pressure cooker

I guess it's about time for an update. The whole month of October has been a pressure cooker. We started out with the demise of Emma, my newest granddaughter, and her birth a couple days later on 2 October 2008. She was perfect on the outside, tiny, and a beautiful child of God. Her heart was imperfect and didnt allow her time to exist on earth. She is ours and we love her and miss her. We are looking forward to the future and all it holds in promise. I personally have felt her presence once or twice in the very beginning, but I think now she is on to more important matters than watching us fumble around in the dark. The autopsy took a while, so the funeral and memorial services were held on Tuesday, 14 October. I was very surprised at the outcome, and very pleased. The family were all assembled, those who could, and many friends attended. Even Sharon came to the graveside service. It mattered a lot to all of us who know who she is. With Wednesday to "rest" we readied and finalized for Lorna's wedding to Ryan W. Christensen on Friday the 17th. Thursday we decorated the cultural hall at our church for the reception. I have to brag that my daughters are SO SO TALENTED!!!!!!!!!! (caps on purpose 'cause I AM shouting) Since J.C. Penney messed up and sent my dress to Smithfield, VIRGINIA, I had nothing to wear to the wedding. On Friday I went to every store on the highway looking for anything I could find in the right colors and right size. I ended up at the most expensive store in the Mall, Dillard's, where I found a lady who loves a challenge. She fixed me up with a very nice outfit. I paid a lot for it, but who cares?!?!?! I got home just in time to take a shower and rush to the temple (I remembered, I think I'm supposed to be there early so Lorna can get into her dress). Lori had an emergency, so I forwent the shower, took care of her the best I could, then I just had to leave. I was worried about her, though. Upon arriving, breathless, at the check-in desk at the temple I produced my recommend and said something about being the mother of the bride. The brother took a look at it and said, "We have a problem here. Your recommend is expired." I just about fainted. I got really dizzy. I said, "What?" I didnt know what to do. I thought, "I cant miss this wedding! I've been here for all my children's weddings. I'm doing the right things. I cant not be there! I cant miss my baby's wedding! What can I do? What shall I do?" Bro. Jensen of the temple presidency came out from his office and asked me to come with him. I am in a state of panic. The wedding is about to start. Am I going to miss my daughter's wedding? NO!!! I CANT!!!!!!!!! I am dying inside. I cant even think straight. Bro. Jensen is so calm, but he isnt hurrying. Doesnt he know he needs to hurry so I can get there????? He looks up the phone numbers of my Bishop, then picks up the receiver. No answer. He's still calm and not hurrying. Cant he dial any faster? I try to remain calm and polite. I feel like I'm not quite there. Finally he finds the Bishop (who happened to come home a day early from hunting in Wyoming) who then gives me an interview over the phone. He is so new to the position he hasnt even memorized the questions yet. He asked what he could remember, I suggested a few, and he called me worthy, had to tell Bro. Jensen this. I know I have to go through another interview with the Stake president. Please hurry. No, it isnt proper to hurry in the temple, so just calm down and have faith that things will work out. I know I'm worthy. I just had a reassurance of such Sunday during the Sacrament. Bro. J. has nine telephone numbers for the three Stake presidency members: home, work, and cell. He places call after call, receiving only recordings telling him that they are not available. As he started dialing the ninth number, I was praying really hard. Emma was there, sympathetic, and saying it would be okay. I'm thinking,"What will I do if this call doesnt pick up live?" "I think I might fall on the floor under that desk over there, curl up in a little ball and scream and scream and cry." I think, "Now I understand weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth!" On the third ring, I hear, "Hello?" I am now looking at the ceiling saying thank you, thank you, thank you over and over again. I have my phone interview, pass, and am escorted immediately to the third floor sealing room where everyone is waiting and wondering why it's taking so long. I didnt even take my shoes off till a sister handed me a pair of socks in the elevator. We waited a few more minutes, Lori and Bennett arrived, then the bride and groom arrived. They were just simply glowing. Lorna looked as though she were three feet off the floor. It was good. After that emotional angst, the reception was a cinch. All we had to do was to stand next to Lorna and be happy. The food was all taken care of, the hall look beautiful. The children all had sitters in the nursery. The slideshow was adorable. So many, many friends came. Many of Lorna's students came to see her as a princess. As the reception drew to a close, we discovered a special honeymoon treat that had been forgotten. Jay and I volunteered to drive it up to Sherwood Hills Hotel. I said I wasnt going to take it to the room. If the desk person would do the deed I would be fine with that. If she werent willing, then she could eat it himself. I WASNT going to the door!!!!!!! (They got it.) We "rested" for a day, went to church Sunday where Jay got a blessing for his scheduled knee replacement surgery on the 23rd. He got another one from Randon later that night, too. Both blessings were very different, yet similar, each touching concerns that Jay and I separately had. During all of this family time, I am still going to work every day, and helping to prepare the three choirs for their concert scheduled for the first of Novemeber. Just two days before the wedding, the teacher handed me a brand new piece we are going to do with the high school choir, saying," It's a little tricky." Yes, it is, and I still dont have it learned. I'm a good faker, though. Jay's surgery was successful, he's healing well. He has quite a story to tell about how his IV and his pain medicine were interrupted by clumsy people, how he swore at the Dr., and being moved from room to room. On the home front, some of the family had planned on sorting out Jay's bedroom so he would have all the things he needs for recovery. That was set aside for their own recoveries from illness. Since Jay's surgery, Roger has pneumonia, Lynette's family, Lorna, Roger, and I have all had a particularly bad flu that flattened us for about a week. The Dr. wont let Jay come home till we're better! I've looked and looked overhead for that black cloud and havent seen it, so I think that this must just be blessings. I am looking forward to November. The stress of Thanksgiving and Christmas has to be an easy thing after we come out the other end of October.

a difficult week

I arrived home a little late on Thursday. There were messages on the door telling me to call Lisa right away. The baby has died and we're going to the hospital to induce labor. Will you come? Lisa was in active labor, but no drugs yet. We three (Andrew, Lisa, and I) worked together till her water broke. The nurse called Dr. Fowers (looks like Dr. Oz) who came immediately. He was very kind and gentle, giving as much information as he could about the delivery. Little Emma looked very tiny, lying there. She was perfectly formed despite the effects of her heart defect. I cried, the disappointment hit me. Recover

AMBERT ALERT!!!!!

HAVE YOU SEEN ME?

NAME: The Crazy Lady
FROM: Escondido, California
DATE MISSING: Monday, July 28 2008
LAST SEEN: "Utah Vacation"
DATE OF BIRTH: September 6
AGE: not too old and younger than her age
HEIGHT: taller than Leighann but shorter than Lynette
HAIR: brown
SEX: probably...she has four kids!
WEIGHT: none of your business...skinny...that is all you need to know
EYES: hazely green
DESCRIPTIVE FEATURES: Double jointed knees, pencil lead in eye brown, no ear piercings or any other bodily piercings (that I know of)

If you have any information or know where she might be please contact us immediately. She has been know to frequent other blogs, leaving comments but her specific whereabouts are unknown.

REWARD: A generous reward has been offered by her parents of salt, garden fresh vegetable, family group sheet and insect identification. If found blogging fresh homemade bread is included with the aforementioned reward.

nuts (r, Lyn-NUT)

I just read your blog on changing your blog title. Not only were you called Nut by your younger siblings, but it goes back further than that. In high school my "gang" was called the Chess-nuts. We started out as the chess club, quickly found that we didnt play much chess, but had a lot of fun together at various innocent activities for the three years we were together. So, not only do I have an estranged daughter running for vice president, but her twin, by bearing the name Nut, represents all the fun memories of my past! And we all know how much Daddy loves nuts! (He even married one!) We just didnt have time for twins. ha ha ha

thanks for privacy

I am so glad to have you all to take care of me!!!! I dont understand a lot about this computer business. Somewhere in the back of my mind I somehow think there is a little man in there running around plugging wires in and I might wear him out or something if I mess up out front of the computer. I am appalled that someone might "accidentally" snoop in my conversations and use it against me. Thank you for confirming that you cant just "accidentally" sign yourself into a blog site. I feel violated, as though someone were standing outside my bedroom window, looking in. I am not upset with my siblings (two of them) about being pricks (yes, I guess I am, or I wouldnt say that). I am upset over the deviousness and selfishness. I know I will get over it in time, but during the time I am getting over it, I will be discovering the real me in the relationship. I DO have a backbone! I use it when something really matters. It takes a long time for me to get riled up enough, though. I (emphasize I) got rid of the spanking stick. I told the abuser to knock it off. I called the police. I took a lot of the abuse in other ways to prevent it from falling onto my children. I followed the Spirit and joined the Church. I reported a Dr. for verbal abuse (and got fired). I reported an abusive teacher and demanded fair treatment of my child. I stood up to a mocking man in defense of my role as a LDS wife and mother. I defended another child accused of doing something he hadnt done. I DO have a backbone. I guess I am too quiet about it, and nobody knows it. It feel good after I have shown it, though. Thanks for noticing.

Saturday, 6 September

Happy Birthday, Lori! I hope you had a nice day. I tried to call this evening but got your answering machine. I hope that means you're out having a good time. This morning I woke up at 9:10. I'd planned on waking around 8:00 to get ready to go to Brigham City. Heather and Hailey were in the Peach Days parade, which started at 10. By brushing my teeth as I drove, driving 70 on some stretches of highway( not Mantua;) ), missing breakfast and combing my hair as I drove, I made it, parked and walked six blocks and found Janet before the parade started. I really moved fast! After the parade we had lunch at Maddox (yum), then visited in Corinne for a while. On the way home, I decided to go fishing. I got home around 9:00 tonight, ate a whole thing of celery and cheese and my piece of peach pie from Maddox. yum again. Lisa and Andrew came shortly after to watch the new Brian Regan show.I sent my email to Joyce and am now ready for bed. My watch broke sometime in the past couple weeks. I never know what time it is nor what day or date it is. I just realized that tomorrow is our 48th wedding anniversary! Summarizing the day, I must say it was a wonderful day. I feel happy.

pianist hired

yes, I am a working woman again. I never imagined that at age 68, I'd be applying for yet another new job. I was getting a little worried about my bank account, and had sadly resigned myself to depending on my husband for any spending money and all that goes with that. Lorna told me of an opening at So. Cache middle school for a choir accompanist. I got on the phone right away. To make a long story a little shorter, after talking to the choir director, I volunteered to go in and help him out till they found someone. (Tricky, eh?) So, on Wednesday (a week later), I had an interview and was offered the job. It pays a little less than what I was getting at the last place, but like Lori guessed, it's not ALL about the money. I play for three hours a day. Unfortunately the hours are not back to back, so I have to think of something to do for 1 1/2 hours in the middle. I am out of the house from 9:45-3:30 every day. That doesnt leave much time for all the other things I have to do. I havent seen tv, read a newspaper or my mail, or put anything away since returning from Las Vegas! Gas is now $3.81, and I have to fill up about every 10 days. I guess I will have a little to spend.

ALERT!!!!!

This is Lynette...I am just giving Mama's reader a heads up on the last 10 or so posts...as Mama said before she is just getting started so with that in mind...apparently her postings were going on three different blogs. I have combined the three to just this one and deleted the others so hopefully this will solve the problem...I added a date to the posts so that you can have a frame of reference when reading as well.

anaconda #2 08/19/08

We found a nice RV campground on the south side of Washoe Park where there were electrical and water hook-ups and nice bathroom facilities for just $20 a night. The weather was great for the three days and nights we were there; it rained one night with lots of thunder and lightening. After parking the trailer we were free to drive around. The town really hasnt done much in modernization. All the old buildings and neighborhoods are the same, just lots older. After a check on all the houses I lived in, I found them to be in good repair, but not changed. The city Common has been planted in grass, a live pine is permanently planted in the center. It is still flooded in the winter for ice skating, though. The Washoe Theatre has been re-vitalized, it is showing movies again. It has quite a history and is well-known for the gold-leaf from the 1920's. The library is one to die for. Compared to the dinky one we have in Smithfield, it is a wonderful 3-story building on 1/4 of a city block. The county courthouse around the corner form my home is still in use. My piano teacher's house is the same as it was way back when. Our old back yard is virtually gone. The big cottonwood tree was taken down years ago, and the garage was replaced by a really big building that takes up most of the yard. The old Victorian house on lower Hickory has been taken care of, and actually looks better than it has for a long time. The grade school across the street (where I stuck my tongue on the metal gate, and hit the wall when the swing broke) is all boarded up. It was old when I attended it. The high school looks old and faded, the hospital where Lori was born is now a business building for many different companies. On our way out of town we took a few detours. We tried to find the ski hill, but it has been replaced by a new ski area in the vicinity. I was happy to find Echo Lake. Driving past Silver Lake and Georgetown Lake, we headed for Phillipsburg. While stopped for a few minutes for construction, I jumped out and grabbed a good rock for my garden. It's shale. Downtown Phillipsburg has become a tourist place, with many little shops. One of them is a great big candy store with hundreds of types of candies, from fudge of all flavors to salt water taffy to "old fashioned candies you had when you were a kid." We had lunch at a 50's restaurant. (I had a pasty! pronounced pass-tee) We found the jail where I went with my dad and the Baptist minister. When I was just 11, we went fishing and the sheriff was waiting for us when we got back to our car. Apparently the place we went had been posted recently (then), and now it was illegal (trespassing). Well, the sheriff's living quarters were in one half of the building, the jail on the other side. I was taken to the living quarters where the jailer's wife gave me the funny papers and a cup of hot chocolate. It was the middle of July, I wasnt hungry, and I certainly wasnt going to cooperate while my daddy was in jail! After what seemed an eternity (probably 30 minutes) we were free to leave. It was never spoken of again. The sheriff brought out an old book that we searched, hoping to find a record of the arrest. On the third time through, Jay found an entry: 2 Anaconda fishermen. Fishing without permission. Fined $15 each. I didnt get fined. He made a copy of the page for me. I can use this for the Two Truths and a Lie!

Missoula and Glacier Park 08/19/08

From Phillipsburg we drove to Missoula, where I went to college. My friend, Joy MacDonald Lake and her husband George live there. We found them spent the night at their house; it was nice to sleep in a real bed for a change. Just as we were about to leave, our battery was dead, so were delayed again for a short time. Joy and George are LDS. She was my friend in Anaconda and her dad took us skiing every Sunday afternoon for about four years. She and I took the Presbyterian lessons and became members together. It was quite a happy surprise when, in Virginia, I received a letter from her saying that she and George had been sealed in the temple. I wept with happiness. Missoula is a very pretty town in a small valley. It is surrounded by high hills that are covered with evergreen trees. It feels comfortable. We decided that we]d go to Glacier Park, sleep overnight, finish the tour and drive to Leighann's. We drove along the east side of Flathead Lake for many miles. Randon, you'd love it for the fishing. Bennett, you'd love it for the boating. It is a very large lake, dark blue in color, surrounded by pines. We bought some of the famous cherries and ate all 6 lbs of them! (No we didnt get sick) All who read this should really plan a trip to Glacier Park. It is still a beautiful preserve. There really ARE a lot of glaciers, and if you take the same route we took, you can actually get out and walk on some of them. The Going-to-the-Sun highway was open, till just as narrow (2-lane) and scarey. Jay told me not to drive too close to the edge. The direction we took had him on the outside the whole way. I was glad we had already parked the trailer at the RV camp. I was excited when we approached the entrance to Many Glacier Hotel. This is where I worked as a maid, hiked and rode horses the summer I was a member of the church. It was a wonderful time then, and being there brought back all those memories.

Glacier to Seattle 08/19/08

The drive through upper Montana consisted of many, many long miles of nothing but ranch land. The roads were 2-lane, and very straight, the speed limit 75. The trailer kept up with us without any effort. Just as we would begin to worry about getting gas, we came upon a town. We were in St Regis, thinking about gas and lunch when Lisa called. She had just seen the doctor in Ogden for further tests on the baby. Little Emma has congestive heart failure. She is very sick. We are worried about her. The rest of the drive that day was rather silent as we tried to absorb the news. I was anxious to drive to Coeur d'Alene as I remembered it as a small lumber town. It isnt even recognizable as that anymore. More long roads without many towns took us to Seattle. We used the GPS to find our way to Leighann's house. It's not that hard to find, now that we know where it is. Thanks, Savanah for sharing your room with us. And thanks, Katelyn for sharing your room later with Lisa and Andrew. Thanks Garrett for sharing your room with Savanah, and thanks to Katelyn for willingly sleeping on the couch. I have learned from my recent trips to kids' homes that we need to do it more often. So, everybody, look out! here we come!!!! More to come regarding this long trip. Next installment will probably be shorter as I talk about the "reunion" in Tenino.

New Short Story titles 8/20/08

I've come up with the titles to two new short stories. The first, about the day I met my new friend Joan Ruckwardt will be entitled "Celery?". The second, relating our experience in Vancouver will bear the title "Crack-whores and Kinder eggs". Don’t you think these are compelling titles?

Fishing 8/23/08

Oh boy has it been fun this past two weeks. I found a new fishing spot, thanks to Ryan and Lorna. They invited me to go fishing with them at Second Dam. Richard and I had tried it many years ago, but we didn’t go to the right place. The fish were happy to try out our bait, and we were happy to be tricking them into biting a hook. Then Ryan and I went one morning and he caught SEVEN while I managed one. I thought that was awesome for only a couple hours. Today I went with Lisa for three hours. Lisa caught one, a man gave us two, and I caught five. We]re going to have a fish fry Sunday at Lynette's. YUM. All these fish are at least 10 inches long; none of the 7-9 inch ones at first dam. I love to go fishing. The combination of nature, the peace, the moving water, and the bonus of bringing home dinner continually calls me back. I hope we never get tired of fish....

Repentance or Rights?

As we were packing up the boxes of pictures to leave Tenino, Jay found a picture album off to the side in the room where the division of pictures was accomplished. We didnt know what to do with it, so I took it. There are pictures of Jim as a baby, my parents' wedding snapshots, and lots of pictures of me, or pictures that I took with my Brownie camera. There was a note on the album saying something about "checking the CD, and sending the originals to Jim to copy". I think there are others who can copy them just as well. I really dont want to trust the USPS with the album. Joyce had moved her boxes out of the room, and Jim had left with his the day before. All that were left in the room were my boxes, so I guessed this album must be for me. Now Joyce wants me to call her and tell her if I know what happened to it. I dont want to. What do you think?

Hyrum stinks

I probably have a new job. Lorna told me that South Cache was looking for a choir accompanist, so I applied. I havent been officially hired yet ( they have to wait in case there might be another applicant), but I volunteered to go in anyway since I wasnt doing anything at home. (The green beans were spoiling in the sink because I didnt want to process them) . I "worked" three hours with an hour break between two classes. The teacher is new this year, and it's obvious. He'll do okay, though. We sang Row, Row Your Boat a million times in each class so they could learn to hear harmony. Actually that IS a good way to do it. Any time I was outside, or near an open window or door I could smell cow poop. Glad I live in Smithfield!!!!! Sally

anaconda, #1

I didnt think we'd ever get going. We were five hours later than we planned. Our first night we slept in the car at a rest stop somewhere near the junction of I-15 and the road to Anaconda. Kind of ironic, that we had a camper and slept in the car.  Driving into Deer Lodge County was emotional for me. I started tearing up at the sight of the smoke stack, the C and A on the hills, the houses, etc. Everything I saw brought back memories of a carefree childhood, safety  of the 50's and all the things to do. First on the agenda was to find the Ruckwardts, my childhood neighbors, five sisters. We knocked on Mary Lynn's door, no one answered. We went around to the house behind mine, where they all grew up. Jay went to the door. I didnt know if anyone even lived there anymore. In a minute, Jay was talking to someone, but didnt seem to be making any headway. He motioned to me so I went to the door. There stood a little old lady with Downs Syndrome. It was my  Elizabeth! I was so happy to see her as I didnt know if she'd even be alive. She is unable to talk anymore so was of no help. We left a note on the door, knowing that someone was around somewhere helping her live there. We tried the first door again bu still no success.. Jus as we were a bout to leave, I saw a lady walking down the sidewalk and decided to wait to talk to her. It was Joan, my best friend of the five sisters. We ended up talking at her house (next door to my old house) Mary Lynn came up, for a couple of hours, then made arrangements to talk some more after the reunion. We made plans to play some more another day when we go back up there. more next blog

another road to reunion

hi, everybody. there's no stopping me now. We're supposed to leave tomorrow around noon for Montana/Washington for reunions. Montana is my 50th high school reunion, Washington is the Westgard reunion. I dont think we'll be ready. It is midnight and I havent even packed the trailer. Most of the stuff is ready, but it'll take some time to get it all stashed. Today I did laundry and ironing so we'd look our best. Just so I'd look younger than all those others, I had my hair colored and highlighted, had a pedicure and manicure, too. Gotta do all we can to one-up all those old people. Bernard Baruch said once, "Old age is 15 years older than I." I'd say old age is 20 years older. Our itinerary is as follows: Anaconda on Aug. 1,2,3. Polson to visit Joy, and maybe a jag to Glacier Park for a look-see. We'll leave the trailer in Tenino and maybe visit with Leighann till the 8,9,10 Aug. Or maybe we'll visit her after the reunion. The reunion doesnt sound like much fun, so we'll have to make our own. Lisa and Andrew will fly into seatac then Andrew will fly back two days later and Lisa will drive back with us.

salt for sale

WOOHOO!!! It worked. I am so glad. I just have a funny little thing to tell you all about our food storage. DONT buy any salt. I found 3 gallon cans more to go along with the 9 smaller boxes. That should be enough for the whole family. Daddy has finished the shelves in the storeroom and I am in the process of sorting out the food. Little did I know that he has food stashed all over the property. If it isnt in the breezeway closet or pantry upstairs, it is in the storeroom downstairs. If that isnt enough, try under the deck, in the little red car, or somewhere only he knows. I guess if we get caught in a crisis out by the barn or under the deck, we'll at least have something to eat! lol To go along with the salt, there are enough rolled oats and instant potatoes to have them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for a whole year. Since there is only one can of freeze dried raspberries to go on the rolled oats. Kinda slim :(

initial entry

hi! this is my first time and I am new at even the computer. I love the blogs from my family that I have read. I hope to relate something of interest that will also be wise and educated LOL.