[jdviole2]

During that three week period between our first meeting and my proposal Helena and I talked constantly (OK between the times when our lips had better things to do). One of the things she told me was how she had always wanted a cute nickname when she was little. The fathers of the other girls at school called their kids Princess, or Sweetie. Helena's dad (and he meant this as affectionate, he just wasn't very good at it) called her "barn smell". He never knew but it really hurt her. I asked her what name she wanted to be called and she said I would have to decide. Well I couldn't decide on just one. So to me if she wasn't Helena (or Helen) then she was Princess, or Kitten, or Pumpkin. I think I finally made up for all the years of "barn smell". In a very early post I mentioned that for Christmas one year, at her request, I bought Helena a toolbox and set of tools. Here's why. When we bought our first house, like most newlyweds, we didn't have a lot of money. Unlike a lot of newlyweds though we didn't want to buy an expensive house. We got what is called either a "starter" home, or a "handymans dream" or a "fixer upper". All of those terms mean there is a lot of crap that needs to be done. I have limited skills with tools. My best quality as a handyman is that my repairs hold. They are sturdy, but they are definately not pretty. I repaired a sink drain once and couldn't keep it from leaking. I ended up with a ball of Plumbers Putty the size of a softball around the joint. It didn't leak anymore because I think the water evaporated before it could penetrate the thickness of putty. Like I said sturdy but not pretty. Helena figured that for a lot of things she could do better than me. Plus she wouldn't have to wait until I got home to get something fixed. So she asked for the tools. She became very good at home repairs. She would tackle any and everything except the electrical stuff. She would not replace a switch or outlet. That was OK though since my area of expertise happened to be electrical. We were a good match. I very seldom had to do any repair work in the house, or outside of it either. She handled both. Very occasionally I would come home and the tools would be laying out on the table. I knew then that one of three things was going to happen. Either I would show her how to do the repair she was having trouble with, I would make the repair myself, or we would look up the number of a plumber,carpenter to do the work. When I would show her how to fix something she would never forget and could do the same kind of repair next time herself, and much better than I could. Before too long some of the other people in the neighborhood were asking her to come over to fix things for them. She loved that. The best part of that first house was that it was in such bad shape that anything we did to it, no matter how inept the job, was better than what was there originally. She loved every part of repair work except the plumbing. She could do it great she just didn't like doing it. When we moved into our new home the only stipulation she made of me was that I was not to EVER try to repair the plumbing. I was allowed to shut the water off at the main if there was a leak but I always had to call a plumber to fix things. I made the concession gladly. It was funny sometimes to pick up the shopping list and see mixed in with the butter, milk, and bread the entry for a 1/4 inch open ended crescent wrench. My Princess/Kitten/Pumpkin was a hell of a repair man. Today's pictures start with Helena somewhere in LA in the late 70's. The next shot is one taken by Helena's dad in 1974. The next shot is Helena at Disneyland in 1976. Another shot of the Easter Lamb. She did the decorating herself and seems pretty proud of it. It was her first attempt at anything like that. The next shot is in downtown LA in the late 70's. The last picture is another from her dad. He was trying a "fashion" shot and I don't think Helena looks particularly comfortable with the pose. (Still looks pretty to me though)