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8 SOLERA DIAMOND VALLEY | DECEMBER 2020 By Theresa Rossetti, Resident Years ago, a friend gave me a plaque with that reads Creative Minds are Rarely Tidy. This saying fits me perfectly. Organization is not my strong suit. I've always worked messy but usually manage to pull it together when I have to. Anyone who has seen my desk, when I was working or even now, can verify this. When we moved, we had no choice but to thin out our "stuff " for its cross-country trip. I was determined to organize kitchen drawers more efficiently, eliminate multiple junk drawers, and know where everything is in the pantry, the cabinets, the garage and all other storage areas. We added shelving in the pantry and the laundry room. (And by "we" I mean Dane Bellomy.) Five years later, so far, so sort of good. An issue did arise when I switched the flatware drawer with the baking/cooking utensils drawer. It took us about a year to stop opening the wrong one every night for dinner. With a lot of time on our hands recently, we bought some organizers for our cabinets. I admit this was genius on our part. It's now easier to find mugs, drinking glasses, etc. Sadly, this also gave us room for more glasses and mugs that were stashed elsewhere. At least we can see what we have now. The pantry wasn't left out. It was reorganized as well. The fridge got a good cleaning, jars and bottles from 2018 or earlier were tossed. And those added shelves in the laundry room? They're now overflowing with paper towels, napkins, bathroom tissue and disinfecting wipes. Oh well, at least we have them. Now we come to the burning question. In these blissfully organized areas, why can't my husband ever find anything? After years of marriage, I have decided he is genetically incapable of moving or looking behind anything. The number of things that have "gone missing" in our pantry or in the refrigerator are legion. "His" mayonnaise? Behind a yogurt container. That hot chocolate mix he bought six months ago? Behind the chocolate pudding he bought shortly after. The worst? Asiago croutons. He searched (?) the pantry for days. Many times, I heard him mumble to himself "Did I buy them or just think I did?" Since he does most of the shopping, I had no idea. After days of this search, they miraculously appeared. In the pantry. Where he put them. Behind the bags of fancy pasta from Amazon. I'd explain why he bought fancy pasta from Amazon, but that may be a topic for another time. Get It Together! This trivia quiz will stretch your long-term memory muscles. By Clare Mendez, Resident 1. 1903 Wilbur and Orville Wright conducted the world's first airplane flight form this North Carolina town. 2. 1936 King Edward Vlll of England abdicated the throne to be with the woman he loved. Who was she? 3. 1941 December 7 was described by President Franklin Roosevelt as "a day that will live in infamy." Why? 4. 1944 This bandleader was lost forever when his U.S. Army plane disappeared in bad weather over the English Channel. 5. 1947 John Bardeen, Walter Brattain, and William Shockley ushered in the electronics age with this invention. 6. 1955 Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white man on a bus in this city, sparking a yearlong bus boycott by African Americans. 7. 1957 Elvis Presley received his draft notice for the U.S. Army. In which foreign country did Presley spend eighteen months of his two-year stint? 8. 1963 This crooner's son was kidnapped (at age nineteen) from a Lake Tahoe hotel room. He was released two days later after the payment of a $240,000 ransom. 9. 1967 This surgeon, in Cape Town, South Africa, performed the first heart transplant. 10. 1975 This follower of Charles Manson was sentenced to life in prison for her attempt on the life of President Gerald Ford. 11. 1980 This rock music legend was shot and killed outside his apartment in New York City. 12. 1981 Elizabeth Jordan Carr was born in Norfolk, Virginia. Why was this news? 13. 1985 This rock 'n' roll heartthrob, who grew up on his parents' television show in the 1950s, was killed in an airplane fire and subsequent crash. 14. 2000 George W. Bush claimed the presidency over his rival, after the U.S. Supreme Court halted the Florida recount of votes. 15. 2001 Richard Reid, a passenger on an American Airlines flight, was subdued by flight attendants and passengers when it was discovered that he was trying to ignite a bomb hidden in this unusual place. December in History Answers on the following page

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