~Fun and memories from the weekend~

Well, what a busy week this past week has been...I have had so many choice experiences that I don't even know where to start. We are still muddling along on our house and we are seeing progress and it looks so nice. I still have to dig to see which bag holds my different clothes, be it blouses, shirts, workout outfits, jeans, socks or whatever, and it is driving me nuts. I know it won't be much longer, but it is so hard to walk by the "unorganized" and not try to move or put it away.

My oldest daughter and I had an opportunity this past weekend to go out of town to the northern part of California to a class she needed to attend. She asked me to go along with her and we had a great time. While she was attending her seminar I went by my favorite "gigantic" antique mall I found about 3 months ago in Roseville. I had a blast, if I do say so myself. I found just a few treasures to accompany me home. My daughter wanted to see my "day's faire" and loved it all and wanted to go back with me the next day. It is amazing to me how different the mall looked this time, from 3 months before with new and different things to look at. I was a little dismayed when I pulled into the parking lot and saw it was packed, but there was plenty for all. I was able to browse and assess so many beautiful things. I came away with just a few things...

I had been looking for a lovely oblong vintage dresser mirror that wasn't overly big. I was very pleased to find this one as they are hard to come by. It was the day though for dresser mirrors, as I saw a few people looking for them. Mine is so pretty with beautiful relief style roses made of gold metal on each end. It will be perfect on dresser with my vintage compact collection (I think I have 4 or 5). The other pieces were priced so reasonable that I couldn't pass them up and in excellent condition. The little guilloche pin with rhinestones around it was displayed by the vendor on this old photograph and thus came with the pin.

The next day we headed home, but not before strolling down memory lane, as we lived in North Highlands in the early years of our marriage and soon after the birth of my oldest daughter. She wanted me to show her the old house we lived in and then the base my husband was stationed at. We found the house very easily and then went onto the base nearby. In 2001 the base closed for full time operation and no longer had the activity we experienced when we lived there. Parts of it house "civilian" activity now and some parts are "military". I explained to my daughter how we would go pick up my husband when he would fly in from his missions (90 days on 30 days off). Those were hard days when he was gone and we worried about him so much. His missions were in the southeast Asian area and he spent time in Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, etc. He had a few close calls and flew his last mission in 1974 right before the war ended and we were transferred to Berlin, Germany. As Shellee and I did our own tour of the base, it felt like it had only been yesterday when we were there. The memories came flooding back. As we rounded the end near the runway, we noticed the airplane my husband had flown on during those days. Along with others that were now "mothballed". I felt a little emotional and proud all at the same time. My husband served 26 years with the Air Force and 14 of them were away from his family at times. Those were hard years. Anyway, I called him to hear his voice and asked him if he could remember the number on the tail of the airplane. He wasn't real sure of the number, but when I mentioned it, he said it sounded familiar. I told him I'd take pictures and my daughter and I went inside to the museum to ask if touring the airplanes might be available. The docent said 4 times a year the airplanes are open and invited my husband and his family to come up April 18th to do that. I was so excited for him and very proud of "my airman". He is so humble and does not immediately talk about his time in the military. Thought you might enjoy pictures of his airplane (EC-121) and the museum area we will tour and check out in the future.

The airplane my husband flew on.........

The front of the museum at McClellan Air Force Base....

The other airplanes on display with another shot of the airplane in the back right corner Ron flew on....

Hope you enjoyed the weekend with my daughter and I....will write more soon. I feel really blessed in my life and thank God every night before I go to bed.