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Resolution - Clean Fridge

I know that cleaning the fridge isn't exactly a New Year's Resolution but I'm going to count it as one anyway. It just makes me feel good to have accomplished two resolutions and it's only Jan. 22!!

Doesn't it look nice? Took me two hours! So after I finished I started thinking about the contents.

We have regular things, the ones that everyone has: milk, eggs, butter, cheese, lunch meat, orange juice, etc. Then there are the things that - well, just make me wonder if we're weird or what!

Following is a list of the items that I think might be more unusual. And on top of that they take up an inordinate amount of space. (It would be interested in snooping in some other fridges just for comparison sake!)

Salad Dressing - 6 (Notice there is nothing like Ranch or Italian although those will probably show up sooner or later.)

Raspberry & Walnut Vinaigrette
Honey Mustard
Cafe Rio Knock-Off Delicious Dressing
Blush Wine Vinaigrette
Poppy Seed
Sesame Ginger

Mustard - 5 (are you kidding?)

Plain old yellow mustard
Dijonaisse - does that count? to me it does!
Dijon
Cranberry Mustard
Mustard with Horseradish

Barbeque Sauce - 3 (enough said)

Pickles or Pickled Items - 5 (I'm not a pickle fan so I don't even eat these with the exception of the sweet pickles and then I'm the only one who will eat those but I don't eat them often, maybe one or two on Thanksgiving so for all I know these sweet pickles could be years old) (Now that I think about it perhaps we should all rub vinegar into our skin for a preserved appearance!)

Sweet Midgets
Baby Kosher Dills
Pepperoncinis
Hot Chile Peppers
Spicy Beans - South Lousiana Style

Hot Sauces - 4 (I don't like hot food, but we have these mostly because Craig loves hot food and he either invests in hot sauces when he visits or we buy them for him but he didn't take them back to Utah with him so now there we go!)

Tobasco - okay it's a standard but it's still going on the list
Cholula
Spiracha Hot Chili Sauce

and drrrrrrruuuuuuummmmmm rrrrroooooolllllll pllllllleeeeeaaaaassssseeeee!!!!!

Crazy Jerry's Brain Damage Mind Blowing Hot Sauce

And now for the really weird thing, I'm still wondering about this one, it's not that it's so weird in and of itself it's just that we have so much of it and so many different kinds!!!

Bread - 9

Plain Old White - left over from Christmas because someone thought the boys would prefer it to other more healthy bread - wrongo bongo!! Score a big one for mom teaching the boys that whole wheat bread is the best!!
Spinach Pesto *
Sundried Tomato Herb *
Cranberry Pecan *
Cinnamon Apple *
Pumpernickle
Cocktail Sour Dough
Cheddar
Tuscan

*I buy these at a special bread bakery, it's absolutely fantastic and the price is also fantastic - as in high. These four kinds of bread represent about $20 - $25 give or take some small change. Well worth it in my book!!

and

2 ready made pizza crusts

and

Sundried tomato Basil Wraps - 1 pkg.
Garden Spinach Herb Wraps - 1 pkg.

So if any one should stop me on the street and say, "Got any bread man?" I could truthfully answer, "Oh yes, do I have bread!"

New Year's Resolutions

Thought I'd try a new way of making resolutions - backing into them so to speak. So one day I took out my card and thought I really should cancel this and then cut up the card. But after I had done it I thought, this would be a great New Year's Resolution. So Res. #1 - cancel and then cut up a credit card. Done and done. Now wasn't that easy!! Hmmmmm - what can I do next!!

And a Good Time was had by ALL

It was just wonderful Christmas - what else can I say. Fun, games, laughing, two dogs fighting, I can't think of anything better! Oh did I mention food?

Christmas

What a beautiful, peaceful time of the year!! Surrounded by friends and family, with nothing but peace and joy and love everywhere. Wait a minute, can that be true?

We weren't exactly surrounded by friends and family. Here we are in Arkansas so friends are largely missing. We were surrounded by Christmas cards from friends and loved reading those and catching up on what we have missed during the past year. And family - the truth is not everyone could be with us. We were so happy to have Craig, Chris, Sean and Marc with us. We laughed and talked and played games and ate and loved every minute of being together. We missed so much having Matt and Rhett and Adrianne and Kate, Brooke, and Campbell here. Can it be a wonderful time and a little empty at the same time?

And what about peace joy and love everywhere? Well with 4 big men added to the house, peace isn't exactly what we were feeling. But as Craig would say, "that's okay!" Peace was replaced with energy, fun, wrestling, teasing, and noise and it was so great!! I loved it. Joy - well, there was so much joy. The joy I felt picking up Chris in Tulsa and having him all to myself for a couple of days, dad was gone on business. I took Bear with me and he did his usual howl/bark thing when he saw Chris and then literally danced around with excitement. The next arrival was Morgan and I have to admit, she adds a wonderful sparkle and energy. This time it was Chris who was dancing with excitement. I didn't go to the airport with him so I'm not sure if he did the howl/bark thing that Bear is known for. That might be more than a little embarrassing!! I might add that it was the trip from you know where for Morgan - a combination of ticket problems, and flight delays kept her from arriving in Tulsa until well after midnight. What a trooper!!

Then on Sunday, much to my total surprise, Craig arrived - he told me he wasn't going to leave Provo until Monday. The doorbell rang and I, thinking it was our home teachers, casually opened the door to find a sunglassed guy in a red turtleneck and a skimpy and ugly white sweater serenading me with his guitar. (His choice for the ugly sweater contest in his Provo Ward.) What a joy to see him. He hadn't told me he was leaving early to spare me from worry. Again Bear danced with joy and I hugged and hugged Craig. He was able to trick his dad a little later. Although he had driven straight through he managed to stay up until around midnight playing games and entertaining us with his sense of humor and musical talent.

On Monday we were sad to bid Morgan goodbye although I'm sure her family was anxiously awaiting her arrival. Luckily her flight to Minnesota was better than her previous flight to Tulsa! That is when I realized just how much sparkle she brought with her. And I'm already thinking about how the girl/boy ratio is going to gradually even out. Now that's something to look forward to!!

And then Tuesday brought Sean, Marc, and Padrick, Sean's dog. The weather wasn't good leaving Minnesota, snow and slick roads but they were traveling south so things only got better. They were tired but we were excited when they finally pulled into the driveway. At least all of us were excited except Bear, he doesn't play well with others and has problems sharing. He and Pad settled into an uncomfortable truce with only periodic growls, nips, and challenges from either of them. Finally the festivities could begin.

So we ate, and laughed, and played games, and entertained our friend Bihn Trahn and Sister Lemmon and Sister Stiles. We told the Christmas story and sang carols. We opened the traditional one gift on Christmas eve, surprise pj pants, and had our traditional cold cut buffet. Sean woke us all up on Christmas morning. Santa had indeed come. We opened gifts, ate more, and then later ate even more, played more games, and watched White Christmas. And yes there was love everywhere!!

Some surprises aren't really all that surprising!!

Jere and I had a very interesting courtship to say the least. We got engaged in December of 1971. Shortly after he left for the Phillipines with the Marine Corps. Although we had planned to get married immediately when he got home, 13 months later, by February of '72 the plan had changed and the wedding date was no longer certain. At that point I decided that I should start dating again and ended the engagement. When he returned from his duty in the Phillipines we resumed dating and after a while got engaged again. This engagement lasted for several months until Jere announced to me that he was going to buy a motorcycle and ride across the country. Tearfully the engagement was again broken off. One evening I went with my family home evening brother up to campus to study, just as friends and just to study. I guess it didn't look like that to Jere though because he was waiting for me when I got back to my apartment and shortly after that we were engaged again. I remember calling my parents to tell them it was on again and being surprised that they were rather ho hum about it. Kind of, "Right, let us know when you are really serious." Well, this time we were and married on May 1, 1974.

Fast forward: Chris asked Morgan Frazer to go to the annual 4th of July Mormon Choral concert. They dated during the summer and then went their separate ways. Periodically they would reconnect and then again part ways. So when Chris told us he was dating Morgan this fall we were rather ho hum about it. Chris tried to prepare me first when he told me that things were going really well with Morgan. Oh sure I thought. And then when he added that he thought he would ask her to marry him, you go boy I thought!! So when I found out that he had actually asked her I was just a little surprised. I guess I just didn't believe that he would really follow through this time. Well, follow through he did and now we are excitedly anticipating a March 21, 2009 wedding in the Salt Lake Temple. Someone told me once, "you know, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree!" Go figure!!

Boston Harbor

I made a list of everything I wanted to see and do while we were in Boston. And by the end of the trip I was able to check everything off the list. Some of the things though were by surprise or accident. I had given up on Mike's Bakery but then we were walking the Freedom Trail and there was Mike's Bakery, right on our way. Delicious surprise I might add. The final unaccomplished item on my list was Boston Harbor and I had given up on that since we had to leave on Saturday night and it appeared that we just wouldn't have enough time. Oh well, I thought. We spent the day on Saturday walking the Freedom Trail, visiting historical sites, and finally eating pizza at a hole in the wall that Jere frequents whenever he is there. (I might add that the wait staff consisted of little old men, probably friends of the owner, looking like they had gotten up from watching tv in their shorts and t shirts and had just headed right off to work. I noticed one of them polishing the silverware with his t shirt before putting it on a table, and my water tasted faintly like rootbeer, maybe, probably the glass wasn't clean in the first place!!)

After dinner we headed to the airport, in plenty of time I might add. We turned in the rental car and rode the bus to the terminal. Funny thing, neither of our tickets seemed to be working. And when the ticket agent checked them she informed us that we had missed the flight by several, three, hours. She was very kind, booked us on a flight the next morning, got us a distressed rate at the airport Hilton, and sent us on our way. The Hilton was beautiful and can you believe it, overlooked Boston Harbor. In fact our room had windows that looked right out on the harbor. So I took night pictures. When we got up the next morning fog had blanketed the city. We watched it settle and then lift and then settle and then lift, absolutely beautiful!! I did think about the Boston Tea Party and imagined what the environmentalists would say and do if it were to occur today!!

Visiting New Hampshire

We drove up to Milford, New Hampshire where dad spent some of his growing up years. It was a fun little town, quite charming. We stopped at the town square and ate at the same diner that was there when dad lived there. We saw the house where he lived and walked across the street and into the woods to the "BIG ROCK" where he and his buddies used to play. Also saw the church where he had his first communion and went inside, it was beautiful. It's always interesting to step into the world of someone else. Sometimes it's hard to remember that there was a time when dad and I weren't together. And fun to try to visualize a little energetic boy running around, playing hard, and growing up!

More Boston Photos

I find that if I don't finish my comments when they are fresh it's just too hard to do it later. But some more Boston pictures. The Old South Church in the upper left corner, a huge crack was discovered in the wall of the church just when we were there. Mike's Pastry was recommended to us by many people. It was wonderful!! I just thought the Massachusetts State House was beautiful, lower left corner. And Boston wouldn't be complete without a visit to see Paul Reverek and the Old North Church, lower right corner. There are too many more photos to blog. It was a great trip and I'd love to go back!!

Fascinating Headstones

I was really interested in the carvings on the headstones. Some of them are coates of arms but many were rather macbre pictures of skulls, or skeletons, or what looked to me like angry angels or an angry God with and hour glass out of time. I know that death was not a very sweet experience for them. Although it was so common that I don't think people were very surprised by it either. I'll have to do more study about the engravings on th headstones but I just thought they were so interesting. Please note the one with the two angels, one awake and the other asleep. And of course the spelling was very different, I didn't include much but a little. (Click on the collage and it should enlarge so you can see it better.)

Boston's Mother Goose

First I thought the dates were most interesting and then the name, Mary Goose, caught my attention. But when I read in the guide book I found out a little more about Mary Goose.

Boston Visit - 1st Installment

We had a great time in Boston!! As you probably know I love visiting cemeteries and there were two very close to our hotel. It is so interesting to see death dates all the way back to the mid 1700s. The first cemetery is the Granary Burial Ground. Lots of headstones and very close together. I wondered if the people below liked being so close to their neighbors! Notice also the podium, rather convenient for preaching a funeral sermon. This cemetery was especially interesting because it is the burial place of John Lathrop who is one of our rather notable ancestors. There are many famous people who are also descendents of John Lathrop, including Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, George and Mitt Romney, and Joseph Smith. I looked a little for his headstone but I could have spent days reading each one trying to find him so I gave up. His name is the last one on the brass placque on the main gate.

As you can read on this monument, John Hancock is one of the notable people buried here.

As well as the Franklin family, Benjamin, his wife, some of his children and his parents.

Branson Thanksgiving - Oh the Joy!!

It's hard to believe that going to Branson could create such joy in the hearts of parents and children and yet here it is, proof positive. Although if you look closely you will notice that one of the joyful participants seems to be a little more concerned about landing his jump safely than about the fun day ahead!!

Branson Thanksgiving

We went to see The Six. A group of six, no way, brothers who sing acapella. You'd swear they had instruments backing them up but they make all of those sounds with their voices. It was pretty amazing!! And even funny, Jere was nearly on the floor at one point!! Marc is an amazing photographer. I've been working and working and working with my camera and he takes it and starts pushing buttons, which is what he is always telling me to do, and ends up with some very artsy photos. At least he is willing to teach me what he just seems to be able to figure out on his own. So the black and whites are samples of his skill and talent and ability, I call it skilentility!!

The Pink Mini Van

Oh My!!! Now that's one pink car!! And notice the pink accent strip at the bottom. Makes you wonder about the folks who drive it!!

Thanksgiving Pirate Golf

After our great Italian Thanksgiving dinner, a first for us, we headed out for a quick game of mini golf at a Pirate themed golf course. I guess you can't really see much of the pirate theme but it was. We also found some interesting wild life, a walking stick. He was slowly, v e r y s l o w l y, walking down the sidewalk and fearing for his life Jere gave him a ride to safety. Pretty big fellow!! Notice Marc's glow in the dark shoes and Jere's special golf glasses, intended to aid in the finesse of the game!!

The tallest man!!

At first glance you may be wondering why I was taking a picture of a lady racing a wheelchaired woman out of the way. Well, I just didn't have enough time to wait. You see, this really tall man walked by and I scrambled to get his picture. So if you look past the running wheelchair pusher you'll see a very tall man just on the edge of the cement walkway. He must have been well over 7 feet. WOW!!

Branson Thanksgiving

We had to hit the Branson Landing. It's just next to the lake and is a fun place to shop. Can't believe we actually went there on BLACK FRIDAY!! It was busy but not too bad. And yes, that is Jere getting ready to head into the Bass Pro Shop, he doesn't fish! He left with a couple of pairs of pants though. Just as we were leaving the fire and fountain show started. No, that's not a series of bonfires, it's the fire and fountain show. Pretty spectacular!

Thanksgiving with the boys

After spending time in Branson we headed back to Arkansas. After a sumptuous Thanksgiving feast, although it was on Saturday not Thursday we headed out to see "The Lights on the Square." Second year in a row, I guess this is a tradition. They were beautiful and the weather wasn't too bad as you can tell. How about that Razorback done up in Christmas lights!! And sitting on a stone wall can be pretty cold. Check out the photo with Marc, Sean, and Eden and then guess who is feeling it the most. The darkest picture is a little hard to see but it's Marc sliding on the sidewalk. There was just a light mist and it was slick enough for him to slide nearly half the length of the block.

Beautiful way to end Thanksgiving!!

GRRRRRRR!!!!!!!

So, I've been sitting here for way too long, I won't even say that it's been at least 2 hours, trying to make a great collage for Christmas cards this year. First I selected the photos I wanted, made a collage and they were in a weird order. Start over (because I can't figure out how to change this even after reading about how to change this!!). Select the photos, make the collage, still in a weird order and I discover that unfortunately I've left someone out. Start over. Find a photo of the missing person. Spend a lot of time adding and deleting to make sure they are in just right the order. Whooppee, SUCCESS! Now I want to order the photos for my Christmas cards. Go to the site of my choice, get all the way to order my prints only to discover that they have cut off both sides in order to make them photo size. I try enlarging to 5 x 7s and then 8 x 10s (as if anyone wants our family photo in that size!) but it doesn't work. So I just try to print a copy thinking that I can do a cute letter and include a color copy, same problem, faces are cut in half. FRUSTRATION IS GROWING, GROWING, GROWING. I decide to try another site for prints, maybe someone local can print just one little picture and I can go in and pick it up to check. And then I discover a million other photos that have somehow ended up in my cart. Delete, delete, delete, this is taking way too long, goodbye other site. Try another site. Well, well, well, this one seems to be working. Yes, just one image, yes, it looks right, yes let me go to order my prints. NONONONONONONONONO - half faces again. HELP - I'm going for a walk with the viscious little dog in the photo only he's happy and it's my teeth that are showing and that growl you hear, yep, it's coming from me!!

Sunday

10 Memories of Sundays past:

1. Walking to Church - it was so close

2. Wanting to be a "door keeper" in Sunday School

3. Fabulous dinners with homemade rolls - mmmmmmmm. And the incredible smell in the house!!

4. Having the same dress, different color as one of my best friends

5. Playing the piano before going to church while the sun was streaming in through the front door

6. Watching the big boys, Deacons, pass the sacrament. I must have been really young!!

7. Making babies and a cradle out of my mom's "hankie"

8. Going to Sacrament meeting in the evening. The windows were open to allow the evening breeze to cool the chapel and we could hear the night sounds from outside. Lovely!!

9. The day the organist marched, MARCHED, down to the row where her noisy daughter was sitting, grabbing her by the ear, and marched, MARCHED, her back up to sit in the choir seats.

10. And weirdly, after walking home from Church sitting with my feet, which had developed blisters which had broken and then bled, in a sink full of cool water. I could not get my socks off until I had done this. I don't remember any pain though, just annoying!

10 Things I love about Sunday:

1. A day of rest, I don't have to go to the store or do yard work or do laundry or do anything work related! And I don't have to feel guilty because it is a commandment!

2. Spiritual rejuvination, so needed!!

3. Being with friends and sometimes even family - lovely!!

4. A fabulous dinner and since I love to cook I never mind fixing it!

5. Singing hymns except when the organist plays them tooooooooo slow.

6. The quiet and solitude - it wasn't always this way though. Little children have a way of changing quiet and solitude and teenagers are even more proficient at it!

7. The weather almost always seems to be beautiful.

8. Thinking about things that are most important.

9. The opportunity to help others.

10. Phone calls to family, catching up.

Disclaimer: The photo is of the Salt Lake Temple.

Will anyone know I was here?

As I was walking Mr. Bear today I couldn't help but notice that he is very intent on leaving his mark on the world. In fact, sometimes I have a hard time encouraging him to move along. There are just so many spots to "address." And it made me wonder if I have left my own mark on the world. Oh certainly not in the way that Mr. Bear does it!! That wouldn't do at all. But I do wonder from time to time if people will come along after me and know that I was there, that somehow I made a difference.