I Love Summer!

We love summer.  It is very

TransRacial

Rachel Dolezal certainly surprised the news world with her adamant charade on being black, even though her biological parents are as white as can be, and insist that she is too.  She is shocked to realize that she is not black, even though her hair and appearance has been made over to look it.

I suppose there is no difference in her  claim to be in the wrong body, as I call a TransRacial, than the TransSexual.

Grandchildren

As you can see, I adore my Granddaughter Cailin Emily Arnold.  This picture is from her last birthday at Dry Falls.  Dry Falls is near Coulee City, Washington, and is part of Sun Lakes-Dry Falls State Park.  She went with John & me to camp in our trailer at Sun Lakes,  Dry Falls is a overlook site that has a wonderful little food stand that serves a variety of foods.

We had a a chicken Caesar salad that was pretty good.  They also had an Ice Cream Stand, so
we had to have an ice cream cone, also.  I haven't had one for years!  (really).

I live in Desert Aire, which is a resort community.  A variety of people live here, including
retirees, who live here full time.  Cailin and I had a glorious time swimming in the river.  August
is very warm (over 90 degrees), and by then, our Priest Rapids Lake is warmer.  Because we are
between two dams:  Wanapum and Priest Rapids Dams, It forms two lakes:  ours and Wanapum. 

We also went boating, and Cailin floated on the large inner-tube.  I am afraid I could not do that
sort of thing anymore.  But I will try this year!

Parker Gerrit Arnold is grandchild #2. He is photographed here at the Benton-Franklin Fair near Kennewick, Washington.  He is with us on the Tilt-a-Whirl.  We had a blast.

Parker is a Boy Scout, and won all of the metals available while preparing for "scout-dome".  He is in Jr. High, and like his sister, he plays the Viola.  Cailin plays the violin and cello, and is in the Concert Orchestra as a sophomore in high school.  Both are gifted beyond normalhood, says his Grandma!

Parker and Grandma cut greens for Christmas wreaths and decorations.  He replaces his Dad as my greens cutting partner.

Sunsets over the Columbia

Every evening close to sunset time, I go out to our deck to watch the sunsets.  Each night dresses up in her very best, ready to be photographed.  These are last night's shots, slightly pastel, and later in the setting of the sun.  A soft end to a very warm day.  I lazed in the river, sitting in my lawn chair, my feet up on a rock in the water.  As the temperature climbed to 92 degrees, I sunk deeper into the river,  Now, several hours later, the evening settles down to a soft good night.

Memorial Day, cont.

Continuing on with my Memorial Day, May 25, 2115, I was first showing my Father and uncles in uniforms and attire of that era of WWII.

First:  My uncle Wilfred Dunnigan and father Gerrit Jansen.
2nd:  My mother Vivian Clarke Jansen
3rd:  father Gerrit Jansen
4th:  Aunt Ruie and Uncle Wilfred Dunnigan (Aunt Ruie is now 95 years old!)
5th:  Dad Gerrit by  a classic old car.

As I was saying, the Civil War was the most vivid, heinous war of all, because it was on our own soil, and had devastating consequences.  With the ending, the assassination of Abraham Lincoln.

We saw it first hand in Gone with the Wind, which was so realistic and showed the destruction.

Of course our biggest war was saving the world from the Nazis.

Memorial Day

continued....

After I studied the Civil War in Jr. High, read a lot about Lincoln and Mrs. Lincoln's struggle in a time that was dreadful.  Health care was practically nonexistent, and we saw in Gone With the Wind, the bloody battles and destruction.   

WWI & WWII are sad that our Greatest Generation are mostly gone from us.  My photos are::

Dad Gerrit Jan Jansen & Uncle Wilford Dunnigan, my mother Vivian, Auntie Ruie and Uncle Willy,

Dad in 2 more poses.  Auntie Ruie is still living!

The Greatest Generation: An extra good time was had by all over Memorial Day

In my blog, from now on, I will simply refer to my characters by name.  Husband John and I had some of his buddies from the Air Force, and the early life of defense from Viet Nam.  We were very taken with the many relatives of ours were from the Greatest Generation, and are now deceased.
And we are now "it".  We are the only ones left, starting the New Generation.  We are all orphans of the many heroes, the Allies, that saved the world from the Nazis.  World War II.  Now, we are the ones to defend the world, or more importantly, our nation.  John, Tony, Don, friend Vincent, Rob, and many others have now taken the torch.

I will start with the Civil War of 1860's.  To me, this was the worst, most horrific time in our history.
The Declaration of the freedom of the slaves.  I was reading about Mrs. Lincoln, and the sadness of her life, losing 3 out of 4 sons to terrible diseases of the time.  The uproar of the Southern plantations, the bloodshed, and the complete destruction of a grand life of huge crops and products that were possible because of the labor of their slaves.

to be continued . . .