Aesop's Fables

I found some felt board stories that I got years ago and never cut out and put in my files.  They were in a random place in a file cabinet drawer.  I was so surprised!  I quickly remembered when I had bought them and felt bad I had misplaced the stories and never used them with my family.  Guess I'll have them now for the grandkids.

I LOVED these stories as a child.  My Mamo Myrna read them to me over and over again.  One day we walked from her duplex on 21st street in Manhattan Beach, CA down through the baseball fields and across the park to the little community library.  She signed me up for my first library card.  She kept it at her house and often when I would visit her we would take a walk to look over the book selection and bring some home to read.

She got me started on Aesop's Fables.  I have always loved a good who-done-it with a moral/value outcome and that is exactly what these are.  They are short, well written, and teach very important life lessons.

I tried to find a picture of that little library online.  It was sage green with high windows and surrounded by large junipers that were as tall as trees that provided the most cooling shade.  I think it has now moved to another location, because what is there now is a community center for various events.  However, the police station is still on the corner next door.  And I do remember that!  My Grandpa was big on the police department. Haha!

So now I have them all cut out and filed in their own labeled manila envelopes.

Can't wait to use them!  I practiced reading all the stories and putting the corresponding pictures on at the right times.  I loved getting acquainted with the fables again.



Tangelos

My parents have a huge Tangelo tree in their backyard.

Citrus grows really well in Arizona.

Every year they have a large crop.

While they were here recently, they brought us two big grocery bags full of them.

They are really sloppy to eat, so we like to juice them.

This yielded 1 1/2 gallons of sweet divine goodness.



Getting Caught Up--

New Posts:

Meeting Oma and Opa
Presidents Dinner
Excursion To Torrance and San Pedro
Artisan Bread and BYU Lacrosse Game
From Valentine's Day

Getting caught up!

Feathered Starfish

Christine and her class partner for Marine Ecology are doing a video report on a Feather Starfish.  I had never heard of one before this week.

The girls called around socal to find a speciman so they could go and take pictures and video of it.

The Long Beach Aquarium said they had some.  That was Tuesday. 

We picked Sammy up from her soccer field and headed to Long Beach.

--The 7th street bridge/exit is torn down for reconstruction.  That was the way mapquest told us to go.

--I had to end up going to the 710 fwy and down to the coast instead, on the fly.

--Had to pay $50 to get in to the place because we were 15 minutes from the 1/2 price time.  Even though when we left home I called them and they told me we would only be charged the 1/2 price rate since it would be an hour before closing.  And I confirmed that they had said feathered starfish.

--Because we were on such a short time frame, I suggested the girls go to the information desk and ask specifically where Miss Feather Starfish was so we could maximize the time they had.

--No one knew where it was.  After making several walkie talkie calls we learned:

--THEY DIDN'T HAVE ANY!  THEY TRADED THEM OUT FOR ANOTHER SPECIES A FEW DAYS AGO.

--I spoke strongly to the manager.  She refunded our money and found another location that had the feathered starfish.  In Gardena and Redondo Beach.  They closed at 7:30.  We decided to head up the 405 again.

--The name of the place was the South Bay Aquarium.  Now what do you envision?  Yes, another large 'aquarium' facility, right?  No.  It was a FISH PET STORE IN A STRIP MALL.  They did have one, uno, ein.  They were not allowed to take it out and hold it.  Ahhh!  I went outside and made some calls to the Ocean Institute that closed 30 minutes before that.  We will call them again on Monday.  The store had a horrible odor and was filthy.  And they hardly spoke any English.  Just Asian.  Not much of a help.

Well, that was a bust.

On a happier note:  we were in my growing up city of Torrance.  So we drove around and I showed the girls the house I grew up in.  Sadly, it looks awful.  Back in the day, it was one of the nicest homes in the whole neighborhood.  My high school.  We drove to the Pier and Knob Hill beach where I spent my summer days.  It was cold and the marine layer was rolling in, like it does every night on the coast.  As we were standing on Espanade looking down on the beach and shivering I breathed in deeply and exclaimed, "Can you smell it?  Oh I love that smell!"  They thought I was crazy.  Smell what?  The ocean combined with the sand and the dampness!  I am not crazy!  They laughed pretty hard at me.

We climbed back in the car and got the seat heaters on high.  We headed back down to Long Beach to Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles.

It had been featured on Diners, Drive-In's, and Dives and also on The Best Thing I Ever Ate, so we decided to try our luck.  I don't know that the girls were too convinced about the combination of fried chicken and waffles.  Me either.  But it was a.m.a.z.i.n.g.!  Guess the south knows their stuff!  The waffles have a touch of cinnamon in them and together with the chicken and some maple syrup creates quite the taste sensation.

The customers arrived in everything from bikes to limos and the place is so popular and crowded that they have two separate parking lots across the street with attendants to tell you where to park.  It is not a fancy place by any means.  Old tables and chairs set around to accomodate who comes.  Fun atmosphere.  We ate and laughed and people watched.

What a day.

We left home at 2:45pm and got back at 10:30pm.

All for a feathered starfish.

Pretty As A Picture 2

Meredith was gifted another newborn photo shoot for Ainsley from a friend who is honing her photography skills.

Annette Jones

These are my favorites.



Pretty As A Picture

Alia posted a preview 'tickle' of Ainsley's newborn photo shoot!

So beautiful and precious!

Artisan Bread and BYU Lacrosse Game

My mom and dad are leaving tomorrow morning to go home.  I took them over to Josh and Mere's for another visit with Ainsley.  When we came home, my mom and I made Artisan Bread.

Doesn't it look amazing?  It is delicious and so easy to make.  You mix up the dough in 5 minutes in a bucket with a tight fitting lid with a small hole drilled in the top so the gases can escape.  Let it rise, chill, then pull off dough for however big a loaf you want to make.  You shape them by hand, either round or oval.  It is crusty on the outside and tender and chewy on the inside.  You slice it staring on one end and then stand it on that end on your counter or bread board.  No need to put it in a bag.  That actually will soften it and then it loses it's texture.  Yum, yum, yum.

Duff and Christine headed for the BYU lacrosse game against Chapman.  I stayed home with my parents.  It was too cold and damp for them to sit outside at it.

BYU finally won the game at the end of the 2nd overtime.  Crazy!  There is a fireside tomorrow evening.  Several of the players are staying at the Taylor's house since Spencer is on the team.  His sister took Christine to meet the goalie.  He is blonde and darling and she has a bit of a 'crush'.  Haha! Duff and Chris enjoyed their 'daddy-daughter' date.

Excursion to Torrance and San Pedro

While my parents are here, they needed to go to San Pedro and pick up some legal documents in boxes for Linda Lu from her accountant to take back to AZ.  She is the executor of her mother's estate.

Duff and I drove them and made an afternoon out of it.  We got lunch at Der Weinerschnitzel for old times sake.  Good memories!

First stop:  the accountant's office.

We saw the Vincent Thomas Bridge.

The Vincent Thomas Bridge is a 1,500-foot long suspension bridge, opened in 1963, crossing the Los Angeles Harbor  linking San Pedro, withTerminal Island.  It is named for California Assemblyman Vincent Thomas of San Pedro. It is the fourth longest suspension bridge in California. It is also the bridge with the 76th longest span in the world. The clear height of the navigation channel is approximately 185 ft.  I remember when it was built and I remember the first time I drove across it.  My parents had taken us kids out for a Sunday Drive and we paid 25 cents for the toll.  It was a clear, beautiful afternoon, but I was terrified the car would fall off and we would plunge to our death in the ocean! Haha!

Next we drove past the stake center in San Pedro on 9th street.  It is still a gorgeous classy building.  One of a kind.  We attended stake conference there for many years and I went to dances and funerals and wedding receptions and YW Beehive activities there.

Down Western Ave. Past Peck Park.

So many Pioneer Day celebrations there!

The pancake breakfast in the morning.

The men's beard growing contest! hahaha!

Lots of park games.

Dirty and sweaty and covered with grime and picnic food, but much fun.

Then to PCH and the old theater where we went to see The Sound of Music as a family.  And the restaurant where Jean Maughan took my mom and I to lunch and we filled out my application to BYU.

ANZA.

The street I grew up on.

Funny how things are the same and yet not.  We remember them differently in our younger minds.

The house I grew up in looks a wreck now.

Back in the day, it was one of the prettiest homes in the whole neighborhood.

My mom insisted on getting out of the car and going up to the front door.

I went with her because sometimes she still needs to be steadied since her hip surgery.

No one answered.

The door my dad so carefully installed is still there and looks good.  Everything else, not so much.  It was sad.  :(

On our way back to the car, we noticed by brother's initials in the sidwalk.  I remember when he put them there.  That brought back lots of interesting feelings.  I miss my brother.  I miss the person he used to be once upon a time.  He is estranged from our family right now.  I hope one day he can find that person again.

By the time we got back to Dove Canyon, we were exhausted.  We kind of didn't feel good.  I thought maybe I had been a little car sick.  Then I realized it was the emotion of the trip.  It was hard to see the hurt in my mom and dad's faces about their home.  They decided they don't need to go back again.  Guess we can close that chapter.



President's Dinner

Tonight I had all the Primary Presidents over for dinner.  We ate in the dining room and I made Cafe Rio pork salad with all the trimmings for dinner and a hot from the oven peach cobbler with vanilla bean ice cream for dessert.  I decorated the table in warm mexican colors and candles and flowers and used the serapes from Mexico that I got when we picked Josh up from his mission.  It looked and felt fun.

Meredith GRACIOUSLY had the family over to their place so we could have some quiet and privacy for our dinner meeting.  It is a time where I can do some training and also that the presidents can talk together and share ideas and questions and bounce things off of each other as to what is working or not, how do they approach this or that.  What we talk about at this dinner twice a year stays at the dinner and it gives me a good reference point of direction to go in for various training in the wards.

These are some of the greatest women I know.  We suddenly realized it was approaching 10pm and we were still going strong!  So many good things to share.

Meeting Oma and Opa

Oma and Opa came in from AZ to meet Miss Ainsley.

The next generation.

They're lovin' it!



Baby Bun.

Natalie and Robert are expecting 'Baby Bun' the first week of August!  She is almost 15 weeks and doing much better with the morning sickness finally.  If you ask John if he wants a new baby he says NO.  How about a baby brother?  NO.  What about a baby sister?  NO.  haha!

Congratulations to the Newell's!

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY

Happy Day!

Mike and Adrianne made heart shaped homemade pizza's for dinner.

Josh, Meredith, Ainsley, and Gidget came over to celebrate with all of us.



From Valentine's Day

Meredith got this outfit for Ainsley to wear on Valentine's Day for daddy Josh.

Daddy and Daughter are quite smitten with each other!

Long day.
--Early morning meetings.  Like 6:30am early morning.  Which means I get up at 5:15.
--Home for a while.  Foothill Ranch ward conference.  Great meetings.  Peeked into Mission Lake's sharing time.  They were doing a stick puppet show using a table turned on it's side with a table cloth.  Really fun, cute, and taught the doctrine well.  The children were very engaged.
--Home for dinner by 5.  Duff had the potatoes in the oven baking.  All I had to do was get the pork tenderloin baking and the vegetables and salad done.  Christine did the rolls.  It was nice to have so much help since I had been gone all day.
--We watched the Grammy's.  Adele.  I like her style.  No gimmicks, no skimpy clothing, no outlandish dancing.  Simple and straightforward.  She won the most awards.  What a concept!
--Tribute to Whitney Houston by Jennifer Hudson.  It was beautiful.  It makes me sad that Whitney's life was so tormented.  Bill O'Reilly had a spot on his show Monday regarding her death and in the Huffington Post.  He is a no nonsense guy, and makes you think. Celine Dion gave an interview as well on her fear of Hollywood.  She said you do your singing job and then you go home.  You don't hang out at parties or you end up in trouble. All of that aside, I loved Whitney's music and her effortless voice.  I danced and sang to her songs over and over again. She made you get in touch with your emotions in song.   What a talent!  She will be missed.
Something to think about:

When You Need To Be In More Than One Place At A Time

Christine went to Winter Formal for her school tonight.  She went with a bunch of girlfriends.  Mere and Josh and Ainsley came to help with hair again.  Simpler this time, but still with the wrap around braid.  I am hair challenged.  I can do a lot of fine things with my hands but when it comes to hairstyles, my fingers are all thumbs.  Haha.

They had a great time at the dance.  It was held at the Honda Center and was called Orangetopia because it included high schools from all over orange county together.

I fixed up the bassinette from the garage so cute.  Ainsley has never layed in it once.  Too many anxious arms willing to hold and cuddle her instead!

Duff and I had the Worldwide Leadership Training this evening.  We got there and the time got mixed up so we could either come back an hour later or attend to our other things.  We have the option to watch it online, so that is what we did.  We left and got the grocery shopping done, dinner done, and visited with the fam.  The baby is changing everyday.  They grow up too fast.  Papa Duff is quite smitten!