My Story - with questions to my Mom and her replies and a few emails to my friend, Spike the Grate
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I was born January 30, 1956 the oldest child of Richard Lee Owen and Neona May Brand. My brother, David Wayne Owen was born just over a year after my birth, on February 20, 1957.
When I was almost 3 years old we lived on a ranch owned by Dad's boss, Walter Brehme. They raised, sheep, hogs, cattle and several kinds of fruit. They had a big old horse that we kids could ride with adult supervision. Her name was Suzie Q. One year they had a bummer lamb that the mother had rejected and I was allowed to bottle feed it until it was old enough to be either butchered or put to pasture with the rest of the sheep. We called him Pamper.
One day I was in the pig barn with Dad and a fly flew into my mouth and down my throat and I swallowed it. Yuck!!!! That still grosses me out.
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where was it that Dad collected stale bread from bakeries for the pigs to eat?
MOM: We lived on Walter's ranch at this time. Once a week he drove that big truck to San Francisco to the French bread bakery...we can't at this time remember the name of the bakery, but they make all kinds of breads, rolls, etc. We never wanted for bread, as not all of it went to the pigs!!
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Whose house burned? I remember kids playing with matches and their house burned?
MOM: Renee and family lived at Walter's ranch. The fire you are remembering was at Kay and Barbara Bryson's house. They lived down on the highway, close to Walter's house. The kids, Artie and Pat were playing with matches in their bedroom. The day was windy and the shingles were blowing off and landing in the fields. We were told to leave and we did. I don't remember where we went...
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My brother Keith Richard Owen was born on October 24, 1959 and Randall Lee Owen was born on August 7, 1961 while we lived at Walter's ranch.
Grandpa Brand gave us a dog named Candy - she was the sister of his dog, Buttons. Candy thought that we children were her puppies. When we were really young she'd let us crawl all over her and poke our fingers in her eyes and mouth and was really patient with us. But, as we each got older, she would let us know that type of behavior was no longer tolerated. Mom told us that if Candy ever had to bite one of us - we'd be spanked for provoking her!
The area where we lived was sheep and cattle country. Sometimes the ranchers would have trouble with packs of dogs that would chase their sheep and kill them. One day a rancher brought Candy home. He'd shot her because she was in his pasture. After he got to her he recognized her as our dog. So, he brought her home to us. The bullet had gone completely through her. So, Mom made a bed for her under the kitchen table. And we kids took turns keeping her company so she'd lay quietly and heal.
She got well, but always hated the sound of gunshots, jets flying overhead, and men after that. She was very overprotective of us kids.
One day Loren Smith came to our ranch to go bow hunting with Dad. The front door was open, but the screen door was closed to keep insects outside. We kids were sitting with our backs to the front door and Candy was playing with us. Mr. Smith wanted to go outside and, just to be funny, he rattled the door and spoke to us in a gruff voice. Candy came flying at the man from where she'd been playing. If he hadn't had a screen door between him and that furious dog, she might have ripped his throat out. She thought he was threatening her puppies!
The family next door (Renee's family) had a huge pig that we called Porky Pig. I would ride on her back and give her big kisses. Dad took movie pictures of me with Porky and always threatened to show the movie to any boy I brought home.
One time we were eating dinner at Aunt Lois and Uncle Erny's house. They were having pork chops for dinner. David refused to eat his and Uncle Erny told him that it was delicious pork just like Porky Pig (meaning the cartoon character. Poor Uncle Erny didn't know we were personally acquainted with a Porky Pig) - Which just made David sob in misery that anyone would eat our Porky Pig!!
Pippo's Ranch
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You had a friend who had two sons LaFawn (?) and?
MOM: LaFaun (I'm not sure of the spelling) was the older one. I can't remember the younger boy's name. He did wear glasses. We lived down the hill from them on the Pippo Ranch and you rode the bus together to school. Sister Clanton was your babysitter when I was at work. We knew them from church.
They were probably in their late 40's at this time. One day they were down at our house and we were all sitting in the yard under the shade trees. Brother Clanton said teasingly to her he was going to trade her in on two twenty's. She promptly told him he wasn't wired for 220! We got a kick out of that.
This must have been when we were on the five acre place. Because the boys used to protect me on the school bus. I think it was these two boys - at least one of them wore glasses.
I remember this because there were a lot of black and hispanic kids on the bus and we were the only whites. So, the black boys would tease me and LaFawn and his brother would protect me and the other kids called at least one of them Four-eyes because he wore glasses.
They were my heroes until we were at their house one day and one of them shot a small bird - probably a sparrow. I ran to where it lay on the ground and it was still alive - just wounded. I wanted to take it home and nurse it back to health. But, one of the boys took out his pocket knife and cut the birds head off and threw it away. This was terribly shocking to me – that anyone would deliberately kill a living creature. I guess I didn’t know where roast beef came from at this time.
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When I was in the first grade we moved to a five-acre ranch near Vacaville, California on Winters Freeway. We had a horse named Rusty Dusty, a Honda motorcycle, and a swimming pool. Our Jorgenson and Parker cousins liked to visit us during the summer and take turns riding the horse or cycle or swimming.
My first day riding the school bus from our ranch into Vacaville I was told to remember the number of my bus because I would take the same bus home. Unfortunately this was not exactly true. When school let out, I walked down the line of busses until I found the one I'd ridden in that morning and I got on. It went out into the country - but not on the route that went to our house. After all the kids had been delivered home except me the driver wanted to know where I lived and why I was on her bus. I explained as best as a first grader can where I lived and she eventually found our house. And the next day I found out which bus I was supposed to take to get home.
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MOM: Do you remember the day we got up and went to school an hour early because I misread the clock? You went out and waited and waited for the bus, and I thought you had missed it. So we got to school and no one was there. I had hurried you so that morning you didn't get a proper breakfast so we went to a restaurant and had breakfast while we were waiting for time to go to school. I had been watching the minute hand on the clock, and hurrying you two up. There was some special day at school, I remember you were dressed up for some reason...I remember David had on his cowboy shirt and hat...don't remember anything else about it.
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Then Dad bought Crystal Valley Dairy in Rio Vista and we moved to Fourth Street across the street from the Fire Station.
During the summer months Mom and Dad would take us kids to Yosemite National Park and we'd live there for what seemed like most of the summer - Dad & Mom say it was a week or so at a time (time is different when you're 8 than when you're 27!!) They'd rent two or three camp sites and we'd tie clothes line on the trees around our camp and hang blankets and sheets from the clothes line to make our camp private. Sometimes Aunt Lois and her kids or Aunt Betty with Linda and Davey and maybe even Grandpa and Grandma Owen would join us.
We would hike to the top of the Vernal and Nevada falls (Vernada) or swim in the creek. Of course there were lots of animals to feed including the bears. And at night we got to go to the dump and watch the bears and wait for the "Fire Falls."
Most campers would watch the Fire Falls from Camp Curry or the meadow. But, we usually went to the dump because Dad & Mom knew that the bears would be out there looking for food and that would keep us kids entertained until dark.
The rangers would pile wood at the top of Glacier Point. Then they would set the wood on fire and when they had a huge bed of coals, they'd call to a ranger down below "Hello, Camp Curry!" Then the ranger from Camp Curry would answer "Hello, Glacier Point!" The Glacier Point Ranger would call, "Are you Ready?" and the Curry Ranger would answer, "Let the Fire Fall!" It was awesome!!! But, the environmentalists have put an end to the Fire Fall.
At the top of Vernada Falls is a bridge that you cross to get to a building on the other side of the river. I remember a bathroom but don't know what else was in the building. Anyway, one time when we'd hiked to the top of the falls there was a woman on the bridge. And a black bear started across the bridge. The woman panicked. Instead of turning around and calmly walking away from the bear or just standing her ground and letting it walk past her, she climbed over the railing of the bridge. She hung onto the railing with her hands and her feet were on the bridge and a river rushed under her that just a few feet away fell a long way to bottom of the falls! If she'd lost her footing, there would have been no way anyone could have saved her.
The bears in Yosemite were used to people. Campers fed them - which caused problems because the bears would become demanding or they'd tear open cars to get the food that was left inside. Occasionally a bear would become too demanding and would have to be tranquilized and moved deeper in the mountains away from people. But, the real danger would have been if a person got between a mother and her cub. Which Dad, David and I almost did one time.
There was a small creek behind our campsite with large rocks in it that were just right for stepping stones. But, David and I were unsure of our footing and would have to hold Dad's hands as we crossed the creek on the rocks. Until the day we got between a mother bear and her twin cubs. The cubs were up in a tree. When the mother bear let us know that she didn't want us anywhere near her cubs we all ran back to camp across creek. David and I didn't need any help making it across on the rocks
(can't remember the story here - was this the one where one of us was pretending to be a bear and then there was a bear or the one where we were crawling across a log across a creek - having a hard time balancing - until we figured out that we were between a bear and cub and Dad scooped us up and ran across the log - both stories are mixed up in my head)
Then one year there were no bears. We put out bacon and marshmallows to lure bears to our camp. But, none showed up.
One time we fed grapes to a raccoon. At bedtime, Dad put all the food in the cab of our van to keep the animals from eating it. But, the raccoon was watching and as soon as we went to bed, he opened the cab door and got into the van and helped himself to the grapes!!!! As far as he was concerned they belonged to him.
Then Aunt Lois bought a membership in Hidden Valley Ranch Club and invited us to be her guests. They had horses to ride, sports to play, a swimming pool, dances at night, or bingo. It was a lot of fun.
MOM: Les was Lois's Leslie Ann and Lesser was Bill and Lola's Leslie Jean. Both girls were quite small...tenny boppers...but physically small, and Lesser was the smaller of the two...which is why we called them Les and Lesser. There is a story about Erny watching the lifeguard watching Keith swimming. You'll get a kick out of it.
Every morning they would put on their makeup before they were even fully awake and then go to the shower room and take a shower and then put their makeup on again!!!
They were afraid that they would run into some good looking guy on their way to the shower room and felt naked without their makeup!!!
When Yosemite became too crowded we would camp at the Russian River or travel to other places during the summer.
My sister Elaine Denise Owen was born on August 8, 1969 while we were living at the fourth street house. Dad was still at work when Mom felt that the baby was ready to come. So she called the ambulance to take her to the hospital in Fairfield. She asked me to watch the boys until Dad got home.
Once Elaine was old enough to sleep through the night, her crib was put in my bedroom - she was my baby doll.
When I was in eighth grade, Dad & Mom flew all of us and a friend of mine named Yvonne Disney to Anaheim, California and we spent the weekend at Disneyland. My favorite rides were Small World and Pirates of the Caribbean.
Entries from my Diary:
Sept. 1, 1970 - Tuesday
Not much happening today. Cleaned house and took care of the kids for Mom. Grandma is still in the hospital. Aunt Lois and Lori are here.
Sept. 2, 1970 - Wednesday
Dad & Mom are trying out a new air conditioned van. Cindy, Aunt Lois, Lori, Mom, Dad, Elaine and I are going shopping for school clothes in either Stockton or Lodi.
There's a dance tonight at MIA. Lori, Cindy and I are going. but David doesn't want to go. Mom and Dad are going to drop us off at the Church on the way to Grandpa's house. Called Grandpa's house from the Church to find out about Cindy spending the night. Grandpa answered and told me that Grandma had died at around 7:30 pm. Lori and I went out back of the Church and cried for awhile. Then we went back into the building. We washed our faces in the bathroom. Everyone was really nice. (Cindy had told them), Dad came and got us. The funeral will be Friday.
Sept. 4, 1970 - Friday.
Freshman Orientation this morning and Grandma's funeral this afternoon. What a contrast.
May 22, 1971 - Saturday
Am spending the weekend with Charla
May 23, 1971 - Sunday
Mom called and said that I have to come home. Keith had been bitten by a rattle snake and was in the Napa hospital and she needed for me to take care of the kids.
May 24, 1971 - Monday
Keith came home from the hospital early this afternoon. He can hardly walk and has needle tracks all over him. His hand looks like a rubber glove filled with water!!!
June 4, 1970 - Friday
Went to San Jose after school. Uncle Ed flew in from Idaho. Broke my nose fighting with Lori and David. Man did it ever hurt. They hit me so hard that it knocked me out. My nose didn't bleed - that's a surprise.
June 5, 1970 - Saturday
My nose is swollen and my eyes are black. I can't breathe out of my nose - it hurts like anything.
June 6, 1970 - Sunday
Uncle Bob, Donny and Manon came over and we went swimming. Aunt Harriet came over and told us that Donald is worse. He hasn't come out of his coma yet. His poor wife. I sure hope he is all right.
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An Email to Spike – January 2000
During my sophomore year of High School, I worked various jobs to earn enough money to take a trip to Mexico with a group from Indio, California. Their Spanish teacher had gone to college with my Spanish teacher, Mr. Guidi, and he invited Mr. Guidi's students to go on the trip. Dad & Mom bought my round trip tickets to southern California. But, I earned the money for the trip and my spending money.
My parents moved us to Reedsport in 1972 when I was a junior in High School. Everyone said that we'd hate Oregon because it rained all the time. But, the winter after we moved here it rained mostly at night and was nice during the day. It was probably a perfect winter for Oregon. Until December when it turned cold and snowed. I had to walk to school in the snow - barefoot and uphill both ways (oops that's Mom's story!!).
I've mentioned this winter to other people who were living here at the time and they can remember one perfect winter - but not the exact year it happened - I know the year because it was the first year we were here.
I know what you mean by priorities. Don's priority was always to be independent and work for himself. He and his ex planned to move to Alaska and fish and whatever up there. But, after a trip through Alaska one summer they decided that the mosquitoes could have the place.
So, he commercial fished here in Oregon during the summer and got work doing other things in the winter. And I fished with him during the summer - mostly I "held down the hatch" in a horizontal position to keep from throwing up. I really get seasick!!! But, the good days were fun. We had dolphins playing in our bow wake, killer whales swim around our boat, even a Japanese sunfish floated by one really warm summer - they are the weirdest fish. They're round and flat and float on top of the water (like a pancake on a plate) - one fin down in the water and the other sticking up in the air.
I went to college two years with the intention of becoming a psychologist - but hated the psychology courses!!! Then Don & I married (I worked at a restaurant graveyard shift to pay for college - he came in at 4 or 5 in the morning for breakfast before going out fishing).
While going to college I worked as a waitress at The Oasis and as a personal assistant to the head of the drama department - that was a fun job. I got to be involved in all the plays produced without having to be on stage myself!!! And I helped the head of the music department catalog all of the sheet music and get the department files organized (my "real" boss was performing in a play in Eugene that summer - so he loaned me to the music department).
Then, I worked with Don on the fishing boat, worked at the Nursery just up the road from us (they grow evergreen trees for reforestation) - that was a backbreaking job. I cleaned house for a friend after her surgery - until she could do it herself again. Her husband is a Doctor and I put in some time working in his office while she was healing (she was his office manager). (While I was in high school I did the books for my Dad's business until he sold it and moved to us to Oregon - the stress was killing him and his body told him so with a heart attack).
I've made and sold handcrafted items in several stores in Florence, Reedsport, Eugene, and Winchester Bay. I helped nurse Don's dad when he died of liver cancer (he also had emphysema) and Don's step mother until her daughter could sell the estate and move her mother to Colorado. Don's step mother had terrible arthritis and was in a wheelchair - she was also manic-depressive. But, was taking lithium and that helped. Then Don's mother was diagnosed with terminal lung cancer - so we moved her from Portland to our house to take care of her.
I guess it's just because I was the oldest of 6 kids and both parents worked - I've always been a caretaker. It's just the way things are supposed to be with me - I guess.
I've also worked other gift shops for friends who needed time off. They pay me a flat $25 per day to run their stores, restock any merchandise that comes in, do the banking, whatever comes up.
I've had so many varied jobs that there's never been an opportunity to get bored with my life.
I'm not good with numbers - that's what adding machines are for. I just know where to put the numbers on spreadsheets and how to make up spreadsheets for keeping track of different things. The past two years - and learning how to use computers has been really super. I really enjoy that part of what I'm doing.
Right now my goal is to get rid of all my craft supplies (all those unfinished projects - all those supplies bought for some unforgotten project) and all of my craft inventory by Dec. 31. Get out of the Mall; my friend Joanne also wants out - so, if the other two want to keep it going they can buy our shares in the corporation (for $25!!!!) and do whatever they want with the business.
I'd like to do something with computers. I need a real job now instead of the flittering around that I've been doing.
We have a very simple life. We have an orchard and a garden. We also have a pasture that we rent out for enough money to pay the property taxes. We don't need much but I'm getting older and starting to think about needing health insurance. We've both been very lucky to be so healthy so far.
I'm sorry to hear that you have terminal emphysema but am glad that you have Larry to support you.
And we all do it to ourselves: Don chews tobacco and I'm 100 pounds overweight. Very few people live perfectly clean lives. Well, Ghandi and Mother Teresa - but who wants to be a saint!!!!
You're welcome for the recipes. I'll send more as I get them downloaded or typed.
Jamie
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More Emails to Spike
2/13/00
Hi Spike,
We have a tremendous wind blowing overhead (we live in a canyon - so it blows over the tops of the hills) so the power may go out.
We have wood heat and propane lanterns - but the computer needs electricity!!!
Today I baked bread, cleaned house, typed recipes and listened to a book on tape (I'm listening to a series about a girl who comes to California during the gold rush. Her mother dies on the trip overland - but the kids find their father in the gold fields around Miracle Springs. She becomes a reporter for the California Alta and works on J. C. Fremont's bid for election as president - he was the first Republican nominee - but lost to Buchanan. Lincoln was the first Republican elected during the following election - since you live in Fremont . . .)
Here's my recipe for six loaves of whole wheat bread I spent the first three years we were married getting it right. I've baked it so many times that it just comes naturally to me now (Don won't eat store bread).
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Whole Wheat Potato Bread
Sponge:
6 cups warm water (110o to 115o)
6 tablespoons brown sugar
3 cups (unseasoned) mashed potatoes
6 tablespoons yeast*
3 cups white flour
3 cups whole wheat flour
Mix together the first three ingredients and let set until the yeast if frothy (about 15 minutes). Add the white and wheat flour and mix well. Put in a warm place to rise for about 1 hour.
1 cup oil
2 tablespoons salt
3 cups sunflower seeds
6 cups whole wheat flour
Add the first three ingredients to the sponge and mix well. Mix in the flour. Put in a warm place and allow to rise until double in bulk - about 1 hour.
8 cups (plus or minus) of whole wheat flour for kneading.
Spread the flour on the counter. Scrape the bread dough out of the bowl on top of the flour. Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic and no longer sticky. Set dough back in the bowl and put in a warm place to rise until double in bulk. About 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 400o.**
Divide dough into six even pieces. Roll form each piece into a loaf shape and place in a greased 9" x 3" loaf pan. Allow to rise until the loaf is 1-1/2 - 2 inches above the bread pan.
Bake for 10 minutes at 400o. Reduce heat to 325o and bake for 45-50 minutes longer or until a loaf sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.
*I buy my yeast in 1 pound bulk packages at Costco.
**my oven runs hot - so I cook everything 25 degrees lower than the temperature called for. You may need to use 425o and 350o in your oven.
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Actually a friend shops at Costco in Eugene for her restaurant and always asks me for my shopping list (yeast is about it for us).
I'm not a shopper either. Food and fabric for clothing is the big thing for me. We have lots of records - but they were all bought before we were married. And hundreds of books that we get at the used book store. People are always giving us books - the hardbacks we read (or not) and then donate to the library (for their used book sale) and paperbacks we keep or trade at the used book store.
I've run garage sales for the entire neighborhood and any books unsold are usually given to me after it's all over. And I've taught craft classes for 4H and the parents usually give me books when they find out that we don't have TV because we are readers (what a strange species they think us to be).
Almost every wall in our house has at least one book shelf - and some walls are completely covered with books!!!!!
Then I discovered Books on Tape at the Library and Love them - I can listen to a book and do my work at the same time. They're Grate!!!!
I've saved up enough money to buy any computer system that I want to get (except Macintosh) but it's such a huge expense that I'm stalling to make sure that I get the right computer. I don't want to spend more than I have to but, also want to get a really good one. And I'm so uneducated about the things.
So, I ask people about their systems.
With three hard drives and 47 gigs - isn't a Pentium II slow? Or did Larry set it up in a way that it wouldn't be slow?
When I first started asking I was told that I should be careful about how many gigs I got - because I'd need a fast enough processor to run the hard drive. So, is there a secret that Larry knows - since he built you computer?
A low center of gravity on a motorcycle means you sit down low and are less likely to tip over. Hondas and other like motorcycles have the seats high and tend to be "tippy". But, Don said that he's noticed a motorcycle and he thought it might be a Kawasaki (SP?) that is built more like a Harley - the rider sits low on the bike.
Jamie
CD's are beyond me. I do know what they are because Joanne has several for her computer - the encyclopedia is on one and games are on another!!!!
I do have a tape player that I use to listen to Books on Tape. And I'd love to hear your music. Thank you.
A Japanese sunfish is kinda yellow or dun colored with a white belly. They are round and flat like a pancake with a big cow eye on each side and a big fin on each side. The one we saw was about the size of a car tire but they can get really big and weigh thousands of pounds.
When they swim they are upright (like a tire on your car) but they prefer to float on top of the water soaking up the sun (I guess that's why the name).
So, when you float by one, all you see is this pancake floating on the surface of the water with one cow eye looking up at you and one fin sticking up in the air. As long as you don't make any sudden movement, they just float by. If you scare them, they turn back the right way and zip off.
About a year before the movie "Jaws" came out, Don had a huge shark following his boat for most of the day. Our boat was The Bounty (so, of course, I called him Captain Bligh)and it was 32 feet long and about 10 feet wide and had a 6 foot draft (the part underwater). Don would pull in his lines and then clean any salmon that he'd caught. And he'd turn around and this huge shark would be right behind him eating the guts he'd just thrown overboard. He said that the head was at least two and a half feet across and it was about 20 feet long (almost as big as the boat). Don would bang on the side of the boat with his gaff and it would drop down and back behind the boat. Then he'd catch another fish or two and it would come back to eat the goodies that Don was throwing in the water. The shark was a light grey color.
We don't usually get great whites in our area because it's too cold. But, there was a warm current for about three years. And this one followed Don for a long time until he decided to call it quits and go back in to harbor because it was scaring the salmon away.
The next year "Jaws" came out and Don found out what kind of shark he'd been feeding! One of the drag boats came in with a 12 foot great white that had been caught in their net. They used a boat hoist to lift it up so everyone could get pictures of themselves standing next to it.
Then Don & I started dating and he told me about his shark. So, one day (I was feeling Grate) I was sitting on the side of the boat with my legs in the water and a stay line between my legs to keep me from falling overboard. There was a basking shark heading toward us and Don yells, "Look out, Jaws is going to get you!" I fell over backward into the boat in my hurry to get away from the water. Don thought it was too funny.
Then he told me what they actually were - just whales. It swam by our boat and then went on it's way. They have these huge dorsal fins like sharks but are harmless. And they are a darker grey than a great white.
Years ago Don was out fishing deep water and had shut down for the night. He crawled into his sleeping bag and went to sleep. Then he work up because he could hear a weird noise. A deep sighing sound. He went out to check the boat and a whale was next to Bounty just laying there and sighing. He didn't know if it was tired or in love. But, he went back to bed and it went away sometime during the night.
But, the most fun are the dolphins. They love to swim in the bow wave of a boat. They play and jump and splash and cross back and forth in front of the boat.
We didn't get to see any of these things very often because our water is too cold. But, sometimes the current would be just right and bring in warm water from California and we'd see all kinds of interesting creatures.
Killer whales are kinda scary because they are so big and swim in pods so there's usually a lot of them. And they eat people. We read a book "Survive the Savage Sea" about a sail boat. It had a white bottom and a pod of killer whales thought it was a whale and did what they do - they dive deep under a whale then rush up and hit the underbelly of the whale as hard as they can to kill it and tear open it's guts.
Well, in this case the first Orca hit the keel of the boat and it killed him. And his pod ate him. It also tore open the haul of the boat. So, the family had to jump in their life raft with whatever they could grab and hope the Orcas wouldn't eat them too. The rest of the story is how they survived until they were rescued.
After reading that - I was a little nervous whenever killer whales were around.
One day we saw a Japanese glass float on the water. So, Don drove the boat until we were close to it and scooped it up with a net. He made a net hanger for it and it's hanging in our kitchen. There used to be glass floats all over the ocean. But, they're harder to find now. The Japanese use plastic for their floats now.
Talk at ya later, Jamie
Two grate minds on the same track. I was about to ask you if you were ready to trade the lemon chicken subject line for something else!!!!
Today is my day off - so instead of doing - whatever - I'm having a ball writing to you.
You could probably use the Potato buds - but you'd have to make them into mashed potatoes first. I have some that I got in bulk (because someone told me they were great for thickening soups and stews - just dump in a spoonful, stir, wait a minute - if it's not thick enough do it again.) but I don't have a recipe for making them into mashed potatoes - maybe you still have the box with the recipe on it? If the recipe calls for butter - you might want to leave it out - or not - I don't know if it would effect the bread - probably not.
What I do is boil my potatoes, * then pour 2 cups of the cooking water into my blender, add potatoes to the 3-1/2 cup mark (so there's 2 cups of water and 1-1/2 cups of potatoes in the blender). Then I blend, pour everything into my big bread bowl. Then I use 2 cups of cooking water to wash out the blender.* Then repeat between the *'s (a crocheting term). It's fast and easy this way. There's never enough cooking water - so I use water out of the tea pot to finish.
Re: your computer.
Maybe it's not slow because of the way he has it set up. Two of my brothers are computer whiz kids (one sets up computer systems for businesses and the other works for Hewlett Packard). Anyway, one of them sent me a set of instructions for getting more room or speed or something. But, I'll have to think about it for awhile before I understand what he said.
Re: 4-H
I taught for 10 years. Sewing, crochet, cross stitch, needlepoint (plastic canvas), macramé - whatever the kids wanted to learn.
One day a week and the most I ever had was 24. You must have had tremendous energy!!!!
I got started because of the people who rented our pasture at that time - for their daughter's horse. Their daughter would ride the school bus to our house and take care of her horse, when she got bored she would work on a craft project with me - since I always had something going. Her Mom was the coordinator for 4H for our area (they were involved in Horse 4H, of course) and she asked me to teach a class since the person who had been the craft leader was retiring.