Richard Sawdon, REALTOR, SRES, KW e-Agent

November----the “thankful month.” My brain is full of seasonal musings and short stories of thankfulness. I worked in the yard most of the morning----Mother Nature blesses us with a riot of color this time of year, but all of this color brings closure to another year of gardening and with it comes the annual clean up. I was already thinking about gardening plans for next year as I cut, trimmed, raked and swept away months of gardening happiness and pride.

He entered our lives (and hearts) about three weeks ago. At first he was just a quick shadow of movement in the yard and then the visits became more frequent. Naturally, he possessed that sixth sense to know he just might be welcome here after a long quest to find a home. He was dirty, rather thin and wore a few battle scars of life on the road. After many attempts to charm both of us, he won the battle. I gave in first! I marched inside on a chilly Sunday morning and filled a bowl with fresh cat chow------he is now a permanent resident of the household. His tummy is quite round, he is very clean, his battle scars are just about gone and he is one happy cat. He passed his vet exam with flying colors. He tentatively comes into the house, but he is afraid of the resident black cat. He calls the garage and the yard his new home. He sits on Richard’s lap when Richard rides his recumbent bike and follows us all over the yard like a dog. We gave him a name that celebrates his physical being and his new address----Jasper the Friendly Ghost. Did you guess he is a white cat who lives on Jasper Agate Court? I know we are all very thankful for each other.

A few weeks ago,we returned to Mendocino for a four day stay at The Little River inn. It was such a blessing to arrive and feel, once again, at home with a very good friend. We were greeted warmly by Lyn as we checked in and the aroma of dinner being prepared at the talented hands of Chef Marc Dym filled the air. Alan, the Host for the eveing, welcomed us and made us feel like we were special guests in his home. Of course, having Maria for our waitress was the icing on the cake. She always makes dinner a special occasion for us. Thank you for another memorable getaway.

Many times I have written about my place of employment and the warm and wonderful people who own Prospector’s Nursery in Nevada City. This time, I want to call attention to a fellow employee who helps make the work day so enjoyable. He, too, is “retired” like I am, but we both find “reinventing” ourselves to be quite rewarding. His sense of humor, work ethic and integrity make Terry who he is. He has a favorite saying that I like to keep in mind----”it is all good!” Thanks Terry!

Life would not be complete without wonderful friends and family who make the days worth living. I wish we could all sit around an enormous Thanksgiving table and share the bounty of the season with each other. I am thankful for your love, your friendship, your support and the very fact that you are in my life. May your blessings be many this season.

By Diane Sawdon

Do you remember the song, "What A Difference A Day Makes?" That song title is proof positive that Mother Nature finally decided to send my favorite season of the year, Fall, to Nevada County. In a short twenty four hour span, the temperature dropped over thirty degrees. It was a joy to wake up to a very chilly morning and grab some jeans out of the closet that have not seen the light of day for over five months and slither into them............and they still fit! But, the greatest thrill was to come home last evening after working for almost nine hours and find that my Sweetie had lit the fire in our Vermont Castings Gas Stove. I numbly walked down the hall, glanced into the family room and let out a hoot of joy! The old dog was sprawled out on her bed smack in front of the fire-----such a comfort to her old bones. She was even gracious enough to share her bed with our "virtual" cat. This feline is not a source of love to anyone, but she has shared our domicile for over ten years and she does give the dog a nightly massage. The cat sits on the dog's back and kneads her declawed paws into the dog's fur. The dog deserves a Hero Badge for putting up with this nightly occurrence.

I love fire! I admit it, I am a self proclaimed pyromaniac. In our old house we had three stoves and each and every one was wood burning. When we moved, we agreed to switch to gas stoves. I will concede that I miss the logs crackling in the fire, the smell of the wood smoke and the heat source that warms one to the very quick of one's soul. I do not miss the dirt, dust and bugs that accompany logs and Richard certainly does not miss chopping wood for three wood stoves. Another compromise well done on our part.

Since this is my forum, I need to send out a compliment to both of my daughters. I am not a particularly brave woman. Probably the bravest (and dumbest) thing I ever did was to go out in the middle of the night, in a raging winter storm, and tie up our houseboat which had lost one of the ropes and metal pins which held the boat on shore at Lake Shasta. I just pretended that I was Louisa Wanda Strentzel, wife of world famous Naturalist, John Muir. It was an insane act and looking back on it now, I am lucky to be sitting here typing this. Now, I consider my two offspring to be very brave young women. I see them handle obstacles that would have sent me into a tailspin when I was their age. Kudos to you both!

I think that fire is calling my name about now. The dog and the cat are well toasted and it is my turn! Enjoy this glorious month of October. Trick or Treat to all.....................

By Diane Sawdon

Well, my husband just asked me if I knew what I was going to write. I told him yes, and then he made a judgment on my state of mind aka my mood---which is not too sweet at the moment. I told him maybe I could do a better job if I entertained the persona of Oscar the Grouch on Sesame Street. Why I am a grouch does not matter here. It is what I am feeling at the very bottom of my heart.

My first grandchild starts Kindergarten in just a few weeks. This will be a monumental step in her young life. But, it is a gut wrenching emotion for me, too. I taught Kindergarten for over twenty years and I know too well the anticipation of the beginning of the school year. September was always my personal New Year's Celebration. Those children walked through the door and they were gifts for me to unwrap and guide for the next nine months. It was joyful, terrifying, exhausting, and so gratifying. Those hours, days, weeks and months we spent together were the reason I did what I did with my life and the reason I still miss it dearly. I am so proud of my big girl who will be beginning a whole new chapter in her young life. I hope her teacher enjoys and treasures the gifts she brings to the classroom and appreciates her for just who she is!

July has been a furnace on high here in Nevada City. It seems like it has been hotter this July than in any of the other years that we have been residents of our fair town. I feel like the witch in the Wizard of Oz-----"I'm melting!" Richard would agree with the witch part, I know. My tomatoes are very happy, though. Now, if we can just keep the deer away from them. Two weeks ago, Richard was greeted by a six point buck entering our deck in search of a lovely tomato snack.

We celebrated 41 years of marriage this past month---we both deserve a Hero Badge, I think! Maybe one of us more than the other. You can decide that one.

One last thought----we might just have some wonderful new neighbors. I just know that we will celebrate the close of escrow very soon.

Oscar is signing out now.......

By Diane Sawdon

Simplify! The metal letters hanging on the wall above my kitchen sink say this. Why the word is located in this specific spot is so that I will see it every time I enter the room and, hopefully, it will have a constant impact on me. It is meant to be a reminder of why I now live here in Nevada City and what kind of a lifestyle I etch out while I walk through whatever years I have left on Planet Earth.

Four years ago we left the hustle and bustle of the Bay Area to seek some peace and to rekindle a love for all that Mother Nature has to offer. We arrived as total innocents wearing our rose colored glasses. Mother Nature put life in proper perspective when one of the trees on our property was struck by lightning in a storm just three short months after we moved here. Was this a sign-----”welcome to Nevada County, now go home?” We stayed, deciding that this was just a test of our mental fortitude and true mettle. There have been numerous bumps along the way, but we have tried to pay homage to that metal sign over the sink each and every day.

Do you have a member of your family or are you the one who hogs the remote and within sixty seconds or less can surf through the entire range of channels on your TV?? I confess. I am the guilty one in my family. I am so addicted to this behavior that close family members leave the room and refuse to return. My husband WILL NOT watch TV with me if I have the remote in my grasp. I am confessing to this crime because recently, on a extremely dull TV evening, while wallowing in the above described behavior, I came across Dr. Phil. Now, not being a fan of this “Oprah Plays Pygmalion,” talk show host, I was captivated by the subject. I paused, just long enough to hear him utter about those nebulous people, “they.” As in, “they said,” or “they did,” or “they have.” It started me contemplating who are they, where are they, what are they, when are they, and how do they know everything?? Darn, I wish I could be as experienced and knowledgeable as they are. Why, I would not even need my “simplify” sign any more.

For those of you who follow this rambling mind of mine every month, you know that I like Country and Western Music and that I quote the lyrics quite often. So, this one is for you, Steve. Steve is a good friend of mine who just happens to be the father of three children who were all in my Kindergarten Classes many moons ago. Steve was commenting on my Ramblings from last month and he told me one of his favorite lyric lines, “God is great, beer is good and people are crazy.” In my case I would have to change that to wine is good since I do not drink beer. Those words have gone through my mind innumerable times this month. They have haunted my very existence. The best or the worst part about it, depending on how you look at it, is it is TRUE. Or else, “they” let all the “crazies” out this past month just to torment me and my somewhat twisted mind. Thanks, Steve!

“They” are making me do this. I need to end this month with another quote from a Country Music Legend, Waylon Jennings, who wrote, “I’ve always been crazy, but it keeps me from going insane.” Happy July to all.............