The Sunday Visits

Have I ever mentioned that I love to visit people on a Sunday evening?

Listening to their unique stories and hearing about their lives is something that I enjoy.

Today I visited:

The Monson Family: husband, wife, 2 teenagers.  They all spoke in church.  Just amazing, inspiring stories.  She spoke about praying to move here, and the reluctance of her husband to come since he was established in his career in the tri-cities area.  But, after an experience in the temple, he realized it was the best thing to do for their family, so here they are.

He had three experiences which he tied into the three trips they made to Disneyland; they were inspirational and so unique..

Next, I went to take Amy's book about Stephanie Nielsen to Lisa Sjogren.  Lisa's daughter has been a burn nurse, so I thought Lisa might enjoy the book.  Well, lo and behold, Lisa said, "I think my daughter worked with her in the hospital in Phoenix."  So FUN to hear that!  She will probably enjoy the story even more now since she has a direct connection to it.

Elaine is going to northern Utah for surgery, so I picked up Loretta and Donna, whom Elaine loves, and we went to wish her well.  She was so happy to see us and she just loves those other two ladies, so it was a good thing to drop by.  Donna knows a lot about the surgery, so she and Elaine could talk shop, and Loretta and I could sit and learn.

Finally, I dropped by Bill's house.  He will be moving soon.  Oh, how I will miss him!  He has such hard things in his life, including his wife dying a year ago, his daughter dying a freaky death two years ago, and his 59 year old son being a raging alcoholic.

Tonight Bill told me about a horrible episode involving his son and Bill said, "I can't do anything more for him.  I can't solve his problems, I can't keep giving him money, he just drinks it up if he gets any money."  It's such a sad sad situation, and my heart aches for Bill, who is truly a marvelous neighbor.  I will totally miss him!

So, here's the deal: LIFE GOES ON.  Happy, sad, up, down, family issues, health issues, financial issues, etc.; but, we can LISTEN TO EACH OTHER.

And, that's the most important thing:

JUST LISTEN!  CARE!

It's All About FAmILY!

FAMILY!

FUN!

FOOD!

NATURE!

Great combos, for sure.  And, here we were in Southeastern Idaho and a corner of Wyoming.

With two sons, three grandsons, a marvelous daughter-in-law, and hordes of mosquitoes who wanted in on the action.

Oh, family...it's the best!

The Great Outdoors and MOI!

Mother Nature (or in other words, God's creation!) is amazing, incredible, awe-inspiring, beauteous, and filled with delights not found in city scapes.

So, I often wonder WHY am I so apprehensive and and reluctant to head into the great outdoors - particularly the wooded regions?

Finally, at age 75, I figured it out.

Because, for a lot of the month of July, we have BEEN in the great outdoors.  I have so appreciated its beauty - from the desert of Bryce Canyon to the forests of Island Park.

But, one day recently, as I was navigating a path - slowly - I realized WHY I hesitate whenever someone says, let's go camping in the woods!  WHY it's not so fun for moi, but others love it.

1.  BALANCE - mine is terrible and always has been.  I trip, stumble, fall often.  I've had some very serious falls in my lifetime, and it's NOT PRETTY or fun.  I just don't have a good sense of balance, so walking along a forest trail with rocks, overgrown limbs,  rises in the terrain, etc.  just makes me so fearful of falling.  I look down at every step, which brings me to the 2nd reason the outdoors throws me for a loop:

It's hard to even fathom, but I fell totally on my back as I tried to navigate my way off this dock.
You can't see it, but there's a little incline and a big pile of rocks to the left.  I missed the incline and fell flat on my back
on that pile of jagged rocks.  Ir was SO LIKE ME TO DO THAT.  And, so awful!
Miles was there and he freaked out and I was so embarrassed.

2.  SLOW - I'm so slow because of what I said above; I look down every step of the way.  It's painstakingly slow going when you look at EVERY SINGLE STEP.  Calder asked me to go to the dock with him and he was off like a gazelle.  Slowly, I followed the trail down to the dock, but I was so slow.  He could have walked there and back several times before I showed up!  Once I went hiking with my sisters-in-law in Zion, and I was embarrassingly slow as they seemed to glide over and bounce over the rock formations.  It's hard to always be the last, like I was at girls' camp, both as a youth and leader.

3.  MOSQUITOES - they ADORE me.  In China, every morning, I would wake up to numerous bites, even tho I slept with my head under the sheets.  Allen would have none.  We were right there together and I was eaten alive; he came out scot free.  THEY LITERALLY LOVE ME, and I don't like it, but as soon as it reaches about 6:00, here they come, in a beeline towards MOI!  Oh sure, I've heard of mosquito repellent, and use it, but if I miss a TEENY space down by my ankles, or a little speck on the neck, or the back of an ear, they find it and feast on me.  (If only Noah hadn't let them into the ark!)

The night we watched this amazing sight on the River, there were more mosquitoes than China's entire population.
And, they ALL headed my way as soon as I opened the car door.  This was such a marvelous thing to experience,
but, ALAS, I had to stay in the car.

I appreciate the beauties of nature for sure.

It's especially great to share it with family.

But, does it HAVE TO BE OUTDOORS?   

HA HA HA HA HAHA HAHA HAHAHA.

A Source of Happiness

...they were all ages.

Really old, I mean REALLY old.

Middle aged.

Married couples.

Singles.

Young adults.

All were smiling.

All were happy, pleasant, engaging .

Because ALL these people were coming into, leaving, or in the St George Temple.

It was JOY to share two hours with these people doing service.

Oh, St George Temple, I will miss you when you close in November.

The Sunday Visits

I admit it.

I love Sunday afternoon visits.

This week was no exception.

Sheryl - to see her decorations - and although she has cut way back on elaborate decorations, it was still festive and fun.  She's not been feeling so well, so I hope she will recover.

Sheryl's theme was picnic time; even had little fireflies on the table.She's so creative each month.
(And, by the way, those are NOT paper plates; they are ceramic.)

Dorothy - new neighbor across the street who needs friends.  She babysits her grandson several days a week, but she needs a friend her age.  Her husband will move here permanently in October, so in the meantime, she is hoping to meet some ladies her age.

Bill - to invite him to dinner on Monday at the Chinese Buffet.  Oh, I will so miss that good neighbor.  He's a good one, that Bill.

Today, I am going to see GIGI.

When I visit, I am reminded how much we need each other.  And, how lonely people can get.  How much people are desperate to talk, and talk, and TALK!  We stayed at Sheryl's for quite awhile and when we were leaving, she said, "I've talked your ears off."

It's okay; we had the time, but she lives alone and has been widowed for many years.  She likes having the company and she shares personal stories each month with us.  It's all good.

Listening is just so important for all of us...we need it...and if I can listen to someone's story, I'm glad for that opportunity.

Dear Bryce Canyon....

You with your beautiful, amazing hoodoos of red, coral, white, pink, orange.

You with the most lovely flower - the evening primrose - that lasts only one day.

You with the majestic Ponderosa pines and the shimmering Aspens.

You awed me with your stunning beauty; your magnificent hikes, your intriguing geology, your history related to the Mormon pioneers.

Oh, you got to me.

BUT, YOU TRICKED ME!

You are up higher, down lower, more Northern; you were supposed to be our getaway from the mouldering heat, but you were

SWELTERINGLY HOT!

You were supposed to be cooler than where I live.  You fooled everyone this summer and your temperatures climbed just when we wanted to climb up from the canyon floor....and it was not pretty.

SO, dear Bryce Canyon,  I will come again to enjoy your beauty, but I will NOT come in JULY.

October sounds good to me, but will you trick me again and be VERY COLD then?

I can only hope not!

GIGI

..no, not the movie, but the lady around the corner; whose real name is Gudrun.

It doesn't show very well in this picture, but GIGI wears sparking blue eyeshadow up to her eyebrows.
She makes me smile.  Yesterday when we went to visit after her accident, she had no blue eyeshadow.
And, she still looked beautiful as ever.

I've known her for about four or five months.

She is truly one of the most remarkable women I have ever met.

Here's just one small reason why.  Next month, she turns 80, and she just signed up for an on-line class to learn Hebrew.

Really, at 80, you want to learn Hebrew?

I'll be 80 in five more years and I will want to learn how to walk around the block without falling.

Gigi just had a fall where she compressed some vertebrae, so she is in a brace and it's very painful for her to move.  And, move she normally does.  She irons her tee shirts and jeans, all her husband's clothes.  Makes cookies, cooks all his meals; she's just a goer and a doer.  So this fall has REALLY slowed her down.

But, for her, she sees it as a blessing - as it forces her to focus on studying her Hebrew.  AMAZING!

She is a very intense person and when she wants to DO something, she does it.  She went back to school with four kids and they all lived in a dorm.  She graduated in education with a 4.0.  She taught school on the Indian reservation where her husband was working.  She and her husband worked in the Peace Corps for a year, and she went to Japan, BY HERSELF, to teach English one year because her husband was still working on the reservation.

She and her husband, Jim, raised her four nieces and nephews after their father - her brother - killed their mother.  Her youngest child was in college, and so, they started over.

Gigi is passionate about what is happening in America because she grew up in Germany and sees what happens to a country when no one seems to be aware of what is TRULY going on.  She remembers going to school in Berlin after the war and stepping over dead bodies.

She's a thinker, a fighter, a doer, a lover of God, an amazing woman.

And, she inspires me.

Grocery Store Meltdown...

All my life I have been a totally Carb lover; a Carb aholic; a Carb junkee, a Carb aficionado.

Breads - of any and all kinds - and I have always had a very special relationship.

Lately I've been reading about how bad grains are for a person; how they have totally changed over the last hundred years, etc.

Because of that and a desire to lose some weight and because of some digestive issues, I am trying to CUT WAY BACK ON GRAINS.

It is SO VERY HARD.

SO, today at the grocery store, I went down the bread aisle, looking for a non-gluten bread.  As I walked past all the kinds of breads there are, I thought I might cry.  Sourdough (I love); nine-grain (delicious and I always thought healthy); mini bagels (so perfect toasted); English muffins (Whole-grain or not), Raisin toast (a perfect breakfast accompaniment for eggs), buns (with a hamburger for a summer meal), and on and on.

I would have felt silly standing there sobbing, so I quickly moved on and there they were; the crackers and the pretzels.  The chips made out of flours of all kinds.

So, I quickly moved along the back of the store; more temptations.

The Dairy Case.

I'm also trying to cut way back on dairy.  It's not good for a person.

AH, cheese, I miss you and love you.  Will we ever be reunited again?  Yoghurt; a favorite breakfast food for many years; butter, but wait, why do I need butter if I am not eating breads?  Well, of course, on my baked potato.  No, wait, POTATOES are also on the OUT list.  I am reading a book that says no to APPLES and KIDNEY BEANS.

My world is turned upside down.

It's no wonder I almost had a meltdown in the grocery store.

I was, however, able to buy a small banana.

No word yet that they are on the OFF list!

Who Says....

that only oatmeal and eggs are for breakfast?!?!?!

I just had a very healthy breakfast, but it wouldn't be considered BREAKFAST food by most people.

However, food is food, right, and eat it when it's fresh and when you can, I say.

So, here was my July 1st breakfast:

Let's start with the meat:

 RAH is on a kick about this meat from the Bar 10 Ranch, which is local.  This meat is raised on local grass, with no hormones or artificial anything.  Yes, it is expensive, but, yes, it is healthy (if meat can be healthy...a matter of opinion to many.)

Some little grape tomatoes that are delicious and tasty.  Some are even sweet.

Then, a little quinoa salad.  Quinoa is supposed to be a very healthy grain, so I'm all in for it.

There it is, a healthy breakfast, so the rest of the day, I can eat JUNK!

HA HA HA HA.  (IF only!)