Family Reunion

This week was consumed by the family reunion.  We had such a fun time... in spite of the heat.

Sunday afternoon, I got the beginnings of Poison Ivy on my cheek, chin and left hand.  I battled this poison ivy all week... using oils, Ivarrest, and finally the prescription medicine given to me for a rash/inflammation/flakiness similar to psoriasis. by the end of the week it was finally showing signs of healing up.  The problem is that my poison ivy doesn't just come and go... it spreads. All through the week, even as the original places started to heal, new bumps would pop up either nearby or in random other areas on hands, neck, face, etc.  I've decided my poison ivy goes systemic.

Monday morning was a crazy time trying to get away. We packed.  We pulled all the food out and organized it. We worried that it might not all fit in the car, but Tom is a master packer and we had room. We did last minute shopping on the way up to get cold stuff from Aldis.

Jonathan and Kristy decided to have Emily's baptism on Monday afternoon. Deborah decided it would be better to have it earlier (2:30) instead of later (4:30) so dinner would not be too late. That meant we had to get there a little earlier than planned. We wanted to be able to put the cold food into the frig and freezer before going to the baptism.  We barely made it... but we got the keys to the Reunion Hall and one of the rooms at about 1:45.

We unpacked and put away food stuff.  Miranda called... she and Rebecca were running late and wouldn't be there until about 3.  Jonathan and Deborah's families came to the Cottage Resort and changed clothes and Deborah set up for dinner with her crock pot.  Then we headed over to the chapel and met Andy, Miranda, Rebecca and Adam and their families there.We had a total of 41 family members there (only Dan and Joshua White were absent).

While it was a bit exciting and chaotic with cousins reuniting, it was also a sweet baptism. We returned to the Cottage Resort about 4 pm and checked in. Everyone carried bags in and then went to the Reunion Hall for dinner.  There was plenty of space there, but the din was deafening!  People were so excited to be there and running around... well... mostly the kid were running around. Once we moved the piano to a smaller room, it quieted a bit.

We had tasty Cafe Rio Chicken. Tom and Kera made Birthday/Anniversary cakes to celebrate Callie and Rebecca's birthdays and Jonathan and Kristy's anniversary.  I think we all crashed pretty early that night.

Tuesday we had family pictures in the morning. We'd scouted out some places with good backgrounds the night before... but in the morning the sun was in a different position and we kept having to move into a smaller and smaller area to keep in the shade.

Then most people went off to White Water waterpark for the day.  Marian and I worked on a jigsaw puzzle for a while, then napped, then helped prep for dinner. Rebecca made a chicken and rice casserole. She had the same problem as Steven-- when you make a huge batch, it's hard for the inside rice to cook at the same time the edge rice is done. But all was very tasty!

We had game night at Rebecca's cabin. We found there were too many of us to play the same game, so we split into two groups.

Wednesday was a "free day."  Some people went to the outlet malls.  I went with a group going thrift shopping. Tom hung out with kids doing games and playing in the pool. We brought a big roll of white paper. It was quite a hit.  Callie, Delaney and  Sarah... and maybe others, made aprons out of  the paper.  They found a cart on wheels and made up a menu and offered lunch service.  I'm not sure they made sandwiches, but they brought around napkins, drink refills and other useful things.

Then they drew ice cream cones and other fancy deserts on the paper and offered those to anyone who wanted.  The nice thing about them was they were low cal. Kera brought Lincoln Logs and Mr. Potatohead.  The Lincoln logs were a great success.

Tom left in the afternoon to take the three oldest girls to girl's camp, 2+ hours away.  Wednesday evening is bishop's night and he took ice cream and root beer for the girls to enjoy.  It was HOT, but the girls were having a great adventure and enjoying the activities in spite of the heat.  We have some awesome young women and leaders.  A good time was had by all, but they didn't return until 1130 at night.

We enjoyed a potato bar for dinner with a tasty salad.  After little kids were down, the bigger ones babysit and watched TV while the adults gathered at Miranda's cabin for root beer floats and fun conversation.

Thursday we went to Silver Dollar City. It was impossible to keep the group together. Still, batches of cousins went off to have fun.Some hit the roller coasters, some the water rides.  We went on the water rides first.  Then, I actually went on Thunderation Roller coaster as a way to dry off. The little kids went to the kiddie ride area. Most of us gathered for the 11:30 magic show.  Then we gathered at 3:15 to go to Golden Corral for an early dinner.  We wanted to be out of the heat of the afternoon. Some folks returned to Silver Dollar City for the last few hours.  Some of us bailed and headed back to the cabins and the pool.  Later we gathered in the Reunion Hall for general snacking, puzzle working and game playing.

Friday was another free day.  While families were responsible for their own breakfast, Kera brought great cinnamon rolls the first day. Miranda made french toast another, Deborah made pancakes one day and Andy made quick caramel/nut rolls on Saturday.

Friday after breakfast we went on a hike near the river.  It was a wooded area with a pretty rugged hike.  We went down hundreds of steps toward the river.  Then we followed a path along the side of the ridge to a waterfall area and some caves and then hiked on a switch-back trail back up.  Had we left at 8:30 as announced, it would have been a pretty cool hike.  Since we left closer to 9:30 the day had warmed up and it was a pretty hot hike.  Still, everyone had a good time and no kids fell off the trail and rolled down the mountain.  It reminded me of the trails we took near Mt. St. Helens.

Later, Tom and I took two if the granddaughters to go to Harry and Davids and to Andy's for an ice cream lunch. That afternoon, I went to look at the Marina and Hunter's Friend rooms for the Swarthout Family reunion. We discussed the larger family reunion.  The consensus from the kids was that the rooms were fine, the pools would be okay.  The Reunion Hall would seat everyone for meals, but with lots of people in it, it became very noisy.  There are two rooms off the main hall.  One will definitely be available for the 2017 reunion with chairs/sofas and places to visit in a more quiet atmosphere.  The second room currently has gym equipment stored in it... and it may or may not be available, although I requested that it be available. We will have a dozen or so of the cabins that are 2-3 bedroom that have gathering areas for 10-14 people. So we may have to plan some areas for quiet conversation and other areas for kids to play in.

Saturday morning the focus changed.  We packed up and said said good-byes-- especially to Adam and Savannah who are not close enough to see often. Rebecca and Miranda and family came to spend some time with us. Deborah, Jonathan, and Andy's families went to their houses.  Tom apparently pulled a muscle on the hike.  His leg bothered him Friday evening... but by Saturday, he could hardly walk.  Grandkids helped haul our stuff to the car and he was able to pack it.  I drove home.

Saturday was the beginning of Stake Conference for us. Dan Mc and Tom drove got to Mountain Home about 11:30.  They needed to leave for Stake Conference by 12:45.  We threw laundry in, unpacked, returned the ice chest we'd borrowed and ate lunch. I needed to leave about 2:45 to get there for my presidency meeting at 4pm.  Tom actually borrowed a cane to take with him to help him walk.

The counselor in the Stake Presidency is a doctor.  He checked Tom's leg and suggested--strongly-- that he take some anti-inflammatory drugs.  He also gave Tom a priesthood blessing. That night, Tom did take some ibprophen.  And today his leg was much much better and he was walking without a limp.

The Mountain Home Relief Society was responsible for the between priesthood leadership meeting and general evening session dinner.  They ordered hoagie sandwiches from Walmart. They were surprisingly good. They had chips and cookies to go with it. The president and I had debated quite a bit about quantity.  I didn't see how a 6' sub could serve 25-30... except with 2" slices of sandwich.  They actually did cut them in about 2" pieces, even though she asked for 3-4 inches.  But 4 would have served about 100.  She got 5 as we thought there would be closer to 125 people.  So there was quite a bit left over.

I thought they would be shared with the missionaries and I wanted some to feed the speakers after the Sunday session of conference-- those traveling several hours back home.  But my secretary put all the sandwiches into my car and I took many of the left over chip bags.  In the middle of the night, I decided I needed to make lunches for the missionaries as well as the three speakers who came from afar-- Mission President, and Temple President Counselor and wife.  So that morning Katie helped me repackage the sandwiches, put lettuce and tomatoes in packages and mayo and mustard packs into a lunch sack along with chips and cookies and napkins.  The speakers got sandwiches made from bread, cheese & ham and Miranda helped by making a mixed fruit salad for them.

Tom asked the older granddaughters to make cookies for him.  They put them on plates with saran wrap and he had the girls hand them out to random families at Stake Conference.

The speakers were really great.
      * The Presidency Counselor talked of how as a new intern he was thrown into doctoring.  Early in his internship there was a code blue and he was the only Doctor there.  He came in and everyone looked to him to solve the problem and he felt insufficiently prepared.  With study and practise, he now feels prepared to address these life and death situations.  He said we have so much greater responsibility. We don't deal in lives, we save souls.  We need to be prepared to do so.

     *One man spoke of home teaching this man for years and years. He said home teaching is like getting all these parts and assembly instructions.  But the instructions don't make sense and you don't know what to do with the parts.  You don't know why you are assigned to this inactive family that seems unresponsive.  What will help them want to change?  He was assigned to this one 70+ year old deacon who was not interested in the church. For years he tried to stay connected. Finally, there were a series of events and the man started coming back to church.  He talked about how great Tom was as a bishop.  Anyhow, now this man is receiving the Melchizedek Priesthood and going to the temple.  Then the brother who was activated spoke about his change of heart. It was very touching. He also spoke of the love and influence of Tom as bishop.

     *One speaker talked about standing in Holy Places-- temples, churches, homes. But also said that we create holy places out of moments in time. When we have answers to prayers or stand up for right or testify of truth-- places become holy because of what has happened there. In these holy times and places the Spirit can give us an extra measure of courage and faith.

It has been a joy having family here.  I love that Marian, Katie, and Isabelle are here together. (We got to take the older girls home with us.)  They are so helpful and it was fun to show them off to our friends at Stake Conference.  They have fun playing together... and even got stuck in the HUGE oak tree in the front side yard.  It took a ladder to get them down.

Psudo-Routine

I don't know...do we have a routine?

Monday I did some writing. We will be having house sitters while we are gone and they came over Monday for instructions; we want to ensure the continued safety of the chickens and hope this will enhance their survival rate.  We had heard that a Casey's convenience store was planned for the empty lot across from Adam's rental house while we were in California, so a visit to building inspector's office was necessary.

 I was able to visit the building department on Monday to make sure the exit was not going to have car lights shining into the house windows.  Actually it seems to be set up pretty well, with the exit facing toward another street and some commercial buildings.  I don't know if this is a good thing for Adam's house or not. Certainly it will be convenient if they want to go for a pizza.

Monday night was Empty Nesters Family Home Evening.  I took a salad with lettuce from the garden and we had a good meeting.

Tuesday we finally got a quote on the septic system we've been waiting on for a couple of months.  I think it
is good news.  It could have been worse.  They need to wait for things to dry out, so it will likely be July before they get started on it.  I wrote a sample 2 page Video Sales Letter for a job and am waiting to hear back from them.  I also did another interview for FastPass.

Each morning we've been getting up early and going out to weed the garden.  We spend an hour or so out there, and then come in and move on with the day.  Up until this week, it's been pretty cool most days.  But now we're up to the 90's and so we need to work early.  By Saturday we got it all weeded, and even went to the front and weeded and trimmed up bushes there.  Tom mowed and it all looks lovely.

Adam is taking some of the equity in his rental house here to start his dental business and buy a house there.  So we closed on that loan.  The rental income should be able to pay this off so he doesn't have to worry about repaying this loan.

There is a women who is a new widow.  Tom home taught the husband. She was a new wife and I've been working with her to help her get things organized.  He car was stolen so I've been taking her places.  She finally got the car back... and got a new key made for it.  But now it needs to be licensed (tags expired) and put into her name... but she can't find the old title. Sometimes it just seems like there's one problem after another.  Then we've been helping our neighbor get her business going.  I'm not quite sure how we are worthy of the position of business advisor.

We have new neighbors across the street.  We watched last winter as a barn-- LARGE barn went up.  Now the house is going up.  But the couple is living in the barn as the house goes up.  And they brought the mother and she's living in a travel trailer.  We invited them over for dinner on Thursday. The wife was a military brat.  Her husband flew C-141's with the Air Force for 20 years, then moved on to fly for American Eagle. They seem like good people and will be nice neighbors.

We've spent part of the week amassing things for the Fox reunion next week.  Tom and I went shopping and bought him a Father's Day gift of a more comfortable stool in front of his computer. He bought kid's toys for the reunion.  We'll need to get more food on Monday.

Tom has been trying to run each day.  He's signed up for the Red White & Blue run on the 25th.  I'm looking forward to the great fireworks display that night.

We continued to catch raccoons. We caught a particularly big and aggressive one and Tom texted our friend  to see if he wanted it.  He said "Free Raccoon pelt.  Comes with live racoon. Want it?"  He did.

 However he didn't quite see the live part.  When he picked it up he had his young grandson with him.  He said, "Grandpa, you're not going to shoot it, are you?"  So HE ended up driving it out into the boonies to release it.  No pelt for him. Two days later we caught another raccoon; the tally is now 2 possums and 3 coons - oh and 4 dead chickens!

My very creative friend had this lovely "necklace" on.  It's made from a man's t-shirt sleeve.  She had another one on this Sunday with the strands tied in an X pattern. I thought they might be fun to make at the reunion.

Happy Birthday Mom

This is a two week recap.

Monday May 23rd, Tom was in charge of Elmore S's funeral. His children came and they were nice to his new wife... which was also nice. It will be difficult for the widow moving forward. I'm so grateful for the plan of salvation.

We were trying to tie up all the lose ends before we left to go to Mom's house for her birthday. We finally got the plans for the septic system and sent them out to two companies for bids.  They have been slow in coming back to us... but that's okay since we've been gone and the ground has been too wet to install.

We also had an air conditioner that needed to be put into one unit.  The city is widening the street in front of one of our rentals.  This means putting in a new driveway.  We had a semi-circular drive that went from one street to the side street.  They are kind of replacing that... except there are setbacks from the corner that need to be met... making more slanting drives than we had in the past.  We had several calls with the contractor to make sure it will turn out as agreed upon in the plans.

Tuesday we drove to Miranda's.  Tom and Miranda went out shopping for a refrigerator and to check out Costco for reunion food and supplies. I watched the little kids while they were gone. Wednesday we flew to Santa Ana.  Cynthia and Jim picked us up.  We settled into their house and then went to visit Mom. She was well enough to fix a nice dinner for us.

Thursday we got up and went to the beach for Starbucks hot chocolate. (Cynthia and Jim got their regular coffee.)  We ate cranberry nut bread and bananas and watched the surf and the people there.  Then we walked along the beach for a while.  It was very relaxing and lovely.

That afternoon, we picked Steve S. up from the airport.  Kathy had surgery earlier in the week for a hernia.  She was ready to be sprung, so Steve went to pick her up.

Tom started collecting all of the 95 plus birthday well wishes and greetings that children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren... and applicable spouses... had sent over the past three months to wish Mom a happy birthday. Cynthia donated binders.  Kathy bought clear plastic sleeves, and we organized the letters, cards, drawings, and notes into the sleeves and then into the binders.  Cynthia wanted them in a variety of binders so many people could look through the well-wishes at the same time.

Friday Sue and Steve arrived to join the group. They had planned on being there on Wednesday, but got into a fender-bender in Utah that slowed them down a bit.  So now we were nine at Mom's.  Sue and Steve had an Air BnB that they stayed at.

Saturday was all about the party. We could not get in to decorate until noon.  Then we had a group blowing up balloons, hanging up streamers and creating other festivities.  We had 60 people at the party-- and they were all family!  Most of Susan and Sally's families came with their children and grandchildren. Aunt Ruth came.  And then it was Cynthia, Steven and I and our spouses.


Sally's girls created five different kinds of birthday cakes for mom!  Lemon cake, chocolate layer cake, carrot cake, chocolate pound cake and a tall white fruit filled cake.  All proclaimed them delicious!

Mom had the energy to stay the entire five hours of the party.  She did better than I did.  Toward the end my stomach started complaining. I had a belly ache all that evening and all of Sunday.

 Aunt Ruth Stone and Mom

 Blowing out the candles with Lisa, Heidi, and Sarah in the background.

Sunday we went to an early sacrament meeting and then went to Mom's church to be there for her birthday recognition. Some of Sue's kids came as well so Mom had about 20 family members there.  After church everyone went over to Mom's house, then Sue, Steve and Tom went to Sally's for a Sunday dinner with all the kids in the area. Apparently a good time was had by all...except me. I went to Cynthia's and to bed.  I just slept for hours and seemed happy to lay there for the rest of them.

Monday I was a little better and finally had some dinner that night. Sue made a great quiche!  Tuesday Tom and I went to the temple. Then we went out to lunch at Olive Garden with Mom, Steve and Kathy, and Cynthia and Jim.  Sue and Steve left that morning to return to Brentwood.  I LOOOVVEEE Olive Garden Salad. [When I got to Miranda's a few days later, she had some Olive Garden Dressing in her frig!  Joy!!! and she let me take it home!! Yummmm.]

Tuesday we also did laundry and packed.  Cynthia and Jim try to watch something enjoyable in the evenings before bedtime.  So we've watched Family Feud most nights.  It gets you both thinking and laughing. I don't have a lot of contact with TV in Mountain Home, so I was struck by the increase of sex in so many areas-- advertising, questions asked, innuendos-- not gross, but just present.

Wednesday we flew back to Miranda's.  Miranda picked us up at the airport and we went to Costco's to buy all the refrigerated stuff we'd need for the reunion. Miranda had been having a McClellan reunion of her own this past week. They had initially gathered at Andy and Kera's but Wednesday a good bunch of the group descended on Miranda's house.  She had father, brother, sister-spouse-baby, and Kera's family with the youngest 4.  I was impressed that they managed to shoehorn us all into the house and we mostly had separate rooms and all went well.

Thursday we got up pretty early and headed home.  I forgot to say that while we were gone, an uninvited varmint got into the chicken cage and killed one of our 5 laying hens. Wally came over and secured the chicken coop run and laced every piece of fencing up tightly. Then Ernie called to say he thought Murphy (our orange cat) had been killed by a car in front of his house.  And finally, that morning Barb called all distressed.  Three more chickens had been executed-- even within the safety of the chicken tractor. She could not find out how they'd gotten in.  And one lone black hen was in the run... with all the chicken tractor doors closed.

We bought traps on the way home. When we got home and unpacked, we had dead chickens to clean up.  We did find a hole dug under the fence and a place where they pried the chicken wire away from around the door to the chicken tractor.  Thus the mystery was solved about how they got into the chicken tractor and run.

Tom has set the trap every night since.  We had to release a cat the first evening, but have caught two possums and a racoon.  The racoon looks to be adolescent, so there may be a family foraging in our area.  These three critters are now foraging in areas several miles away from us. The racoon spent most of the night trying to dig his way out of the cage.

 And the Saturday night Possom.

We let the black hen wander around the yard for a few days-- putting her in the outer part of the large coop at night.  Then we tucked her in with the younger hens and she seems to be doing fine.

Saturday morning Tom had his 5k Gassville in the Park race.  It had rained most of the week.  It was sprinkling Saturday morning as well. I was under a canopy helping to pass out numbers... but the runners got a little damp. Also, many of the vendors typically drive on the grass to their site to set up. Alas, a number of them got stuck in the mud.  Even a single heavy rain would not have been a problem, but we'd had inches that week and the ground was really saturated.

I got caught up on some of the writing work I needed to do. I'd planned on doing something in the garden-- weeding, picking, but with the rain, I escaped that job.  In the evening Tom brought in a huge bowl of peas.  So I shelled peas that night-- probably 6-8 cups worth.

Today was a lovely fast Sunday.  Great testimonies and good lessons.  A lot of people talked about how they joined the church and the blessings of temple work and family history.

A week of Funerals

Sue and Steve were here on Monday and left Tuesday morning.  I thought they'd have a relaxing time here, but we managed to find all kinds of things to keep us busy.  We organized housing for the reunion and also talked about food and activities.  We went thought old newspaper clippings to find Donop activities and then she scanned all the old pictures and documents we had. I was sorry to see them go.  It sure would be nice to live close by them. 

As I wrote the title, I realized that for Steve English, every good week is filled with funerals.  But Tom says it's a little odd that every funeral director in town knows him on a first name basis...or as Bishop.

Monday Norma Robertson died.  She had been mostly bedridden for years.  Her husband died of cancer a few years ago. I was her visiting teacher at the time.  Both her and her husband, Joel's, beds were in the living room.  Their faithful son David took care of both of them.  Tom helped out and officiated at the funeral on Thursday.

On Wednesday Elmore Salsbury died. He had been semi-active and Tom was his home teacher. He'd recently married a much younger woman and I was assigned to visit teach her as she investigated the church. He had been ill off and on.  I think he was in his 80's. And he seemed to be doing well... except suddenly his wife found him sitting on the toilet dead. So again, Tom visited with funeral directors as his children were all out west.  And now his widow needs to figure out how to move forward in her life.

We had thought about trying to visit Andy and family-- especially Nathan who we have not seen since he got back home-- early next week.  But Elmore's funeral is Monday with burial on Tuesday. Someone else will handle the burial. We'll be off to Miranda's then then off to Mom's Birthday Bash.

I was hired to write some testimonials.  I find the hardest part on this is getting the information from the other people, then getting them to check what I've written and approve it.  I got the information, got the three written... and am now awaiting their approval.  I connected with a guy on LinkedIn that may have work for me and then again someone on Upwork. Sometimes it seems like I will be booked up for a while... but there's many a slip 'tween the cup and the lip.  The job's not a go until there's money in hand.

I had a fairly reputable source recommend investing in some cryptocurrency.  So I've been investigating how to buy bitcoin or Ethereum or even Dogecoin.  Did you know there are a dozen or more different kinds of cryptocoins? I suppose it's all a gamble.  But I've been reading that banks and even the government is interested in blockchain kinds of transactions as a faster and more secure way to move money.

We are still working to get a septic fixed at the Whiteville property. This week we FINALLY got the written waver that allows us to have the septic tank within 100 feet of our well if we put in a chlorination system... which we already did.  Now we need to wait for the plans to be approved and the work can begin.  The tenant complained about slow sink drainage and we thought... uh oh... the septic is totally failing.  Nope. Hairball. What does it say about the state of our lives when a hairball is GOOD news?

Between funeral planning, Tom spent some time at another house taking out a dead air conditioner and patching that hole in preparation for a snazzy new mini-split to go in.  The patching of the hole involved drywall and mud on the inside, insulation, and siding on the outside.

The chickens are finally understanding where they belong. They are also spending more time outside the house fencing.  That means less time in my flower gardens or scratching the mulch away from fruit trees.  This makes me happy.

As a result of a funeral earlier in the year, we finally got permission to dispose of furniture that had been stored in the barn for over a year.  A single mom moving into a small house was the beneficiary and Tom had the privilege of loading it up and delivering it to her. Kind of dusty.  If you ever have a chance to store stuff in the barn, if you value it.... don't.  Just sayin.

Today the Mission President and his wife spoke at our ward.  They are such lovely people!  They left before the end of church to arrive in Ava in time to see the last of 31 baptisms this week!  What an exciting time we live in. I think it gives people the opportunity to choose what really matters most to them.  Now Tom is off to West Plains for seminary graduation. We have one student graduating this year.

We are looking forward to seeing Mom and siblings and family!

Sue and Steve Visit

This has been a great week.

The chickens are adapting to their new homes.  The first couple of night, the hens didn't know how to get out of or go back into their part of the run.  One evening when I forgot to usher them back in, I found only the three brown hens inside roosting. Where could the two black hens be?

I found one squatted down on the the corner of the porch.  The other was roosting on some bricks under the porch.  The good thing for owners (and predators) is that once they settle in they are pretty docile and easy to pick up. So I just moved them to a nesting box.

The chicklets  are growing and will now wander outside into the small part of the coop. They are not quite so skiddish.

Tuesday Tom and I drove to Silver Dollar City to meet up with Jonathan and Kristy and family.  We all had a wonderful day at the park.  The weather was warm enough that most of them (not me) went on the water rides.  It was BBQ and Bluegrass festival.  So we enjoyed some BBQ and listened to bluegrass music over lunch.  Most of the rest of the time was spent going on rides or in kiddie play areas.  Tom and I left about 3:30... but Jonathan and family stayed until about 7.  A good time was had by all.

I've had some work come in-- bits and pieces to keep me busy.  One job is writing testimonials for a Danish company that sells password organizing services. One of the tricks is to get the clients to both agree to the interview and schedule a time to talk.  I have until the end of the month to get this done.

Tom spent his days fixing this and that on rental properties. He also spent a good part of one day helping people out.  Getting someone tires, hauling off 1300 pounds of trash for another.  He's a good guy.  We've been enjoying lettuce and spinach from the garden.

Thursday Sue and Steve came to town. It's been 15 years since they were here last-- at Mom Fox's funeral.  It's nice to see them and visit.  We've had a lot of discussions about the reunion.  Sue and Steve stopped at the Cottage Resort and looked at the cabins and the reunion hall.  So we discussed lodging arrangements and food.

We also went through Mom Fox's boxes of mementos that have been sitting around for the past 15 years. It was a nice walk down memory lane.

Early Saturday morning Tom went to Cotter and ran a 5k. The scouts organized it as a fund raiser.  Tom challenged the youth... then everyone in church to run.  He said he'd reward anyone who beat him with an ice cream Sundae.  There were 4 who came in ahead of him.  But he had the best time he's run a 5k in recent history.  27.52

Saturday we went to look at the house that Sue and Steve and I own.  It's been a good house. And it's been nice to share the expenses and the rental income. The tenants are moving out, but  I think it will rent quickly.  We are also are considering having the exterior painted.  It's such a dark green, and will show better in a lighter color.

Today at church we had fast Sunday-- since we had ward conference the first Sunday and Mother's Day the second Sunday.  One brother said this might be the only time in his life he would be able to bear his testimony on his birthday, the 15th of May.  Sue and Steve spoke in the 3rd hour about missionary work and their mission.  After church Tom had Bishops Youth Discussion.  He also had pizzas for the teens and ice sundaes for for those who beat him at the race on Saturday.

Sue and Steve have practiced their alp horns each day. Our neighbor wondered if Gabriel's horns were blowing.

The changing of the [chicken] guard

This week we had the changing of the chicken guard.  The old hens got relegated to the chicken tractor, Tom power-washed the chicken coop, and then the medium sized chicks got moved to the Taj-Mah-Cluck.  It was not a smooth transaction.

The old hens did not want to vacate their comfortable home for older cramped quarters. They are disgruntled having to jump into the nesting area and then out the door to wander.  In fact, some of them refuse to do it.  Then they wander, all confused, while the other hens are roaming free.  Several figured out a way to get into a closed pen.  Tom was a doubter until he found one inside.

They have decided it's okay to lay eggs there.  But they continue to hover near the door to the Taj-Mah-Cluck in case it just happens to open up again.

In the mean time, the smaller chicks had their metal tank surroundings suddenly give way to a vast open space (relatively speaking) which required huddling in corners for a while... just to be safe. They aren't called chicken for nothing.  We were a little concerned about greater fluctuation in temperature. We still have a heat lamp there. But it can only heat the small area under it.  However, the chicks seem to draw near or far from the light as needed to be comfortable.

One afternoon when the weather was warm, I opened the door to the outer portion of the coop.  They eyed it... but there were no takers.  Perhaps tomorrow...

Monday evening we went to our Empty Nester's Family Home evening.  It was a hotdog roast and pot luck salad, held outside.  The day had been pleasant, but boy, in the evening, it got CHILLY! Still it was nice to be around friends.

Tom had a lovely list of things he planned to do for the week.  Then on Monday he drove by one of the rental homes to find it was vacant.  Suddenly his week took a different turn.  He was over there mowing on Monday and Tuesday and cleaning up and helping the cleaning person get to work. I think he did finally get most everything done.  The yard is neatly mowed, The fountain has been re-sealed and is bubbling nicely.  We got the chickens moved and worked in the garden.

I got broccoli to plant. Tom bought some rhubarb and some more asparagus roots to plant. Some of our peppers are struggling, but our peas are looking luxurious.  I've had a bumper crop of spinach this year.  I wish I knew what the second kind of spinach I planted was. It didn't bolt nearly as quickly.  I've been having spinach salad and giving it away. Today I tried a fruit smoothie with spinach and it was not bad.  Yesterday I picked bunches and chopped and froze some. I still have a lot... and lettuce that is getting big.

My writing keeps going.  I have an interview Monday about writing some testimonials. My video script man want the scripts identical to the way HE would write them... so that's continuing to be a learning curve. I think there will be a little break there as they move on to production of these videos.

Friday Tom took me out for a Mother's Day dinner.  We went to Coltons and I ordered bbq ribs.  We got a free appetizer of potato skins, and I enjoyed the rolls.  So I was able to take home a good part of the dinner and enjoy it again on Saturday evening.

Saturday Tom went to the temple with some of the new converts. They were so excited and had a wonderful time doing baptisms.  Today one of the spoke in church.  She said she'd never been happy or liked herself.  When she joined the church she had a hard time recognizing she was a daughter of God.  Now she says she feels loved. She feels her divine potential. She has come to know she IS a daughter of God and for the first time, she's happy being who she is.

Happy Mother's Day to all the women.  You are awesome!

Happy May Day

When I was a little girl and we lived in San Diego, we would celebrate May Day.  We'd weave little baskets of paper... or maybe it was that we'd weave paper through strawberry baskets and then put flowers into them and take them to neighbor's houses.

There was a little old lady who lived across the street.  She was always so nice to us.  We'd put the basket on the doorstep and ring the bell and run away.  So today I send you virtual flowers!  Enjoy.

It's amazing how events LOOM when they are approaching and then... after they are finished, in just a few days they seem so far away. Like it happened such a long time ago. That's the way it feels with our Women's Retreat.  Yes, we need to evaluate and assess, see what went well and what needs to be improved upon. And we will start planning the next event.  But with worry and stress gone, the retreat suddenly doesn't seem so big after all.

This week I tried to get into a more relaxing routine with my writing.  I had a project to do each day and managed to pretty well get it done. Video script, Tech website, business articles and reaching out for new jobs.  I had a 3 day course on LinkedIn and got some good tips. And I made my hotel arrangements for the AWAI Bootcamp in Delray Beach and found a roommate to share expenses.  It was a sad day that brother Steve fell from grace and no longer has Marriott Elite status.  No concierge lounge and free breakfast for me this year. Sigh.

Tuesday we heard that Nathan would be returning from his mission on Friday.  He is receiving a medical release. He had been struggling with anxiety and depression. After he receives treatment, he may choose to continue his mission stateside, or move on to new challenges.  We are pleased with the hard work he has put into serving the Lord and wish him well as he moves forward in life.

Kera found a trampoline for us and this week Tom put it up.  It's a pretty big size... at least it looks that way to me.  On Thursday we had the missionaries and a new convert and her daughter over for dinner. Peyton enjoyed trying out the tire swing, zipline, and trampoline as her mom and I chatted.

Adam and Savannah put in an offer on a house and it was accepted.  Now they are going through the inspection process. It's always a challenged to look at the inspection report and try to determine what is significant and important to fix and what is just "normal wear and tear" and is to be expected.  We wish them well in making good decisions.

Saturday Tom and I went to a Family History event in West Plains.  It was a good meeting with lots of information about how to do research. Tom learned how to index. I learned more about censuses and the un-indexed 70% of the church records online and how to search them to find my ancestors.

Saturday night an amazing storm rolled in.  In the late afternoon we got nearly an inch of rain in an hour or so.  We had wild winds, pouring rain and hail.  You can see some on the deck that Tom recently re-stained.

The pictures don't do justice to the downpour. You'd need sound to go with it. 

 

And here, the sun is coming out, and it's still raining!  

So we looked to the other side and saw a double rainbow.  You can barely see one in this picture.
 

Then, after dark we heard more rumblings.  Suddenly all the lights went out for a second... then came back on and we heard a clap of thunder and got more rain.

Today was the last of the Ward Conferences for the year.  This one was at Mountain Home... so I had NO traveling to do.  That was nice! It did feel a little awkward to be presenting the lesson as Stake Relief Society President Fox... as opposed to just Sister Fox. But I think it went okay.