Merry Christmas!!!!!

(I had hoped to make this post several days ago.......things have been a little busy around here, so thought I got most of it written and ready, ..........well........it has taken me till now. And though it's "too late" to be up, I'm going to post it now!!! I hope you had a wonderful Christmas, surrounded by loved ones. We have had a wonderful time together, and maybe I will be able to share some of that with you as well...........)
Over Thursday and Friday, the 22-23, Roger and I went to Salt Lake City with our high school choir--Daniel is a member. Roger drove the bus. There are all kinds of reasons why you want to be the wife of the bus driver..........aside from the obvious that he's a great guy! you get a free ride, a free room, and no additional responsibilities; i.e. they can not make you a chaperone. However, as you know, you can't deal with teenagers without some drama..........this was no exception. But we had a great time! They sang at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building and then a real concert in the Assembly Hall. They started off the day, Friday, with fun...........standing in the rotunda of the State Capitol Building and listening to their voices roll around and come back to them time and time again............it was beautiful! And one of my favorite stops on this "tour". (We've "done" this trip several times and it's always a treat.) I love the beauty of the capitol building..........it was a "misty" day..........so beautiful!!!! Some of the pictures are good..........others not so good, but meaningful..........

The time on temple square and the plaza was truly the highlight of the trip..........as soon as I get out of the bus on West Temple and hear "O Come All Ye Faithful" as the nativity presentation ends the spirit fills me and I feel that I have come "home". And I wonder why I can't feel that all the time??? The choir sang in the Joseph Smith Memorial building then 1 1/2 hours later in the Assembly Hall. We were able to wander around the square and over to Deseret Book........what a beautiful store!!!!! As twilight came and then the lights began to come on--lighting the temple, the tabernacle, etc.........but we had to be in the Assembly Hall before the lights on the trees came on.........it was all lovely. I have no words to express my feelings...........awe, wonder, magical, peace, grandeur, love, majesty, "home", glorious..........I'm sure you feel it too............so here are the pictures..........

 

 

I was leaning against the Tabernacle watching the nativity story for the second or third time, with this view...........and I couldn't help but wonder what He might be thinking about all this..........as this "looks" down over the lawn where His birth is staged..........and I wondered..........and gloried in the words "Oh Come!!! All ye faithful!! Joyful and triumphant.........."

...solstice snow...

 Yes...I think about such things as "solstice" and "equinox" and "total eclipse"---which we missed last night because of the storm :( And I know that this won't seem like much to many of you in the north or at higher elevations. BUT!!!! This is major for us!!! worthy of pictures on the blog!! And it's beautiful!! AND current..........I took the pictures 1/2 an hour ago!!! Are you impressed?? It will probably never happen again..........

Our birch tree--really "weeping"

 the front porch railing

 I know this is common in Buffalo, NY.....but here????

 Remember those lilac bushes????

And thank goodness for loving neighbors and young, strong, healthy backs!!!

...the thrill of it all

I wanted to make this post days ago, but I've been busy......so I'm determined to do it today. Last Monday we started shipping our bees to Needles. Forrest came the night before and spent the night in his truck. Roger was excited to get them loaded and on the road. I didn't need much of an excuse to "go see". I don't know what it is about seeing our bees on a truck...even when it was our "big" truck--which, by the way, looks really small when you park it next to a semi!...There is something about knowing they are ours; their worth--and we are trusting them to someone else!!! Forrest is a good man. And there is always a satisfaction, a relief of sorts, to get them out of Utah before it gets too cold. Those two weeks of real cold weather we had were pretty hard on them. So.........maybe you will feel a little of the thrill I feel just seeing them all loaded on a truck. And you might even "see" more bees on the road now that you know what to look for. I'm sure you've seen them...........just maybe didn't know what they were.............You can see it was a beautiful day!!

 I wanted to get there while they were loading, but Roger is so quick that the bees were all on the truck and screened! They were beginning to tie them down before I got there.

Michael is securing the screen while Forrest watches. He wasn't too excited to be in the picture, but I told him he is and important part of all this!

They have cross-tied the back and then they will put lots of more straps on them.

Not a very good picture, but you can see the dead bees on the ground. It was so cold for a couple of weeks that quite a few of the bees died..........and the others pulled them out of the hive.........they keep a clean house!

This is "Notch Peak"....50 miles west......I really want to climb it one of these summers. I especially love it with its dusting of snow!

the time thing...

So I'm not the only one!!! RAH!!!! Did you hear Pres. Monson last night??? I'd have to say I'm in pretty good company! I'm feeling much better than I did the other night...........I found the lights--clear on the bottom in the back! My sweet grandchildren helped me--truly, they were excellent help! Then Scott came home and he then Daniel finished them while I ran to get replacement fuses and bulbs. I don't know why lights on the house make such a difference, but they do...........I'm working on one little step at a time...........

Aren't they darlings?? And dressed so elegantly too! We did the best we could. Irene--recognize the blue coat???

it's all a blurrrrr......or a dream........

I am having great difficulty with the astonishing speed of passing time! Am I the ONLY ONE??????? Truly, I have not really got in the groove of writing 2010........thanks to the "back" button you don't know that I typed 1020!!!! Now that would be something!! I alternate between feeling pushed and shoved or panting to catch my breath as I race to "keep up". I'm beginning to think there really is no hope for the catching up part. So my shoulders droop and do I admit my defeat???? Is there no cure??? no hope??? I used to wonder what in the world Jacob was talking about (Jacob 7:26)....lives passing "away like as it were unto us a dream". But I think I'm beginning to understand what he meant........it wasn't that long ago that I got married! right? but there are all these people who are "mine" that I'm responsible for! ME!!!! a grandma?!?!?!?!??? yet I love these little ones as though they really were my own, so they must be, right? And didn't we have Christmas yesterday?? almost...........? some days it feels like it............and since my last post the days have whipped by like the light/telephone poles along the highway. Almost too fast to count, yet there they are for the counting...complete with the swoops in between them..........what a ride!!

We got home from Florida on 10 November--Wednesday. My friend and I do a little hour long quilt class "thing" (for want of a better word) every second Saturday. I had to hurry my preparation for that. Then it was time to get serious about the tree skirt for the "festival tree". (Some of my cousins and other extended family members did a tree for the "Festival of the Trees" in Salt Lake City for Primary Children's Medical Center.........we have ties...........). The whole saga of finding fabric etc. is another post...........went for over night to my mother's and sister's for Thanksgiving.......just returned yesterday from two days in Salt Lake for the state bee convention.................I just want to stay home and have nothing to do...........is that possible????? I can't find the house lights, so we have almost no Christmas decorations up and I'm really struggling with Christmas spirit. I found it yesterday in the distribution center on 17th South. I stood there with tears in my eyes when one of the men asked me if I was finding what I came for.............yes............and it was peace and love to calm my troubled heart. Maybe it's my fault that everything is a blur. If I slowed down maybe I could count the "poles". You think??? Maybe someday I will "wake up" and find that my life really was "like unto a dream" and I'll be home..............really home.................sounds wonderful, doesn't it?

In the mean time, I intend to enjoy the time I have here............even if it is not what I thought it would be like, I can enjoy it. Here's to enjoying mortality!!!!! Love you all. Thanks for listening to my ramble. Maybe I will get some "Florida pictures" on here one day.........maybe not...........at any rate, I'm determined not to stress about it..............

winter is coming!

I'm thinking of Laura today and being thankful that I live now and that we have all the information collecting and disseminating equipment and knowledge that we have. What a difference it would have made to those of DeSmet during that "long winter". And it makes me wonder if this is an indication of things to come? It's also a little exciting! a real, bonified blizzard!!!! I haven't experienced one of those for a very long time........makes me want to build a fire in the stove and curl up with some stitching or a book. I hope you all are safe and snuggled in for the storm...........and that your loved ones are too. Michelle just called. Snow has cancelled classes the rest of today so the students can get home before the storm--hopefully. And thankfully, she's on her way and will make it. I hope you have a wonderful day of Thanksgiving with your loved ones. We have so much to be thankful for............. by the way, if you haven't read this book you should! .........and I'm going to get some pictures on here soon..........life has been crazy!!!!

Delayed!!!!!

Roger learned today that the shuttle launch has been delayed!!!!!! Rescheduled for Wednesday at 3:30--I think...........We will still leave as planned and rearrange our plans there. Thankfully, we have kept things very loosely "planned" just for such contingencies..........I just hope they don't delay and delay and delay till we are on our way home!! At any rate, I will have lots of pictures to share when we return.

...feeling like a squirrel?

I just thought I would share with you what I've been doing this past month to six weeks. I'm aware that the number of my posts dropped dramatically............well..........for good reason, I think. I'm still not completely finished with all this, but enough so that I thought I would pretend I was finished. How's that? May I just say that I am really ready to have it all done? I was so tired of tomatoes last week that I just about didn't do the "last" batch. Then Peggy told me of her wonderful enchilada sauce so I thought I'd give it a try...........I had to punt though. There is no garlic juice in town. But with all the garlic in the basement why in the world should I go out and buy garlic juice?????? And my tomatoes were already juiced, so I hope I have something slightly similar to Peggy's. I have no idea............but we'll give it a try. Okay! Here goes!!! This is sometime in September.........

A typical picking of cucumbers once they really start to bear well.

After I wash them in the washing machine (I offer a prayer of thanks for my friend every time. It has been such a time saver.) I dump them in the kitchen sink where I sort and check them over. The small ones go in a bucket to brine for sweet pickles, the larger ones in bottles for dills and the largest in a pan to make bread and butter pickles.

Dills.........some in pints for some of the children.

A bucket of sweets and the pan of larger ones..........

A bucket of sweet pickles with the sugar/vinegar syrup on them. The cheesecloth holds the spices. I start doing pickles as soon as the cucumbers start bearing. Bless Roger. He picked most of them this year. That is such a help!

 Some of you may know that we try to go to Idaho for a load of potatoes every year.........well, this year was  no different..........Here is our load for this year, sitting on the truck in front of our house. Nine and a half TONS of them!! Roger and Michael went to get them the day I was supposed to start doing the peaches. 

You'll notice I said "supposed to". I think we did them the next day. A HUGE thanks to sweet Sarah who helped me all day long. We did seven and a half bushels that day!!! I can only imagine how her shoulders must have ached. She peeled and cut peaches all day long! I couldn't have done it without her and we were able to do them all that day! 127 quarts of peaches!!!!!

After the peaches, we did the pears......... I think I did them mostly by myself. Michelle helped as much as she could, for which I was grateful. But there weren't too many of them. I don't remember how many quarts I did...enough to be heartily tired of bottling fruit!

All the children came home for general conference. It's so fun to have them come, even though sometimes we have "bedlam". Richard went out and pulled all the beets. I thought, "Oh no!!" We had a bushel of peaches to do for Grandma! But Richard did the beets almost all by himself!...washed, cooked, slipped the skins, put them in the bottles..........I made the syrup, put the lids on and processed them. Don't they look pretty? (Yeah, sometimes it takes me a few days to get the full bottles hauled downstairs............)

My sweet "daughters" helped me with Grandma's peaches. We had a great time........I think........... I did, and it looks like they are having a good time. Looks like Lisa is sampling the goods..........

 Last week I finished up the tomatoes.........thank goodness!!!! I have made three kinds of soup from the "Ball Blue Book".....well, two are from the book, the third is from a friend. A pint is just right for supper when Roger is away--quick and easy and all in one bottle/dish--doesn't get any better than that, right?

The apple jelly is not all done yet...........OH!!!! And I forgot to get pictures of the 14 quarts and I don't know how many pints of applesauce we did one Saturday a week ago.............Richard came with three boxes of apples--I already had one here--and we made applesauce--yummy, chunky, beautifully white applesauce.

I'm not sure when I will really call it all quits and put the cookers away............well, I put one of them away the other day. But I might have to get it out again if I decide to do something else. I'm not planning on it at this writing, but you never know when I may get a hankering to try something new. And it's really quite a rush to go sit in the fruit room and look at all the beautiful colors of food sitting on my shelves. I sometimes wonder if this is how mother squirrels feel???

10/10/10--Happy Birthday, Daddy!!!

Yes, today is the birthday of another amazing and wonderful man--my father! The thought was enough to propel me to my feet in testimony meeting this morning. I feel sorrow to know that I wasn't old enough to truly appreciate who and what Daddy was before he left us..........but what a legacy!! As a teenager there were times when I was unhappy to know that his name precluded me from some activities in our small town. Thank goodness we grow up and recognize that sometimes teenagers are just plain stupid! How thankful I am now--and have been for many years--to have learned that I didn't miss anything of vital importance and was possibly protected from situations and experiences that may have proved unhappy and/or hurtful.

I want to share just a couple of other deep seated memories.......my father always took the time to answer my questions. It didn't matter how silly they must have sometimes seemed to him. He always answered. I remember an early morning drive to Ogden, to the orthodontist, in the old black truck with a load of shavings (we tried to double up on trips as much as possible). We talked about clearance lights on semis that morning. I loved riding in that old truck. There was always plenty of time to look at everything. And you were high enough to see lots of things you couldn't see in a car. Going to Price for a load of coal was a grand time indeed!

I loved to go with him to do the chores in the winter--when I wanted to, of course. We would walk through the snow to Grandmother's. Once he had "blazed" the trail, he would walk in the same footsteps. Of course, his stride was much too long for my short legs and I was always thankful when there was a crust on the snow that I could walk on. I remember a few mornings in the early, pre-dawn light.......remember, I'm not a morning person, but I loved the mornings I made the effort to go with him to feed.

One more--July 4th--I was probably about 16 years old. I played the flute in the high school band, and the band always marched in the parade in Oakley. I was proud to march past our family--all sitting in or standing around the car backed into a spot along the highway. We tried to park in front of the creamery where there would be shade for most of the duration of the parade. At any rate, this particular July 4th Daddy was not going to be there. (Of course, I was unhappy about that!) He was going to irrigate for a member of the ward so she could take her four young children to the parade. I'm embarrassed to admit my uncharitable feelings about that...........but what an example he was to me. And I'm so sorry I was not mature enough to recognize at the time what a priceless gift Father in Heaven had given me. There really are disadvantages in being one of the "little ones" and I feel the loss acutely in that I had a whole ten years fewer to know him............that I was never really old enough to appreciate what I had until he was gone. But I'm so very, very thankful for what he did give me............not a great deal of the world's wealth, but many things of infinitely greater value. How I pray I will never disappoint this great man!! What a happy day it will be to be wrapped safely in his arms and tell him how much I have missed him and how often I could have used his wisdom!!.....how grateful I am for him. I anticipate many, many exquisitely happy hours............eternity............with him. Thank you, Daddy. And happy birthday! Next year we will celebrate the centennial!!!!

my other father

I can't let this day pass without being grateful for the birth of an amazing man: my father-in-law, Willard Stephenson. From the very first day I met him he treated me with his own cheerful kindness. I will never forget his happy smile while leaning on the counter in Deseret Book (where I worked) to ask me if I had recently received a letter from his son--serving a mission in Brazil. The day after we told him of our engagement--years later--we all went to Salt Lake City for general conference--in April. As we were getting out of the car I said something about joining the family. He immediately put his arm around me and responded to my question. (Up until a few years ago I could have told you verbatim what was said, but my mind has become more slippery. Many of you know what I mean, the rest of you just need to wait a few years and you too will know!) But I remember the feeling of love and acceptance in that hug and I was never once given a cause to question it in all the years since. We had the privilege of living right next door, so our children had grandparents close--a mixed blessing sometimes. But I am so thankful for the relationship our children were able to have with their grandparents. He's been gone 17 years now and there are times when I miss him terribly. Dad, I love you, and I'm so thankful for the good name you have given our children. We are working hard to continue the legacy.............HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!

a delightful day...........mostly

We took a day off yesterday from the sometimes frantic pace of fall--think harvest, peaches, pickles, pears, tomatoes, pickles, etc., and all that goes along with "preparing"--and went to Provo for the day. First, of course, there was the usual "have to stop here" places and, thankfully, delivery of some honey.  Then we hurried to the production of "The Cashore Marionettes".............totally delightful!!!

 

The picture here shows "Lullaby"--a tired mother with her fussy baby--she rocks him, puts him in a cradle then kisses him goodnight...........and talk about looking real!!!! Not to mention the feelings and emotions you experience while watching! My goodness!!!! Oh! they were all so good!! The "Maestro Janos Zelinka"........well, all of them were amazing!! But he even got the vibrato going in the left hand/wrist and such action in the right wrist that I'm pretty sure our orchestra teacher here would try to tone it down some..........but on stage, in this form, it was enchanting! There is some talk that BYU will have him on the the performance schedule again next fall. If you get the chance here's another "show" I highly recommend!!

We ate at what used to be the "Cougareat".........Richard joined us there and shared the fresh-baked bread he had just purchased. Daniel and Michelle went and got two more loaves and we ate those too.........we watched some students practice/play with their yo-yos and listened to another student practice the piano (didn't sound much like practice) and then enjoyed a walk across campus.

The rest of the day was less delightful, though I got to spend it with some of my favorite people in all the world. It's amazing how that can salvage an otherwise rather disappointing event............

off we go!!!!

You might guess!!!!! Roger and I were able to get tickets to see Discovery leave for her last mission November 1st!!!!!!!!!! Yes!! I am so excited I can hardly believe it's for real. Now I'm praying for good weather, perfect conditions, that the shuttle will be _________ ..........you know.........no glitches! We got up at 5:30 this morning to be ready when the last of the tickets were available at 6:00 (8:00 EST) And we got some!!!!! I checked later..........they were sold out in 25 minutes!!! Ohhhhhhh, I pray all goes well...........it's not like we can check back two weeks later, you understand! I cannot describe the thrill I feel just at the thought of being there to see and feel and hear.............leaves me giddy and weak-kneed!!! Just had to share my jubilation!!!

...of deserts, missionaries and miracles

Oh my...........I'm getting farther and farther behind............but my life is not all that exciting anyway, so there really isn't much to tell......... I uploaded these pictures a few days ago and I'm just now getting to writing something about them.

A few years ago (somewhere around 10!) we had some boys from the "west desert" live with us so they could go to high school here and play football. They don't have a football team at West Desert High School in Trout Creek, Utah, so they would come here for football then go home for the rest of the year to play basketball. Everyone in the school had to be on the basketball team! They were fun boys. Well..........one of them returned from his mission the middle of August so we wanted to go listen to him speak in church. We left here about 8:30 a.m. so we could have plenty of time............you never know what is going to happen when you drive out there...........

I need to back up a little..........Roger had gone to his early meetings that morning and our bishop told him to put some coveralls and a pair of gloves in. (Roger didn't tell me this until we were on the road.) And I thought of Joseph Smith telling Israel Barlow to buy a buggy whip. I also prayed that we would not suffer too much for our lack of obedience. We got there. Had our meetings and a great time visiting with friends we have made over the years. They had a big pot luck meal after church--very good. And we headed home. We had been traveling about half an hour when the "information panel" dinged and told us the air pressure in the right rear tire was low--24 pounds. All the others were 30-32 pounds! I prayed again--and rather constantly from then on, I might add............We had never even had the spare tire out! And it's carried under the Suburban and you have to lower it down with a crank..........we had never even really looked it over, much less gone through the actions. And Roger was in his suit, of course! We continued to watch the gauges--and drive slower--we pulled into our garage with 14 pounds pressure in that tire. We offered many prayers of gratitude. By that night it was flat as a pancake--or flatter--and Roger learned how to use our jack/crank/etc. the next morning. It really is pretty easy..........we're just grateful he didn't have to learn it all on a hot, dusty road in the middle of nowhere while wearing his Sunday suit!

Now for the pictures............I realize this is desert..........but there are beautiful things about deserts too........but you know that..........

We saw more antelope than other cars.........

The road starts out paved, but quickly turns to gravel...........it was a good gravel road.......

This is looking across the desert to Callao.......about 10-15 miles away..........

Trout Creek is somewhere this direction.........the church and school are "in" Trout Creek.

Notice the moon in this picture.........I really like this one..........I didn't take many pictures on the way home. I had already taken a bunch and besides, I was too worried about that tire going flat!!

We are so glad we went. You know.........we can plan to do something and then the preparing and thinking about leaving Suzanne all day sets in and I really drag my heels and wonder if we need to go..........well, we are just really glad we went.