Cousin Jim Bowman - November 23, 1941 - March 28, 2019

I don't remember a lot about Jim when we were younger. I think he was about 6 years old when they moved back from D.C.   Mother told us that Aunt Luella would come up through the fields in the snow to visit.  She brought Jim but I don't know if Betty Lou was there during that time or working in D.C. 

Uncle Vernon, Aunt Luella, Betty Lou, and Jimmy Bowman
(CLICK ON PHOTOS TO ENLARGE.)

I do remember that when Jim was a boy, he touched the electric fence with his hand.  He found an old rabbit skin laying on the grass and I can still visualize him wrapping his hand in that and walking around, obviously in pain.  Much to my surprise, he remembered that, too.  I'll never know if he touched the fence on purpose or not. 

He told about going across the road to play in Muddy Creek.  He'd hang down over the bank, reach up into the mud under the ledge and pull out frogs and SNAKES!!!!

I crossed paths with Jim again when I moved back to the Valley in 2001.  Ed, my husband, had a heart attack and was going to have surgery through the military but in DC, not Martinsburg.  Ed and I went once for an appointment, using maps, and a computer program - but we got lost many times.  Mother had the idea to see if Jim would drive us.  It was amazing, we just got into the car and Jim drove us straight to the hospital!! 

Ed Angelil and Jim Bowman became really good friends - a most unusual combination - an outgoing, rambunctious, strong-willed city boy from Montreal, Canada and a basic not-shy, strong-willed country boy from Singers Glen.  Oh the hours they did spend on the computer - naturally Ed did all the mouse work since Jim wouldn't touch a computer.  They ordered everything from guns to cowboy boots. 

Jim had a friend in Maryland who had diabetes but who loved cheesecake.  Jim asked me to make a sugar-free cheesecake, which I gladly did.  Jim was thoughtful like that.

Ed felt bad about Jim eating alone so we had him over quite often for supper.  He liked everything as long as there was no cheese involved.  He had horrid memories of the smell of the cottage cheese his mother made.  For over a year, Mother, Ed, Jim, and I went to iHop for the seniors' half-off night every Monday evening.  Betty gave him iHop gift cards several times. 

Jim had a key to our house and we could always count on him to do a walk-through about once a month when we were in Florida.  One winter in about March, I asked him to check our pantry closet.  Mice had gotten in there and the devastation was incredible!  He took pictures and got an exterminator.  That was a gross job but you can rest assured that he didn't touch any of it.

Jim Bowman was the only person I ever knew who ate ribs with a knife and fork.  He did NOT like to get dirty in any fashion or form. 

For the 30+ years that Jim worked for the Washington Post selling advertising, he had to wear a suit and a tie every day.  It gave him great pleasure to get rid of all his suits when he moved back home.  Later he had to buy one for funerals but we ALL know he had to get a bit larger size! 

Jim didn't use computers but he read lots of magazines, especially car ones.  He researched a whole year and decided that I needed a Subaru Outback.  He went shopping with me a few summers ago and told the salesman to only show us cars that were fully-loaded.  That was a great choice.

I was pleased that Jim became such good friends with my brother, Philip, and Maribeth, his wife.  They had him over a LOT…..and he looked forward to the fully-packed doggie bags that Maribeth sent home with him.  

He and Philip spent countless hours working on the St. John's Lutheran Cemetery.  It was good for them both to have a worthwhile project.

Sorry this photo is so dark.

I'll always think of Jim with a cigarette in his hand and that slow grin on his face.  I will especially remember his radio-announcer voice.  He loved to have the center stage and especially liked to make people laugh!!!  

He was easy to talk to and freely gave out fatherly advice.  He was fiercely loyal and I knew I could count on him. 

It's hard to believe that Jim Bowman is really gone.  I loved him and I am going to miss him very, very much.

CareBag Can Use Our Toiletries

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CareBag

The Women's Club here in my community in Florida had a speaker named Rozanne Brown last year.  She is with an organization called CareBag.  I was captivated by her dedication and passion to help homeless people.  I learned that others felt the same way.

CareBag Mobile Showers

"Every man, woman, boy, and girl, should be able to have access to the basic right of life that is proper hygiene. We will accomplish this through our Mobile Shower Unit.

Access to water and sanitation is a basic human right. It is important because it’s about so much more than just a shower or using a private toilet – it’s about providing dignity to people."

CareBag Making a Difference Video

When we were on the Power Tour last summer, my friends and I
saved our toiletries each night from our hotels.   
We ended up with a goodly amount.

 

Some friends and I have also saved from other trips and cruises.

CareBag on Facebook

Homeless Times

A couple of us from here at Savanna Club (a 55+ community) plan 

to go to the grand opening of the CareBag Mobile Shower Trailer.

CareBag Dedication 

This will be an ongoing need so I, for one, will continue saving my hotel toiletries.  

Would you care to join me?

CareBag also qualifies for Amazon's Smile program.  

Our Mission Team in Haiti in 2019

A mission team from my church here in Florida went to Haiti very recently.

We've been working with a sister church there for some years. 

They discovered that there are protests going on because of the rising costs of fuel and corruption in the country.   Rocks were thrown at their shuttle bus, which sounded like gunshots. There were some injuries to people on their team.
The next morning their bus was accompanied by police in front of and behind them.  They managed to make it to the airport where a plane had come for them. They were really shaken up but were sad they didn't get to see "their kids" again.

The man who reported to our congregation said he was reading it because he was too emotional to just tell it.    However, they do plan to go back when things settle down.  

"Thousands of Haitians took to the streets of Port-au-Prince on Friday in the latest display of public fury at the government over rampant corruption, economic malaise and other grievances." Danger in Haiti
Haiti Travel Advisory as of February 14, 2019

Please, let us pray for the poor people of Haiti - that things will settle down soon and our mission team will be able to return in peace.

Floor Fanatic Finds Fix for Filth

Somewhere in the course of my life, I have become fanatical about my floors. 

How could a person who lives alone with one almost-hairless cat, generate so much dirt? Things like cat sneezes, tiny chips of ice shooting out of the icemaker, or "cooking dropsies" leave dirt or smears.  Well......it's not really THAT bad but it does get dirty. 

I like hardwood floors but they take double work.  First, the floors must be vacuumed, then wet mopped, plus, I like them to be dried (to avoid streaks).    Oftentimes, if it's a small area I use paper towels to spot clean which necessitates standing on my head.

Then, one day………….  TA-DA!  

The BONA MOP entered my house! 

It is wonderful, fantastic, excellent, marvelous, superb, and more!!!!!!!! 

It's easy to pull it out of the pantry when I have only a small spot or two and makes quick work of a whole floor. It has a built in container for the liquid spray.  I press the button/knob and it sprays a mist.  Then, I mop that area.  

 It takes only a little spray now and then so the solution lasts for months.


To accomplish the drying, I stand on a large towel and "walk" it behind the area just washed.

My Bona model is specifically for wood floors.  One good thing is that it has a mop pad that can be washed instead of constantly buying disposable ones.  The spray mist is very fine so there's not much liquid on the wood. 
 

I wonder what it signifies in life when a person gets excited about finding a handy-dandy mop?

Nevertheless, for this floor fanatic, finding a fix for my filth is a true find!

Pepper Passes Peacefully

Pepper, my Cornish Rex kitty, crossed the Rainbow Bridge today.  She was over 18, which is 88 years in human years.  She had tumors in her tummy area, on her chin, and on her tail.  She was getting thinner and grayer and was sleeping 23 hours daily.  She had left little "calling cards" around the house for months but they were small and dry, so I just picked them up and flushed them. 

Then came the days that she started spraying in the laundry room rather than use the litterbox.  This went on for 5 nights in spite of my using cat enzymes and vinegar to kill the potent smell and to stop her from using that spot.  I knew the day was coming.....

Thankfully, Gary had told me the day before that if I decided to go through with it to call him.  I didn't think I needed to but I did and it was a good thing.  Emotions hit me suddenly and I would not have been able to drive.  They were very good at the vet's and Pepper passed peacefully into kitty heaven.  Jason, the farmer next door, came and dug a hole under a beech tree by the driveway.

Blanche Devereaux looked for Pepper and meowed all afternoon.  By evening, she stayed tightly curled in her bed.  She grew up in a cattery and moved to our home with Pepper so has never been alone.  I don't plan to get another cat but I realize I need to spend more time with Blanche.

Pepper was a well-traveled cat.  She went with Ed and me on our big RV trip out West. 

Pepper's eyes were green, but that never seemed to show in photos.

Take a moment to enjoy Pepper's blog entries. 

This first one is my favorite:  Pepper's Perceptions 

Pepper's Big Day

A Playmate for Pepper  

Pepper is Peeved 

Pepper was a good little cat who brought lots of love and entertainment to my home.  Have fun, Pepper, and enjoy all your new friends.  We already miss you and your unique scratchy meow.

My Sister, Anita May Krull, Visits (in 2018)

My sister, Anita May Krull, lives in Dayton, Ohio.  She comes for about a week every summer, always on the train as she hates flying.  She fills her days and evenings with visits with all sorts of people she wants to see.  This year she requested that I take pictures for her.

Karen and Dennis Donnovant come every summer to spend the day with Anita.  As usual, Blanche found a nice male lap and stuck with Dennis.

Anita and Karen used to carpool together to their respective schools. 
They have kept in touch all these years.

Sister-in-law Maribeth May is one of Anita's "almost sisters"

Anita stayed with me a few nights, then with Philip and Maribeth a few nights. 

Thelma Hollar was one of Mother's good friends. 
Anita adopted Thelma as her mom after Mother died.

The May girls.  Cousin Becky May, Anita May Krull, MaryMay Angelil, and Stashia May Kline.

The six of us were known as "The May Kids".  We had 2 girls and a boy, as did Uncle Bob.  So, Stashia and I were playmates, Anita and Patty were playmates, and William (now Bill) and Philip (now Phil) were best buds.  Our lives were very much like "The Waltons" on TV.

Anita May Krull and Patty May Golightly.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ellen Krull came with her mom this summer.

Ellen Rene Krull and Aunt MaryMay Angelil

 

 

 

Another visit that Anita enjoyed was with William (Bill) May and his daughter Kelly May Brown.

Kelly, Anita, and Bill

 

 

 

It's always a pleasure to have a visit with my dear sister, Anita.  Even though we live far apart in miles, we're still together in heart.

(I started this entry on August 14, 2018 and it is now August 26, 2020.  So, better late than never!)

Trip to Bobz and Marilyn Freeman in Asheville

Mother was from Dobson, North Carolina, which is 220 miles from home.  Every summer Mother, Anita, Philip, and I went to stay at Grandmama Freeman's for a week or two.  Daddy drove us down and came to get us as Mother didn't know how to drive back in those days.

Grandmama Freeman and Aunt Mary lived in the big family home.  They started to build it before the Civil WAr but didn't finish it until after the war about 1865.  It was one of those big old houses with the firplaces big rooms - Anita, Philip, and I called it The Mansion.

Mother's brother, Robert Freeman, lived just across the street.  Our 2 first cousins were Bobz and Bill.  They were several years older and we thought - we KNEW - that they were "all that."  

Oh, how we adored them!  There was lots of teasing and tormenting from both sides.  And the poor guys, we hung all over them with cries of, "Pick me  up, pick me up!" 

You can see Bill clowning around.  Philip was really tiny!  This was 1953?

Little Bill, Bobz, and Stashia (my cousin from VA) on their pony.

We were in awe of Bill's Tennessee walking horse named Saxon.

Bobz was famous for his "Monster Walk" and we begged him to do it again and again.  This was when they were visiting us in Virginia a few years back. 

Last summer Maribeth had the idea of us all going to visit Bobz and Marilyn in Ashville.  We did and we thank Maribeth profusely for staying on us and making it happen.

It turned into a mini-family reunion!  This is Marilyn, Bobz, and their baby.

Anita, Phil, Bobz, Marilyn, and Gary visiting in the living room. 

(I had to snap the picture fast because Philip couldn't hold in his stomach any longer!)

Maribeth May and Ellen Krull, my niece.

 Marilyn, Ellen and Anita putting supper together.

The Walker May children, Philip May, Anita May Krull, MaryMay Angelil

 Gary Suter and MaryMay Angelil.  Nice background for a photo.

Yep, he's still "got IT"!!!!!

What a fabulous evening and day, reminiscing, laughing, talking, looking at old photos, and the Southern activity - eating.

Thank you, Maribeth, Marilyn and Bobz.