Happy New Year!

 

Wishing you and yours a very happy new year!!

A Quiet Christmas

 Our Christmas was quiet and beautiful.  Ken and I sang in the choir for the sacrament meeting program.  I also accompanied the Primary children as they sang, "He Sent His Son."  It was such a sweet, touching meeting.  The organ prelude was gorgeous and set the tone for a wonderful meeting.

We have a large nativity Ken sets up each year in our front yard.  This year he discovered that if he put the spotlight just right the shadow reflects on our front window.  We have so enjoyed looking at that each evening.

On Christmas eve, we watched some wonderful programs on Ken's Ipad after reading the Christmas story in Luke.

My stack of gifts on Christmas morning.

Ken's stack was a little smaller as his big gift was some very nice and expensive binoculars.  He is thrilled with them.

I opened this box to find it full of wrapped books.  The best gift ever!!  Ken beautifully wrapped each book!

These are the books that were inside.  Thank you Ken!  I am so excited.

Pam and Roger invited us for Christmas dinner.  I got up early on Christmas and made rolls.  I don't make them very often, but they turned out pretty good.  I had to take a picture.

We had our traditional Cinnamon roll pull aparts for Christmas breakfast. Yum !

Pam and Roger had such a beautiful, delicious dinner for us.

Ham and ham sauce, twice baked potato casserole, green beens, pineapple, cole slaw, yams, and rolls.  We brought appetizer cheese ball and pecan pie for dessert, as well as the rolls.

Pam has such a beautiful Christmas tree collection on her mantle.

The picture doesn't show it very well, but most of them are lighted and sparkle.  They are so beautiful!

We had such a lovely time visiting and spending time with Pam and Roger.  It was a beautiful, quiet Christmas.

Pam and Kay

A Moveable Feast

 

A Moveable Feast: The Restored Edition by Ernest Hemingway
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

In this collection of remembrances from his time in Paris as a young newlywed, Hemingway introduces us to other famous writers and artists living there at that time, especially Scott Fitzgerald and Gertrude Stein. One of the things I liked the most about the book was his expressions of great love for his wife. His last story was so very sad. I learned a lot about life in Paris in the 1920 and got to know famous people in a very personal way. Did you really have to drink so much?

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Our New Chair

 A couple of months ago, we ordered a custom new chair for our living room.  We had been using one that had been my parents in their condo here in St. George.  It was looking pretty worn and needed replacing.  We nervously chose the fabric from many swatches.  It is so hard to tell how the fabrics will look on a big chair.  

It was finally delivered and we are both really love the fabric and how it fits in our room.  It matches our room beautifully and is very comfortable.

The only problem is that the stitching is off in the top cushion.  It just isn't even.  It isn't well made.  So, I called the customer service department at Boulevard Home and talked to them.  I sent them these pictures:

We haven't heard back from them, so I guess I will have to call again.  Both Ken and I are conflict adverse.  But we paid a lot of money for this chair and we think it should be well made.  I will keep you posted.

Excitement in our Neighborhood

 We were eating our lunch on Monday, December 18th when we heard sirens in our neighborhood.  Soon thereafter Ken got a text from the St. George Police Department saying that an armed suspect in an ATM robbery was last seen in our neighborhood- just a couple of blocks from our home.  It said to secure all doors and windows and stay inside.  As the story unfolded, we learned that it was several people that robbed an ATM on River Rd.- the road that leads out to our neighborhood. A man saw what was happening and followed the getaway car as he informed police of their whereabouts.  They kept turning on side streets trying to lose the following car.  One or some of them got out of the getaway car in our neighborhood.  They were later apprehended across the hill from us- which is a long walk from our area.    It was pretty scary for a while.  We could hear the helicopter circling above our neighborhood for about an hour.  Ken did get a text later from the police saying that the suspects were apprehended.  Our town is very low crime and our neighborhood is particularly safe as it is so isolated and far from the freeway.  I guess these criminals had not researched all of that!  

It made for an exciting afternoon!

The Shattered Dream

 

The Shattered Dream by Gene Smith
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is a sad book. It is a biography of Herbert Hoover. He may be the most qualified man to ever be president of the United States. But his timing was horrible. And he lacked charisma. He was born into indigent circumstances but was extremely intelligent and a genius at problem solving. He became very wealthy and sought-after by companies for his problem-solving skills. He became president just as the stock market crashed, bringing on the great depression. The author’s feelings are that Hoover and Wilson were the best presidents this country ever had. “ In the end, a chosen few said of him that the world had dealt as cruelly with him as with any man who ever lived.” I am afraid that is true. I wish history had been kinder to Herbert Hoover.

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Merry Christmas!

 

Our cute, little neighborhood carolers.

Merry Christmas Eve!

 

Ward Christmas Party

 Our ward Christmas party was so nice this year.  The decorations were just amazing.

These were the table runners and trees that our activities director made for all of the long tables.

This dear sister is our activities chairman.  She spent ten months making all of these beautiful snowflakes.  They lined the walls.  It was so beautiful.

Across from us are our friends Cindy and Court.

The Jolleys.  He played his guitar and sang "White Christmas" 

The food was delicious.

The children singing is always a highlight.

This is my friend Janet and her husband Randy.  I am her ministering sister.

At the end, we all sang Christmas carols together.  It was so nice.  Thanks to all of those who worked so hard to make it such a nice evening.  Merry Christmas!

Upstairs at the White House

 

Upstairs at the White House: My Life with the First Ladies by J.B. West
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Non. Fiction. I really liked this book. It was written by the Chief Usher at the White House during six different administrations. The chief usher’s job is to make and keep the white house running the way the first family, especially the first lady, wants it. He told a lot about the personalities and family life of Eleanor Roosevelt, Bess Truman, Mamie Eisenhauer, Jacqueline Kennedy, Lady Bird Johnson, and Pat Nixon and his relationship with each. Unlike the “tell -alls” of modern day, he was most respectful in his writing. But he did share some cute anecdotes about each. He seemed to like and respect all of the first ladies. He seemed especially fond and close to Jacqueline Kennedy. I learned so much about each of them and loved learning their values, likes, dislikes, and family life. I really think most would enjoy reading this book.

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Worth a Thousand Words

 Some pictures just are:

Dear Winona Passes Away

 How I loved this dear woman.  Everyone did.  She was loving and kind and spunky and funny.  They moved into our ward as they returned from a mission in Nauvoo. They were performing missionaries. It was while I was RS president.  We made an instant bond.  Very shortly thereafter, her husband died.  She handled widowhood so well.  She was such an example of moving on.  She applied for and went on a mission to New Zealand, serving with the young sister missionaries and holding her own.  Often, when I would look out my window, I would see Winona out weeding in the park behind our house.  She made it her personal mission to keep that area weed-free.  Winona has been a tremendous influence in my life.  Heaven truly gained an angel.

Dec. 15, 1932-Nov. 23, 2023

Winona Crosby Stanley, 90, passed away Thanksgiving morning Nov. 23, 2023. She was born Dec. 15, 1932, in St. George, Utah, to Henry and Emma Seegmiller Crosby. She married Burton M. Stanley on June 26, 1953, in the St. George, Utah Temple.

Winona was proud to be an authentic hometown gal. She was the middle of five children and given the name Winona, which means eldest daughter. She loved spending her childhood on Diagonal Street where the Sugarloaf and Brooks ponds were her very own playground and wonderland.  She attended Woodward School and Dixie High School excelling in visual and performing arts. 

It was while attending Dixie College on an art scholarship that she met and fell in love with her eternal companion Burton Stanley. Winona and Burton formed their family of six kids raising them primarily in Salt Lake City where she sacrificed so much for her family while also making time to expand her artistic nature and fostering a love of everything beautiful in her children. It was when her youngest graduated high school that she was able to fulfill her dream of moving back to St. George where she lived for the remainder of her life except for the times she volunteered as a missionary in Nauvoo alongside her husband, and then again in New Zealand after Burton passed away. A devoted disciple of Jesus Christ, Winona embodied His teachings of mercy, forgiveness, devotion, service, and love. To interact with Winona was to be in the presence of God and her infectious smile and warmth was a constant expression of light and love. Her “I’m a luva, luva, luva you” will forever resonate in the hearts of her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

She is survived by one sister Linda Bills and her six children: Jan Peterson, Karen Fazlurrehman, Douglas Stanley (Karen), Robert Stanley, Brenda Peterson (Mark) and David Stanley (Traci);  35 grandchildren and spouses; and 36 great-grandchildren.

She is preceded in death by her husband Burton Stanley, her parents Henry and Emma Crosby, three brothers — Jack, Charles and Brent and her son-in law Syed Fazzlurrehman.

Funeral services will be at 1 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 14, at the Bloomington Hills Chapel 750 Fort Pierce Drive, St. George, Utah. Friends may call the day of the funeral for a viewing between 11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. at the same location. Interment will take place in the St. George City Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, consider making a donation to your local arts.

Special thanks to Dixie Home Hospice, the staff of Legacy Village, and the Bloomington Hills 4th Ward for their service, care and devotion.

At the funeral, the bishop told about when he first met Winona.  She told him that she was a WINner, not a  WHINer.  That was to help him know how to pronounce her name.   When I was ward Choir leader, Winona was my most faithful member.  She was always at rehearsal.  She loved music and loved to sing.  For a Christmas program one year, I asked her to sing a solo.  She was flabbergasted.  She said she had never sung a solo before.  But she accepted the assignment and did a beautiful job.  She had such a clear, pretty voice.  She expressed to me many times after that what a blessing that had been to get to sing that.  She thanked me and thanked me for giving her that opportunity. 

A couple of grandchildren spoke at her funeral and told how blessed they were to have her as a grandma.  They truly were.  We were all blessed to know her.  Until we meet again . . .

St. George Temple Rededication

 On Sunday, December 10th, 2023, the St. George temple was rededicated.  The dedicatory prayer was offered by President Jeffrey R Holland.

Elder Jeffrey R Holland with the other general authorities in attendance and their wives.

Each stake center in St. George was temporarily made into a temple where we could view the proceedings.  It is impossible to describe how wonderful it was to be there. It was so good to see and hear from our beloved apostle, President Jeffrey R. Holland. We feel so blessed to have our beautiful temple reopened and to be in attendance at this sacred meeting.