Hey Jan - This one is for you!

From left to right - sisters K&C, Just Laura, cousins Mike & Jan

My cousin Janice visits the post periodically and reports the occasional news to everyone back home in Illinois. I thought I'd honor her with a blast from the past. Jan is on the far right - another cousin Mike is next to her.

Jan came to visit (with other family as well) one summer in 1978 (the year after we relocated to AZ). I remember all of us kids sleeping in one bedroom with the scent of vinegar lofting through the air. Someone had gotten a sunburn and vinegar was applied for the its cooling effect.

I remember singing "Oleander, Oleander, Oleander, Oleander" to the theme of Hallelujah Chorus although I'm not sure how that one got started. Parents and older cousins went to Las Vegas and all of us minors =) stayed home with Grandma Mary.

Memories from the past - Jan played clarinet in high school (When The Saints Go Marching In and Bear Necessities) and had beads hanging in her room. A yellow T-Shirt with "Dangerous Curves" written on the front. 5yr age diff between the two of us?

Good times! Love you Jan!

The Heat Is On...

98 degrees today. Triple digits are not far behind.

The worst part of the past couple weeks - allergies. I have not suffered from allergies this severe since 4th or 5th grade when we first moved to Arizona. My mom reminded me I used to be her little helper in the garden - just like Ben - until we moved. From that point on I was the inside helper.

I remember going to the nurse because I had something in my eye. At first glance the nurse thought I had pink-eye since my eyes were so red. No such luck. Allergies.

Ben wanted to play outside last week so I grabbed a book and figured he could run like a wild child while I sat peacefully with my literature. My nose (& eyes) started running but I stuck it out thinking this was the worst. An itchy face is fairly normal with my allergies - mind you I'm sitting on the patio, not rolling in the grass. A new symptom has reared it's ugly head on my face - a red rash & hives on my eye lids. Yippee!

I pray for the heat only because allergies lessen when things stop growing. And things stop growing in the dry Arizona heat of summer. Woo-hoo! ???