My Grandmother's Journals: January, 2000 "Cable out? Cut toe nails."

My grandmother's journal for January of 2000

Need some calm? Does a soothing routine of “usual breakfast, coffee at McDonald’s” and catching a movie before picking up a pot pie at KFC for dinner sound good?

Then spend a few days with my grandmother, who fastidiously wrote down each morning what time she woke up, then noted any phone calls, mail and what movie she went to see before settling down with the television and a crossword puzzle before bed.

That was cool.  

 

Because I love reading her journals. And not just because she was my grandmother, but because I love all of the details this frugal and persnickety woman shared about her days. And maybe you will, too?

Eating with grandma in Paris.

The entries below are from January of 2000, when she was an 84-year-old woman living alone in a trailer park. But don’t feel sorry for her, because she wasn’t sad, and neither was her home — she was the most fiercely independent person I have ever known, living in one of the most beautiful places I have known: Santa Cruz, California.

(I wrote more about her life in this post)

 

Grandma didn’t fly anywhere this month (yes, she was still traveling overseas by herself in her 80s!) but she was planning another trip to Paris, a city she loved so much she visited it nearly every year. We even went to Paris together when she was 80 and I was 25, and you can read both of our journal entries during that trip here.

Saturday, Jan. 1, 2000

Bed late. Cirque wonderful.

Not good sleep. 1-3-7. Rested til 8:30.

No reports of 2YK problems locally. NBC Rose Parade

Finished bathroom

To show, “Mansfield Park.” Put slavery, abolitionists into story. Lovely scenery.

Home, looked like rain. Cloudy, dark.

Dinner, news, ran tape of Marriage of Figaro. 3 hours.

Read papers, no JAG.

Sunday, Jan. 2, 2000

Up 8:30, usual breakfast. Worked on kitchen doors.

Lunch. Just did three cabinet doors.

Typed letter to Mina. Ribbon out.

Cleaned up, took garbage out.

Rain on Tuesday?

Made tuna salad.

Good sleep.

Monday, Jan. 3, 2000

Rain.

Up 7:30, usual breakfast. Cold.

Mailed letter to Mina.

Got pix for letter to Carla.

To Sears, no ribbons for typewriter.

To Staples, got four. ($8.38, up 40 cents)

Home, message from Margaret. Lost my rent check! 

Meet her Wednesday, 8-10 at office.

Some TV: L&O, Moonlighting reruns.

Worked on kitchen.

Bed early. Up 11:30, 12:30, 1:30.

Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2000

Up 8, usual breakfast. Out 9:50.

Jewelry shop opens 10:30.

To OSH, checked contact paper. Two women working there, gave me hanger (pants).

Got Timex, plus wall clock with cats.

Then got sweater, Sarah Bentley, brown. 13.00

Home, news.

Finished contact in kitchen.

TV: Murder She Wrote, Law/Order, etc. JAG.

Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2000

Visa 1/9 Meet Margaret 8 a.m.

Set alarm 7:30, up. Breakfast, new check to Margaret.

Home, sorted mail on table. Filed much.

Larry ill. Cold? Watch it!

To bank for balance, Drug Emporium for TV Guide.

To KFC, got pot pie (2).

Home, tough balancing bank!

Murder She Wrote, shower/hair

TV: News, JAG, Sci Fi, West Wing (good)

Wrote Mina

Bed late, slept good. 12-2-4-8

Thursday, Jan. 6, 2000

Up 8. Washed some, wrapped clock for Justine.

To bank, got U.S. West stock.

To Drug Emporium for diuretics, cookies.

To post office, mailed package. 3.20

To Hollywood Video, got 2: Four Weddings, 1 Funeral; Ready to Wear.

To Soquel School District, returned Notice to Vote.

To fruit stand.

Home, worked on taxes. Very little due, maybe overpaid.

Ran part of Four Weddings.

Bed late, not good sleep.

Friday, Jan. 7, 2000

Up 7:30. Cold, put on heat.

8, usual breakfast. Wrote letters to Sandra and Andra,

To Longs, got soap and corn.

To post office, mailed letters.

To Kmart for lunch.

To Carole’s she had cold/flu, pneumonia. To county show of Carole’s.

TV: Ice skating, 9-11.

Mail: Letter from Prudy, hard to translate.

Saturday, Jan. 8, 2000

1:30 a.m., car in front of Larry’s.

8:30 a.m. Lola’s car gone.

Called Myra, she gave me Sister Grace's number. Called 9:50. 

Had cold last week, caught from Larry!

Sister Grace returned call, Loretta with Larry. Looking for trained caregiver.

I relayed info to Myra.

Walked on cliff. Nice day.

To Trader Joe’s, got honey.

Home, football, papers, crosswords. (2)

Other TV not interesting.

Slept good 1-3-5

Sunday, Jan. 9, 2000

6:30 a.m. Larry’s TV on loud? Loretta gets a feel for problem.

Football: Vikings 27, Dallas 10

To KFC for sandwich, 1 pie.

Home, ran “Pret-A-Porter.” Many jokes.

TV: Gilda Radner Live, Comedy Central.

Bed late. Slept OK.

Golf: Tiger won at Hawaii, sudden death, putt vs. Els.

Monday, Jan. 10, 2000

Check mobile home insurance w/state.

Cold! Up 7:30, usual breakfast.

Loretta at Larry’s. Ellie sick, stomach flu.

To Longs, Hollywood Video.

Worked on 1099 for Treasury.

Talked with Mina, long talk.

Tuesday, Jan. 11, 2000

Bed late. Slept til 9. Had pear, toast and tea.

Sister Grace a no-show.

To Drug Emporium. TV Guide, etc.

To mall, ate Carl's Jr. Talked to young man. Works at Circuit City, goes to school.

To library. Emails from Carla, H and Justine. Justine got clock.

TV: News, Lehrer, JAG.

Bed 9, crossword, etc. Read papers.

Slept 1:30-3:30-5:30

Wednesday, Jan. 12, 2000

Appt. with Leon Costello.

Breakfast usual. 

To bank, mailed letter to MCI.

Got paper, Leon C. from 10:10 to 10:30.

Home remainder of day.

Mail: 1099 from Bell ATT.

TV: JAG; West Wing, good; Law & Order, 10-year-old killer girl, brain damaged in car accident.

Slept good til 8:30.

Thursday, Jan. 13, 2000

Up 8. Cold! Thermostat hard to turn on.

Wrote to Stimson, cheery letter and mailed it.

(He died that day, per letter from his sister.)

To Scotts Valley, thought show 2 p.m. But not so.

Ate KFC there.

Home, wrote Myra. Dinner here.

TV: Lehrer, news, JAG, saw. Some E, History.

No mail.

Friday, Jan. 14, 2000

Up 7:30, cold. Breakfast usual.

Called bank for T-Bills.

Larry gone 11:30 a.m.

To Trader Joe’s for groceries.

Home, Murder She Wrote, Lehrer.

No Mail.

To bank to check on 1099. 

Got candy at See’s.

TV: A&E, “All the Presidents Women.”

Foned AA, made reservation. Gave wrong passport #.

Saturday, Jan. 15, 2000

Cold, not good sleep. 2-4-8

Foned AA, gave Justine’s work.

Football: Jacksonville 62, Miami 7.

To Kmart for groceries. Home for lunch.

Football: Tampa Bay 14, Redskins 13.

Called Justine, told her trip. Gave her #.

Mail: Letter from Mimi, SS 1099, Master bill.

Worked on Calif taxes til 10 p.m.

News, bed, slept OK.

Sunday, Jan. 16, 2000

Awake 7:30. Cold, heat. Up 8. Usual breakfast.

Cleaned drains, both kitchen and bath.

C-SPAN, Clinton. Wall Street Journal conference.

To show, "Sweet and Low Down."

Looked at Thirft Shop, Wherehouse. No soundtrack.

Groceries at Albertsons, home. 

Ate here, some football. St. Louis over Vikings, Tennessee over Indianapolis.

TV: News, 60 Mins, Ebert.

9:30, tennis: Only first round.

Bed 11:30, read a bit.

Monday, Jan. 17, 2000

Slept deep.

Awake 7:30, heat. Up 9:30. Breakfast.

Looked at CalTrain schedule, etc. Called shuttle. Leave car or take taxi?

To Penney's. Looked at clothes, nada. Clearance, can't use coupon on that. 

Got shoes, two pair. Will take one back. Tried on some clothes to go with shoes/purse.

Home, ate here.

TV: News, JAG, Law & Order, ESPN: tennis.

Larry asked for matches.

Not good sleep.

Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2000

Awake 7:30. Cold. Ate pear and tea.

Out 10:15 to Penney's. Returned shoes.

To Drug Emporium, met Sister Grace. Told her about Larry.

Got coffee.

Checked Gottschalk's, clearance, somme Penney's.

Home, Murder She Wrote.

Mail: ATT 1099

Read papers, Lehrer, JAG, etc. (2)

Bed 9, crossword. No sleep til a.m.

Tried to sell, could not get through to Schwab.

Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2000

Rain today.

Up 7:30, breakfast usual.

10 a.m. tennis. Capriati won, 6/1, 4/6, 8/6.

To Drug Emporium.

Walked a bit.

To Burger King, got fish sandwich, fries.

Cold, rainy.

Home. News, Nite Court, M.S. Wrote.

Tried Schwab, nada.

Classified videos: Operas, films, etc. Took about 2 hours.

Called Mina, she did not watch the tennis.

TV: JAG, saw the L&O.

West Wing from bed, crossword.

Thursday, Jan. 20, 2000

Moon eclipse tonight. 6:03 - 7:01 p.m. easier to see, 8:05 total.

Awake 7:30, up 8. Usual breakfast. Packed vitamins.

10 a.m. tennis. Hingis won over new one. Good.

To library, two messages from Carla.

To laundromat on Portola. Walked up to 35th.

To KFC, got pot pie.

Home, watched news at noon & Murder. (Night Court is on A&E before Murder).

Called Schwab, said sell 200.

Tennis: Sampras and Capriati won.

Not good sleep.

Friday, Jan. 21, 2000

Up 8, usual breakfast. COLD.

Washed green sweater, wool.

10 a.m. tennis: Agassi won. Steffi was there. 6/4, 6/4, 6/3. Good match.

To Longs, got envelopes. Mailed card.

To Denny's 12 noon. X manager there, he remembered me! Going to Gilroy, 3-bedroom cheaper than here.

To Logo's, looking for "End of the Affair." No.

To Salvation Army, 75 cents for 2: Hunt for Red October, The Firm. Got fruit.

Home, walked a bit. Exercised early.

Tired.

Saturday, Jan. 22, 2000

Slept good last night.

Up 8, usual breakfast.

Mopped kitchen, bathroom floors.

To Longs for paper, McDonald's full.

To library, computer free. Sent message to Carla.

Home to eat lunch.

To town for show, "Cider House Rules." Very good.

Got some candy.

Looked for cassettes, no Sweet & Lowdown, only on CD. Got Buena Vista Social Club cassette.

Tennis: Davenport, Capriati won, Sampras won.

Bed 11:30. Rain most of night.

Sunday, Jan. 23, 2000

Awake 6:30. Rain hard.

Up 9, heat til 9:30. Chores.

Football: Tennessee Titans 33- Jack 14; Tampa Bay vs Rams 11-6.

Shower/hair. Rain most of day.

Cable out? Cut toe nails.

Watched 60 Minutes, still raining.

Cable out all nite? Checked 11, out.

Bed after news. Forgot tennis.

Monday, Jan. 24, 2000

Awake 6:30, up 9:30. Roads out, etc.

Breakfast usual. Tennis.

To Supercuts. Haircut, home.

Changed, watched MS Wrote.

To Longs, mailed letter to Master card.

Rain again all day.

TV: Bravo, "Shadows and Fog, with Mia Farrow, John Malkovich, Jodie Foster.

Tennis: Agassi, Capriati.

Rain let up about 9:30? 54 hours.

Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2000

Up 7. Usual breakfast. Tennis, Sampras won.

To Kmart, got groceries, etc.

Home. Salvation Army took twin beds from No. 2. Has small woman, walks to store.

Talked to Ellie re rain.

Murder She Wrote, Lehrer, wrote letter to Myra.

Mailed letter, walked on cliff. Cold. Good Waves at "hook."

Read papers, TV: L/O, JAG(2)

Mudslides at Seacliff campgrounds, snow closed govt in DC, Flights closed.

Wednesday, Jan. 26, 2000

Not very good sleep. 

Awake 7:30. Cold. Heat til 8:20. 

Usual breakfast. Wrote letter to Prudy.

10 a.m. tennis.

Got paper, stamps.

To library. Took name off Treasury list.

To Drug Emporium for TV Guide, OSH for contact paper.

Called Justine. Talked 15 mins or more! Said H coming up in next two weeks.

TV: News, JAG, ran Torvill/Dean, West Wing.

Tennis: Watched three sets.

Bed 2 a.m.

Thursday, Jan. 27, 2000

Up 8:20. Breakfast, news. Agassi outlasted Sampras!

To OSH, returned 3 small rolls, got larger one.

Watched replay of Agassi and Sampras.

Read papers, wrote to Sy, took to mailbox.

Mail: Pension info, elder hostel.

Mina called 6:30? Re tennis.

10 p.m. tennis, women's doubles. Aussie won.

Bed 10:30. Tired, slept good.

Friday, Jan. 28, 2000

Up 8. Cold. Breakfast same.

Bank first, mailed application for new account.

Stock market down 289 points, below 11K.

Got paper.

Tried Wherehouse for CD for Sweet & Lowdown, then Sam Goody in mall. To Streetlight, $15.99, $2 less than Wherehouse.

To show, "End of the Affair." Fair. Realistic sexual encounters.

To Longs, got padded envelope.

Home, tennis. Davenport won 6/1, 7/5. Mina talked of her.

TV: Bio, some JAG. Not good sleep.

Saturday, Jan. 29, 2000

Tennis: Men's final 7 p.m.

Cloudy. Up 9, breakfast usual.

To Longs, took pix of CD Sweet and Lowdown, federal taxes.

To post office, cost $1.13 to mail Justine CD + cassette.

To doughnut shop near fruit stand. 

Home, sorted taxes, etc. 

Ate, ran French tape.

Men's final: Agassi 3/6, 6/3, 6/2, 6/4. Fast, 3 aces last game.

Called Justine, told her sent CD. Talked about the movie, praised Sean Penn.

TV: Star Trek TNG.

Bed, crossword, etc.

Sunday, Jan. 30, 2000

Up 9, breakfast same.

Stocks down, Lucent up.

Read papers, chores. 

Lunch 11, vacuumed all rooms. Hard work.

Super Bowl, STL 23, Tenn 16. Couch afternoon.

Murder She Wrote all day. Some old I did not see.

Ebert talked of "Cult Videos" w/ "Play it Cool Man."

Ran French tape. Bed.

Monday, Jan. 31, 2000

Up 8, usual breakfast.

Shower/hair.

Looks like Lola left, Loretta around more.

To Kmart, got brown knee highs. Mended one pair.

Ate lunch at Kmart.

Worked on blue wool sweater.

News follows Alaska Air crash in water.

Started putting contact on wardrobe doors.

The Great Poop Geyser: Why the dog pooping in the car made family road trips my favorite vacation

Driving out of the Montana wilderness.

In 2016, my husband and I took the dog on our first family road trip to Yellowstone National Park. 

Like most adventures, it had moments that soared and some that sucked, especially one roller coaster morning that took us from the high of watching the dog play in snow for the first time to the low of hearing her poop out much of that snow into the car.

And while the dog’s diarrhea remains one of my most vivid memories from that trip, it is still by far my favorite family vacation — one that was only made possible by my husband convincing me we needed to buy a bigger car, and that I should be the one to drive it home.

That was cool.

Because as soon as I took our SUV on the freeway where I was suddenly taller than all the cars around me, I felt my anxiety about driving melting away. So by the time I got home I was ready for more, and began pulling out maps to finally plan a road trip that I had been dreaming about for years: Driving from California to Yellowstone.

That hadn’t been an option with our previous cars, especially my husband’s two-seat pick-up truck that barely fit two people and a cat, or my grandmother’s tiny hatchback, which I couldn't even take onto the freeway, let alone cram my whole family into for 10 days of driving across five states.

But now we had a proper adventure-mobile, so once I plotted our route, we decided to head out as soon as we could in the fall, because there was still one fear that even a 4WD couldn’t quell for me: Driving in snow. 

I had never learned how to drive in snow while growing up on the coast of California, so when I moved to Seattle I got a crash course. One night while driving our fish-tailing pick-up truck home through a snowstorm no-one had predicted, I got so scared heading up our hill that I abandoned the truck halfway up and walked the rest of the way to our apartment. After that, seeing even one flake of snow on the road seizes me with panic.

So knowing that weather in Wyoming and Montana could be even more unpredictable than Seattle, we left California as early as possible in October in the faint hope we wouldn’t hit snow, and as we headed out I was checking my phone’s weather app even more than I did our road map.

And though we hit that dreaded snow on the second morning as soon as we drove from Nevada into Idaho, it was light and the sun soon came out. Later I forgot all about the snow and Idaho became magical when we stumbled upon a great place to stop and walk the dog: Shoshone Falls, the “Niagara of the West.”

On the third day we drove into Wyoming on one of the most beautiful stretches of highway I have ever driven, and I quickly fell in love with Wyoming, too, even though we hit more snow there, despite my weather app never showing a hint of flakes in the forecast. Even while I stood in a grocery store parking lot in Jackson Hole with snow falling all around me, my phone still insisted the weather at my location was only “partly cloudy!”

But we wouldn’t have to brave the highways again for at least two days, so the next morning we all fell completely in love with that snow, especially the dog. On our morning walk, we let the dog run around in this new “fluffy white stuff” and she was ecstatic, rolling in it, dashing about with the “zoomies,” and yes, eating plenty of it. 

Watch the dog falling in love with snow and other road trip highlights here:

We left the snow all smiles that morning, with no idea of the geyser we would see even before we got to Yellowstone.

The dog started whining soon after we drove into our first national park together, Grand Teton. Since we were surrounded by wildlife — sheep and goats in the mountains, huge elk in the meadows along the highway, and probably bears just out of sight — we figured the dog was just excited about all the exotic new smells and incredibly anxious to get outside and find the creatures creating them.

But because the dog has a very strong prey drive, and we were not allowed to walk with the dog in a national park anyway, we kept driving, hoping she would get used to the smells and relax.
When she didn’t, and the whining got just louder, my husband began searching for a parking lot, or even a turnout, he could possibly stop in, But before we could pull over, we heard the most horrible sound of gushing liquid.

Driving through Yosemite on Tioga Pass.

“Is she peeing?” my husband asked his eyes on the road.

“No, she’s not peeing,” I said, looking behind our seats as the horrible smell arrived. Yes, all the snow the dog just ate was now coming out brown, all over her dog bed.

As awful as those moments were for us and the dog, I am grateful for what happened next, as it proved my husband was the perfect person to take on a road trip, first dropping me and the dog off at our hotel room, then heading out on two impossible missions: 1. Get rid of the diarrhea destroyed bed. 2. Find a new one we could afford in the very expensive tourist town of Jackson Hole.

Because we certainly couldn’t just toss the soiled dog bed in our hotel room waste bin, and all of the Dumpsters at the hotel were locked. Then when he drove through town, all he could find were more locked cans, all tightly closed to thwart bears. But, finally, he found one where he could discreetly toss the spoiled bed, then set off the find a new dog bed.

When he came back with both missions calmly completed, we treated ourselves to some local Thai food that we ate in the hotel room so we didn’t have to leave the dog alone in case of more accidents.

And yes, the dog’s tummy problems continued, because while my husband was tackling his tasks, the dog threw up on the carpet of the hotel room. But thankfully it was mostly water, and I was able to clean it up before he got back. (He admitted later that he could tell something had happened, but was kind enough to not mention it at the time).

After the Grand Teton geyser, we let the dog out of the car obsessively. Before we finally drove into Yellowstone, my husband took her on a long walk to make sure she wouldn’t need to go to the bathroom before we headed into the park on a beautiful day for driving.

“You’re very lucky,” said the man behind the desk at our Bozeman hotel that morning. “Yesterday it snowed and they closed the roads, but today the weather is perfect."

And we didn’t hit snow, or poop geysers, again on the trip, as we luckily started heading home just in time — because on our way out of Montana, we stopped at a rest stop near Butte and I was heading to the bathroom when a car covered in snow pulled into the parking lot.

When the woman white-knuckling it behind the wheel got out, we all ran up to her to ask where she had come from, which thankfully was the opposite direction my family was headed. But I never forgot the look on her face behind that mound of snow on her hood, and I vowed right then that if we returned to Montana, it would be in the summer!

And we did just that the next year, driving even further into Montana to see Glacier National Park on another epic family road trip. Because despite all the challenges of the first one, I still consider a road trip as the best way to spend a vacation with my family.

Hitting the highway again.

And my husband? I’m pleased to report that he fell in love with them, too, admitting that he
was apprehensive about the journey before it started, but loved it at the end, telling me I did a great job planning: the towns I chose to stop in, the distances we had to drive every day and the hotels I chose had all been very good, so he was happy to go wherever I wanted the next year.

And the dog? Watching her hanging out the car window as we drove out of the first national forest she got to run through in the Cabinet Mountains, her eyes still high from all the smells, I knew she would be OK with returning to Montana, too.

So we went back there in 2017, this time heading to Glacier in August to miss all the snow, then in 2019 took another family road trip to Zion. And while both those parks are jaw-droppingly beautiful, I believe that first family road trip will forever remain our favorite — yes, even though the dog pooped in the car!