I slept great last night, but for some reason woke up with a headache and in kind of a crumby mood. I guess I'll blame it on the hot, humid weather. Haha.
Remember that song by the Cowsills: HAIR? I've been singing it in my head today. I got a hair cut and weave this afternoon. Boy does that feel good! I asked Felina some questions I'd never thought of before. How gray am I really? 15ish %. Okay. I didn't know gray-ness was calculated in percentages. It's only sparsely on the top. None in the back or underneath at all. She said if I didn't weave at all, it's so little that it would probably just blend in well with the rest of my hair. A product of genes. What is my true natural color: dark blonde/light-medium light brown. Interesting. I thought I was darker than that. I'm not getting weaves as often these days, and I was surprised at my grow-out. It was lighter and prettier than I remembered. So it made me think that maybe I should just go 'natural'.....
I did something really hard for me today. I didn't know it would be as hard as it was. I thought it would be easy, so my feelings were very surprising to me. I've been cleaning out closets, remember. I came across some things that we don't need anymore, but I've been hanging on to. I'd forgotten we had them, truthfully. Another time period in our lives. Wanting to live the dream I guess. Maybe if I kept them it might come true. But it's time to let them be part of someone else's dream. And it worked perfectly for them. They were so extremely happy and grateful. It made me happy. And then I cried. The bittersweet tears caught me off-guard. I let them flow. Squared my shoulders. Life goes on.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Monday, June 29, 2009
This Is The Way We Start The Week... (sing to Here We Go Round The Mulberry Bush)
We had the most gorgeous sunset tonight.
Monday laundry. Pick up and clean up from the weekend. Water. Run a few errands. Christine's dental cleaning. HOT and humid. Plumber here to install new hose and gap stop for the dishwasher and to put the gas valve on correctly for the BBQ.
I started and finished putting away all my grandmother's floss. Instead of sorting them by J. and P. Coats number, I organized them by color groups. There is so much floss I will never be able to use it all in my lifetime. Any cousins out there who might like to take up embroidery and have some of her floss to do it with???? The colors are quite random. She never used a consistent theme in her stitching. She put different color combinations together. She did this same color thing in her potholders and aphgans too.
Duff, Mike, Adrianne, Josh, Robert, and Christine all went to see Transformers for FHE at 5pm. Meredith, Natalie, and I had no interest in seeing it (Mere already did), so we stayed home, made brownies, chatted, and watched Confessions of a Shopaholic. Funny movie. When everyone else got back we had pizza for dinner. Everyone scattered before too long. Work and school come early in the morning. Shaun flew in at 10 and Duff and Chris went to pick him up.
We watched an interview about Michael Jackson. I guess I just always wanted to believe he was as strong and confident in his private life as he was on stage and in video. It seems his life was like a pendulum--from one opposite to another. I have always and will continue to LOVE his music. He had a gift. I've been singing his songs in my head for several days now. Funny me.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
A Sweet Discovery
While I was going through my storage box that had all my own DMC embroidery floss through it, I came across a very old shoe box. I had completely forgotten about it. My grandmother, Minnie, gave it to me a few years before she passed away. Duff and I would go out to Yucaipa the 1st Saturday of every month and clean her mobile home, do all her bills, and I would get her out and take her to do grocery shopping. One Saturday she took me over to an end table in her living room and opened the bottom drawer. In it was all her embroidery supplies and some fine crochet stuff. 
She had written 'yarn' on it in her unique penmanship.
Here is the old, faded box.
Remember this? I grew up on these slippers. Everyone in my extended family wore them. Eski-Mox in hot pink. They were fluffy and could actually dust the floor where you walked. Kind of like a hairy Chewbaca from Star Wars. Haha! The Broadway was our favorite department store. Mamo had small feet and wore a size 6.
She had stuffed her floss in this box for all these years. I can't even begin to count how old these are. And the 'smell' was exactly her home. I don't want to say that there was an odor, but just the fragrance of her. It took me back in less than a blink.
They were so tightly packed that when I turned them out of the box, they stayed together in the shape of the box!
It took me HOURS to separate all of the skeins. About 1/2 a day, actually. But here they are.
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You can tell which colors she preferred by how many there are. When I see these I think of all the times I watched her embroider sitting in her chair or on the couch. She made so many projects. Dish towels, european tablecloths and then she would crochet lace around them. It might sound weird, but I could feel her with me as I was going through all the floss and separating it. It felt happy and good. Peaceful in a way.
All of the floss is vintage J. & P. Coats.
She had written 'yarn' on it in her unique penmanship.
Here is the old, faded box.
Remember this? I grew up on these slippers. Everyone in my extended family wore them. Eski-Mox in hot pink. They were fluffy and could actually dust the floor where you walked. Kind of like a hairy Chewbaca from Star Wars. Haha! The Broadway was our favorite department store. Mamo had small feet and wore a size 6.
She had stuffed her floss in this box for all these years. I can't even begin to count how old these are. And the 'smell' was exactly her home. I don't want to say that there was an odor, but just the fragrance of her. It took me back in less than a blink.
They were so tightly packed that when I turned them out of the box, they stayed together in the shape of the box!
It took me HOURS to separate all of the skeins. About 1/2 a day, actually. But here they are..jpg)
You can tell which colors she preferred by how many there are. When I see these I think of all the times I watched her embroider sitting in her chair or on the couch. She made so many projects. Dish towels, european tablecloths and then she would crochet lace around them. It might sound weird, but I could feel her with me as I was going through all the floss and separating it. It felt happy and good. Peaceful in a way.
All of the floss is vintage J. & P. Coats.It is in perfect condition. Some of them even say, "Boil Proof", whatever that means.
I guess I better start making dish towels. Where do I get good quality flour sack towels? And if anyone needs vintage floss, I've got plenty! I'm going to organize it the same way I did my counted cross stitch DMC floss with the plastic bag system.
What a sweet find.
Sunday Today
I enjoyed the day. Diana R. gave the RS lesson and it was the highlight of church for me. It was so real and thoughtfully done. She sang a bit of a song on prayer a capella and the room fell silent. I had no idea she had such a beautiful singing voice. But all that aside--I've resolved to make some changes in my prayers. It was motivating.
You could smell the roast chicken in the oven the minute we put the garage door up and drove in. The physical side of Sunday 'nourishment'! We changed our clothes as fast as we could and got the rest of dinner done.
Josh, Mere, and JT came by about 12:30. I got really excited thinking they were surprising us and going to come to church with us. No, they had already been to their meetings that started at 9. Shucks. But they wanted to make chocolate chip cookies and didn't have any chocolate chips. So where do you go when you need chocolate chips? Mom's. I always have a years worth of chocolate chips in my freezer. I buy it once a year in bulk and I'm done. Milk chips, semi-sweet chips, mini chips, white chips, butterscotch chips. Duff told them they could take the chips if they brought us back some cookies! So they did this evening. And they just hit the spot to wrap up a nice Sunday.
You could smell the roast chicken in the oven the minute we put the garage door up and drove in. The physical side of Sunday 'nourishment'! We changed our clothes as fast as we could and got the rest of dinner done.
Josh, Mere, and JT came by about 12:30. I got really excited thinking they were surprising us and going to come to church with us. No, they had already been to their meetings that started at 9. Shucks. But they wanted to make chocolate chip cookies and didn't have any chocolate chips. So where do you go when you need chocolate chips? Mom's. I always have a years worth of chocolate chips in my freezer. I buy it once a year in bulk and I'm done. Milk chips, semi-sweet chips, mini chips, white chips, butterscotch chips. Duff told them they could take the chips if they brought us back some cookies! So they did this evening. And they just hit the spot to wrap up a nice Sunday.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Floss Project
Here is one of the things I've been doing today. Re-organizing all my DMC embroidery floss.
Oh, probably 25 years ago, my sister-in-law, Julie gave me an organizing system for my floss for Christmas. I've been using that all these years. But I had out-grown it in some ways and was looking for a way to up date it.
After talking to other sewing/crafters, and gathering information from craft stores, I came to the conclusion that all I needed to do was tweak a couple of things and keep using the plastic bag system that Julie gave me all those years ago. I prefer this because I like my floss to have as few 'bends' in it as possible. It helps to prevent twisting and tangling and knots, and with the bags you just put the skein in and don't have to wind it.
So I bought the large rings, and the new bags with two holes and incorporated my old bags into the new rings by punching another hole in them. The new bags are just a smidge bigger, but it works. I'm always amazed at how things improve over time. When I first started I had to put little Avery labels on the bags to write the floss number on. Now the new double hole bags already have a label on them and you just have to write the # on them. The advantage to the double holes and 2 rings is that the bags stay organized more neatly. If you click on the picture you can see how they go together.
It was so fun to get this reorganized and have a better handle on my floss. Now I know exactly
what I have. Funny thing: I could remember some of the projects by the different flosses. Satisfying memories.
Oh, probably 25 years ago, my sister-in-law, Julie gave me an organizing system for my floss for Christmas. I've been using that all these years. But I had out-grown it in some ways and was looking for a way to up date it.
After talking to other sewing/crafters, and gathering information from craft stores, I came to the conclusion that all I needed to do was tweak a couple of things and keep using the plastic bag system that Julie gave me all those years ago. I prefer this because I like my floss to have as few 'bends' in it as possible. It helps to prevent twisting and tangling and knots, and with the bags you just put the skein in and don't have to wind it.So I bought the large rings, and the new bags with two holes and incorporated my old bags into the new rings by punching another hole in them. The new bags are just a smidge bigger, but it works. I'm always amazed at how things improve over time. When I first started I had to put little Avery labels on the bags to write the floss number on. Now the new double hole bags already have a label on them and you just have to write the # on them. The advantage to the double holes and 2 rings is that the bags stay organized more neatly. If you click on the picture you can see how they go together.
It was so fun to get this reorganized and have a better handle on my floss. Now I know exactly
what I have. Funny thing: I could remember some of the projects by the different flosses. Satisfying memories.
Friday, June 26, 2009
I Love Pasta
For Mother's Day, Mike and Adrianne gave me this beautiful piece of jewelry. It was made with such love. She said, "We figured it had been a long time since you'd had a macaroni necklace!"So true. The 'sass-o-meter' is off the chart!
Lost In...
...Austen. Adrianne, Christine, Natalie enjoying the movie on Adriannie's computer at Auntie's during Josh's graduation weekend.We love our literature, even if it's in movie form!
New Faucet
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Here she is. The new kitchen faucet. I'm not missing the old one at all, old sentimental me. The spout detaches and sprays and has a flow button on it to make it softer if we want it to. It didn't take long to get used to the on/off/hot/cold lever on the side.Welcome to the family! Haha...
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Camper Returns
I picked up Christine mid-morning at the church parking lot. I was the 2nd mom there so it was really fun to watch the leaders cars and trucks pull in all loaded down with girls and gear. I should have brought my camera. Dirty, tired, sunburned, but happy. Chris had a GREAT time. When we were driving out of the parking lot she turned to me and said, " I don't want it to end! I'm kinda sad."
She left her suitcase at the laundry room door and headed up to shower. From then on out all my momentum was out the window and she rested on the couch and I listened to her camp tales. Never got my momentum back. Guess those kinds of day now and then are okay, right?
And then it got sidetracked further with all the phone calls and news of Michael Jackson's death.
Gosh, I've always loved his music. I even centered a talk I gave to the YW back in the early 90's from his song, Man In The Mirror.
Josh stopped by to take a bar practice test. This class is a necessary evil. It is so anticlimactic after graduation. He just wants to be out working.
Shaun took off for Utah. He's meeting up with some friends and doing some studying in the quiet of the cabin. His first session of classes is ending but have overlapped with the new ones that started this week. He is doing WELL.
Mike, finished his first set of block classes as well. All A's is dang good, with one class earning all of the points possible. Congrats, Mike!
Robert is doing much better and was able to go to work today.
She left her suitcase at the laundry room door and headed up to shower. From then on out all my momentum was out the window and she rested on the couch and I listened to her camp tales. Never got my momentum back. Guess those kinds of day now and then are okay, right?
And then it got sidetracked further with all the phone calls and news of Michael Jackson's death.
Gosh, I've always loved his music. I even centered a talk I gave to the YW back in the early 90's from his song, Man In The Mirror.
Josh stopped by to take a bar practice test. This class is a necessary evil. It is so anticlimactic after graduation. He just wants to be out working.
Shaun took off for Utah. He's meeting up with some friends and doing some studying in the quiet of the cabin. His first session of classes is ending but have overlapped with the new ones that started this week. He is doing WELL.
Mike, finished his first set of block classes as well. All A's is dang good, with one class earning all of the points possible. Congrats, Mike!
Robert is doing much better and was able to go to work today.
They Say It Comes In 3's
...people dying, that is. And this week was one of those. Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, and Michael Jackson. Farrah this morning and Michael this afternoon. Ed was 86. Farrah had been battling cancer for 7 years. But Michael was the biggest shock. They say cardiac arrest at 50 years old. They are expediting the autopsy. His personal life was an interesting one, but there is no doubt that his talent and music are legendary. He did it all in the entertainment industry. He was the cutting edge and people copied him. His dancing was amazing. I can sing along to just about any of his hit songs. I still remember where I was when the Thriller video was first aired: at my parent's house for a family get-together on a Sunday afternoon. Mike M. had us all gather around the tv in the family room. It was unforgettable. We danced and sang.
They've all had a struggle. Now they can rest.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Cruising...
Cruising on through the days.
My visiting teachers came today. I am one of those in our ward who has a mother/Laurel daughter companionship. As Kristin gave the lesson, I sat there and realized how grown-up she is now. 2 years ago, she shook like a leaf, was shy, hardly made eye contact. Last week she graduated from high school and is off to college in the fall. She has a quiet confidence now. A deeper spirituality. We have a friendship and sisterhood that goes beyond the fact that I'm old enough to be her mother. I will really miss her coming with her mom for visiting teaching. Tomorrow is her 18th birthday. After they left my house her mom was surprising her with a shopping trip to start gather things for her college apartment. Fun, fun times!
I got a call from Christine this evening. They should have been well on their way home from camp. The call was to let me know they would be staying another night. They had arranged for a canoe trip that was supposed to be approximately 70 minutes. It went for 5 hours! According to Christine, they were all dehydrated, very sunburned, and exhausted. The bishop counseled the leaders to stay and get a good nights sleep and come in the morning. Sounds like good advice.
Duff out for a business dinner, Shaun out with friends, Natalie and Robert watching tv in their room. I'm enjoying a quiet house, at least for a little while!
My visiting teachers came today. I am one of those in our ward who has a mother/Laurel daughter companionship. As Kristin gave the lesson, I sat there and realized how grown-up she is now. 2 years ago, she shook like a leaf, was shy, hardly made eye contact. Last week she graduated from high school and is off to college in the fall. She has a quiet confidence now. A deeper spirituality. We have a friendship and sisterhood that goes beyond the fact that I'm old enough to be her mother. I will really miss her coming with her mom for visiting teaching. Tomorrow is her 18th birthday. After they left my house her mom was surprising her with a shopping trip to start gather things for her college apartment. Fun, fun times!
I got a call from Christine this evening. They should have been well on their way home from camp. The call was to let me know they would be staying another night. They had arranged for a canoe trip that was supposed to be approximately 70 minutes. It went for 5 hours! According to Christine, they were all dehydrated, very sunburned, and exhausted. The bishop counseled the leaders to stay and get a good nights sleep and come in the morning. Sounds like good advice.
Duff out for a business dinner, Shaun out with friends, Natalie and Robert watching tv in their room. I'm enjoying a quiet house, at least for a little while!
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Organized Confusion
It's an interesting time when everybody shows up at once.
Plumber. Put in new faucet in the kitchen. Finally.
Cable. Had to add a new cable from Christine's room through to the bonus room. We have too many splices going on in there so they needed to bring in an additional line.
Cleaners.
Gardener.
It was a crazy several hours keeping it all straight, answering all their questions. We didn't have any water during that time. Boy, do I take running water for granted all the way around!
Mike dropped in. Josh came by. I love that they do that!
Natalie took Robert to the doctor. He has a really bad case of good old fashioned tonsillitis. He is bummed because he has had to miss 2 days of the prelim that HE put together and was going to present. Thank goodness for antibiotics.
We got a call from Christine this afternoon. That was random, because the girls were not allowed to take their cell phones with them to camp and hers is upstairs on her bedside table. I guess another girl smuggled her phone in. Haha! She is GREAT and having a fabulous time. The reason for the phone call: on her way to the boat for some wakeboarding, she dropped her ipod in the river. OUCH. Brother T. has a docking station on his boat for music and they were going to listen to hers this time out. This is her 2nd water disaster with an ipod. The 1st was at Disneyland on Splash Mountain when the boat got drenched. She paid 1/2 to get a new one. The good news is that today she grabbed it asap so it didn't sit in there and soak. While I was talking to her it had some responsive moments, so maybe all is not lost. Here's to hoping it can dry out and be just fine!
It was my night for dinner. I tried something new. I took my lasagne recipe and instead of layering it in the pan, I rolled each piece of pasta with the filling inside. So everyone had their own roll up. I added some spinach to the filling. It was very delicious and a good way to get some more 'green' into the family. Then I fried some zuchinni strips coated with egg and parmesan cheese and panko crumbs. The perfect compliment!
Cleaned out more of Natalie's closet. She found $1000.00 that she had forgotten about! What a windfall for them. We are making good progress on this cleaning/organizing project. We only do a portion of it each day for a certain time period so it doesn't overwhelm us and fools us into thinking we got a lot done and can move on to other things during the day. I read that in a magazine and it seems to be working for us. I 'm hoping we will be done by the end of the week.
Plumber. Put in new faucet in the kitchen. Finally.
Cable. Had to add a new cable from Christine's room through to the bonus room. We have too many splices going on in there so they needed to bring in an additional line.
Cleaners.
Gardener.
It was a crazy several hours keeping it all straight, answering all their questions. We didn't have any water during that time. Boy, do I take running water for granted all the way around!
Mike dropped in. Josh came by. I love that they do that!
Natalie took Robert to the doctor. He has a really bad case of good old fashioned tonsillitis. He is bummed because he has had to miss 2 days of the prelim that HE put together and was going to present. Thank goodness for antibiotics.
We got a call from Christine this afternoon. That was random, because the girls were not allowed to take their cell phones with them to camp and hers is upstairs on her bedside table. I guess another girl smuggled her phone in. Haha! She is GREAT and having a fabulous time. The reason for the phone call: on her way to the boat for some wakeboarding, she dropped her ipod in the river. OUCH. Brother T. has a docking station on his boat for music and they were going to listen to hers this time out. This is her 2nd water disaster with an ipod. The 1st was at Disneyland on Splash Mountain when the boat got drenched. She paid 1/2 to get a new one. The good news is that today she grabbed it asap so it didn't sit in there and soak. While I was talking to her it had some responsive moments, so maybe all is not lost. Here's to hoping it can dry out and be just fine!
It was my night for dinner. I tried something new. I took my lasagne recipe and instead of layering it in the pan, I rolled each piece of pasta with the filling inside. So everyone had their own roll up. I added some spinach to the filling. It was very delicious and a good way to get some more 'green' into the family. Then I fried some zuchinni strips coated with egg and parmesan cheese and panko crumbs. The perfect compliment!
Cleaned out more of Natalie's closet. She found $1000.00 that she had forgotten about! What a windfall for them. We are making good progress on this cleaning/organizing project. We only do a portion of it each day for a certain time period so it doesn't overwhelm us and fools us into thinking we got a lot done and can move on to other things during the day. I read that in a magazine and it seems to be working for us. I 'm hoping we will be done by the end of the week.
Monday, June 22, 2009
Lonngggg Day
I have said before that I am not a morning person. I am a night person. I'd rather stay up very late and sleep in a bit longer. I can be grumpy in the morning. Or at least quite quiet. With that as a preface, I set a goal a few years ago to be chipper when my feet hit the floor first thing. Those first thoughts and interactions can set the tone for the whole day.
So my wake up call today was 4:30am. Christine had to be at the meeting point to leave for YW Girls Camp by 5. That time does NOT work for me. Duff got up first and woke her up. I followed with something to eat and last minute details. I guess my smiling face and cheerfullness (remember my goal...) might have been too much even for her at that time of the day. Wait--day? It was still pitch black outside. Night is what it felt like! Our neighbor picked her up on the way up the street and we went back to bed. That really doesn't work well, either. I just dream weird things when I do that. But do that, we did.
She has great leaders and the camp will be fun. It is a 'ward' camp this year. She will have a really good time and learn a lot too. The one thing that might hamper her enjoyment level will be the sunburn she is still dealing with from her Wild Rivers trip last week. Her shoulders are still pretty pink. But she took a lot of tshirts and she will probably need to use them while in the boats, tubing down the river, etc.
Monday means laundry. But it's done now until Thursday. Robert is fighting a sore throat and missed work. Talked food storage with my dad for about an hour. He is on fire with emergency prep right now. When Natalie was 'off the clock' this afternoon she and I went through her old bedroom closet and got a good start on her pre-marriage things. A bunch of clothes, shoes, and purses. She did this a year ago before the wedding, but somehow in our human nature we hang on to things we are just sure we will want/need/use later on and never do. Tomorrow we will begin to tackle all the miscellaneous things of which there is a lifetime to go through. She and I seem to be on the same clean out/purging page right now. I felt so liberated when we packed up all those things yesterday and got them out of the house.
Shaun warmed up leftovers for dinner. He gets to do that often. Ahhh, I get it now. That's probably why he picked Monday for his dinner night! Makes it easy. My house is FULL of guys upstairs right now watching movies, playing video games and having a good time. It's midnight so I'm going to attempt to go to bed. Who knows when they will leave. I'm glad they all get along and have fun together.
So my wake up call today was 4:30am. Christine had to be at the meeting point to leave for YW Girls Camp by 5. That time does NOT work for me. Duff got up first and woke her up. I followed with something to eat and last minute details. I guess my smiling face and cheerfullness (remember my goal...) might have been too much even for her at that time of the day. Wait--day? It was still pitch black outside. Night is what it felt like! Our neighbor picked her up on the way up the street and we went back to bed. That really doesn't work well, either. I just dream weird things when I do that. But do that, we did.
She has great leaders and the camp will be fun. It is a 'ward' camp this year. She will have a really good time and learn a lot too. The one thing that might hamper her enjoyment level will be the sunburn she is still dealing with from her Wild Rivers trip last week. Her shoulders are still pretty pink. But she took a lot of tshirts and she will probably need to use them while in the boats, tubing down the river, etc.
Monday means laundry. But it's done now until Thursday. Robert is fighting a sore throat and missed work. Talked food storage with my dad for about an hour. He is on fire with emergency prep right now. When Natalie was 'off the clock' this afternoon she and I went through her old bedroom closet and got a good start on her pre-marriage things. A bunch of clothes, shoes, and purses. She did this a year ago before the wedding, but somehow in our human nature we hang on to things we are just sure we will want/need/use later on and never do. Tomorrow we will begin to tackle all the miscellaneous things of which there is a lifetime to go through. She and I seem to be on the same clean out/purging page right now. I felt so liberated when we packed up all those things yesterday and got them out of the house.
Shaun warmed up leftovers for dinner. He gets to do that often. Ahhh, I get it now. That's probably why he picked Monday for his dinner night! Makes it easy. My house is FULL of guys upstairs right now watching movies, playing video games and having a good time. It's midnight so I'm going to attempt to go to bed. Who knows when they will leave. I'm glad they all get along and have fun together.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Father's Day Part I
We celebrated Father's Day today instead of tomorrow. This way the married kids can all spend it with their in-laws this year and with us next year. Duff wanted to just have a simple BBQ with hamburgers and hot dogs. Sounds good to me and is a good Saturday dinner..jpg)
Duff cooking with his 'new' BBQ grill. Yes, we broke down and bought a new one. The bottom fell out of the old one! Okay, it IS 15 years old, and we use it year round. We just got the same kind as before only stainless steel this time instead of the cast iron.
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Duff cooking with his 'new' BBQ grill. Yes, we broke down and bought a new one. The bottom fell out of the old one! Okay, it IS 15 years old, and we use it year round. We just got the same kind as before only stainless steel this time instead of the cast iron.
I'm learning new things. We haven't lived close to family for a long time, so I'm used to doing it ALL for a family holiday/event. But I have very capable daughters and daughters-in-law, and it dawned on me that I could and should delegate now. Look what a great job they do! Meredith and Josh were in charge of the produce for the burgers. Beautiful tray!
Adrianne and Mike had the fresh fruit salad assignment. It was sooo good, and don't you just want to pluck out a piece of juicy fruit right now?
Natalie and Robert brought the buns and chips. So all I had to do was the burgers and dogs, baked beans (which Duff had requested), and dessert. He always asks for Chocolate Eclair Cake. Easy and done 1st thing in the morning.With everyone bringing their assignments, it made the day for me really easy. I quite enjoyed it and loved seeing the gals shine domestically.
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Christine was off to a birthday party for 4 of her friends who are turning 16. The moms got together and planned a murder mystery party. It was about a high school homecoming dance, so the kids needed to 'dress up'. Christine's character assignment was to be the Hall Monitor and a Mathlete. The party was a success and everyone loved it.She borrowed a gown from the Peterson's and Meredith did her hair. She looked beautiful.
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The back of her hair. She got a lot of compliments.
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The back of her hair. She got a lot of compliments.The rest of us watched Night at the Museum while the guys did some WarCraft.
It was a little different to celebrate the day before, but it turned out nice all the way around. We will have one of Duff's favorites for Sunday dinner tomorrow: Pepper Steak. And a bit more of a relaxed day. It works.
Friday, June 19, 2009
They're Getting Married!
Woohoo! CONGRATULATION MEGAN AND DAN on your engagement last night! Spring wedding coming up....
I want DETAILS, girl!!!
I want DETAILS, girl!!!
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Our Friendly Sun
Our little morning birdie friends were back again today. I've been leaving some bread crumbs in the empty pot. A pretty bird that is very blue but I don't think is a Bluebird, came and would eat a couple for himself, and then load his beak up and fly away. 10 minutes later he would carefully come back and repeat the pattern. He did this until all the little torn pieces were gone. I'll be sure to leave some more tomorrow.
Christine is OFFICIALLY a high school freshman! She has all different emotions about it. On the one hand she is really excited and soooo ready to be out of middle school. But on the other hand she is nervous and a little scared. I remember feeling the same way. She had a GREAT time at Wild Rivers today and learned a very valueable lesson: One must reapply sunscreen if you are going to be outside all day in the water and you can't miss any places not covered by a swim suit. She has that sunburn 'chill' which is the body's way of telling you "Hey. What happened here?"
I grew up 'back in the day' when you invited the sun to burn you all over. Living near the beach, we baby-oiled and layed out to fry like an egg. We listened to KHJ radio station on our transistor radios and they even had a 'turn over' reminder every 30 minutes for those of us at the beach. It resulted in a deep brown tan that might question one's ethnicity or parentage! And I tanned well. I had a white swim suit with navy blue polka dots one year and a hot pink terry cloth one another year, and a powder blue with white print the next. And those showed off my tanning art very well.
Now, many years later, we understand the damage the sun inflicts on our skin. We can get tan from booths, sprays, lotions, and many skin care products now have a sun screen as part of their compostition.
So, Miss Chrissy will be hurting tomorrow. I wonder how much she'll peel....
[I got the laundry all done. Cleaned out a closet shelf that had a bunch of my embroidery craft things. I organized it all on Natalie's old bed and discovered a few more projects not in kits that I had forgotten about. It was fun to go through it all and be excited and also remininsce. I'd forgotten how much I enjoy needlework. I have taken over parts of her closet for some of my hobbies. It's the closest thing I have to a craft room. I've been working on 4th of July plans. Duff had quite a honey-do list, but he has crossed off just about everything in one stage or another. We have some new toilet seats.We have desperately been needing some new felt pads on all the cupboard doors and drawers and all the down stairs units are done; upstairs tomorrow. They sure make a difference. Much quieter. We've got a few screens with holes to be fixed. Check. The BBQ needs a new grate underneath. Check. We should really get a new one. It's 15 years old and when you use it year round at least once or twice a week over time it just plain wears out. So, what a good day!
Christine is OFFICIALLY a high school freshman! She has all different emotions about it. On the one hand she is really excited and soooo ready to be out of middle school. But on the other hand she is nervous and a little scared. I remember feeling the same way. She had a GREAT time at Wild Rivers today and learned a very valueable lesson: One must reapply sunscreen if you are going to be outside all day in the water and you can't miss any places not covered by a swim suit. She has that sunburn 'chill' which is the body's way of telling you "Hey. What happened here?"
I grew up 'back in the day' when you invited the sun to burn you all over. Living near the beach, we baby-oiled and layed out to fry like an egg. We listened to KHJ radio station on our transistor radios and they even had a 'turn over' reminder every 30 minutes for those of us at the beach. It resulted in a deep brown tan that might question one's ethnicity or parentage! And I tanned well. I had a white swim suit with navy blue polka dots one year and a hot pink terry cloth one another year, and a powder blue with white print the next. And those showed off my tanning art very well.
Now, many years later, we understand the damage the sun inflicts on our skin. We can get tan from booths, sprays, lotions, and many skin care products now have a sun screen as part of their compostition.
So, Miss Chrissy will be hurting tomorrow. I wonder how much she'll peel....
[I got the laundry all done. Cleaned out a closet shelf that had a bunch of my embroidery craft things. I organized it all on Natalie's old bed and discovered a few more projects not in kits that I had forgotten about. It was fun to go through it all and be excited and also remininsce. I'd forgotten how much I enjoy needlework. I have taken over parts of her closet for some of my hobbies. It's the closest thing I have to a craft room. I've been working on 4th of July plans. Duff had quite a honey-do list, but he has crossed off just about everything in one stage or another. We have some new toilet seats.We have desperately been needing some new felt pads on all the cupboard doors and drawers and all the down stairs units are done; upstairs tomorrow. They sure make a difference. Much quieter. We've got a few screens with holes to be fixed. Check. The BBQ needs a new grate underneath. Check. We should really get a new one. It's 15 years old and when you use it year round at least once or twice a week over time it just plain wears out. So, what a good day!
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Mid-week.
Summer vacation is just about upon us! Tomorrow is the last day for Christine. Shaun goes through the summer months, but that is college and what he is doing so he can graduate next spring. I'm so excited for school to be out. The summer will go by really fast and come August I'll be ready for the routine again, but for how--hip, hip, hooray for sleep in days, lazy-ness, books, bbq's, the cabin, beach, pool, and whatever we want.
We pulled the peas out of the garden. They are done. Gosh, they were good. Beans are on. We've picked yellow squash earlier this week. We have so many cucumbers I hope the vines can hold them as they mature. And we are waiting with baited breath for the tomatoes to ripen.
Tonight was an open house at the park for the graduating seniors in the ward. It's always held during the last week of school in the evening. It's really a nice thing. Graduation cake, senior pics of each graduate, some tidbits to eat, lots of visiting and congratulations. Optional: a contribution to a group gift for each one. A mom of a next year graduate usually heads that up. Usually items to go away to college with/ military with/or whatever their plans are.
I finished 2 more cross-stitch kits/packets. Only 2 more to go and I'm done with those and on to some more unfinished projects. I've really been enjoying the feeling of getting these 'stuck in the closet' things done. It FEELS good. I find I'm liking going through a few drawers or part of a closet and purging, simplifying. Putting things in order. Now the trick is keeping them that way!
We pulled the peas out of the garden. They are done. Gosh, they were good. Beans are on. We've picked yellow squash earlier this week. We have so many cucumbers I hope the vines can hold them as they mature. And we are waiting with baited breath for the tomatoes to ripen.
Tonight was an open house at the park for the graduating seniors in the ward. It's always held during the last week of school in the evening. It's really a nice thing. Graduation cake, senior pics of each graduate, some tidbits to eat, lots of visiting and congratulations. Optional: a contribution to a group gift for each one. A mom of a next year graduate usually heads that up. Usually items to go away to college with/ military with/or whatever their plans are.
I finished 2 more cross-stitch kits/packets. Only 2 more to go and I'm done with those and on to some more unfinished projects. I've really been enjoying the feeling of getting these 'stuck in the closet' things done. It FEELS good. I find I'm liking going through a few drawers or part of a closet and purging, simplifying. Putting things in order. Now the trick is keeping them that way!
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
...it's just another day....
Well, I made it through the dentist. I always do, but, you know. It's the lead up. I only took 1/2 my pre-dental meds. But I didn't realize that my kids have never seen me 'medicated'. My appointments are always during the day when they are gone. So when I got home, Natalie was shocked and laughing. Her eyes were wide! Then Shaun got home from school and came in to eat lunch. He took one look at me and said in typical Shaun fashion, "What the heck is wrong with you!" I had called my sister during this time and left a message on her voicemail. Apparently it was so funny her co-workers had a good laugh when she played it for them. But oh, thank goodness for these meds and sonicare toothbrushes.
I spent the rest of the morning and afternoon cross stitching on the couch until they wore off and then I was good. Christine's 5th period social science class had a class party at one of the student's homes and she took a Texas Sheet Cake that Natalie graciously made for her. It was a fun party signing year books, eating, and swimming.
I made a good German dinner of fried potatoes and onions with kielbasa and a big pot of delicious green beans from the garden. They are unbelieveably GOOD! Talked with my mom today and Lisa. Always nice to connect with them. Meredith stopped by.
And we got one of the phone calls we'd been waiting for: Adrianne's sister had her baby this morning! A sweet little girl. Alisa's been on bed rest for the last 3 months because of pre-term labor. But the wee one is finally here and all is well!
p.s. my knee is much better.
p.p.s. Natalie is feeling the baby move all the time now.
I spent the rest of the morning and afternoon cross stitching on the couch until they wore off and then I was good. Christine's 5th period social science class had a class party at one of the student's homes and she took a Texas Sheet Cake that Natalie graciously made for her. It was a fun party signing year books, eating, and swimming.
I made a good German dinner of fried potatoes and onions with kielbasa and a big pot of delicious green beans from the garden. They are unbelieveably GOOD! Talked with my mom today and Lisa. Always nice to connect with them. Meredith stopped by.
And we got one of the phone calls we'd been waiting for: Adrianne's sister had her baby this morning! A sweet little girl. Alisa's been on bed rest for the last 3 months because of pre-term labor. But the wee one is finally here and all is well!
p.s. my knee is much better.
p.p.s. Natalie is feeling the baby move all the time now.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Oh, What A Beautiful Monday
You gotta love Mondays. I do. On Mondays I feel fresh. New day. New week. New start. So many things to look forward to.
All of Christine's books are turned in. It's 4 days of year book signing and partying. They have a big 8th grade trip on Thursday planned. Shaun is in the middle of mid-terms and is major busy studying, but is doing really well. You can't complain about straight A's in college.
All of Christine's books are turned in. It's 4 days of year book signing and partying. They have a big 8th grade trip on Thursday planned. Shaun is in the middle of mid-terms and is major busy studying, but is doing really well. You can't complain about straight A's in college.
- Clean-up, pick-up from the weekend.
- Laundry
- Dry cleaning
- Cross-stitching. I must finish all my unfinished projects before I can start anything new...
- Pick up Duff and Christine's pants from getting hemmed.
- Made house payment
- Picked up surprise for Chris. (I had her cross-stitch sampler from her Valiant 10, 11 years framed. She was 10years old when she did it, and it turned out darling. "I Will Follow God's Plan For Me". I let her completely decide how to stitch it. She chose a different color for EACH word, and flower, and curly-cue. So it was hard to decide how to have it matted. But I think it turned out fabulously. Picture to follow once the surprise is over...)
- Sprained my left knee. The kitchen floor had just been mopped and I forgot how wet it was. I slipped with my right foot while my left stayed planted and my body twisted. Yeah. I walked it off, but by this evening it was not so good. Once I would walk on it for a while it was fine. It was the getting up and down that was the hard part.
- Met up with Josh and Mere, JT, Erik, Richard at Regal for FHE. We saw the new movie, UP. It is awesome. Great message. I would buy this one when it comes out for the viewing library.
- When we got home I had a message from the DENTIST, reminding me about my appointment tomorrow morning at 9am. NOOOOO. I didn't even remember I had one. At least I have less than 12 hours to worry about it, and most of those I will be sleeping.
- Hope my knee is better in the morning.
Happy Birthday 'Jacer Bodine!'
We're glad it's your birthday, dear Jacer!
Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday to you.
We'll sing you a song for your birthday--
"Happy Birthday, Happy Birthday To YOU"!
Have a great day, Jack. Love you!
Sunday, June 14, 2009
June Sunday
Shaun gave a good lesson in the EQ. He was nervous and took it very seriously. Public things like this are hard for him, and he did it. Even when he turned to us during a very difficult 'time' before class and told us he didn't think given the immediate circumstances he could go through with it he reached down deep inside and given his heavenward pleas for help and strength and our family's as well (knowing what was effecting him, and today of all days when he was asked to teach the lesson) he accomplished what was asked of him.
There were several women who left after, including myself. In my haste to get to church on time I forgot to cover the chicken that would surely be burnt at the end of 3 hours so I went home to cover it and returned. As I watched them leave downtrodded, my heart groaned for them. I've been there, sometimes I'm still there like today, and sometimes the scabs hold strong. I couldn't help but ponder on what their evenings would be like later on. You know, we moms set the tone for the home....and these things effect the whole family. I completely understand their emotion. I have lived it too. Some wounds are deeper than most can realize unless you've been through them.
I just wonder sometimes if these presentations and the rhetoric could be tweaked. Not eliminated. They are important. But just tweaked so that those who stand in need of comfort could be comforted and burdens helped to be lighter. When it takes everything you have to get there you don't need to be cut off at the knees right from the start.
We had a nice dinner. Robert's brother's baby was born. A healthy boy. Janae is really sick and her car broke down again. Grandma and Grandpa are going over tomorrow to see how they can help her. Christine's last week of 8th grade starts tomorrow. Oh, boy. High school here we come!
There were several women who left after, including myself. In my haste to get to church on time I forgot to cover the chicken that would surely be burnt at the end of 3 hours so I went home to cover it and returned. As I watched them leave downtrodded, my heart groaned for them. I've been there, sometimes I'm still there like today, and sometimes the scabs hold strong. I couldn't help but ponder on what their evenings would be like later on. You know, we moms set the tone for the home....and these things effect the whole family. I completely understand their emotion. I have lived it too. Some wounds are deeper than most can realize unless you've been through them.
I just wonder sometimes if these presentations and the rhetoric could be tweaked. Not eliminated. They are important. But just tweaked so that those who stand in need of comfort could be comforted and burdens helped to be lighter. When it takes everything you have to get there you don't need to be cut off at the knees right from the start.
We had a nice dinner. Robert's brother's baby was born. A healthy boy. Janae is really sick and her car broke down again. Grandma and Grandpa are going over tomorrow to see how they can help her. Christine's last week of 8th grade starts tomorrow. Oh, boy. High school here we come!
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Steady Stream of Saturday Things
Duff and Natalie come home tonight. This is good. Robert is homesick for his wifey. He's been a little quiet, not hungry, not sleeping well. Yesterday I finally asked him if he was homesick. He said, "Is that what's wrong with me?" Yeah, I think so!
They've been in Utah for Nats OB appt. She has a Dr. there who she's seen in the first part of her pregnancy and who she will see the last part and do the delivery. She needed one while they are here for the summer. Sometime between when she made her appointment here and when they went for the actual appointment, the Dr. doesn't take their insurance anymore. So they would see her for $1600 for the initial visit and who knows what the price would be for the other 2. She was devastated.
Once they got home here, Robert got her all calmed down, and made a flipant comment that for that kind of money they could fly her back and forth to Utah for a whole pregnancy! The kitchen went quiet as it sunk in and registered that that is exactly the solution. He had to work, and I was up to my neck with end of school things with Christine, so her sweet dad graciously went with her, and that is what she did.
They flew up early on Thursday morning for an 11:30am appointment, which they would have made in perfect time, EXCEPT that all flights into SLC were grounded because of the thunder and lightening storms. So they sat on the runway here for 90 minutes before they got the go-ahead. She changed her appointment to Monday, and then later got a call from the Dr. himself that he would come in on his day off Friday morning and see her first thing. How nice was that? All is well, and even though it is early in the game, he did an ultrasound and 'thinks' it might be a boy, but the cord was between the legs so he won't say for sure and will do another ultrasound next month. However the heartbeat was pretty high, so who knows? All that matters is a healthy bambino!
Today, it's just been one steady thing after another:
Pick up Chris from her friends after the sleep over. (Which I agree with Jenn--sleep over is an oxymoron. Who sleeps at those?) Clean up the kitchen, fold laundry that I'm behind on, water and pick the garden, Josh came by after class, Mere came over later to pick up Chris to go swim at her parents since they had heated the pool today, they also went to Golden Spoon--Christine's treat--as her thank you for all the help with her hair and make-up. Grocery shop for the next week, which almost always includes seeing lots of people I know and having to visit, of course! Making the list for that shopping, which consists of pinning everyone down for their menu for their day of the week for dinner and making sure it 'fits' so we aren't duplicating or having a different form of pasta each day. Aaron Brothers has been having amazing sales on frames, framing, supplies; just about everything in the whole dang store. Coupons galore in the mail and online. So I went over there and got a frame for a poster of the Sacred Grove that Christine has in her room. 16 X 20 frame at 50% off = $14.00. Poster from distribution center = $4.99. Looks dang awesome. The penny sale is at the end of the month. (The 1 cent sale. Buy one frame get the next for a penny.) I have a stack of things to be framed for various children. I'm thinking maybe some Christmas gifts.....?????
Unload groceries, which Josh and Shaun helped with, wipe out and go through the fridge, put it all away. Take Christine to Sarah's so they can get ready for the dance. Make dinner. Go back and take the girls to the dance since Sarah's parents were out for their anniversary. Try and stay awake to bring the girls home from the dance, which I didn't do successfully, so Duff went. Thanks, dear.
And now I'm off to bed for real.
They've been in Utah for Nats OB appt. She has a Dr. there who she's seen in the first part of her pregnancy and who she will see the last part and do the delivery. She needed one while they are here for the summer. Sometime between when she made her appointment here and when they went for the actual appointment, the Dr. doesn't take their insurance anymore. So they would see her for $1600 for the initial visit and who knows what the price would be for the other 2. She was devastated.
Once they got home here, Robert got her all calmed down, and made a flipant comment that for that kind of money they could fly her back and forth to Utah for a whole pregnancy! The kitchen went quiet as it sunk in and registered that that is exactly the solution. He had to work, and I was up to my neck with end of school things with Christine, so her sweet dad graciously went with her, and that is what she did.
They flew up early on Thursday morning for an 11:30am appointment, which they would have made in perfect time, EXCEPT that all flights into SLC were grounded because of the thunder and lightening storms. So they sat on the runway here for 90 minutes before they got the go-ahead. She changed her appointment to Monday, and then later got a call from the Dr. himself that he would come in on his day off Friday morning and see her first thing. How nice was that? All is well, and even though it is early in the game, he did an ultrasound and 'thinks' it might be a boy, but the cord was between the legs so he won't say for sure and will do another ultrasound next month. However the heartbeat was pretty high, so who knows? All that matters is a healthy bambino!
Today, it's just been one steady thing after another:
Pick up Chris from her friends after the sleep over. (Which I agree with Jenn--sleep over is an oxymoron. Who sleeps at those?) Clean up the kitchen, fold laundry that I'm behind on, water and pick the garden, Josh came by after class, Mere came over later to pick up Chris to go swim at her parents since they had heated the pool today, they also went to Golden Spoon--Christine's treat--as her thank you for all the help with her hair and make-up. Grocery shop for the next week, which almost always includes seeing lots of people I know and having to visit, of course! Making the list for that shopping, which consists of pinning everyone down for their menu for their day of the week for dinner and making sure it 'fits' so we aren't duplicating or having a different form of pasta each day. Aaron Brothers has been having amazing sales on frames, framing, supplies; just about everything in the whole dang store. Coupons galore in the mail and online. So I went over there and got a frame for a poster of the Sacred Grove that Christine has in her room. 16 X 20 frame at 50% off = $14.00. Poster from distribution center = $4.99. Looks dang awesome. The penny sale is at the end of the month. (The 1 cent sale. Buy one frame get the next for a penny.) I have a stack of things to be framed for various children. I'm thinking maybe some Christmas gifts.....?????
Unload groceries, which Josh and Shaun helped with, wipe out and go through the fridge, put it all away. Take Christine to Sarah's so they can get ready for the dance. Make dinner. Go back and take the girls to the dance since Sarah's parents were out for their anniversary. Try and stay awake to bring the girls home from the dance, which I didn't do successfully, so Duff went. Thanks, dear.
And now I'm off to bed for real.
Friday, June 12, 2009
8th Grade Graduation
Tonight is Christine's 8th grade graduation dance.
ASIAN NIGHTS
June 12, 2009
6:30-9:30pm
MPR
(Click on the pictures to enlarge)
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Meredith came over and helped her with her hair and make-up. Thanks, Mere. Necklace and earrings are her graduation present from Duff and I..jpg)
Doesn't she look pretty as a picture? It took some searching (another post at another time), but we finally found a modest, age appropriate dress, and she looked and felt beautiful. Robert said we're gonna have to beat the boys away with a stick. Shaun thought she looked awesome. Josh was like: When did she grow up? When she got home from school, she was bouncing down the stairs with a wide grin and said, "Mom. I'm so excited!" Yeah. She should be. This is a milestone and one of those once in a lifetime events.
With friends just before going in to the multi-purpose room. Ashley, far left, and Chelsea in the pink. Two good bff's.
Yes, Chris is tall. I think you're gonna have a really good time ladies! See you at 9:30.Choose the right. Be kind. I love you.
(What I always say to my kids when they leave the house.)
It Was A REAL Carnival!
Okay. I just have to post about this.
After I dropped Christine off at the dance at the school, I headed over to a wedding reception. It was being held at the bride's home. When we got the invitation, it was not your typical invite. The colors were very contemporary--tiffany blue, pink, and red. And it had a carnival theme to it with a ticket inside. Their pictures were on a strip that you would get from a photo booth. Very unique and cute. Just looking at it and reading it you could 'feel' FUN.
Immediately I thought: This is SO Paige (the bride)! And if anyone can pull it off, it's Marilyn (the mother of the bride)!
It is one of the best wedding receptions I have ever been to. The receiving line was across the front porch which then led to a pathway to the back yard. They had a real photo booth. You could throw the pingpong ball in and win a gold fish booth. An old-fashioned carnival candy booth. An ice cream station where you picked 2 of your favorite Costco cookies; the server put a big scoop of vanilla ice cream between them, you smoosh them together and then pick a topping to roll the edges in. Beverage station with lots of different kinds of lemonades. A cotton candy machine with yummy blue-raspberry flavored cotton candy.
The dinner: 2 stations of huge grills with hamburgers and foot long hotdogs, a huge everything- you-can-imagine-in-a green salad station, fruit display to eat, and a station with all the condiments: lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, red onions, and then large bowls of snack pack assorted chips. Mustard, mayo, ketchup, pickle relish. We ate out of red and white paper baskets with red tissue in them.
The cake: adorable and delicious! With all the layers different and decorated in the unique colors. The bottom layer was FUN-FETTI! (Thank you Paige for buttercream frosting that was so well done it just looked like fondant.)
Table centerpieces: 4 different colored wheels of 'tickets' stacked in the center with clay pots on top of them that had been painted white with red rims with every kind of white wedding flower spilling out accented with a few red and pink ones. Tiffany blue cloths and red napkins with old fashioned, hand pulled, red and white peppermint pinwheel suckers at each place setting. Votive candles in mason canning jars of every size with red ribbon around the tops.
Oh. And no carnival is complete without a FERRIS WHEEL. Yes, a real, true, honest-to-goodness, light up ferris wheel. There was a genuine ticket booth too. And for the gifts, an old fashioned car with the top down in the driveway with the presents inside on the seats and around the bottom.
Can you just imagine all the cute, unique pictures they will have from their wedding reception?!
Smart m.o.b. Pretty, silver, flat sandals for the feet!
Paige, it was everything you wished for, and Marilyn, you pulled it off brilliantly. It was the classiest carnival I've ever been to. Thanks for the great party!
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE BRIDE AND GROOM!
MAY ALL YOUR DREAMS COME TRUE...
Television Change
Today is the day that marks the final signoff for analog television. TV stations across the country started cutting their analog signals this morning making the final signoff for a 60 year old technology. The end of an era. Now it is all cable or satellite--digital you see.
I've seen a lot of changes in television in my lifetime so far. I remember going with my family to buy our first tv. It was very exciting. It was small, silver, and on a tv stand with small wheels so it could be rolled where you wanted it. It was black and white. There was no such thing as a color television 'back then'. I thought we were the coolest family ever! I remember my dad getting up on the roof from time to time to adjust the antenna which was so much better than the 'rabbit ears' inside the house. I remember my mom watching the Merv Griffin show on that television. We couldn't wait for 7pm on a Friday night to watch the Daniel Boone show with Fess Parker. I can still sing the theme song! No one had more than one tv in their home. It just wasn't necessary in the 'olden days'.
Then we had color tvs. Now we have flat screens and high definition and plasma. Pretty amazing.
I've seen a lot of changes in television in my lifetime so far. I remember going with my family to buy our first tv. It was very exciting. It was small, silver, and on a tv stand with small wheels so it could be rolled where you wanted it. It was black and white. There was no such thing as a color television 'back then'. I thought we were the coolest family ever! I remember my dad getting up on the roof from time to time to adjust the antenna which was so much better than the 'rabbit ears' inside the house. I remember my mom watching the Merv Griffin show on that television. We couldn't wait for 7pm on a Friday night to watch the Daniel Boone show with Fess Parker. I can still sing the theme song! No one had more than one tv in their home. It just wasn't necessary in the 'olden days'.
Then we had color tvs. Now we have flat screens and high definition and plasma. Pretty amazing.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Happy Belated Birthday DARLA!
Darla is 10! Her birthday is June 2, 1999. Where did the time go? On one hand it seems like we just got her last week, and on the other that she has been with us forever. She is an important square in our family quilt. This wee one doesn't know she is a dog. She really sees herself as a hairy human, and we're okay with that!
I marvel sometimes at God's wisdom. We are his children, but she is one of his creations. How did He know? How did He know we would need them. That they would offer so much in rounding out our lives. That they lower blood pressure. Love so unconditionally. Listen so intently, saving us lots of money for therapy! She is always happy to see us, even if it's only been a quick trip to the grocery store. She never wants to be left behind. She's even gone as far as to get inside a suitcase or dufflebag to let us know she has no intention of not going along!
I marvel sometimes at God's wisdom. We are his children, but she is one of his creations. How did He know? How did He know we would need them. That they would offer so much in rounding out our lives. That they lower blood pressure. Love so unconditionally. Listen so intently, saving us lots of money for therapy! She is always happy to see us, even if it's only been a quick trip to the grocery store. She never wants to be left behind. She's even gone as far as to get inside a suitcase or dufflebag to let us know she has no intention of not going along!
Darla is a loyal, faithful companion. She watches out for me. She follows me around ALL day, just in case she is needed for something--anything. She has her favorite places in every room of the house that she goes to while she patiently waits for me to finish doing whatever it is I'm doing.All she asks for in return is to be loved, petted, a cup of water and 1/2 a cup of kibble each day. Even after 10 years she feels very strongly that it is one of her 'duties' to let any and everyone who comes to the door know that nobody better mess with her family. As if all 8 pounds of her could take on the UPS man! But the instant I let a visitor in the door, she is immediately pestering them to make friends. This tiny sweetheart is the alpha with Golden Retrievers, Rottweilers, and any animal larger than her. But can't catch a backyard bird for nothin', even though she tries with all her might.
She sleeps through earthquakes, but is terrified of thunder storms. Tiptoes on wet or dewey grass. Such a princess. Loves to lay in front of the fireplace and soak up the warmth of a fire. Thinks every blanket or throw is hers. When she smiles she shows her teeth and it is such a funny sight to see how truly happy she is.
She is obedient. She is SMART. She knows when we are getting ready to go somewhere that she can't beg to go with us to. So she'll go into the laundry room, open the door to her kennel and lay down patiently waiting for us to come and lock her in. She is really good at giving us that 'whites of the eye' look that says, "How dare you leave me. Don't you feel guilty?" and it tugs at our hearts. Yes, she is smart.
She has scared the heck out of us by hiding under beds on occasion when she really doesn't want to be left alone, and is smart enough to not answer when repeatedly being called. Little stinker!
But look at that face. Just look at it!
And so, Happy Birthday to You, Darla-Doo.
We love you so much. Thanks for the love in return.
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Blah...
I just had a real hard time getting going today. The phone rang at 2am and it was Josh letting us know that Meredith had taken her mom to the ER. Patti was in a lot of pain. Then he called again at 7 to let me know they needed me to come and be with JT and Kristen's baby (who they are watching while they move after Brent's graduation) so he and Erik could go to school, and Megan to work. I quickly got ready and was in full 'mode' in a jiffy and out the door. On my way there I heard from Mere to say that they were on their way home. Yucky kidney stones for Patti, but she is just fine and on the mend.
I got Christine out the door, and forgot to fill out all her paperwork for all the graduation activities this week and next. I got those done, and Duff took them down to the school. We had a great surprise when JT, Mere, Logan, and Megan walked in the front door! They brought cinnamon rolls with them and stayed for a while so Patti could get some rest. They were going to run some other errands on their way home. It's wonderful to have them so close now and just be able to drop in. We hadn't seen Megan for a while and it was splendid to catch up with her. She is just glowing and has happy things on the horizon.
After that, I kind of lost my steam. I got a few things accomplished, but not what I had thought I would. I guess some days just go like that. I did organize the pictures on my computer. Natalie walked me through some things and then I 'got' it. I had no idea it takes so much time!
I had Christine make a new recipe for dinner. It was pretty good, but I would tweak some things the next time. We had the marriage class again tonight. It was a really good lesson on communication with some great material. We had some things to practice, and I guess it doesn't matter how long/short or how good/bad your marriage is, there are always ways to improve your communication and we learned a lot about some of them tonight.
Shaun is off with friends at a bonfire, so I will leave the lights on and he can do the final lock up when he gets home.
I got Christine out the door, and forgot to fill out all her paperwork for all the graduation activities this week and next. I got those done, and Duff took them down to the school. We had a great surprise when JT, Mere, Logan, and Megan walked in the front door! They brought cinnamon rolls with them and stayed for a while so Patti could get some rest. They were going to run some other errands on their way home. It's wonderful to have them so close now and just be able to drop in. We hadn't seen Megan for a while and it was splendid to catch up with her. She is just glowing and has happy things on the horizon.
After that, I kind of lost my steam. I got a few things accomplished, but not what I had thought I would. I guess some days just go like that. I did organize the pictures on my computer. Natalie walked me through some things and then I 'got' it. I had no idea it takes so much time!
I had Christine make a new recipe for dinner. It was pretty good, but I would tweak some things the next time. We had the marriage class again tonight. It was a really good lesson on communication with some great material. We had some things to practice, and I guess it doesn't matter how long/short or how good/bad your marriage is, there are always ways to improve your communication and we learned a lot about some of them tonight.
Shaun is off with friends at a bonfire, so I will leave the lights on and he can do the final lock up when he gets home.
I'm Brewing and Fermenting?
I got a fun surprise from Kim a few weeks ago. A start for Amish Friendly/ship Bread. We haven't had one for many years and I was excited to do it again.
'This is more than a recipe - it's a way of thinking. In our hi-tech world almost everything comes prepackaged and designed for instant gratification. So where does a recipe that takes ten days to make fit in? Maybe it's a touch stone to our past - to those days not so very long ago when everything we did took time and where a bread that took 10 days to make was not as extraordinary as it seems today.
'When you've made your bread, you can give your friends a sample and the starter that made it! Then your friends can make their own and pass it along to their friends. This is why the bread is called "friendship bread". It makes a great homemade birthday and Christmas present. Many people make it regularly just because it tastes so good!' (from the web)
'This is more than a recipe - it's a way of thinking. In our hi-tech world almost everything comes prepackaged and designed for instant gratification. So where does a recipe that takes ten days to make fit in? Maybe it's a touch stone to our past - to those days not so very long ago when everything we did took time and where a bread that took 10 days to make was not as extraordinary as it seems today.
'When you've made your bread, you can give your friends a sample and the starter that made it! Then your friends can make their own and pass it along to their friends. This is why the bread is called "friendship bread". It makes a great homemade birthday and Christmas present. Many people make it regularly just because it tastes so good!' (from the web)
Here are the starters Natalie and I did yesterday. Nice and flat. But just look at those bubbles inside the bags. We've got some brewing going on.
And here they are this morning. Almost ready to burst with all the 'gas' built up. I had one burst 2 weeks ago when I forgot to let the 'air' out. It was a mess.
Here is one version of the final product. A yummy cake-like bread baked in a tube pan. (a.k.a. angel food cake pan). You can also make this recipe in 2 loaf pans, or 18 muffins. ***Just remember if you bake it as muffins do not bake for an hour. Start checking around 20-25 minutes. It can take anywhere from 20-40 minutes depending on how hot your oven bakes.If you don't have a 'true Amish start', all is not lost. I found the start recipe on-line!
AMISH FRIENDLY BREAD
Starter:
1 package active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1 cups all-purpose flour
1 cups white sugar
1 cup milk
DIRECTIONS
In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Let stand 10 minutes. In a 2 quart container glass, plastic or ceramic container, combine 1 cup flour and 1 cup sugar. Mix thoroughly or flour will lump when milk is added. Slowly stir in 1 cup milk and dissolved yeast mixture. Cover loosely or put in ziploc bag marked with the date and let stand until bubbly. Consider this day 1 of the 10 day cycle. Leave at room temperature.
Do not refrigerate. Let air out of bag.
Day 1: Do Nothing
Day 2: Mash the bag
Day 3: Mash the bag
Day 4: Mash the bag
Day 5: Mash the bag
Day 6: Add to the bag: 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup milk. Mash the bag. If you started out in a sandwich size bag, put it all into a gallon size bag at this point.
Day 7: Mash the bag
Day 8: Mash the bag
Day 9: Mash the bag
Day 10: Follow the instructions below:
1. Pour the entire contents of the bag into a NON metal bowl.
2. Add 1 1/2 cups flour, 1 1/2 cups sugar, and 1 1/2 cups milk. Stir with a NON metal spoon.
3. Measure out 1 cup of batter and place into four separate bags, so you should now have four bags of batter. Keep one starter for yourself and give the tohers to 3 friends along with a copy of this recipe. Be sure to mark the bag with the date of the new starter and let your friends know which day in the process it is when you give them their bag.
4. Preheat oven to 325*.
5. To the remaining batter in the bowl add:
2 eggs
1 cup oil
1/2 cup milk
1 cup sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups flour
1 large box instant vanilla pudding
(I dare you to try chocolate!)
6. Mix well
7. Choose an option: Grease either 2 loaf pans, 1 tube pan, or 2 muffin pans. Your pans can now be metal. Optional: Mix an additional 1/4 cup sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon together and dust the pan of your choice with half of this mixture or until coated. I didn't care for it too much if I used the chocolate pudding, but regular is great with it.
8. Pour the batter evenly into the pans and sprinkle with remaining sugar mixture on top.
9. Bake 1 hour or longer. Cool until bread loosens from pan. ***see above for muffin directions.
10. If you keep a start for yourself, you'll be making this bread every 10 days.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Tuesday Tidbits
I kept waiting for the phone to ring. I truly didn't think Christine would make it through school today, but she did and even seems to be on the mend. That is one thing about her: she doesn't like to get behind in school and will go even if it means pushing herself to get there.
I got so much done today. Everything that requires hand watering, done. Roses and geraniums deadheaded, done. Sheets changed on beds, done. Sheets washed, folded, put away, done. The residual pick up from the weekend of a houseful, done. Orthodontist, done. (btw, she now has rubberbands that she has to wear all the time. She practiced putting them on and taking them off many times before they would let her leave the office. She will be sore tomorrow.) Dinner, done. Amish Friendly Cake, done (with Nats help). Court of Honor, done.
The Court of Honor was really nice. It was for 11 boys in our ward. (We have a very big youth program around 100 kids I think.) Those moms did a good job. Planning and executing for 11 scouts is no small task. It was tastefully done without overload and the program was right around 1 hour total. I was sitting there looking at all of them on the cultural hall stage and remembering when most of them were toddlers in the nursery or born!
Shaun got home around 10:15 from his class. I am impressed with his dedication to his schoolwork. Spending his summer in the books is not the way most guys would spend their time off from school. But he is determined.
Actually, I was pondering the other day at how hard all of the kids are 'working' at their various things. Natalie is working 2 jobs, pregnant. Robert is working. Mike is in school and ready for finals and to start the next semester and sharing household duties with Adrianne while she works to keep them up and afloat. Josh had no time off and went from graduation on a Friday, to moving on Saturday, to classes on Monday and has them 6 days a week. Meredith is working hard at her parents to 'earn their keep' and looking for a job. Christine is in the middle of finals, lacrosse, violin, and YW.
What interesting chapters in all of their lives that spills over into ours.
I got so much done today. Everything that requires hand watering, done. Roses and geraniums deadheaded, done. Sheets changed on beds, done. Sheets washed, folded, put away, done. The residual pick up from the weekend of a houseful, done. Orthodontist, done. (btw, she now has rubberbands that she has to wear all the time. She practiced putting them on and taking them off many times before they would let her leave the office. She will be sore tomorrow.) Dinner, done. Amish Friendly Cake, done (with Nats help). Court of Honor, done.
The Court of Honor was really nice. It was for 11 boys in our ward. (We have a very big youth program around 100 kids I think.) Those moms did a good job. Planning and executing for 11 scouts is no small task. It was tastefully done without overload and the program was right around 1 hour total. I was sitting there looking at all of them on the cultural hall stage and remembering when most of them were toddlers in the nursery or born!
Shaun got home around 10:15 from his class. I am impressed with his dedication to his schoolwork. Spending his summer in the books is not the way most guys would spend their time off from school. But he is determined.
Actually, I was pondering the other day at how hard all of the kids are 'working' at their various things. Natalie is working 2 jobs, pregnant. Robert is working. Mike is in school and ready for finals and to start the next semester and sharing household duties with Adrianne while she works to keep them up and afloat. Josh had no time off and went from graduation on a Friday, to moving on Saturday, to classes on Monday and has them 6 days a week. Meredith is working hard at her parents to 'earn their keep' and looking for a job. Christine is in the middle of finals, lacrosse, violin, and YW.
What interesting chapters in all of their lives that spills over into ours.
Monday, June 8, 2009
Go To Grandma's
Grandma has been posting, and she even put one of her recipes on her blog! Go to her link and check it out!
(Normal Monday stuff. Pick up from the weekend. Laundry. Natalie had a Dr. appt. this morning, but things changed between the time she made the appointment and going this morning. They no longer accept her insurance and didn't call to tell her. They wanted to charge her $1600 for today''s visit with an ultrasound. Sooooo, she is going to fly to Utah at the end of the week and see her regular doctor. A lot less money for a plane ticket. They will be there in July for Heather's wedding and then they will be back there mid August for the start of school and can see her own doctor both times. Robert is very good with her. He got her all calmed down and took care of all the arrangements with her doctor. Christine went to school, but is still not feeling all that well. Spent some time this afternoon at the church working on the VT report. Shaun made leftovers for dinner. We watched the season opener of The Closer. I talked to Grandma and Grandpa today. They take old palm fronds and lay them over the chicken coops to keep them cool. Good idea.)
(Normal Monday stuff. Pick up from the weekend. Laundry. Natalie had a Dr. appt. this morning, but things changed between the time she made the appointment and going this morning. They no longer accept her insurance and didn't call to tell her. They wanted to charge her $1600 for today''s visit with an ultrasound. Sooooo, she is going to fly to Utah at the end of the week and see her regular doctor. A lot less money for a plane ticket. They will be there in July for Heather's wedding and then they will be back there mid August for the start of school and can see her own doctor both times. Robert is very good with her. He got her all calmed down and took care of all the arrangements with her doctor. Christine went to school, but is still not feeling all that well. Spent some time this afternoon at the church working on the VT report. Shaun made leftovers for dinner. We watched the season opener of The Closer. I talked to Grandma and Grandpa today. They take old palm fronds and lay them over the chicken coops to keep them cool. Good idea.)
Sunday, June 7, 2009
First Sunday (of the month) Dinner
After yesterday's jam making marathon, we woke up a bit on the tired side. Again, loving this late church schedule! Duff and I got the turkey in the oven for our family dinner tonight, and then everyone scattered to their respective showers to get ready for church. One thing we have enjoyed about this house is that all four showers can be used at the same time and everyone has enough hot water.
Anyway--at 12:15, we realize that Christine was still not up. Duff wakes her up and comes back in to finish getting ready. I ran down stairs, in my slip and with wet hair, to answer the call of the beeping timer announcing it was time to baste the turkey again. Christine was standing in the hallway crying and as soon as she saw me she ran and fell into my arms. She was burning up.
I calmed her down, took her temperature, got some fluids and extra strength tylenol into her and something to eat, turned off the screaming timer, basted the turkey, and went back upstairs to let Duff know what was going on. She is old enough to stay home alone, but this called for some mommy TLC. She decided she wanted to watch Pride and Prejudice. Ah, one of our favorites with Keira Knightley. You gotta love that Mr. Darcy especially when he is walking through the meadow in the early morning to see Elizabeth and tell her that she has 'bewitched' him in every way. Sigh.
I love to set a pretty table..jpg)
Wedding china. I would still pick the same pattern if choosing today.We enjoyed our turkey dinner in the dining room and then moved to the living room for FHE. Duff gave the lesson and some assignments, and a few asked for blessings. One thing I especially liked was that before he began, he went around the room and gave everyone a compliment about something he has noticed about them recently. It set a tender tone for the rest of the evening. It turned out really nice. Then the guys were on clean up while they watched the Lakers game. A simple yellow cake with chocolate frosting with vanilla ice cream for dessert. Mike of course would not eat it because I used canned frosting and not homemade. He boycotts anything with canned frosting! He says it tastes like chemicals.
It's early to bed for Miss Chris. She has a big week ahead. I hope she can go to school tomorrow. And I hope nobody else gets this.
Saturday, June 6, 2009
A Jammin' We Are!
I discovered the 'deal of the century'. Well, maybe not the century, but I was really 'stoked' with this one!
We were going to make our yearly strawberry jam. Where to get the berries, is always a big question. I was out running errands on Thursday, and just on a whim pulled into the strawberry stand by Lowes to see if they would sell me jamming berries for a reduced price. The guy looked at me like I was a fruit loop. Finally between my limited spanish mixed with english, he understood what I wanted, and told me to go to the 'main' stand in a sister city.
I got there yesterday morning, and communicated what I was looking for. I was told to come back at the end of business which was 6:30 when all the individual vendors checked in and returned their inventory not sold. At that time, the owner and his workers go through the flats and pull out all the over-ripe berries AND THROW THEM AWAY!!! Uh, I about fainted. So I struck a win/win deal with the owner: sell me the berries for a reduced price. I get the sweetest berries, and he gets a little more cash.
He had never thought of that. I was thrilled. Love these plants!
So we got 4 flats of berries for $20.00. They are regularly $37.00 a flat! I was so happy.
Canning Necessities.
...plus sugar...
Duff was like a peacock with his feathers fluffed that we girls were busy in the kitchen together 'canning', and he ordered some pizza and wings to give us (and all the guys upstairs) sustenance.
After we got all the berries cleaned, stemmed, and mashed, we were able to have 3 double batches going at the same time. Everyone had a different job and moved between them.
Adrianne stirring in the sugar.
Meredith cooking the pectin.
Natalie filling jars.
The finished goods. Notice the new jars that the girls got with the silver seals and rims. If I was buying new, I would definitely get these. They are by Kerr. Adrianne found some by Ball at Target, that are with the silver, but the shape is a bit different and very contemporary which is the new style. Mine of course, are the old gold ones.
4 flats berries
We were going to make our yearly strawberry jam. Where to get the berries, is always a big question. I was out running errands on Thursday, and just on a whim pulled into the strawberry stand by Lowes to see if they would sell me jamming berries for a reduced price. The guy looked at me like I was a fruit loop. Finally between my limited spanish mixed with english, he understood what I wanted, and told me to go to the 'main' stand in a sister city.
I got there yesterday morning, and communicated what I was looking for. I was told to come back at the end of business which was 6:30 when all the individual vendors checked in and returned their inventory not sold. At that time, the owner and his workers go through the flats and pull out all the over-ripe berries AND THROW THEM AWAY!!! Uh, I about fainted. So I struck a win/win deal with the owner: sell me the berries for a reduced price. I get the sweetest berries, and he gets a little more cash.
He had never thought of that. I was thrilled. Love these plants!
So we got 4 flats of berries for $20.00. They are regularly $37.00 a flat! I was so happy.
Canning Necessities.
...plus sugar...
Duff was like a peacock with his feathers fluffed that we girls were busy in the kitchen together 'canning', and he ordered some pizza and wings to give us (and all the guys upstairs) sustenance.
After we got all the berries cleaned, stemmed, and mashed, we were able to have 3 double batches going at the same time. Everyone had a different job and moved between them.
Adrianne stirring in the sugar.
Meredith cooking the pectin.
Natalie filling jars.
The finished goods. Notice the new jars that the girls got with the silver seals and rims. If I was buying new, I would definitely get these. They are by Kerr. Adrianne found some by Ball at Target, that are with the silver, but the shape is a bit different and very contemporary which is the new style. Mine of course, are the old gold ones.
4 flats berries40 lbs. sugar
27 boxes Sure Jell pectin
Yield: 76 pints
Friday, June 5, 2009
I Need A Shower.
No, not 'that' kind! But after 32 years of marriage things wear out, you know! I've often joked with family and friends that we need an old timers version of a bridal shower to replace our worn out things! Does that sound good to you?
These are only 2 of my 4 muffin pans from over 3 decades ago. These were the best two. I threw the other 2 away finally they were so bad.
See what I mean. Even bad on the under side and through and through. They were to the point that I always had to use paper liners so food wouldn't touch the pan itself.
I finally had it and went out today with my 20% off coupon to BBBeyond and got 2 new pans. Oooh. Aren't they pretty?
Yeah. I be likin' these babies!
Into the recycle garbage can.
These are only 2 of my 4 muffin pans from over 3 decades ago. These were the best two. I threw the other 2 away finally they were so bad.
See what I mean. Even bad on the under side and through and through. They were to the point that I always had to use paper liners so food wouldn't touch the pan itself. 
I finally had it and went out today with my 20% off coupon to BBBeyond and got 2 new pans. Oooh. Aren't they pretty?
Yeah. I be likin' these babies!
Into the recycle garbage can.Bye-bye ye old true and faithful. I wonder what they will recycle you in to?
Now on to bread pans (I've gone from 4 to only 1 and it is BAD), and round cake pans.
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