Obituary for my mother

Arleen (aka"Bridy/Bridget")  Bridget Lenora neeCroft Thomson

Born: 27 December 1936

Died 22 August 2023

Arleen was the eldest daughter of John & Marvel neeEaton Croft of Everett WA. 

She was born in Everett Snohomish Co., WA. 

She died in Morongo Valley, CA passing peacefully in her sleep.

She was a world traveler & lived for a time in the Marshall Islands

She Loved to perform with her friends both singing & dancing

She worked for the CA Aerospace industry for many years but also staged homes & hung wallpaper on the side for the fun of it.

She loved movies, music & cats.

She leaves behind her significant other, her younger sister, her children her 4 grandchildren, 2 great-grandchildren & friends who will all miss her greatly.

such simple words - not very many words to somehow encapsulate a whole lifetime - seems so inadequate some how..

 

 

why genealogists do what they do..

a perfect example of how EVERYONE can preserve their history
:
Photo by David Dockstader
as poster ‎Lori C‎ states SO clearly

"This is another good reason to get out and take those pictures of our families gravesites (even though some may think it odd) Future genealogists may never find their ancestors gravesites otherwise

ANYONE who does not speak out against this kind of hatred- condones it. I feel this implicitly

those who do not speak; either by ignoring it giving the perpetrators unspoken permission to continue

or by trying to excuse it making the speaker as bad as if not worse than the perpetrator. to excuse it is a conscious action to allow such perversion and hate to continue - this constitutes the very definition of immoral.*

neither methods of are acceptable in a civilized** world..

*immoral = wicked, foul, unprincipled, unscrupulous, dishonorable, dishonest, unconscionable, iniquitous, corrupt, depraved, vile, villainous,

**civilized= a stage of social, cultural, and moral development that enlightens, edifies, improves, educates, & cultivates

a little while ago i was reminded of some of the things i love about the schizophrenic valley i live in

understand i have a hate/love relationship to this place.. but every so often when i am really down on it - it does something to remind me of what i love..

I live in a small city... near one end of a string of small cities that follow the foothills of our mountains much of the length of our valley.. think of it rather like a string of beads, some shinier, some rougher than others.. ..the reason they were first put at the base of the mountains had to do with water availability in a rather harsh desert environment -and they are cities with city 'things' streets/traffic/crowding/sirens/dogs barking etc, etc

but every so often i am reminded how close the open desert really is.. tonite was one of those times..

i live on a fairly busy road, so i hear vehicles almost as white noise, we hear sirens a lot as we are an alternate route for them. so dead quiet is quite rare..

and in one of those very rare moments of stillness, just before dusk, i heard the coyote singing...

he made me smile...

have to admit it. i just dont get it.. 

reading a commentary on coyotes in another thread and people kept whining how 'scary' a coyote is to them.. 

REALLY??? -- for heavens sake why??
jeez people.

i must admit i dont know why anyone thinks they are scary.. i love listening to them.

and if you listen closely you can tell the stories they are telling.. the chattering when they are hunting (which is what i think this recording is) the verbalization when they are with cubs, the singing under the full moon just for the sheer joy of singing (and the song competitions when other packs are in hearing distance. THAT can be AWESOME..

our best songfest we EVER heard was here in the valley & had at least 3 packs in 3 side by side canyons and the canyon walls made them echo.. was awesome.. -

they also eat vermin. like nasty horrid rats.... makes them good guys in my book

and truth tell when you hear them you know where they are.. :) - just be sensible and keep your cats & small dogs where they belong (indoors) and your chickens /sheep WELL penned.

THERE IS nothing scary to them and YES i have had VERY close encounters. and i treat them as i do ANY wildlife.. with respect. Common Sense ..and acting Non threatening.. 

(I might add have been FAR more frightened by out of control so called pet dogs!)

( i also dont go walking in their territory with a snack on a leash.. just saying)

MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS Nov 2017

CAST

Tom Bateman, Kenneth Branagh, Penélope Cruz, Willem Dafoe, Judi Dench, Johnny Depp, Josh Gad, Derek Jacobi, Leslie Odom Jr., Michelle Pfeiffer, Daisy Ridley, Marwan Kenzari, Lucy Boynton, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Sergei Polunin

I just got back from seeing Orient Express : the new one with Kenneth Branagh- and it was NOTHING like i was expecting.. and to be honest i am Delighted by that fact...

one other point before i start. while this is a MOVIE. it IS essentially a play on a specific & limited stage. it doesnt have the kind of wild & bloody shootem up bang bang excitement most movies seem to have now days. everything has to happen on that limited stage.. its the essence & part of what i Enjoyed about the movie.. I personally give it 4.5stars

understand 3 things
1) i am A LONG STANDING fan of Agatha Christie: i recently read a review who complained about Christie's mysteries that has the reader as being an observer rather than falling into the story.. i guess i prefer that.. i like trying to figure out how the detective is figuring things out.. invariably i end up rereading a story to see how i missed the obvious clues lol... so yes i love that.. If you dont Orient Express may irritate you..

2) as much as i hate to admit it i AM a Fan of Johnny Depp. in spite of himself sometimes. his role in this movie is remarkably restrained -- tight & rough as the character is SUPPOSED to be. not a Johnny extravaganza that apparently some expected & were disappointed not to get. so yea for Branagh's Directing for keeping him IN character!

3) i AM NOT a Branagh fan as a rule.. every time i see him he seems 'over the top' in whatever role. kinda like the complaints about depp. hard to see the character for the actor. Not to mention the deep prejudice of many that David Suchet's role in Sidney Lumet’s 1974 adaptation is the best out there. (he does portray Poirot physically to perfection but even he takes him 'out there' a bit. I found Branagh's Poirot a bit more realistic, a bit more 'human' as it were. Obviously still very OCD in his fanatic pursuit of 'balance' but still more understanding of other humans than has been portrayed before..

I will say the cinematography was awesome and the DETAILS on the train mind boggling (1930s Lightbulbs for heaven sakes & the measuring the silverware placement in the dining car.. they DID that then!!!) nice tiny details that make things more fun to watch & watch for.

the main negatives that i see in this version is there isnt time/effort to fill the other charactors in as much as i would like.. they remain fairly shallow- but then they were in the book as well.. with such excellent actors portraying them i would have liked to 'know the charactors just a bit more. nothing bad about them, just not enough of them.

As there are still some few out there who do not know the story or its ending i wont go into further detail on that. Suffice it to say, one thing i havent really seen in previous versions of the movie. this one acknowledges this is a Murder (not just a mystery) and like all murders its a tragedy and no matter how good the detective is, how well he does his job, he cannot mend the damages done by such a tragedy. he can only hope to find justice somewhere in the pain of it.

i didnt leave the theater smiling but i did leave it feeling what the depth of the story was really about. i count that as a successful movie

midnight musings

For a sister
waiting is hard.. very very hard.. may have after 40 plus years of searching found the last lost sibling. i have attempted first contact. and now i wait.. will she see it. will she Want to see it. will she answer. do i want to see her answer.. i can only hope she will want to connect even a little bit. scary thing is i dont know if she even knows she was adopted.. and we are pretty much sure its her..

i dont expect much From her, actually. i just need to fill in the holes of my past. she is part of that.. - i hope she will understand that. if allowed by her i would welcome her to the family with open arms & will try very hard to not push too hard..

finding missing people is a mixed bag. my birthfather was a happy story -my birth grandmother was just awful (long story) my one half brother has not connected by his choice but he's the same with his adopted family so it is what it is. i got family info to him and now its in his court.. makes me a bit sad but i did what I needed. i connected the puzzle piece. the half sister i did not know about has turned out good - she found me to answer Her questions :) - now i wait for the half sister i did know of..
and i am so not good at waiting... sigh..

scared excited impatient.. yea am all of these..
and i hope

a simple rant/commentary:
For all of you who subscribe to the "What about-itis syndrome*

first and foremost i would like to REMIND everyone of the definition of extremist " this is relevant & important

noun - "a person who holds extreme or fanatical political or religious views, especially one who resorts to or advocates extreme action". (up to and including cold blooded murder)

My point here is THAT ALL GROUPS of every walk of life has a small portion of extremists within it.
ALL groups..

the Difference here being that approx 98% of those groups are NOT led by or even adhere to any form of that extremism- groups that the so called alt right love to hang out a flag and whine about - groups like Black Lives Matter, something they call Antifa. (a group against Fascism is bad? in point of fact i can see why THEY hate them (see below)** - Planned Parenthood, etc etc etc....... NOTE THESE GROUPS are NOT led by nor even espouse the extreme portions of their own groups yet the alt right do everything they can to convince anyone they can otherwise..

THE DIFFERENCE BEING??? the alt right groups such as the KKK and the various NEO Nazis - are a WHOLE different kettle of fish gone bad. they ARE run by their extremists their entire entity is BASED on extremism.. the rare times i have seen where someone tried to go moderately, their OWN groups have gone after them like a shark feed frenzy..

SO DONT TRY wimping out with the "WHAT ABOUT?????" whine. its nothing but an attempt at a cop out. IF YOU DONT Believe in the hatefilled violence driven alt right DO NOT - I REPEAT - DO NOT try the 'the left is just as bad' whine. they are not. they never will be. - their VERY EXISTENCE is predicated on the OPPOSITE side of what the neo nazis and groups like the kkk represent.

if you use this excuse - you are actually CONDONING WHAT they stand for. and i for one REFUSE to have any part of that..
EVER..
i have served my country in 2 services. I CONTINUE to serve her in Standing up TO the hate and standing up FOR those willing to fight that hate.

*(a reminder that 'itis' refers to inflamation of..)

** the Antifa are autonomous anti-racist groups that monitor and track the activities of local neo-Nazis. They expose them to their neighbors and employers, they conduct public education campaigns, they support migrants and refugees and they pressure venues to cancel white power events.

i think i have lived in the desert far too long...
channel surfing and came to some sort of nature program that had no voice-over.. just pics..
and realized immediately i knew where it was.. 

so kept watching. it seemed to be featuring different animals & plants and some behaviors where the two came together on a very hot summer day (you could tell by the by their behaviors)

about 10 minutes or so later i realized i knew what Every single animal and plant & bug (save one) they showed..

i am not sure, but that doesn't sound terribly normal to me..

tho my amateur naturalist desert freak of a dad would probably approve..
hahahaha

Midnight Musings...: FRUGALITY in Every Day living.

musings on needful things...

One the subject of frugality and how to survive well in whatever situation we might end up in, the thing i see the most, is that we tend to worry and plan in the short term. --- i am thinking tho, that this is our mistake..----- i know we dont want hard times to last so we dont want to think "long term".

it has such a negative feel to it..
i believe it shouldnt.. with a moderate amount of long term planning even the roughest time can be made better or at least more bearable.. in that vein of thought here is one step in that direction.. its where i started:
First for me is Always BOOKS.. the books i believe to be vital to our needs.. surprisingly there arent that many but these are Specifically useful. & i believe they or a variation of them should be on everyone's bookshelf..

Make-A-Mix by Karine Eliason - there are several versions. pick at least one that has the most of your favorite mixes.. your budget will thank you.

Simply Scratch: 120 Wholesome Homemade Recipes Made Easy  by Laurie McNamara and her blog http://www.simplyscratch.com/

The Greater American Cookbook  1940 edition

{or The Lily-Wallace New American Cook Book 1943 Edition (first published 1941)

or   America's Cookbook New & Revised Edition 1944)} 

and yes i do have a weakness for the 40s cookbooks.. 

the reasons are many - they have how to's from scratch for such classics as Tomato Aspic and Buttermilk pie,  cakes of all sorts, maple syrup gingerbread.. and the lists go on..

they are very successful and knowledgeable on  how to feed a family on smaller amounts of meat or fish and still be tasty and nutritious. 

Ball Blue Book of Canning- more on this later

*********************************************

Kitchen /household Necessities. - these will be varied and dictated by each family's needs but these are the ones i consider absolute necessities: and worth the $ investment over time:

Kitchen Aide Mixer. and no, i am not a spokesperson. my mixer is nearly 40yrs old and STILL working perfectly. with it i can make almost ANYTHING. . especially bread (i have failed with bread for years until i found a recipe that utilized my KA. now i can make it any time..!!

(recipe here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEehss63VDg   ) as your situation improves you can add 'gadgets' to the mixer, my fave is the noodle maker and sausage grinder. 

Cast Iron Skillet and Dutch oven.. to me the skillet is a must do. the dutch oven is a choice. (we do outdoor cooking so its a choice but a good one)

a LARGE steel pot.. mine was a handles large pot from a thrift store over 20 yrs ago and its STILL my Favorite pot. i make everything from spaggetti sauce to peanut brittle in that puppy. i will NEVER give it up.. 

a small saucepan. over the years have had a number of these, usually from a thrift store. always useful..   we lived for over 6 months with only with these 3 pans/pots and didnt actually need any others. granted at the time i also had a crock pot.

YOU will NOTE i do not list a Crockpot in my Necessary list any longer. when Space/money is an issue i keep looking to maximize those items with more versatility. 

after my last crockpot died, rather than replace it i Upgraded to an electric Pressure cooker.. - the reasons were several, but most because the one i bought (instapot as it has a stainless steel insert) can do several types of cooking in One pot including slow cooking and as a rice cooker. that just eliminated multiple appliances. 

Neither of these items NEED a specialty pot of any kind,  but this is when you factor in time management and cooking skills into the mix.. . for us, cooking all day when temps are over 110F daily is a major factor, besides my rice cooking skills suck lol..

Canning and gardening.. this is a mixed bag - I WANT a Major garden. but i have had to face reality here. i have TEN BLACK thumbs in the growing dept. sigh.. 

i kill silk plants. ;(.

but i AM lucky in that we are an area there are Many local farm stands and places i can get veggies/fruits at good prices.. which leads me to CANNING. and yes i can IN the summer despite the heat. ITS WORTH it.

the investment of a PRESSURE CANNER pays for itself over and over and over.. a larger canner can be used for BOTH Pressure Canning and Water bath canning. AND can be used as a large cooking pot.. have also used my big mama (the larger of the 2 i have) to pressure cook a 17pound turkey.. wasnt norman rockwell pretty but OH MY Goodness was it good! if you dont know HOW to can then the Ball book and the internet are your BEST FRIENDS.. 

i will make one caveat tho. and i am absolutely fanatic on this. DONT fall for the "my granny did it this way for 40 whatever years and She didnt kill anybody" nonsense that sadly is out there on the net. IT IS NOT worth the lives of your family to take those kind of chances. you can can ALMOST everything Safely if you take the time to Learn it. and its only ALMOST. some things Cannot be home canned ever and MUCH MUST be pressure canned. 

that said you can make the most amazing foods for your family. the last time i made homemade Chili con Carne with beans (at the heat level even i can eat) i canned 26 pints on that day alone. thats about 5/6 month of food (eaten once a week). its well worth time & $ and Quality investment..

my last (for now) is a SEWING MACHINE. now i am not talking about some over the top fancy schmancy dohickey sewing machine (tho they can be fun) but a BASIC quality Workhorse sewing machine. the kind you can mend the husbands shirt with, make the daughters sundress, sew your kitchen curtains, make your own pillowcases with, quilt or ... the list is endless and the usefulness is endless as well. if you dont sew but are reading this you have RESOURCES. you tube has become my best friend.. and should be yours as well