Barb's Babblings

A Trip To The Dentist

2012-01-11T07:41:00.000-08:00

Today is Wednesday, January 11, 2012. It is too early in the morning to tell whether it will be sunny or cloudy. Hopefully it will be sunny. That will make my trip to the dentist better.
Saturday night I was eating potato chips along with my yummy sandwich that one of our daughters had made and I crunched on something hard. When I pulled it our of my m0uth, lo and behold, it was a piece of my tooth. Great! Just what we needed! A costly trip to the dentist.
Now that we are senior citizens we have had no insurance coverage for dental work. No coverage for eye glasses either and none for hearing aids. How crazy is that? Just when you need the help the most. Oh, well!
Then I remembered that with our new enrollment in November we were able to choose dental insurance. YEAH! That makes it a bit softer. And thankfully, even though little pieces of my tooth kept breaking off on Sunday, I was in no pain. The filling is totally exposed and the edges are very jagged. And as always, I can hardly keep my tongue away from moving right over to that jagged edge.
I tried to remember to chew on the other side but how hard is that? Anyway, first thing Monday morning I called the dentist's office. Couldn't see me Monday. (If I had been in pain, I'm sure they would have seen to it. But I wasn't and so they wouldn't.) And Tuesday I was substituting in the Temple Office. It would be very hard to get a substitute for the substitute. AND I wasn't hurting. "How about Wednesday?" the receptionist asked. (She's probably not called a receptionist anymore. Everyone seems to have new titles and I am far behind the times.)
Today is Wednesday and at 10:45 AM I will be in the dentist's chair to take care of my broken tooth. I feel certain it will need a cap. Already I have a bunch of gold in my mouth. I told my family that when I die they should take all the gold and turn it in for money.
Oh, well! All that gold just makes me more valuable , right? That gices me a lot to live up to. I guess I ought to try being a better person.
I am glad I like the dentist. He's so kind and caring and reassuring. I had a horrible thought in the night that maybe he won't take my insurance. There are many variable nowadays. "Oh, please, God, help us not to have given up $72 a month for insurance that he won't accept. Why did we not call him first? "
Today will give me that answer about the insurance but whatever, at least I will not have a jagged sharp place in my mouth and I will be able to chew on both sides. That will be worth whatever it takes. And I still have no pain. That is a tender mercy from the Lord.
That's all for today and it will be a good day, I know.

Christmas Is Coming

2011-12-20T15:46:00.000-08:00

(Oh, my! For some reason my screen is red! I can't seem to make it white again. And typing on red is hard on my eyes. But I will try anyway.)
Today is Tuesday, December 20, 2011. It has been sunny most of the day. We are preparing for more Christmas festivities. Last night we had a caroling party. As a family we have gone Christmas caroling since we had very young children. We would walk from our house to the neighbors and sing carols. As the children got older they began to learn parts and by the time our youngest daughter was able to sing all the words, our carols were in four parts. The neighbors loved it.
About 4 years ago we decided to change our caroling plan. We had changed from walking to our neighbors to climbing in and out of cars as we traveled to close friends who were members of our Church. The climbing in and out was getting harder and harder. Some of us were getting older and some were babies who had to be in and out of car seats. Consulting with those friends who loved to have us come, we hit upon a new plan.
The new plan was that on Family Home Evening the Monday before Christmas we would issue a general invitation to anyone who wanted to come to our Family Home Evening. (Every Monday night we have family home evening where all the family gathers for a special time - prayer, songs, a lesson, and treats.) All our guests love it. We begin with a prayer and then we pass out the song sheets. And everybody sings. Having the words for everyone helps with the enthusiasm. The family has 3 or 4 special songs we love to harmonize on and we just say "Okay, pretend we just knocked on your door and we will now sing to you. You get to listen." And we perform. (Maybe next year we should stand but we usually just sit and sing. Interesting stereo effect.)
The family has changed over the years. The last 4 years we have had pretty much the same singers - three daughters, one son and his family - now 5 children - and the two of us. Last night our oldest son was here. He has a few days of work in our town and sang with us. A special time for all.
We always have treats, too, and last night I think that was the most popular part. Well, maybe that was second to playing the bells. A number of years ago my husband made lovely sounding bells from electrical conduit pipe. We got the directions from a friend. They had to be a certain length with a hole drilled at a certain spot for the hanging string to go through. It was a very precise length and drilling and then filing to get each pitch exactly right. They make a lovely Christmas sound and people like to try their skill at playing the music. Last night was no exception. Old and young enjoyed the experience.
I think I am about to end. And this has truly been a "babbling." I had a hard time getting the correct page to come up and I feel a bit frustrated. Anyway, that is all for the day. Last night was a joyous Christmas event.

Home Again

2011-11-14T05:03:00.000-08:00

Today is Monday, November 14, 2011. I can't say if it is sunny or cloudy because it is 5 AM and dark outside. I woke up about 3 AM and couldn't go back to sleep. I just decided I would get on my blog and "babble."
We left our mission in Nauvoo, Illinois, on Monday October 31. Had a wonderful trip home. Coming west at this time of year can be a challenge because of snow and winter weather but for us it was great. Our first day was sunny and beautiful as we traveled across Missouri to visit my sister and her husband. One of my neices was there to visit, too. A wonderful afternoon. We left their place about 5 PM. Stopped to view the Kansas City Temple (seems like it should be called the Liberty Temple since it is so close to Liberty) and take some pictures. The outside looks nearly finished and the Angel Moroni looks beautiful on the top. Then we went on to Lawrence, Kansas, to spend the night.
Tuesday was sunny and beautiful, too. As we approached Colorado, weather reports were for a pending storm. We had contemplated spending the night in Denver with some friends but changed our minds and decided to get past Denver before the storm hit. Denver traffic time was the most traffic we've seen for a year and a half.
Vail, Colorado, was lovely, all snowy and cold. The clouds at dusk were very picturesque. The roads were dry and it looked like a wonderful place to spend a wintery week but we passed right on through the pass and made it to Glenwood Springs about 8 PM in the dark. Driving in the dark is not for us anymore as we are older and less capable of seeing well in the dark with lights shining in our eyes.
We stopped at the first motel we saw - a beautiful Ramada Inn. We had not made a supper stop and when we asked about a place to eat the desk clerk said they had a cafe downstairs. Yessir! That's just what we wanted. Can you believe a bacon and tomato sandwich that was the tastiest we've ever had (except maybe a homemade one)? It hit the spot.
When we woke up, the ground was covered with white, fluffy snow, maybe 3 inches. And the car was all snowy. The roads were wet but not icy. It was like a winter fairyland. After breakfast downstairs, we hit the road to the west. We had traveled maybe an hour or two when we left the wet, snowy area and came out into the sun with dry roads. Sunny all the way to Salem, Utah.
We made several stops along the way. After about two hours of traveling I always need to use the bathroom. The bathroom stop near the highway to Moab, Utah, was interesting. It's called Crescent Junction, painted in a bright yellow with purple and green trim. And, of course, noted for it's bathroom. A sign on the wall inside says "Extra bathroom, out the back door. Third (or is it Second?) bush on the left." And all around the bathroom area are pictures of people who have stopped to use the bathroom. Pretty cute! I had to buy something - couldn't use the bathroom without buying something. I got a small bag of Trail Mix - big deal. How can a person stay in business with the purchase of a small bag of Trail Mix?
In Helper, Utah, we stopped to have some lunch - a cute place in a cute town. It was called Balance Rock Eatery. Large library tables with comfy padded library chairs. Food was good, decor was sort of antiquey with lots of sunflowers and pumpkins. On our way from the parking place to the eatery, we passed a second hand store with a huge box of baskets selling for 25c each. I can't pass up a box of baskets - only bought two. Didn't have much more room in our fully packed van. Of course, Glen has to tease me about my baskets.
Arrived in Salem about 3 to be greeted by the whole family. Oh, what joy! To have such a wonderful family and to be able to rest a few days in one spot before heading home to California.
More about the rest of the trip later. This thing is long enough. Bye for now.

O What A Beautiful Mornin'

2011-08-14T11:36:00.000-07:00

Today is Sunday, August 14 2011. The sun is shining beautifully and it is not too hot here in Nauvoo, Illinois. And I am singin' "O What A Beautiful Mornin". That is one of my all time favorite songs.
And it is a daughter's birthday today. We'd love to be with her but here we are serving a Mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in beautiful Nauvoo.
In Relief Society today we were talking about families and the things we can do to help keep our family ties strong and teach correct principles. Glen had wonderful parents who taught him well and my mother was a wonderful teacher for me. She taught me to be honest and to work hard and to love the Lord and obey His commandments. Mother especially loved the stories from the Old Testament. We had a big book called Hulberts Stories of the Bible. However, Mother knew most of the Old Testament stories so well that she could tell them as well as that Big Old Story Book.
One of her favorites and the one that offered her the most comfort in the days after my father divorced her was the story of Elijah and the widow. A widow was out gathering sticks to make a fire to make the last little cake for herself and her son. It was all the meal she had left and then they would die. Elijah asked her to make a little cake for him. She told him that she would share what she had. From that time on the barrel never emptied and she and her son were blessed.
Mother felt that if she did what the Lord wanted her to that somehow she and I would be blessed. And it was true. We were. I will ever be grateful for the faith of my dear mother. I hope my children and grandchildren will know that I, too, have strong faith. I pray that they will develop strong testimonies of the truth, that they will keep the commandments, and build strong relationships with all of us who try to do that, too. We need to help one another.
Glen would share the same counsel. He has many stories to share about his parents and his growing up days. His father was a Bishop for 20 years and had great faith and conviction. And his mother was stalwart and true and supportive to that wonderful husband she had. I loved them both and am very grateful for what they taught all seven of their sons. Such a wonderful family.
We want to be an example for our chidren, our grandchildren, and all who come after us.
May this day be wonderful for you. That's all I want to say for today.

Comments! WOW!

2011-07-24T12:08:00.000-07:00

After days and days of not getting on my blog (lack of info on my part - about my blogging address), I finally figured out what to do and the blog has some new features. Or at least, new to me. And I can click on comments and read your wonderful comments about my older blogs. What fun! Sorry I missed them before. To my children - you are all so good and complimentary to your Mother. Just made my day so bright and wonderful. Thank you very much.
I just have to comment about recipes. In the last few weeks we have been to several lectures about South American history. I have been quite impressed with the knowledge of the speakers and have said to myself that I am very dumb. I know very little about very few things. Then I started thinking about what I should learn. Well, where can you go with that? I directed my thoughts to what I am interested in - well, music for one thing - but over and over I think about how much time and how much I like reading recipes. And to think that I have passed it on to the next generation. I DO like to cook but not as much as I like to READ recipes.
Here in Nauvoo, there is a lady who has a kitchen store. It's a fun place to visit. She sells kitchen gadgets as well as dried foods, spices, candies, etc. Her husband told us she wants to open a bigger store so she can display her collection of cookbooks. She has over 2000. Oh my, I thought I had a lot. Nothing compared to her collection.
Well, when I figure out what I want to become an expert on, I will let you know.

A Letter To My Grandchildren

2011-07-24T11:52:00.000-07:00

July 24, 2011 - Today in Relief Society our teacher challenged us to write a letter to our grandchildren about something in our life - she suggested that we do it one thing at a time. That way our grandchildren would not have to wait until we die to know what it was like in "olden times." I decided to accept her challenge and write something.
I never saw a TV until I was about 12 years old (maybe I was older, I can't remember for sure.) Not very many people had a TV and we didn't feel we could afford one. There was only Mother and me. Remember, my father had divorced her and my two older sisters had gone with my father and his new wife. We didn't have a telephone - to save on expenses, and we didn't have a newspaper. When Mother and I would go to the movie there was a newsreel that told us about current events and there was always a Disney cartoon before the feature film.
We had a little radio about the size of the large set of Scriptures we have now. On Sunday afternoon we could listen to "The Shadow," "House of Mystery," and "The Green Hornet." We could also listen to "The Lone Ranger." Then Mother decided to buy a TV. The screen was about the size of a piece of computer paper and it was all in black and white. No color. We had two channels. My favorite TV show was "Our Miss Brooks."
The TV station signed on in the morning at 8 AM with a little song and signed off at 10 PM with the national anthem.
When I listened to the radio, I saw everything in my mind in color. But when those same programs came on TV, they were only black and white. I liked it better to listen to them on the radio when I saw everything in color.
Can you imagine watching TV in only black and white? Now everything is in living color. Have fun watching TV. Love, Grandma

This Electronic World - Oh My!

2011-04-22T03:58:00.000-07:00

Today is Friday, April 22, 2011. It is too early to know if the sun is shining or if we will have rain.
It has been a long time since I wrote anything and I decided I wanted to this morning. And what a challenge I have had to get to this point in this electronic world that I think I understand and then don't. It used to be very easy to log onto the computer, click on favorites, bring up my blog and "Create a new blog." I don't know how it all happens but now I have to do all kinds of clicking and asking myself the question, "What have I done that I shouldn't have done?" or "How is this different than the last time I logged on?" But, YEAH, at last I got to the place where I could just click on Create a New Blog and it is all good.
We just made a short trip to Arkansas to visit one of our sons and his family. The Temple in Nauvoo is closed for two weeks. The second week of that time we will be helping the new Temple missionaries but the first week we could do whatever we wanted. Several couples went to visit Kirtland. Others went home or to visit relatives somewhere here in the Midwest. We decided it was a good time to go to Arkansas.
We had a beautiful day to travel on Monday - not totally sunny but warm and pleasant. We left home about 6 AM and got to their place by 4 PM. A long stop for lunch in Houston, Missouri, at Miller's Grill. A nice steak - lunch time special. The scenery over Missouri and Arkansas at this time of year always makes me a little homesick for Missouri green hills. I love to look out over the farmland with the big white houses and barns. Of course, if I lived in Missouri, it would not be on one of those beautiful farms, but I can dream, can't I?
At their place, I love to look out the windows into the forest of trees that surround their home. They now have a front porch - well, just the floor of it - to sit on and soak in all that greenery. (It will be a wonderful porch when it is all finished.)
Our grandchildren are growing up. Their oldest daughter graduates in May. One son is a Junior, the next son goes into 9th grade (High school where they live) and the youngest daughter will be in 7th grade. The time has flown by. This week was Senior Prom and there was much excitement as the two oldest prepared for that. They have a busy life. They are mostly well and happy with all their busy-ness. The oldest son is on a mission in Arizona and they got an e-mail from him while we were there. We loved being with them for a few days.
Thursday, we traveled home - well, home to Nauvoo. Another beautiful day for traveling. Had lunch somewhere along the way and arrived at our apartment before dark.
Of course, the first thing to do after we unpacked the car was to check with this electronic world of e-mail and blogging to check up on what we had missed in the world outside the little realm in Arkansas. What an amazing time to live! Glen's brother and his wife have a new blog about their mission call to Romania and have posted wonderful pictures of their family- children and grandchildren - telling them goodbye. If it weren't for this electronic world, I wouldn't be able to keep acquainted with them. What an amazing time to live!
I need to go use some other amazing electronic things like the washing machine, the vacuum cleaner, and the oven, before the day is gone. Once again, I repeat, THIS ELECTRONIC WORLD - Oh My! That's all for today.

First Snow plus other thoughts

2011-01-08T06:51:00.000-08:00

Today is Saturday, January 8, 2011. The sun is shining but it is 4 degrees. It snowed most of the day yesterday. I wanted to write then but could not get on this site for some darn reason. My computer kept telling me I did not have the correct user name or password. I tried all the little crazy words they gave me to enter. Still no good results. Today I did the same thing and I got the same message. After about the third try my blog finally came up. What's the problem? I guess I will never know. Oh, well! A part of this world of technology.
Now about the snow from yesterday. The snow fall was beautiful. Big puffy flakes falling slowly and softly. After the snow stops it gets very cold. There is not much wind today. That's good, because the wind makes it even colder. This is the first snowfall of 2011 here in Nauvoo, Illinois, and the blanket of white makes the place look beautiful and sparkly when the sun shines.
Now on to other thoughts. I just finished brushing my teeth and everytime I go into our bathroom I see the bright colored wash rags I bought at Walmart several months ago. I love the bright colors. They attracted my eye immediately in the store and I just dropped them into my basket. The first one we used made the water blue. I said to myself, "I bet they came from Pakistan." Sure enough! That's what the label said. Well, we lived in Faisilabad for awhile and loved all the beautiful fabrics and bright colors we saw there.
Faisilabad is listed in the encyclopedia as the textile capital of the world. There are shops and shops of lovely fabric all over the town. The bolts of cloth go from floor to ceiling and the young men who work in the shops pull out the bolt you want to look at. Then they furl about three yards for you to see just how it would look when it was made into a shalwar kamiz. The young men develop quite a dramatic style.
Only challenge is that the colors are not color fast. One of the college students we knew in Faisilabad was trying to develop a formula for colorfast material. I told him that in the United States we had lots of color fast material and surely there was some was that formula could be shared.
What I want to know is? If Walmart is selling fabrics from Pakistan, isn't there a way they could help them get that formula? It would be so wonderful for people everywhere. And I would feel so happy to see that "color fast" label on those Pakistani products.
I must remind myself to read the labels before I do my impulse buying.
That's all for today.

It's Almost Christmas

2010-12-21T05:45:00.000-08:00

Today is Tuesday, December 21, 2010. It is too early in the morning to know if the sun will shine or not. It looks clear and cold - well, only 32 degrees cold. That is balmy compared to some days here in Nauvoo.
Last night we had a special family home evening with the Temple missionaries at the Mission President's beautiful home. The house was decorated beautifully. A tall Christmas tree decorated with handmade balls, each with a folded star design. There were several huge, and I do mean huge, pots of poinsettas. Magnificient!! And many other beautiful symbols of Christmas. Our Temple President presented a most interesting lesson. And our Temple Recorder sang "O Holy Night" to begin the whole affair. Oh, he has a marvelous voice.
An interesting part of the whole evening was that when I sat down, the Temple President asked if I would accompany "O Holy Night." He had practiced with the soloist (and he is a wonderful pianist) but didn't want to be the "whole show." Oh, my!! Well, I looked at the music and said I would. Then I prayed like crazy. It was in a good key to read - B Flat Major. And after all, I am very familiar with that song - having sung and played it many times myself. But I felt some pressure. It went quite well, I thought. Probably not as beautiful as it was practiced but at least I didn't feel like I made a total mess of it. The soloist is so good I think nobody noticed much what I did. And I got to play the lovely grand piano. It is a gorgeous looking instrument as well as having a fine touch and grand sound. Wow! That will be my Christmas treat for 2010.
We have spoken much about the birth of Jesus Christ over these days in December - in Sacrament Meeting as well as in Preparation Meetings in the Temple each day. The Prophet Joseph Smith was born in Vermont on December 23, two days before the world celebrates the birth of the Savior. We learned some special things about him with this Family Home Evening Lesson. The President read Joseph's testimony from the Pearl of Great Price. He told about an extremely well educated man who said that when he read that testimony, he knew that Joseph was not a charleton. That he was a humble truthful man, sharing his special experience with God the Father, and His Son, Jesus Christ. I am very grateful that I have a testimony that he did tell the truth. And I am so grateful for all the feeling that I have for the restoration of the Gospel to the earth in this dispensation of time.
After the touching lesson, the Mission President's wife shared a favorite part of every family home evening, the refreshments. Yummy "apple blossoms" with ice cream. And there was much visiting before we all headed for our humble little apartments.
The beginning of this week has been joyous. Sacrament Meeting on Sunday with the songs and stories of Jesus's birth and mission. And the privilege to partake of the Sacrament. Then this special family home evening. Now we look forward to two days to be in the Temple, another day at the Information Center, caroling on the Temple steps on Christmas Eve, and Christmas Day Dinner with all the missionaries in Nauvoo. It will be a special Christmas. We all will miss families, of course. Will they miss us? Probably, but Glen and I are much closer than the Christmas we spent in India and the Christmas we spent in Greece. Phone calls and e-mails are much easier.
I just have to add the words of one of our family caroling songs -
C is for the Christ Child, born upon this day.
H for herald angels in the night.
R means our Redeemer,
I means Israel.
S is for the star that shone so bright.
T is for three wise men, they who traveled far.
M is for the manger where He lay.
A's for all He stands for.
S means shepherds came.
And that's why there's a Christmas Day!

That's all for today.

Random Holiday Thoughts

2010-12-10T06:45:00.000-08:00

Today is Friday, December 10, 2010. The sun is shining but there is frost on the ground and it is about 22 degrees here in Nauvoo, Illinois. That is not as cold as it was the other day - 11 degrees and that day the sun was not shining.
I can't believe I did not post anything in November. I have written a blog - inside my head - almost every day. But somehow I did not get it put on this blog spot. Oh, my!!
Many things happened in November. The first thing was that we left Nauvoo for two weeks while the Temple was closed for maintainance Theoritically, it was to go home and get our winter clothes. Since we don't have "winter" clothes in California, it just gave us a chance to go home to visit family for a few days. Before we went to California we stopped in Denver for a reunion with my husband's brothers and the wives. We had a wonderful time together. We always do. We missed the two brothers and the one wife who have died since our last big get together. Who knows, from time to time, how the family dynamics will change? Only the Lord knows, I think. After those few days, we traveled on to Citrus Heights.
Home was good. Here in our apartment in Nauvoo, our bedroom is larger than our little bedroom at home. We joked some about that. Of course, I love my kitchen and miss the pantry and cupboard space but I can adapt for a year. And if I think about the places we lived in Pakistan and India and Greece, this little place in Nauvoo is just fine.
It was wonderful to see the family. We didn't get to visit with all of our children and grandchildren but our youngest daughter came with her two cute boys and the others that live close to us got together on Sunday. The members of the Ward seemed glad to see us and said they will miss us during the coming year. (Nice thoughts expressed.)
We were back to Nauvoo in time to prepare for Thanksgiving. The Temple opened on November 16 with our new winter schedule. Monday is our preparation day - we shop for groceries, wash our clothes, clean our apartment, and whatever else we need to do. There was shopping, of course, for Thanksgiving food. All the missionaries met together to have Thanksgiving dinner. Each of us had assignments. Mine was to bring four pies. I like to make pie. In fact, we volunteered for what we wanted to bring. I made pumpkin pie and cherry pie to take to the big dinner held at the Stake Center. And I made a cherry pie and a mincemeat pie for us to have a home. I was lucky to find Borden's Nonesuch Mincemeat at the Wal-Mart in Keokuk. The plain kind, not the one with brandy. Yeah!! I was so excited. Anyway, Thanksgiving Day reminded us of all the things we are grateful for. There would be pages and pages if I wrote them all down.
Now we are into December, anticipating this special time of the year when so many people remember the birth of Jesus Christ and all the He has done for the world and the teachings He has given to all the people of the world. Hearts are turned with more thoughts toward others and helping others. Isn't it wonderful? There are Christmas carols in the air and decorations on all the streets. Here in Nauvoo there is Christmas Walk on the first Saturday. All the businesses in town have decorated trees outside their buildings. Certain trees have angel tags with special requests on them. It's called the bright angel program and gives townspeople and missionaries the opportunity to help someone in need. On that day the Clydsdale horses pull the wagons filled with guests to some of the Old Nauvoo sites and back and forth up and down the city streets. Well, I guess you can say city - Nauvoo has population of 11oo people. That includes all the people in town and out on the farms.
The missionary numbers are about 250 for the winter months. In the summer that number will increase because Nauvoo has lots of tourists in the summer, especially at Pageant time in July.
The leaves have all fallen from the trees and it makes the Mississippi River seem very close to us. We can see all the houses on the next block and even the brick yard. We have an eagle's nest down in one of the trees by the river and the Red Brick Store. And there are hundreds of geese that settle out on the ice in the river. Such a strange site on the cold, cold ice. Once in a while we see a deer or two and someone said yesterday they saw a coyote out on the green.
The women's monuments are easy to see now that the trees are bare. I want to go take some pictures of them but I haven't done it yet. Morning time fills up and then when we are finished with our Temple assignment it is dark as midnight - even though it is only 8:30 PM. It gets dark, really dark, about 5:30.
We manage to keep busy and we are never bored, that's for sure. Each day we have one or two very special experiences, sometime more than one or two, but always something special about each day.
This is why I need to write more often. It makes a long blog when I write so seldom. My plan is to do better - to actually blog, not just in my head. I think that is all for today.

Everyday Experiences - October 4 2010

2010-10-04T06:55:00.000-07:00

Today is Monday, October 4, 2010. The sun is shining here in Nauvoo and the grass in our back yard is beautiful and green. There are no geese in the yard this morning but the sky overhead is filled with jet streams. They go every which direction over the city. Is there an air show somewhere? I wonder.
We need to go grocery shopping before too many days pass. And shopping at Duck's is a favorite experience. Duck's is a small, locally owned grocery up on Mulholland Street. One unique thing about the store is that they sell sandwiches - hot barbequed beef or pork, taco salads, and sloppy joes. Oh, let's see, I think they sell hot dogs, too. Of course, we always buy the barbequed pork. It is such a good sandwich. We recommend it to everyone we talk,too. (It was recommended to us when we first got here by our neighbors across Parley Street.)
"Where's a good place to eat in Nauvoo?" someone will ask. Our reply "There's Grandpa John's, Dottie's Red Front Dining and the Hotel Nauvoo. (During the summer there are several other places open. Oh. yes, I forgot to mention Nauvoo Mill and Bakery.) We think the best thing in town is the Barbequed Pork sandwiches at Duck's Grocery Store." Then we explain how to get to the place. We plan on trying a taco salad sometime but for now just give us that yummy sandwich.
I decided several years ago that I like shopping in a small store. Of course, while we were on our mission in Pakistan and on our mission in Greece, we only had small stores. Let's see, I guess I need to clarify about Greece. There was a big store, Carrfours, but we had a little store just up on the corner. We shopped there most of the time. Anyway, I can walk through a small store with no pain. That's not true if we go to a big store.
And for the things we buy, the price is not much higher, maybe a few pennies on some things but if we travel somewhere then there is the cost of gas to figure in. Mostly we buy the same things every week anyway.
Our main staples are milk, eggs, butter, cheese, V-8 juice, some meat once in awhile and of course, ice cream and graham crackers. We add to that some canned veggies, or frozen, and fruit, fresh or canned. I also pick up potatoes, onions, lettuce, celery and carrots. Then we add cottage cheese which is my nighttime protein snack. Each week we add some variety to the staples list. As you can see, we use many milk products.
Well, last week we volunteered to feed the Young Sister missionaries. We said we could fix dinner for 4. I planned the menu - crockpot enchiladas, lettuce salad, and ice cream and cookies. Then I found out that one of the sisters was lactose intolerant. That made me totally aware of how much I cook that has milk and cheese in it. I went into high gear to figure out a meal not using any milk products.
Here's what I did and I think it turned out to be a tasty meal. My rice and chicken casserole calls for Cream of Mushroom Soup. That's out. I tried it using chicken broth instead. Glen and I liked it and I thought they would, too. Green beans always seem to be a bit. Lettuce salad would have been okay but I decided to do jello and fruit instead. Then I started thinking about dessert. I wanted to do strawberry shortcake. Strawberries were okay but what about the shortcake. Well, I went to work. I substituted apple sauce for the butter and used water instead of milk to make the sweet bisquit that I always use for shortcake. It worked beautifully. Then I made gravy. That's easy without milk. We did buy some whipped cream, you know, in the squirt can, just in case the other sisters wanted it on their strawberry shortcake.
I think the day was a success. And who knows, maybe I will need to make other meals for someone who is lactose intolerant. At least, I have one meal under my belt. (In more ways than one.) Well, two meals, since I did an experimental meal with the two of us before I made it for the sisters. I know somewhere there is a cook book with lots of recipes for lactose intolerance. That's just what I need!! Another cook book!!
That's all for today.

Everyday Experiences

2010-09-21T08:40:00.000-07:00

Today is Tuesday, September 21, 2010. The sun is shining and the grass is green and beautiful.
Yesterday we got an e-mail from one of our sons about school expenses when all our chidren were in school. As we reflected on our activities with them over the years, I was thankful that I had always stayed involved in PTA. PTA is a national parent - teacher association which has been around for more than 100 years. As I was involved with PTA at Pioneer School, I had good experiences. I graduated from college with a degree in elementary education because I wanted to teach school. Over the years I did teach some but most of my contact with schools was as a parent. Each local PTA unit gets involved in helping with certain finances at the school level. We had activities which earned money to help the local school program. My favorite fund raiser was the Annual School Carnival. How many years was I the chairman of that event? I also liked the Book Fairs we sponsored and the Santa's Secret Shop. These were services for the school children and the teachers as well as earning money to provide a few extra books for the library or special assembly programs for the school clientele.
When I first got involved, nearly every school had a PTA, a part of the national organization. Then bit by bit, local principals encouraged their parent groups to disassociate with the National PTA and form PTC's or PTO's or some other name. The rationale was that PTA required the local group to send a certain amount of dues off to Council, District, State, and National. If you were just a parent group, you could keep all the money at your own school. That sounded pretty good to me, too, at first. Thank goodness, I worked with school principals who understood the broader expanse and encouraged me to stick with PTA. PTA offered a wide range of individuals who knew much about school governance and how parents could help make better schools, not just by earning money but in other ways as well. I will ever be grateful for Mr. Handley, Mr. Thoman, Mr. Pruitt, and Mr. Jacobus for their advice and counsel.
No questions, every school could use more money. Couldn't everyone? Parents can absolutely work themselves to death with fund raisers to provide serious school needs. And they always want to do what the Principal and teachers ask them to do. Do we really want our children always involved in selling stuff for the school? I certainly didn't. And, certain school areas could never raise as much money as other school areas. It's the dynamics of neighborhoods that one school is in a more affluent area than another school. Therefore, if you stick with PTA, the whole group can encourage the school district to look out for the children in each school in the District.
Oh, I've heard the idea that after all, you need to watch out for your own children. That is true but boy howdy, I think we are taught to watch out for each other, too. If you are involved in a parent group, seriously think about it. It gets quite easy to become a yes man to those who influence your children. It is helpful and more productive in the long run to listen to the counsel and advice of those who have been over the road before you. I enjoyed working in PTA in the unit, at district level and on the state level. I've learned a great deal.
Thank you, wonderful principals concerned about all children, for your encouragement to stick with the PTA.
I wish I were more eloquent in writing but I've tried to speak out from my heart.
I guess that's all for today.

Just A-ramblin"

2010-09-12T15:01:00.000-07:00

Today is Sunday, September 12, 2010. The sun is shining in Nauvoo, Illinois.
I decided to write a blog today and it took me forever to get on my blog to make a new post. Some days I wonder how come this computer does what it does. Surely it can't be all me that creates the challenges. Anyway, my thought for today is - I wish I could think of a clever name for this spot instead of Barb's Babblings. Maybe something I might write would be more than just a "babble." In the Bible it talks about babblings. And it doesn't seem they are very desireable. I desire to write things that might be desireable to someone, even if it is only to me.
If I try to rename this thing, will I have to start all over again or can I just rename it. Oh, help!! Where is one of our intelligent daughters or our savy internet son-in-law to give me counsel and advice? The other day I thought I could call it Barb's Everyday Experiences. Not very clever but at least not just "babblings."
In my mind I create all kinds of writings - just don't get them written out.
Nauvoo is noted for its Connections. Nearly everyday you meet a person who knows someone you know. The newest connection took us back to Greece. One of the men we work with here in the Temple is a brother to a wonderful woman we knew when we were serving a mission in Athens, Greece.
Have you heard of the six degrees of separation? That is the theory that all of us are connected by only 6 degrees (6 persons, basically). That theory has proved itself in my life many times. And usually it has been with only one person, or two, at the most. I have come to believe that it is a true theory. Think about it applies in your own life.
Well, I have put myself on a tight writing time schedule for this afternoon. My time is up. We will go out and about the city to see if we can get a phone connection to touch base with our family who are not here with us in Nauvoo.
That's all for today. Look for more Everyday Experiences in the future.

Beautiful Nauvoo

2010-05-23T13:32:00.000-07:00

Today is Sunday, May 23, 2010. The sun is shining in Illinois. And it is quite humid.
I cannot believe it has been this long since I last wrote on my blog. What are my reasons? Who can really tell? Anyway, here I am - back again.
What thing shall I write about first? I think I will talk about rain storms. When it rains in the midwest, it really rains. One night we had such a thunder storm. Now a thunder storm in this area usually means plenty of lightning, too. And that night the lightning played all over the sky and the thunder claps nearly shook the house. And the rain poured down. Someone said they thought there was 5 inches of rain. A neighbor tried to measure the rain the next morning (by the way it was still raining the next morning) but couldn't wade through the water puddles to get to the back of their pick-up truck.
So we have the lightning and the thunder and the rain. Then about midnight it began to hail. It sounded like the hail stones were pretty good size. Next morning someone heard on the news that the hail was as large as marbles. I think the ones on our house were like big, big marbles.
All this moisture keeps the grass green and the trees all beautiful and green. Driving around Nauvoo is like driving around in the Garden of Eden. The flowers, at least those, who weren't beat to death by the rain and hail, are in beautiful bloom. Each day when it clears a little the gardeners plant more and more flowers.
We love to drive down the river road. The Mississippi is a beautiful wide river. About every day there are barges going up and down the river. That is quite a sight.
Yesterday we drove north along the river road to a place where there were dozens of turtles sunning on the logs in the shallow part of the river. And lo and behold there were two pelicans there also! I was shocked to see pelicans. I think I will have to study about pelicans. Glen said I could find out more if I read "The Pelican Brief." Too funny.
It's a beautiful day here in Nauvoo. Wish you were here.

Pretty Pens

2010-03-09T08:34:00.000-08:00

Today is Tuesday, March 9, 2010. The sun is shining. I am so happy.
I picked up my journal this morning to write about yesterday's experiences. I also picked up the beautiful silver pen I bought at Christmas time. It was supposed to be a present for my husband. He needs a nice pen to have at the Temple. I thought this one would be just what he needed.
He opened the box on Christmas Day and we both were quite happy. However, when he tried to write with it, it didn't work out so well. This beautiful silver pen is too fat to hold firm. And he needs to be able to hold a pen firm. With his shaky hand he must have a firm grip.
I was disappointed. And he was disappointed. "Oh, well," I thought, "I can use this beautiful pen."
I took it in my hand and tried to grasp it - Guess what? It is too fat for me to hold firm, too. I wrote with it anyway and I am all over the lines. It is hard to control it and write neatly.
"I will conquer this pen," I said. "I will learn to hold it correctly and write neatly."
Each day I tried to use it to write in my journal. And each day, after writing a few lines, I would set it aside, take up a less beautiful pen and finish the entry in my journal. And feel a bit sad.
Just this morning I took up the beautiful pen to try again. Same thing happened as before. And added today is that I have ink all over my fingers. Where did that come from? I can't see any ink on the pen but I have it all over my fingers. Darn!!
Why does this pen, more expensive than a BIC, cause such a problem with writing? Oh well, give me a cheap-o pen that writes neatly and is not too fat. Live and learn. But why does it have to be expensive to live and learn?
I guess that is a fact of life.
That's all for today.

Time

2010-03-08T06:46:00.000-08:00

Today is Monday, March 8, 2010. It looks like it might be sunny today. I can just see the beginning of sunlight on the tip of the roof of the house next door. I hope the sun shines today.
It's about time I wrote something in my blog.
Where has the time gone since the New Year started? Here we are into the third month of 2010 and I have written nothing. Oh, my! So much has happened in these first two months. I have accomplished a few things (are they of any worth? that is the next question.)
For Christmas one of my granddaughters gave me a plastic canvas kit of a darling snowman, a wall hanging. I started right away on it and once it was completed, I decided I wanted to do some more canvas stitchery. I went to the fabric/craft store to find some patterns. I bought a book about a plastic canvas village. Let's see, I made three of those cute little houses. The roofs make a lid and you can fill them with candy, jewelry, or whatever else you might want. Oh, sure! I need three plastic canvas houses to fill with candy, jewelry, or whatever. I had fun making them, though. And I could use them as gifts. (Who wants a cute little house filled with candy or whatever?)
Then I decided I should try to do something more useful. I read an article about knitting hats for newborns. That might be a useful project. For years I have wanted to try those circular looms. I went back to the fabric/craft store to check out the looms. I decided to buy the whole kit and kaboodle - a blue (small), a red (just a little larger), a green (larger yet), and a yellow (large). Now, who do I know that wears a knitted hat? I could think of no one. Oh, well! My whole purpose was to knit a hat for a newborn.
I went right to work. It wasn't as quick and fast as I thought it would be. The crazy tool they supplied to move the yarn off the pegs - well, I won't talk about it. I found that the plastic needle they supplied to close the top of the cap was way more effective than the crazy tool. (Stick this out, Barbara, you WILL complete a cap!) (These projects also give me time to watch my favorite shows on TV - In The Heat of the Night and Bonanza. I also like to watch old movies - the ones I like, that is.)
Anyway, I finally completed one cute little cap. It took me a long time. Well, at least several hours. I thought I could knit a little cap faster on needles. I searched out my knitting needles and started a little cap that way. Guess what? It wasn't as fast as I thought. And then when I finished knitting I had to close up the top PLUS sew the side seam. I went back to the little blue round loom.
Just a side note about the cute little loom. In my grandmother's day, they would place little nails around the hole of a spool of thread and use the same process to "knit" a necklace - tiny little beads strung on a thread, twisted around the little nails and pulled over - just like this little loom idea for a hat. Amazing to think about! I have bits of one of those necklaces that she made so long ago.
Back to the knitted hats - As of today I have made 4 little caps for newborn babies and am working on the fifth one. Just so you know, I have done a few other things during these two months of the new year. I have indexed over a thousand names, been to my Temple assignment at least 18 times, been a docent at the Old Sacramento Schoolhouse at least 4 times, totally emptied and cleaned out the pantry, made a trip to Seattle to visit our youngest daughter and her family, spent a day in the hospital with another daughter while she had surgery, plus a whole bunch of other things, like go to Church, practice the piano, cook meals, wash dishes, wash clothes. You know, regular routine stuff. Looking back over the days, maybe I have used my time to be of some value.
How many times have I said in my life, "I don't have time." My mother used to say to me "You have as much time as the President." What does that have to do with anything? Did she mean the President accomplished a lot of good things or what? I would think, "Well, the President has many helpers to accomplish his goals."
My grandmother used to say "You can make time for what you really want to do." I think that is a fairly true statement. Granted, you can't make time for EVERYTHING you really want to do, but somehow, each of us do a bunch of rearranging our time to do some of the things we most want to do.
Right now, I need to use this month to get ready to go to Nauvoo, Illinois, for 6 months. Most of you already know that we have been called on a mission to serve there in the Temple during the busy season. And we are very excited to have that privilege. Nauvoo, the beautiful! That is how the early members of the Church spoke of it. It is beautiful. I know that our time there will be a special part of our lives. As we reflect on this new mission assignment we also reflect on our previous missions. Those were the "best of times."
Speaking of time - it is time to move away from the computer and go get some breakfast. I hope all of you have a good time today and take time to do something for someone else and then some time to do something just for yourself.
That's all for today!

End of the Year Report

2009-12-30T09:38:00.000-08:00

Today is Wednesday, December 30, 2009. It is dreary and cold outside and I am going to write my end of the year report. It will be very long but hopefully somewhat interesting. I plan to use it as my "late Christmas letter."
I will tell a little about each of our children and a bit about Glen and me. (Oh, shoot! I just remembered that some of our children do not want me to use their names in my blog. I will try to honor that.) I will tell about them in order of their age. (They love that, too, but it is good for keeping track of everyone. Like our roll call used to be when we got into the car.)
Our oldest son still lives in Escondido with his family. He was up here last week for some special training held in Old Sacramento. We were delighted to have him here for awhile. Wish it could have been the whole family - his wife, three sons and daughter - but we enjoyed the time we spent when he was not at his training. He is the Ward Mission Leader and everyone else has a calling, too. I can't remember them all. His wife is an aide at an elementary school and taking classes to be medical assistant. The twins are home from their missions, attending college. Next son is a football star and their daughter is an excellent artist. A talented family.
Next - Our daughter lives here in Sacto and has a job at a pre-school she loves. Her apartment is about 15 minutes away from us. She's having some health problems right now. She's hoping to have that corrected soon. Her Ward calling is Single Adult Rep. She keeps very busy with her work and her Kinder Musik classes. Plus all the other stuff she does.
Our third child lives in Paradise, California with her hubby, a little boy who is 8 and a girl who is 5. Both children love school. They have moved into their new house which was built lovingly by her hubby. When it is completely finished, it will be quite a show place. I wish I had all the space she has. She just got called as the Primary President and he is the Sunday School Supt. Both of the children love school.
Next daughter lives about 10 minutes away. She and another of our daughters are living in the home of our former Stake President. He is the Mission President in Slovenia. He and his wife asked them to rent their house while they were gone the three years. It is a beautiful place. The yard requires a lot of work for the two gals but they are working very hard to keep it up. And they do have to pay rent and utilities. It is a labor of love on their part. Number four child works for a Correctional Peace Officers foundation as their bookkeeper and travel specialist. Her Ward calling is Primary accompanist. And she also is on the Activities Committee.
Our second son lives in Arkansas with his family. He is the Branch President and his wife and 5 children keep very busy. He's teaching German in High School and they all help take care of the chicken farm (4 chicken sheds with 20,000 chickens each about every 10-12 weeks). Their oldest son just left for a mission to Guadalajara Mexico. Each of the other children keep very busy with school, sports, and Church. There are two girls at home (the oldest and the youngest) and two boys.
Next child is the one helping at the Stake President's house. She works at CPOF, also. She's our most fun entertainer at home. She's very clever and makes life fun for us all. Her Church calling is in Relief Society and she plays the piano for the Ward Choir. (Plus some other jobs.) She keeps very busy.
Our youngest son and his family live about 20 minutes away from us. He and his wife have four little children - 2 boys and 2 girls. Three are in school this year. His wife volunteers as an art docent at the schools. They are always on the go. He works as an adjustor for a car insurance company. His calling is a counselor Ward Bishopric. We like having them close enough to visit. Their children keep us young.
There are two girls left to tell about. One lives in Salem, Utah with her hubby and 4 children. She's busy in Church and with their Soccer Club. They all play soccer, coach soccer, ref, plus a bunch of other things. Her calling right now is Primary chorister. Her hubby is a school teacher. Their oldest boy is now going to seminary. Their daughter is raising a pig again this year with 4-H. She's done it before and likes it. Their "baby boy" is now 4.
For the youngest - She just got called as Primary President up in Lake Forest, Washington. They have two little boys - full of energy and mischief. But cute as they can be. They have been up in Washington about two years now. Moved from Burbank, California. Her husband works for Amazon.
As you can tell the family is scattered about. We are always glad to see them. As for Glen and me - we keep busy with Church work and home. Both of us serve in the Sacramento Temple - usually two days a week (about 5 to 6 hours each time). Glen is the Ward Newsletter Editor and teaches a Priesthood class once a month. I am the Ward Organist and Choir Director. We also volunteer down at the Old Sacramento Schoolhouse twice a month and at the Regional Family History Center. We are in charge of cataloging books, fiche, and film and keeping it all up to date on the computer.
We are getting older and slower but mostly in pretty good health. I've had both my knees replaced - should be good as new but not really, just don't have the awful pain, only stiffness - even though I try to keep up on my exercise. Glen takes good care of me. We don't go out much at night anymore. We do attend all the Church parties, though. You know! We are part of the team.
Last year we celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary and had most of the family here at that time. It was great! We've had 50 wonderful years together. And look forward to some more.
Well, I think that is all for today.

It's Nearly Christmas

2009-12-12T08:57:00.000-08:00

Today is Saturday, December 12, 2009. It rained last night and it is cloudy this morning. Not as cold as the last two mornings but still feels pretty chilly to me.
I just read some blogs this morning ( I know I am very late reading, but ---) from family members talking about gratitude and Thanksgiving memories. I have to say thank you for the kind remarks about your "Mom." However, I can't take all the credit. Most things that happen around our place could not happen without the wonderful help and willingness of my wonderful husband, Glen. And all those things that used to go on when all of the nine children were young was due to their willingness to help with whatever project I got them involved in - like 5000 (that's right, 5000 !) Sierra Junior High Cookbooks and numerous Ward and Stake activities, PTA carnivals, and yes, feeding 30 to 40 people on Thankgiving. Add to that visiting and singing at rest homes, and a dozen other things. So, MY thanks to all of you. You are a wonderful part of my life. (There might be a tear drop or two on this page.)
I could write pages and pages about Thanksgiving and Christmas. I wonder where I will begin and where I will stop for this post. OK - the tree is up and looks beautiful. I love to have the lights turned on and just savor its beauty. No theme tree for me. I love touching each ornament and remembering where it came from and the flood of memories some bring to mind - the olive wood carvings we got when we were in Bethlehem and Jerusalem, the decorations hand made by children and freinds and even me, Mother's yarn dolls, the ornaments I bought on sale for a quarter, and the colored foil balls that came 10 for a dollar. Just to mention a few. Oh, I almost forgot - my grand piano. I don't remember for sure who gave that one to me. And the bead bells. That year we made hundreds of them - gave most of them away as gifts. Mostly to the Music Belles. Anyway, I don't intend to have a theme tree.
The mantle looks lovely with lighted decoration I bought a couple of years ago - pine boughs, gold pine cones, and lights. The piano has the large nativity set carved from olive wood. I've put out most of the other nativity sets which I am collecting now. One of my favorites is the one we bought in Athens when we were there on our mission.
I haven't gone into the "construction business" yet. The Christmas village is still upstairs in boxes. I need to get to it soon.
I am so grateful for the season which reminds us all of the birth of the Savior so long ago in Bethlehem. I love all the songs about it. Once again this year we have invited all our friends to come for Family Home Evening on December 21 for Christmas caroling. A wonderful gal made us new copies of the carols, all neat and clean and with nice pictures. (I will put the old, battered, well used ones in recycling.) We love that time with friends and it certainly is easier than getting in and out of the car. Besides, this way we get to sing for more people. The family keeps a few special songs that we perform for our guests. And we also get to use the resonator bells that Glen made for me so many years ago. It's a wonderful evening for me. I hope others enjoy it. We wish you all could come to be with us that night.
Just in case I don't post again before Christmas - Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!
That's all for today.

Just a'ramblin'

2009-11-02T08:39:00.000-08:00

Today is Monday, November 2, 2009. The sun is shining brightly and the sky is blue as blue.
I can hardly believe it is November already. On Saturday night we turned the clocks back. It was so dark last night by 7 PM we all felt like going to bed. By all, I mean our daughters who were here visiting us and Glen and I. But we didn't. We stayed up awhile longer, reading and doing stuff on our computers.
Changing the clocks always reminds me of what Dad Wahlquist said about it. "It is like the old Indian who cut off one end of his blanket and sewed it on the other end to make it longer." Oh, well! We seem to be stuck with it. Wish I lived in Hawaii - for more reasons than the one that they don't change their clocks twice a year.
Friday night was the Ward Halloween Party. Everyone seemed to have a good time. There are always ingeneous costumes. One of our clever young mothers made herself a beautiful ball gown from trash bags. It really was "beautiful." With lots of lacy looking ruffles. Her husband was all decked out in a nice tuxedo made from trash bags, too. She is such a clever gal. And it was wonderful to see that she felt like making it. She has been very sick for several months.
There were not very many princesses this year. Lots of variety of costumes. Glen wore a sandwich board and went as the Northridge Neighbor. He topped it off with his Greek seaman's cap. I wore a black wig - hardly anyone recognizes me with that black wig - and my sequined shalwar kamez (can't remember how to spell the word). It's very fancy and sparkly. I got it when we were in Pakistan. I love wearing it. One daughter wore a flapper outfit with a black wig. Nobody recognizes her either with a black wig. One daughter was Cruella DeVil and the other daughter stayed home - sick in bed.
I'm not a great fan of Halloween but we go to the party to be supportive of those who plan the activity. And it is fun. In my opinion some things go to the extreme. But that is my opinion.
I like Thanksgiving and Christmas way better than Halloween. And both of those holidays will be on us before we know it. Thanksgiving - I love the smells coming from the kitchen. I love making the dressing - saute celery and onions in butter to add to the broken dry bread along with the sage and other spices. I love mincemeat pie. Pumpkin is okay. I always want at least one piece with "real" whipped cream. But mincemeat is my favorite. Anymore it is hard to find commercial mincemeat without brandy in it. Last year I went to Raleys. Yes they had Borden's without the brandy, they said. But guess what, the shelf was empty. They still had plenty of the brandied kind. Then the clerk showed me another display of a different brand of mincemeat. It looked okay in the bottles and I bought it. Oh, my gosh! It was the worst tasting stuff I have ever had! Fortunately, I had a few green tomatoes still on our vines and could make my own mock mincemeat from Mother Wahlquist's recipe. I had enough to make just one pie. That saved the day for the three of us who like mincemeat pie.
Speaking of not being able to find the foods you want in the grocery store - Does anyone know what is happening with Kraft's Miracle Whip? We seldom find it anymore in the quart or larger size bottle. It is always in that crazy little spreadable bottle that you squeeze. Good grief! Am I the only person who uses Miracle Whip for almost everything? Cole slaw, Waldorf salad, slathered thick on a sandwich, or on a lettuce wedge. Kraft people, if you are listening, tell the stores that we want them to stock it. I tell them, but they don't pay much attention to me. They tell me they don't stock it because nobody buys it.
I think I've rambled about enough. We are off the to Family History Center to catalog books. That's all for today.

Old Birthday News

2009-10-20T14:56:00.000-07:00

Today is Tuesday, October 20, 2009. It has been cloudy all day but no rain.
It has been a long time since my birthday but I got two unique birthday presents that I want to tell you about. They were from two of our daughters. The first one was a little notepad all trimmed in green. On the first page was this note:
I know I look like a
regular notebook,
but I am SPECIAL !!

I am a SUDOKU book
-- in disguise,
A sorceress put a spell on me
when she got frustrated
and couldn't solve me.

To return me to my
regular book self,
just set me on the mantel
of your house for 3 days.
At the end of the third day,
look at me again,
and I will be my true SUDOKU self.

Many happy "solvings"!

It made me laugh then and it makes me laugh now. Such a clever way to cover up the fact that she hadn't been able to find me a Sudoku book yet!
Then the next gift that I opened was a cute little notebook trimmed in blue. This one also had a message to me on the front page.
I also look like a regular notebook,
But like my SUDOKU friend,
I AM ALSO SPECIAL!

I am a Crossword puzzle book in disguise.
The same sorceress should obviously stick
To other activities, because she could
Not solve me either.

Set me on the mantel next to my SUDOKU friend
And at the end of three days
I will also be returned to
My true book self.

It takes smart people to solve Me,
so you must be above
average intelligence for a human.

Good luck and have fun!!

I followed the instructions and placed both of them on the mantel in the front room. Sure enough, after the three days they disappeared and there was a Sudoku book and a Crossword Puzzle book where they had been. I DO love my sudoku-ing and my crossword puzzle-ing.
However, I went to our daughters and begged to keep the little notebooks, too. I thought it was so clever.
That might give you an idea of what to do if you are late getting a gift or can't find the exact thing that you want at the time. Create a clever diversion to make someone smile.
I think our children are all smart and clever. I might be prejudiced about that but I don't think so.
That is what I wanted to share for today.

New Picture

2009-09-18T09:42:00.000-07:00

It is still Friday, September 18, 2009, and I just want to make a comment about the picture I posted today on my profile. I like this picture of Glen and me. Since we do almost everything together nowadays, I decided I'd use it as my identifier. We are a good team. Most people recognize me better when I am with him. Maybe someday I will find a more current picture of me that I like and replace it. But for the time being there I am with him, my eternal companion. That's the comment I wanted to make. Bye.

What I Like For Breakfast

2009-09-18T09:22:00.001-07:00

Today is Friday, September 18, 2009. The sun is shining and it is pleasantly warm.
I had a wonderful breakfast this morning - apple crisp and ice cream. Sounds a little crazy, I know. But then I like crazy things. Let's see, if I had cereal with milk and fruit, wouldn't it have about the same content as apple crisp and ice cream? I've got the fruit, plus the bread/cereal group, plus the milk product. Sounds okay to me.
Growing up, my breakfast was most always a piece of toast, a glass of milk and a glass of orange juice. Then when I was diagnosed with diabetes, the nutrition counselor said I should cut out the glass of orange juice - eat a whole orange instead - and add something like peanut butter or a piece of cheese. That makes an okay breakfast.
I never much cared for oatmeal even though some mornings my mother would fix it and insist that I eat some. Cream of wheat, I liked better than oatmeal. Glen, of course, always had a good breakfast. He lived on a farm and Mother would start the "mush" before they went out to do the morning chores. (I'd never really heard the word "mush" until I married him.) Their mush was cracked whole wheat, cooked long and low, with sugar and real cream. Oh, my! Did I ever like that breakfast! Of course, nobody could cook the mush like my wonderful mother-in-law. We do a fair job now but it's not quite perfect. (I think the long time it cooked while they went out to milk the cows and feed the chickens was the key. And we miss the wonderful fresh cream.
Here are some other things I like for breakfast - pizza left over from the night before. Before microwaves I would eat it cold. And some of our children liked it for breakfast, too. Cherry pie and ice cream taste pretty good. (Same food groups as cereal and fruit.) Another breakfast favorite of mine is chili. But then I could eat chili three meals a day for several days in a row and be perfectly happy. Of course, I usually accompany that with a bowl of applesauce.
Usual breakfast foods like scrambled eggs, omelets, pancakes and waffles I like at suppertime. Then I have time to savor the flavors and really enjoy their taste.
Call me crazy if you want. I am a little crazy, true. But that's okay. It takes all kinds to make a world. Maybe you like different foods for breakfast, too. It all fits into the food pyramid.
That's all for today. Hope the coming days are pleasant for all of us.

It's my birthday and I'll cry if I want to!

2009-09-01T07:22:00.000-07:00

Today is Tuesday, September 1, 2009. It is too early to know if the sun will shine. It probably will. And I know the song title is really It's My Party And I'll Cry If I Want To.
I don't want to cry, except for happiness. Today I am 72 years old. My mother was just that age when we moved to California. She moved with us from Magna, Utah, to Bakersfield, California in 1970. Oh, my! So many wonderful events in the years since we moved. And so many wonderful events in the 72 years I have lived on earth.
Many changes in the world as well as changes in my own life. My growing up years were great. I loved going to school. I loved going to Church. I loved all my friends. I loved the big two story house we lived in- Independence, Missouri. It wasn't a fancy two story house. We didn't have fancy furniture - nothing really matched - but I loved it all the same.
My mother was a wonderful lady and shared her wonderful heart with me. It was a great sadness for her that my dad divorced her when I was 6 years old and my two older sisters went with him (their choice). I know she cried when she was alone but she held fast to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and that carried her through.
She got a good job as proofreader at Zion's Printing and Publishing Company and everyone there treated both of us very well. I went there after school every day to wait for mother to take me home. They put me to work. I learned to alphabetize and file. I learned how to run the address-o-graph machine. I learned how to prepare The Liahona magazine for mailing. I learned how to run the jogger and the stitcher. I loved the smell of printer's ink. It was fun for me to be there.
We didn't have a car. We walked to the grocery store and carried our groceries home in big brown paper bags in our arms. When Grandma came to visit (and to take care of me in the summer) she had a little wheeled cart that she took to the grocery store to pull her groceries home but Mother and I just carried them. The check-out clerk would adjust the weight in each bag, one bag for each arm. Mine were a little lighter than Mother's at first. As I got to be a teenager, my load could be as heavy as Mom's.
The big mirror with the gold frame which hangs over our fireplace, Mother paid $10 for at Goodwill and she carried it home in her arms. Our Oriental rug (which now cushions one of our daughters rooms in her new uncarpeted house) also cost $10 from Goodwill and Mother carried that home on her shoulder. She was a spunky woman.
I loved growing up in Independence. I was fascinated by Church History and also by American History that took place in that special place. I was excited to see President Truman walk by our high school. He wasn't always President Truman. He was just Harry S. Truman.
When I was 21 years old I married a wonderful man from Idaho Falls, Idaho. He was in the Army, stationed at Ft. Riley, Kansas. He was interested in Church History. That is why he and his friend came to Independence. They came to Church and we invited them home to dinner as we did many visitors who came to Independence. This one created a lasting friendship, an eternal one.
We moved around some after we were married and have many friends in all the places we have lived. We lived 22 years in Bakersfield, California. And now we have been in Citrus Heights (near Sacramento) for 17 years. Our nine children have been a great joy to us. Six were born in Utah. Three were born in California. Now we have a bunch of grandchildren who are a great joy to us. We count 23.
We like our house and our small yard. We like living near the Temple. We are happy to serve in the Sacramento Temple and at the Family History Center. Twice a month we are docents at the Old Sacramento Schoolhouse and that gives both of us much pleasure.
Life is good and I can't believe I am 72 years old. But I am. Maybe today I will list 72 things about my life in my journal. Not necessarily one for each year - just 72 things to think about.
This whole week will be a celebration. Yesterday we went to the State Fair. Glen is taking me to lunch today and tomorrow we will go with several of our daughters for dinner at Wonderful Chinese. Thursday is the third anniversary of the opening of the Temple. I'm sure we will do something special on Friday and Saturday. And somewhere during this week we will need to can our pears. Oh, my! As my boss used to say, "No rest for the wicked and the righteous don't need it." Hmm!
That's all for today.

Friendly People

2009-08-17T07:44:00.000-07:00

Today is Monday, August 17,2009. The sun is shining but it is quite cool outside and inside. Glen has even closed the windows already.
Last Friday we spent the afternoon at the Old Sacramento Schoolhouse. We are docents there and usually go on the second and fourth Tuesday afternoons. However during the month of August, we did not go on our regular days. The second Tuesday we had family here and the fourth Tuesday we had gone to visit our daughter's family in Paradise, California. How could I say no to Suzanne when she needed our help AND we had the day free?
We both enjoy being there and visiting with the people who come to visit the Schoolhouse Museum. There are travelers from all over the world. We both enjoying talking with them. Glen usually stays toward the back of the classroom (by the door and the bell rope) and I stay up in front, either at the desk or on the recitation bench.
Two young boys came in with their parents and sat at the desks, all four of them. After a few minutes the boys came up to ask me if they could have their pictures taken while writing on the board. Of course, why not? I suggested they write their names. One was Ofir and the other was Nir.
As I asked them about their names, they told me they were born in Israel. By that time the parents had come to talk to me also. People love to tell their stories and I love to hear them.
This young couple were both born in Russia, went to Israel with their families and met there. They married, had twin sons, and now live in California. Such a beautiful family, ready smiles and having a good time together in Old Sacramento.
Another family was from Mexico. Three sisters with their families had brought their mother and father to Sacramento on a sight seeing trip. One of the sisters lives in southern California, the rest live in Mexico. The cousins were having a great time together, just like our grandchildren do when they are together. I usually ask who is the best at speaking English. In this case they all pointed to two of the children. However, most of them had very good English and we had a very nice visit.
We had many visitors throughout the afternoon. Most of the time there were 20 to 30 people milling around looking at the various displays and talking with us. Glen invites the older boys to ring the bell. They like that. Once someone starts, he has a line up. We have to ring the bell properly so as not to pull the rope loose. He is very good about giving the instructions and standing by to watch.
Near the end of the day our visitors had dwindled in number and there was just one lady looking carefully at everything in the room. I engaged her in conversation and she had a most interesting story to tell.
She is from England and is on a world tour. She travels mostly by herself, sometimes joins a travel group. She loves to climb mountains, has climbed Kilamanjaro and Mt. Everest. And this week she climbed Half Dome in Yosemite. She has been traveling since March and will return home in March. This is her second trip. She visited 27 countries in 18 months on her first trip. It was very interesting to hear her stories.
Of course, I asked her if she had a web site. I discovered that she records her adventures on a site called "yourtraveljournal." I logged on to it, checked it out, and will go back to it to read more carefully. It was fascinating to hear her stories.
Every time we are at the Schoolhouse it is just that way. So many wonderful people in the world. So many interesting stories. So many beautiful children. So many fine experiences. I do love people. I once said that I collect people rather than things. And I enjoy my collection.
That's all for today. Glen has apples cooking on the stove - homemade apples. They smell so good and they will taste just right for breakfast.

Comments

2009-07-27T10:20:00.000-07:00

This is just a shortie - I am seeking comments. I decided I like the idea of comments. If you read my blog, please make a comment for me. Thanks.

Water Glasses

2009-07-27T10:05:00.000-07:00

Today is Monday, July 27, 2009. The sky is blue and the sun is shining.
We have family here from out of town. They will be here for a couple of weeks. Whenever we have family from out of town, the "in town" group always want to be here, too. And that is fine with Glen and me. We love to have the family together. We enjoy watching our grandchildren play together and like to listen in on the conversations of the adult group as they share memories and new discoveries.
A big challenge is the question of water glasses. At meal time we usually use paper cups and for drinks inbetween meals, too. However, the cups multiply and there are always paper cups sitting around on the table and the counter. We have a system of writing names with a sharpie to conserve on the cup usuage. It sort of works. Children leave water or ice in a cup and you know how paper cups get soggy after awhile. Each morning I empty cups and line them up on the counter. I throw away the soggy ones.
This system works pretty well. However, we do have some drinkers who cannot take the time to search out their own cup. (I guess the penalties are not stiff enough.)
Last Friday one of our daughters bought some plastic glasses and some colored sharpies. We had an art project to decorate the glasses and include our name. "This is your glass. You are responsible for rinsing it out and having it ready to use. If you have milk in it and don't rinse it, your next drink of water may be milky. Or if you have juice, the water might be juicy."
Each one enjoyed doing the art work on his or her glass. It sort of works. This morning I emptied water and melted ice from several glasses and lined them up on the counter. Yesterday all the family did pretty well at rinsing and taking care of their own glass.
We panicked when one fell on the floor. "That's it! I bet it broke." It didn't, Yeah! I think it will not cut down on the glasses I empty each morning but it will save on paper cups. I will line them up each morning on the counter. We will make it work as best we can. I feel certain there are families who manage such things better then we do. But, oh well, we have a great time together. That makes most any problem bearable.
That's all for today. (I am not going to reread and correct this blog. Last time I did it I lost the whole thing. Bear with any mistakes I made.)

Possessions

2009-07-21T10:41:00.000-07:00

Today is Tuesday, July 21, 2009. It is sunny and warm. The sky is a beautiful blue.
As I have been straightening up the house yesterday and today, I've spent a lot of time putting away "stuff." You know, books, magazines, pencils, pens, dishes, clothes, tote bags, pillows and the like. I have tried over the years to get better at "a place for everything and everything in its place." Some days I think I have made progress. Other days I'm not so sure.
If you have ever been in our house you know we have many, many books. Not only do we have the books we bought, but we have books from Glen's parents' collection and books from my mother's collection. Add to that books that belong to some of our children. We love books, what can I say? Most of them have been read more than once.
When Glen retired from teaching he brought home his office. He had wall to wall, floor to ceiling bookcases filled with more books. We do have lots of book shelves and they are all filled and spilling over. My oldest sister once said that if she left 2 glasses out on the counter top overnight they multiplied by morning. I think that is true of books, too.
We have dozens of cookbooks. And several sets of encylcopedias. And we all love the old Reader's Digest Condensed Books. (We don't like the new Select Editions. They have too much graphic sex and bad language left in them. I feel perfectly okay if one of my grandchildren selects an old Condensed Book to read. I have expressed my dislike to every Reader's Digest person who has called. "NO, I do not want your Selection Editions because ....")
Not so long ago I decided I would like to collect all the Caldacott Award and the Newberry Award winners. Sure, we need more books. It is a fun project. I just wish I could find a copy of Wanda Gag's Millions and Millions of Cats.
And everytime a book ad comes in the mail - five books for $1 - I pore over that ad, select 5 books I'd really, really like. I am doing better at not making the order. I know that I can cancel at any time or return any book I don't want BUT too often in the past I have just kept buying book after book.
Photographs are another possession that we have boxes and boxes full - and albums, too. I am trying to be more discerning with the photos I keep. I ask myself "Is anyone really interested in this photo of me 15 years ago with some of my PTA friends at Disneyland?" Or what about my PTA friends without me? And where on earth was this picture of the highway taken. Oh, yes, once I said I wanted a picture book of trees and clouds so that when I am too old to do much else I can look at the pictures. Wait, I think I said that same thing in my last blog. Am I overly concerned with getting too old to do much else? Maybe.
Dishes - I love dishes. Whenever there is an offer to get dishes in the grocery store, I always fall prey to that come on. Over the years I have parted with some of the pieces but not many. I treasure those dishes. Sure, they are kind of cheap but I like them nevertheless.
Last week I went through my clothes closet. I have plenty of clothes but I usually wear the same old favorites. One of our granddaughters asked her mother "How come Grandma always wears the same dress?" I love it, that's why. Can I clean out my closet a little and give some of those things away? Nope, I might need it one day.
Some of you will understand about me and my possessions. Others of you will shake your heads. A friend told me her mother's motto was "Every day throw something away." I'm trying but somehow I hear my mother's voice, "As sure as you throw that away you will need it." There's got to be a happy medium.
That's all for today. I'm going to tackle a drawer in my filing cabinet. I am doing well at throwing away papers. Wish me luck!

Family History

2009-07-12T04:44:00.000-07:00

Today is Sunday, July 12, 2009. It is too early to know if the sun is going to shine or it is going to rain. My guess is the sun will shine.
I have spent the last couple of weeks organizing "stuff" that I have kept over the years. You know, school programs, newspaper articles, family letters, piano recital programs, wedding announcements, family letters, etc. I am enjoying the journey. And I feel a great sense of accomplishment. Once all this stuff was just in a big box. Several years ago I began to sort it out and put it in big manila envelopes, two or three years at a time. Now I am putting it into notebooks, in plastic sleeves by date. I am using regular size paper to mount the smaller things on and writing a bit about each piece of memrobilia. Since I have jillions of stickers from my Creative Memory collection, I am also adding embellishments to make it more interesting. As I said before I am enjoying the journey.
One thing that hovers in my mind each day is I wonder what will happen to the notebooks when I die. I treasure a few things of my Grandma McGuire and a few more of my mother's collection. But I have kept so-o-o-o-o much "stuff." I probably should just throw most of it away. But I can't find it in my heart to do that. I told Glen the other day, "If I have 18 notebooks full of memories, each child can take 2 and then they can pass them around." Two notebooks wouldn't take up very much space in each house.
I guess I got to thinking about this because a friend told me she was trying to "organize" her papers and she wondered what would happen to them when she was gone. Do we all wonder about that when we get old? I decided I didn't really care about what happens to them after me. I can spend a lot of days just looking at the things I've kept and turning the pages. Okay, kids, remember that! When I get too old to do much else, just hand me my notebooks and tell me to turn the pages.
I have had lots and lots of wonderful experiences and adventures in my 70 plus years. It has been an Incredible Adventure so far and I look to many more great experiences in the years to come. There probably won't be as much "stuff" to keep. Our names don't appear on many school programs any more, or in piano recitals like when the children were all at home. But we do have a good life and we do keep pretty busy. Life is good.
That's all for today.

Family Get-Togethers

2009-07-08T19:31:00.000-07:00

Today is Wednesday, July 8, 2009. The sun is still shining brightly and it is 7:32 PM.
We just got back yesterday from a BIG family reunion in Ogden, Utah, on the Fourth of July. Being the patriotic family that we are we had a posting of the flag by three of the Scouts in our group. We said the Pledge of Allegiance and sang the National Anthem. I am so glad to have been born in America. This reunion was for the descendants of Glen's grandfather who came to America when he was 11 years old. He came with his mother and an older sister from Sweden.
He and his wife had 4 boys and 2 girls. One of the girls died shortly after her birth. The other sister never married. The four sons now have quite a posterity. People came from all over the US who were related. It was fun to rub shoulders with them, to meet some new people, and renew acquaintances. We never seem to have enough time to get all the visiting done we want to.
At these reunions there is always plenty of food, fun games for the little children and visiting for everyone else. I love to visit with people. I love to make new friends. I love to figure out just where they fit in the family tree. As you've already heard, we have 9 wonderful children. These 9 are a part of 41 grandchildren. At this family reunion there were 12 - only 4 of our children were there. Those 12 had a great time getting reacquainted. They used to sleep out on Grandpa and Grandma's lawn in Touqerville. Even the parents slept outside on the lawn many times. It was so beautiful to look up at the stars and feel the wonderful breezes. There wasn't room for all of us in the house. Only a few times were we all there at the same time. But we all have wonderful memories of those days.
Mother and Dad had lots of apricot trees and canning and drying apricots was a part of the family get togethers. We had a great assembly line and could bottle hundreds of quarts in an afternoon. With so many cousins and aunts and uncles it was almost like play. Of course, you could get pretty sticky if the juice ran down your arms.
After work was done, we could walk down into the canyon and if there was water running it made a great swimming hole. Catching lizards was a favorite pass time. Grandma would pay you 5c for every lizard you put into her garden.
And grandpa made the best rubber band guns to sting those lizards with. You weren't supposed to shoot anyone with the rubber bands (but sometimes the boys forgot - never the girls, surely).
Summer time visiting was always special.
Now in our family most of our get togethers have been at Christmas time. And that's wonderful. One of the things we all like to do is to make "gingerbread" houses (we use graham crackers) covered with candy. It is quite a production - to cut the gables - gently, gently. And to cut doors or windows. Most of us build a simple little house but one year one of our boys created quite a castle.
Another favorite thing is Christmas Eve. We have a special dinner. Then Glen reads the story of Jesus' birth and the younger grandchildren - all dressed in costume - reenact the scenes. All of us sing Christmas carols in the right places. We have great pictures of years past.
Family get togethers are wonderful. I wish there could be more. I wish we didn't live so far apart.
Speaking of get togethers, two of our daughters just stopped in. I will go and visit with them. That's all for now.

Not Appropriate

2009-06-17T11:44:00.001-07:00

Today is Wednesday, June 17,2009. It is sunny and beautiful.
"Not appropriate"- I used to tease my mother about using those two words. And now I am saying them more and more often and thinking them more than I am saying them out loud. I just heard of a new trend in wedding receptions. Couples are having a reception the night before they get married. That makes their wedding day less hectic, trying to fit in pictures and all the other stuff connected with a wedding. Well, I think it's "not appropriate."
Now our youngest daughter and her soon-to-be husband had a party the night before their wedding - BUT- they did not wear their wedding clothes and it was not billed as a reception. And they held it in our back yard.
The first pre-reception I attended was the daughter of a friend. The cultural hall at the Church was decorated very elaborately and the soon-to-be bride wore her wedding dress, the groom his tuxedo, and there was the reception line and everything. I felt just a little uncomfortable. I guess I still have some of that old tradition of the bride wearing her dress for the first time at her wedding. (Oh, I know, sometimes they wear it to have pictures before the wedding, etc. ) And now just this week the father of a new groom told me that is becoming quite common to hold the reception - wedding dress and all the trimmings - the night before the wedding. Well, I'm telling you, I think it is not appropriate.
And while we are at it. I think it is not appropriate for women and girls to come to Church with thigh high dresses and tights to their ankles. "Not appropriate."
I saw one yesterday in the eye doctor's office. He has two office girls who looked like they should have been bar maids. Their blouses were cut low in the first place and then every stitch of clothes they had on was so tight and clingy you could see nearly every part of their body move as they walked. I nearly had to cover my eyes. I did look away after the first glance screamed out "not appropriate."
I had an imaginary conversation with a mother of a young girl who attended a wedding open house in short shorts. (The mother was with her by the way.) In the imaginery conversation she said, "I can't control everything she wears out of the house." And in my mind, I replied, "I can tell you that more than once I said to one of my children, You are not leaving the house dressed like that." And more then once they gave me a dirty look, went and changed their clothes before they left. Thank goodness, I didn't have to do it often but I certainly would have done it any time I felt it was necessary.
There is a lot of talking nowadays that I think is "not appropriate, " too. Many people just use such uncouth language. Where has finesse and mannerly speech gone? I fear much of refinement has gone out the window. And I regret that. Manners, are they still in vogue? Sometimes, I wonder.
Well, Mother, you were right. There are many things that are just not appropriate. I certainly agree with you. I sure hope my own children and grandchildren never do anything that would cause anyone to classify their actions or dress as "not appropriate."
That's all for today.

Old Sacramento Schoolhouse

2009-06-11T05:19:00.000-07:00

Today is Thursday, June 11, 2009. I don't know if it will be sunny today or not. It is so-o-o early - 5:15 AM - and I am up. Glen left a few minutes ago for his regular Thursday assignment at the Temple. Usually I stay asleep but today I am wide awake and decided to just get out of the recliner and get busy doing something. So here I am. I've opened the blinds in the family room and it is still dark outside. Oh, my!
This week, on Tuesday, I went back to the Old Sacramento Schoolhouse docent-ing. Since we came home from Greece in 2003, Glen has gone with me. He talks to as many people as I do. And I am glad to have his company and help.
We haven't been since December because of my painful knees till March and then after the knee surgery. Physically, I managed pretty well. Emotionally, I managed just great. I love being at the schoolhouse, visiting with people who come in to look around, and teaching the classes of students. There were three classes Tuesday - 1 o'clock, 2 o'clock, and 3 o'clock. All three were from the same school in Modesto. Most classes are fourth graders. That is when they study California history and make their field trips to the capitol.
Those eager students are so fun. I love their cute faces and I like watching how they behave as we go through the routine. One little gal today was so cute. The first thing I do, once they get into the room, is to teach them how to "make their manners." This little gal wanted to do it so bad. She raised her hand to tell us something that was different about this schoolroom than her room now. I called on her, she stood up, curtsied, then looked around and said, "I guess I forgot." Oh, it made me laugh.
School children come in all shapes and sizes and with their own personalities. At this age they are so teachable and usually pretty much on the right track for life. The next ten years exposing them to so many avenues of life. I always pray every night after being at the schoolhouse that they will find their way, that they will grow up to be good people, that they will not get involved in drugs or other bad things. There is much good in the world. And many good people. I see good in these young students who come to the schoolhouse - and in their teachers and chaperones who come with them. One group was with "my cousin." I asked one gentleman how many students were with each chaperone. "Most of us have two, some have three." That meant they had a lot of adults along on the trip. They came up to Sacramento on the train. All the adults stayed in the classroom. Often they enjoy the school experience as much as the children. I do love to teach the classes.
I like to teach them about elocution and ciphering and the nine's trick that I use. And I love it that they like to "make their manners." It just makes me smile.
My next assignment is the 4th Tuesday afternoon. I guess I am back in the routine. I'm glad.
That's all for today.

The Magic Kingdom

2009-06-06T07:54:00.000-07:00

Today is Saturday, June 6, 2009. It is pretty cloudy this morning. Rain is predicted. We had an unusual thunderstorm Wednesday evening. The thunder just roared and roard constantly. At first, we thought it was a plane going over but it never passed by. Then the lightning started. Some "fireworks" display it was. And the rain poured down for about 15 minutes and then a few minutes of soft rain. Then a dead stop. Very different.
We had a wonderful trip to Disneyland. We left here on Tuesday, after Decoration Day (Memorial Day). My mother always called it Decoration Day. The young people from her church would gather on that day, ride on a hay wagon to the cemetery, and decorate all the graves, especially those who had served in the military.
Our drive to Anaheim was very pleasant. Not much traffic. We pulled out of our driveway about 6:15 AM. The day was sunny. We listened to the radio sometimes and just talked most of the time. I tried to read outloud but it made me a little woozy. I wonder, will I ever be able to read again? That sure makes the hours go by quickly.
We got to our motel about 1:30 and were fortunate enough to be able to check into a room. This time we stayed at the Fairfield Inn which is north of the park, right behind McDonalds, Mimi's and Millie's eating places. It sits back off the road. I think it is where the Grand Hotel used to be. We were on the fifth floor. Our son and his family and their friends had rooms on the 8th floor. We had a nice king size bed and a little fridge, also a couch and a desk table and chair. Of course, there was a TV with a remote. Motel (hotel) stays are quite nice nowadays.
Cell phones are sure convenient. We had already communicated with the group over at Disneyland. They had gone to the park on Monday and were eager for us to join them. Bless their hearts!!
We had a quick lunch at McDonalds and headed over to Disneyland. I walked most of the way with the wheelchair as my walker. I did quite well. At the street crossing into Disneyland, Glen told me to get in the chair. I was obedient. I knew he wanted to "push me around."
That was the beginning of fun times. We were there Tuesday afternoon, Wednesday, and Thursday. It is great fun being there with family (or by ourselves). More fun with family. We like our children's friends, too, and they seem to accept us. There were seven children of varying ages. The oldest was 11 and the youngest just over a year old, 3 little girls and 4 little boys.
Myfavorite rides anymore are AstroBlasters, Toy Story, and Soarin' Over California. I like the Story Book Canal and the Disney Railroad, too. Oh, and I musn't forget It's A Small World. That has been refurbished since we were last there. Lots of new lighting and a few new dolls representing movies that Disney has made. It seemed like most of the dolls had new sparkly costumes. The song, of course, is very special to me. We used it with our students in India and Pakistan. They loved it, especially the part "There's so much that we share, that it's time we're aware, It's a small world after all." We all cried the last time we sang it, as we headed back to our home in the United States.
I like the Toy Story ride. I stayed in the wheelchair once. They had a special contraption to strap you in. We got an offer to go the second time and we did. It used to be that wheel chair people (plus their party) got very special treatment. They've sort of altered that some. Now you can take 6 people with you and in some lines you just have to wait in line. Once you get to the front, there is a special line for you. That's okay with me. Most of the time there is so much to look at - Everything is so detailed. And they are so clever about weaving the lines back and forth. That always amazed me.
A favorite part of my trip to Disneyland is always the Animation Studio. A cartoonist takes you step by step through a drawing of a Disney character. I introduced it to our granddaughter and she was delighted. After the first one she wanted to go again. I could spend my whole day in there drawing. She wanted to go back the next day, too.
The Jedi training is a fun part of the day. Our grandson got to do that on Wednesday morning just before lunch. I'm not sure if he was as excited as his parents about it but it was fun to watch.
This time we had a new experience. Face painting. Wow! They do elaborate face paintings. So colorful. Too bad it doesn't last longer. By the end of the day, the paintings were almost gone. Of course, what could you expect after they all played in the water over at Bug's Land.
The San Andraes Milk Shake stand was closed again. Only twice in all the times we have been there has that thing been opened. I often wonder why. They make the best milkshakes ever.
A visit to the Tortilla Factory and the San Francisco Bread Store is always a highlight for me. Fascinating to see how they are made.
Each evening we went out of the park to eat. And this time we tried Captain Kidd's Buffet. It is the most economical place in town and everyone pretty much liked it. The watchful parents would not let the children eat all the desserts they wanted. "Poor little children." I loved the ribs. I could eat way too many of those.
Fireworks we watched from our windows at the hotel. Couldn't see them all clearly but Glen and I have seen them several times from the park. They are spectacular. Even from the hotel they are pretty classy.
It was hard for me to leave on Friday morning. The rest of the group decided to stay an extra day. But we headed for home about 7:30 AM. Bad traffic through LA but we made good time anyway. Got home about 4:30. We had guests coming - more family - from Escondido. They arrived about 7:30 in the evening. Here for a cousin's wedding.
The weekend was great, too. Let's see? When will we go to Disneyland again. With season's passes we can make lots of choices. It truly is The Magic Kingdom.
That's all for today.

Tingling Feet

2009-04-27T08:03:00.000-07:00

Today is Monday, April 27, 2009. The sun is shining brightly and I hope it will be nice and warm.
Yesterday in Sunday School class we talked about the gifts of the Spirit as outlined in Corinthians and detailed in the Doctrine and Covenants. Right now the gift I seek is the gift of being healed. I've asked for a blessing and I want that person to have the gift of healing.
As you know I had knee surgery about two months ago. I think that is doing very well. But now my feet have started tingling, tingling, tingling. Not just one, but both. You know, when your foot has been asleep and then the circulation starts again, well, that is just how it feels, only worse.
I can ease the pain some by rubbing my feet on the carpet or over a little pill bottle but it never completely goes away. I wiggle my toes and rub my feet. It feels good while it is in motion but the tingling doesn't go away.
A friend brought me a little foot massager which feels good while I am doing it. But oh, boy! I just want the tingling to stop. Another friend who has fibromiaglia (it's spelled something like that) says that her feet get to tingling sometimes too. And sometimes it feels like that all over her body.
"What do you do about it?" I asked.
"My Dr. said to double up on my pain medication."
Oh, boy! I still have pain medication, which I have nearly stopped taking because my knee doesn't hurt. I guess the double dose might help for a while. But I want it to go away permanently.
Then I think of people much worse off than me and try to accept my problems better. I've had good health most of my life and very little aches and pains. I just wanted it to be that way forever but maybe the Lord has other plans for me. I need the faith to withstand whatever comes my way. Oh, and I've always felt like I have a lot of faith, too. This will be a test for me, I guess.
I am filled with gratitude for all the wonderful blessings I've had in my life - My Incredible Adventure. Will this be a new and different part of that adventure? I guess I will find out as the days go by.
That's all for today.

My Sampler Quilt

2009-04-03T12:37:00.000-07:00

Today is Friday, April 3, 2009. The sun is shining and it is nice and warm.
Well, here is a picture of that infamous quilt. I am so happy to have it finished - after all these years. I started it a long time ago in Bakersfield. I took a quilting class at Bakersfield College. I've always been fascinated with quilts. My grandma loved to make quilts and I loved to watch her sew the pieces together and then set up the quilt on a frame and do the quilting. Of course, her neighbors would come in, sit down, take up a needle and sew while they visited. I liked to listen to their stories.
This quilting class was very interesting. Each square was a technique of a different sort or a different design. I created three quilting notebooks along with the squares we made. Our final grade was to have 4 squares sewed together with their sashing and all the quilting done. It was common in the Victorian Era to work just a small piece of the quilt at a time. Many people lived in small living quarters and had no place to set up a frame to quilt it all at one time.
Step one was to make a plan on graph paper - planning the square and how to apply the sashing.
Step two was to cut the pieces for the 1st square. I don't remember which one we did first. There's a folded star, a cracker keeper, a bisquit square, Grandmother's flower garden, cathedral windows, several different types of applique, Grandmother's fan, Dresden plate, string quilt, and the log cabin design. Those I did during the class.
After the design square was complete, it was necessary to add the sashing. Then I cut a square of batting to fit and a piece of the backing to fit. Then the quilting started. My grandma could get seven stitches on her quilting needle but she told me the important thing was to make your stitches even. They were supposed to look the same on the front and on the back. As I quilted I got so I could five on the needle but never seven. I did work hard at making them even. The teacher was pleased that I could get 5 at a time.
When the class ended, I had several squares over and above the four that we had to have sewn together. The teacher said we could finish off the edges and make a wall hanging. I, however, intended to some day finish that quilt. I carefully folded it all up and put it neatly into a box to be finished someday.
Each time Glen found the box he would say, "You know, you ought to finish this quilt." I would get out all the pieces, look at them, savor the memories, look at my plan, and never decide to work on it. Back it would go into the box.
Well, when my left knee gave out and I could hardly walk, be brought it in to me. I decided this was the time to finish that old quilt. I changed the plan. With the new plan I had to create two more squares and plan wide sashings to make it big enough to fit our queen size bed. I love graph paper. It's fun to design stuff with graph paper.
Anyway, I went to work to cut, sew, strip and quilt. And I did that for many, many hours. I had to buy new brown fabric to go around the edges and to make the prairie points for the edging.
And here it is for you to look at. The QUILT is finished and we put it on our bed today. And I feel almost lost after all these days of stitching, stitching, stitching. Never again will Glen find that box full of squares and say "You know, you really ought to finish up that quilt."
That's all for today.

Post Surgery

2009-03-27T10:21:00.000-07:00

Today is Friday, March 27, 2009. The sun is shining brightly and it makes me feel so-o-o good.
Seventeen days since my surgery. I debated writing about my stay in the hospital. It certainly was different than my hospital stay with the right knee. Oh, my, the stories I have to tell! Then I had to laugh at myself. Me, the one who always chuckles about how much people like to talk about their surgeries and their hospital experiences! Well, now I have some of my own to tell. Curiously enough, if anyone seemed interested I would regale them with the stories. But as yet, I haven't decided to blog about it. Not just now.
I finished THE QUILT yesterday. It is with joy - and sadness, too. Now I have no purpose for struggling to get out of the recliner to sew more stitches in. It's done. Of course, I think it looks beautiful. Our children say I need to take pictures and post them on the blog. I will soon. Well, Glen will take the pictures and I will post them. He is so proud of me, after all these years of taking it out of the box, savoring each sampler square, folding it all neatly and putting it back in the box. I'm pleased myself.
I got to thinking about other quilts I have made in the meantime. I made a big quilt for Betty Lindsay, who was the State PTA President. It had become sort of a tradition to give the outgoing President a memory quilt. No one in the District President's group seemed ready to tackle it. Even though I was one of the least experienced at quilt making, I took on the job. It was really fun. Each of the District Presidents made a square. We found out that Betty's favorite color was yellow and I started the work of putting it together.
I remember I filled 4 or 5 bobbins at a time so that I could just keep sewing when the bobbin ran out. Wonder if I can find a picture of it? I know I have one somewhere. I wonder if she enjoys the quilt as much as I enjoyed making it for her.
I have several quilt tops pieced together. I suppose I should get the backing and get them finished, too. None is as special as this sampler quilt, though. Each square brings back the memory of that class I took at college. The teacher knew our children who worked in the fabric store where she purchased all her supplies. She thought I was a great mother because she loved my children so much. And I loved the techniques she taught me.
The girls keep teasing me about the next one I am going to start. Who knows? Maybe I will surprise them - and myself - and start another one while I am recuperating from this knee surgery. It gives me some purpose.
The knee is doing well. The therapist is pleased with my range of motion and I am pleased that I have reduced the pain pills I take each day. I am a little concerned about how I will manage the organ this week. Marilyn, my sub, leaves town on Saturday to stay with her mother in Salt Lake. I could get one of the girls to play the piano. We'll see.
I went to a farewell luncheon on Tuesday. Tonight we are going to an anniversary celebration at the American River Institute and tomorrow we are going to Ray and Mary Higgenbotham's 50th wedding anniversary party. We will see how I manage those affairs. Then I will make a definite decision about Sunday. I told the group on Tuesday, "Well, now that I have been to a party, I guess I'd better go to Church."
That's all for today.

Yeah for California!

2009-03-07T07:54:00.000-08:00

Today is Saturday, March 7, 2009. The sun is shining and I am hoping it will get warm today. There are supposed to be light showers today and tomorrow but at least the sun is shining this morning.
One of Glen's brothers sent us an article about California. It's a great article. Yes, California does have it's problems. And we get a lot of publicity. Everyone talks about and writes about California, some good things and some bad. We have lived in California since 1970. We never planned to come to California. In fact, we told Glen's boss that we never especially wanted to go to California. But we were assigned to the Bakersfield Institute in 1970 and we have grown to love this state.
When I was in college I thought the students from California were a little crazy. At the first snow, they acted like little kids, running around and jumping and laughing. Of course, I had lived where it snowed all my life so it was nothing new to me. Since several of our children were born in California, they act just like those college girls I knew. The first snow is like wonderland. I've come to appreciate that feeling. Life always seemed like such a lark to them. In fact, I have decided I want to get a government grant to make a study on how the "forever sunshine" state influences personalities as compared to places where it is mostly cold and wintery.
I have come to love the wonderful weather. Granted there are places in California where winter is winter and there is snow, but not where I've lived. I am excited that we can go to the beach one day and the mountains the next. I like the hills and desert areas. It is all so diverse. Of course, it is also one of the bigger states.
I cherish the cultural diversity here. Where else can you go to a Chinese resturant and have the waiters and waitresses speaking Spanish or some other language? We went to a Greek resturant the other night with a cute Spanish waiter. I teased him about his Greek. He was interested to hear that we lived in Athens for a year and a half. This Greek resturant served no pork. How can it be a Greek resturant with no pork? They had chicken and beef. The food was good.
When you look in the pages of a phone book, there is every type of food imaginable. And we grow nearly every kind of food and other argicultural products in this great state. We have all kinds of animals too - llama farms and ostrich farms.
Walk down the street in any major city in California and you will pass people from nearly every part of the world. In Bakersfield if you went to Joe's Market, you could hear all those languages being spoken. I used to stand behind the shelves and try to guess which language it was.
I have grown to love this place. The article we got had a lot to say about our Governor. Well, everyone in the world knows who our governor is. You can't say that about too many of the United States. I don't always agree with him. In fact, lately, I agree with him less and less, but he sure is in the news a lot. Bet you can't say that about your governor unless you live in California.
I'm glad to have lived in other states so I can compare. Who knows, if you came to live in California, you might decide that it is a pretty wonderful place to live, too. Yeah, for California!

Love that clothes dryer!

2009-03-06T09:25:00.000-08:00

Today is Friday, March 6, 2009. The sun is shining and it is beautiful outside. The sun always makes me feel happy.
When Bryan and Carolina came to visit us in our pink house in Provo, they discovered we had a lot of clothes to hang out on the lines to dry. There were four children by this time. Glen was working on his master's degree at BYU and we were having a wonderful time. In the summer weather I didn't mind hanging out the clothes. It gave me a reason to be outside. I'd put the baby in her stroller and the other children would play around the yard while I put those clothes on the line. It wasn't so great when the weather was cold and snowy. We had a drying rack or two and I could hang out the whole wash. It was an organizational challenge. Everyone we knew, nearly everyone, had clothes hanging around the house in the winter.
Well, Carolina said that she would rather do without her washer than her dryer and they proceeded to go downtown, buy a dryer for us, and Bryan and Glen got it all installed and ready for use.
There were several things I loved about that pink house in Provo. The first one - there was a bathroom right as you came in the back door - no traisping through the house when the children and their friends had to use the bathroom. The washer was right across from the bathroom. There was a large storage cabinet next to the washer as you continued down the hall into the main part of the house. Windows in the west wall let in plenty of light and there was space to put the dryer next to the washer.
It took me no time at all to see how much a dryer was worth. The towels felt so soft, and the sheets. And it was glorious to have diapers dry so quickly. If the children got wet playing out in the snow or in the rain, I could just pop those little clothes right into the dryer and have them all taken care of so easily. I soon realized why Carolina liked her dryer so much.
Sometimes I did miss the necessity of hanging out clothes when the weather was sunny. And sometimes I would hang out a few things just to get myself outside in the sunlight. Dad and Mother Wahlquist still didn't have a dryer and when Carolina and I were visiting them we would "meet out at the clothesline" and have some good ole talks.
Carolina and I don't see each other very often anymore but once in a while we still say, "Meet me at the clothesline" when we want to have a good long talk about life and all its perplexities.
Now there are dryers and there are dryers. I found that out when we went on a mission to Greece. Ever after Provo I have had one of those labor saving conviences - a dryer. And enjoyed every minute of being able to toss the clothes in and a short while later pulling them out dry and soft. And that was even something the children could do - take the clothes from the washer and start the dryer. Or take the clothes out of the dryer.
Well, the missionary couple before us in Greece had purchased a dryer for the apartment. The washer wasn't quite like my own washer. It took about 2 hours to wash just a small load of clothes - BUT it WAS better than washing clothes in the bathtub. Anyway, after the washing, then you could put them in this little dryer. It had a small compartment that collected the water as the thing spun. It was necessary to empty that little water compartment about three times during a drying. I felt it was quite a nuisance. (You can tell I was spoiled.) And so I took to hanging out clothes again. We had a nice porch on the northern side of our apartment with clotheslines stretched across. I found I didn't mind hanging out the clothes again. And most days they dried rather quickly. Of course, the two of us didn't have a lot of clothes to wash. We had only one bed so not too many sheets. The two of us didn't use tons of towels. I hardly ever used a tablecloth. Glen always took his suit to the cleaners. We had lots of white shirts and all my washable clothes but it was nothing like doing the washing and drying for a big family.
Anyway I knew that someday I would be back in the USA with a wonderful washer and dryer. Now I even appreciate that dryer more than I used to. Dryers are a wonderful convenience. Thanks to whoever thunk them up!!!! And thanks to Bryan and Carolina for getting us started with one.
That's all for today. Go give your dryer a friendly pat just for me.

Hangin' Out The Clothes

2009-03-02T07:38:00.000-08:00

Today is Monday, March 2, 2009. February has already gone by. Wow! It is a little cloudy today. It rained most of the day yesterday. Maybe the sun will come out today.
I talked about washing clothes and dishes in my last blog. And I've been thinking about the next step, hanging clothes out to dry. Mother taught me all she knew about that big job. We carried the bushel basket heavy with the wet clothes out into the side yard where our clotheslines were. This was at our 403 South Pleasant house. When we lived in our apartments, I don't remember helping much. But by the time we moved to Pleasant Street I was about 8 years old and big enough to help with most everything.
Anyway, out we would go with the bag of clothespins and the basket of wet clothes. The clothsline was four wires strung from a section of 2 X 4 attached to the side of the house to another section of 2 X 4 attached to a big tree about 20 feet away. First of all you had to wipe the lines with a damp rag. During the week the dust and dirt would collect on the wires and if you didn't clean them off, dark spots would get on the clean clothes where you hung them up.
We had two kinds of clothes pins in a cute little bag. It looked like a little girl's dress sewed together at the bottom and hung on a coat hanger to go along the line as you needed the clothes pins. (After I married Glen, I found out his mother just left the clothes pins on the line so she never had to use a clothespin bag.) We had more of the clipping kind of pins than we had of the two little post kind. Over the years we kept adding to the clip kind and finally the little post kind pretty much disappeared.
Okay, wipe down the line and then start hanging. On the outside line closest to the street was where we hung the sheets and towels and tableclothes. Of course, Mother wanted them all neat and straight to look quite nice blowing in the wind. They were hung on the outside lines so that underwear could be on the inside lines not to be exposed to everyone.
The sheets were thrown over the line and straightened at the sides and bottom. Towels were hung by the corners long ways. And you used as few pins as possible so you wouldn't run out. Dresses and blouses - since we had only women in our househould we had no shirts - were hung by the shoulders and made as straight as possible. All the dresses together, all the blouses together. Skirts were hung by the waistband, slips thrown over the line to the waist. (We never had any half slips in those days.) Socks, hung by the toe. It was quite a system.
When I was about 13 I read in a woman's magazine how to hang your clothes to cut down on the necessary ironing. I thought it all sounded so good. Sheets you were to hang by the edges. Dresses, blouses, and skirts (and men's shirts, if you had those) were to be hung by the bottom to prevent those little crease marks at the shoulders which were so hard to get ironed out. I thought these ideas sounded great and I decided I wanted to try them.
The next time I hung out the clothes I tried it. Well, it did not make my mother happy at all. It was just too different than she had ever done. She insisted that I hang the clothes the way she had taught me. However, over a period of time I did convince her that the new way WAS much better than the old. She didn't really like to iron anyway and before long she was happy that I had read the article and changed our pattern.
Even though the newer washing machines made washing day easier, there were still lots of years of hangin' out the clothes left for me.
I'll tell you sometime about my first automatic dryer. What a luxury!
That's all for this morning because Glen has breakfast ready for me. Bless his heart!

Memories

2009-02-27T08:53:00.000-08:00

Today is Friday, February 27, 2009. The sun is shining and the sky is blue as can be. I am so happy.
We have been reading Aunt Mabel's Memoirs. Glen reads out loud to me while I stitch on my quilt. Will I ever get it finished? YES !! I am determined to finish it. Right now I am quilting the side pieces. I still have to do the bottom edge and the top. Then add the Prairie Points all around and I am DONE.
Aunt Mabel, Dad Wahlquist's sister, spoke into a tape recorder for about 18 hours telling her story. Marcie, Glen's cousin Keith's wife, completed the transcribing and made it into a wonderful book. Thank you, Marcie!!
It is very interesting to hear all her stories. It has stirred a lot of memories of my own. Mabel was born in the early 1900's and lived until February of 1991. I was born in 1937 and am still alive. Well, somedays I think I am still alive.
As she described their living accommodations through the years, I couldn't help but be reminded of my own. And thinking about our grandchildren - they all have such wonderful living conditions. Each of them live in a nice home with hot running water and central heating. Most of them have never had to ride a train or a city bus. They go everywhere by car. What a plush life and they don't even realize it.
From the time my parents divorced when I was six years old, Mother and I had to walk everywhere we went or ride the city bus. We didn't have a car. Mother had never learned to drive. We couldn't have afforded one anyway. I didn't mind walking or riding the city bus. When we went to the grocery store we bought only as much as we could carry. Mother would carry a grocery bag in each arm. (Bags were the same size as now - all brown paper - no plastic.) And the clerk would fix two smaller bags for me - one for each arm- and we would head off home, about 5 blocks.
I liked to ride the city bus from Independence to Kansas City. We had to walk about 5 blocks to catch the bus and it took about an hour to get to KC. We went over there about once a month - to window shop or go to a movie. Once in awhile Mother had some business Downtown. KC was always referred to as Downtown. If we shopped or went to the movies in Independence it was Uptown.
If we took a longer trip we had to go by train or by the Greyhound bus. I rode the train with my grandmother each summer. She stayed with us during the school year and then went home to Sheldon for the summer. I would go with her - about three hours on the train. That was a great experience in my memory.
And what a wonderful thing hot water is? Coming right out of every tap in the house- bathrooms and kitchen. That is sheer delight every time I think of it. In our house in Independence we had an old water heater in the kitchen. It never worked properly and took so long for the water to heat that most of the time we just acted like there was no hot water. Washing the dishes meant heating a tea kettle full of water on the stove till it was boiling. Fill the dishpan and then cool it down some with cold water from the tap. The dish water would get colder and colder as you went along. We would put the kettle back on the stove and add hot water until we finished. I am sure glad I don't have to do that anymore.
Aunt Mabel mentions counter tops, too. I had forgotten that the old board cabinet top, painted white, was not as wonderful as the formica countertop I have now or the newer types now used in homes. One area right next to the sink was not painted. It was sort of like a big bread board with grooves for the water to drain off into the sink. And of course the dish drainer was metal. Plastics were not invented yet.
Everytime I get into the shower I thank God for hot water coming from the tap. The bathroom at home was a long ways from that old hot water heater. We did run the water long enough to get a bit of warmth in the old tub. And the bathroom was cold, cold, cold in the winter. We could heat it with an electric space heater which we turned on while we bathed. We didn't have a shower, only a big old bathtub with iron legs. That was in our house at 403 South Pleasant.
At least we had an indoor bathroom. Glen didn't have that until he was a senior in high school.
Twice in my life I've had to share a bathroom with other people. When we first moved to Independence in 1943, we had an upstairs apartment - two rooms with a small porch where we hung the clothes out to dry. The bathroom we shared with two other upstairs apartments. Our apartment was closest to the bathroom so it was easy to open the door to check if the bathroom was unoccupied. You had to remember to leave the bathroom door open when you left.
Then, believe it or not, in 1958 when Glen and I got married, we had an apartment in Junction City, Kansas. It was at the front of the house. There was another apartment in the back of the house. And we shared the bathroom. There was an upstairs apartment in the house, too. They were lucky. They had their own bathroom.
I never mind washing dishes nowadays, with all the hot water I need or want coming out of that faucet. I'm glad I never had to carry water. I am so thankful for indoor plumbing. And, of course, if I want, I can just load the dishes in the dishwasher and be done with it. But I sometimes savor that hot soapy water on my hands and think about the "not so good old days.
Washing clothes, what a wonder! With our easy washing machines all fixed to add water, hot or cold. All we have to do is push the buttons. Growing up, the washing was not so easy. We were lucky. Mother had a nice washing machine. She had washed with a wash board in her young years but by 1943 automatic washers were pretty easy to come by. We used the bathtub for our rinse water since there was not room in the bathroom for the customary square rinse tubs.
Once the clothes had sloshed around in the soapy water, one of us would run them through the wringer into the rinse water. We'd slosh them around until most of the soap was out and then we would run them through the wringer again into the old wooden bushel basket to take them out to the line to hang (in the summer - in the winter we had hanging places all over the house) to dry. There was so much humidity in the air in Missouri that they never got really dry, even in the summer. And the house was so cold in the winter. We had heavy drapes hung over all the doors and kept only the kitchen and the dining room warm with the space heater. Oh my! How I love my washer and dryer! And think of all the young people that take all of this so for granted. I sometimes wonder what memories they will share with their grandchildren. Who would ever dream how things change over the years? I can hardly wait to see.
Just a closing note to say how glad I am for living in this day and age. Aunt Mabel said she was glad to live in such exciting times. Well, me too. Life is good. And that's all for today.

Movies, oh boy!

2009-02-23T10:13:00.000-08:00

Today is Monday, February 23, 2009. It is cloudy and cool. Supposed to rain today. I thought the sun was going to shine but not so.
I wrote about movies and then when I went to preview it, it disappeared. Can I rewrite it? Well, I want to try.
We were talking with some friends the other night about movies. It all started when I asked them if they were still going to a movie every Monday afternoon like when they first moved here. Their life has changed and so they don't do it any more. And as we talked we determined that it is getting pretty hard to find a decent movie every Monday.
Quite different from the "old" days. When Glen and I were first married 50 years ago, we went to the movies nearly every week. For part of our lives we went twice in a week, every change of show. We lived in a small town with only one theatre. The theatre was closed on Wednesday. One show started on Thursday and showed Friday and Saturday. The next show started on Sunday and showed Monday and Tuesday. Of course, we didn't go to the movies on Sunday. We always went to Church.
It cost a whole 50c to go to the movie. We'd go on Tuesday night and then again on Friday or Saturday. And every movie was good, clean, and decent. Oh, there were mysteries and such, but not bad language and other objectionable features. We'd take our two little children and enjoy the night at the show.
While we lived there we had two more children and we still kept taking them to the show. All of us love movies. But nowadays it is hard to find decent movies to go see. They all seem to have so much swearing and taking the Lord's name in vain. Or else they are full of bathroom talk. That's offensive, too. I heard someone say once that you wouldn't hold that stuff in your hands, why would you let it come out of your mouth. True, true!
Gone With The Wind was the first movie that used a cuss word and people were so shocked. The trend didn't take over, thank goodness, for a long time. I remember the cuss word that was used in Hello, Dolly. That shocked most everyone, too. But, sad to say, I think that started a trend. DARN!
And nowadays it seems that every movie has bad words and bad scenes. You don't dare recommend any movie to friends because of those offensive parts. One of my all time favorite movies is "Dave." But I can't recommend it to anyone. It has that one scene, one scene, mind you, that adds nothing to the story. In the "old" days the camera would have spanned the clothes strewn on the floor and everyone knows what was going on. But "no," the camera couldn't stop there and leave the rest to the imagination. The story is so great and the most of it is fine. Why, oh, why! Well, another one is Kindergarten Cop. Such a great story. Just one or two things that are offensive.
We search carefully the newspapers and other reviews before we decide to spend our hard earned money on a movie nowadays. Thank goodness there are some good ones but they are few and far between. Some weeks there is nothing showing in town but R rated movies. I don't think we could ever go to the movie even once a week without being offended by the language and the unnessary scenes.
We also talked about being able to walk into a movie and sit through the second showing or whatever part of it you wanted to see. "The Sting" was the first movie you had to see from the very beginning. The theatre wouldn't let anyone in after that show began. And now, if you go in late they chase you out of the theatre at the end. Never again can anyone sit through more than one showing, so, of course, you don't want to be late to start the show.
When my mother took me to Kansas City to see Gone With The Wind, I talked her into sitting through it three times. Can't do anything like that anymore.
I miss the newsreel and the cartoons, too. Of course, with TV I guess people get all the newsreel they could ever want. I don't know too many adults that sit and watch cartoons on TV. It would be fun to see the Road Runner or some of those cute cartoons we used to see in the "old" days.
I'm glad TV broadcasts some of the great shows we watched in the theatres when we were younger. I love all the beautiful costumes and the clear photography - be it western, murder mysteries, musicals, comedies, or whatever. The only problem is I miss the big screen and the atmosphere of going to the movie theatre.
Thank goodness there are some good movies these days but they are too far and few between. I sometimes wonder why they can't make movies that are unoffensive . With all the fantastic equipment and "stuff" we have, good movies could be so plentiful. Don't the movie makers know they have lost a huge audience? I sure wish they'd make more decent shows for those of us who love movies.

2009-02-10T17:20:00.000-08:00

We look more like this nowadays. (I look older than this photo - but not Glen.) Now I have one in on its side. How do I change it? Hmmm! Maybe you have to turn on your side to view it.

Another try

2009-02-10T17:17:00.000-08:00

Ohmigosh! I think I did it. I was trying to find the photo of Glen that was taken at the same time as my photo. But I couldn't locate it. I decided to try this one in his Army uniform. I feel patriotic today.

2009-02-06T18:30:00.000-08:00

I am learning how to put pictures on my blog - maybe!!! This is my favorite glamour shot taken when I was in a play in Idaho Falls the year after we were married.

Going Under The Knife Again

2009-02-06T08:15:00.000-08:00

Today is Friday, February 6, 2009. The sun is trying to peek through the rain clouds. It rained some yesterday and in the night. We need more rain but I am always glad to have the sun.
It's been an interesting four weeks in 2009. Over the Christmas holidays my left knee became so painful that I have prayerfully made the decision to "go under the knife again" to have my left knee replaced. It's a bit scary but yet I am hopeful, too. Because I have made that decision I have been in several doctor's offices lately.
You know, first I needed to go visit the knee Dr. He is a very optomistic, pleasant Dr. I heard one lady telling a new patient in his waiting room that he is a very charismatic person. And I would have to agree with her.
He has you fill out a survey on a little palm pilot. I decided I didn't want to do that this time. I tend to be optomistic myself when I am answering surveys. I just wanted to talk to him.
Well, that wouldn't do for him. The receptionist wrote on my chart "Refused to take the survey." He said to me, "I am in control of this interview and if you don't fill it out I can't help you." I told him I just wanted to talk first. He let me talk for a very short while. I told him I would gladly fill out his survey. He left to see another patient while I took the little palm pilot. Glen helped me be more realistic than optomistic. It made my "numbers" look more accurate and indicated my level of pain.
I spent more time in his office than I have ever done before. Oh well! His waiting room and office that day about drove me insane. The television in the waiting room - by the way the waiting room was full; every ugly green chair but one was occupied - had a note on it - "Do not change this television."
Well, the show was some talk show where a man and his ex-wife were arguing about child custody. The host- I didn't get his name - was in the fray also. The whole episode was quite disgusting. And it got worse as the show went on. I tried to plug my ears because it was very upsetting to me. I tried to calm myself with cool pleasant thoughts. I tried to shut out the sound. I'm not much into these realistic shows that are on TV nowadays. Give me Bonanza or The Cosby Show or I Love Lucy!
By the time the nurse called me out of the waiting room I was so relieved to be away from that TV, I wanted to shout hurray! The waiting room is kind of a dreary place. The carpet is a dark old greyish thing and the walls are chocolate brown. The chairs are sort of dark green with a bit of a cushion on the seat and back. Thinking about it got me to thinking about the other Drs. offices.
My primary care physician's office is in the Med Clinic and the waiting room services several medical groups. That office is painted white and has big windows that let in lots of light. There is no TV - thank heavens. Not even piped in music - Yeah! And it does have a fairly good selection of magazines. There is a variety of chairs - some overstuffed (very little cushion compared to most overstuffed but overstuffed none the less). Some chairs are straight. The color of the chairs is mauve with some designs. But the chairs in that waiting room are coming apart. I think every seat has a split. I shake my head each time I go in.
I had to have an EKG in connection with my left knee surgery which is scheduled for March 10. That required a vist to another Drs. office. The cardioligist is on the 3rd floor of the Med Clinic building. That waiting room is almost exactly like the one on the 2nd floor. One difference is that the chairs have no splits in the seats. Yeah! And I was in and out of there in about 5 minutes - They are quick about their work.
Each office also has interesting personal dynamics. The receptionists and nurses sure make a difference in how I feel when I have to be in an office. Some are so sweet and friendly, some are all business and quite somber. In one office I have never seen a smile. All business and "get the job done."
I try to smile at them but now that I think about it I don't remember anyone smiling back at me. Hmm! I think I will make a study of that over these next few months when I will be in and out of Drs. offices.
Well, I am scared and hopeful that by the end of this year I will be able to run marathons. Wait! I've never run a marathon in my life. Am I really going to start now? Probably not but I am sure hoping I can get around better with less pain and can go back to all my volunteering activities - like the Temple and the Old Sacramento Schoolhouse.
In the meantime I have not minded being at home. It is sort of my "hermit phase" of life. I still go to Church every Sunday, to the Family History Center every Monday and to the store - to ride around on a cart - once a week. Life is good. And Glen takes good care of me.
That all for today.

A Day In Paradise

2009-01-21T10:48:00.000-08:00

Today is Wednesday, January 21, 2009. It is Glen's birthday. Yeah! Birthdays are fun. The sun is not shining here in Paradise but he had a special birthday breakfast. We are here visiting our daughter and her family.
Glen is helping to move packed boxes down to their new house. Me, I am laid up with a bum knee. Plan A was that I was to babysit while the other two grown-ups moved boxes. But the "baby" didn't want to be "sat." I am left here all alone with this fancy computer. The keyboard is about half the size if the keyboard I am used to and so i have to be very careful.
First off, i read my latest blog and was so excited to have some comments. Wow! That was fun. Then I scanned one of our daughter's favorite blogs, Confessions of a Pioneer Woman. She has lots of comments - more than 100 Wow! Will I ever have that any readers? I wonder.
I have about decided that I need to call my blog "Just Ramblin'. Today that is what I am going to do, just ramble. Now adays I spend most of the night in our recliner. We decided we could come visit in Paradise because they have a lovely leather overstuffed chair with an ottoman. That was my recliner last night and I slept fine. I've tried getting in our bed at night. I can stay there about two hours before my knees get so uncomfortable I can't go to sleep. Then I get up and sleep in the recliner. I have a wonderful soft fleece blanket. I use my Disneyland jacket as the second cover over me feet and legs. I tuck the fleece blanket over my shoulders and just snuggle in. Fleece blankets are so soft and cuddly.
Our son-in-law came home from his job and we all had a wonderful breakfast - breakfast scramble, I guess you could call it. Sausage, potatoes, cheese, egg, and onion all cooked up together. It is a favorite breakfast treat for us, Glen and me. Our grandson had to go off to school and our son-in-law off to work again. That leaves four of us at home - three adults and one darling little granddaughter.
I played the piano awhile and have turned now to the internet. I've read a few blogs and decided to make a new posting on my own. Just Ramble awhile.
Yesterday was the inauguration of the 44th President of the United States, President Barack Obama. He's from the Democratic Party and the Congress is predominately Democrat. These next four years will be interesting to watch For the record, I am a staunch Republican and not in favor of government taking over any more aspects of my life. I am so grateful to be an American. I hope we will go down the road that is best for our country.
There were sure lots of festivities and events going on yesterday to the tune of millions and millions of dollars. Personally, I hope there will be a settling down soon and that all the new officers will get on with the work. I'd love to see a President like "Dave" in office. That has become one of my favorite movies.
Back to the day in Paradise - Glen plans to take at least one more load down to the new house. More boxes need to be packed before that can happen. They just finished the kitchen in this house and it is beautiful. There is a skylight - I've always wished I had a skylight. New lights have been added. The kitchen used to be very dark in the evenings after the sun ha gone down, but not anymore. There are new appliances - microwave, stove, a special oven - all in sleek black and burnished aluminum. And a dishwasher has been added! Ah, such bliss - the dishwasher. There is a nice work island in the center with two different levels. One side is an eating bar for tall stools. Countertops are granite and the back splash is a modern tiny brickwork design. I don't know the exact name but it looks fabulous. Whoever rents this house is going to have a nice place with a big back yard. I hope there are some children to enjoy the yard.
It seems like it will be a cloudy day. We will stay for lunch and the head back to Sacramento. The celebration for the birthday took place mostly on Monday night - Family Home Evening. Glen's birthday dinner was roast (cooked all day in the crockpot), veggies, a green salad, homemade bread (he made that). Dessert, of course, was cherry pie and ice cream. I also made a lemon jello cake to put his 74 candles in. For years I used to try something around the pie to hold the candles - bread, donuts, all kinds of stuff Then I finally got smart and just baked a cake in a 13 x 9 for the candles. What took me so long to get smart? The grandkids don't like cherry pie anyway. They are happy for the cake.
Plan A had been that tonight when we got home we would go to Applebee's for Dinner. We got a gift certificate for Christmas. Then we decided I might be too tired after the drive. And abandoned Plan A. We'll see what the last part of the day will be.
Well, enough rambling for this day. That is ALL for today.

How do you eat a Snickers candy bar?

2009-01-13T11:29:00.002-08:00

Today is Tuesday, January 13, 2009. The sun is shining brightly and the sky is blue.
Last Sunday in Relief Society our lesson was about being happy. One of the things the teacher said was that you should laugh at least 15 times a day. I've read various articles over the years about the value of laughter and humor to your health and well being. Since last Sunday I have tried to laugh more each day. Sometimes I watch America's Funniest Home Videos (some make me want to cry not laugh) and reruns of I Love Lucy. Yesterday the laughter came about at Family Home Evening.
After we had finished with formalities (tonight it was playing It Came To Pass), Glen gave each of us a Snickers bar for our refreshment. While we were all nibbling one of the girls asked, "How do you eat a Snickers candy bar?" The answer to that question got us all laughing. We proceeded from Snickers to other candies.
I eat a Snicker bar by taking small bites from side to side, savoring the combined taste of all the ingredients.
Now I can't remember exactly who eats it what way but these were some of the descriptions.
I eat mine by licking off the chocolate on the bottom, just a little ways, then I eat the chocolate on the sides and off the top. Then I bite the mddle .
I eat off the top chocolate first. Then I do the sides and eat the center with the bottom chocolate.
I just eat it. I've never thought about the way I do it, but how do you eat M & M's?
If it is plain M & M's I just pop several in my mouth at a time and let them melt a little. Then I bite them. If they are peanut ones, I put one in my mouth at a time, let the coating melt a bit and then crunch right through to the peanut center.
Not me, I eat plain M & M's one at a time. And peanut ones I just bite right away.
There were more descriptions floating around and lots of laughter to think of what a crazy discussion it was to begin with.
From there we progressed to other forms of candy - like Reese's peanut butter cups, and Hershey's kisses, and Hershey's Nuggets. We each had to have a nugget to analyze just how we did it. If there had been Reese's Peanut Butter cups in the house, we would have tried them too.
Glen thought we should each have another Snickers bar so everyone could analyze how they eat it. He was only kidding, of course.
I think the whole conversation started because on Saturday night we had watched a TV show called Unwrapped and they were talking about nostalgic candy. It was fascinating how some of the candies are made and why they were popular. When that show was finished we talked about candy we remembered from our grade school days. Of course, the candy Glen remembered was his mother's wonderful homemade caramels and Boston creams. His school wasn't near a little candy store like mine was. He didn't have a little corner grocery store that sold penny candy like our children did. The nearest store of any kind for him was about 25 miles away from home and nowhere near the school.
There's sure a lot of candy consumed by everyone these days. What a sweet, sweet world we live in. And a lot of sweet memories floating around. Next time you have a Snickers bar get the answer to the question, "How do you eat a Sinckers candy bar/"
That's all for today.

How do you eat a Snickers candy bar?

2009-01-13T11:29:00.001-08:00

Quilt Blocks and Recipes

2009-01-12T08:09:00.001-08:00

Today is Monday, January 12, 2009. The sun is about to shine. It is cold outside. But it is nice and warm inside.
My "good knee" has now turned into a "bad knee." I am doing a lot of sitting down these days. Glen said to me, "While you're sitting why don't you finish that sampler quilt you started? You can give it to me for my birthday." (He had found the parts of it again as he sorted through the garage.) And he brought me out the box of quilt blocks. I started working on it. Oh my!
In 1982 - twenty seven years ago - I took a quilting class at Bakersfield College. I loved the class and we learned a lot of techniques. I actually had four completed blocks quilted and sewn together. That was the final class assignment. I had several more individual blocks completed - piecing and quilting. Then I had several of the blocks made which I had never started to quilt.
I spent several hours checking it all out to decide just what I needed to do. The original "plan" was to make a queen size sampler quilt for our bed. In lap quilting you had to make a plan on graph paper showing which pieces would have the dividing strips sewn onto them before you started to quilt. I knew right where the plan was. As a part of the class we also had to create a notebook with notes from the class and other quilting information we gathered through the semester. The plan was in that notebook.
I've always been interested in quilts. My grandmother was a quilter - a very skilled quilter. She could get 5 tiny stitches on her needle as she quilted. She was admired by all her quilter friends because of her skill. Well, Grandma sewed everything. She made me several dresses, all hand sewn, and we all marveled at her tiny stitches, more precise and even than the sewing machine.
And Grandma collected quilt patterns from The Grit and The Capper's Weekly, two popular weekly newspapers received through the mail. Well, when we started this notebook I gathered up all of her clipped out ideas and added the ones my mother had also collected and began to watch for some of my own. Mother and Grandma created some designs of their own, too. My notebook began to bulge with all these quilting ideas.
I decided I would make a unique cover for my notebook. So I did a strip design with some of the most gorgeous scraps of silks, satins and velvets I had been given by other people. I added some lace and kept sewing until my piece was big enough. Lo and behold when I sent one of my daughters searching for the notebook, it had expanded into three. I'd forgotten that. In fact the first notebook she dug off the bottom shelf of the bookcase did not have the "plan." She came up with the next one. It didn't have the plan either. Finally she got the right one. Now, all three of these notebooks, mind you, were covered with fabric. The first was all puffy and fancy - a gift from some friend. The other two were ones I had covered with my strip quilting. And all three were bulging with pages of ideas and information about quilts. Oh my! I am such a collector!
I know that somewhere in all my "stuff" I also have quilt pieces my mother cut for a double wedding ring quilt. I just cannot bear to part with them. And I know there are some 9 patch quilt blocks she pieced together and never got sewn into a quilt top. I can't part with them either.
Anyway, I spent some hours looking through the notebooks, savoring memories of the past. I started working again on this sampler quilt. I can barely get three stitches on my needle and I have decided this is a hard way to make a quilt. It is true that it can be done on your lap. You don't have to set up a quilting frame that fills your whole room. But it is sure a hard way to get a quilt done. Not only do you have to make with quilt blocks but you have to cut the backing and batting apart and then stitch it together again. Oh my!
I was discussing quilting with a friend yesterday. She said, "If you can't get to heaven without being able to quilt, I am not going to make it." Well, I have proved I can quilt and I love quilts. I'm not sure I love the making of them. My sampler quilt is progressing. I am changing the "plan." It is much smaller than the original but Glen will never run across the unfinished pieces again as he sorts through the garage. I AM GOING TO MAKE IT COMPLETE.
And I know I will keep watching out for those quilt patterns I keep running across in various newspapers and magazines. I think it must be a hereditary charastic. Just like collecting recipes. I inherited that from my mother and my grandmother, too. Grandma, of course, didn't have so many sources for recipes as we do nowadays. But she had quite a lot. Arm and Hammer Baking Soda had a little printed booklet - darn, it doesn't have a year printed on it. Calumet Baking Soda also had one. I can't part with those old recipes.
Now Mother collected cook books. Oh boy! I never counted how many she had. She collected them from everywhere she traveled, all across the United States. Mostly she liked to collect ones made by Ladies Church Groups - all tried and tested on families and friends.
Once you start collecting cookbooks that is the gift of choice from everyone you know. Lo and behold, I can't resist looking at cookbooks either. My favorite one in my collection is a hand printed, decorated one I picked up at an Antique Store in Cameron, Missouri. Talk about devotion, hand printed with original drawings, and made on a mimeograph machine. Who remembers those old things? Man, are we ever spoiled with our computers, printers, and copiers?
Anyone remember the 5000 cookbooks we made for the Sierra Band to raise money to go to Ireland? Whose brainy idea was that???
Speaking of recipes, the recipe for breakfast this morning is about to come off the stove so I will stop this rambling and say - That's all for today.

The End of The Year

2008-12-30T10:39:00.000-08:00

Today is Tuesday, December 30, 2008. It is cloudy and cold in Citrus Heights today. A good day to curl up in front of the fireplace with a good book and a warm blanket.
I've spent the last hour or so reading blogs created by our children over the last several weeks. How do the days get away so fast? Of course, most of the month of December was spent getting ready for Christmas. I love this time of year. We pull the Christmas boxes out of the attic and start getting things ready to decorate the house, put up the lights outside, get the Christmas tree decorated, get out the Christmas village and find the special Christmas dishes we use for our Christmas Eve dinner. And I look through the box of Christmas keepsakes.
That box contains Christmas cards, Christmas decorations, and Christmas gifts that our children have made over the years, things I seldom put out anymore but things I treasure nevertheless.
And I keep lots of Christmas cards we have been sent, especially those that have letters written on them. If there is no letter, then I cut off the beautiful fronts and save them to make gift tags or to mark some notebook as "Christmas." I have a red notebook with a beautiful classic card received some year from some business. That is the Christmas song notebook. If the card depicts the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, I keep that to put up on one of the closet doors downstairs. (This year I didn't put the cards up, just didn't get around to it.) Each year there are fewer and fewer cards we get through the mail.
Part of that is due to the fact that I haven't yet sent Christmas cards. I usually write a Christmas letter. You know the kind. Those letters that some people hate and some people love. I, myself, love the letters that tell me all about the family and what each one is doing. It helps me feel connected to many friends I never see anymore. My letter is usually a New Year letter now. And it is a bit different because all of the children are grown. I could write a full page about each one. Well, I could always have done that all along but I tried to keep it to one page. And with 11 of us to write about - well, you can see, the page filled up fast.
For the first time in our lives we have an artificial tree. None of us ever thought it would come to that. But live trees cost $20 to $30 and we found this beautiful tree last year at an after Christmas sale for $32.00. We decided to try it. In two years it would have more than paid for itself. And it is very beautiful. Artificial trees have improved so much over the years. And it is not so heavy, doesn't have to have water added every day, and doesn't drip sap.
Last year after Christmas I purchased two lighted greenery pieces, one for the mantel and one for the bannister. They are easy and very beautiful. This year I decided to use a beautiful satiny cloth as the base for our Nativity set. This set of olive wood we purchased on our second trip to Israel, in Bethlehem. Most years I have used angel hair and strings of lights - drove me crazy but looked nice. This year I decided to use the blue fabric. Wow! how come I waited so long? It was so easy and looks lovely.
Of course, I never could have enough poinsettas or red balls or nativity sets of various sorts. (Artificial poinsettas, mind you, not real.) One of my friends has over 90 nativity sets. I decided that was a nice item to collect. I have about 10 already, mostly small, four from Greece, several from our trips to the Holy Land, several from the Dollar Store, plus one or two glass ones I have received as gifts.
The Christmas village lights up beautifully. I told everyone, "Don't give me any more village. I have no more "land". The development cannot get any larger." My worst problem with the village is that the light posts keep getting "blown over." Some year I will get it right and have them firmly planted.
There wasn't much cooking from me this year. My miserable knees kept me from that activity. Oh well, there has been plenty of food without my doing any. And Christmas Eve supper came off without a hitch. Our little granddaughter thinks it is the coolest thing to eat supper on the fancy glass dishes (remember those snack sets - 4 to a box- that were such a popular wedding gift 50 years ago), with candlelight. Candlelight makes for soft voices and quiet feelings. A great Christmasy feeling! After supper Glen read the Christmas story from the Bible and we sang all the Christmas songs that fit the story. No live Nativity this year!
And then on to Christmas morning. That will be for another day. It is past time to get to work and leave this wonderful computer and my fun of writing. Well, that's all for today.

Assorted Pies

2008-11-30T22:08:00.000-08:00

Today is Sunday, November 30, 2008. It is very late. I usually write in the morning but not today. It is Vicki's birthday. And the day has been sunny and warm.
A while ago I ate the last piece of mincemeat pie from our Thanksgiving day feast. It looked so beautiful. At Thanksgiving time we have two kinds of pie - pumpkin and mincemeat. As Vicki said "I like pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving and then I am through with it for the rest of the year." That is my sentiment, too. And the same with mincemeat pie.
Only a few people in our family like mincemeat pie. My mother-in-law taught me how to make mock mincemeat using green tomatoes. When we had a big garden with lots of tomatoes, I would use the green ones left on the vine just before the first frost of the winter. The green tomatoes are chopped up, mixed with apples and raisins and lots of yummy spices. I would put the cooked mixture in bottles and cold pack them to use at Thanksgiving time.
Here in California I don't have so many green tomatoes and don't make it. At Thanksgiving time I haunt the stores to buy Borden's None Such Mincemeat which you can only find around Thanksgiving time. Fewer and fewer stores carry it. Mincemeat pie is definitely going out of fashion. Borden's makes two kinds - one with brandy and one without brandy. Well, we are a family of non-alcohol users and the brandy kind is not for me. Oh, I know. "It all cooks out." Well, I am sorry I don't use rum flavoring, or ccoking wine, or even wine vinegar. You can laugh if you want but I don't intend to change my plan. Anyway last year at Thanksgiving time I could find only Borden's with brandy. I scared up enough green tomatoes from friends to make a batch of mincemeat - enough for two pies. This year I was elated when I went to Raley's and found two brands of mincemeat - no brandy. I really wanted Borden's because I know just how it tastes. But I picked the brand in a bottle over the brand in a can. Neither one had brandy - YEAH!
I mentioned to the clerk at the check out counter how happy I was to find mincemeat without brandy. "I really wanted Borden's None Such but you don't have it. I want the kind without the brandy." He said, "Well, when they send it to us they send one small case of non-brandy and several cases with brandy. If you get here first you can get the non-brandy kind."
The pie making went well. The crust for both the pumpkin pie and the mincemeat ones were picture perfect. And they smelled so good baking. Wouldn't you know that this was the year our almost 11 year old granddaughter followed her mother's advice to try something new for Thanksgiving dinner and she choose to try mincemeat pie. Those of us who like it were excited. Maybe we would have another devotee.
And then we tasted the beautiful picture perfect mincemeat pie. Oh, my gosh! I wanted to cry. Emma dutifully carried out her trial. Of course, she didn't like it! Neither did any of us. Then I read the label - all the usual stuff but added to it were hard currants and citrus peel. Yuk! Who ruined the recipe for mincemeat with hard currants and citrus peel? We don't have another mincemeat pie lover. The rest of us couldn't pass up the beautiful pie crust so we cut a piece - scraped out the filling, took out the currants and the citrus peel, and kept a little of the raisins and spice mixture and devoured the crust with a big glass of milk.
Well, I certainly won't buy that kind again. Janet said next year I should take the first batch of green tomatoes in the summer and can enough for our two Thanksgiving pies. I think that is what I will do.
I'll talk about the yummy pumpkin pies another day and also about my reasons for having only two kinds of pie on Thanksgiving Day.
There are many wonderful kinds of pie we all like and we have pie on various occasions. But the pie for Thanksgiving remains - pumpkin and mincemeat.
That's all for tonight. I am going off to bed.

Thanksgiving

2008-11-27T08:32:00.000-08:00

Today is Thursday, November 27, 2008. It is cloudy outside and looks like it might rain. Glen has gone off to take pictures of the Turkey Bowl Football game for Northridge Ward and I have our turkey in the oven.
There are so many things to be thankful for today. And every day. My list could fill pages. I got to thinking about past Thanksgiving days. I am trying to remember when I first ate turkey.
Growing up, Mother cooked mainly hamburger and chicken. That was all the meat we could afford. And we were both perfectly content. Some Sundays Myrtle Workman would invite us for dinner after Church. I loved it because she always had a pot roast. There was just the three of us, Mom, Myrtle, and me. And she would let me pick at that roast all afternoon. Lovely pieces of beef with a little sprinkle of salt.
When I was in Junior High I ate in the cafeteria. It was in the basement of the Memorial Building across the street from the school. If I had turkey then on Wednesday before Thanksgiving, it would have been in chunks in the gravy over mashed potatoes. (We always went to school the week of Thanksgiving. Thursday and Friday were our holiday.)
I've been trying to remember when I cooked my first turkey. I don't remember it. I do remember trying various cooking methods - the aluminum foil tent, in the bag, inside a brown paper bag. It was in Milford, Utah, where I learned to cook it the easiest way. One of the sisters in our Ward had a roasting pan she cooked her turkey in. It was the juciest, tenderest turkey I had ever tasted. She told me she had that pan for years. I looked all over for a pan like it but never could find one. One year she gave me hers. She was downsizing everything and had found a smaller roaster. I was the happiest gal in town.
I used that roaster for years and years and about fell apart when I discovered two tiny holes in the bottom. We soldered over the holes and I used it for a few years more. Then there was no repairing it. I was so excited when I found the very same roaster for sale in Sears. I snatched it right up. That roaster is about 12 years old now. And I see the same kind offered for sale every once in awhile. (I probably should buy one now, come to think of it, in case they disappear again.)
This year our diners will be few compared to some years. While we lived in Bakersfield we invited people who were not getting together with family. Some years we had 36 or even more. (I was much younger and more energetic.) Of course, there were 12 of us to begin with. Glen and I and our nine children and my mother. There were certain friends who usually shared Thanksgiving dinner with us. We had the largest house and hosted those big get togethers. Good memories of good friends and good food.
We had a tradition of putting 5 kernels of popcorn on each plate. I had read somewhere that the first Thanksgiving dinner the pilgrims had been able to harvest just a little extra corn. After the blessing we took turns around the table using our kernels to share 5 things we were thankful for. And it couldn't be a repeat of what someone else had said.
This year there will be 14 of us around the table laden with all kinds of good food. And we will all be very thankful for all kinds of blessings. The lemons hanging over our fence from the house next door. The view of the sky (usually very blue) out our kitchen window. The big pink roses in our yard. This wonderful country of America. Eachof our dear children (that includes the ones who've married into the family) and our grandchildren. The list is endless.
Traditional foods for our family include turkey; Mom's dressing made from dried homemade bread, onions, celery and sage; mashed potatoes and gravy; pumpkin pie with real whipped cream; mincemeat pie; and fruit salad. The fruit salad is a must. It is Glen's favorite for Thanksgiving. The sauce is made with a mixture of homemade orange hard sauce and freshly whipped cream. YUM! There are other dishes, too, but these are the favored ones.
There will be hot rolls and Tami's special green beans, cranberry sauce and a relish tray (lots of olives for the grandchildren), sweet potatoes and maybe Linda's special carrots. We won't be hungry that's for sure.
I am so grateful to live at this time in this wonderful country of America. One Thanksgiving time we were in India. An Indian resturant offered An American Thanksgiving Dinner as a special treat for Americans living in India. A large group of us made reservations. It was a memorable Thanksgiving dinner. Bless their hearts, they did their best, but it was not quite like "An American Thanksgiving at the Wahlquist's Home."
That's all for today.

Family and Friends

2008-11-07T10:40:00.000-08:00

Today is Friday, November 7, 2008. It is sunny and warm. Last week we had a couple of rainy days but not today.
The days since I last wrote have been so full - of all kinds of things. And plenty to write about. I think I will first write about our Anniversary Party. On October 15 Glen and I celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary! My oh my! We were married in the Idaho Falls Temple in 1958. Fifty years sounds like such a long time. I guess it really is. We've had wonderful times together.
To celebrate, our children planned a party, invited friends and family from all over the place, and planned the food. "Do you want a program, Mother?" they asked me. And then in the next breath, "Please don't want a program." Well, I didn't want a program. I wanted visiting and photos. "Do we have to dress some special way?" Before I could answer that one Glen said "Let them wear what they want. They will going to a party at the Church." OK, we didn't coordinate clothes for the photographs.
I asked if our nine children would sing one song for me. "As long as it is not 'The Ugly Bug Ball,'" was the answer to that question. (That song is from the movie, "Summer Magic" and they were so cute when they sang it as young children.) I wanted them to sing "Love Is Spoken Here."
We had all our children and most of our grandchildren at the party. We were missing one son's wife and three of his sons. Two sons are on missions and the other one had a football game he could not miss. (It would have meant his being kicked off the football team and we didn't want him to hold that against us for the rest of his life.) We also missed two of our grandchildren by marriage. But 17 boys and girls were there to have their picture taken with Grandma and Grandpa. Taking pictures can be such a production with that many people.
And most of the Wahlquist Aunts and Uncles came. That was a very special treat for all of us. They came from all directions - Utah; Idaho; Washington,D.C; and Maryland by way of Idaho. And many friends we had not seen for ages.
Family and friends are the best part of life. If one ever needs a cheering section or a fan club, that is usually where you can find one. Our family is especially knit close together. We recognize that not everyone can say that about their families. Oh, not that we always agree about everything. And not that we don't have our moments of angst. But overall, we love and appreciate each other. We have all learned to push to the side of our brains the unpleasant things and dwell mostly on all the good stuff.
It was a swell party and thanks to all who made it a big success. It will always be a wonderful memory. That's it for today.

"The Sound of Music"

2008-10-03T07:46:00.000-07:00

Today is Friday, October 3, 2008. It is cloudy and looks like it might rain.
My, oh, my, where in the heck did the whole month of September go? Time flies when you're having fun. And speaking of how time flies - the Von Trapp children just had a reunion. One of my dear friends e-mailed pictures to me. They brought a rush of memories and tears to my eyes. I grew up in Independence, Missouri, and in Independence we had special opportunities to hear touring musical groups. Some rich lady in our community had endowed the Community Music Association with lots of money and we had free Sunday afternoon concerts.(Now we would have to pay $100's of dollars to go to those concerts. We had all kind of touring groups, like the Vienna Boys Choir, famous pianists, famous violinists, dancers from all over the world, just everything.) My mother took the opportunity to take me to nearly every concert. One was the Von Trapp family singers. So, of course, when the movie came out in 1965 I wanted to see it. And how I love that movie. Everything about it. I love Julie Andrews with her big old suitcase singing "I Have Confidence." I love the way she puts her hands on the bannister as she begins her work with the Von Trapp children. Well, I just love every moment of it. And even though I know they all escape, I tense up at the scenes in the Abbey.
When we went to see the movie for the third time with our children we were standing in a long line waiting and we got to talking with those around us. The couple behind us said it was their 35th time to see that movie. "We go to the movies about every weekend and as we look at the paper and see what's offered, somewhere in the valley "The Sound of Music" is playing. And we decide, yes, we will go see it again. So far, we still love every minute of it." Wow! What a testimonial!
And then I got to direct the musical. What a great experience that was! There were so many wonderful people who helped with lights, costumes, sound, stage set, orchestra and a fabulous cast. Many, many challenges but mostly a wonderful experience.
And then this morning to see that beautiful family with my favorite actress, Julie Andrews. Thank you, Doris, for sending them to me. It has made a cloudy day truly bright with the wonderful memories I have of days gone by.
I could keep writing forever now that I have started but I'd best get on to breakfast and my plan of activity for today.
So - that's all for today. (Maybe)

Happy Birthday, Barbara!

2008-09-01T10:47:00.000-07:00

Today is Monday, September 1, 2008. And it is my birthday! The sun is shining and there is a nice breeze. It is pleasantly warm in Sacramento, California.
The month of August just went whizzing by. We took a little trip up to Seattle to visit our youngest daughter, her hubby, and two of our darling grandsons. We had a great time and they live in a beautiful setting. There are houses close by but you hardly even notice them because of the big trees. It's a great place.
We did several other interesting things during August. We went to the California State Fair. That is a yearly tradition. This year was a bit harder for me because of my knee surgery but I got to look at most everything I wanted to see. I took my walker just to be sure I could steady myself. The county exhibits this year were especially outstanding. There was a Hollywood theme. One of my favorites was Yolo County. "Follow the YOLO brick road." Of course, they had animated characters from The Wizard of Oz. I had to laugh because when we first moved to this area we heard lots of information about the Yolo causeway. We could never figure out why they referred to it as the "yellow causeway." That's what we thought people were saying. Then we found out about Yolo County and figured it all out. To have the display play on our first experience with Yolo and Yellow just ticked my funnybone. And I survived the walking around. I was very tired but I think it might have helped my knee, all the walking.
And so here it is - my 71st birthday. Compared to some of my very dear friends that is young. In our Church there is one very dear lady who is now 90 and I just don't think I will ever be as spry at 90 as she is. Oh well! I'm glad to do what I can do.
I got to thinking about when I was born. Of course, I don't remember anything about that day. But my mother told me that I was the first baby in the new hospital in Lamar, Missouri. I wasn't born in the new hospital. I was taken there after my birth along with her. And then I got to wondering, was the old hospital close enough that they just took us over, walking, or did we ride? I don't know. I never asked Mother that question. I never really thought about it until now.
I got to thinking about birthdays I can remember. I know I always wanted to have a birthday party. A lot of my friends had a birthday party every year. When I was 11 Mother said I could have a party and invite some friends. I was excited. I don't remember anything about the party but I was happy not to have another one. I had more fun with just Mother and Grandma on my birthday.
Mom always baked me a cake with caramel frosting. She was always embarrassed because the frosting didn't stay soft. It got hard as a rock and I could crack it off the cake and eat it like candy. I thought it was the most wonderful frosting I had ever tasted. Brown sugar candy it was more than frosting. I remember one year after I was married I begged Mother to make that kind of frosting for my cake. "That old failure, that's what you want?" Yes, sir, that's what I wanted.
My most memorable birthday present was our fifth child, a boy, born on my birthday. I woke up in the middle of the night to go to the hospital. Glen went next door to get my mother to watch the other children. She came in carrying a birthday cake for me with lighted candles. What a kick!
Birthdays are fun. I've had my first birthday present today. Our youngest son is going to make a bid for me on eBay. We did all the transacting over the phone while both of us had our computers going. I am still learning about eBay and he already has an account. It's easier for him to just do it than to spend the time trying to teach me. I'll see what I can figure out on my own bit by bit. What an age we live in! I just wish that I had a Blue Tooth (or whatever they are all called) and I didn't have to hold that phone up to my ear.
Three of our daughters and our daughter-in-law ( I call her our daughter, too) are making dinner for us all tonight. It will be a fun family party. They always are. I will insist on 71 candles on my cake.
That's all for today.

Family

2008-07-28T15:06:00.001-07:00

Today is Monday, July 27, 2008. The sun is shining and it is hot in Sacramento, California.
July has been an interesting month. Right now a daughter and her family are visiting us. Another daughter and her two children came for several days. That meant that we had 8 of our 20 grandchildren here to play together and get better acquainted.
When our children were growing up we often visited my husband's mother and father at the same time as other families. Glen comes from a family of 7 boys and they are a loving close knit family. The cousins loved to visit Grandma and Grandpa and play together on the farm. It's been a long time now since the cousins have been together. They have grown up, married and have children of their own. Even though we have a family reunion occasionally, not everyone is able to come.
Last weekend Glen and I attended a funeral for his oldest brother. It was wonderful to see all of his children and grandchildren even though it was for the sad occasion of saying goodbye to someone we all love so much. There is such great comfort for all of us knowing that we will all meet again in heaven. Family love is such an important part of my life.
The days that we can be together as a family go so fast. One daughter has already gone home with her two children. And tomorrow the other family will head back to their home. And the grandparents will be all alone again. The house will seem very quiet. We will be able to have the computer to ourselves once more. And if we choose to watch news or "Murder She Wrote" on TV, it won't interfere with anyone's plans. But how we will miss those loving arms around us and those cheerful noises that our grandchildren make.
And we get to anticipate the next time we will be together. How much I love our family- the immediate one and the extended one, too.
That's all for today.

Peaches and Cream

2008-07-08T08:25:00.000-07:00

Today is Tuesday, July 8, 2008. The sun is shining and the sky is blue.
We just finished our breakfast and what a breakfast it was! Toast (homemade bread), fresh peaches right off our tree, and cream. (Well, our "city" form of cream - Carnation Condensed Milk.) Now that the peaches are ripening we will need to get the canning routine going again. We just finished canning apricots about two weeks ago. Every year when we can peaches we talk about the year in Bakersfield when we canned over 200 quarts of peaches.
All the children (9 of them) were still at home. Now peaches are not really hard to can. They require peeling but with a freestone peach that is not a hard thing to do. You just get a big pan of boiling water, drop in the washed peaches, count to about 20 (with practice you get so you can tell by the way the skin looks), plunge the peaches into cold water and peel off the skin with your hands. Then you cut around the seed and the two sides drop right off. During our lifetime we have bottled lots of freestone peaches.
This one particular year was a little different. The year I am talking about was the year of the "Cling peaches." Clings are the most popular kind for the commercial canneries. The skins are not so easily removed. Commercial canneries use some kind of lye solution that isn't practical for home canning. Out south of Bakersifeld was this huge cling peach orchard which was connected with commercial canning. For some reason the peaches were not just the way they were supposed to be - too small, too large, whatever - and the grower decided to sell them off to anyone who would come pick. $1 a box - and if you brought a small box that was your problem.
With all our "helpers" we headed off with several big toilet tissue boxes. We have 9 good workers in our children and with Glen and I we made quite a "pickin" crew. It was hot, let me tell you. But everyone kept right at the job. Then home to start the bottling process. Since each peach had to be peeled we used our potato peelers (we even went out to buy several more). Wash the peaches, peel them like you would a potato, and then they had to be cut off the seed. We got quite skillful and creative with that part of the job. One whack on each side - for two large pieces. One whack on each end for two smaller pieces. And then one person cut off as much as possible from the seed. We put them into the bottles in like manner. All big pieces in one jar, side peices in another jar, and the little bits in another jar. We had three basic "stules."
Now cling peaches taste wonderful from the can or the bottle. It is just the process of gettting them ready. We worked and worked at those first boxes. Of course, we also prepared plenty for eating fresh. No slackers in the work crew. I was even amazed at how long and hard the children worked. The whole job was no easy task.
We set a goal to can 100 quarts of cling peaches. We had to go to the orchard more than once. As we approached the 100 mark we were all excited. This took a matter of several days, mind you. Then lo and behold, when we finished the last batch we had 110 beautiful bottles lining our cupboard shelves. We were all so pleased with our hard work.
Then our oldest son said, "Why don't we go for 200?" I was ready to hear moans and groans from his younger brothers and sisters, but guess what? They all were caught up in the enthusiasm of the moment and heartily agreed with him. (They all love to eat peaches.)
How could the parents dampen that youthful eagerness! We piled in the car with our boxes. By this time we knew about how many quarts each box would do. And we picked more peaches. Then home to do the canning process. Lots of hard work, lots of family togetherness, and lots of good peaches to take us through the winter. Such a wonderful memory! Glen and I sure have fond feelings in our hearts over that work crew of ours. I wonder how each of them feels about that experience. One thing we know, our children all know how to work. Thank you all, our dear children.
That's all for today.

Apricots

2008-07-02T10:04:00.000-07:00

Today is Wednesday, July 2, 2008. The smoke is out of the air and the sun is shining brightly. It is supposed to get up past 90 degrees today. Oh, boy! Hot summer days.
Our apricot tree has produced lots and lots of apricots. We have been canning nearly every day. (We are not as fast as we used to be.) And we have been eating lots of beautiful fresh apricots. The dryer has been going steady, too. It brings back memories of canning apricots at Glen's folks' place in Toquerville, Utah. Mother and Dad had an apricot "orchard." I can't remember exactly how many trees there were but enough to keep a full crew busy picking, canning and drying apricots.
Seems like we always had our trip to visit just at the time the apricots were ripe. Not only our family but some of the rest of the family came, too. And what a production line we had. Aunts, uncles, and cousins of all ages pitched in to help Grandpa and Grandma take care of all the fruit. One or two of the older boys helped Grandpa and the Uncles pick bushels and bushels of apricots. The aunts and everybody else (all ages) helped Grandma do the canning and filling the huge dryer with apricots. There was apricot nectar and apricot jam, too.
Grandma never wanted anything to go to waste so first thing she would enlist some help to pick up any nice apricots that had fallen during the night. Grandpa felt time would be better spent getting the trees picked but we always did what Grandma asked us. From those "gushy" apricots, as the grandchildren called them, we made the best tasting jams and that wonderful apricot nectar that we all loved so much.
Everyone, no matter how young, had a job to do. The men would bring in the apricots. A couple of the smaller children would carry from the bushel baskets to the kitchen sink, where the next older children washed the fruit. There was someone assigned to deliver from the sink to the various work stations around the big red, formica kitchen table. Some were assigned to cut out the bad spots - there were seldom many -, the next group split them into a big stainless steel bowl. The next assignment was to place the halves into the scrupulously clean Kerr jars. (The washing of the jars took place first thing in the morning. Each jar had to be washed with hot, soapy water and a stiff bottle brush. And every top checked for any nicks that would keep the jar from sealing. Nicked jars were just thrown in the garbage.)
There were aunts at the stove boiling the sugar syrup to be added to the jars. The "flats" had to be placed in boiling water to sterilize before they were placed on the full bottle of the beautiful orange colored fruit. Next, srew on the jars rings. Grandma kept those in order of a scrunched together coat hanger. Then into the hot water bath canner seven bottles at a time. Grandma had two canners so we could process 14 jars at a time. As soon as one batch was finished there were another 14 bottles ready to be put into the canners.
Such a busy wonderful time. It was a lot of hard, hot work but there could be no slackers. Cousins worked together and had a good time doing it. There really was not much complaining. Grandma would never allow that - well, neither would the mothers and aunts. It was just a job that needed to be done and the more people who helped made the work go faster. Besides, most of it really turned out to be fun. There were all kinds of stories told around the big kitchen table and the aunts and uncles helped when your job seemed to get overwhelming. That was a great part about it all. Once Grandpa and the uncles had finished picking they came in to the kitchen to help. Nobody wanted to be left out of anything.
I really think that the whole family has pleasant memories of that working together. And I know everyone learned to work hard. In this day and age I consider that a wonderful blessing. To learn to work. Every child needs to learn two things in life - how to work and how to obey. Those two principles take a person far in life.
Along with the canning there was always one person responsible for cutting up a big bowl of those fresh apricots to eat with sweet cream for dinnertime and suppertime. The fruits of our labors were delicious. That day and in days to come as we savored the finished products. Oh, there was another by-product of our apricot project. The trees were what we call "sweet pits." When you cracked the seed, the little "nut" inside tasted nearly like an almond. The boy cousins liked to crack the pits open for everyone to enjoy the eating.
I will always carry many happy memories of those days working with the family on the annual Apricot Project.
That's it for today.

My "Get Up and Go" Has Got Up and Went.

2008-06-25T07:50:00.000-07:00

Today is Wednesday, June 25, 2008.
The sun is pushing through the smoky air because of all the fires here in California. There are 800 in the state. A large one is west of us and the valley has been filled with the smoke. The fire is more than 40 miles away, yet the smoke has affected us. Yesterday the sun could not break through but this morning the smoke has diminished and there is actually a little sunshine.
I haven't written anything for days and days. I've thought about it a few time but as I said my "get up and go" has got up and went. I don't seem to have much umph to do anything. The other day I got out a box of photographs thinking I would put them in an album. i got out the scissors to do some trimming and started. Guess what? The box is still sitting on the couch. I didn't climb the stairs to get the album and all the paraphenalia I need.
There is plenty of stuff to do. I could clean out the refrigerator or clean off the top of the desk. I could dust the bookshelves and mop the kitchen floor. Do I want to? Well, sort of - but not enough to get started. Usually I make a list of what I will do today, but I haven't even done that for weeks.
I have started back to my volunteer work. We've been going to the Family History Library on Monday. I work in the Temple office on Thursday and Saturday. And we've started back at the Old Sacramento Schoolhouse. And I am exercising (a little) every day. I am not totally idle.
One morning I even made waffles for breakfast. That was great. And I have prepared dinner a couple of times - a light dinner, mind you, but nevertheless, dinner.
I wonder if and when "my get up and go" might come back. Will it ever come back? Or am I just slowing down a bit as I age. That is probably the whole story. Interesting how some things don't seem so important anymore. I enjoy the days. I love to read, do sudoko and crossword puzzles. Old movies are a great treat and I do a lot of work on the computer. And I enjoy playing the piano. But my "to do" list will never be empty, I know that. Speaking of the "to do' list, there is one thing right at the top today. Give my hubby a hair cut. I must get to it.
That's all for today.

Just Thinking

2008-05-26T09:31:00.000-07:00

Today is Monday, May 26, 2008. The sky is not so blue today as usual but it is sunnier than the last few days have been. The sky has been gray. I am happy to see the sun a little today.
How do I feel today? Well, not so hot. I had knee surgery on May 13 and was hoping to be back to normal activities by now. I guess my expectations were unrealistic. Everything went well and before I left the hospital I was doing quite well. My knee was bending. I could walk smoothly with the help of a walker. And I was happy to come home.
And then my leg began to swell - and swell - and swell. All the instructions say to raise your foot above your heart and "drain that swelling right out." Well, I have done that about 15 minutes at a time for many times a day. Also the leg needs to be iced about every hour for 15 minutes or so. With the help of my wonderful husband, I've been doing that, too. The swelling goes down for awhile and then right back up. That's my greatest discomfort.
Thank goodness for pain pills. At least that gives me some relief. And I am grateful to have a home nurse who comes and a physical therapist. They give me encouragement and tell me to be patient. I'm trying. I always think of myself as a patient person. I was patient with my children as they were growing up. I am patient with my grandchildren. I am patient with people in stores. I am patient with traffic situations. I decided I am not patient with myself.
I do have a lot of gratitude. That is a good thing to have. I'm grateful for the Dr. who has such skill to replace a knee. I am grateful for the nurses who cared for me in the hospital. I am grateful for a husband who helps me elevate my leg and put ice packs on and prepare meals. I'm glad he does the dishes and washes the clothes. I am grateful for daughters who have been fixing meals sometimes to help their dad out. I am grateful for a wonderful home. And let me tell you, I am grateful for comfortable, soft chairs. We have a recliner that has become my "base" day and night. And after sitting awhile I am grateful that my hips don't ache, ache, ache.
OK - tomorrow is the third week after the surgery. I have heard of people who are nearly immobile for 5 to 6 weeks. And I am walking without pain. It is just the awful swelling that causes me problems.
Last Sunday I felt like someone was inside my leg just pumping it up to burst. Now, I've never heard of anyone's leg bursting and the nurse assures me that it won't happen. You know how those blood pressure cups tighten up on your arm? Well, that's what it felt like in my leg. I took two pains pills at once and it eased the pain till it was bearable. I sure hope that doesn't happen again.
Okay, enough of this kind of babbling for today. Thanks for any sympathy I get. I know, I know, there are plenty of people way worse off than me and by next week I will be better but thanks for the sympathy anyway.
That's it for today.

Mother's Day

2008-05-10T20:10:00.000-07:00

Today is Saturday, May 10, 2008. Oh my! I am posting two blogs on the same day. Wow!
Just a few musings about Mother's Day. Why do they always suggest breakfast in bed? I am so grateful my husband and children learned early on - that is one thing that would never please me. Who wants crumbs and greasy stuff in or on or around your bed? Certainly not me!
Now it is great to have the children fix dinner. Even when they were young their dad would help them get a meal and clean up afterwards. The cleaning up afterwards is always the thing I appreciate the most.
When it comes to gifts - hmm. They ask me what I want. I seldom can think of anything at the moment they ask me. I've tried keeping a list on the refrigerator so I can just jot something down when I think of it. I hardly wear jewelry any more. And I really don't need any more of that.
Flowers make me sneeze. When our youngest daughter worked for a florist here in Sacramento she would frequently bring me flowers. I had a wonderful spot right outside the kitchen window where I could put them to enjoy their beauty and not be affected by my allergies. Right now there are so many flowers blooming outside that I hope nobody spends their hard earned money on flowers.
I just want happy children, pleasant conversation, lots of hugs and kind. sweet thoughts. Oh I guess I could use a cheese slicer. The one we had broke. I got a new flat skillet for Christmas so I don't need that. And there is no space in the cupboard for any more dishes.
Just come see me, talk awhile, and give me a hug. That is enough Mother's Day gift for me. So there are my musings about Mother's Day. I'll put a roast in the crock pot in the morning and we will have a nice meal together. It is great being a Mother.

Bed and Breakfast

2008-05-10T08:26:00.000-07:00

Today is Saturday, May 10, 2008. The sun is shining. And the weather is getting warmer.
Last night I glanced at an article in a travel magazine about B & B. And I started to laugh. I've had two experiences with bed and breakfast places. One was in Manti, Utah, in an old, old brick house. And it was pretty much what I expected. Lots of antiques in the bed room and sitting room and in the breakfast room. Each room had its own bathroom with interesting "old fashioned" trappings. It was a fun experience. Especially so because we were the only people in the place and we got to look in every room.
The thing that made me laugh was our experience in Independence, Missouri. I grew up in Independence and when we planned a trip there for my 50th high school reunion, we decided to arrange to stay in a bed and breakfast.
I went to the internet to check out all the possibilities. There was one listed on Delaware Street. I remembered the big beautiful houses on Delaware Street. They were near to the Memorial Building where reunion was to be held and near to my old neighborhood. That seemed the perfect place. I made all the necessary arrangements through the internet and felt very happy and excited to see which of those old houses would be our place to stay for the days we would be in Independence.
We landed in Kansas City, rented a car and headed "home." I was so excited. We turned onto Delaware Street and started checking house numbers. Most of the homes there were big three story mansions and as we got closer to the number I could feel the sense of excitement rising. I was so hoping it would be the Jensen house. One of the daughters had been several classes above me and I had heard stories about the ballroom on the third floor and the playroom in the basement. But, we came to the Jensen house and it was not the right number. Then we came to the end of the street and none of those beautiful old homes was the address listed on the paper I had printed out at home.
We turned around and went back up the street. Was there a house somewhere behind another or in an alley somewhere? No. Then we found the street number. At the very south end of the street was an office building. I remembered when that building had been built by the Reorganized Church as an office building. I couldn't believe that was the address of our bed and breakfast. Sure enough, though, it was. I was more than a little disappointed. But what could I do? I had made all the arrangements.
We went up to the door, rang the buzzer and the door buzzer sounded and we were let in. The halls were nicely decorated with paintings and bouquets of flowers. There were beautiful tables and a few nice chairs in each hallway. Each former office had been remodeled into a nice bedroom with a private bath. It was certainly not what I had expected but it was nice.
The breakfast part was in the basement - a former cafeteria - streamlined and modern. Not quite like the beautiful old kitchen and dining room of my dreams but adequate and they served a decent breakfast.
It certainly wasn't what I had wished for but we accepted it and enjoyed our time there. But it sure makes me chuckle to think of my dreams about those big houses on Delaware Street. Next time I schedule a bed and breakfast I hope they have photos on line. If they don't I am going to make a phone call.
That's it for today.

Stuff

2008-05-05T07:31:00.000-07:00

Today is Monday, May 5, 2008. The sun is shining and our yard is filled with flowers in full bloom. Everything looks so pretty this morning.
And today is Patt's birthday. I don't know how come I always remember her birthday but I do. May 5. She is one of my friends from Independence, Missouri. Happy Birthday, Patt, wherever you are today.
Today I looked in our "pilot room." Every house should have a pilot room. You know, "pile it here, pile it there." Right now our house seems to have more than one. The most important one is the "middle bedroom."
I keep piling stuff on the bed. One of these days I will get everything put away but for now it is the collect all. We subscribe to several magazines and they have such wonderful pictures and articles that I cannot throw them away. I do have a special shelf in the bookcase in the "music room" where I keep them but that shelf is full right now.
We also have a lot of "important papers." We both have been going through our filing cabinets, cleaning out and sorting, to make room for the newer "important papers." I remember my mother sorting her "papers" and I used to think, "Mother, just throw them away. When will you ever use that article or that information again, " and here I am doing the same thing.
I did start an envelope system. I went to the office supply store and bought a box of manilla envelopes - 15 X 18 - large enough to hold certificates, programs, letters, etc. and tagged them by years. You know - 2000 to 2005. That has helped some. Of course, those envelopes don't fit into the filing cabinets - too big. And I have created a spot to store them.
I thought I was getting a little better at tossing out stuff. A friend told me her mother had a motto - "Every day throw something away." Recycling helps. It gives me a feeling of helping save the planet. And I have stopped buying Family Circle and Woman's Day every month. I have a hard time throwing them away - such lovely pictures and good articles and yummy sounding recipes. Now I only buy one if I am truly interested in the articles.
Oh, well, I will just keep trying. We are not yet to the point where we only have a small pathway through the house. I've seen that happen and heard about it in the newspapers. I will nust keep trying to de-clutter my house and de-clutter my brain. "Never give up." That will be my motto.

School Memories

2008-04-14T10:08:00.001-07:00

Today is Monday, April 14, 2008. This sun is shining but it is windy.
One evening we were sitting around in the family room talking about school memories. Everyone in our family liked going to school. We never once heard any one of our children say they didn't like school. Memories were about all different kinds of experiences. Glen started out by telling us one of his. I will put quote marks around each story even though they are not the exact words.
"We were having a little store - using actual items and paying real money. It was a part of our arithmetic. Each day we had to tally up. And we were always just a little short. I was so disappointed when I finally figured out that one of my best friends was taking a little money each day."
"Our school had two rooms. My dad taught the 5th to 8th grades in one room and my best friend's mother taught 1st to 4th grades in the other room. Her son and I went half year to the 4th grade and half to the 5th and then on to the sixth the next year."
"One time there were some marks on the wall at the school. Some kids blamed it on me. Dad asked me straight out 'Did you do it?' I said No and he trusted me."
One of the girls remembered how much she liked the playground area which was mostly grass at the back of the school. She and her friends liked standing on the heads up against the back fence.
"I remember when I got to help in the cafeteria and getting an ice cream cone as pay. Then we would sit behind Mr. Andrews' room eating our treat. Another special thing was when the teachers read out loud to us after lunch."
"My second grade teacher, Miss Jeppson, got married and she invited our whole class to her weddding reception. Then we had to remember to call her Mrs. Gustafsson."
"One time I took a fancy metal heart to school and we had a bomb threat. All of us had to leave the school and I was so upset that they wouldn't let me get that heart. And in Magna the whole school got to walk down to the movie theatre at Christmas time to watch a special movie and they gave us each a bag of candy."
Another daughter remembered - "In our class we had a big jar of M & M's the teacher gave us as rewards. One night the school got broken into and so as a safety measure the teacher decided that the candy had to be dumped. I remember looking at that heap of wasted candy."
Several of our children helped in the cafeteria. The school had a great cafeteria with wonderful ladies as cooks. And the cooks were so good to the student helpers. "I had to get an okay from my parents to work in the cafeteria so I got permission to walk home at lunch time to get Mom's note. My friend Angela and I got to work. My favorite thing was to make pig-in-a-blanket. I also remember that lady who wouldn't let me go by her house the first day I tried to walk to school by myself."
"Remember that day when I picked my scab and got blood all over me. I had this cute little furry white coat. There was blood all over me and my white coat. They told me to go home. And when I got home I had blood all over me. Mom laughed when she finally got all the blood washed off and found this tiny little spot it was all coming from. Nowadays, they would have never let me walk home by myself."
I have a lot of school memories of my own. How many recesses did we play prisoner's base in the jungle gym? One recess it was boys chase girls and the next recess girls chase boys. When you were tagged you had to go to prison. I can still see the jungle gym with all those outstretched arms hoping to be tagged and freed from prison. We'd run and chase the whole length of the playground. It's fun to hear that my grandchildren still play that same game even today.
MY school memories are a great source of pleasure. I have many pleasant memories. Enough to fill a book. That's all for today.

New Dessert

2008-04-09T07:13:00.000-07:00

Have you ever tried tres leches cake? Oh my, what a fun dessert! I am forever cutting recipes out of magazines and newspapers. And when the article is about one item with several variations I usually keep them all. Well, this week, I finally tried one from a newspaper article I've had about two years. Tres Leches Cake. There were three basic recipes. One called for 5 cups of heavy cream. I decided to use the variation that called for only 1 cup of heavy cream. The cake called for 4 eggs with the other usual cake ingredients. Most cakes I bake use just 2 eggs. After you bake the cake and let it cool for 10 minutes you poke holes about 1/2 inch apart and pour a milk mixture of heavy cream, evaporated milk, and sweetened condensed milk, and vanilla over the cake. (It's better if you do that in about two pourings.) That cake absorbs all that mixture. Put it in the fridge for a couple of hours. Just before serving frost with whipped cream. Talk about ambrosia! It was a great treat.
It is best when it is just newly made. Invite a few friends over to finish it off at the first setting. Yum! Yum! I will share the exact recipe if you are interested.

The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men

2008-04-09T06:24:00.000-07:00

Today is Wednesday, April 9, 2008. It is too early to know what the sun will do today. It is still dark outside.
When I first started this "project" I planned to write something every day. And that hasn't happened. Things get in the way. Over the last few weeks two things have been a distraction. Well, more than two, really, but two that stand out in my mind. Two that I want to write something about.
The first thing was a visit to my favorite doctor, my chiropractor. My knees were hurting so bad I finally decided to go for an adjustment. He's always been able to ease the pain. "Well," he said to me, "I hate to say this but I think if I were your orthopedic doctor I would say it is time for the knee replacement."
Boy, I did not want to hear that. On his advice I made an appointment with the orthopedic specialist. About three years ago when I last visited him, he said it would probably be about three years before we would talk about a knee replacement. He suggested I get an exercise bike. Which I did and have been using it until just a few days before I went to the chiropractor. That day it hurt too bad to bring my knee up. Oh dear! Right now all I want to do is complain and moan and seek sympathy.
I know life can't be like that. Basically, I think I am a very optomistic person. And I will take my knicks, pull myself up by my bootstraps and get on with life. There are many people way worse off than me.
Back to the appointment process. Naturally the Doctor didn't have any openings for awhile so now I am playing the waiting game on what his advice will be. In the meantime I try to keep going, doing what has to be done and not much else. That was distraction number one.
The second distraction was that our computer crashed. Oh my! Glen and I both found out how much time we spend on the computer. We've had a laptop since 1998 before we went to Pakistan. In computer age that is pretty old. He uses it to write his journal and for some other things. Our main computer is in the family room and we each spend a lot of time on it.
Glen manages our photos on it. He does the monthly newletter for Church on it plus financial records, plus, plus, plus. I mainly use the computer on-line - for many things. I used to use it a lot for writing letters but I don't do much of that anymore. My main time is doing volunteer work with a genealogy program called family indexing. It has become such a hobby of mine. I love to look at the handwriting of people taking census in 1850 and other years. And to read the Irish names on the Irish death indexes. Some of the handwriting is so beautiful and legible. Some of it is very hard to read but it is like being a detective. (Scan the page until I get a sense of how this person wrote and to see if I can recognize names.)
Anyway with the computer out of commission, our pattern of life was changed. And we turned to other activities to fill our time. Fortunately, we were able to a "drive-by" computer repair. The most fortunate thing was that they could come by the day we called. Yeah! That made it a shorter time to be without a computer!
Two techicans came. One took the side off the computer. "Oh, this is dirty," he said. I never thought about taking the side off and cleaning it. Did I miss something in the instructions? Now I know that I am supposed to go to Radio Shack and get some can of air or something and clean it out about every 5 to 7 months. Oh, shoot! I hate to dust. Oh, well! They told us it would be about two weeks. The mother board needed to be replaced.
I forgot to mention that we have been discussing getting a new laptop to replace our "ancient" one. We've looked several times and have been watching ads for months. Two days before our main computer crashed we made the big decision and bought a new laptop with a wireless connection to the internet.
When the main computer crashed, Glen got onto the new laptop to check out solutions and answers. He found out that one problem might be the mother board. And that was it. So, we would be sort of out of commission for two weeks.
We wandered around here with time on our hands with only one computer. We each read a few books, watched a little more TV, and did a little more housework and yardwork. And were so happy when after 5 days the computer repair guy called to say it was ready. Now we are back to our usual routine. Thank goodness! That's it for today.

Houses I Have Loved 3

2008-03-31T07:39:00.000-07:00

Today is Monday, March 31, 2008. It is the very last day of March. The sun is just barely showing through the trees.
And here I go talking about another house. Before we moved to California we lived in Magna, Utah, near the Great Salt Lake. This was a house on the corner with two lots. There was a full basement - such a wonderful place. Finding each house we have lived in has been an adventure and this was no exception. Glen had been assigned a teaching position there and we started our foray into searching for a house. Our plan was always to get a newspaper and start checking out the ads. We weren't into getting a real estate agent at this point in our lives. We had 4 young children and renting seemed to be out of the question in this area. We wanted to be close enough to Glen's work that he could walk and close to the school for the children.
We drove onto one street and Glen pulled into the first driveway and turned around. "I couldn't live on this street," he said. "Every house looks exactly alike and I wouldn't like that." It was true, every house did look alike and each had a small tree planted in the same spot in the front yard.
We located his work place, and the elementary school, and the Church - our three important landmarks and drove up and down each street. On the corner across from the Church there was a empty house. No kind of a sign anywhere we could see. The windows were boarded up and the weeds were waist high.
We parked, climbed out of the car to look around in the yard and to try to peek into windows at the back which were not boarded up. It all looked so interesting. The yard was two lots with a small shed to the back - probably the original garage for the old house. The house was right at the corner with a small hedge on the two street sides. There was a 6 foot hedge down the front on the other side of the driveway to the next lot. There were several fruit trees in the yard and lots of space where a big garden had been. Magna had irrigation water and the water ditch ran through the back.
Lo and behold! In one of the back windows was a sheet of tablet paper with a name and a phone number on it. The paper didn't say for sale - just the name and number. We went to the nearest pay phone (this was in the days before cell phones) and tried the number. The man who answered told us that he worked at the Bank in town and really wasn't ready to sell the house yet. He said he would meet with us however and tell us what he hoped to do before the house was put up for sale.
Needless to say, we talked him into selling the house just as it was and we began the move-in process. Glen still had some summer schooling to complete in Provo where we lived but we were ready to move the family in and he could commute for his last classes. The boarded up windows in the front room had been broken by school children passing by, throwing rocks. Once that happened the owner had boarded up a big window on the front and some of the back windows nearest the street.
Our first project was to take the boards off the existing windows and arrange for new windows to be put in to replace the broken ones. We packed up our belongings in Provo and planned to use the weekend to get all set up in the new house. The weekend was sunny and beautiful and we were all eager. Saturday we accomplished a lot of work, got the boxes moved in. The electricity was still on but the gas had been turned off. We could make the arrangements on Monday. It was just like camping out for a few days and we were all excited. The children, of course, loved it and "Mom" was fine about it. She could play like a pampered pioneer for a few days. (I've always loved an adventure.)
Sunday went well because of previous planning and then Sunday evening it got really cold. The fireplace they had used for cooking would now be necessary to keep at least the front room warm until they could get the gas turned on. Barbara would take care of that on Monday because Glen had to drive back to Provo for school. The plan of action worked. The gas was turned on and they were all cozy in their new house.
The full basment was two big open rooms with a smaller storage room for food and other stuff. The furnace and the water heater sat right in the middle of the big space and acted as the divider. Since the windows were above the ground the basement was very light. It was the favorite place in the house those first few days. (And, come to think of it, all the rest of the time we lived there.)
The kitchen was the biggest room in the house with plenty of room for the dining table under the window. There was a small bedroom at the back and a large bedroom with a big window at the front. The bathroom was between the two bedrooms with a small hall. There were several decisions to be made. Who would occupy what bedrooms? Of course, Mom and Dad would have the large room. None of the children at that stage wanted to have a bedroom by themselves so all four had the other bedroom. Over time, Mom and Dad partitioned off a bedroom for themselves in the basement and the children had the upstairs bedrooms. While we lived there we had two more children - a boy and a girl. The two boys had the back bedroom and the four girls had the front bedroom.
We also built a bathroom in the basement. Oh, boy! That was a project, breaking up the concrete of the basement floor to put in the drain and the toilet! That's a story for another time. But once we got it all in, it was a great basement. We had a large play area with the TV, a nice storage room, a lovely large bedroom and a new bathroom. The washing machine and dryer were downstairs, too, with the ironing board. (That is back in the days when I was still ironing white shirts that Glen wore for teaching every day. I often watched TV while I ironed.)
The kitchen had nice windows and was a pleasant place to work. I remember that I used to section off the floor and have the children help me mop it. I'd mark the sections with white shoe polish and we would all go to work. They thought it was great sport slopping the water around. Sometimes it would have been easier to do it all myself but I wanted them to learn to work. (It all paid off in the long run.)
The front room was really like a parlor because the TV was down in the family room. We had our couch (that has it's own story), our overstuffed chair, and our piano (another story). The fireplace took up one wall and we had bookshelves and tables to take up the rest of the space. Because of the basement room for playing and crafts the front room always looked nice. I started giving piano lessons once we got all settled in and I needed the front room to set the right tone.
The shed was a great place to store all the needed yard equipment - the lawn mower, rakes, shovels, hoes, wheel barrow and such stuff. And the children loved to climb up onto its roof. We planted a big garden with a border of mums and other flowers. The apricot trees produced abundantly and our cherry tree was a great delight. It was those little sour cherries that make such good cherry pie. We planted pumpkin and squash vines along the irrigation ditch and one year a vine grew up into a neighboring tree and we had a huge squash hanging in the tree until we finally decided it was big enough to pick and use.
This house in Magna had a nice front porch along with all its other good features. What more could I ak? A big basement, a front porch, a fireplace and a wonderful kitchen.
We lived there for five years and enjoyed all the things that our wonderful house had to offer. And we loved the big yard and the great garden area.
That's it for today.

Houses I Have Loved 2a

2008-03-28T09:43:00.000-07:00

Today is Friday, March 26, 2008. The sun is shining but it is quite cool. I know 2a seems a little strange in the title but I realized that I had left out some important information about the house in Bakersfield. (and oh, yes, I am using a new Toshisba Lap Top we got this week. And I have to type slower since the keyboard feels so different. Our other computer crashed yesterday - more's the pity.)
Back to Bakersfield - Our yard, besides all of the fun places for the children to play, had wonderful fruit and nut trees. When we bought the place there were two pecan trees - one a papershell pecan, an apricot tree, a fig tree and two small orange trees. Our first year there, the apricots were abundant. We ate all we wanted and canned at least 30 quarts from that one tree. We always had a good crop of apricots. The pecans, how I loved having pecans of my own. This was my first exposure to the paper shell kind. Nuts you could crack in your hands, with big pecan halves, just to eat right then or to use in baking. What a treat that was for this Missouri gal who only knew about the pecans that you dug out of their little round shells!
Figs were not something we really savored until a friend gave me a recipe for honey dried figs. Oh boy! Those we all took to. And we had a big fruit dryer that Glen's dad and mother had created for us from a big old turkey incubator they bought somewhere over in Utah. Dried apricots and honey dried figs from our own trees! What a sweet treat!
We decided to plant some more fruit trees. We added a lemon tree. One of my friends said that was like having a pharmacy in your own yard. After juicing the lemons, the rind is great rubbed on sores or cuts - great healing powers. And lemon juice in a rinse for your hair works wonders. Everyone knows that lemon rubbed on the face is a great facial. And it is supposed to lighten liver spots as well.
We loved the fresh lemonade and the juice for all kinds of cooking. Lemons can be used anytime. When they are just new, the juice is very tart and then as the lemons ripen the juice gets sweeter. The tree produced abundantly. We would pick a sack full, juice them and freeze the juice in ice cube trays to have available whenever we needed them. I woud also freeze the rinds to use however I wanted. It was a great way to freshen up the garbage disposal - drop a half lemon in and grind with the hot water tap running. Such a fresh lemon scent!
We planted a cherry tree. It produced abundantly but the birds got more than we did. Next was an apple tree. Oh, those Gravenstein apples made the best applesauce and apple pie you ever could want. Our little pink grapefruit tree never did produce many grapefruit but it was fun to have it nevertheless. We also planted a mandarin orange. That was a great addition to our little orchard. The tree we wanted to produce the most was our avocado tree. Oh, it was big and beautiful and each year we would hope for a big avocado crop. But it never did produce for us. It made a good shade tree, though. There's nothing so wonderful as stepping into your yard and getting a handful of fresh fruit or some nuts. That's the best of life.
Life changes and you have to move on but you can always savor the memories. That's all for today.

Houses I Have Loved 2

2008-03-22T09:38:00.000-07:00

Today is Saturday, March 22, 2008. The sun is shining and the sky is blue.
Before we moved to this house we lived in Bakersfield. And what a place that was to love! We moved there in 1970 because of a job transfer for Glen. We were living in Magna, Utah, when we received word of the transfer. Lo and behold, a close friend in Magna had an aunt and uncle who lived in Bakersfield. She told her aunt and uncle about our change and one day we got an interesting phone call. Just around the corner from Aunt Fern and Uncle Art there was a place for sale.
Glen couldn't get away from school to go look at it right at the time. He decided that I should go. We had three children not yet in school and my mother lived next to us in her beautiful house trailer. She would go with me and we would drive to Bakersfield to check out the place. Then Glen decided that he would like to have his Dad see the place, too. And Dad and Mother Wahlquist agreed to make the trip with me as the driver. Mother, the children and I left Magna in the morning. Stopped in Toquerville to pick up Dad and Mother Wahlquist, spent the night at their place and headed out to California the next morning.
It was a fun trip. All were happy travelers. We even had an additional passenger named Maggie - a moth that had gotten into the car at some point and the children decided to name her. Maggie stayed with us clear to California.
We were to stay with Fern and Art while we checked out the place that was for sale. I had been a bit disappointed that Glen felt his parents should be with us. After all, I thought I could make a wise decision concerning a place to live. But, oh my, how my opinion changed when we went to check out the property at 3737 Eucalyptus Drive! I was so glad that Dad was along to get the man's point of view.
The place was an acre lot. There were two houses, an 8 car garage that opened onto the alley, a big garage with an office beside it, and a 10' X 12' shed. The place was owned by Mrs. Turner. Mr. Turner, who had been in the tile business for years in Bakersfield, had died and Mrs. Turner wanted to be free of the place. To me it seemed like a fabulous estate. I knew I had to be sensible about it. Would it work for us? We trooped through the two houses and explored the sheds and walked all around.
We asked all the important questions. How about the utilities? How about the taxes? Had it had a termite inspection? Etc. There were lights all over the yard for security reasons. The whole property was surrounded by a chain link fence. Dad and Art talked about all the pros and cons from a practical standpoint.
The evening of the first day I called home to report what we had found. I was excited and tried to describe everything in detail. As I described it as best as I could, Glen asked me one question, "How will it look if my boss were to drive by?" I started laughing. "He wouldn't be able to see much?" was my reply. The front and the side fences had pomgranate and euyonmous bushes at least 6 feet high so the houses were barely visible from the road.
We spent several days with Fern and Art and went over to the property many times each day. I couldn't remember exactly how the bedrooms were or how the kitchen was in comparison to the other rooms. It was just so much to take in.
We were excited about the two houses. Mother could live in one. She would sell her trailer house and we would sell our house in Magna. She really had no reason to stay in Magna if we were in California.
Finally all the necessary paper work was done and we headed home with a place to move to in the summer while school was out. Glen had to go to summer school in Provo for part of June and July. We moved Mother to Bakersfield in early June. Two of our older children would stay with her while the rest of us lived in college housing until July. I don't know all of Glen's thoughts when he first saw the place but he soon fell in love with it as I had. And the children - well, it was quite a child's paradise.
The house seemed big to me. And there were big windows on two sides of the front room. That was an addition to the original small house. The addition went all across the back and around the side of what had been a one bedroom house - kitchen, front room/dining room combo/ bedroom and bath. The new part was a step down from the old house. It included the new front room plus a huge bedroom and a screened in porch. Originally the front door had been at the north. With the add on, the front door was now in the south.
There were beautiful mosaic tile walkways everywhere - from the main house to the smaller house, out to the garage and to the front gate, out to the sheds and all around the house. Neigbors told us that if Mr. Turner didn't have a tile job somewhere, he put his crew to work at his house making the walkways so they would not go to work for someone else. The sheds still had tiles of all sorts and shapes and marble - just scraps - not enough of any one kind to do a job. But it was all very interesting and the children found many ways to play with the various pieces of tile.
The kitchen was right in the center of the house. There was a window opening over the sink which looked into the front room. (It had been the original window-over-sink looking outside, but kept in the design of the added on part.) We decided right off that we wanted a window from the kitchen into the dining area. First thing, Dad and Glen had the saws out to create that opening. Glen built a wonderful round table to fit the spot under the new opening and the kitchen was not so isolated. The kitchen and dining room were of knotty pine. I had a double oven installed and the cook top was a Corning Ware one. The dishwasher was a portable one. Glen redid the lower cabinets to make bins for flour and the 100 lb. bag of powdered milk we always kept on hand. There was a fireplace in the east wall of the dining room along with bookshelves from floor to ceiling on one side of the fireplace.
The front room had a nice cupboard right next to the window opening and beside that was another bookcase. The bedrooms - let's see, can I even remember how they first were? The old bedroom was big, had a walk-in closet with a window. The "new bedroom" was L shaped and separated from the front room by French doors.
We made more changes in the house over the years. We added a second bathroom, removed the French doors and created a wall for what became the master bedroom and partitioned off part of that room to make a small third bedroom. The boys had the small bedroom, the girls had the original bedroom and we had our big bedroom with big windows on two sides. It was a great place.
The yards and sheds were great for everything. Glen had his wood shop. We fixed a cold storage room for all of our canning and food storage. The children used the old office as a craft room. What used to be the marble shed we used for storage of all sorts.
There were two big carports for the cars - we now had two - and for our trailer for hauling all kinds of stuff.
In the center of the side yard there was one big tree with a circle of bushes around it where the children spent hours at play, hidden away from everyone. And there were all kinds of places to have games and hide aways.
Mother's house was not small. The washing machine and dryer hook-ups were over at her place. She had a lovely front room with lots of windows, a small kitchen, a small dining room, a nice sized bedroom, and a smaller bedroom plus a large screened in porch and a nice bathroom. It was great.
Well, needless to say, it was very hard to move from that place after 22 years. But when we were asked to go to a new place, we felt that we should do it. We have never regretted any move we have made. Even though it is hard to leave a place you have learned to love. There is so much to tell about that place. I'm sure you can't see it as we did but it will always have a strong place in our hearts. Before we moved we all took lots of pictures of every area about the place. Sometimes I nearly cry when I look at them. I've added it to Houses I've Loved.

Houses I Have Loved

2008-03-19T14:11:00.000-07:00

Today is Wednesday, March 19, 2008. It is sunny and warm again today.
Oh, dear! This is my second typing for today. Somehow I pushed a wrong button and zapped out all my "wonderful" writing about this house I love. I am going to start again. Maybe it will be better but maybe it won't. Oh well, if at first you don't succeed, try, try again. That's what my "mama" always said. Okay, here goes for the second time.
As we drove up to our house today I was reminded again how much I love this place of ours. It is a big two story white house with dark grey, almost black shutters. Well, big is relative. It looks big and by many standards it is big. It hasn't always been white. When we bought it 16 years ago it was grey wood. It looked nice then but better now. Now it has white aluminum siding. I have always liked two story white houses. They are very popular in Missouri and I have lived in at least three before I got married.
We've made more changes in the house. We had to put on a new roof. It's slate grey to match the shutters. And we had double paned windows installed. It all looks very nice.
There is a window box at the front window. Our youngest daughter planted geraniums there the first summer we moved in and they are in full bloom now, a beautiful pink. We keep thinning them and planting some in other places around the yard.
Under the window box is a bed of rose bushes planted by another daughter. They are in full leaf and will soon be blooming again. To the side of the garage is a flower bed with two medium size junipers and newly planted petunias and marigolds. There are some perennial daisies and other ground cover there as well. Oh, yes, and agapanthas and iris, too.
The front of the house looks very inviting. When we drive up Glen and I say to each other, "Let's stop here and see who lives here." We have a nice size patch of green lawn in front and it is newly mowed.
Upstairs there are two bedrooms and a bath. The bathroom is the nicest room in the house. Even though it is small it has been newly refurbished. There is a good tile floor - large tiles - and a new bathtub as well as a cultured marble shower enclosure. We use a shower curtain to add color. The fixtures are all silver and the wall is textured white. Our youngest son and his friend did the texturing for us. One daughter and son-in-law laid the tile floor. They are all so good to help us.
Downstairs there is the little entry hall into the front room. It is a pleasant room with a large window that looks out at the necterine tree which is in full beautiful pink blossom right now. The most imposing piece of furniture there is our Kimball piano - a beautiful old upright of flaming oak. And we have a new couch and love seat. The love seat rocks and reclines. The sofa has two reclining seats. Such luxury! And there is a fireplace with a large gold framed mirror above the mantle. We feel very rich because we have two fireplaces. One in the front room and a second one in the family room. We used to burn wood but with new city ordinances and my allergies we have converted to gas inserts and they are just right.
The family room at the back of the house was built on before we bought it. That extension includes a room at one end which we use as our bedroom. Our back window looks out over our back yard and we can see the tops of the trees in the yard behind us. It gives us an outdoor feel which we like. It is big enough for our bed, two small chests which are our bedside tables, a schrunk (ammoire in French - schrunk in German), and a mirrored dresser. There is just barely enough space to walk around the edge of the bed.
There is a small bedroom up in front which we use now as a den. It is also a place to store toys for our grandchildren's visits. It has a bunch of books. There is a floor to ceiling bookcase along part of one wall and an antique lawyer's book case full of books. We have a couple of chairs there and a cherrywood settee.
The downstairs bathroom is between that room and the biggest bedroom in the house. When the bedroom is not in use by guests it is my "pilot room" (you know, pile it here, pile it there). I do a quick clean-up when someone is coming to spend the night. There is another little room off this bedroom. It is a part of the back addition. This little room has a door which goes out into the side yard. We have added floor to ceiling bookshelves on two sides of that little room. That's where we keep the organ and other instruments that belong to various members of the family. There is a chair for reading and lots of baskets and pretty metal tins that hold my "treasures."
The downstairs bathroom has been redone since we moved in here, too. We have a cultured marble shower with opaque glass doors. The bathrooms are quite small but they are adequate.
The favorite rooms are the family room and the kitchen. We remodeled the kitchen in 1998 with new cabinets we got from Home Depot. I think they are called Kraft Maid. It was a huge project but the kitchen is very nice. I have a double GE oven. Just right at Thanksgiving time and Christmas. And all other times of the year, too. The kitchen floor is hard wood and there is a big picture window in the west side where we have our dining table.
The table is the round one Glen made for me while we lived in Bakersfield. It seats 10 comfortable and with the right combination of seating can seat 12. The window looks out to the west on our peach tree, the neighbor's lemon tree, our rustic fence with the iris and roses. And we can always see the sky. Of course, we have a view of our neighbor's roof but we don't focus so much on that.
We recently bought a new cook top and I got a brand new sink for Christmas. And it is great! One side is deep enough to hold a cookie sheet and enough dishes to fill the dishwasher. I can have clean counters most of the time now.
The family room is the best. It's where we spend most of our time. The seating is comfortable. The TV is in here. The computer, the scanner, the printer, the CD player, the radio. We also have a nice roll top desk, the exercise bike and the tread mill. The big cozy recliner chair is very popular and there are more book shelves. These were here when we first looked at the house. Since we had lots of bookshelves in our house in Bakersfield, we wanted bookshelves in our house in Sacramento. There is a window opening from the kitchen into the family room and you never feel isolated when you are in the kitchen and the others are in the family room. We had that in our house in Bakersfield, too. We think this house was just made for us. All in all it is a very good house and I love it. I never want to move.
Our backyard is small. However, there is room for our picnic table, a few lawn chairs and our trampoline. In our raised garden bed we have some flowers and we always plant tomatoes and peppers along with some other veggies. Along with our peach and nectarine trees we have a plum, an apricot, an apple and two oranges trees. We are going to plant a pie cherry tree this year.
I was going to write some more about other houses we have had but I don't have time today. I will another time. That's all for today - for the second time! Here's hoping I don't push the wrong button and zap it all away again.

Families and Friends

2008-03-14T17:17:00.000-07:00

Today is Friday, March 14, 2008. It has been an interesting day, weatherwise. First it was cloudy. Then the sun came out. Then the wind began to blow and black clouds made their appearance. Since then it has been cloudy, then sunny, then cloudy again. Right now the sun is shining.
We have had several interesting experiences over the last few weeks involving families and friends. We made a long trip to Southern California to visit our oldest son and his family and our youngest daughter and her family. Kathy lives in Burbank and David lives in Escondido. The travel was great. Glen and I like to spend hours in the car just talking as we ride. Usually we read a novel out loud but this time I did not dare read because I have been experiencing VERTIGO. The Dr. said it was probably a problem with my inner ear canal. He said at my age, little crystals sometimes form and upset the balance. Oh, boy! Anyway, I didn't dare read this trip.
Our granddaugther let us sleep in her bedroom while we were in Escondido. Bless her heart! She is good to her grandpa and grandma. We love to visit our children and grandchildren. They tell us about school and their friends and all the exciting new things they are doing with computers, ipods, and all the latest lingo. Our grandson now has a job at an ice skating rink. That is interesting to think about. We love to talk with our son and daughter in law about what is happening in their lives.
Our daughter and her family live in an upstairs apartment and we get to sleep in the living room. There are two cute little boys there. One is just learning to talk. The other is just a little baby. They are both so darling and we love watching them. Kathy and her husband encouraged me to start this blog.
After all the years of encouraging our children to learn and do new things, it is now their turn to encourage us older folk in the new ways of the world. Since I do like the computer, it wasn't too hard. And since I like to talk and write, it seemed like a natural thing to do.
One day last week I heard the front door open and here came three little children running in with arms outstretched for a hug. Well, they are not all little any more. One granddaughter is 9 years old. And she is tall. Her little brother is 6, in the first grade. Her younger sister is just 3. There is also a baby boy but he doesn't run yet. His mother carried him in the baby carrier. He smiles when we talk to him.
We look forward to Friday nights when three of our daughters come to spend the evening with us. Usually we "order in" and have something special for dinner. Our favorites are Little Ceasars Pizza, Taco Bell, Subway sandwiches, Chinese food or Kentucky Fried Chicken. Once in awhile we just do McDonald's but it is the family togetherness that is the best part.
A few days ago we got a late, late Christmas card for some dear friends in Bakersfield. We haven't heard from them for awhile and we were delighted to get their card. And guess what? Instead of waiting to turn around something in the mail, we took advantage of our special phone offer. We have a special rate for all calls in California. We went right to the telephone to call them. With two phones we could just talk to our hearts content. They had two phones at their house, too. They have been out of the US for 3 years on a special Church assignment. We talked for over an hour. What a great time we had renewing friendships.
Several times each week we are able to be with other friends who live right here close to us. And we have wonderful neighbors to chat with on our front sidewalk.
Today we made a phone call to one of Glen's brother's in Utah. They are very dear to us. We love to find out what is going on with their family and to hear news about any of the other brothers. What a great time to be alive when we don't have to wait months and months for the Pony Express or weeks and weeks for the Overland railroad to bring the mail or even a week for a letter to be delivered by the postal service. We can go to the telephone or the computer and have instant messaging. Life is good. That's all for today.

Addictions

2008-03-08T08:05:00.000-08:00

Today is Saturday, March 8, 2008.
Today the sun is shining.
When I got up this morning I went right to the computer. I have become addicted to the thing. Right now I am checking family history records for a program called family indexing. I am called an arbitrator. My responsibility is to check two listings made by individual indexers against the original record (census, birth records, etc.). If their entries do not agree then I must decide which one matches the original. If neither one matches then I enter my opinion.
I just started doing this a few days ago and I have already become addicted. Of course, I've been addicted to the computer for years. We were talking the other night with some of our family about computers. Can you believe they are actually so new in the realm of existence? Glen talked about his first computer class in college. The computer filled a whole room. And now - ohmigosh! Computers have become so tiny you can carry them in your hand.
We have two computers right now. An "old" laptop. Why, we purchased it in 1998 before we went to Pakistan. It still works okay. And we have the "house" coputer. It is supposed to be a PC (personal computer) but everyone who lives here or comes to visit is pulled directly to the computer for something. Even the grand children are pulled into it. Computers are great!
Another one of my addictions is Mexican food. I could eat Mexican food morning, noon, and night. I love homemade Mexican food and Mexican resturant food. I have a dear friend, Josie Garcia, who makes the best tamales you have ever tasted. She is not connected with "Garcia's", the Mexican resturant in Citrus Heights, on Madison Avenue. Josie lives in another city. But "Garcia's" makes great food. And I love Taco Bell. Well, to be downright truthful, I like all Mexican food places.
First thing in the morning when I get up, I open all the window blinds. That's an addiction, too. I love to let the sun come streaming into the house. And even on a cloudy day, that's the first order of business. Open the window blinds. Right now, we have all venitian blinds. At our last home we had heavy draperies that we closed at night but first thing in the morning, "open those shades." If my husband is up first then he opens all the blinds. That is our morning addiction.
Homemade bread! I think that is an addiction, too. We have a bread maker now, a machine I mean. I used to be the bread maker. And I did it all by hand. I'd knead the bread and work out my frustrations. Now, Glen makes the bread in the bread machine. We use whole wheat flour so it is very healthy. Home made bread - well, how can you really describe how wonderful it is. It is great for bread and milk. (Store bought bread turns into paste - YUK!) Bread pudding is so tasty with home made bread. And on a cold morning, milk toast just hits the spot. Of course, Glen has to make it. His milk toast is the best. He learned it from his mother.
I am glad all my addictions are to good things. I feel so bad for those who are addicted to harmful things. I don't want to get over my addictions. I just want to keep adding good ones.
That's it for today.

2008-03-03T16:33:00.000-08:00

Today is Monday, March 3, 2008.
It is sunny.
I will go to the grocery store today.
Grocery stores come in many varieties. When I was young I loved to go with my mother to the store. We had no car and so had to walk and carry home in our arms whatever groceries we bought. The A & P Store was about 6 long blocks away from our house. I was just 6 years old and the clerk would make two small light weight bags for me to carry in my arms. Mother's bags were heavier but not too heavy. Two or three years later a small grocery store opened, Dad's Market, which was only three blocks away. I remember that Dad's had hamburger on sale - 3 lbs/$1.00. That was a great bargain.
Mother could make that hamburger go a long way and she could cook up a good many meals for the two of us from 3 pounds of hamburger. Sometimes we would buy a stewing hen (they were cheaper than frying hens) and often she would buy a pound of chicken necks and backs for 10c and make the best chicken and dumplings you ever tasted. That was about the only kind of meat we bought.
I loved the oleo packages - a plastic bag with a pound of white shortening with a little yellow capsule in one corner. The trick was to squeeze the capsule to release the yellow food coloring and then to knead the entire plastic bag until it was all a beautiful yellow and looked like butter.
Of course, we bought the staples - milk, bread, eggs, oatmeal and beans - and whatever fresh fruits and veggies were available at the time. Oh, yes and cheese and dried beef in cute little glasses with metal lids.
About three years after Dad's Market opened a real supermarket opened near us. It was about 3 times the size of Dad's and twice as big as the A & P Store. This was Krogers. Oh, my! What a selection they had! Walking up and down the aisles was like a great adventure.
When I went to college I had my meals in the dorm and didn't do much grocery shopping at all. There was a small store near the campus - Carson's - where we occasionally bought a few items. Then when I got married I fell in love with Albertson's. A huge store and clean and everything I ever wanted. Aisles of fresh fruits and vegetables which looked like magazine pictures. So many choices of canned good. And I found Danish Dessert and Lawry's Taco Sauce. That was in Utah.
Then we moved to California and where we lived there was no Albertsons. I shopped at Safeway and made requests for Danish Dessert and Lawry's Taco Sauce. My answer - "These items do not sell well in California. Therefore, we do not stock them."
"How do you know they don't sell well? If you don't stock them, of course, they won't sell well."
Imagine my delight when a new Albertson Store was built near us. They would order Danish Dessert for me but not Lawry's. My friends in southern California would bring me bottles of the sauce when we met for State PTA meetings. And then the Albertson stores in California began to close.
Now I go to Safeway's and Sam's Club. Once in awhile to Bel Air or Raley's. Some changes come hard.
Except, of course, I am always overwhelmed these days by the selections of food we have in these big stores. When we lived in Pakistan the grocery stores were very different than in the United States. The ones close to us were not very big. They didn't have much variety of canned goods. There was wonderful citrus jam unmatched by any I have tasted since. Fresh fruits and vegetables you bought from the vendors in the streets or at a street market. And those were wonderful. If you wanted chicken you went to the chicken man. He had live chickens in pens and you picked the one you wanted and he got it ready for you to take home and cook. That was a brand new experience for me.
It wasn't had to find sweetened condensed milk. Nestle's had a plant between two of the larger cities. I always wondered why they didn't have chocolate chips, too. But I never found those in Pakistan.
When we were in India for awhile, the grocery stores were small, also. You had to learn the names of what you wanted. I searched a long time for brown sugar until I learned that it was called jugary. And it was interesting that they have a jello-like pudding that sets up without a refrigerator. That's because many of the people where we lived in India didn't have a fridge.
Stores in Greece had lots of pasta and canned tomatoes but not many other canned goods. They had fabulous fish sections and cheese and meats and olives of every size and seasonings. I loved to walk around the cheese section and study the many and varied kinds of cheeses. After living in those areas, coming back to a grocery store in my own home town was overwhelming. I think the number and variety of selections had multiplied more than 10 times. Especially in the salad dressing and the cereal aisles. I am in awe of the many choices we have. It's hard to send anyone to the store for salad dressing. "Get me a French Dressing, please." Well, do you want lo-fat, lo-cal, no fat, lite, regular, zesty, etc, etc? Oh my!
Most of the things I buy when I grocery shop are pretty routine. Milk, butter, eggs, Bisquick, honey, Miracle Whip, carrots, onions, potatoes. But I love to look at all the choices that are there for me. Shopping is an adventure every time. Well, that's all for today.

2008-02-29T11:28:00.001-08:00

Today is Friday, February 29, 2008. That sentence was on the blackboard every day when I was in grade school. There was always another sentence about the weather. Today is sunny. Occasionally there would be another sentence, but always those two. Interesting that this is Leap Year Day. People born this day don't have to age at the same rate as the rest of us if they choose not too. And this aging business is quite a complex issue. I can remember Grandma having Carter's Little Liver Pills and Lydia Pinkham's bottles always in her medicine chest. Then there was Geritol and now I think it is Omega 3 that is supposed to keep us energetic and full of vitality. So far I can't see much magical about Omega 3 but I keep taking it, hoping I feel better for it.
Some days I feel like an old car. You know how cars begin to wear out. One week, the brakes quit. Just when you get that fixed something else goes wrong. Well, that is happening to me. First, it was being diagosed with Type II diabetes. For a long time, I was able to control that with diet and exercise. But now I have medication. Some days I do well, other days not so well with my blood sugar. We just changed insurance companies and now I have to get used to a new glucometer. You guessed it! This insurance company won't supply the strips for the one I have. And why not? I keep asking myself. Oh well, even though I am an "old dog" I am going to try to learn "new tricks."
My knees started giving me trouble. If I am sitting down they don't hurt. But I'm not ready to sit down constantly. Thank goodness, my chiropractor keeps me so I can walk pretty well. I've got an exercise bike that helps keep me moving, too. The knee thing comes and goes. I've got a nice expensive knee brace that helps. I can remember Mother having lots of knee pain. She bought every piece of knee help she could find - from Dr. Leonard's catalog, Walter Drake's catalog, or the Parade magazine in the local newspaper. They weren't really expensive and they would each help for awhile. I decided to just go with the expensive one first. Forget those others.
The knee thing had pretty well subsided when the head started acting up. One night, well, one morning really, about 4 A.M. I had to get up. When I went back to bed the room just started spinning and I started screaming. Glen said I wasn't really screaming - just moaning. I'm sure the neighbors would probably say I was screaming. Ohmigosh! It was awful. I thought I was having a heart attack or something. Now I find out that it was not as unique as I thought. "Just vertigo," the Dr. said. Whoa! I don't want that again. But now I find out lots of people have it. Oh, my!
In the past two weeks I have been able to lie down gently and slowly on my left side. And I can sleep in a chair (the recliner works great). I guess what scares me the most is that it can happen again. To everyone who has ever had an episode like mine I say you are marvelous to have kept functioning.
I know there are so many things about the wonderful body that each of us has that can go wrong. And I am grateful for all the years I've had with so few problems. And I know that I can look forward to more challenges as my "car" gets older and older. I shouldn't crab about anything. There are people with way more problems than me. I thank the Lord every day for my blessings. I pray also that I can have enthusiasm to the end. I don't want to just endure to the end.
That's it for today.

A New Beginning

2008-02-27T11:45:00.000-08:00

Wow! Today I sort of feel like a "Grandma Moses." Here I am at 70 years of age and starting something totally new. I'd love to become a famous painter but that is not too likely. Since I do like the computer and all the available things on internet, I decided I would try this avenue of self-expression. I was introduced to blogs by one of my children. Oh, I had heard about it before but never thought I would like to do it. However, another one of our children and her husband gave me the encouragment to try it.
I have always wanted to write - a book or a newspaper column. I tried writing some articles at one point in my life and sent them off. What I got in return were some rejection slips. I know that many writers paper their walls with rejection slips before they have a hit, but I did not persevere. Anyway, here I am starting my "column." And I chose this name so I can write about anything that suits my fancy each day (or whenever).

When I was a teenager I loved a poem by Angela Morgan entitled "Today."

"To be alive in such an age!"

The poem continues with several stanzas, talking about miracles and challenges and the goings on of life. And I felt that! And now today, 2008, I feel that. As a teenager I had just seen my first TV- black and white-mind you! Who ever dreamed we would have living color and such clear screens! And the sizes, oh my! I'd never ridden in an airplane even though some of my friends had. Later, I remember when a friend opened a shop with a word processor where I could go to type a term paper. And with what excitement when my husband and I got our first computer. Once when our daughter was typing a school term paper and I got out our typewriter (electric) to work on some paper I had to prepare. Well, guess what? I decided I could wait to use the computer so I didn't have to turn the carriage and erase my crazy mistakes. And then another new marvelous addition to this age - the internet. Instant information - sometimes more than I ever wanted - but information, none the less. And new exciting things happening all the time.

We've had e-mails from friends we have made in places we've lived - Pakistan, India, and Greece. And news from classmates in Missouri where I grew up and in Idaho where my husband grew up. It's an amazing life and I am exciting to start a new adventure. My family teases me about the long letters I used to write. That's okay. They have a lot of family history in them. And now I'm going to use this new avenue for my love of writing.

Here it is 2008 and Glen and I are still in Citrus Heights, California. We love it here and hope we can stay forever. We had a wonderful trip this last week. We spend all day Thursday in the Temple and Saturday afternoon. Taking a trip takes lots of planning. This week we went south to visit Kathy and her family and then on to visit David and his family. The trip was wonderful. Friday it rained most of the way. But after that the days were sunny and warm. We love visiting our grandchildren. And it is fun to "eat out." Friday we had lunch at Carl's Jr. and on Monday we stopped for a long break at Sizzler's. And of course, on Tuesday we had to stop at Wendy's - we love their $ menu.

There were lots of trucks on the road from all over - Tennessee, Oregon, Washington, Mississippi, and Florida, just to name a few.

Coming home is wonderful and it is nearly time to begin a new month. I think I'll sign off for this first posting. I'll see if I can come up with a catchy phrase to end with each time. Right now I don't have one. But till next time!