What a lovely day!

We were able to go to Salt Lake today to celebrate a very special occasion with my sister and most of her children today. (We missed you Sam.) Two of my children were there as well, plus a darling little grand daughter. <3

Families are so precious, and days like today where we get to see each other, eat together, visit, laugh and love are the most memorable. It is amazing to watch all these wonderful children, now all grown up, married and having families of their own and see how fabulous they have all turned out.

I am constantly astonished at my own children and wonder how they were able to become such amazing people, in spite of my raising. I had no idea what I was doing while they were growing up, and I had no idea how very fast they would grow and leave home. They will understand in about 20 years what I am talking about.

I made my sister some homemade sea foam candy today as a late birthday present. I had no idea you can make this at home and I have been searching for it every time I go to a candy shop. Some have never heard of it. Whenever I do find it, they charge anywhere from $10 to $18 a pound!

I looked up on the internet for a recipe, and when I found out what the ingredients were, I about choked. That is highway robbery! When you consider the ingredients:

line a 9x13 inch pan with tin foil that has been sprayed with a no stick spray
1 cup sugar
1 cup Karo Syrup
in heavy pan on medium heat, combine and bring to boil, stirring until it reaches 300 degrees F.
remove from heat
immediately add 4 tsp baking soda, stir thoroughly and dump into pan.
allow to cool
once cool, cut into squares and dip in chocolate.
The whole family was thrilled and all are big fans of Seafoam Candy. Fun to be a hit with everyone.

Remember this wonky star I sewed? Well it is in this picture in the upper left-hand corner- 3 across, 3 down. How fun is that?

Since it takes us almost 3 hours to drive one way, including fueling car, bathroom breaks, errands, etc. that makes it around 1 am before we get home. So I am writing this at a late hour, and I am going to sleep.

I hope everyone's weekend is fabulous.

~a

A Giant Among Men

out of respect for the living and to protect their privacy, I have eliminated all last names and any places from the program.

Today was Cecil's funeral. He was 86. To me he was family. He and his family immediately adopted us when we first moved here, and treated our family with such love. They were among the first friends we made. I will miss him.

He was one of the first people we met when we moved to this town. He was the Bishop of the Ward we which we live. Our community is predominately LDS, and a Ward is a congregation consisting of around 500 people who live within certain boundary lines.

He was a kind, soft-spoken and great man. I was called by him to serve as a Counselor to the Primary President, then about a year later, I was called to serve as the Primary President . The Bishop was released while I was still serving as the President. I felt so strongly to put him and his wife, Ava, in the nursery. It is for the little ones from ages 18 months to three years. Cecil and Ava served as the Nursery leaders. They were the perfect couple for the spot. She baked cookies and gave the five minute lesson and he held the children on his lap and played his harmonica. The children called them Grandma and Grandpa. My son got to be in that nursery, and I felt so lucky. I knew he would not have any trauma in the Nursery because Grandma and Grandpa Losee were there each week.

Cecil's eight children participated in the funeral. I loved each of their talks. They spoke of how he was such a great example as a father and leader of their home. He worked hard, but also played hard. They had wonderful memories of their childhood. He took them fishing after helping with the chores. He took them water skiing on the boat.

I can remember Cecil serving in the neighborhood. He was always raking leaves, picking up trash and taking the blind man next door to Church. Every spring, he would be out with his burner, cleaning up the dead tumble weeds in the ditches. He had a shovel and would dig the puncture weeds and haul them to the dump. He loved everyone. But he especially took care of the widows and widowers. Once when raking leaves for everyone in the neighborhood, he asked my widow neighbor across the street if she wanted her leaves raked. Being fiercely independent, she thanked him then responded that she had a mower that picked them up. This was one of those INDUSTRIAL SIZED rider mowers with a monster bag on the back. She showed Cecil her wonderful mower (which she even used to vacuum up the leaves in the gutter in front of her house and the neighboring houses) and he took one look and said: "Oh, in that case, would you mind going down the street to Ruby's house and doing hers as well?"

He and his wife were called to serve a full time Mission to Nauvoo Illinois where the Temple was being reconstructed. A web site was set up with a live web camera focused on the Temple construction site. I would click onto that camera every day and watch the progress as the Temple was built. It was such fun to watch the construction and think of Elder & Sister Losee working there and watching it in real time. Toward the end of Losee's mission, the Temple was completed and Nauvoo Temple hosted an open house before they dedicated it a House of the Lord. The local News stations sent reporters there to interview people in the town. I remember one day listening to the news in the background while I worked, when I heard a familiar voice. It was Ava's in her typical way saying, "I think it is so exciting!" I quickly looked up, but the station had gone to a commercial. You can't miss her voice and when the commercial was over, sure enough, there she was being interviewed.

My sister decided to travel back there, and I got a ride with her, her husband and my mom. We got to see the brand new temple inside and out. Then we went to find them. After asking around, we found him. He was dressed in pioneer period costume. He told us that Ava was sick, and asked if would we come and help give her a blessing. Since my brother-in-law holds the Priesthood, he and Elder Losee laid their hands on her head and blessed her to get well.

The Visitor's Center usually had a little play at the end of each day called Sunset on the Mississippi. But this day was stormy and they canceled it. I was disappointed. After they completed their mission and got home, Cecil invited me to come to their house. They remembered that I had missed the Sunset on the Mississippi play and offered to show me a video of it. So I got to see it after all. That is typical of Cecil and Ava. They are always thinking of others.

He has left a wonderful legacy. His children are all wonderful human beings and as one said in his talk, "Dad taught us good habits and standards." I feel lucky enough to be friends with several of his children and am richer because of it.

Cecil has left behind a sweet wife, eight children, 49 grand children and 51 great grand children.

In World War II, he was a gunner in a B-52 bomber. One of his mates said he was sure the Pearly Gates were swung wide open when Cecil died and a myriad of angels were waiting there to greet him. I really believe that.

God be with you 'til we meet again, Cecil. You are one of Heavenly Father's choicest Servants.

~a

Finding Faith

note: The following is from my notes I took at Women's Workshop held at our Stake. I belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I wanted to add these notes to my blog for my own reference, because it was a spiritually growing day in my life.

Today was a Women's Conference at our Church. We had three classes offered in a two hour period. This meant we could choose two out of the three. There were guest speakers for the classes, two of which were our local doctor and a former State Representative. The third works at Deseret Book in Salt Lake. She was our guest speaker last year, and was invited back to give a workshop. She also was asked to suggest a main speaker for the conclusion. She chose this wonderful woman named Chris who is blind.

Chris began by asking us to think of how the Spirit teaches us, how Christ communicates with us. She also told us to think of a problem in our lives that we have today. Then she told us her story.

Then she told us how her doctor discovered the tumors in her eyes when she was 7 months old. The medical terms were Bilateral Retinoma Blastoma. The specialist they went to see walked in with no compassion and basically told the parents that they may as well get used to the fact that their daughter would never see, and that one eye was going to be removed tomorrow and the other one radiated. Stunned and feeling darkness, the parents decided to get a second opinion. They found a different hospital who decided to radiate both eyes instead. It saved some of her sight, but she had limited vision.

As she grew, her temples did not because of the radiation which gave her head an hour-glass shape. She interjected that all women want an hour-glass shape. She did, but not necessarily where it is. She prefers it in her waistline, which she didn't get she said laughingly.

When she was 8 they discovered another tumor, this one in her right eye, and even after the surgery to remove it, she completely lost sight in that eye. They told her it was only swelling from the surgery and it wouldn't go away. But it didn't. Her left eye was the one the doctor would have removed, leaving her completely blind at a very young age.

She remembers the turning point in her life then. As she listened, she realized all this would not go away, she would always have a misshapen head, she would never see out of that eye again, she couldn't do the things she wanted to do. Her first reaction was "why me?" It was a turning point in her life, and she did the thing she says she was best at. She threw a huge temper tantrum right there in the doctor's office hallway.

Her mother just held her and loved her, all the while praying for the Spirit to tell her what to tell her daughter. When Chris was reduced to tears and sobs, her mother whispered into her ear. This wise mother told her that she could choose how to react to this tragedy. She could be bitter, or she could take these problems to Heavenly Father.

Chris took this to heart and went right upstairs to her bedroom and poured her heart out. She remembers receiving a very specific answer that Jesus Christ would help her. She said this is a great experience for an eight year old.

Then she skips ahead to five years ago. She noticed the limited vision began to close in and fade. She went to doctor after doctor. None of them could find a solution or a reason. Then one day, she felt the Spirit tell her specifically to get a CT Scan. The doctors wouldn't listen. One even told her it was the dry environment, and she should move to Hawaii. She said laughingly she would happily have done that if insurance would pay for that. But soon thereafter she had to be hospitalized for a splitting headache. The CT Scan showed nothing.

Here she interjected with her great humor, that, well, yes it showed she had a brain, but it didn't show why it was hurting so much. After a second CT Scan, the doctor told her to take the CT Scan to an Ophthalmologist, that there was something in the eye socket. It revealed two things: another tumor and air bubbles in her brain. They had been caused by the lining over her brain had been weakened by all the radiation. This was causing the pain, but the cancer meant they needed to remove that eye, or this time it would take her life.

Her mother had taken her to the doctor and asked her what she wanted to do. She felt bitterness returning. She was married, she had children. She asked her mom to take her to Temple Square. They walked to the Christus statue. She remembers standing there, wanting to feel Christ's arms around her. She just stood there and cried and cried. As she stood there, she remembered a scripture. John 14:27 which says,"Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." She felt the Spirit and realized she must trust Heavenly Father. This moment, she felt was a turning point in her life, and thus a holy one.

She asked her mom to take her across the square to the Temple. There she stood, looking up at those tall granite walls, and she prayed. She thought of her husband and children, and how this would affect them. She prayed for her eyesight, and in the same sentence, she uttered,"thy will be done" and asked that the two somehow be brought together. She realized then that it was not Heavenly Father's will that her eyesight be restored. She didn't know why, but she realized what must be done. She gave her will over to Heavenly Father, and that moment in her life became a holy one.

That next Monday in the prep room, the perky nurse came in with a Sharpie. She was to write "YES" with the Sharpie on the eye the doctor was to remove. She said she couldn't do it. Finally, her husband did it for her.
Again she interjected that she fantasizes about writing on his face with a Sharpie while he is sleeping.
People would say to her, "you're so strong! The Lord doesn't give you any more than you can handle." She said these words didn't make her feel better, they were like a knife in the heart. She needed strength and felt like she had none. She said these things happen so you can turn to Christ. Two things to remember are these:
There is Grace available to you. He will give you an enabling power and bless you with strength.
There is Hope. Put your hope in Jesus Christ.
She knows the blindness won't last forever, and her "hour-glass figure" won't last forever
With hope cometh faith. It is the anchor to goodness for man. This world is hard, but there is a better world, the world to come, on the right hand of God.
But there is hope in this life as well. There is joy. At one time, she thought she would never smile or laugh again.
She has found that laughter has always been the better part of life. She has found humor in her situation. Then to give examples, she told a few funny stories.
The first one was in the hallway in Church. A well-meaning woman stopped her and asked if she was teaching her children sign language. "Why would I do that?" she queried. The woman answered, "So you can communicate with them."
Kids ask her, how do you drive? She answered that she used her white cane, and when she hit something that meant to slow down and find her way around it. It seemed to make sense to the children. She explained that she has never been able to drive and has never driven, and added legally.
She told of how the Bishop had asked her to give the closing prayer. As she anticipated this, she decided to use her cane, because if she had asked her husband to take her, he would have had to bring the baby, then the four-year old would not want to be left alone on the bench, and would have come up with them. She really didn't want to cause a scene. But when he announced that she would say the prayer, he also told the congregation that a deacon would help her to the front. She said that unless you are taught, it is hard to guide a blind person. They shuffled to the front then he left her about three feet away from the lectern. She began to find her way, and in a panic, the Bishop and his counselor both jumped up and guided her to the lecturn, one on each side.
she told us, "Now after all that, I'm supposed to pray?"
She said, Each of us has sadness in our lives, so we can turn to Jesus Christ and turn ourselves over to Jesus Christ. There is healing available in Jesus Christ. We can become holier because of hard times. We must go to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ to become Holier.

I hope this is helpful to anyone reading it. It has been to me.
God Bless
~a

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.

One Of Those Busy Weekends

On Friday, my sister, her husband and I traveled to St. George to watch their grandson sing with the Phoenix Boy's Choir. Their director was once a director for the Vienna Boy's Choir. He was very strict and they were very disciplined and very good. He was trying to be very good so he could qualify for the next tour group. And when I say "be good" I mean follow all the rules.

They really did well and I had a fine time getting to visit all my sister's friends who live in that area and with her grandson. He would be my grand nephew. He is 11 and a very fine young man.


After spending the night, we went back to Salt Lake where we performed in Murray Park Amphitheater for Armed Forces Day. We had a packed "house", which has never happened before, and we had a good concert which ended in fireworks. Two of my girls came with their husbands and family. My husband had gone to a boat builder's mess-about at Starvation Reservoir and got there after the concert, then we went to D2's for ice cream and strawberries and visiting. We left pretty late and got home by 2 and finally in bed by 3:30 which made for a really hard Sunday. Needless to say we took naps after Church, but mine turned into a 4 hour nap. Which is bad later because it is hard to go to sleep after such a long nap.

That Friday morning, I found out after the fact, my chiropractor, Rodger finally died.
I will make that another post, I want to dedicate a whole post to my friend.
~a

dealing with death. . . again

I apologize in advance for a depressing post. As you can tell by the title, we are dealing with death, again. Besides President Hinckley, and President Faust's wife (of the LDS Church 1st Presidency) there have been some local deaths.

Since I came home from visiting my mother, two elderly men in our town have died. Both from our Ward, both on the same day!
One, a neighbor was very ill with melanoma and he hung on to life like two cats, each with 9 lives. In the last two years, his sweet single daughter not only reduced her hours at work to take care of him, she gave up her job, social life, and church life in the end to take care of him. During those last years, she got him up, helped him do his "business", showered or sponge bathed him, helped him dress, tied his shoes, fed him, and helped him into his chair. She bought a new TV so he could see it. She took him to all his Dr. appointments. When he was feeling better, she drove him down south to his ancestral hometown and helped him put flowers on the graves of his parents and loved ones. If anyone will have many jewels in her crown in the next life, it will be my sweet friend, Lu Anne. Now her dad has finally died, the funeral is Friday, and then she has some decisions to make. Where will she work? She still has $600 a month house payments. She refinanced the home in order to pay for much needed roof and rewiring a few years ago. Will she sell that very sad little home for nothing (I am wondering if she can even command $40,000 for that postage-sized lot)move up north and pay more rent to get a job, since this town doesn't have much to offer?

The other sweet man who died was an amazing man. He always put you first, and acted like you were the most important and loved person on this earth. He always shook your hand and was always willing to talk. He was once a Bishop in this Ward, and everyone knew him as the handshaking Bishop. Good man. He and his wife served two missions in their latter years. His wife had died 14 months earlier and he really missed her. They were in love and treated each other with such kindness and love. He was ready. He had lived a good life, 88 years old. His sweet daughters spoke today at his funeral. One came all the way from Switzerland with her husband. Her 8 sons who couldn't come, were listed on the back as honorary pall bearers. She is bunking at my house and I feel honored to get the privilege of providing that service. I love her. She is a dear friend.

Both men had lived good lives. Both were widowers and ready to join their wives in the next life. It is hard to watch the daughters miss their dads so bad, but it is also a celebration for the deceased. They are joining their wives, and are no longer in pain. They lived long and good lives.

The other man, is MUCH too young to have a death sentence, but I found out on Monday that my chiropractor has pancreatic cancer. This, according to some research done on the internet, is a death sentence. I have heard as short as 3 months from diagnosis to death, to as long as 22 months. This cancer is terribly hard and the pain is terrible. It is a hard cancer to diagnose, and virtually has NO cure. Chemotherapy can be administered, but basically all it does is to shrink the tumor so the pain is not as bad.
This man is only 60. He has lived a good life, he has worked in the temple, he has served in the genealogy library, he is on the city counsel and is the Fire Chief for our volunteer Fire department. He is soft spoken, understanding and kind. During times when I was his patient, and was pouring my heart out about my woes, he always said "I understand." And I believe he really did.
He has 7 children, all but two are married. I was saddened to think of his poor little wife being left behind. She has worked hard and served faithfully where ever she has been asked. Those two daughters who are not married will not have their dad at their weddings. They are friends with my children, most of their children match up in ages with my children. This news is so depressing. I cannot imagine how it would be to know my dear Sailor was going to leave me for an indeterminate amount of time. I put myself in other's shoes and my heart is aching for dear Mary.
Now Sailor's mom called last night to tell him that a friend of hers drown (fell through the ice) while walking her dog. No one is quite sure what happened, the dog was not wet when he came home without her. She leaves behind a sweet husband, Al.
One more thing~a young man just had a longboard accident. Landed on his head (without a helmet). The Doctors put plates in his head, and some mesh where there was no bone left. He is in a coma and may not live. He is only 24. He and his little sister were really close. His little sister always was right in front of my S3 alphabetically at school and they both had the same name, except hers was the feminine version, so the announcer would have to change the pronunciation each time they read their names together and they would always stumble on their names.

So to those who are left behind, or who might or will be left behind I am so sorry. And to the reader, please say a little prayer for Lu Anne, Ann, Mary, Rodger, Al and Dallas, and all the others left behind. Go kiss your spouse and loved ones, call your dads and moms & children and tell them you love them, and count your blessings. Life is short.
~a

Trying to find a needle in a. . .

. . .Wedding dress! the bride
Yes, you read right, finding a needle in a wedding dress.
I sew for people. I mostly do alterations, repairs, replace zippers, and my favorite, altering prom dresses, but I have sewn two wedding dresses, no, three. I sewed a wedding dress each for two of my daughters, and one wedding dress I sewed in literally one day for a client who called on a Saturday evening and expected not only a wedding dress and a lace jacket, but a mother's dress and a bridesmaid dress by the next Friday!!! I told her she was crazy. But I finally agreed to do the wedding dress if she would find someone else for the bridesmaid and the mother, so the crazy person turned out to be me. But, I proved to myself that indeed, I could sew a wedding dress in one day. I worked from 6 AM until 8:30 PM without hardly a break. That was amazing to me. But I digress.

the bustle


I am remodeling a wedding dress for my daughter's favorite roommate, by shortening the sleeves, hem and fashioning a bustle. The bustle was a bit complicated since the dress has an over piece that drapes to the side and wants to flap open as I pull up the bustle. I ended up bustling it in four places and tacking the flappy piece down with hand stitches. Three of the bustles were made by attaching some tiny ribbons underneath that when tied to three more ribbons on the innermost lining, end up pulling the bustles under. The forth bustle is made with a ribbon loop the is brought up and attached to a satin covered button at the waist.
If you have ever looked inside a wedding dress, you will see that there are many, many, many layers. I accidentally didn't include an underlining when I made the ribbon loop. Realizing this, I got a large eyed needle, about 2" long, and was using this to reposition the ribbon to the other piece of underlining. I was shifting things around and the needle slipped off the ribbon and down into the "guts" of the dress. I had the dress positioned on the back of my lazy boy, being a good height surface to work on. Simple enough, I would just pick the dress up and shake it.
After shaking the dress and nothing coming out, I found myself taking the cushion off the lazy boy, turning it upside down, and finding lots of dust that caused me to get out the vacuum while I was there. But no needle. For Heaven's Sakes! This is a 2" needle we are talking about. Where could it have gone?
The inside of the first layer of the dress is a tulle, and I figured maybe it had gotten caught in that, but since there are many layers, and they are attached to each other in many places it is not just a matter of turning the dress inside out and looking more carefully. We got our giant flashlight that could blind someone across the street, if shined in their direction, and started silhouetting the dress to see if somehow it was caught somewhere within the dress.
So far I have found nothing. I mean, we are talking about yards and yards of fabric here. (When I made one of my daughter's dress, in order to cut it out, I got a key to the church and laid the fabric down on the Cultural Hall floor. It stretched from one side of the hall to the other, and that was just the satin. I added two more pieces to make up three layers, the satin, the lining and the underlining. Each piece measured 11 yards long.)

I began to envision that sweet bride putting on her wedding dress in the Temple and getting poked with a gigantic needle. I will not allow that to happen, I HAVE to find it, besides I need it to finish what I started. So frustrating. So after much looking and looking and looking, I hung the dress back on the hanger, and ate a sandwich. Then I sat down at the computer to blog about it, and give me a rest. I will continue to look for this thing and hope it shows up eventually.
Say a little prayer for me. . .
How hard is it to find a 2" needle? I guess as hard as it is to find a needle in a haystack. It eludes me.
I will keep you posted. . . grrrrrrrrrrr

PostLog:
I found that needle. I actually got another needle, and fixed what I needed to, then just for kicks, I purposely dropped the second needle into the "guts" of the dress to see what it looks like in the dress and if it could really stick in the tulle. . . Then I lost it for a second, yikes!, but that helped me find the other one. I jostled the dress, and shortly the second needle dropped out. Then as I was looking in the hem, I found the first needle. whew.before
Also on the sleeves, I had to shorten them because they fit her too tight, so she could not lift her arms to dance. I decided to keep most of the beading design, that I would cut a slit into them. This is a bit scary to cut into an expensive dress. In order to do this, first I cut the embroidery medallions with the beads out and saved them, then cut the slit. I had to take the sleeve off the dress, go inside the sleeve, which was three layers, and sew the hem from the inside, then I hand-stitched the medallion back on.
after with original medallion
Somewhere in the mix, I thought I had sewn both medallions on, but when she came for a fitting, one was missing. I spent a long time looking for this piece. How far can that go? It is about 15 feet from where it hung to the sewing machine. I never found it, so I made a new one on my embroidery machine, and faked the beads with what I had. I think it turned out rather nice for all that headache.

the one I made

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.