will do about this if/when we move. We are too, but we think our kids might want some input in that discussion.

I spent quite a bit of time at the cemetery in Dayton, Ohio, when I was a kid. My grandparents, aunts and uncles, and parents were all about visiting/decorating the graves of their loved ones. (That’s my second cousin Bob, not Mauri, though we do look cute together, holding hands and all.)

Even when I’m in Jacksonville, Florida, to visit my brother and his family, it never crosses my mind to visit my parents’ gravesite. Please don’t misunderstand. This is me; I’m not the slightest bit judgmental toward those with other viewpoints about burial. Honest!

Yet I’m still fascinated by the names and stories I find on grave markers. Even in Scotland!

As we walked through Newberg Friends Cemetery, we were caught off guard when we stumbled upon the grave of our friends’ teenage daughter. It was the same kind of sadness we felt that caused Margaret-Rose to choose cremation. It’s definitely easier to look at graves of people we never knew.

Mauri was intrigued by this one. I loved noticing that a woman named Myrth was buried next to a woman named Happy.

Then there they were!

Graves…

Graves…

and Coffin.

So we paid our respects to the Graves and the Coffins and headed on up the road to Sonic.

Today Denise came across the hall to tell me she found another “interesting” name. Updegrave. Uh huh.

PS: I own four plots in Oaklawn Cemetery in Chicago and two plots in Chapel Hill in Grand Rapids. Any suggestions what I might do with them?

Category: in the neighborhood, nostalgia, old friends | 3 Comments »
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Posted by Sherry on August 17, 2010

Call me crazy—I love doing laundry. Of course I do use the modern conveniences—a washer and dryer. Who of my generation would forget the wringer washing machines our moms used to wash the family’s dirty duds? Once wrung, they’re hung by clothespins out in the backyard (or in the basement) on the clothesline. Was there anything better than climbing into a bed made with clean sheets naturally dried in the line?

It must be memories of my mother hanging clothes out to dry that bring that lump to my throat when I hear Wynonna Judd sing, “All of that Love from Here.” And then there’s that collection of clothesline pictures.

My friend Ridgely sent me this one:

Do you remember Andra — and all those baby wipes I made? Today she sent me a lovely note along with these very fun pictures:

These are definitely going in my collection.

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Posted by Sherry on August 15, 2010

This photo series made me smile. Maybe it will broaden yours today.

And our favorite, because we’ve actually witnessed this happening (with a natural “jet stream”):

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Posted by Sherry on August 12, 2010

When the Andersons drove here from Denver, Quinn noted it was on the same roads she drove in a U-Haul truck with her brother Ben nine years earlier. That was significant because they wouldn’t be returning to Colorado. After five days with us, they headed south toward their new home in Arizona, just in time for the kids to start at Gilbert Christian Schools.

Here they are, all spiffed up in their new shoes, backpacks, and uniforms. Makes me want to squeeze every one of them.

Cassidy, now a 1st grader.

And Paul’s in kindergarten. Too bad none of them look very happy about it.

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Posted by Sherry on August 12, 2010

Last night we enjoyed an evening with the Sherwoods, the Murphys, and the Grellers. A 45-minute drive to Mt. Angel dropped us into an altogether different small-town culture from what we enjoy in Newberg. We went to attend a dinner/concert event that featured Hahnheim Mannersgesangverien from Germany. Six hundred or so fulka gathered in the Oktoberfest Community Building, which had a character all its own, for a meal of German sausage and kraut.

(Still trying to get the hang of the “arm tripod,” as I eliminate most of Carol and Mauri altogether.)

And then the concert. Between Mauri’s one semester of German and my half-strength German blood, we felt right at home listening to this group of mostly old codgers belt out their joyful tunes. If you want to hear and see a snippet of the concert (and see all of Carol’s smiling face)…

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Posted by Sherry on August 10, 2010

Having the MacDonalds visit our home for an evening capped off a delightful week at the coast. They’re on a tent-camping vacation at Champoeg State Park (a favorite of theirs for many years) all the way from Phoenix. Since Craig is a daily blogger, I get to know what they’re up to most of the time. But there’s just nothing like a face-to-face conversation with friends who share history.

History! That’s the only cue I need to post a couple of illustrative photos of our shared history.

Brother Howard “introduced” Mauri, and Craig “introduced” me at our wedding.

And seamstress Pam used her gifts to create Quinn and Rachel’s dresses.

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Posted by Sherry on August 8, 2010

Mauri uses our BikeE tandem for his around-town transportation, and we take it for local spins from time to time. We intended to ride it in the Portland BridgePedal—23 miles / seven bridges—this morning, but he discovered a big crack in the back wheel last night. So we pulled down the “Screamer” (the real name of the bike we crashed four plus years ago), changed out the pedals, took it for a trial spin, and loaded it in the van.

Downtown Portland at 8 a.m. this morning!

We’ve grown accustomed to hearing “Cool bike!” and “She’s not pedaling!” as we cruise the neighborhoods of Newberg on our recumbent tandem. This morning we heard some more creative comments: (to me) “Do you ever try to pass that guy?”; (to us) “That probably requires quite a bit of trust”; (to me) “He’s not pedaling!”

We were thankful it wasn’t a race as a lot of backs (and backsides) passed us along the route. But eventually we

crossed the finish line no worse for the wear.

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