Walnuts

March 7, 2011: Not feeling really great today, so I think I will choose a rather short topic to write about today. One thing, I have been working so very hard for the last 2 weeks on is trying to get over this very bad cold. I am supposed to have cataract surgery on Thursday. But I don’t know if I am going to feel good enough by then yet. I cannot be coughing or blowing my nose at all after having the surgery. Today I am not only blowing my nose and coughing still (very Little) My eye is also running like a sieve. I didn’t sleep well last night because of a headache I could not get over until I got up in the middle of the night and took a can of Pepsi with two Tylenols. The Headache finally went away, but then I was awake from the caffeine in the Pepsi. But at least I was comfortable and could rest. So now I am a bit tired and could really use a nap. But that is not in the picture until about 8:30 tonight. I can hardly wait.

 The wind is something else today. I think I will stay inside today. Just listening to the wind is enough to feel not like going outside in it. I’m piglet today. He doesn’t like the wind either. Winnie the Pooh is my favorite cartoon. We recite Winnie the Pooh characters all the time at our house. Everyone in our home has a favorite Winnie the Pooh character. I like them all. Well back to the topic of the day: Walnut trees.

 When we lived in Camarillo, California, we were living in KP housing. This is housing for the Air Force service men and their families. Hundreds of service men’s homes were there. Back behind our complex there was a tall fence and then behind that there was an orchard of walnut trees. Every year we would go and pick the walnuts or at least some of them, and spend the evening cracking the walnuts and storing them for the year. Mom would always make some sugared walnuts at Christmas time. I loved the sugared walnuts. I would always try to crack the walnut so we could have perfect haves. This is not as easy as it may seem. There were not that many perfect haves. But it was something we really tried hard to do. I guess that was a goal and we felt satisfaction if we could accomplish it. I remember also playing with our neighbor friends back in this orchard as well. It was a fun place to be for a while, till things changed in our family.