Fred Calder - a Good, Good Man

How does a person describe a Fabulous Fred Calder?

Devoted family man - 8 of the finest kids I know..how lucky to live by Carrie, Deanne, Helen, Byron, Quinn, Gina, Shane, and Lisa
Fantastic cook - as in - nobody's bread is better, and his Dutch oven cooking is gooooood stuff
Great gardener - like cantaloupes and watermelons in Rexburg, Idaho?!?!?
Masterful story teller - stories of his growing up in Vernal, his mission in New Zealand, his family...oh, he was a master at telling fun stories....
Hard, hard worker - even after his illness, Shirley told us he was up on the roof one day trying to fix something..he did enjoy physical labor.
Lover of the Gospel

Happy, positive, smiling, cheerful Fred!

Dear Calder family....heaven is a happier, brighter place today because Fred is there, and our world is a little duller because he is not here. Oh, he will be missed; he will be missed!

Home!

"There's nothing half so pleasant as coming home again."
Margaret Elizabeth Sangster

Cancer Takes Its Ugly Toll on Two Dear Cousins

In 2004, my cousin, Ann Merrill died of liver cancer. Her sister, Karole, died on April 18 of this year of breast cancer which had spread throughout her body. How does cancer strike two beautiful and wonderful people in the same family? And, in their 60's?

So hard to understand from a statistical and medical standpoint...

Interestingly, their father just died last year at 100 years of age.

Ann and Karole, I'll always remember you both as selfless, positive, and always cheerful...thanks for your noble lives of goodness.

Fancy Meeting You Here!

Statistics was never my strong suit in college, but consider this:

There are 24 hours in a day, but about 18 hours of time when people are out and about doing things.

Be in the 2nd largest city in British Columbia, Surrey, with its hundreds of thousands of people going about doing their thing.

And then consider this: Surrey has dozens and dozens of parks, seaside walks, malls, cafes, restaurants, shopping centres; places where people gather.

So, it would take a particular combination of all three to converge and see someone we knew; time, people, and place. And yet:

Walking down a very long pier in a little area called White Rock, I looked over, and there was my sister-in-law, Libby, from Boise, Idaho!

She and her sisters have gathered here (where 2 sisters and her mother live) for their annual sisters get-away weekend.

That was a fun, happy surprise....save us a seat in church, you lovely ladies!

A Truly Memorable Day!

How to have an (Almost) Perfect Day:

1. Take a large dose of family (that is what made this a not-quite-perfect-day...we were missing Kristi D and Jordan and family). But here's who were there to celebrate with us:
Brent, Jenni, Sean, Janessa, Stockton, Landon
Justin, Amy, Eli, Miles
Jeremy
Allen, Loni
2. Stir in lots of other friends and their famlies: (These are the 4 other nurses from St. George who completed the Nurse Practitioner Degree with Jenni)
Bridget
Amanda
Heide
Melissa
3. Add great pot luck food at a church in Bountiful:
home-made chicken salad sandwiches
Macaroni Salad - the best I've ever had!
Costco potato salad
lots of fresh fruit
home-made cookies, brownies and cheesecake (none of which I ate because I'm cutting back a little on sweets - just a little! )

4. Blend in a short, but fun, fun program with Jeremy singing, Melissa singing a song about the Fab Five Nurses Finally Finishing their degrees after three long years, and Bridget doing a stand-up comedy routine about a day in the life of the fab five sharing a room in the motel!

5. Top with a highlighting event; graduation as a Master of Science in Nursing, and A Family Nurse Practitioner Degree.

6. Sprinkle in a surprise of opening the program to see that Jenni was elected to THREE honor societies for her FANTASTIC grades: Phi Kappa Phi, Sigma Theta Tau, Golden Key. ( I just want to add here that not all Master's Programs are created equally...it is hard for any of us to understand the WORK,WORK,WORK that is required to get this degree. Classes, papers, research, patient diagnoses, more papers, traveling to Salt Lake many times, internships with a variety of specialists and doctors, projects, and a master's research paper. And, all of these 5 women did it while working and raising families. Their families deserve lots of praise. Thanks Supportive Brent and kids...you are great!)

Thanks Jenni for a great day!

And, ConGRADulations on being a Nurse Practitioner!

And the Winner Is:

Best Meal in England:

It's a tie between:
a sort-of-quiche-like dish with a sweet tomato chutney sauce on top; eaten at the little cafe at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire. I had never tasted anything like the yummy little sauce, and oh, it was mighty tasty! The portion was very teeny, so it left me wanting more, which is good!

And, in Edinburgh Scotland, at a Beefeater's Restaurant, I had the most delicious sort of burrito which featured spinach, cheese, and carmelized onions. Oh, wow, that was so good. Unfortunately, that was a very generous portion, and I ate every bite!

Best Day Trip in England:

Another tie:
Blenheim Palace left me incredulous; not only the grounds, the palace itself, but the fascinating history of it. I just loved being there and learning about the Churchill family; Sir Winston, who was such a remarkable figure. It was a great outing, made even better by a delicious little luncheon; (see above)

the Wedgwood Factory....wow, wow, wow! My mother always loved fine china and things like that. I was never interested in it, or really saw its value. I'm sure that was a big disappointment to my dear perfect mother, but I repent now. Mom, I hope you know how I've seen the light. Seeing those master craftsmen at their work absolutely fascinated me! And, learning about Josiah Wedgwood, his passion for his craft, his concern for his workers - long before it was fashionable to be interested in the labour force, and his devotion to making each piece of Wedgwood perfect left me astounded. It was wonderful to be there and see it all. Sad side note: no one wants to take the time to make china the way it has been done in the past, so each factory is floundering, and in fact, the Wedgwood factory - in existence since the 1700s was just bought out by an American company.

Best Overnight Trip:
Oops, another tie;
I loved our trip to the Preston Temple; we went through a temple session for three days, then went to see church history sites in the Preston area; then went to work on family history at the family history center. It was a peaceful, pleasant, inspiring three days.

But, for sheer beauty, nothing could match the Lake District. It was indescribable, so I won't even try.

Most Fun City:
Oh, now that is a tough one! It's a tie:
Edinburgh, Scotland and the Royal Mile...that was just a fun walk and so interesting to see all the Scottish "stuff."

Chester: I wanted to go back here. It had a vibrancy about it that was intriguing! We walked around the city on an ancient Roman wall, and it was just so fascinating! But, to tell the truth, after awhile, all the cities sort of run together in my mind; so sad!

Best Book Read while in England:
Easy answer, Sense and Sensibility, which incredibly, I realized while reading it, that I had never read it before...what was I thinking?!?!? Loved it. Although I also read a Rumple book, which I dearly love, and am almost finished with a Dickens book, so I was really into Brit Lit while there!

Most Interesting Event:
Sad to say, we missed the horse races, so I felt really disappointed about that, but we went to Newborough, a little village very close to Abbots Bromley for a well dressing. It's a centuries old celebration where the town vicar blesses the well(water) and the people of the village. It's a little bit like our county fair; lots of booths, food, dancing, celebrating, fun, and frivolity.

Worst Part of the Trip:
Easy answer: the long flight going and coming!

Thanks, Tony and Agnes, for allowing us the use of your car, your home, and for being part of the village for five weeks. It was a JOY!