June 16, 2012 - BYRAN'S 70TH BIRTHDAY PARTY Arlee took me golfing for my birthday and sent me the address where to meet him. OK, so I am not very smart. I got the GPS out and typed in Oswego - no match. I went to “All cities” – couldn’t find Oswego any place. I thought the GPS was not working very well so I cried a lot and Ilene said she would help me. She typed in “Lake Oswego.” OH @%^@^& I am made to look really dumb by the other half. She said it was pay back time. I would be turning 70 in a few weeks so it was OK. Yes, Arlee trounced me playing golf and with the work out from walking and swinging at the ball, he felt sorry for me and bought me an Orange Nehi. I had been planning my birthday for six months. Ok, so that is all I did for the party. Ilene worked out the date of the 16 of June, 2012. My birthday was actually June 26th. It was fun trying to find a date that all of our kids had free. Myran and Trina thought that weekend wasn’t full enough. Since everyone would be there for the party, they decided to have Zayden’s (newest grandson - 2-1/2 mo.) baptism on the Sunday after. We ended up with 49 people, consisting of family, relatives I hadn’t seen in years, and friends. I was going to have it at my 1895 house that is mine free and clear. The one I live in is not. I don’t think it will ever be paid for but if it is, there will be another party big time. There is an acre of property with some big trees on it. One of the fir trees is 16 feet around. The trees are not small. There is a swing that has a board to sit on and is about 20 feet tall and situated between two large firs. It never stops swinging when there is a party. There a big porch on the front of the house with pillars but no rail. The back porch is the same but where the bathroom used to be is now a new laundry room. The kitchen is the same but some day will be new looking. The front room and the dining room have more paint on them - no telling how many coats are on the wood work. When I stripped the doors back to the old wood, there were a lot of layers. There was a sewing room that is now a bathroom for the master bedroom. The bathroom for the house has been redone. One of the tiles over the tub where the faucet and spout come out took me about five tries to make. It was so thin on the edge, the drill would heat it up and it would crack. The cutters for the tiles cost about $100.00 for that one but it is perfect now. The rest of the tiles cost about $75.00 including the sink that matches. Myran did the fitting and Robert (my nephew) and I did the grunt work. I have also had help from time to time from Vellen, Marci, and Zida, and of course, their spouses and the grandkids. All much appreciated. Going up the stairs to the bedrooms: It used to be wall paper and cloth shiplap and then the outside wall to the house. When it was cold or hot outside, it didn’t change much inside. Now there are new wires to replace the knob and tube and three little wires for TV and internet. There is a heater in every room, insulated, sheet rocked, and new windows. The doors have been stripped of paint and back to the old wood. The border is 10 inches and not a knot in the old boards. The small closets are finished too. One of the rooms is still in progress. The dormers have old things in them that are going to be sheet rocked in so the kids in the future will see things that were used before their time (sort of a time capsule). I just can’t bring myself to throw it away and this way it is not in someone’s way. There were five roofs on the house and it still leaked - 9,000 pounds came off. The house needs a paint job in a big way. If you can think of a house no one has worked on in 20 years or more, that is what I am doing. My dad just let it go because he thought it would be torn down and apartments put up. No one would give me much money for it, so I learned a lot about fixing it up from Myran and how to do it. It is a lot of fun to start out with something that looks like really bad and end up with something that looks really good. Now think about this - the door and jam look new but the walls are rust stained and have lots of dirt on them. I only work on one to three parts of the house at a time and the yard grows really good too. I leave most of that to Robert. He is my live-in gardener. Yes, there are other buildings that need loving care too and I will never live long enough to get it all done, I know this. Us retired people have lots of time. HA HA. Now back to the real reason of this blog - the Party. I know of people who never made 70 so it is time for me to brag. My advice to you is, “If there is something you want to do, don’t put it off. Do it NOW because you might not get to it later.” My good friend, Dave, didn’t make it another week. It was good to see him there. The party put a lot of pressure on Ilene but she was up to the task and did a great job getting all the food in order and other things. There were a few requirements that I wanted - Chocolate cake, kidneys, chicken feet, chicken gizzards, silk worms, hamburgers, brats, hot dogs, green tomatoes, chilly, hash, chips, beer, wine, home brew, and my favorite, pickled tongue. Vellen helped me get the really good stuff Ilene wouldn’t buy. Myran barbecued, and Marci, Zida, and Sharon organized the tables and kept Ilene quiet. There was a band and singing. Matt (son-in-law) brought five guitars and Cory (cousin) brought his drums. He had never set up on the grass before. They were just great and the sing along went great. Cory had never heard the songs before that we sang (Mostly Irish drinking songs). He had a problem with Bob the Builder (not). It was an overwhelming day for me - so many friends and relatives and not a lot of time to talk to all of them. I am sure I missed someone. It was such a great honor to have people take time out of there lives and come to my party especially since it was the first real warm and sunny day of the year. I just can’t put it into words how it made me feel. When I pass on, if no one comes to the funeral I will not care. I had my day with my friends and family. Remember, “Come and see me while l am healthy. I might even talk you into a bike ride.” I really love you guys!!!