Veteran's Day Memories

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

— John McCrae

This is a poem that my mom, Alice Houston Rasmussen memorized as a school girl, and recited it all of her life. It was the most famous poem written for World War I.
As a young girl growing up in Price, UT, we would buy paper poppies
from veterans and wear them. The money was raised for the veterans who served in the wars. We probably celebrated the day more in the 50's and 60's than we do today. May we always remember the men and women who died fighting for the freedoms we enjoy in the United States of America.

Gratitudes on Tuesday

The house is quiet and Adam has left to go back to Salt Lake, alone. Lisa just left with her family to go to her brother Brian's place in Escrito to spend the day. I am thankful for their visit here over the weekend, and:

• for having little Ryan running all around the house, and so quickly for a new walker. She is so happy and funny, and lovable.
• for Adam and Lisa being so helpful and being inclusive with everyone.
• having Brian and Rena and Lexi stay here too. They are easy to have around, and seem to feel at home.
• we enjoyed our early Thanksgiving celebration with the Bayleys and the sharing of food and laughter.
• I enjoyed a great visit with Lisa and Adam before he left on Tuesday.
• I am grateful for all of our family and their good and generous hearts to those around them in all parts of the country.
• I am thankful for the association we have had with the Erskein family and pray that they have a safe move and success while living in Utah. I will miss Brett, Adriene, Maddy, Gracie, Tate, and Lauren and the joy they brought to our lives.
• May we all have joy in the success of others we associate with in our lives whether it be spiritually, socially or physically. Let us buoy each other up and not tear each other down. Let us support each other in kindness and love, and forgiveness.
  

Grateful on Tuesday

I'm grateful for:

• enough sleep to still get up at 5:30 AM
• my feet and legs--never a day goes by that I don't thank the Lord for them
• the ability to still drive a car
• my great husband--and the fact that he is coming home tonight from Santa Fe and won't have to be gone all week for work. Yeah!
  
• the 60 degree weather--so I can still drive around with the top down
• Costa Vida that opened here in Farmington --because I am already addicted to their sweet pork salad
• my family--always

Halloween Recap

I can't believe I am saying this, but I think I like Halloween. After all the years of tolerating the draculas and goblins of sorts, I really enjoy the effort of so many who come up with such great costumes.

We always have about 700-900 people (I would say children, but many are NOT children) come to our door on Halloween night. This year was no exception. However, since Bruce and I were in charge of the dinner served at the Tri-Ward Halloween party this year, we had 2 guys from Buchanan Consultants here on the front porch passing out our candy until we got home. At our house, you don't even have time to go inside until the next little creatures knock on the door. So even on the coolest nights, we sit on our porch and give out hundreds of pieces of candy.
We know they drive here from all over the area, because we don't know hardly any of them. They are polite, and we get our own Halloween parade for 4 hours.

As for being grateful, I am very thankful that it is over. I made the Connie Mack recipe of chili for 500 people and Bruce and I were in charge of buying all of the trimmings for Frito Pie, and of course the popular hot dog. We hae the Elders quorum set up 30+ tables and fill the cultural hall. It was a mad house all night, and we ran out of "dogs" after a 30 minutes and someone ran to Sam's Club and bought mucho more. We had 4 hot dogs left over, and 100 buns. I knew they wouldn't eat as many buns. I was too lazy to take them back to Sam's, so I gave them out that night and at church on Sunday. It cost all about $550.00. That is not too shabby. I couldn't get to the bishops' office fast enough yesterday to get my money back.

We have hardly any time to breathe before the next big dinner. We had a planner's meeting for the ward Christmas dinner and program on December 7th. That is just 4 weeks away! Yikes. I am overwhelmed. So between getting people to help, planning the dinner, decorating, and the program, I just hope it comes together soon. The bishop wants it simple and I just want it to be somewhat spiritual, instead of the free-for-all that we have had the past 3 years. And I want a home cooked meal instead of an all Sam's Club cooked dinner. I should have kept my mouth shut, because we got our new calling as activities co-chairmans right after Christmas last year. I feel the pressure.

I am so thankful for so many good friends like Louise, Gail, and Margo who came to my aid last Wednesday and helped cut onions, tomatoes, celery, carrots and make chili. They are the best!

Gratitude Journal

I haven't written very often, and as a blogger, I'm not a very good one, so I think I will try to just keep a Gratitude Journal, as often as I can. I know that days are always brighter, and challenges easier after counting the many blessings that we have.

Sundays are a good place to start for me. I love Sundays. When I was small, It was a couple of hours of church in the morning and the same in the evening, with a wonderful roast and mashed potato dinner in between. My Mother was an excellent cook, and we always had a great Sunday dinner. My Dad movies of us usually on a Sunday when we were all dressed up, so I remember him telling me to twirl and twirl for some good action, since there was no sound.

When we was raising 6 children, it was very hectic and tiring, but I loved sitting on one of the front pews at church with them all in tow. Looking back, I don't even remember them acting up, and being taken out to the foyer. I know they did, but the Lord has blessed me with only fond memories of those days. I loved having the babies named and blessed with family around, and their father standing in the circle giving that blessing.

It is here that I have to say, even though Bruce wasn't a member yet when Heather and Kristi were born, a very wise bishop made sure that Bruce was in the circle holding each of his daughters, even though they were blessed by other special men. These were tender mercies.

As our last son, Adam, went on his mission and left Bruce and I alone, I felt a little lonely, especially since Bruce was usually attending another ward while he was in the stake presidency.
It was hard not being needed by our children.

But now we attend together each Sunday and sit next to each other during sacrament and Sunday school. I love talking to Bruce after church about our lessons in Relief Society and Priesthood. Having the same lessons each week is also a blessing. We usually fix a humble dinner together, and spend the evenings rather quietly. Sometimes we have company, or home teachers, but often just talk to married children and talk about the coming week.

Well, I was going to write much more about my blessings, but I think I have written enough for one day. I think I must add that I an so grateful for my sweet husband, and all of our children, their spouses and our grandchildren. We pray for them everyday, and love them very much. Good Night.

A Blessing

Last night I went to a great Relief Society Enrichment night. Cindy Webb taught us how to breakdown our Patriarchal Blessings to really understand what they mean individually to each of us.
Patriarchal Blessings speak to our:

Uncertainties
Abilities
Gifts
Life's experiences
They are prophetic utterances all in the interest of assuring us of God's love and his willingness to help us face the challenges and trials of our lives.

Three main things to look for in your Patriarchal Blessing:

1. Information: about you: this helps you understand your identity. Virtues you may acquire, service you may render, pathways you may traverse, gifts you may receive if you are willing to develop them.
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2. Blessings: that are promised if you stay faithful, which help us recognize God's hand in our lives.

1. Counsel or warnings, and instruction: that we should heed, assuring us of His ready and constant availability in our lives.

Make a copy of your blessing and mark each phrase that is either information, a blessing or counsel with a different color pencil. You will find that some of them overlap and can be information and a blessing, or a blessing and counsel. So mark that phrase with one color and underline it with another so you can identify it.
Then write out each phrase in a list of information, blessings and counsels separately. With this breakdown, you can see where you are and how you are doing with the goals you and the Lord have set for you.
This isn't a short assignment, and may change over the years as what you may understand your blessing.
Try it, and see if it brings your Patriarchal Blessing to life.

Warm Summer Nights!

Bruce and I tried out our new hot tub last night. We had been to Durango with some friends for the evening and so it was rather late.
Ahhh---It was wonderful! I had no idea what a pleasant experience it would be. It is on our bottom deck, and we can just look out and see the city lights looming below us. We lost track of time and spent 2 hours there. So of course we had prune hands----and feet and arms and legs.
We want to share the luxury with all of our family so Come on Down Ya Hear!!

Blogging Fever

I find myself checking blogs so often every day that I find I need to find a 12 Step Program to help me stop. So here it is, in case anyone out there needs it too:

1. Go potty at least twice in the morning before checking blogs.
2. GET DRESSED before blogging and not just a robe.
3. Eat a decent breakfast, not Jello with Cool Whip and string cheese. And clean the kitchen.
4. DO my hair for the day. Curl it!
5. Write checks out for bills to be mailed that day, that were due yesterday!
6. Send thank you notes for gifts I have already eaten, used up, or re-gifted.
7. Clean off computer desk before I check even the weather bug.
8. Make phone calls for appointments before it is too late in the day to get one.
9. Get outside for a stroll , or in my case, a "Scooter" ride, before the winds come up. Maybe even get up to see the sun rise! I would have more day for blogging!
10. Plan something for dinner besides GO OUT!
11. Read my scriptures in the morning. I had a hard time writing this one down.
12. Oh, who needs 12 steps. I need to check those BLOGS before I do all of these things!

Happy Blogging Everyone!

Sarah's Quilt

I just finished reading Sarah's Quilt by Nancy Turner. She is also the author of These is My Words, which was a finalist for the Willa Cather Literary Award. When the Denver Post compared it to Lonesome Dove, I almost didn't buy it because I didn't want to read a "western". But it came highly recommended by Sharon Cutler, Kristi's mother-in-law, so I bought it. After reading about 30 pages, I wasn't sure if I wanted to read the rest. It is 400 pages, after all. I could spend my time reading a couple of other books that have been waiting in the wings for quite a while. But I persisted in what I had started and really had a great read.

My favorite paragraph is found on page 149. "My mama paid no attention, just went about gathering her scissors, thread, and thimbles. Then she set up her chair and pulled up an empty one next to her. She patiently threaded two needles. She'd work with one until in was gone , then the other, and then rethread them both. The extra chair, though, was a sad empty chair. It was for the missing woman. The friend who might call, just as you'd sat to quilt, and who might bring a loaf of bread, lend a hand, do a square. As I watched her concentrate on her tiny, even stitches, every one of them a bare eighth of an inch between, I sensed the empty chair was for me, and it filled me with an uneasy longing.

There are times I miss the things I haven't done in my life. As I stood there in the doorway, looking at my mama, needle just whipping like a tiny silver dart, that empty chair told me I'd have to make time for more. Not as if I didn't work enough, but somehow there had to be an extra hour in the day that I could spend with her."
Sarah Agnes Prine hardly had time to breathe between adventures, let alone sit down and quilt. This story took place in 1906 in and around Tucson Arizona, when they were experiencing a 3 year drought.

This book was definitly worth reading. Now I'll have to read the prequel to this book, These is My Words.

Valentine Update!

The day isn't over yet, and it's proving to be quite a nice one. My friend Katuana called about 10:00 AM to see if she could come over. I said sure, but give me an hour to get dressed and cleaned up. Then my good friend Gail called to see if she could bring me lunch around 12:00 from one of our favorite sandwich shoppes. I thought about it for a minute and said sure, why not? So then, Bruce called as he was driving home from the storehouse to change his clothes. I asked him if he minded if Gail brought me lunch today, since I thought the Valentine celebration was over.
He said he had made reservations for 11:30 for lunch, and it was a surprise. So I canceled with Gail for lunch, and called Katauna and we decided she would come over this afternoon.

Dad got home by 11:10 and showered and even put on a sports jacket. I asked him if I was dressed okay since I haven't been in anything besides sweats since my surgery last week. He was getting very nervous about the time so I felt like it was somewhere he wanted to go, because he said it gets real busy and they won't wait. We drove toward East Main, and he turned into the Safeway shopping center which has an IHOP and a Papa Murphy's. Then he turned toward The Bluffs. Well, The Bluffs is where a lot of our friends like to eat sushi and we had only eaten there twice. It is expensive. So I was really surprised he took me there, even if it was Valentine's Day.

Just as we got in the door, there were 4 of our friends, the Laceys and the Lucas. (don't know how to make Lucas plural). All of us women were so surprised. None of us knew that the others would be there, and none of us had been informed of this date sooner than 10:30 am. My friend Katauna was one of the wifes, and she had been planning to come to my house all morning. Then in walked a young man, and he serenaded each of us. And his companion gave each of us a rose and a small box of chocolates.

Then they brought us pot stickers, and another appetizer. We had a very nice time and then went home loving our very kind and generous husbands.

It was a kind of unusual combination of friends. One couple is in their mid 30's, one in their late 40's and Bruce and I are in our 60's. The idea for all of this came from the very busy young doctor who is about 37. I think this younger generation rule. The women are training their men right. But I know Dad could have done it too, but we haven't really ever celebrated Valentine's Day that much over the years.

I hope my sons and son-in-laws are treating their wifes like queens today. And you girls accept what ever attempt is made with graciousness. Again, the day isn't over yet. Yeah, and don't forget that the box of chocolates you buy today will be half price tomorrow.

Valentine's Day in your 60's

This morning was no different than the usual. Bruce got up at 5:30 and went walking until 6:45.
I woke up, barely, trying to decide if I wanted to get up, or just go to the bathroom and go back to bed. The house was dark, no use illuminating the way either of us looked. So I rolled (yes I'm in the wheelchair again) into the kitchen. Bruce was making hot chocolate, and I asked him if there was enough hot water for me to have a cup. It was very foggy outside. We were drinking our hot chocolate and I was wishing for a very good pastry, knowing that the only thing we had was a loaf of Sara Lee's whole wheat bread. I would have given anything for just one small Dolly Madison chocolate covered donut.

Bruce and I visited until about 7:15 about the day ahead and what had been planned. Then I went into the study to turn on the Today Show. There in the dark I spied some flowers in a vase and even a helium filled balloon in the dark shadows. I gasped! So I finally turned on the light and saw a beautiful vase full of one dozen red roses. and a red balloon, and card. Surprise again. This past year I have been totally surprised many times by Bruce and family. Luckily before my surgery last week I had at least bought him a Valentine and had it ready.

So then Bruce had to dress and go work at the bishops' storehouse. I on the other hand can spend some time and try to surprise him somehow.

Well so much for living in the fast lane. Have a very good Valentine Day everyone.