Here on Halloween

Paula went above and beyond the call of auntie duty and made an adorable Cowardly Lion outfit for Zach and a Dorothy dress for Sarah. She has worn the dress nonstop since it arrived in the mail on Monday. Blue & white gingham with white blousy top, full ruffly skirt and big white buttons makes me a believer when I see Sarah dressed up with her red Dorothy shoes on and her hair in braids.

Alicia has kept Sara busy this week doing those projects every child dreams of making with their mom from Oreo spiders, painted paper pumpkins, napkin ghosts, pudding Frankensteins to every conceivable hanging Halloween object you can imagine.

Entertaining me hasn't been a walk in the park for this hostess. Although I have tried not to be too demanding, we have gone to Boo at the Zoo, the Botanical Gardens, walked across the Brooklyn Bridge, seen the play Wicked, Chinatown, and many more that blur in crowd of exciting things. The Manhattan Temple had an opening for a session. I managed to find it with accurate directions and slept through the session there as easily as I do at home. It is as beautiful as any the Church has painstakingly built and it is a must see if possible. The NY Marathon is on Sunday and we may sneak into town to view a few runners if we find out the route and make a stop at church first.

Alicia's apartment is spacious with every room almost floor to ceiling windows that face Manhattan. It's a view that only a rich person enjoys in a very posh apartment building. I actually think it is the prettiest tower on the ridge. The ridge is a 200 to 300 foot high rock wall that runs along the length of both New Jersey and Manhattan for about five or so miles. Below the ridge is the town of Edgewater, that is only about 1/4 to 1/2 mile wide full of four plexes, condos and quaint homes.

If her camera download cord wasn't lost we would send some pictures. I am going to see if Dave will make a disk and maybe I can figure out how to do it from home when I get back on Wednesday. Start watching for cheap airfares for next spring, because you need to enjoy the Big Apple when you can feel almost like a resident. Just ask Breann.

Geo goes crunch!

Saturday night was the fateful time for the good old reliable Geo. Jed was just closing the blinds in the front room when CRASH! As he watched out the window, he saw someone pull out of the neighbor's driveway and crash into the Geo. The drivers side front door and fender went crunch under the speed and weight of a Chevy pickup. (NOT our neighbor's, but someone they obviously know.) Jed went running out front in his slippers and the lady driving aforementioned pickup pulled over (expletive, expletive, bleep, bleep!) We exchanged insurance information. I got an estimate on the repairs today. Having the car fixed will be more worth it to us than having a check for the total worth of the car. (It gets great gas mileage you guys! Plus, it has fairly low miles, considering it's a 1994!) We'll keep you informed on what's to come in the next few days!

Miss Makayla is Marking Another Birthday

Memories of Makayla at four as she entered into our lives with her round freckled face and long dark tresses are still strong. We worked at getting to know her and making her feel welcome, as well as her dad. Dad said she was a finicky eater. We thought her appetite was the best in the family. Broken arms, cropped off hair from wayward gum or glue and many adventures are all under the bridge now, as she emerges from her cocoon.

Much has changed since then, as she’s grown into a lovely and busy teenager of fourteen. Although we don’t see her often, we are grateful when she is here to help with the little ones, pal around with Brayle & is a very pleasant person to be with. Happy Birthday, M.

Jamestown, Yorktown & Williamsburg, the Historic Triangle

Jamestown was settled in 1607 (yeah, like 400 years ago). They showed how tough it was to make a go of this new land of America. It actually took about 100 years before anyone was willing to stay. There were some major challenges such as: Indians, food supplies, getting crops to grow and the Spanish. Women came in about 1625 to help encourage the men to stay. We are so valuable. See how lonely this guy looks.

Yorktown is where the final battle occurred that turned the Revolutionary War to our side & the British decided to leave us alone. The French actually came to our rescue & were instrumental in our success. That would be the reason for the Statue of Liberty. Don’t ask me why NYC got it instead of Virginia. We drove over the battlefields, stood on the exact spot of surrender and viewed the York River where the British were trapped. This cannon is on the actual battlefield.

Williamsburg is an early American town that has been preserved with Capitol building, Governors Palace, courthouse, shop smith, church, home sites, printing office & so on where fulltime employees pretend to live the real lives of those of the day. Many reenactments, performances & such take place during each day for visitors to attend. See Kristine Pryor playing & me in the background.

Artist in Residence

That is what we now call Dad, because he sold his first piece of artwork last week. Wood has become the palette for many a famous profile, whimsical house, scene and much more. Tom Mellenthin encouraged him to join the Salt Lake Carvers Guild and attend the weekly classes at Wheeler Farm. A variety of techniques have been tried and perfected. Tools, woodworking magazines and competitions have been helpful in developing his newfound hobby.

After honing his carving skills on friends and family, Allan is now a professional. A well respected home teacher mentioned Dad’s work to a business partner. $200 was the amount he happily paid for the Joseph Smith portrait as a birthday gift to Guy Moore. Imagine seeing Dad’s pieces in gift shops, office walls or even the Ensign. It’s possible.

Firefighter Fighting in Favor of His Birthday

Chef Mike is having a birthday this weekend. Will he whip up a fancy cake, gourmet chicken alfredo or grill those yummy steaks to celebrate. Happy birthday, Miguel.

Jennifer got lucky when she found her mate, knowing that years of ignoring the kitchen would eventually catch up with her. Little did we realize finding chef a la Mike would solve that problem. Where did he acquire this passion or talent? It doesn’t matter, because everyone benefits when he generously steps up to the stove with spatula in hand.

The greater Othello area also is safer because he became a volunteer firefighter this year. After months of classes, training and on the job experience, he’s official. His face even made the cover of the town paper, which is a fireman’s last wish. They have to pay money to the kitty when this happens. Hide behind the hose, house or flame if you must.

A great dad of Makayla, Noah, Kade and Jacob, Mike loves to spend time with his family. May you enjoy this year and continue to get smarter by serving the community.

Deductible, Meet the Schmidt’s

We’ve met. July, wasn’t it? When your $500 ($1000 family) deductible is met, it is time to think about your aches & pains in a different light. That’s right, everything that has ever hurt is examined and an appointment is made to see the doctor before the next year, when it starts all over again. That’s what I did and will continue to do for 75 more days.
Get rid of that lumpy bump,
Leg with a limp,
Itch or glitch,
Scar & joint that is ajar.

After yet another visit to the IMC campus to have a lump removed yesterday, I treated myself to a black raspberry malt. The in-office surgery resulted in an egg yolk size tumor & quite a pain in my neck. Slathered with super glue it only feels like a bad sunburn, but I am free of that annoying bump on the back of my nape.

If I’m going to break a leg, get gall stones, tear a meniscus or such, please, let it be this year. I only have to pay 20%. All 2008 with almost every payday, a portion went to the $1000 deductible & 20% we have incurred since Jory ‘slam bam thank you ma’am’ started this spiral on December 29, 2007. Combine that with my $1000+ trigger thumb fiasco and that is why Allan was able to have his much awaited colonoscopy. Achy shoulders & hips, stuffy nose, sleep apnea here we come. Sorry, eyes & implants are not covered.

The Mega Monument Mall

The Mall is about 1 mile long and 1000 feet wide with gravel paths, lawns & water features down the center. The edges are full of Smithsonian buildings for Air & Space (amazing), American History (closed), American Indian (missed), Natural History (boring), etc. etc all w/more than you can see in a lifetime. The north end of the Mall is the Capitol and on the south is the Washington Monument standing 500 feet tall. We got to go on a tour to the top (neat). Behind that are the memorials: the Lincoln Memorial, World War II, Vietnam, Jefferson & such. I was able to find the name of Raymond Moon, a young man from Bluffdale, who died when I was a teen in the Vietnam War.

Somewhere in the maze is the White House, which forms a triangle with the Capitol and the Washington Monument. There is huge security around it & if anyone even looks remotely cross eyed, says ‘Oh shoot’ or forgets to bring their proof of residency they will close all the roads & sidewalks leading to it for an hour while sirens blare & we all swear.
It is definitely not a place you would want to spend a lot of time hanging around at.

A Trip With a Good Start

One of the first stops on our D.C. trip was to visit the temple. Driving directly there from the Garmin directions, we discovered there were dressing rooms for those traveling. We carried our church clothes into the temple & changed. From there we officially entered this great building. The four corners of the six storied structure are stairways leading to the baptistry(basement), main floor entry, offices & waiting, second floor dressing rooms & clothing rental, third floor ordinance rooms, fourth & fifth sealing rooms, and sixth a solemn assembly hall.

In the ordinance rooms which are like small theatres, men & women may sit beside each other at the center of each row where a wooden arm rest separates the two sides. I was able to sit next to Dad on our row. Each row is the same for those that claim the center seats. The celestial room is a two story spacious and large mirrored room complete with chandeliers, cherry wood furniture and a quiet reverence. We felt safe from the worldly governmental influence of the area. Driving on the freeway that evening, the temple appears out of the trees like a lighthouse in the night shining the way to help lost souls

Jerky, Anyone?

Jed and I went on our (semi)-annual hunting trip. Jed, the mega-shot hit this deer about ten minutes after we left the truck. He spotted it, shot it, and then we headed towards it. We were prepared in case it took off, wounded, but then a HUGE guy took off towards the ridge. It was moving too fast for both of us, neither of us got a shot off. Jed was freeking out because he was sure that he'd hit the deer in his first shot. We decided to see if he'd hit it and we could track it and, low and behold, there was this guy sitting there. Jed had hit it in the head. I gutted it (or attempted to) and it took us the rest of the day to skin it and all other required things before we could take it to be processed into jerkey (Mmm. Mmm.) After all the work, we were both so tired and sore that we aren't ready to do any hunting again anytime soon. (We'll probably forget this all by next year though) The last deer we got was six years ago. We decided that every six years is enough!

The Great Gray Debate

For twenty plus years now, I have been a brunette fighting nature which wants me to be gray. Dyeing my hair an assortment of brown shades & such, I decided to let a professional do the job to keep it looking more natural. We all hate seeing those women that have the skunk hair (white strip down the middle of their head) parade around. If I am unable to get in for an appointment, I become one of them. I wantto put a bag over my head then or wear wild clothing to draw attention away from the hair.

This week I have been contemplating what to do about it. Shall I go gray? Is there something I could ‘invent’ to put on my part to cover the gray until it gets so bad I have to color it or cut it off. Shall I cut it all off now to ½ inch & look like a cancer survivor? Then when it grows out I am there! My kids wouldn't know me.

Yesterday walking out of the store two ladies nearly bumped into me that had made the ‘change’. Two more were driving by in their cars that were also gray headed. Wouldn’t you know that my dream last night was about Catherine Peterson, another great gray head. How would I look with a gray starfish shaped streak on my crown? The decision has to be made, but I need your help, your vote or opinion.

It would be easier if we were to move. I could be any color I wanted blonde, streaked, gray, bald or red. The new ward wouldn’t know anything else. Stay brunette until I turn sixty, move, cut all my hair off or go gray? I need your input for my great gray debate.