Mulberry Jam

Today it rained again. While Sailor was painting his father's 50 year-old table, I began to pick mulberries.

It seems like the robins haven't discovered them this year. Usually we realize the mulberries are ripe because our tree is filled with robins. But this time, the branches are weighed down with ripening mulberries.

I don't know if it is because of all the rain, that they haven't discovered them, or if the rain has made so many more that the robins aren't eating them as fast as usual? Either way, I am enjoying the rain while we still have it, and decided to not let this abundance go to waste.

Sailor mentioned he wondered what Mulberry Jam tasted like. Like nothing else in this world, I thought.
I brought out a bucket and just held it under a branch, then gently milked the branch and the berries fell into the bucket. Sailor finished painting and grabbed a bowl and helped. We stopped when it began to rain too hard. But later I went back out and laid an old sheet beneath the tree and shook. I got more than when I picked. We ended up with a 5-quart ice cream bucket of berries. As I picked I think as many mulberries fell to the ground as I put in the bucket.

I looked up berry jam in the Joy of cooking. Basically use as much sugar as berries. So we did.

We had to stir the whole time. Sailor insisted on adding some water, which helped the process speed up a bit. Bring to boil, and boil 15 minutes, continuing to stir.

Pour into jars and seal with new hot lids.
As I stirred, Sailor suddenly said. "that's it!" and he grabbed a container and headed downstairs to grind wheat.
Yeah, we got homemade bread and freshly made mulberry jam today.
Talk about carb Heaven. There is no way a picture will ever let you know what a unique flavor mulberry jam tastes like.
It reminds me of Grandma.
It looks good enough to eat. What do you think?

Home made bread, fresh from the oven and freshly made mulberry jam.

heaven

~a

yuck

I feel like c**p today. Notice my biorhythm on the right hand side of the blog? Everything except intellectual are all below the mid-line and heading south.

Funny thing. I never check my biorhythm until I am feeling just awful and then it all makes sense. Speaking of intellectual, guess what I have been doing today instead of getting ready to drive to Salt Lake to choir? I have been having great fun studying and ordering stuff from this site.

I have been looking into replacing the shades in our bedroom for quite some time. I have a beautiful quilt that I made for this room. I received the purple "Sweepstakes" ribbon at the local county fair a long time ago when I made it. When I purchased the fabric, I had absolutely NO idea how much you need to purchase, so I have an orange box filled with the left over fabric.

Today as I googled "hand made window shades" and among other sites I found the one in the link above. It seemed to have all the answers and most instructions. I had no idea how much it would cost me in the end, but with the left over fabric on hand, it should cost less than custom made ones. I even purchased some drapery lining fabric which is a light-blocker. How cool is that? We live in the city limits and the street lights shine so bright, you can walk outside practically without stubbing your toes. I found I sleep much better with no light. For instance when I am at my mom's home, I sleep like a baby. She lives in the country and no light comes into the room except if an animal pass the motion sensor light. Also at the hotel last week we had such a nice dark room, I slept so peacefully. So I guess this is a good investment. Now, how do you block the barking dogs or the train a block away as it sounds its lonely horn when passing through the intersection? See why we are still looking out in the country for a place?

I looked into custom made blinds and they quoted me $300 a piece. Are You Kidding Me? For teeny tiny little inconsequential windows like the ones in my "master" bedroom?

So I guess I will design my own. I am so excited.

But in the mean time, I just took the old roll-up blinds off and replaced them with a piece of cloth the same with and length with serged sides and top, and a hem wide enough to hold the wood pull. I replaced the tape with new double-stick tape and adhered the cloth to the roller. It looks better than sheets or cloth draped over the top.

This cold gets me down, but my mind is working overtime.

Last night something weird happened. The cat decided he could climb my screen to get to the lattice roof. I was NOT happy. Scared me to death to hear that, then look out to see this large animal climbing my screen. YIKES. I opened the shade and he jumped down, only to start again when he thought the coast was clear. grrrrr. I yanked the shade and knocked it off trying to get at the window, so I could open it and spray water on him, but he had accomplished the dastardly deed and was on the lattice. I'm AWAKE NOW. Couldn't go back to sleep for at least an hour. Sailor says he will put a piece of board over that part of the lattice so he can go nowhere when he finishes climbing. I would love to make some sort of moat for him to pass through to get to my screen. What a stupid cat.

I started coming down with a slight sore throat on Sunday. I didn't believe it. I never get sick in the summer, but I did live on the edge last week, staying up late for several nights in a row. Yesterday I sort of lounged around, but still exercised in spite of how bad I felt. I reasoned that if I got my blood circulating, that the bad stuff would be washed out, eh?

Today I am worse. Just one of those things, in spite of all the stuff I am doing, including OTC drugs, nothing seems to get me better. Sailor called to see if I would like him to drive me up to choir tonight and just be there to listen, even if I sat away from everyone and recorded. My heart wanted to do this more than anything, but my body rebelled. I told him, I would see how I felt by 3 pm. As soon as the Dayquil wore off, I was back to yucky. He called around 2 to say that he, too, was feeling down.in.the.dumps. And was aparently rescinding on his offer to drive me. That was fine by me. I was ready to tell him "thanks, but no thanks, not going."

So the two of us "sickies" will just chill tonight. Hopefully not getting chills, but rather just veg instead. Going to bed at a decent hour and resting. I have already consumed about a gallon of liquids and my throat still feels dry. Glad I didn't have this last week. That trip was SOMUCHFUN!

Luckily you, the reader, can't get anything contageous while reading this post. I hope your day is happy and you are NOT sick. Now I am going to open the windows and try to smell this wonderful rain.

Onto happier stuff. It's raining. I LOVE the rain.

Oh I *LOVE* the RAIN! Bring it on, I could take this kind of rain every.single.day.

God Bless,
~a

I Left My Heart. . .

We just got back from a most fun trip. Sailor had a class to attend for his work, and he brought me along. We went to this same seminar 3 years ago and stayed at a really nice hotel, so when this came up again, we booked an extra ticket for me. We stayed in the same hotel again in San Jose.

The Sunday before we left, we quietly celebrated our 35th Wedding Anniversary. So we decided this would be our "trip" to commemorate that day.

I LOVE these jacaranda trees. They were everywhere.

Anyway, three years ago when we were here, I discovered how to travel via the light rail. I explored a few places beyond the train stops and found a fun mall. I entertained myself buying clothes and shoes for the upcoming trip to Austria. This time I had plans to try and find my way to San Francisco via rail. I knew we could connect from the light rail to Cal Train, but that was about as much as I knew.


The first night, the company hosted an introduction luncheon and we met all the participants of the class. They announced that this time the company were providing an excursion on a catamaran in the San Francisco Bay the next evening. So instead of finding my way to San Francisco via rail, the first day when Sailor went to class, I found my way to another place to shop. The name of the town is Campbell.


I found a wonderful little knitting shop called the Green Planet Yarn Store. They had different kinds of yarns, from wool and cotton to sugar cane and bamboo. The latter two are so soft, they feel like silk. I had to purchase some. I will attempt a scarf made from sugar cane and socks made from bamboo. There are no synthetics at this store. I found a cute measuring tape that was covered by a handmade sheep. You pull his tail and that is the measuring tape. I couldn't afford to buy him after I got all the yarn and needles for my two projects, so I took a picture of him instead.



While in the town of Campbell, I saw a bike made of bamboo or something like that and a cat sleeping in a bookstore window. Click on bike picture to enlarge and you tell me what you think it is.





I got back in time to soak my feet a bit in the hot tub, then change and be ready for the bus that left at 4:15. The bus was arranged with two seats facing backwards, a table and two seats facing forward. The hosts provided drinks and snacks. That was anything from water and soft drinks to beer and wine along with all variety of chips, pretzels and nuts. We were glad we didn't have to drive in the traffic. Our first stop was at the top of a hill called Twin Peaks. We were supposed to see the best view from there, but the fog had rolled in and we didn't see as far as they had hoped.


Then we headed to Pier 39 to meet our boat, the Adventure Cat II for a Sunset Cruise on the San Francisco Bay. It left from Pier 39 where the sea lions have taken over the pier.

The Captain was named Hans and he had a great accent. He was an excellent Captain. It was fascinating to watch the crew setting the sails.

As we sailed along, dinner was served below. It was a Mexican feast with an assortment of fruits and a wonderful plate of cookies and other desserts.





We sailed past Alcatraz and around that island, then turned back and rode so close to a restaurant jutting out from Sausalito that we could wave at the diners, and they waved back.






Then we sailed toward the Golden Gate Bridge. We sailed under the bridge and then turned around.







As we turned a huge cargo ship was heading out to sea, and another one coming in had apparently called for a tug boat. We passed it on its way to meet the next boat coming into shore. I made sure we kissed while under the bridge, and we whispered "Happy Anniversary" to one another.

Coincidentally, ten years ago we celebrated our 25th on a boat as well. We were on Lake Powell and were honored by all present on the house boat.


While heading to the Bridge the first time, I was invited to take the wheel. I can now say that I sailed a catamaran in the San Francisco Bay. That is something I never thought I would say about myself. What a wonderful memory.

The people in charge of the conference were the most gracious, generous and kind people. We felt like royalty. I guess they have this seminar every year. I think Sailor had so much fun that he will sign up again next year. wahoo.

Coming back to shore, the sun had set and we got some amazing night shots of the San Francisco sky line. It is all so magical. I LOVE it there.

Living in the middle of a desert makes all this ship and sea stuff quite unique and wonderful. I loved the Bay, I loved the fog, I loved the waves and the sea air. I could have stayed there for a month and never missed a thing at home.
I thought of the movie, Big Business where Sadie says to Rose, "I could live here the rest of my life and be as happy as Beulah the cow." Pretty much, I felt the same way.


I traveled the light rail a few more times the next day, once to go back to the Green Planet Yarn store to purchase things I forgot yesterday and again with Sailor to eat dinner after the light reception they held after the class was over. One more time on the day we left to show Sailor the mall I loved near Oakridge.

The airport is very tiny in San Jose. Our airline was delayed due to a downpour in Salt Lake. The plane coming was delayed taking off from Salt Lake and again from San Jose until the storm had subsided.

We arrived home to find out we had also gotten the downpour here in our tiny desert town. We have had beautiful rains all week and I am loving it. I am singing my Soft Rain song over and over and over.

I hope you had a great week.

~a

ps. it is now Wednesday after I wrote this. We have been enjoying rains all week. In fact tonight it has rained for an hour and a half now. I am loving it.

Soft Rain part 2

We have been enjoying a rare week of rain here in the West Desert. The rains we do get make you want to go outside and dance in it. I love the thunder, I love the rain, I LOVE Spring. It reminded me once again of one of my most favorite songs we sang in my choir.
Some time ago I posted about Soft Rain. I finally figured out how to upload it to You Tube and updated the post by embedding them into my blog.
So if you want to watch our choir sing, it is in two parts. The only camera we had was a Canon Sure Shot camera which would only allow a three-minute movie. The song is more like five minutes, so I had to post in two parts. But if you watch the words, we only miss one stanza.
Enjoy.
~a

Another Reason To LOVE the Rain

He's BACK!
Wahoo. Now don't get me wrong, because I wished the best for hubby and his guy friends on his fishing trip, but Sterling predicted rain, and it happened all over the state. They about got blown off the lake it was so bad. All their stuff is sand-blasted. For that I am so sad. They caught lots of fish, and I will have to post a picture, but they didn't save any to take home, because they didn't intend on coming back until Friday late. So they didn't eat a single fish they caught. But he learned a bunch on how to catch stripers and Bass, maybe that is the same fish, I am not sure.
Anyway they made the decision last night around 7 pm to come home, packed up all the gear and motored to the pick-up and home. Around 5 in the morning I found my beloved sleeping next to me. It took all my will power to not awaken him and cover him with kisses.
As a "welcome home" sort of thing, I baked bread which was done by 1:30 am and cooling on the bread board with good scents wafting through out the house.

So tonight it is egg salad sandwiches with homemade whole wheat bread and home made mayonnaise. mmmmmm

~a

Rain

We have been having the most fabulous rain storm for the past couple of days. It is very rare here in the desert, so even though I have been freezing, I have kept the windows open so I can hear it and smell it. Every time it rains I begin to hear this song in my head that we sang in a CASU concert on 12 October 2007.

Before we start singing, the director says, "Its going to rain"
He is a weatherman for KUTV Channel 2 in Salt Lake.
Before I got the little Flip Video for Sailor for Christmas, he used my little Canon Power Shot A95. It only takes a 3 minute video, so you have to click on both to hear the whole song.
I have searched all over the Internet to find this song to download. Someone said the Mormon Youth Chorus sang it, but I cannot find it. So this is my only copy and it is one my most favorite songs. I guess I love how it sounds like the choir is actually singing a rain storm. Starting out dripping then faster, then a deluge of lots of rain drops and finally as the storm moves on, it ends with some dripping again. I love the rain, and I love this song.



So even though this concert was way last October, my head still sings this song, so I thought I might as well write a post about it.

~a

Raised Patio Garden

I LOVE Iris! I want a bunch of purple ones. I have to find some of those dark purple ones.


Now we are talking about making a waterfall that immediately drains into the ground because I don't want any water features that end up drowning my grandchildren. I took some pictures of a neighbor's little rock garden. This is sort of what I have in mind. We are still thinking about this.

When it stops raining (I LOVE THE RAIN) thunder and all, I will take pictures of the back yard raised beds as well.

(later update)Here they are:
We are getting along with our back yard raised beds. Sailor has completed three now, two rectangles and one triangle. We have tomatoes, peppers and flowers planted.
This shows the raised beds Sailor built. We have surrounded each tomato plant with cages and grass clippings. This serves as a mulch which keeps in the water and protects from weeds growing. We still have two more triangles to build later this summer. The cinder block is just laid out where they will be. They will be ready for next spring. Another neat thing about these raised beds is that we can take PVC pipe and arch it over the beds and lay plastic tarp over to form a greenhouse in the fall to protect the tomatoes from frost and make the season last a bit longer. We could also use them in the spring to start the seedlings earlier than normal.




This third one, the triangle one is just for flowers. I love these orange poppies. They grow wild in Eureka along the roadside. They are great when you have fields of them. I just have a few so far.


Two of these pictures show my rock garden and my house plants. They love camping out in the summer. They get better sun, better watering (with the automatic sprinkler) and better drainage. I also planted a bunch of hanging plants that are on the rocks. I will hang them later when Sailor gets the sprinkling system strung for them.

We already had these two triangle beds on the patio with benches.

So there is our progress so far. . .
~a

tut tut, it looks like. . .

. . .dust.

The wind has been blowing hard off and on for the past week since Sunday. First we get a blustery day, then it gets cold then maybe a bit of moisture, then a beautiful sunny day, which transforms in the afternoon to another windy day, which eventually turns into another cold front. And on it goes. We have been seeing 30 degree days one day and the next is 70 degrees. I don't remember seeing anything like that before.

Around here when it looks like rain, usually we get the dark clouds, and all the symptoms, but then. . . (say this next in Chandler-from-Friends-voice)we get dusted.

This morning was so peaceful. I opened all the windows I could, so I could hear the spring sounds and my wind chimes in the back yard. I was making a gooey delicious desert and realized I needed an ingredient, so I went to the store.

heh heh

Whenever I go to the store, I find bargains and usually end up buying more than intended. Today I went in for Brownie mix, because I am too lazy to make it from scratch, and a traverse rod cord, because I am fixing my curtain rod. I came out with all sorts of bargains. The butcher occasionally marks the meat down, and I ended up with all sorts of delicious pork cuts for half price. I also got graham crackers, 2/$6 and a bunch of other stuff. It all ended up costing me around $85. I buy things in twos. Why do I do that? I find I have this urge to pick up an extra when I only needed one. Is it the food storage habit they instilled in us in Relief Society? Do you buy things in twos?

Anyway, I digress. I have a tendency to go off on a tangent, sorry. Anyway. When I got home, the wind had kicked in and my house now feels like it has been dusted. The floors, which were just swept, all feel gritty. I take off my shoes in the house and cannot stand a dirty floor.

The above picture is taken from my front porch looking north and west. The whole sky is filled with dust.

I just feel like taking a nap. My daddy had open heart surgery and he always felt the barometer change. My little sister was stabbed when she was young and had emergency open heart surgery. She also feels the change. She says she just feels like curling up in a ball and sleeping. Besides that, she hurts. She gets sharp pains right where they broke her rib to get to her heart in a hurry. They say the rib continues to grow. It is the only bone that tries to replace itself. That is what I have heard. I don't know if it is an old-wives tale or if it is true. Anyway she hurts in this weather. I don't hurt, but I can hardly keep my eyes open. It seems like a good day to put on a good movie, curl up under a blanket and sleep right through it.

Do you get tired when the wind blows?

**yawn**

nite~nite

~a

Fall~Summer's back is broken~Soft Rain, part 1

I guess it is officially fall, at least on the calendar, and I do hope for an Indian summer. But Saturday it drizzled rain all day. A rare and happy occasion in the West Desert.

All day I sang a song in my head, which we are singing in our choir, the Choral Arts Society of Utah Master Chorale. It is called "Soft Rain" by Janet Cox and Douglas Cox, arranged by Douglas Cox and Jay Welch. Jay is LDS and used to direct the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. He also started and lead the Mormon Youth Chorus for several years. I cannot find a recording of it anywhere on the internet. Sterling, my conductor said the Mormon Youth Chorus might have it on a recording, but I cannot find it anywhere.

But here are the words. (Keep in mind as you read the poem, that the choir and piano sound like a rain storm as they start softly, then keep getting more intense, and then finish pianissimo.)

added later: I belong to the Choral Arts Society of Utah. I recorded this and finally figured out how to put it on You Tube, then to embed it onto this blog.

Our choir director is also the local Weatherman for KUTV Channel 2 in Salt Lake. Before he starts, he turns to the audience and says, "It's going to rain"


(women) Rain falls
soft rain at my window
Every butterfly has hurried away
All the honeybees have called it a day
And the columbine are bending their heads
in the rain

Rain falls
soft rain making puddles
for the children's feet
the puddles are sweet
And the skater-bug fleet finds small pools a treat
And the columbine are bending their heads
in the rain.

(men)
While the rain is falling there's a quietness about the world;
While the thunder is calling there's a quiet hush about the world
A time to remember the beautiful things,
To look for tomorrow and your fondest dreams

(women)
While the rain is falling there's a quietness about the world;
While the thunder is calling there's a quiet hush about the world

(men and women)
A time to remember the beautiful things,
To look for tomorrow and your fondest dreams

(men continue singing)
While the rain is falling there's a quietness about the world;
While the thunder is calling there's a quiet hush about the world
(as women sing)
Rain falls, soft rain making puddles
For the children's feet,
The puddles are sweet
And the skater-bug fleet
Find small pools a treat
And the columbine are bending their heads
in the rain.
Rain falls
soft rain through the tree boughs
Bringing ev'ning birds a quick friendly bath
washing afternoon dust from my wide garden path
And the columbine are bending their heads
in the rain.

(men and women)
A time to remember the beautiful things,
To look for tomorrow and your fondest dreams.

(men)
While the rain is falling there's a quietness about the world;
While the thunder is calling there's a quiet hush about the world

(women)
Rain. . . falls. . .
soft rain at my window. . .
I will go outside where sleepy rain blows. . .
Feel the wet on my face. . .feel the wet on my clothes. . .
And like the columbine. . .
I want to bow my head
in the rain. . . . . .

to learn more about my choir, The Choral Arts Society of Utah, visit our web site
www.casu.org

Added later: I received a very sweet note from Jay Welch's daughter and she sent me a copy of this song, so now I can sing along whenever I want.

This Saturday rain cooled things off a bit, and after one of those days in the fall, it just doesn't get as hot anymore. The garden is finally producing prolifically, which is always wonderful, but hard to have a frost and have it just die after it just got started.
In the summer we use a whole house fan every night. This is a 3' square fan that is mounted somewhere in the middle of the house in the ceiling and vents into the attic. Every night we open all the windows a tiny bit (about 2-3 inches) and when we turn that fan on, it sucks the curtains in about a foot. All the cool night air is pulled in, circulated around the house and vented out the attic, which is cooled off by morning. It really keeps the house cool in the summer.

I mark my seasons by when I turn that fan on and off. I think I began turning it on about June. And this last week we tried it before bed, but turned it off in the middle of the night. I think it was about Wednesday. Thursday, I removed all the box fans from the rooms, and our bedroom windows. And today, sadly, I turned on the heat. I have it set at 64 degrees. Monday I covered the tomatoes with blankets.
::sigh::
it really is fall.

I am including a link to the other post I did on Soft Rain here.

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.

I love the Rain

I feel so blessed when it rains. When I was a young girl, we used to sit on the porch at my Grandma's house in Kansas and watch every rain storm. It was a celebration to have it rain. We would enjoy the drama of the clouds darkening. Perhaps a wind would blow, then the thunder and lightning would come and finally it would begin to rain. The rain drops would begin here and there. The smell of rain on the dry ground was so sweet. Sometimes it would rain for quiet a while, but it was so amazing to see, we wouldn't ever go inside until it was over. When the rain would subside, we would hurry out to the rain gauge and check how much we Grandma got. I remember checking every day and seeing it was 3". That is unheard of way out west here. So it is even more appreciated. We are lucky to get 12" in a year here.
I love going to sleep at night when it is raining, and listen to the rain dancing on my window and puddling on the ground. I sleep the best when it is raining.
Rain has always been considered a blessing, and I never grow tired of it.
As I got older, I found some wonderful records that had a beautiful rainstorm going on while music played called One Stormy Night. The legend is that a rare rainstorm happened near Las Vegas, and some quick-thinking person recorded it, then set it to music and put it together, and sold it. I still can listen to those CD's and never tire of them.
Rain continued to bless my life at very special occasions. It rained the most it had in 30 years the day of my garden wedding reception. We had NO alternative plans in case of inclement weather. So we all gathered inside. I didn't cut my cake, all I remember was this sea of heads and shoulders as well-wishers gathered anyway to wish the happy couple their best. Sailor's father and brother became the chauffeurs, and ferried everyone from the top of the driveway down to my folks house, so they could park their cars in the field at the top of the road and not drag as much mud into the house, and also not get stuck in our long driveway. At the time I did NOT consider this a blessing. Actually I thought for a long time afterwards that I didn't have the reception yet, because it didn't happen as I had planned. I imagined myself wandering between guests in our beautiful 5 acre yard, and greeting all the people in my wedding dress, introducing my husband to them.
As the years went on in our lives, we discovered that we were blessed with rain at every important event in our lives.
Every time we moved, we were blessed with an amazing rain storm. I have ruined cookbooks and photo albums to prove it. One storm was so amazing, we weren't sure we could continue driving through the night, because the lightning was so bright the rain so dense the wipers couldn't keep up, and the canyon roads were so curvy and wet. I was following The Sailor in the car. He was driving the truck and trailer. He came around a curve and hit a huge boulder that had fallen off the mountain. I barely missed it. We pulled into the next station and luckily had a spare tire. That boulder had done a number on that rim.
As our lives continued, it rained on every baby's birth day. I had six children in the first three months of the year and we were blessed with rain at every birth. Sometimes it wasn't very much, perhaps a few drops, sometimes it seemed like a miracle that it was rain and not snow, because two were born in January.
As this phenomenon continued, we would say stuff like, "I wonder if it is going to rain today?" or "It can't possibly rain in January, I wonder if this time snow will count?" But every time a special thing happened to us, God sent his blessings of rain. It was like he was sending a message of approval. We got rain.
In the summertime when it rained, I taught the children to not be afraid, but to embrace the storm. We would go onto the patio and dance in the rain. The kids would sometimes get umbrellas or buckets to cover their heads, or sometimes just stand in the rain, allowing the rain to dance upon their heads and caress their shoulders as they played on the wet patio.
This rain blessing has continued in our children's lives, and they too celebrate with rain. On each of their wedding days it has rained. One daughter got rained out of her garden reception, but she was wise and had reserved the church a block away.
I guess you can look at life in two ways. You can call something that totally interferes a blessing or a curse. We choose to call it a blessing.
When my grandpa died, we were sitting on Grandma's porch later that night after the funeral, and a beautiful rain storm was looming in the distance. The sky and clouds lit up for an hour along the east horizon. We had the most amazing lightning show I have ever seen. It was almost like someone was orchestrating it. One cloud would shimmer, then another on the other side, then the middle would light up. This continued for an hour. We marveled at this and decided that Grandpa was giving us the show of our lifetime, sort of telling us that it was okay. We told Grandma about this, and we all held each other and cried our own raindrops of sorrow, but of joy as well. Joy for a life well lived. Joy for our own lives and our privilege to have been a part of his life.
I love the rain.

33 Years and counting with my Best Friend

I have a Best Friend (BF) . I met him 35 years ago in March at the Student Branch located in the Institute building . He came up to me once before and asked a question. I was serving as the Sunday School secretary, and was busily typing a list. Everyone had been asking me about this list, and I was blowing them off with a quick answer that it would be posted in a minute. He was one of these, and still teases me that I blew him off the first time he spoke to me. Heck, I was blowing everyone off that day.
The next time I met him, he asked if anyone was sitting beside me. I told him, "you are". We introduced ourselves and I was thinking what a beautiful HUNK of a man he was. We sat together and talked many times after that, and one day my little sister, ZB and I were talking about the cute guys in Church. We mentioned HUNK, and my sis said "he has a girlfriend." I couldn't believe this. We had talked together after church many times and I didn't connect this other girl with him. We were actually driving past the Institute building where the Branch meets, and there, as if to confirm things were this guy and that girl holding hands, walking in front of the Institute building. I was devastated. From then on, I watched, and sure enough, they did seem to be better friends than I gave them credit for. But as soon as Church was over, she would leave, and he would make a bee line over to me. I learned they both were investigating the Church, but she was doing it for him. He was the one really interested, she wasn't as much. He told me later that he liked me because I had a testimony of the Church, plus he thought I was cute.
Anyway, we talked. We talked every week, and sometimes on the phone. We were becoming Best Friends through these conversations. I remember one night, when BF and I were talking outside near the cars with his roommate, Paco. Paco was telling us of a new movie he had seen, The Godfather. He was describing a particularly gruesome scene of a horses head being found in a bed. It was a bit chilly, and I shivered, so BF put his arm around me. I remember hoping Paco would just keep talking all night about this terrible movie, so this cute guy would keep his arm around me.
Towards summer, it became obvious that we were becoming closer, and he finally told Marcie that it was over. I learned that Marcie and BF had been together since he was 16. They had met at a Lutheran Church camp. She was devastated, of course. And it seemed that the whole congregation of the Student Branch took sides. The ones who had known BF longer took his side, and the same for poor little Marcie. Needless to say, her interest in the Church faded, as did she.
We continued to talk. I cannot say that we ever went on any official date, we just walked or drove and talked. I cannot say how many miles we put on, but we had so much to talk about. Then one day it happened. I had told him a stupid joke: q. How do you spot a happy motorcyclist? a. By the bugs on his teeth.
We had walked up near the base of the mountain, by the Flat Irons, and I stood on a rock, so I could be closer to his height but was still looking skyward to see his eyes. It was raining. He kissed me. After this, I said, "How do you spot a happy girl?. . .by the raindrops on her teeth."
Our first kiss. In the rain. It was funny because rain became a theme of our lives. Here in the west, rain is not common enough to grow tired of it. In fact, with my children, I taught them to dance in the rain. I taught them to love the lightning and thunder storms, and dance in the rain.
Rain happened with every major event in our lives. Every move (I have ruined cook books and photo albums to attest to this), every birth, our wedding reception, our children's major events. It rains, and I believe it is God's blessing, telling us we did the right thing.
Anyway the friendship continued from then. By July, he and I were thinking seriously about marriage. One day in the office, when I had nothing to do, I was doodling and I wrote on a piece of paper: "Dearest Dave, There is nothing more I would rather do than spend eternity with you." It had many flowers, vines, and leaves in the shape of a heart surrounding the saying. It was still in the car that evening when we were talking, and I asked him what he was thinking. He said he was thinking about what it would be like to be married to me. :D
I said, "hold that thought," and I hurried outside to the car and brought this note back inside. Because of all the detailed vines and hearts, it was obvious that I had not just run outside and quickly printed this.
That little note is in our wedding album.
In September two former boyfriends came around, both proposing marriage. The first one who came, with BF's permission, made me realize I could NEVER be with when I saw him. The second guy, never really proposed, he took me on a drive to Wild Basin, my favorite hiking spot in the mountains. He put his arm around me, and we walked. The whole time, in my mind, I was comparing him to BF, and BF was the winner in all categories.
Finally, SG said, "there is someone else, isn't there?" I confirmed this and he asked about him. I told him about this new Best Friend, and SG congratulated me. He gave me a hug. We walked back to the car, and started back home. On the way down the mountain, he stopped the car, we got out and stood on a rock, and he hugged me once more, long and hard. Later when my mom went to his wedding reception, his bride expressed she was happy to meet the mother of the girl he had almost married! We had no idea.
By the next June, BF was able to get baptized into the Church. We went ring shopping two days later. Because newly baptized people have to wait a year to go through the temple, we decided to wait, rather than start our life together early without a temple marriage. So exactly a year to the date of his baptism we were married in the Manti Temple. Our lives have been filled with wonderful adventures, happiness, and six children. I feel blessed every day when I kiss him goodbye as he leaves for work, and every evening when he comes home. And I think of him all day. I am so glad I have had so many years with this sweet man, my Best Friend.
Happy Anniversary, Best Friend.