Two Weeks-

We’ve been keeping busy. On the 27^th of September after church in the evening I drove to Deborah’s house and spend the night there.  She had a small out-patient procedure done and needed someone to be there and then watch the kids for a little bit.  I spent Monday with her and enjoyed the children.  Deborah seemed to recuperate pretty quickly.  They said she likely would… but it’s always nice when it actually happens that way.

I came home on Tuesday.  I’d planned on stopping at ½ of ½ on the way out of town… but they are closed on Tuesday.  I wanted to try and find something dressy for Tom’s 50th high school reunion.  For the rest of the week, I was busy trying to finish projects and get ready to go and visit Mom.

Tom worked hard on trying to finish the porch roof before we left.  He got it shingled.  Just needs some flashing and some of the siding from the Living Room wall put back on. We haven’t had rain in about 3 weeks… so these small things won’t matter.

I’d been working on these emails for a financial newsletter.  They were harder than I thought they should be and I finally got the first draft done the evening before we left for the airport.  I also had a web page to finish off.  Sometimes the technology almost makes my head ache.  It’s hard when you have to “translate” a sentence word by word to understand what the inventor is actually saying.

Friday we drove to Deborah’s house. It’s nice to have Barb there to watch the house and care for the chickens and the cat.

I shopped at ½ of ½ for about an hour while Tom went to visit Deborah and play with the kids.  I did find a glittery knit top that was marked down from $65 to $.99.  I like those kinds of sales!  It did have a spot of dye on it from a tag… but I was able to get 95% of it off with rubbing alcohol and it was in an inconspicuous spot. (And she looks great wearing it).

Deborah drove us to the airport and we headed off to Mom’s. We had a ½ hour delay leaving North West Arkansas airport and only a 40 min. layover in Minneapolis.  The pilot made up some time, but Tom and I ran across the airport and just made the next flight.  I really thought we were going to miss it.

Cynthia and Jim picked us up in Santa Ana and loaned us their car.  So nice of them!  Jim was having vocal cord surgery a few days later.  So we visited while he could still speak.

Saturday and Sunday were General Conference for the church.  Wow!  Great talks.  I felt many of them dealt with becoming more spiritual, having the companionship of the Holy Spirit, being strong and sure in Christ in a wicked world, and having the confidence we can make a difference.  I am reminded that having joy is a commandment. So in spite of the doom and gloom we hear on the news, we can have a joyful attitude and spirit.  And that which we focus on we enlarge.  So as we focus on joy, we can increase it within us and around us.

It’s been a delight to be with Mom and the family out here.  Saturday night we went to Cynthia and Jim’s for dinner.  Sally and Steve came down for dinner on Sunday and Cynthia and Jim came over.

Tom spent the week doing honey-do things for Mom and a one for Cynthia and Jim.  Saturday we went shopping with Mom… and just had to stop at In-N-Out Burger for lunch. Monday we shopped again. Tuesday morning Tom and I went to the Temple while Mom went to a 90 plus luncheon.  It was lovely going to the temple here.  It only takes ½ hour or less to get there instead of the usual 4.5 hours.  When we arrived at the temple the first few people we met, Tom recognized from when we lived in El Toro 40 years ago.  We did initiatories for family names and then back to back sessions.  It was a delight.

I had send my financial emails off to a copywriter friend to critique.  When I got those back, I needed to finalize them and send them off.  I’d hoped to do it earlier in the week, but it actually took me until Friday night to get them polished and off.  In the meantime, my start-up group “leader” called.  He kindly and very nicely said they needed web pages done faster, how could we make that happen?  So in discussing it he said, “Oh!  Your best use is as a copywriter, not a researcher.  If we can get this material to you in a more concentrated, ready–to-use form, that will help things move faster.  YES!!!  So I created a template and sent it off.  I hope that will help.

Right now I’m eyeball-deep in learning about algorithms that will help predict when part of an airplane might be close to failing so maintenance can be planned and safety improved… and planes can be more on-time.  When I read the patent, it sounds like it might also be able to tell the pilot in real time that they’re doing something unsafe… but I’m not sure that’s true.

I’ve also come across inventions that propose to recharge cell phones with clothing that collects electricity and by grabbing electricity from existing energy transmissions.  Interesting stuff.

Thursday Mom and I went shopping to see if I could find a better top for the reunion. I found a lovely sweater… and I bought it.  But with 90+ degree weather, I decided to save it for another time.  We went out to dinner at a lovely Chinese restaurant that night.

Friday Mom and Cynthia celebrated Geneva Presbyterian Church’s 50 anniversary with great festivities.  Tom and I took that opportunity to go back to the temple.

Saturday Tom and I drove to Universal City for his 50^th High School reunion.   

We had pretty heavy traffic on the way up. It was at the Sheraton Universal on the 21^st floor with floor to ceiling windows on three sides and a lovely view of the night lights.  There were probably 200 people there from both the class of ‘65 and the class of ’66.  Tom met some people who had lived on his street and who had been in his scout troops and others who were in his class.  At the table where we sat, one woman asked if Tom’s dad had taught Sunday school at Panorama Pres.  She said he looked just like his dad.  

 

We made better time on the way home.

Today we went to the Alicia Park Ward.  On their list of missionaries serving, one was serving in the Peru, Iquitos mission where Nathan is.  One was leaving this week for Botswana in South Africa, and one was leaving for the Arkansas, Bentonville mission- where we live. It makes it a small world. Oh, and as I chatted with one of the sisters, she was best friends with our Mission President and wife from the Kenya, Nairobi Mission.

We came back and had grill cheese sandwiches with Mom, Cynthia and Jim and then hamburgers tonight. Somehow they tasted just like the hamburgers we used to have every Saturday night growing up.  That was a great tradition.