Family Reunion- Friday July 2, 2021

Ken, Brielle and I had to go up to the reunion a couple of days early because Ken had a dental problem that needed to be fixed.  We went up on Thursday, July 1st.  Ken left Brielle and I at Michelle and Brian's in South Jordan and went on up to Logan that night.  Blake fixed his tooth early Friday morning (before he and his kids went on a backpacking trip that day and overnight.)  Ken came back to South Jordan that afternoon.  

Gabbi got back from her first girls' camp that afternoon.  She looked so tired.   

She and Brielle practiced some secret girls camp tricks!

This was so cool!

It was Gabbi's birthday the day before, so we gave her our gifts.

We gave her the game of Catan, so we played it.  It is really fun.

Grandpa and William

William LOVES the game Pinchy, Fisty, Flatty, Cutty, Cow

Visiting Remi and Walker

 On Saturday morning, Ken and I went up on University of Utah campus to visit Remi and Walker.  Remi was in the branch we served in in Tsuruoka, Japan.  She married an elder that we served with there- Walker Murakami.  They married last February in the temple, just before the pandemic lock down.  They are expecting their first baby in November.  Our grandchildren are getting older, so we don't need our pack and play and our baby swing anymore, so took those to them.  We had such a wonderful visit with these dear people.  We were so impressed with how well Remi is doing at learning English.  We were able to communicate quite well with her.  It was a lovely hour with someone we love a lot.

Once Upon A Town

Once Upon a Town: The Miracle of the North Platte Canteen by Bob Greene
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

What a great and true story. This book is about a little town- North Platte, Nebraska. The good people of that town decided during WWII to create a canteen at the railroad station and serve free food to the servicemen who traveled through there on their way to or from the war. It was a beautiful act of service. They donated their own ration coupons to create baked goods, sandwiches, fruits, eggs, coffee, milk, etc. to give to those serving our country. They baked and cooked and then manned the canteen around the clock to greet every train that came through. The book tells a wonderful story, but I found it a bit long and repetitive.
I think one of the most fascinating points of the book, almost missed by the author himself is this: Before they did this wonderful service, North Platte was a town full of bars and brothels and evil. After the war, it was difficult to find a bar and impossible to find a brothel in the town. It seems that doing good has a positive effect and a blessing from God that hearts change and good replaces evil.

View all my reviews

Sense and Sensibility

 Brielle and I loved this movie.  How did I miss it when it was new?  It is a great story and so well acted.  Five stars from me!  I think I might make Ken watch it with me.  I think he would enjoy it, too.  

Making Our Home a Sanctuary of Faith

 Each month, I provide a spiritual preparedness message for our Relief Society's newsletter.  Here is August's message:

In April, 2021 conference, President Nelson admonished us to make our homes a sanctuary of faith:  “There are few pursuits more important than this.  Between now and the time the Lord comes again, we all need our homes to be places of serenity and security.” 

Let us prepare ourselves spiritually by focusing every day on making our homes a sanctuary of faith, serenity, and security.

New Blinds!

 We purchased metal mini blinds when we moved into our home in 1985- 36 years ago.  That's pretty good.  They lasted through children and grandchildren and lots of opening and shutting through the years.  But the turning mechanism in the big front window finally broke and the part we needed is no longer manufactured.  We decided to replace them with new blinds.  I love our new 2 1/2"  blinds !

We put new ones in the four windows in the living room and in the front bedroom.  What a great home improvement!

Not Again! And Again!

 Our sprinkler system sprang a leak.  Ken discovered a wet place in the front lawn.  So he dug down and found the leak.  He called several companies to repair it, but all were too busy to come soon(one said they couldn't come for three weeks!)  So he went to the hardware store, bought the stuff and did it himself. 

But a few weeks later, he found it was wet again and dug down to find it was leaking again-but in a different place.  So he repaired it again.  Hopefully, this will do the trick.  We aren't looking forward to the water bill!

Commonwealth

 

Commonwealth by Ann Patchett
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I am amazed at Patchett’s ability to write so proficiently in so many different settings. Her research is thorough. But the strength of her books is the characterization. She creates memorable characters. That’s what I remember about her books.
This one tells the story of the profound effect one decision can make on many lives. One drunken kiss sets off a chain reaction that changes and destroys lives, the ripple effect lasting for years. There is such a powerful lesson there. I felt that the protagonist in this story was weak, allowing herself to be used and causing pain to herself and others.
I liked this book, but my favorite Patchett novel is The Dutch House. It is similar in theme to this one and has a similar feel. I also liked Bel Canto.


View all my reviews

Relative Race Season 7

 We have loved every season of Relative Race on BYUtv, but this one may be the best one yet.  It has such a great and moving ending.  We can't wait for Season 8!

Brielle Comes To Visit

Our oldest granddaughter, Brielle, came for a two-week summer visit.  She flew here from Denver and stayed a couple of weeks, then she rode with us to the family reunion in South Jordan.  We had  a wonderful time with a wonderful young lady.

Listening to "Unshaken" to study our scriptures.

Dinner at Chipotle

Brielle and I enjoyed watching a tournament on Chopped.

We enjoyed playing games.

Dinner at Hash House a Go Go

Making dessert

 ,

Brielle loves to write and worked on her novel while she was here.

This is the plot outline for her novel.

We made okonomiyaki- a favorite Japanese dish- while she was here.

We also watched season 7 of Relative Race- or most of it.  Brielle had watched it before, but never gave away who would win.

We enjoyed watching Emma and Sense and Sensibility while she was here.  

It was a fun couple of weeks.  We sure love our Brielle!!!

Emma

 This is a movie that has been remade many times.  Brielle and I watched this latest version and really enjoyed it.

My Last Ever Game of Monopoly!

 I wanted to document my last ever game of Monopoly.  I had not played it for years, and have decided I will never play it again.  It is a horrible game.  It is designed to make you lose.  You are constantly frustrated and sad.  Nope, I won't play it again.  (Can you tell I lost?)

Our Little Sister

 Ken and I loved this movie set and filmed in  Japan.  It was all in Japanese, with English subtitles.  It was so fun to understand so much without the subtitles and to see our beloved Japan again.  In fact, some of it was set in the prefecture- Yamagata- in which we served.  The story is sweet and tender.  We loved it beginning to end!  We watched it on Netflix DVD.

The Terminal

 I love this movie!  I just love the character Tom Hanks plays.  My favorite scene is when the airport officer explains to him that all he has to do is say he is scared to go back to his country and he can leave the airport.  He won't say it.  He's not scared, so he won't say he is.   Integrity.  If you haven't seen this one, make it a priority.  It's a good one!   It is on Netflix right now.

Which Wolf Am I Feeding?

   I have been asked by our Relief Society presidency to prepare an article for each month's Relief Society newsletter on spiritual preparedness.   I thought I might just as well publish those articles here as well.  This is July's article.

Which Wolf Am I Feeding?

There is a story told of an old Cherokee teaching his grandson about life. “A fight is going on inside me,” he said to the boy.

“It is a terrible fight, and it is between two wolves. One is evil: he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.”

He continued, “The other is good: he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you—and inside every other person too.”

 

 The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather, “Which wolf will win?”

The old Cherokee simply replied, “The one you feed.”

                                                            Elder Shayne M Bowen from New Era, Sept 2012

Preparing ourselves spiritually means striving to always feed the good wolf.  Each night, when saying our prayers, we can ask, “Overall, which wolf won today? Which wolf am I feeding?”                                  

Happy Birthday to Me!

I hit one of those landmark birthdays- 65!  It sounds so much older than I feel.  It was a great day.  

I guess it didn't start too great.  Our air conditioning unit went out the night before, so the day started with repairmen coming at 8:00am.  (Several days later, it still is not fixed, though they have been here three times attempting to fix it.  The temperature on our car registered 115 today.   It is SO SO SO hot !)

We went to breakfast at Kneaders and had their all-you-can eat cinnamon French toast.  So yummy!

Ken's gift to me.

Gift from our daughters- a winter door wreath

Ken's gift to me was a shot box.  We borrowed Don and Ada's earlier and decided it would be very nice to have one.  

Our cooler has not been working for three days.  I took this picture showing it was 85.1 in the house.  It got hotter than that.  

My daughters gave me this calf stretcher to help with my plantar fasciitis.  They are such thoughtful gift-givers.

Gifts from my sisters

An assortment of birthday cards from friends and family.

It had been a year- and- a - half since we went to Paula's Mexican restaurant in town because of COVID.  I was really hungry for it, so that was my choice for my birthday dinner.  It was so yummy!   I ordered a combo meal: 1 chili relleno, 1 taco, and 1cheese enchilada- my usual!

Ken went to Costco and bought a chocolate mousse cake for my birthday cake.  He treated me like royalty all day.  Happy birthday to me!!

*Update:  After three long days and nights with no cooler, it is now working.  On their third visit, the repairmen replaced the motor.  We are so very grateful for air conditioniing!

The Colors of All the Cattle

 

The Colors of All the Cattle by Alexander McCall Smith
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I read at least one book of this series each year. I look forward to reading it much like one looks forward to dessert. I know I will relax as I read and the experience and journey will be enjoyable. This one was so delightful. I grow to love Mma Ramotswe more with each story and grow to like Mma Makutsi less with each one. In this book, Mma Ramotswe is pretty much forced to run for public office. Unlike any politician I have ever seen, she was completely honest in her campaign. How refreshing! I love this series!

View all my reviews

The Pelican Brief

 I think this was the third time I have watched this exciting thriller.  It is exciting- start to finish.  It is on Netflix.