Peaches Pictures

Peaches, peaches everywhere.

 By the end of Wednesday, we had been on our feet 12 hours straight doing peaches for canning, freezer jam, pies, and cobblers.  This is the final cleanup.  Thank you to Adrianne, Robert, and Natalie for sticking it out to the end.

Happy Anniversary

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY  to Mike and Sue--

Thirty years and counting.

Sending our love and wishes for a beautiful day!

RS Broadcast

Tonight was the RS Broadcast.  I look forward to this every year.  I feel so energized and uplifted by it.  I took lots of notes and soaked it all in.  This is the first time I was able to go with my mom and Lisa and Natalie.  Kristin came with us too.  I like going to the church because I feel part of a great sisterhood knowing that so many others are also in stake centers around the world and we are all hearing and feeling together.  Tonight it was broadcast in 50 languages to 175 countries and territories.  That is thrilling to me.
After we went for some dinner at Chompies. 

Peach Pies

We made 12 peach pie fillings today.  We have 24 more to go.

 Line aluminum pie tins with heavy duty foil and then with plastic wrap.

 Make your pie filling.

 Fill your tins.

Fold the plastic wrap over the filling and then the foil.

Lay single in the freezer until solid.  Take out and completely secure the foil and then place into a gallon ziploc freezer bag.  Seal.  Stack in freezer.

......etc.

We left at 9am for the Honeyville store in Chandler to meet a different vendor for some peaches that are a lower price.  They are good, but we can make a better comparison when we get the others on Monday.  I'm bummed they are so late, so I hope they are really good since I've had to extend again.  We are at the mercy of the fruit.

Honeyville had some new products.  I got some powdered tomatoes that depending on how much liquid you add it becomes paste or sauce.  Pretty good!  Then we went and had lunch at the der weinerschnitzel.  Such good Torrance memories.

When we got home, we did the last two batches of pears.  Cooled and cleaned the bottles, labeled and packed them up.

Canning Pears

 Monday, Tuesday, and today we have been canning pears.

Five, 32 pound boxes of them.

Aren't they beautiful?

It ended up yielding 84 quarts.

 This cute cross stitch picture hangs in my mom's kitchen.

Denise made it for her years ago. 

We were doing a lot of homemade goodness.

 

This is the last day.

And we are glad to be done with pears.  We've been falling into bed each night.  8-9 hours the last three days is hard work.  They are the hardest because you have to peel each and everyone one strip at a time by hand and then core.  We will sure enjoy them through the year.

Don't they look pretty?

Raspberry Jam and Pears

The raspberry jam is done.
Liquid gold.
We did a flat for Mike and Adrianne, a flat for my mom and dad, and a flat for me.  My mom tried out two different recipes using her ultra gel.  They were okay, but in the end, she decided that the recipe from the SureJell is the best.  It is the one I used, and it is scrumptious.

We only did 10 quarts of pears today.  They are still too green and hard.  We will check them out tomorrow after another day to ripen. 

DWTStars started tonight.  I've decided I would like to see Jennifer Grey win.  I already know who I hope goes soon.

Ticket and Fire

I drove to AZ today.
It was an interesting trip. 
I got a speeding ticket.  Yep.  Only the 3rd ticket in my whole driving life.  I was going over the speed  limit.  By five, 5, five miles an hour.  Can someone explain this to me?  It was on cruise control.  It was as I was leaving Indio from the 4 lane highway just about to the 2 lane highway.  There were cars speeding past me while I was minding my own business on cruise control, but I was the one that got pulled over.  There was absolutely no conversation between the officer and I.  It took a total of 6 minutes for him to pull me over, ask for my information, write the ticket, me to sign it and he was back on the road again and so was I.

It said excessive speeding. Hmmm.

Then about at Tonopah, an suv caught fire.  I saw the teeny plume of gray smoke going into the air from several miles back.  It just looked like a smokestack from a semi-truck.  But it kept getting bigger and bigger and then there was no denying it had to be a fire of some sort.  All of a sudden I was upon it!  The car was completely engulfed and the top down to the bottom of the windows was melting away.  I have never seen anything like that ever before.  The people from the car were about 50 yards off to the side of the road standing in the cactus and sagebrush.  They were all huddled together probably in shock at what was happening.  I called 911 from my cell.  Four other cars stopped so I didn't need to--they had plenty of help and all the emergency crews were en route.  But the wind shifted suddenly and the smoke and flames were all the way into the left lane!  I was the last car to be able to get through it.  As I was in the middle of the smoke, I looked over and the flames were licking at the passenger side of my car!  The cars behind me had to stop and go into the dirt median to get around.

What makes a car catch fire like that?

Got to mom and dad's about 12:30 just in time to watch the football game, which was completely disappointing.  Bronco has some decisions to make.  Rebuilding years are hard.  We didn't skip a beat from Beck to Hall, but are feeling it now.

Raspberry jam is first on the list and then next week we will be up to our eyeballs in pears and peaches.

Bugs and Fruits

Yes, we've been fighting a flu bug.  The kind where you aren't sick enough to be in bed, but not up to doing very much of anything.  Bad headache, achey, stomach not quite right, no energy, and some more than regular trips to the tinkel-torium.

Feeling on the mend today.

I got the word that part of the fruit came in this morning.  The pears, raspberries, and apples.  I only ordered pears and peaches.  The peaches and tomatoes won't be coming until the middle of next week now, so my trip will be longer than I had expected.  This also means that the girls won't be able to go with me now because of their work schedules.  Bummer :(  But I am taking their jars and between my mom, dad, Natalie, Robert, Lisa and I we will get it all done.  And the kids get to put them in their emergency prep things.  We will be doing Grandma Duffy's salsa over conference weekend, so they can hone their canning skills a bit more in a couple of weeks.

This is the first time I have done fruit via Arizona.  It came from Utah, and I wonder if I just should've done it up there.  But a five hour drive is certainly less than a ten hour one........

Around Town...

Monday was a blur.

But Tuesday.  Now that was memorable!

I was fighting some kind of flu bug, but had an appointment for a haircut that I didn't want to miss since I'm just waiting for the call to leave for AZ to do some canning with my mom and the gals.  We are at the mercy of the fruit.  When it's ripe enough to be picked and then shipped.

So I have my supplies ready and am 'on call'.

I'm actually arriving a few minutes early instead of my few minutes late.

An older woman in a red car three spaces to my left is leaving.  Suddenly, her car is in the middle of the UPS store!

She was not hurt, thankfully, and refused treatment when all the emergency crews showed up.  Apparently, she thought her car was in reverse.  She applied a little pressure to the gas pedal and it didn't go anywhere, so she gunned it.  Only problem was, her car was not in reverse, it was in drive, so when she gunned it, it went up over the curb and into the building.  What a blessing no one was walking on that sidewalk right then.  It shook the whole building and glass was everywhere.

Then, later in the afternoon, Dad was over at the bank.

He was in line to do his transaction and the lady in front of him leaned to the right and fell over unconscious on the floor!  They called 911 and then cancelled because a few minutes later, she sat straight up told everyone she was okay, finished her business and left.

We had interesting dinner conversation.

CHOCOLATE FUDGE FROSTING

We love a good old-fashioned yellow cake with chocolate frosting.  There are so many good desserts, but nothing says home and comfort like one of these.

I used to be a 'from scratch' -er.  My mom made delicious homemade frostings.  You remember the kind--long before the convenience of the canned varieties.  But I have gotten away from it.  For the sake of convenience.  Everyone has gone along with me on it, except for Mike.  If it's chocolate, it has to be homemade or he simply won't eat it.

But I have recently discovered a chocolate fudge recipe that is so quick and so delicious that at least for chocolate, I have gone back to making it.

2 pounds of powdered sugar
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 sticks butter, softened
2/3 cup boiling water
2 teaspoons vanilla

In a large mixing bowl, combine powdered sugar and cocoa.  Add softened butter, boiling water, and vanilla.  Beat with an electric mixer until combined.  Beat one minute on medium.  If necessary, cool 20 minutes or until mixture reaches spreading consistency.  OR if frosting is too thick, add boiling water one tablespoon at a time until desired consistency.  This frosts tops, middle,and sides of a two layer cake.  Divide the recipe in half for a 9X13 inch cake.

And that's it!  I add half of the 2/3 cup boiling water at first and then add in a little more as it needs it.  Because I live at sea level and have a good amount of humidity regularaly, I usually don't need all of the 2/3 cup.  Almost, but not all.  But when I make it in Utah, I need to add all of it and maybe a little more.

Tithing Works

Just a note from Dad. Wanted to make sure you all are aware of the blessings from paying tithing. Nats got a promotion at her job, Mere got a new part-time job and Adrianne got a unexpected bonus. It might not be the home run we all are looking for but the Lord blesses us with a lot of singles at times. Take the bases one at a time and get home.  Please be sure to thank the Lord in your prayers for his tender mercies. We have a-lot to be thankful for.
Dad

Hang In There

Stake Conference was last night and this morning.  We only had one session today.  The last time we had a general authority down, the leadership was explaining how we have two Sunday sessions because of our size, and he commented that that was 'old school' and we should stream it to the other buildings.  So that's what they did.  It was nice to go an hour later.  The conference was very good.  It was a very tender conference.  So much has gone on politically since we met last, and financially with the economy.  So the messages were strong, straight-forward and yet filled with kindness and hope and encouragement.  The message was clear:  we will be called on again to battle marriage and we need to get prepared spiritually, emotionally, socially , physically and financially for it.

Some of my notes:

• Lehi's Dream.  The great and spacious building with mocking people.  How to handle it:  "But we heeded them NOT!
• We need to be strong.  Our youth need to be able to 'heed them not' when being mocked, teased about dating, word of wisdom, pornography, modesty, morality.  The great and spacious building is real even for the parents.  Be careful.
• YW Transition begins at the cradle.
• We cannot be passive parents.
• Our children will do what they see us do. 
• Mothers.  Go to Relief Society!  Talk well about it.  Become involved.
• Patterns.  They are reliable.  If you sew or craft or bake, you must rely on the pattern for the desired result.  The same is true of prayer, scripture study, temple attendance, modesty, etc.
• Be prepared.  All Is Safely Gathered In.  Mosiah 4: 27.  Pattern.
• Pride is a very real issue in being and staying prepared.
• Overcome Fear.
• We are not the first to face fear.  Even Joseph in Liberty Jail.
• Recognize where the spirit of fear comes from.  Satan.
• Recognize we are not alone in our immediate condition.  1Cor. 12: 25, 26.
• MOVE! Take action.  Break out of paralysis.
• Persevere.  Keep doing above.  Move!
• Talk by GBHinckley, 1983.  Look deeper for the good. Stop looking for the storms.  You will get bitter.  Churchill quote.  Look for the sunlight through the clouds.
• D&C68:6.  Do not fear. Have faith.  Daniel 3.  Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego.  '...But if not...' shows significant faith. 
• The Future Is As Bright As Our Faith.
• Elder Holland videoof young parents with broken down car.  Hold to the iron rod.  Don't fade away or be bitter. Don't give up on God. President Brennan doesn't minimize our trials, but has assurity that if we will keep the commandments and our covenants we will make it.  'It'= through this life, these current circumstances and return to the Father.

Case Lots

We were at the adult session of Stake Conference tonight and Duff's cell phone vibrated with a text.  It was from Shaun.  He was in Smith's grocery store doing some shopping for the weekend and noticed they were having a case lot sale.  Yahoo and yippee!  I like to stock up on pantry items like this and here in socal, they don't do case lot sales.  I asked my Albertsons manager about 2 years ago if he would consider having one, and he looked at me like I had rocks in my head.  One of our tradeoffs for where we live, I guess.  So I stepped out and secluded myself in the RS room as he walked the aisles with me and I would tell him yay or nay.  Between the two of us I think we made some good choices and we got $500 worth of food for $240.  Nice savings, huh?  When I went back into the meeting, the speaker was talking on preparedness.  Nice timing!

Thanks Shaun!  After the meeting I had a few people come up to me and ask if everything was okay because they saw me slip out and not come right back in.  When I told them what he and I were doing, they were pretty impressed that he would notice something like that and think to call me.  Way to go!

Now let's see what Macey's has going on...

Friday Wrap-Up

The first week of school is finished.
We got all the supplies this evening and it wasn't even crowded.  The last two years the checkout line at Staples was down the back and around the store.  I like that Santa Margarita started two weeks ago, we started this week, and Mission starts next week.  The stagger sure has helped a lot.
I finally feel like I've got my feet back under me since I've been gone.
Tesoro won their football game!  Yes.  They played Santa Margarita (which is a private, Catholic High School that can recruit and has the latest everything).  It was 21-7 half way through the 3rd quarter.  But Tesoro had an awesome 4th quarter and took the W, 32-21.  Go Titans.
I've been watching the History Channel lately.  They are having a lot of special programs about 9/11.  It fascinates me.  There are so many stories behind the story.  I love knowing them.  I wish we could document all of them.  I am so touched by the American people.

Put It On Your Calendar

"Fear not little flock (my family);  do good; let earth and hell combine against you, for if ye are built upon my rock, they cannot prevail...Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not."  (D&C 6: 34, 36)

• Saturday night is Stake Conference adult session.  7pm.  Let's go together or meet up there and get dessert after?
• Sunday morning is Stake Conference.  10am.  They will be satelliting it to the other buildings, but we are at the stake center.  
• Sunday afternoon/evening.  Birthday dinner for Mike and monthly FHE.  It will be on preparedness, so come prepared. (that was sass, Adrianne..)  Natalie and Robert, let's see if we can conference or speaker phone you guys in.  Shaun--you go to the CES fireside.

Let mom know so she can make assignments.

Love, Dad

Horseback Riding

Christine was able to go horseback riding with Patriarch Lindahl again at his ranch in Heber.

He taught her how to start and drive the four-wheeler so they could get everything ready to go.

Riding Cinnamon up above Strawberry.

Such gorgeous country.

(She forgot her riding jeans, so she had to borrow a pair of his. Lucky for her they fit.  A little big, but did the job.)

55 YEARS

St. George Temple

~~HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, MOM AND DAD~~

55 Years and counting....

(Kurt and Minnie Abramowski, Sigrid and Ward, Myrna and Floyd Davis)

Her wedding colors were pink and seafoam green.  Her gown was a Cahill original that she saw in a newspaper shoot at Griffeth Park and knew it was the wedding dress for her.  Classy group!

It's That Time Of Year Again

Happy Anniversary to Mike and Julie!  It was  fickle early fall weather and a little gloomy early on resulting in quite the downpour at the wedding breakfast at LogHaven (which was spectacular), but by the time of the reception, the sun was out and everything couldn't have been better.  Have a great day reminiscing and celebrating!

Dad's Birthday

Happy Birthday to my Dad!

79 today.

That's quite a life!

On the Heber Creeper.

He has lots of train stories from when he was in the Air Force.  We'd never heard them before!

With some of his grand-daughters and his chickens.

There has always been a bit of the farmer in him.  Even in the city he always grew a garden.  It's in his genes from his Idaho progenitors.

With great-grand-baby, John.

Little kids love him.

Abby tied him up in a ribbon at little Josh's baptism.

He has a great reverence for the military.

This is during Taps at Uncle Bob Walgren's funeral.

Hope you had a wonderful day Daddy!

So much of who I am is because of you.

Love You!

First Day of School

What?  Are you kidding me?

Yep.  It's raining on the first day of school!

It's usually so hot everyone is in shorts and tshirts.

Not today.

Almost 16 and a sophomore.

Wow.

Where does the time go?  This is my 'baby'!

Driving Boredom

We had planned to leave by 6am to avoid all the Vegas holiday traffic.

Duff sat bolt upright in bed and asked:  "C.  What time is it?"  (He often calls me by my first name initial.  Always has.)

I roll over and look at the clock:  "6:11"

"Get up.  Fast!"

Meredith had been up since 5:30, and already had half the car packed. It saved us.  We loaded the rest, shut down the cabin and were gone by 6:55.

It was 30* and the wind had howled all night bringing in a low pressure system.

Miss Chris doing AP Euro homework and some shut-eye (yes, summer homework for AP classes), and Meredith and Darla napping.  Darla is still sporting her own game day apparel. Haha!

It was smooth sailing until just before Primm.  Not too bad, but all in all, it did add just about 2 hours more to the drive.  I had handwork I could have done, but just wasn't feeling it, so I joined the girls and napped too!

By the time we got to Baker it was 112*.

That's quite a temperature change!  82* difference.

The name of this road has always intrigued me.

How would you pronounce it?

Ziz-iks?  Zee-ziks?  Zy-ziks?

A Little Pre-Game and a Little Half-Time

Some pre-game...

Christine and Meredith in their spirit wear.  New this year are the BYU barrettes!

...and a little half-time.

l-r:  Ty Detmer, Robbie Bosco, Steve Yound, Jim McMahon, Marc Wilson, Gifford Nielson, and Virgil Carter.  Steve Sarkisian was in the locker room trying to get his special teams squared away during the break.  It was a really nice program honoring all these quarterbacks.

Today Tuesday

Today is just kind of a crummy day.  I have a headache, my back hurts from being in the car too long yesterday.  I've been on the phone and computer most of the day tying up loose ends from being gone.  I haven't done a stitch of laundry or even unpacked my suitcase.  It's still in the entry way.  Tomorrow is the first day of school and I'm not ready for it.  But ready or not it is here.

I did have some really great news though!  A dear friend who I've visit taught for years, has decided to go to the temple!  This month on the 21st.  We talked for quite a while on the phone when she called to tell me about it all.  It really is exciting to see the Lord's hand in this.  After all these years, now.  Everything just opened up and the way was clear.  I can't wait!

Mike's Bday

Happy Birthday to Mike.

It seems like you were born just a few years ago and now you are all grown up.

You are one great person and I'm so happy you are my son.

Have a great day!

Happy Birthday Deidre

Happy Birthday to Deidre, from the Happiest Place On Earth!  We send all our birthday love and wishes along with Mickey for the best day ever!Deidre is: kind, nice, hard working, good wife and mother, happy, easy-going, flexible, and spontaneous. 

Hope you have one awesome celebration!

Love Ya!