Goodbye, Saturday Night Session of General Conference

 It was a surprising announcement that Saturday evening sessions of general conference are being discontinued.  It is kind of sad to me- just that we will have less talks to learn from, read, and study.  Especially sad is one less talk each conference from our prophet. But things change and it will all be fine.

We were also surprised that the October general conference will be virtual.  I guess this pandemic is not over.

A screenshot of the announcement.

We Lose a Good Friend

 Funerals affect me greatly.  Because of that, I feel compelled to blog about them.  I nearly always leave a funeral wanting to be a better person and live a better life.

Though we haven't had much contact in recent years, there was a time that we were close with Kit Vowles.  Clear back when  Ken was the bishop, Kit was the young men president.  He was the pied piper of the youth.  They made a good team.

Though we both live in the same houses we lived in then, that ward is now four stakes.  So, we've had less contact in recent years.  Kit went on to be a bishop's counselor, then bishop.  He was such a kind, friendly, funny guy.

He has had Lou Gehrig's diseases for the last seven years.  He has battled it courageously- always with a smile on his face.

A few weeks ago, Marshall Topham (another great friend and neighbor to Kit) brought Kit to our home for a visit.  Because of his disease, he had lost the use of his hands and it was difficult to understand him, but Marshall was a good interpreter.  We had such a wonderful visit- reminiscing and expressing our love and honor for each other.  The spirit was strong.  We feel it was Kit's way to say goodbye, knowing it wouldn't be much longer.  Until we meet again! 

Shakespeare Saved My Life

 

Shakespeare Saved My Life by Laura Bates
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I highly recommend this non-fiction book. Laura Bates, a college English professor spends her Friday nights teaching Shakespeare in the Indiana Federal Prison. She meets a man there, Larry Newton, who has a brilliant mind. Convicted to life without parole, Shakespeare gives him purpose and hope. It is a remarkable story and so worth the read.

View all my reviews

The Museum of Rain

 

The Museum of Rain by Dave Eggers
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Not sure what is happening with this short book. Can you even call it a book- it was very short? But I loved the author’s voice and the reader on Scribd. Then I got notified that Scribd was removing it? Not sure why. It’s a mystery. But listening to it did make me want to read others of Dave Eggers novels.

View all my reviews

The Truman Show

 This is such a thought-provoking movie.  It is another re-watch for me.  I was telling Ken about it, and he doesn't remember ever having seen it, so we may be watching it again soon!  I watched it on Netflix DVD.

Memorial Day

 Memorial Day was a little different for us this year.  We had previously decorated my parents and other ancestors' graves with my family the week before.

  We did go to Ken's parents' grave in Hurricane to pay our respects.

On Memorial Day evening, we attended the retirement party for our good friend, Greg.  He and Ken have been friends since childhood.  He retired from his medical doctor practice in January.  The party was scheduled back in January, but because his mom had COVID (and passed away from it) and Greg and his wife also got it, the party was postponed until now.

Sorry about the glare on this fine portrait of Greg.

His family did such a nice job of representing his career in displays.  I took pictures of some of my favorite things.

This is Patsy, Greg's wife.  She gave a wonderful speech about Greg and his career as a small town doctor.  It was absolutely masterful.  Greg's dad was the doctor in Hurricane before Greg.  She made comparisons of his life and how Greg followed in his footsteps.  Because everything is so regulated now, Greg is kind of the last of the small town doctors.  I wish I could capture the essence of Patsy's amazing speech.  It brought me to tears.

Greg also gave a short speech at the end.

Patsy giving her masterful speech.

Reunion with the Gabrielsen Siblings

 Traditionally, the Gabrielsen siblings gather sometime close to Memorial Day for a sibling reunion.  Dear Patty makes sure this happens each year. It always involves a trip to Cache Valley cemeteries to honor our ancestors- especially our parents.  This year, the reunion was held May 24th-27th.

Tom, Joan, Roger, Pam, John, Hal, Patty, Ken, Kay

We started our reunion at noon, meeting at Cafe' Sabor in Logan.  After yummy Mexican food, we all headed to Logan cemetery.

Patty and Hal's trunk was full of beautiful flowers.  Their son, Evan and his wife, Kelly own a wholesale flower supply in Provo.  They very generously donate flowers for our homage every year.  They are such good, generous people.

Our Grandma and Grandpa Peterson are buried near my parents.

Dear Shonna wanted to see all of her aunts and uncles, so met us at the cemetery.  She was the photographer above, so we could all be in the picture.

We also visited dear Grandma Beena's grave.  Beena was my grandpa Gabrielsen's second wife.  My grandma died when I was just two-years-old.  He remarried Beena when I was a little girl. So Beena was the only Grandma I knew.  She was such a dear lady.  She lived a long time after Grandpa died.  We made an effort to visit her often in Logan after Grandpa died, first in her home, then in an assisted living center.  As you can see by the dates above, she had her foot in three centuries.

My Grandpa and Grandma Gabrielsen

Patty knows lots of stories about our ancestors and told them as we honored them.

Tradition took us next to the USU creamery for ice cream.  Tom entertained us with stories while we ate.  Tom is a master storyteller.

Tradition took us next to Bluebird chocolates.  We have been going there since we were children.  We would always get Merry Widows.

Everyone bought some chocolates, and I think everyone got at least one Merry Widow.

Next, we went out to the Wellsville, Utah cemetery to visit the Parks graves.  Our grandma Libby was raised by the Parks.  Libby's mother died shortly after Libby was born from childbed fever.  Libby's dad gave her to the Parks to raise (Sarah Park was Libby's mom's cousin and they had not been able to have children.)  My grandma Libby loved her "parents."  She spoke so fondly of "Mama Park."  

Because of the delay caused by Ken's knee, we had not been able to visit the Prince's on our way up to Logan, so we stopped there on our way to Patty's.  We had such a fun visit with them.  They fed us a delicious pasta dinner.

Gabbi made yummy cookies.

I'm so glad when Daddy comes home.

These cookies were pretty labor-intensive. They were delicous! We were proud of our Gabbi girl.

Michelle and Gabbi showed us a couple of their Irish dances.  They have been taking Irish dance together on Saturday mornings.

How we love this precious girl.

We then headed down the state to Patty and Hal's to stay until Thursday morning.  I didn't take many pictures, but we had a nice time together.

Deer lounging in Patty and Hal's backyard.

Pam tasting the steak marinade

 The guys golfed each day, and we sisters visited and worked on a book we are making about our parents.  Joan and I divided up the typing/transcribing.  We are both busy working on that now.  I am doing all of my mom's histories, tributes, etc, and Joan is doing all of my dad's.

Joan, Pam, Kay, and Patty

After the guy's golf game on Tuesday, Roger grilled delicious steaks.  The cooks shown above: Salad, Baked potatoes, Grilled steaks, garlic bread.

Happy 70th birthday to my brother John

I made a cake for him  while we were at Shonna's.

On Wednesday night, we went out to a local Indian food restaurant.  A picture was taken, but I didn't get a copy.  

We ended the reunion Thursday morning with breakfast at Cracker Barrel.  It was a delicious breakfast.  
We then all went our separate ways for our homes.
Thank you so much Patty and Hal for hosting us and thanks to all for a nice reunion.