When life hands you ....a response to Keira

So Wynn's only request for Father's Day was to take a short drive with his mother ( and me). Okay, as long as the ground rules were set (no stopping for lunch anywhere and no purchasing gas except at the pump when the only alternative was to raise a sail and hope the wind was with us-his rig is a guzzler).
We packed the lunch with the makings purchased late Saturday and packed in haste on Sunday morn. I forgot a couple of things-like napkins( we had fried chicken), and plates, and silverware. That's okay, we scavenged in the truck and came up with a couple of fast food napkins, one yellow plastic spoon, and no plates. We could wing it ( get it?) on the chicken et al, but I do not share utensils on the potato salad. So Wynn, that ol' pioneer whittled us some from a nearby willow--just like that! They would have worked like a charm if I had only not forgotten the potato salad. Oh well, they did a great double act as butter knives.
So this is to let you know, Keira, that the temporary memory loss which afflicts you now will only return with a vengeance as you age...so buy your husband a Swiss Army knife, get him a couple of blocks of soft wood, settle him on the front porch of a Summer evenin' and tell him to get to work! Someday your lunch may depend on it ;)

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles...

It's so nice when you can combine business with pleasure!
Porters very generously chipped in on my very brief visit to kin in Portland and Marysville before I had to check into the showroom. I was able to fly to Portland, take the Max and then be picked up by Keira and a very cute little Zach to be whisked away to her house where Tia and children ( I assume that was them since they had had the audacity to grow to great heights in my absence!) waited. We then bonded by crafting Keira's day-camp flags...moi providing revised artwork for such. Kiera and I then completed the bonding process by going to the good Goodwill where we did not embarrass ourselves by wrassling over a 1915 novel with a provocative first line. We did say Hi to Russell ( their Goodwill furniture hook-up man) though, before Keira ably whisked me back into Portland to board the Cascade line train... “


"Railway termini are our gates to the glorious and the unknown. Through them we pass out into adventure and sunshine, to them, alas! we return." - E. M.Forster

I have to say that train travel is my most favorite yet. I arrived so very relaxed in Everett which is in stark contrast to my usual mood caused by traversing Seattle and Tacoma by car...the expletives were deleted!
Debbie and I had a great couple of days that included forays into beading, idyllic lunching at fashionable restaurants on the wharf ( with sunshine no less!) and a trip to Details (a must in Marysville!). I traveled back to Portland on Tuesday, again by train...Wandering around Portland's Chinatown until I found the Max again and traveled Tia's way. Dinner and games were great, then off to the hotel to collapse a little. Wednesday was all work ( we finished close to 8:30 pm) and then to a hotel with 3 ( count'em 3!) large queen beds in one room. I've never seen that before. It's too bad we were too tired to bounce from bed to bed. Our flight out was booked for 6:35 am and we ( and the rest of Portland, my goodness there were a lot of people there!) made it! A 5 hour layover in Boise gave us time for a working break and then home to my HSH! I wasn't sure it was my house at first since Wynn pulled a Debbie and put down laminate flooring in the living room in my abscence! What a guy!

G.H. Slept Here...

Here it is - proof Dad was here...and that he has very cute great-grandkids! It was wonderful to have him here! Come back soon!

Hope for Laura the Busker

On a recent trip into Montana ( Helena aka "the New Eugene") we chanced upon this young prodigy fiddling away. I wish I had the presence of mind to make a movie, but I was absolutely entranced by her playing and her nonchalant "stage" presence...she was really good!
Wynn loved that all her music was hand written.

See what little girls that practice their music can do in an open air mall, Laura? Just play, smile, and rake it in.

Memory Road

Michael's blog on small time life kind of inspired this entry. In his, a man comments on a toy that he had lost in his old home. And so it bespeaks the question, "What was your most memorable toy and whatever happened to it?".
I think mine was the (obviously) the Chatty Kathy dolls that Debbie and I received one Christmas ( mine a brunette, hers a blonde). I think I was five and that was the most "WOW" thing I had ever seen- it was even "high-tech"! I have no idea where they went or what happened to them...not one.
My second most memorable toy was a lime green Hot Wheels El Dorado Cadillac that I received to go with the ubiquitos Hot Wheel tracks one Christmas. During the races I won every time ( that never happened!). I remember Dad trying to wheel and deal me out of it but I finally must have been old enough to know better.
So, what was your most memorable toy ( or two?). Oh, that Caddy? Well, here it is ;)

Old Home Tour 2009

Old Home Tour Saturday started out with balloon games at Sara's house. A sunshiney way to start a truly drizzly, dreary day!
Cloudbursts assaulted us on the trip up the valley to the Yalecrest Subdivision and then settled down to a consistent downpour during the first half of the tour. There were a couple of really nice Craftsman bungalows to start followed by Tudor and English Cottage on the Yale streets.
The big impact for me was all the art that transformed the houses including the upstairs laundry in one house that had walls covered with great prints! These were not tremendously large houses like in the Victorian Era so the ways to use the more limited space were interesting. A lot of them just had some additions on the back, but the sun porch turned into an artist studio with adjoining computer area was done in a very classy manner. Landscaping was generally very conservative but beautiful, especially after the rain had gone.
The back garden of the house below was beautiful! Gardens within gardens. Question mark shaped paths. A large formal circle to revolve around, and quiet little nooks to sit by a fire or feed a fish or read a book abounded. This is the house that Spencer W. Kimball lived in for 3 years...it was awesome!

My cohorts in Antiquities...L-R Josie and Asher, Sara, and Kris. All in all a satisfying way to keep a tradition.

No Soaring, No Swooping.

Merely posting this to erase the image of the last pathetic blog. No response is needed or even expected. Thanks for your patience and I may try again later...much later when I have the time to be witty and/or charming.

This is the Place

We're packing our bags and heading South for conference weekend to visit the kids and grandkids. I wish I could say we were heading for the usual sunny skies that predominate in
the first part of April, but it looks like the same muck we've been having here in the North country...sighhhh. The bad weather has boosted our sales of chocolate in Porters lately... a common coping technique in our little town. So here's to Spring...if it ever arrives.

Bouncing Baby Boy

No clever title just truth in advertising...
(note the unique cinematic techniques...
comes from being both director and cameraman)

Rock N Roll

The Intrepid Rock Hound ( Any excuse to beat
something with a hammer ...please sing along!)














The Geeky Assistant ( note the natty crowbar walking stick...
necessary equipment on these steep hillsides...any way
it saved my bacon a couple of times!)
















The Quarry ( hee hee- get it?!) . Agates and geodes today.
We found quite a few up a obscure draw near Challis
( Lime Creek?!- definitely not tropical enough for limes!).
While looking for an old Flourite mine east of Challis we
came upon a huge amount of easy pickin's!

Ramblin'

The last few weeks have been disjointed (sing along here) to say the least.
On the upside Tasha had her 18th birthday ( yeay!!!)
On the downside work is intense right now ( and that will continue until the economy picks up, sighhhhhh!).
Upside- I've been making jewelry - 19 and counting necklaces for the Young Women's New Beginnings Program...plus some polished rock we've picked up on our travels ( more to come on this).
Upside- we've been to Montana twice for potential rock finding expeditions ( I watch the rocks carefully from inside...it's still too cold to get out of the pickup!).
Downside ( sorta)-Wynn's been laid off ( I view it as a needed course correction) and that is like having Dad laid off but without the optimism ( yikes!).
Very upside-Got to babysit Asher last week and that has truly been a bright little sunshiney ray on my horizon!

Sunrise, Sunset

It's a pretty nice day that begins and ends at the temple. I like waking up to the 6:00 am session with my husband and finishing the evening studying and serving on the 3rd floor.It doesn't get much better than this.

Dynamic Duo

They have it all! Looks, talent and watch the
fancy footwork on the little one...incredible!

You are my....

It was weak, but for a few moments this morning we had actual sunshine!!!! For the rest of the day I just relied on Dani's sunny smile!

...of champions

The breakfast of heart smart champions...old-fashioned oatmeal and good 'ol orange juice. The question that bears asking is, "How truly healthy is oatmeal that is a definite 50/50 mix with brown sugar?". Ah well, it's the only way you're going to get me to truly enjoy it ( raisins my left foot!). And now we dance to the only breakfast music with true oatmeal references...

Mostly Harmless

I like to create...something once in a while anyway and yet am just lazy enough not to want to devote days to said creation. In beading I think I have found my match. It's very inexpensive ( especially if you like to cannibalize your old stuff) and after you've learned a few techniques it's just ephemerally fun! As you can tell earrings are my strong point. I've a long way to go but it's an interesting and relaxing way to spend an evening.
This is my most complicated effort to date but once I get a few more techniques down ( they involve hammer and anvil!) I hope to graduate to some really exciting wirework...
It's all in my effort to live up to Laura's "fancy" standards ;)

Personal Secretary

I rarely go anywhere anymore. To work, to church, to the temple, to the library...sometimes to the grocery store. Of all those, the grocery store is the only place where I can use my cell phone...and I'm just not there enough to justify having one. So when my contract came due I declined to renew.
I still carry it though, because I find that it does make a very handy little pocket secretary. It keeps all the phone numbers I have not memorized handy, it reminds me of important dates, and it wakes me up in the morning. When I find a good little fire wire ( or whatever it is) I can use it to take little snapshots when needed. All in all still a handy little device...you just can't reach me on it.

New Addition on the 25th

Amazing....This is Maria and Brylee just hours after she gave birth and came home!!
Alese crocheted the darling little hat just a few minutes after she heard that Brylee was born.
Brylee looks like a smaller version of Ellie...both just dolls! Taking a picture of older sister, Tylee was just about impossible because she was so excited she was just a streak of light almost all the time we were there.

It's Gonna Be Big!

The place is huge(this is only one of the three buildings) and I lived slightly in fear of getting lost from my group and never finding my way out! I took a lot of pictures to try to remember it all but there is apparently a limit on what I can include in just one blog. I tried to interest Wynn in the whole deer with Christmas ornaments thing ( heads were really big believe it or not!)but he was a nontaker. Wool ornaments and frames and pillows were huge as are the non-pictured monkeys. Sideways Christmas trees were not actually shown but somehow the picture regressed when I imported it so just cant your head for a better view. Wreaths were always pictured in front of mirrors ( a look I really like)and ,of course, too much was never enough!
I wish I could have shown more because this is one place I would love to go shop with my sisters because it takes in the bizarre to the sublime. My fave was probably the ribbon salesman, "My ribbon dirt cheap! Dirt still on it!"

So much for so little...

Why does it seem to take so much luggage for such a short trip?! I guess it's the Dad (aka boy scout) in us that wants to be prepared for every eventuality.
I believe I am ( except for those 4 important things I always forget..whatever they are)...oh well, I am taking 3 books...it means I am well packed!

Joy Cometh in the Morning

It was a pretty crispy morning when I decided to try and get some sunrise pictures of the pride of Rexburg. Crispy as in I had to keep my camera in my coat between shots so the batteries would keep working...
Not everything I had hoped for but for unretouched ( no available tweaking programs on this computer for the moment) I will take them.
Might I say that dawn comes very slowly when the temperature is below zero!

(keep going- the pictures wandered off)

Lovely Lewis

As one of you might know, I hate to start a series with out access to all the books. Nothing is more irritating than to get just so far with your characters and then be cut off ( did you hear that oh irritating author of the Eragon series!). I didn't read the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy for years because "someone" was generous enough to give them to me and then borrow the first book and never give it back. But all that is behind us now and I have finally ( in my dotage) finished the "Chronicles of Narnia"as well.
I saw the movie first and then was given a cd that was talk about CS Lewis from a Mormon POV.

Of Lions, Dragons and Turkish Delight: C. S. Lewis for Latter-day Saints

by S. Michael Wilcox

Fascinating actually, and so on to the series.
Not quite what I expected and yet more than I expected. I loved "The Last Battle" and that nothing in the books were politically correct. I strongly suggest downloading the talk, listening to it and then reading the series with your children of proper maturity. How exciting! An adventure book where the heroes are children of their own age and experience...to quote the book..." they might be giants!