New picture

Some of you have asked for a couple picture of us. I haven't liked many pictures of us as a couple, but here we are, in all our glory, Sailor 'n' me. Isn't he so cute. I love that man.

I usually wear my hair curled down, but for some reason that morning, I tried curling it out and I like it. It stayed pretty nice all day. I curled it at 9 am and this picture was taken at 7 pm without much touch-up at all.

If you kids (speaking to my children) want a copy, either click on it and copy it to your computer or send it to the nearest Walgreen's or Walmart.
Love you all
~a

ooo Adam, that must have hurt

Saturday morning I took a spill. I stepped on some boards awaiting to be used in our new fence that were lying on the back patio. Something slipped and I did a face-plant on the concrete. It was NOT fun, but no skin was broken, no blood spilled, nothing was even scraped. Eventually I gathered what was left of my dignity and with Sailor's help got uprighted again. But I noticed soon after that my rib hurt. I have a bruise under my right breast, and it hurts to breathe deeply, laugh, cough, sigh or sneeze. Hiccups are bad too. It also hurts to lie down. This does not contribute towards good rest.
I cannot help but think of how Adam must have felt when he awoke to find a missing rib and a pesky woman by his side. But I am glad God created woman. I sure love being by my husband's side and sharing this life with him.

In other news, I would like to talk about our amazing tomato crop. We are enjoying many bowlfuls of tomatoes every day. We have had many BLT's, tomato salads and other tomato dishes. Our latest recipe uses our Champion juicer. I send about 6 large tomatoes, 3 stalks of celery, 3 anaheim peppers, a tiny piece of jalapeno pepper, parsley, garlic and 6 carrots through the juicer, and after Sailor adds some good spices, we have a pretty delicious V-7 drink. We have plenty of canned tomatoes, so we are using them fresh and loving all the delicious fresh food from the garden!

Finally, I noticed the neighbor dog barking more than usual lately. He had pretty much shut up since we installed that fence. We were enjoying much more privacy, since he didn't announce our every move. But lately, no matter what I did, he barked. What's with that? I finally looked over to see two eyes and a nose peeking under the fence! Upon closer examination, I discovered the stinker had dug a grand canyon on his side of the fence and under the fence and now had a snake's eye view of our yard. This dog is really bored. I picked up my weapon of choice, the spray hose, and gave him a good face wash, but that didn't stop him. I plugged it up with pieces of rock and concrete, thinking the problem was temporarily solved until Sailor could do something more permanent.
Later that day, I went outside to gather carrots and found a neighbor cat running away and barking coming from the fence. I picked up the spray hose to chase the cat off. I saw what I thought was our orange cat chasing him, but when I looked around the tree, it was a cocker spaniel! Did I mention the neighbor has 8 dogs? I sprayed him and he scampered to the fence to a second hole! Stupid Golden Retriever had dug a second hole a little to the east of the first! It wasn't big enough for GR to fit, but the cocker could fit under and was enjoying his new-found playground. I waited until Cocker was half way through, struggling to fit and gave his butt a good long wash while he scampered to safety on the other side.
The second hole was larger than the first! But worse, the rock pile under the first had some noticeable gaps. Upon closer examination, I realized some of the rocks I had placed in the hole were gone. I placed another piece of concrete in the gap and watched as GR carefully pawed it until it came to his side of the fence, then I peeked through the cracks to see him pick it up with his mouth and move it a yard from the fence.
::eye roll:: I have a formidable contender here!
Sailor saved the day that night when he dug a trench on our side and poured concrete, then built it up to almost meet the fence. Upon talking to the neighbor, he told us that he had seen the hole and had filled it up twice, thinking it was fixed. They had also noticed GR standing on the picnic table on his hind legs and leaning on the fence so he could see us. Neighbor moved the picnic table away from the fence to the middle of his yard, but that didn't stop this bored dog. The next time Neighbor looked out, he saw GR balancing on his hind legs on the picnic table, now in the middle of the yard and barking. He couldn't stay in that position long without losing balance, but he was still trying to see us. I think the neighbors are frustrated by him, but also mildly amused. It is a bit funny, if you think about it. That is ONE.DETERMINED.DOG! The Neighbor's daughter says "he is so smart, he is stupid!" That makes sense to me. I think I even made that comment.
What next? I cannot grow bushes fast enough to cover the gap 6 feet above ground, so I am not sure. But Sailor says he will lay concrete under the existing fence and in the future will put that down before he builds the rest of the fence. More expense and work. Yikes!


::shallow sigh:: ouch, ouch, ow

have a nice day
~a

lonely

My sweet husband has gone fishing at Lake Powell for a week with "da boys". This is something he has never done before. He has always found an excuse not to go. He has been invited for years to come along, but he is such a homebody and would rather spend his time in the back yard working on his many projects. With the high cost of gas, he thinks his friend will sell his boat and pick up soon, and this trip may be that boat's Swan Song, so he agreed to go along. They left on Monday and won't be home until Friday.

Now mind you, he has gone on business trips before. I have been left behind, but this feels different. Maybe because there is no cell phone service. At least when he was gone before I got a call every.single.night. This is so lonely, it feels almost like a death.

The first day he was gone, I moped around. I planted some flowers, but mostly I was just sad. Almost a depression, I think, because my projects that usually perk me up just stayed where they were. I would just look at them and sigh.

Today I went up north for choir and to see D2 and her sweet little children. We worked on another quilt and visited. I held the baby for a long time. We had a good time. I got home at 11:30. Usually my sweetheart is here waiting up to make sure I got home safely. He was not here. This house is so empty without him. He makes this home come to life. I really miss him.

I was grateful that my neighbor is a night person, because I called her before my cell phone ran out of range and told her to watch for me in an hour. I was scared that if my car broke down or worse if I fell asleep at the wheel or hit a deer and had an accident, I wouldn't have anyone who would even miss me and I could parish out in the middle of the desert. . .

When I got here, the crazy neighbors were making smores over the barbecue in the front yard and invited me over to share one with them. They were delicious. That is the other thing, I have not eaten properly since he left. Wow what a horrible widow I would make. I don't know how those sweet hearts who are widows do it. I have absolutely NO discipline. I eat terribly, I don't go to bed when I should, nothing gets done around the house. I AM A MESS!

And now since it is 1 in the morning, I guess I had better try to sleep. I have such a hard time sleeping without my sweetheart snoring beside me. I love that man. I have told him before that he ABSOLUTELY.CANNOT.DIE.BEFORE.ME. Which he probably will even though I did not give him permission.

That old saying, "absence makes the heart grow fonder" has never been so true. Give your sweethearts a big hug. This really does make me count my blessings. I am such a spoiled brat. He spoils me, and I really miss him.

*big sigh*

nite

~a

Happy Birthday, Best Friend

Dearest,

I just want to wish you a very Happy Birthday. You have been the love of my life for close to 36 years. I remember meeting you in March of 1972. You were one of the cutest guys there at the LDS Institute. I remember every evening after Sacrament that you would come and talk to me and how thrilled I felt when I would see you heading over to my part of the foyer. I remember clearly when you came in one day and asked if the seat next to me was saved, and I said, "for you."

I remember the one evening when your friend, "Paco" was telling us about a movie he had just seen. We were standing in the parking lot near my car, and I was a bit cold, so you put your arm around me. I didn't care if Paco told us the whole movie, just as long as you would keep your arm around me.

I guess we can say "the rest is history" and I am glad that history included both of us. You have been such a sweet husband and friend. I have loved the adventures life has led us through.

We started by living in a college town as we had our first child, and you finished your degree. Then moving to the farm. It was fun to raise goats, chickens, our flock of sheep and our kids. It was fun to have your folks across the street. It was a great place to raise children and I think they all loved it as well. Of course the Lord blessed us with a job at the Power Plant 20 miles away to support the farming "hobby". Then when the Power Plant closed down and we moved away, selling that farm with the beautiful 360 degree view.

The next place was cold, but we had a great adventure there for the 1 1/2 years we lived there. When that Power Plant looked shaky, we applied for and moved to another Power Plant in the next state. This is where we have stayed for 22 years now, raising our children. You have always made my life so fun. I continue to look forward to you returning from home from work every night. You are not only my best friend, you are my hero. You get up every.single.working.day and head off to the plant. Your job has provided us with a wonderful home and the things we have needed to get our children raised and launched. That is the physical part, you have also attended Church with me and led our family as a righteous patriarch. Along with going to work, you have also provided us with other physical comfort and safety.

You have built the children some beds, you chopped wood for our warmth, you grow beautiful gardens and have fixed enough cars that they should give you an honorary degree in car maintenance. We have had many adventures traveling to the college towns where our children attended school and fixing their cars.

Now you build boats. We have had some fun trips launching your boats. I remember the one time we floated down the river in that row boat. That was when you decided to get or make a sail boat and is what started the boat building. We have had some fun, albeit short, trips to Lake Powell. The actual sailing of that huge boat you built is certainly a neat experience and I think I love it more than that smaller one we rode in when the wind blew us all the way across the lake. But that was an adventure too. I think too, that even though I complain about the 5-hour drive down there (I guess I wish there were more shopping stops), I really love the time we spend together whenever we drive anywhere. I love listening to books on tape or just talking.

We never run out of things to talk about and I still love the silent parts where we just drive, holding hands and feeling comfortable in each other's presence to not worry about filling the quiet moments.

We will be celebrating our 34th anniversary in a week. They have been the sweetest years of my life. Thank you for being my friend, husband, lover, provider, father to my children, grandfather and all the other things you do to keep everything running. You are the best person I could have ever chosen to spend my life and eternity with. I am glad we found each other so long ago. It's been a happy ride.

Life has been so sweet.

Happy Birthday, Sweet Friend, and may this be just the "middle point of your life". I want to keep you around for a goooooood loooooong time.

with love,

~a

feels like home

I heard this on someone else's blog. I didn't know the name of it or the singer and the music has haunted me ever since. I began searching all the blogs I had previously visited finally found that blog again, then found it in Itunes. Thanks again Boo for the gift card you gave me two Christmas' ago. I am still using it.
Then I found this on Utube and the lyrics. So I never lose it again, I am putting it on my blog. I love these romantic songs, and I relate to them when I think about my Husband, Sailor.
Sweet Friend,
You have been my Best Friend for 36 years, and made me so happy when you married me almost 34 years ago. Thank you for making our marriage feel like home. These have been the happiest years. I couldn't have asked for a sweeter Friend. Thanks. I had so much fun today with you taking me to choir.
Enjoy this song that I hereby dedicate to you.
~a

It is called "Feels Like Home" by Chantal Kreviazuk

Something in your eyes
Makes me want to lose myself
Makes me want to lose myself
In your arms.
There's something in your voice,
Makes my heart beat fast
Hope this feeling lasts
The rest of my life.
If you knew how lonely my life has been
And how long I've been so alone
If you knew how I wanted someone to come along
And change my life the way you've done.

It feels like home to me
It feels like home to me
It feels like I'm all the way back where
I come from
It feels like home to me
It feels like home to me
Feels like I'm all the way back where I belong

A window breaks down a long dark street
And a siren wails in the night.
But I'm alright 'cause I have you here with me
And I can almost see through the dark there is light.

If you knew how much this moment means to me
And how long I've waited for your touch.
If you knew how happy you are making me
I never thought that I'd love anyone so much.

It feels like home to me
It feels like home to me
It feels like I'm all the way back where
I come from
It feels like home to me
It feels like home to me
Feels like I'm all the way back where I belong Feels like I'm all the way back where I belong

A tribute to Rodger

As I said in the previous post, I found out that my chiropractor, and friend died on Friday May 16,2008.
He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer earlier this year. Our Bishop says he has known several who have had it, and no one he has known has ever made it past 102 days. Rodger didn't make it to that mark.
He was such a good man. Besides his full-time job as Chiropractor, he was the Family History Director for as long as I can remember. He was very knowledgeable in computers and Family History. He was very kind and good with people and served many hours there. He also served on the High Council in our Stake, as Fire Chief of our local Fire Department. He also ran for and was voted into the City Council at that last election in November. He served for many years on Thursdays in the Temple as well. He also served as our Gospel Doctrine Sunday School teacher.

I never heard a word of complaint. I remember once I had a pinched nerve in my neck. I went to him to see if he could fix it. He worked for weeks, and I cried on his "shoulder" about how bad it was. It was Rodger who finally helped me cure it after 5 months of agony. He mentioned that he wished he could prescribe ultra sound. I had never heard of that being used to heal, usually it was to see how big the baby is, and tell the gender. He said an MD had to prescribe it, and I asked him which doctor in town would go along with his advice. He told me, and I went to that doctor. He was reluctant, but went along with it and after the first session I could feel a definite difference. After 6 treatments in the space of two weeks I was cured. Thanks Rodger. At the time I was serving with his wife in the Relief Society and in the Genealogy Library as well. I was thinking about quitting everything, but because of Rodger I was able to continue everything. Towards the end of his life, when the hospice workers were assessing his pain. They asked him how he would rate his pain, the worst being 10, the least being 1. His reply? "If 10 is what the Savior felt when He was on the cross, then I am a 1." And I complained and cried with a pinched nerve.

He and I had long talks, between the chiropractor visits and the Family History work. We were sort of kindred spirits in that we both love to travel. This man was amazing. He spoke French. He served a mission in France and majored in French. I remember once my husband mentioned to Rodger that he just got done reading the unabridged version of Les Miserables. My husband was so proud of having slogged his way through hundreds of pages of French history. Rodger said he had read it too, in French!

Today in the funeral, the Stake President mentioned his last visit with Rodger. He asked him if he could do anything for him. After a long pause, Rodger said he wanted his family to understand how much he loved them, but how after mourning, he wanted them to get on with life and not stay stuck in the mourning state. Then he mentioned he wanted his Temple Recommend renewed. Lastly, he bore his testimony of his knowledge that Jesus is our Savior, he died for us and because of this we all will be able to be resurrected and live with God again. He wanted his children to hear his testimony and asked the Stake President to speak at his funeral and convey this to them. I have to say, it was a "15-Kleenex-tissue funeral." A record for me.

A fitting tribute to him was the firemen of our local volunteer fire department who came in dress uniform. There were about 15 of them sitting in a row in the back. A large fire truck and a medium fire truck led the way and another SUV fire truck transported the casket to the cemetery. What Kleenex I hadn't used up at the funeral were finished off with this sweet tribute.

The image I will always have of Rodger is of he and Mary walking in the early hours of the morning past my house. Getting fit, talking and enjoying life together.

I always appreciated his kindness. The words I most often heard him say were "I understand." He has left a very large gaping hole in this community which will never be filled again. I am glad for this Canadian's life, and that he chose to spend over 20 years in this community. I am glad for my close association with him and his family.
His life and his sudden death have taught me two things:
1. I want to live a more Christ-like life.
2. I want to be sure I tell all those around me that I love them and cherish my association with them.
May God Bless you Rodger, and your dear sweet family. God Be With You 'Til We Meet Again.

May I speak to. . .

note: In the last post, Sailor made a comment and reminded me of something that happened when we were newly weds. Here is what happened. . .

Saturday afternoon:
Sailor is serving at a football game as an *usher for the Elder's Quorum.

*Back in the olden days, when the Church was allowed to do fund-raisers, all sorts of creative ways were discovered to raise money. One was to usher the College football games. He would spend all afternoon standing by a portal, taking tickets and watching to make sure people had paid to get in to see the game.

Meanwhile back at the apartment, I'm watching a tiny black and white TV, usually an old Star Trek rerun and gestating. He was a student at the university. This was our very first fall as a married couple.

Suddenly the phone rings and startles me out of my haze.

Hello? I say.

Hello? May I speak to Sailor? a very cute young girly voice says.

He is not here.

OK, thanks.

15 minutes later:

phone rings again

Hello?

same cute voice says: May I speak to Sailor?

me again, a bit concerned: He is not here, may I take a message?

no that's OK. Bye

15 minutes later:

phone rings AGAIN

Hello?

same cute voice says: May I speak to Sailor?

me now I am becoming alarmed: He is not here, may I take a message?

no that's OK. B'Bye.

hmmmmmmmm. what the . . .?

10 minutes later:

phone rings again!

Hello?

same cute voice again says: May I speak to Sailor?

me again, now I am getting curious and concerned: He is not here.

May.I.take.a.message?

no that's OK.



Finally, she calls again. By now I am agitated.

same cute voice says: May I speak to Sailor?

He still is not here.

She is getting curious as well and asks, Who is this?

My voice has now taken on a frosty tone:

This Is His WIFE

the last word was emphasized with as much ice as I could put into it.

There was an audible gasp!
NO! He can't be married! When did he get married?

We got married last June.
(another gasp)

Are we talking about the same Sailor? 5' 6", blond hair, brown eyes?

No, I reply quite relieved, my Sailor is 6'3" brown hair, blue eyes.

Cute girl giggles sounding nervous yet really relieved.

There can't be two Sailors?

We decided there must be. I was relieved and amused by now.


::jump ahead 4 months::
We have moved to a tiny house by a race horse farm

phone rings (male voice on the other end: May I speak to Sailor?

he is not here, may I take a message?

This is So-and-So from The Insurance Agency. He was in a bicycle accident and I want to talk to him about the specifics.

That cannot possibly be. We live in a tiny house 5 miles out of town, sir. He drives a truck to school.

Is this Sailor's residence?

Yes, it is. I am his wife. He cannot possibly have been in an accident, his bicycle is sitting outside my front window! I am looking at it right now as we speak. I know there are two Sailors in town. You will have to find the other one.

::jump ahead two more months::
we have moved yet again. Now we are living in town in a tiny duplex. I get the mail. A check for the amount of $40 written to Sailor from an insurance company. I remember the bicycle accident.

Now comes the inner dilemma. It is legally written to Sailor. We could easily and legally cash it if we were the dishonest sort, or I will have to do some sleuthing. I am not sure how I found out, but the other person with my husband's name lived in a fraternity house, so he had no listing in the phone book. I finally located him and called. I first asked him if he had been in a bicycle accident, just in case there were more than two people with my husband's name. Then I explained the whole situation. He agreed to come to our house and retrieve the check that was rightfully his. We finally met. I wish I had snapped a picture.

Now if you don't personally know me, you may wonder. But his name is not something common like John Smith. As a matter of fact, before I met Sailor, I had never heard of his last name. According to the chart in the last post, it is the 888th most popular name in the US.

Since I have been married 33 years, I have run into many, many people who say, OH, I know someone with that name. Are you related to. . .?

But in my naive youth, I truly believed there was only one Sailor. And yet, for me, he is THE ONLY ONE. I love you dear Sailor.

Anyway, that's my story. . .and I am sticking to it.

~a

Gratitude

We had a wonderful Holiday season this year. There were a few bumps, but all in all, it was sweet. I have met a few Grinches and Scrooges this year. Several have expressed how much they HATE Christmas. In fact I talked to one today and asked her if she was better than last week. She had told me last week that she was really ornery and it was because how much she hates Christmas. She even told me to ask her husband. This week she was all better, and she told me the tree was down and things were looking up. I feel sorry for her and her husband.

I don't understand this and really don't want to. I sort of know how much I hated Mother's day for years, it was because I felt inadequate. I felt like I just couldn't live up to all those wonderful stories of the PERFECT Mother that was the Speaker's mother. It didn't matter who was speaking, their mother was THE BEST ever.

So Maybe that is what being a Scrooge is all about, feeling pressure to be something you are not. Whether it is Santa, making it all magical for your kids, making sure the house is perfectly clean, bedding all in order, enough warm blankets, worrying about the food or the expenses, etc.

I used to feel overwhelmed and beat myself up for not accomplishing all the goals I had set out to do, but lately, I have chilled a bit. I forgive myself for not being super human. I budget money all year, saving out a certain amount, so I don't feel overwhelmed by money or lack thereof. I do the best I possibly can and that is all I can do. I have read some blogs of friends who claim to be OCD, where they want everything perfect, including the house to look spotless, and they about kill themselves off picking up after everyone and being upset over a bit of a mess. I guess I am glad I am a perceiver, one who doesn't have to have everything just perfect. The mess does get to me, but not to that extent.

Life is too short. I must find the humor in living. I must find the blessings that are all around me. I have family. I have sisters, a brother, and Mom, plus in-laws, and especially children and now grandchildren, who love me and whom I love dearly. We have our health and our lives. I'm not forgetting our beloved Dads who both have died and we miss them, but on the most part, we are all doing well.

A neighbor's young daughter just lost her husband in a car accident. He had a seizure and died while at the wheel. She is barely 25 or 26, a young mother of a year-old baby and pregnant with another. She just lost her husband, and on Christmas Day. We have our family and I am so grateful for this.

The blessing in my life right now is to have my sweet S3 home from his mission. He is the amazingly sweet and kind young man who just got married this last October. It was sweet to have him come home and watch him with his sisters who all just adore him. We have missed him while he served a 2-year mission for our Church.
Likewise, it was sweet to have D3, D2, and D1 with their spouses here as well. They are married to very sweet spouses who love them and treat them well. We also got to have a sweet little grandson here, he is so sweet. Children really put life into Christmas. And last, but not least is my precious husband. He loves me, shows me daily his love for me, in words and deeds. He is one of the kindest people I could have ever been lucky enough to marry and still be married to for almost 34 years. I want to return his sweetness and emulate his kindness. What a blessing to have a sweet spouse.

Besides family, I belong to a Church that I love. I love having a testimony of my Savior, and knowing He loves me enough to suffer and die on the cross for me and all of mankind. That sobering thought is enough to bring me to my knees to repentance of any sin I ever committed or will in the future. I love my Heavenly Father, who knows me by name and loves me enough to send His Son to Earth.

So, I guess what I am saying is, I could get all caught up in the Christmas rush and be disappointed in the things I didn't do or get, or be sad because of other real or imagined things, but I think my attitude is really all about Gratitude. When I count my blessings, then the slights, the failures, and all the other things that may have gone wrong don't seem so bad.

I know that when I am feeling grumpy, whether it is sickness or a bad day, it usually boils down to selfishness. If I reach out and serve someone, it helps me to not focus on my real or imagined problems. I try to think of my dear sweet husband and how I look to him. I always want to look good, to always be sweet and kind. I never want to hurt him. He is my best friend and the most important person. And I am so grateful to him.

I hope those of you who are reading this are having a wonderful day, and I wish you all a Happy New Year. God Bless your lives, families and homes in the coming year.

a

Big Sigh *sniff*

I love Christmas. I have said this before, but I want to start this post with that note. I LOVE CHRISTMAS! It is my most favorite time of year. I love the feelings of good will and love you have for all, including the ones who normally bug you. I love the snow, I love the shopping. I love the stockings, the quilts I try to make. I love the family, Roger Whittaker Christmas Album, Mannheim Steamroller Christmas albums, the star on my mountain, the Christmas carols, the Christmas Concert with my choir, everything.

So from about the first of October when we began to sing the Christmas songs for our concert, I began to think about Christmas. I think I ran on adrenalin for three months straight as I got ready for it.

I am not one to make lists on paper, or in a palm pilot, I make them in my head, and I was counting down with lists of things that took top priority. My plans were hugely interrupted when my future daughter-in-law asked me to sew her wedding dress. The wedding also took up many weekends, her endowments at the temple one weekend, their wedding the next, then their two receptions, one in her town and one in our town on two successive weekends. I am not complaining, just saying that my count-down had a few snags. There were a few other sewing jobs thrown in the mix from customers wanting things for Christmas plus two funerals in our Church that each took a whole precious day to serve the bereaved. All these times, my Christmas preparation was put on hold so I could accommodate the others. I had to compromise and throw out some of the things on my lists, like sending out Christmas cards. They will get sent, just will be late, I am sorry to say, but I could not stress myself any further by feeling guilty for things I could NOT do.

This year was our year to have all the kids come to our house. Four of the six children and spouses, and one grandson came. So on top of all the Christmas preparations, I wanted to make it extra perfect and magic for those coming to my house. Especially the newly-wed couple, since this would be her first Christmas away from her family. And our first Christmas in two years to have S3 home. S3 is one of the favorites of the older brothers and sisters. He has always been the sweet, easy-to-get-along-with baby brother and everyone was looking forward to having him back. How fun for him to have joined in the "married club" besides.

I actually pulled it off, with the help of my sweetest husband who took over all the cooking stuff and allowed me to continue to sewing these quilts. Just an explanation for those of you who don't know, we draw names every year. Each of us draws a family name, and my husband and I am in this drawing as well. The family or individual whose name we draw usually gets a homemade gift. But if they cannot make a gift, they try to get them a personalized or special gift. I always make that person a quilt. It started out with wool-batt quilts. The wool batt came from wool sheered from our sheep, back when we lived on the farm. We sent the wool away to Baron Woolen Mills and had it all made into wool batts. I covered each batt with a muslin pillow case which I stabilized with large basting stitches. Then I made a quilt out of them for each child. As I drew their names successive years, I would make them each a wool-batt quilt, a tied quilt, a jeans quilt and finally a pieced quilt. It was fun to just concentrate on one child each year.

But typically I found myself either not getting my name soon enough, or getting distracted and not getting the quilt made. Two Christmas' ago, I was trying to finish D3's quilt. I showed her the started pieces and she was supposed to get it in January. That was the Christmas DIL-1 was in a terrible car accident two days before Christmas and ended up getting a metal plate put into her head. I put off my regular trip to see my mom until February and hurried down to Mississippi to help take care of her for two weeks on the 2nd of January. Time hurried on and I found myself in November of that year, still on the same quilt. So before I started the next quilt, which happened to be D1, I had to finish D3's. D3 got her quilt, and D1 got hers in pieces, which were still in that same form this November. Finally I laid out the pieces, sewed them all together and one week before Christmas I was borrowing my neighbor's quilting frame and working like a slave to finish all the tying. It turned out beautiful, but I still had S3's to do. I did NOT want our new DIL3 to not get a present, so I worked hard to make sure it was done. They walked in just as I was finishing the last two seams of this rag quilt on Christmas Eve. Then I had to snip all the seams. They asked whose quilt it was, and I had to tell them, so they didn't get to open it. That made me sad. It turns out this DIL3 is pregnant and was NOT feeling well, so she spent most of her time sitting in the next room with a bucket. All the effort I did to make it special for her was not noticed. That made me sad as well.

One grandson came and got showered with fun things. He was a very grateful little recipient, and quite a delight. I loved every minute with this cute and special little guy.

But worst of all, I found out after they had left that one couple had not exchanged gifts with each other this year, because they had just purchased a house, and decided with their mortgage they just couldn't afford to. They graciously brought us gifts, and even a birthday gift for me, but only received two gifts. This made me feel perfectly awful when I realized this. The gifts we gave them were generous, but I felt bad that they sat and watched everyone open many gifts and only had one each to open themselves.

So today, the last of the four couples left. The dishes are done, kitchen cleaned, the Christmas cards still need to be printed, labeled and mailed. The living room carpet needs vacuuming, and the house is perfectly quiet and terribly lonely. The beautiful Christmas tree stands in the corner, continuing to rotate, but the magic seems to be gone. And I feel terribly sad. Part of that sadness is the knowledge of two people who died this season. One was our beloved director of the orchestra for our choir, the other was a husband of a very young former neighbor who was in Japan with the military and who left a young family behind. I don't know if it is the let-down that comes after the adrenalin is gone or if it is some of the perceived failures on my part or a combination of all. Either way, the tears are very close to the surface.

In years past, I am inspired as to how I will make Next Year an even better event. I have new plans for the things I will make. I have plans with a Monthly count down, beginning in January so I will be better prepared. I make a resolution to have it all done by October so I can do more things for my neighbors, more service projects and feel more of a spirit of Christmas. But tonight I don't feel any of that. I am not writing this to get sympathy, more for my own self, to work through why I feel so let down. I guess it is good to have the children come home only once every other year. I am not sure what we plan to do next year, but I am sort of glad we don't have to put on the party.

Actually the time I felt the happiest was at the beginning of the season, when S2 and his sweet family came for Thanksgiving. To make it magical, I put up the tree early and wrapped gifts for each of the sweet grandchildren. They had a grand time and I felt like it was a great success.

Happy New Year everyone. I hope 2008 is amazing for everyone reading this post.

Really Happy Birthday

I have always loved December not only because of Christmas, but the 1st starts the season with my birthday. Mom said she always got into the Christmas mood because the toys were now in the stores and she had so much to choose from. I really don't remember any specific birthday gifts, but I did get some amazing dolls for Christmas every year, which have resulted in a huge collection in my sewing room and all over the house.

Yesterday started out waking up beside my sweet husband and opening my eyes and stirring to see him open his eyes and the first words out of his mouth were to wish me a happy birthday. Just the fact that I have gotten to wake up beside him almost every day for 33 1/2 years made me feel so happy and blessed to have him. Right away he jumped up and got some things out of the cupboard, a book and a dvd I have been wishing for. Another book arrived in the mail later. He said there is still more to come. He discovered my Amazon.com wish list and ordered a bunch.

There was only one snag in my day, when I thought I had lost some tickets my daughter had given me for a concert on Sunday. We spent about an hour looking (no tearing the house apart) for them and finally gave up and left for our 2 1/2 hour trip north to our choir concert. After we left, we made a stop at the filling station to get some soft drinks, and while waiting, I decided to put some things in the trunk and there, among the mail I need to take to the newly wed couple was that envelope with the tickets.

During the morning of packing and frantically looking for my tickets, I got many sweet calls from my children, neighbor, and my sister in the next state along with my mom who left a message by singing Happy Birthday to me. And both sons who have children allowed each of their children to talk with me as well. That was so sweet to hear their tiny voices whispering, "Happy Birthday Grandma." One doesn't talk, but she said "mmmf" several times as I responded to her and her dad coached her from the other side. She is always willing to try anything they ask her. Another one said, "what is your last name? I need to know which grandma I am talking to. Are you the one in (neighboring state), or the one in (my state)? When I answered, she said "YEA! This is (her name)" One other tiny one talked so well, I thought at first she was the older sister until I heard her dad say, "very good, (her name)." All of them are precious.

Because of the frantic, unscheduled ticket hunt, we arrived a bit late to the rehearsal, but no one except the conductors wife really noticed. She had saved me a seat next to her with a birthday present under the chair. She is a dear friend, and I was so honored she remembered me. Several others in the choir wished me a happy day as well.

My birthday present to the world, or the city was to sing to them. The concert was just beautiful. It was preceded by a beautiful snow that stayed on the trees like someone had flash frozen it to them. The storm made it all the more perfect for a Christmas Concert. We were all in the Christmas mood. Every year, Our Choir puts this on for the Angel Tree, which is sponsored by the Salvation Army. They have Christmas trees set up in the foyer with tags shaped like Angels. The tags say if it is a child or a Senior citizen and the gender of the individual, and their wish, which is one or two items. It is very humbling to see their Christmas wishes, like a pair of sox or gloves. They are very simple and not extravagant. You can pick an angel off the tree and buy a gift for that elderly person or child and deliver it to any Macy's in the valley to help their Christmas be a better one. The ticket sales profits from our concert go to the Salvation Army as well. The downstairs of the auditorium was packed.

The Grinch made a surprise appearance and then Santa came out and chased him away and handed out candy canes to the children while we had a community sing-in.
Our guest soloist, Greg Pearson has an amazingly beautiful bass voice and sang "You're a Mean One, Mr.Grinch" so well and out of the side of his mouth no less. Then with just as much passion he sang the Innkeeper from Forgotten Carols, by Michael McLean which gives me chill bumps every time.

A children's choir, Studio A Children's choir joined us and sang some songs with us and some on their own. And every year, the same Symphony Orchestra teams up with us for this concert. The evening was perfect. We topped it all off singing the Hallelujah Chorus from Messiah.

Later I went to the balcony where my family was waiting, and several of the kids gave me gifts. I wasn't expecting this, but I got a nativity scene and How the Grinch Stole Christmas DVD. Perfect!

We reconviened in the parking lot to give things to the kids they requested from the house, a box of apples for one, a pie plate accidentally forgotten from Thanksgiving, and more cards and gifts for the newlywed couple. Then we bid goodbye to the kids. Because of Sunday's concert, we were spending the night with my sister and her husband, so we headed that way.

When we arrived, I called her on my cell to tell her we were outside and she opened the garage door to let us park inside for the night. As we went in, there on her counter top was an ice cream cake from Cold Stone! And part of my family, singing Happy Birthday to me! D1, SIL1 and my sister's youngest son and his cute wife along with my sister and her husband. I totally didn't expect that! I cannot remember having a surprise party since my childhood, OR a cake I didn't have to make!. In fact this morning, when I was talking to my granddaughter on the phone she asked what kind of cake I was going to have, and I told her probably none, because we were leaving the house for a couple of days.

Wow, what a sweet honor. I feel so loved, and now, I just noticed a blog friend, Lori wished me a happy birthday on her blog. Let me just say, I really feel honored, humbled and blessed for all the love I have felt today. And I wish you, dear reader, the same kind of birthdays too, whenever they may be.
a

PS tomorrow or the next, I will post some of the movies taken at this concert. They are taken on a digital camera that only takes 3~minute~tiny movies, so they are not the best quality, but you can hear us sing. It was the best concert I think we have done.

3 Dec 07~ Sunday we went to a Christmas Devotional in The Conference Center put on by our Church in Salt Lake City. These are the tickets my daughter got for us. It was so beautiful and a sweet way to kick off the Christmas season. I love this time of year.
::sigh::

Contemplating my slipperszzzzzzzzzZZZZ

I can't remember when exactly it was that I announced my son was engaged and they had upped the wedding to October from the original plan of June of next year, and I began to sew a dress for the little bride, but it seems like a huge long time ago. I could check back in my blogs, but that would mean saving this and finding my way back out and back into this post, and that could spell disaster, since I get distracted way too easily.

So anyway, he re-met her in July, he had known of her for years as her cousin was his best friend and I think it was August he announced the marriage, and maybe September he announced the change of dates and asked me to make her dress, about two months ago. But since that announcement, my world has been turned upside down with trying to meet deadlines.

Now since all the hoopla is finally over, I am exhausted. My body tried to pull a fast one on me and come down with a cold last week at their reception, but a great trick from DIL-1 worked. Take 2 Mucinex (I use the WM house brand) every four hours along with Sudafed PE. I guess the Mucinex breaks up any mucus, and the Sudafed dries it up. You still have other symptoms, like headache and scratchy throat and extreme tiredness, but you can keep going, especially when you add Excedrin to the mix.
So this last week as I have tried to fight off the cold and continue to get ready for our reception, I continued to make sheet cakes (I made 5 of them and we only used two or three), clean the house, change bed sheets, etc. etc. etc.

The Saturday reception came off without a hitch, thanks to DIL-3's family and my own pitching in to decorate the Cultural Hall, and help with set up and clean up. We got to bed around midnight, I think. Sunday after Church, we came home and my sweetheart made two casseroles from the dutch oven left overs he had made for the crowd the day before. Yes I know, I have the best husband in the WORLD who sweetly cooks for the crowds. I had to conduct our Women's Relief Society meeting on Sunday (being in a counselor in the Presidency~makes me have to do such things) and was gone while everyone else went home.

We all had a delicious dinner and two of the remaining couples (D2 and S3 and spouses) left, and we continued to visit with D2 and her sweetheart until around 5. They looked at the clock and realized it was time to get back as well.

As soon as they left, I turned on the news, because my choir director, Sterling Poulson on Channel 2 does the weekend weather. He is such a very nice man and is married to such a darling lady, Danette who is a Dear Friend to me, and sits by me in choir. So I try watch him. It's always fun because usually when he slips in references to our town, which I have noticed other stations don't even put on their map with a temperature next to it, and sometimes blatantly says stuff that I know refers to me. One time he said on the weather: "And down here in (name of my town) where (my name and my husband's name) live, the temperature is 55 degrees. He has made reference to my town many times, especially for Tuesday when I come up 2 1/2 hours drive to practice in the choir. He will say something like "Now, if you are going to be driving from (my town) today, watch for the rain clouds which will be forming around 4 pm. So drive safely."


Anyway I eased into my lazy-boy, put my feet up and snuggled in. Sweet Friend brought me a blanket and tucked me in, and I warned him that was a dangerous thing to do. Next thing I knew I was out. I think I slept for 3 hours while "watching" TV. My Dear Friend is the one who invented the quote which I used to name this post. She described the hard work her husband had been putting in, and said that Sunday he just collapsed, completely exhausted into his easy chair, and spent the afternoon contemplating his slippers. I cannot think of a better way to put it. ha ha ha ha

Monday was clean-up day. I washed bedsheets, towels, dishes, cleaned etc. etc, Again! Don't you hate when you work all week for company and just after they leave, you have to do it all over again? Even the leaves I raked, mowed and blew with the leaf blower have somehow showed up again. Of course I am not surprised, my neighbor's huge Poplar trees (about 100 feet high) like to hold onto their leaves until the coldest ice and strongest wind forces them off. And so the raking is not just a Saturday afternoon thing, it is an "all Fall" event.

So if you haven't heard from me in a while, this is why. I am just exhausted.

But there is no rest for the wicked, and the righteous don't need it, as my husband is fond of saying. I have a Relief Society Homemaking event on Wednesday which I will make a pot of soup for, and give the rest of the wedding cake to. I have Thanksgiving coming. We will have S2 and family come, so I want to put up the Christmas tree and have presents for the children under there. And I have a concert on my Birthday December 1. After that Christmas is well on its way, and the person whose name I drew probably won't get a completed quilt, like last year and the year before went. But thankfully my understanding children know me and forgive. Last year, the person I drew the year before got theirs, and the current person got a top which I have to finish. They have to develop patience when it comes to my procrastination, I think. Thank you children.

And so life continues. You haven't heard from me in a while because I have been busy, and true to the schedule, it is Tuesday and time to head to choir practice.
I hope you are all having a very nice day.
a

The latest

Recently, we met a new girl who has suddenly come into our lives. She actually has been in the picture for years, but we were never aware of her. The first time I remember spotting her was the Sunday after we got home from our trip to Taiwan, at our Son's Mission Homecoming.
This is an event where he is invited to speak in Sacrament Meeting at Church. Afterwards a celebratory dinner is provided by the family, usually in their home. We had about 60 people that day all there to celebrate S3's successful mission and safe return home.

Returned missionaries sometimes have a very hard time readjusting to civilian life. They are thrust from a totally secure environment away from worldly worries with a thoroughly planned life back into the Real World. For the previous two years, their rules were to stay with their companion 24/7, preach the Gospel, and stay an arms-length away from any member of the opposite sex. With their Mission Release comes worries about school, jobs, insurance, career, a vehicle and dating.

Because summer jobs are hard to find in our small town, most of the High School graduates, College students and Returned Missionaries have to move to larger cities located hundreds of miles away. They have to either live with relatives or rent when they DO find a job, which makes saving for college very difficult. If they find a job in the small town, it makes social life very scarce.

Because he came home from his mission so late in the summer, we felt there would not be very much opportunity for good jobs, so we hired him to paint the house and shop for us, and he has been doing an excellent job.
Because of this employment, his social life was not too active, except when his friends came back to town for Independence Day and some weekends.

Among the well-wishers who came to celebrate his Homecoming, was his long-time Best Friend, (BF) who was en route home from a cousin's wedding in a neighboring state. Tagging along with BF and his wife were a string of cute girl cousins. At our celebration, BF explained that this cousin's family was having two weddings three weeks apart. The brother had just gotten married last week, and in two weeks, the sister was getting married. They invited S3 to come help celebrate at the reception. It was to be held in a town about an hour and a half away.

So two weeks after he got home, S3 ventured out on his own for the first time to attend this wedding. While at the reception, he met, or should I say made a re-acquaintance with, BF's cousin, Cute Girl, who when they were children, used to be the younger tag-along sister the cousins used to ditch, when he would go with BF for a week at their Grandma's house in the summers.

It was Cute Girl's sister's wedding S3 was attending. For some reason, this couple held their open house/reception on Friday, got married Saturday in the temple, and came back to Grandma's for a lunch and to open presents.

Anyway back to S3 and the cute girl: She had sworn off boys in general two years ago after a traumatic experience with boys and was still in that mode when he approached her and asked her to dance. She said she found herself thinking NO but to her great surprise she heard herself saying YES.

They danced and as they talked afterward, they discovered much in common. He called home that night and said he wanted to go to the wedding the next morning, so he wouldn't be home tonight. Besides, he claimed, he had gone to visit with his friend BF who had to work Friday and wasn't actually coming until the next day. He didn't tell me this, but really he wanted to get to know Cute Girl a bit better.

The next day after the wedding, S3 and Cute Girl got even more acquainted as they walked and talked some more, and I fear BF STILL didn't get visited.
But S3 came home all smiles, and announced sweetly that he had met a girl. . .


Now as I write this, it has been a month since that first dance. Things have escalated quite a bit. Two weeks later, after several trips to her home, and many talks on the phone, he announced, was that they had talked and had decided they were "going together". He has been back to pick her up and take her to meet his now-returned Mission President and his wife. The next Thursday, she drove over here to meet us. We took her out to the West Desert to target practice on innocent cans.

On our way out to the desert, I told CG our story about how everything good that had happened to us was accompanied with rain. S3 and CG recalled that it was raining when they had decided they were "going together".
On our way home, she told us that her parents just loved S3 and had for a long time, ever since he was a small boy and came with BF to visit his cousins and grandparents. That night, we ate dinner, then retired to the porch to watch the rain storm which lasted couple of hours.

The next morning as S3 was getting ready for a job interview 100 miles away, he asked his dad what he thought of CG.
After agreeing that she was really something special, the conversation went something like this:
Sailor: So, are we going to be hearing about an upcoming EVENT soon?
S3: Huh? (Trying to appear innocent and naive).
Sailor: You know, December is really busy and a hard time to have an EVENT. Are you going to announce an EVENT in December?
S3::looking sheepish because he had known what his dad was hinting at:: "Well, we haven't discussed this"
Sailor, being well-seasoned from 5 previous children's marriages said: Well, just so you know, these things take some warning and preparation time. The other siblings need some "heads up" time in order to arrange their finances and time off, etc.
S3: We are probably going to talk about that after our first semester in school.
Sailor: Oh and April is the Outage at the Plant. I Cannot get that time off, so please Not April.
S3: okay
Sailor: I am pretty sure you will probably be announcing this sometime in the future, so just so you and she know these are two times that are really hard to arrange.
S3: (this time not so naive) OK, thanks for the warning, Dad.

I never would have been able to put it so simply or straight-forward as the Sailor, but I appreciate this Father-Son talk they had.

::Annie gears up mentally for yet One More special Event::

more later. . .
August 17
S3 came home for the weekend, but it turns out that he only stayed here a minute and really he said he was going to a Family Reunion for Cute Girl's family.
So I was sitting outside visiting with S3 while he was painting trim on the YET-TO-BE-FINISHED paint job.
He had told us earlier that he and CG were probably going to date others while they were attending their separate schools 2 hours from each other. This really bothered me, since I felt he already knew that she was the best thing that had ever happened to him

I said: "I don't think it is such a great idea to date anyone else." He gets the cutest grin on his face and says, OH?
I explain that he has already found such a perfect match, why would he want to get to know anyone else?
He said they had discussed this and think the same. I said, then, the next step is to ask her to marry you. Have you asked her to marry you?
::Shakes his head with a silly grin::
MOM you always know me SO WELL. How do you do it?
So? Have you set a date? Is it June?
::Incredulous:: HOW DID YOU KNOW?
I don't know, seems like a good time, what date? the 17th?
::MOUTH OPEN:: HOW DID YOU KNOW?
I listen to you. You told me the number 17 has significance for you both, it HAS to be that day.
He admits that really they already purchased the ring, and he was on his way to their house, not for a family reunion, but to ask her father for her hand. He was trying to keep it all a secret, and wouldn't have said a word, but because I asked, he felt he wanted to tell us.

Later in the evening as S3 is talking on the phone to CG, he hands me the phone and asks me to tell her about the previous conversation.
As I am recalling this conversation to her, I realize that June 17 is THE DAY I GOT MY RING all those years ago! We had purchased it on the 9th, and it was was getting resized. The next Sunday, the 17th, Sweet Friend (Sailor) asked my dad for my hand, then placed that ring on my finger in front of them. WOW. It never had significance, because he had actually asked me to marry him several weeks before on his birthday, so that is the day I counted.

And now, as Paul Harvey likes to say: Here is the Rest Of The Story: Her Story:

Ever since she was a young girl, about 12, she always had a huge crush on S3. She and her cousins have teased each other that some day one of them would marry him. She decided, at a very young age, that she would like to be The One. As she grew up and went through various boyfriend problems and breakups, she said it was thinking of him that helped her to get past these sad times.

She also told me that she had felt an urgency to make sure she came to his Mission Homecoming, but had no idea when he got back or when the Homecoming was. By pure coincidence when they were on their way home from her brother's wedding in a neighboring state, she was somehow shifted to a different car, which, by the way was going to detour through (our town) to S3's Homecoming.

Because of her long-time crush, and sweet wish to be his bride, she said she was petrified she might say something stupid and blow the whole thing, and ended up not saying a word to him while here. Then she heard her cousins inviting him to the other wedding, and again, she was terrified she would blow it and do something stupid. In her fear, she avoided him. But it all worked out, because he approached her, and asked her to dance. . .
. . .and that is The Rest Of The Story.

In retrospect, she chased him until he caught her. Isn't that how it goes much of the time? And, he asked her dad for her hand on. . .
. . .the 17th.

one more thing. . . from the time our children were tiny, we began to include their future spouses in our family prayers. We prayed they would be raised in good families, they would desire a temple marriage, and they would be kept safe. It is amazing to know she was in our perimeter from the time S3 met BF and became best friends.

SO I am getting ready for one more special EVENT to happen in this family. I am so pleased. We all LOVE Cute Girl. She is darling.

25 August
S3 and CG were here for the weekend. He had gotten the ring sized and brought it to her when he picked her up yesterday. He took her to the hill where the Temple stands, and then he got out his guitar and played
Beloved One
and sang it to her (which is really rare to hear him sing), then he got on one knee, and said, "(her name), will you marry me?"
She could only nod through her tears. She is such a darling girl.

Happy Birthday, Mr. Sailor

Just a quick note to wish my sweet and best friend a Happy Birthday. We have been married for almost 33 years, and he has been the best friend I could ever wish to have. I feel so lucky.

~a