Life moves on

Sometimes it seems like things aren’t much different week to week.  I spend hours in front of the computer working on writing or learning things or taking care of business.

But I’ll see if I can pull out the highlights.  Monday I learned that Lloyds of London can take up to 60 days to pay my insurance claim. Bummer.  I also had a problem that my hyperlinks in Word suddenly no longer worked.  I spent a good hour or more Googling and trying to fix it.  Finally I called the help desk. Fortunately I had purchased my word program less than 90 days ago and they fixed it for me.  But it took them a good 20 minutes to figure it out.  Resetting to default solved it.

Tuesday I met Marian at the library and collected my pottery treasures.  I was pleased with how they turned out.  The glazes were fired to cone 5—usually she fires to cone 6 a difference of like 84 degrees cooler. We did this because the pattern blue comes out more blue than turquoise. 

 The pattern blue is on the left.  The red-gold... like totally gold is on the right.  I had fun making these with the Young Women's theme for the year.  The one on the left is Katelynn's birthday gift.

 These bowl are pretty small-- like cereal bowl sized for the largest one.

I put Mom's picture there for perspective... and the colors matched.  These are my first thrown pottery.  I was pleased with how they came out.  The back one is red-gold.  The front two both have pattern blue on them, but the right one has cinnamon ripple over the top of the blue.  Even though I only put it half way down the bowl, it ran the rest of the way but still has blue undertones.

However, it turns out the red-gold is more gold than red at that temperature.  It’s so interesting the differences small things make.

Wednesday afternoon I drove to Ava and then joined with Sister Lewis, the Stake RS president to drive to Springfield for our Stake Council meeting.  It is such a gorgeous time of year.  I love the spring and the blooms and young fresh green on grass and trees. It is always a spiritual feast to go to Stake Council… and always a late night. We had a missionary report back from Paraguay.  I got home about 1 am.

As we discussed seminary and teaching—and the new Come Follow Me teaching program I pondered on something I learned at our Seminary training: How much did the Savior know that he didn’t tell as he taught people? So often we know so much.  But people learn better if they can figure it out for themselves—with just some nudges and clarifications here and there.

Thursday we went to our local health fair.  They really put on a nice spread.  The hospital does blood work.  You can have hearing checked, and vision.  Your spine evaluated.  They had lots of booths for the different support systems around town. My blood work was good.  Tom had a little elevated cholesterol. The student nurse who took my blood pressure gave me higher BP than I’d ever had in my life, so I’ll stick with the BP taken the week before for an insurance policy.

Friday we had rain, rain, and more rain punctuated by rumbling thunderstorms. I have a touch lamp at my bedside.  Whenever it thunders just right, the lamp turns on. Grr.  Middle of the night.  Not fun. After the second time, we unplugged it. It was lovely to have rain all day.

That evening we had the Drakes and Arndts over for dinner.  I made the same chicken parmesan and baguettes as we’d had for the Food Nanny meal.  They were tasty.  My baguettes were a bit fatter than typical, but still well received. We also had homemade applesauce and peach jam and home grown asparagus.  I taught Tom that fresh-from-the-garden raw asparagus is mighty tasty.  After dinner we had a fun game of Curses.

 It rained again Friday night and into most of Saturday.

There were enough breaks in the rain on Saturday for me to plant more seeds and weed the garden.  Later Tom and I strung fencing on top of about 60% of the chicken run. This way our little flying chickens won’t be able to escape.  And varmints or hawks hopefully won’t be able to snatch chick either.

Our church building is in the process of being entirely repainted on the inside.  They were still working on the chapel, so we met in the cultural hall this week.  It was different and kind of tipped over the apple cart for those that typically sat in the same place.

This evening the Aaronic priesthood and priesthood leadership have a training meeting in Branson.  So it will be a late night for Tom.

Food Nanny!

This has been a good week.

I love going out and watching the chickens.  They are just fun.  A little smelly at times… but fun.  When the weather warmed up, we opened the gate to the enclosed wire fenced area and the chicks timidly stood at the door and looked.

Would you believe it?  They were too chicken to come out!  After about 4 days, most of them will venture out.

I planted more seeds, but we are also having something that seems to act like a cutworm.  It just cuts the plant off at the base and leaves the top to die.  I put out my starts that I’d grown from seed and I think that most of them survived.

I’ve continued to write on the eBook. I send off a draft, get edits back, rewrite, and submit again.  It’s moving forward. I should have been busy marketing or training, but instead, we took off to do other things.

Wednesday I went to my clay day.  She had fired my greenware so I got to glaze that, but she had not fired the things I had glazed previously.  So I couldn’t find out if my test pieces would come out in colors that I liked.  So I tried some other glazes.

Thursday Tom and I planned to go to Branson.  We had severe storm warnings in the morning and so decided to delay our trip until they passed.  We’d also previously bought a chicken feeder in West Plains (north east of Mtn. Home). Alas, the top and bottom were from different feeders and they didn’t match.  So it had to go back.  So on our trip to Branson (northwest) we headed to West Plains first.

We had rain along the way, but not bad.  And it was so beautifully spring!  The wisteria was blooming in long purple fronds. Dogwood played peek-a-boo through the other trees. And the fresh green color was everywhere!  We took back roads to Branson and past old mills and streams and drove windy mountain roads. This time we were enjoying the journey as much as wanting to get to the destination.

We went shopping for shoes and slacks in Branson and then went to the Hughes Family show; 5 brothers, their wives and close to 30 children from infant to 19 - and they all participated in the show!.  I got up early on Friday and went to the three Branson seminary classes by 6am.  One third of the classes are doing excellent and the students are bright and attentive—most of them.  There are some irregularities that need to be addressed.

We lounged around a bit in the morning, went to lunch, and hit Silver Dollar City and their World Festival.  We listened to an Irish harpist and her drum playing husband.  We watched Polynesian fire dancers and Maori war dances.  We enjoyed Gaucho dancers from Argentina.  We saw a new show at the saloon and then listened to some Swiss yodelers and singers.  They played the alphorn and sang with it… but Sue and Steve are much better.  I think they should come and play at World Fest in Branson.  It’s only about a month long.

Tom got up about 4:10 on Saturday and at 5 am we left to drive him to meet with other bishops going to a 14 stake training in Oklahoma City.  I went back and got myself ready and went to the Stake Relief Society activity that prompted this trip in the first place.  This is the activity I’d done the recipe book for.

They had the Food Nanny from BYU TV there and she was passionate about the value of a family sitting down to eat at least 3 meals a week.  She shared statistics about the kids being smarter, going to college, getting into less trouble and all kind of other benefits from face-to-face family time at the dinner table.  She shared a system to make cooking easy.  She said that many of the younger people don’t know how to cook.  You can find recipes and her theme way of planning meals at foodnanny.com.

Our food at lunch used Food Nanny Recipes and it was TASTY!  It was a fun morning, but it ran over a bit.  I was watching the time because my Seminary and Institute in service training was supposed to begin at 1… but the first shift didn't start eating lunch until nearly 12. (And the RS function was to be over by 12:30)  It did end close to 1 pm… so not as late as I’d feared.

I had been really disappointed in the attendance I’d had at my trainings.  So I sent a letter out after last month... when I had 5 people there (out of a possible 19).  So this month I had 13 of 19.  A much better percentage!  And it was a great meeting.

We have been talking about teaching not by talking and telling, but by listening and observing.  Bro. Lawson said if you want to listen and observe, you need to create a lesson plan that allows you to do that.  Then he offered 5 ways to make simple lesson plans that involve the students in thinking, discussing, and participating in the lesson—so the lesson goes in the direction needed by the students.

I thought I’d need to go to Springfield to visit with a student who is to create a video inviting other students to an Especially for Youth activity.  I ended up talking to the dad on the phone and not going up.  But I think we have a plan. I’d sent a script in the middle of the week and he liked the idea.  Now to see if it gets executed.

I waited in the Branson West building and did some computer work and took a nap.  Then I headed to Harrison to pick Tom up as he got a ride back from Oklahoma City.  He thought he’d be in by 9pm, but arrived by 10.  That’s okay. I had a book to read.

We got to bed after 12:30. Ugh.  Today was a good day at church.  I had no lesson to teach so I felt like I just glided through classes.  Bishop’s Youth Discussion was to be after church, so before church I made a peach cobbler to serve as refreshments.

This evening, I’ve made a few calls, wrote to grandchildren and missionaries, and now am doing the blog.

That's my week.

Flowers!

Yes!  It is spring.  In spite of a few days of chilly, near freezing weather, the trees have declared it spring.  Frothy green lace adorns the trees.  Black Jack Oaks look like bonsai trees with their angled limbs and puffs if green at the tips.  The redbud (which is really lavender) is blooming and the dogwood is uncurling from green to white.

My little phlox have created a blanket of pink while red and orange tulips poke through between them. And the flowering quince plant in the fountain garden makes me repent of my threat to pull it out if it didn’t do something.  It is covered in salmon blooms. 

 

And today it is 80 degrees.

Monday was Kera’s happy birthday.  I also got a job writing an eBook.  This goes with a pretty steady job writing two articles a week and one writing 4 emails promoting my language company.  I’m talking with a business in Canada about another B2B job.  So I’m keeping busy.

Tuesday was my clay day.  I had hoped to have some projects ready for display for our Stake RS activity on April 20^th.  They will be close… but likely not finished with the glaze firing.  Still. I had fun making them.  This time I threw pots.  Throwing is what you do on the wheel.  Building is when you don’t use the wheel, you roll and form.

I had much better success with my throwing this time.  You have to center the clay on the wheel or nothing else will turn out right.  If your bottom of your bowl is too thick or too thin, that doesn’t work either.   But I made three cute little pots. It was so much fun!

It seems like there’s wad of financial stuff on our plate.  We’re still trying to clear the title of the Minnesota property so it can be sold.  We’re looking into “infinite banking” a method of using life insurance to create your own bank where you can lend to yourself tax free and have insurance protection and create a stream of income for later in life.  This involves learning, and talking and filling out forms and figuring out how to fund it.  Mortgage rates are low so we’re working on refinancing at least one of our rental loans.  This comes with paper work, tax returns, balance sheets and so on.  This is also annual report season with its share of proxy voting.

Then, of course, once property sells, you have to look at reinvesting it.  We can buy a house or become private lenders and earn 10%/year. Or we can invest in a neem plantation in Brazil.  I’ve done some checking out, and it actually sounds like a pretty valid proposition.  Out of country gives some diversity from risks here.  Agriculture is steady and in demand.  The trees last for a hundred years and produce after the 3^rd year—oil is used in beauty products and as a natural pesticide and the cakes that remain after the oil is pressed is used for cattle feed and fertilizer. Returns grow to 42% after 6 years.  Anyone interested in joining me?  I think next time Steve goes to Brazil I’ll get him to look in person…. If he’s willing.  Or maybe I’ll fly down… and it’s a tax deduction.

Seminary is nearing graduation.  We’re working on getting teachers to trainings, finding out who is graduating, and getting the graduation set up. We need to look at teachers and see who might need to be changed out.

Friday I went visiting teaching.  Friday night we had a sweetheart dinner.  The young women put it on and they did a great job! It was a nice evening with a silent auction of deserts to raise money for girls’ camp.  We came home with lemon bars, no-bake cookies, and a strawberry cheese cake!  Oh, then we bought a leftover pan of lasagna.

Saturday Tom and I both headed to the yard.  We raked up old leaves and transplanted some groundcover and irises to the front entry beds.  We created a gate in the chicken tractor so the two ladies could have use of the chicken run. As they seemed disinclined to fly, we didn’t need to put the cover on the run just yet.  But we have the chicken wire to do so.  It was warm enough to open the little chick’s door to go outside, but the world was too scary.  Today I opened it again after church and a few brave chicks leaned out to nibble grass.

Saturday afternoon Tom went to church because the Youth were having their super Saturday activity at our ward building.  They had a carnival theme.  People brought popcorn machine, cotton candy machine, funnel cakes, and a variety of booths with games.  The kids had a good time, then cleaned it up and had a dance.

Today was a good fast and testimony meeting. Tom conducted.  Gee.  We sure have a cute bishop.  Our Relief Society lesson was #7—a great one on adversity.

Chicken Little...Chicken Big

  We've been feeding our little chicks very well.  Now we have hens and they are laying!

Monday evening we had the Empty Nesters at our house.  These are couples or older singles who no longer have children in the home.  So we gather once a month for Family Home Evening.  This time it was our turn.

So we cleaned... at least the places where company would be.  We fixed food--  grapes, veggies and dip, chips and dip, brownies, lemon bars, chocolate oatmeal cookies, dozens of deviled eggs, and finger sized chicken salad sandwiches.  One friend brought apple slices and cheese and crackers.  So we had plenty of food.

We talked about what had impressed us or what changes we had made based on conferences addresses from last general conference.  The first talkers had a lot to say, so we finally had to limit the time to just a few minutes per speaker.  All in all, it was a lovely evening.

Tuesday I got my hair cut and I met with the Realtor who will take the Darracq's place as they go on their mission.  Just in case we need to buy a house or two while they are gone, you know.

Tuesday and Wednesday were work days. Tom worked at the duplex. I worked at writing.  Tom got frustrated trying to put down the laminate floor. I went over to help.  We both got frustrated. It just wouldn't lock in. It was like it was bowed.  So we called for help.  Our housecleaner (who cleans our rentals) used to do flooring. She came and said.  a. you're starting from the wrong direction.  b. you are using Shaw flooring; they have a terrible locking mechanism. c. you really need pry thingies and wedges and stuff to get it right. d. would you like me to do it?  YES!!  It turned out it really was a bear for her, too.  The edges wouldn't lock so they had to be glued.  That was one of the reasons why we couldn't lock the next section in-- the ends would move.

Thursday we drove to St. Louis.  We had a closing for our Portis duplex scheduled for Friday.  We decided to go up a day early and go to the temple.  We'd hoped to meet Scott and Tanya there and visit with them. They are moving to Ohio-- even further away!   But, alas, it didn't work out.  So we drove up in the afternoon, did a session, got up the next morning, did a session, then went to the closing.  Ahhh.  It was nice to be done with one house in St. Louis.  Unfortunately the difficult house is still trying to get a clear title.  But there might be light at the end of the tunnel.

We arrived home shortly before Dan and Miranda came to visit.  It's always so nice to see them.  Camden and Ethan are growing.  Saturday we watched general conference together.  We also went to the Home Show in the morning.  Camden was excited to climb on the lawn tractors... not quite so excited to wander past windows, Realtor, electric companies, and central heating places.  But he was excited about the equipment Jackson Rental had displayed.

Actually, the chickens above?  I got a call from one neighbor saying another neighbor had two laying hens, did I want them?  Sure.  Then I thought, akk.  What will I do with them.  They can't be mixed in with the little chicks.  So I decided to put them into the chicken tractor.

I picked them up from a neighbor I'd known only by reputation.  A delightful older man.  We had a nice chat and now we are friends.  I've been wanting to get to know my neighbors better. It seems we need to know each other so we can support each other in difficult times.

My chicks are growing.  You can see that the meat chicks look like Louie the giant compared with the laying hens.

  Since I learned that I did have a few Cinnamon Queen hens, I decided to add a few more layers to my flock.  So I got two little black chicks and two Red Productions that have nicely speckled feathers.  The blacks were a few days younger and a bit smaller than the others.  The Reds were a week older, but still small enough not  to overwhelm.   They were accepted into the flock without problem.

Tom finished the coop enough that we can move the birds out. Yippee!  They smell!

We went to general conference at church in the morning.  I needed to clean the chicken cage anyway, so decided this was a great time to move the chicks to the coop.  I'd hung a heat lamp out the afternoon before so I could make sure it would not be too cold for them.  I'd put down straw and hay to insulate them from the ground.  And I figured out how to fill the large waterer.  Here they are in the coop under the red heat lamp.

The feeder was another matter.  Critical holes didn't line up.  We will need to drill holes so they fit.  So we still have to use the little old one.

It was nice to have great general conference sessions.  They are always so uplifting.