On Saturday, we took the motor home to Pismo Beach and enjoyed the marvelous weather! Dad said his motor home was very happy as it got to go to the beach. We spent the day resting, eating lunch, spending time on the beach and enjoying each other's company. I was sending warm thoughts towards my family that lives on the freezing east coast! Here is a picture of Dad on his walk in his infamous yellow hat.
On Sunday, his actual birthday, Jane, Jason, and Alicia all joined us for a dinner celebration. Joan made Dad's favorite: turkey dinner! Turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, yams, gravy, asparagus, and salad. Dad thought it was delicious and ate a lot. Everyone had finished and Dad was still eating away!
We followed dinner with a beach themed birthday cake. It was lemon, and we had mint chocolate chip ice cream with it. Odd pairing -- but both are Dad's favorites. Again, he was the last one eating. Jane was teasing him about how much he ate! We all decided that when we get to 82 we'll eat whatever we want too.
After cake Dad got to open all of his presents! He had a big heap of them and was downright giddy. He especially liked the brightly colored fish towel Joan and Dean got him, and the hat that Ron and Jenny got him (which he promptly turned inside out because he thought the bright red would look better in pictures). He also liked his books, cds, dvds, and games. (A lot of which had to do with "Reba", something he enjoys a lot)
To end the evening we played a game that I got him called "Family Talk & Grandparent Talk". It was full of conversation spurring questions. We all enjoyed listening to Dad tell stories. Here are a couple that Alicia re-interviewed him about for this blog:
What are things you remember about going to your Grandparents house?
On Grandpa Fred Meldau:
"They lived near the San Gabriel river, and so it was sort of adventuresome. The big deal there was to go to the movies on Saturday night, near the San Gabriel mission. It's also where I got attracted to the number six. They had a horse race with dice, and I guess I must have won with a six. If you won you got free tickets to play next time."
On Grandfather Robert Huck:
"I never knew my Grandfather, he was sick in bed and I visited him. I can sort of remember that, but I never really knew him as a person."
On Grandmother Edna:
"She used to make an all corn-bread dinner. No vegetables, no meat. Cornbread and milk. I thought it was a treat. It was a contrast because my Mother always fed me nutritious meals. Grandmother Edna, I remember her having a strong personality, and I'd say she was demanding, yeah. She demanded that I go out and stand on the street corner. (laughs) She was a Jehovah's Witness."
Where did you go on dates?
"Well my favorite date was to go dancing. Usually at the civic ballroom in Pasadena. Your Grandmother and I went to Aragon Ballroom in Venice to dance. It was a ballroom on a pier off of Venice, which had roller coasters and had stuff like that. And Lawrence Welk played there for a while. It was a long drive over there. Your Grandmother was a good dancer. It was fun to dance with her. (After prompted to talk about playing sports with Grandma) It wasn't my favorite story, but yeah we went and played badminton, she had me running all over the court she beat me. Crazy, I don't even know why I kept going with her after that. (laughs) When we were in Caracas, we played Tennis at the sports club, and she beat me (laughs). We went skiing at Big Bear I think, but that was only once. Yeah, she was fairly athletic when she was young. She was an ice skater. She was still taking ice skating lessons when I met her, but she had been doing it for about 10 years when I met her. She had her own skates, and would skate circles around me. (laughs) "
What was the craziest hairstyle you ever had?
"Well I don't think there's much to tell. But I, uh bleached my hair blond when I was in junior high school. My hair was brown before. I bleached it because I wanted to do something different like teenagers do. I don't know I can't think of any other reason why. Frank and I were friends back then, but I don't think he did it. He was more conservative than me."
We all love Dad and are so happy that we get all this wonderful time with him!
Guest Blogger: Alicia Bonfoey
1 comment:
That interview is Awesome!! What great stories! Wish I could have been at the party.
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