This afternoon

I love it.

Eclipse Frenzy

It was fun sharing the experience with the Idiarts in Oregon and the Bishops in Missouri. They both had a more complete eclipse than the 90% we had here. 

There hasn't been

much time to blog this last week.  More and more I realize how fast and fragile life really is.  The funeral Friday was beautiful, with very fitting tributes given by Stephanie, Jenni, and Jared.    I was so proud of them, as I'm sure she was.  Friday afternoon, we took flowers to the cemetery for Memorial Day and then went to my niece (Leslie's) son's baptism.   

Gary had bought, at a baseball auction, an overnight stay at a courtyard Marriott, so we went to Salt Lake on Saturday.   It was a very nice get-a-way.  We ate at the Cheesecake Factory and shopped a little at the City Creek Center.  Then we went to "Men in Black 3."  (I figured that since Gary was patient with me shopping, that I would humor him and go to that movie).  It was actually pretty entertaining.

On Sunday morning we went to the Tabernacle Choir broadcast, had a late breakfast, and then came home.  Yesterday and today, in between a barbecue at the Roylances, a retirement open house for my friend, and a dinner date, I've put in a total of about 20 hours of work.  We are getting very close to getting the new website up, and there is a real time-crunch on getting all the products entered.  So the rest of this week will be much of the same.   

I've taken a few pictures of all the activities this last week, but I'll post those later.   It's time for bed.

Here is a view

that most people don't see --because it is behind our bedroom door.

 It makes me happy. 

 Yes, there are probably about 100 flower pins on the magnet board (anybody want some?).   And there are multiple scarves hanging on another magnet board with magnet hooks (I thought I was pretty ingenious thinking of that).   And then just a few of my necklaces hanging on the metal jewelry hanger that Natalie gave me.  And then my bridal picture.  Gary may have reconsidered marrying me if he had known I was quite so OCD when it comes to having every color of every thing I love.  He may have decided I was a little too high maintenance. 

Remember that

first event I helped with at Studio 5?  Well, Loralee posted it on her blog today. My pictures were nothing like these.  Go look at them at this link:

MAKE IT POP!

And, um, I don't think I'll report on my very poor efforts at having a schedule today.  But there is always tomorrow . . .

Seeing

RED, in cars anyway.

Wonder Car

Dream Car

Real Car

(which I'm loving, by the way)

Two minutes left

and they haven't fallen asleep at all this year.

Last year

After much experimentation . . .

I bit the bullet and painted the bathroom today.  Painting is not my favorite activity in the world.  Especially in a room where there are so many small details.  I really like how the color turned out, but I am a little nervous about taking the tape off tomorrow.  I hope there is not a lot of  trim redo.  (Pictures are taken tonight, so the light is not great.)

 

There is a certain satisfaction in finishing a job you've been putting off.

I'm feeling

a deep sadness right now.  I just got off the phone with my sister-in-law Lynn.  My oldest brother, Gary, is in the University hospital.  They've determined that he has a form of Parkinsons called Lewy Body.  They think he may have reacted adversely to a drug he started last week, and that it may have triggered this episode of confusion and dementia like symptoms.  When we stopped by last night to see him, he seemed to know us but was definitely not himself.   They expect that he will improve some, but they have told them not to expect that he will get completely better, as it is a degenerative disease.  Lynn is such a positive person, and she said that while it is not what she wanted to hear, that they will be fine.  She said when she asks Gary if he is happy, he says, "Yes, I'm very happy."    I'm so glad their son, Cory, drove in yesterday, as he is a big support to Lynn.  Gary will probably come home tomorrow or Saturday.

So, I'm very stressed and sad about that.  I'm also distressed about a fall that my friend had.  I had just dropped her off from a luncheon, and as I was getting back into my car, she fell.  She had to go to the emergency room and get stitches.  I feel so badly that I didn't walk her all the way into the house.

And I'm stressed about a Skype video call with "Studio 5" tomorrow.  You know that show I get so many good ideas from?   Well, they have "happy home" segments, and they ask viewers to send in pictures of things they do to make their homes a happy place.  I was on their website a few days ago and decided to send in a picture of the "Candy Store."    A little while later I got a call from the producer saying they would be interested in having me talk about it on a video call.  I wasn't expecting that.  I thought they might share the idea on the show, but not the video part.  Anyway, she called tonight and asked if we could do it tomorrow.   I'm afraid I will freeze up and be tongue tied.   But, I guess the only thing I can really do is make a fool of myself.  And, on a scale of 1 to 10 (in comparison to the other problems I've been writing about) that is just a 1.  

Go Cardinals!

We've been very into the Baseball World Series the last two years.  Last year we followed the San Francisco Giants as they progressed into the series.  Justin, Tiffany's husband, grew up in that area he and his family are avid Giant's fan.  We were celebrating right along with them when they won.

This year we are following the Cardinals as they've progressed in the series.  Dan, Misty's husband, is from the St Louis area and they live there now.  Of course, being the baseball family they are, they are very excited about it.  What a game it was last night, with an 11 inning game and a home-grown boy hitting in the winning run.   They're playing game #7 tonight, and Gary is very unhappy that he can't be watching it.  He's doing the stats for Timpview's quarter final game.  So, I'm watching the series, making cupcakes for the BYU Soccer team, and recording the BYU game and the World Series for Gary.  Quite a sports themed day.

I hope the Cards win!

P.S.  A few hours later, They won!  When I texted Misty to say "Yeah, Cards," she texted back: 

"Yes.  Go Cards!  Dan's miffed because he had to wake me up to celebrate.  I had fallen asleep on his shoulder.  Can you imagine the travesty?"  

Well, Misty, you were probably worn out.   I happen to know that she has been substitute teaching the last two days, as she has several times each week since school started -- that in addition to her already very busy life.   So, you deserve a nap, even if the timing wasn't the best.  

Gardens

I love the gardens at this time of year.  The maintenance is minimal, but the flowers are still blossoming. 

We went to a wedding of my cousin's daughter that was held in a very amazing and beautiful back yard.  It had so many little spaces in it with beautifully arranged plantings.  I was visiting with my cousins and couldn't figure out where Gary was.  Then I found him hiding out in the gazebo. 

Tonight Natalie went out in our garden to get flowers for our centerpiece. 

 She definitely has artistic talent. 

I wouldn't have been able to put one together like this.

You'd think all I do

is eat.

Ward Breakfast at 9 this morning.

Football Banquet at 11:00 this morning.

Extended Ashton party at 5 pm.

I think that says it all.

Taking a break from

this for a moment

(Sadly the middle tree didn't make it) 

 A few remnants of summer fun.

 What a gorgeous November day!

Yeah Giants!

There's no doubt I have some ecstatic family in Oregon and California right now! 

I actually followed the World Series this year because of their excitement.   

Yeah Giants!

Theft

seems to be common topic of conversation lately.  Recently several cars in our neighborhood have been broken into and items stolen from them.  That has happened as the car sits right in their carports and garages. Yesterday, I got a message to call the "Fraud Alert" number for my credit card.  When I called back in, they asked me if I had made an Internet purchase of $1200 dollars. Obviously, that is not a usual expense for me, so they were checking to see if I made it.  I did not!  They told me the name of the site that was ordered from, and I did not recognize it at all.

I'm very grateful they called.  Many times when we are traveling out of state, Gary's credit cards won't go through after they have been used a few times.   He always has to call the card company and tell them that it is him using the card and that he authorizes the charges.  I won't mind that inconvenience any more.  Had they not called me, I probably would not have noticed the charge until I got the bill.  That would have been a shock.

I did not lose my card, so obviously someone has gotten access to the number and tried to use it.  I wonder if it was someone from a restaurant or store in St. George?  Or maybe someone got the number from another Internet site that I have ordered from.  I have no clue, but it is quite disconcerting.  Anyway, they immediately closed my account and will not charge me for it. 

I think I'll make a habit of checking my credit card charges online a little more often.   I'm also now locking my car (even in the carport) and not leaving anything valuable in it.  

If I was unbalanced

before, I'm even more so now. 

I'm not sure if I'm living a dream,

projecting the life I'm living,

or actually in reality. 

If you can't guess, we went to the movie "Inception" today.

I am totally confused.

My Hangout

since the middle of April.

Not the most aesthetic setting,

with the cement walls

and my desk in a dark little corner.

If I worked there permanently,

I would definitely do something with the decor.

But, since it a meeting room for the football team,

I guess the look is understandable.

It does have s a pretty view out the window.

The most interesting thing about it was the smell.

Not a bad smell, really, but a strong smell.

Imagine walking in a tire store.

That's what it smelled like

The floors are all rubber, which made it

very quiet as a testing center.

The students would come in and

and comment on the funny smell.

I would notice the smell when I first walked in each morning,

but didn't even notice it by the end of the day.

Not noticing the smell after I had been there all day, made me think of something Mom would tell us.  She said her mom (my grandma) would often comment about how badly everyone must have smelled when she was young.  Back then it was customary for people to bathe only once a week.    What my grandma felt and would say, though, was that people didn't notice, because everyone smelled the same.  

Kind of a random thought, I know, but I did think about it. 

Anyway, I'm finished proctoring for the year.

It is actually kind of fun and went much more smoothly

this year because we learned a lot from last year.

But I'll be glad not to get up at 6 am on Monday morning.

You don't want me

as your travel agent.

I was reviewing with the girls some of the dumb things I have done as I've booked flights online.  To justify myself a little, I usually go back and forth to different flights and days trying to get the best deals, and in doing so end up making mistakes.

There was the time that Misty and family were coming out and I was booking their flights.  I had earned one free flight, so, I booked Dan's flight with the free one and then booked Misty and the kids.  So, on the morning they were flying home we loaded the six of them in the car with all their baggage and took them to the airport.  Once we got there to check in, we found that Dan was booked on the flight that morning, but Misty and the kids were booked for the flight at the same time the next morning.   To change the 5 flights to that day would have been very expensive, so we said good-bye to Dan and drove back home with Misty and the kids.  Now, I'm all for having the them stay as long as possible, but this was not the ideal way to do it.

Then there was the time Gary, Natalie and I were flying home from Misty's.  We showed up at the airport on Monday night only to realize that the flight had been booked for Sunday night.  That was an expensive trip.

Then there was the incident of running through the airport with Misty trying to get on a flight that we were late for.   There had been accidents and construction that we did not anticipate.  This was before the 9/11 when we could go right to the gates.   I left my car running at the curb (a definite no-no now), and carried and ran with Jackson as Misty ran ahead with her luggage and Lydia.  When I got to the terminal, Misty was sprawled out on the floor with all her bags, crying because she had just missed it.  We then drove around for 4 hours waiting for the next flight.

I know there are more mess-ups, but I must be having a brain freeze.  After all, there are only so many mistakes a person can admit to at one time.

Busy Day

We began the day with

Gary taking the opportunity to

clean up my messes from the back yard.

But he didn't stop there.

He made more of his own messes.

(which I'm very grateful for)

Then Duke came down for his Mom's

90th birthday party

and in the process

helped Gary clean his messes up

and take it to the dump.

(which I'm very grateful for)

I was visiting teaching during all that.

(good planning on my part)

Then we went to Mavis' 90th birthday party.

We've known her since we were teenagers,

and she has always shown interest in

and love toward us and our families.
She is a sweetheart.

Then we came home and watched BYU lose

their football game quite handily.

But all was not lost, Jean brought this

cute spider bread and dip

 and we had

Lasagna and Salad and Bread and Cookies.

All in all

a pretty nice day,

minus the game.

Bee-ing

Today has been all about bees.

No, I didn't get stung.

It was the "Bee Theme"

Breakfast, Lunch, and Snack mini classes

at our Ward Enrichment night.

I was presenting the

"Bee-gin your Day in a Bee-utiful Way"

breakfast class.

So, for the last few days I've been baking (and eating)

muffins, and breads, and breakfast cookies

so that there could "bee" some samples.

Okay, enough is enough,

I promise I won't write "bee" one more time.

I love hearing from the women of the ward as

they share their thoughts, ideas, and talents

one with another.

Each person has different gifts to give,

and they all share them willingly.

After the _ _ _ classes,

there was a choice of music or art classes by

a talented artist and vocal teacher in our ward.

I'm beyond hope with the voice,

so I went to the art class.

This is what I created.

It's a booklet that started with the colored cover.

We chose our own paper and tissue.

We drew our own figure.

Then we water colored.

Heather, the teacher, said that the nice

thing about art is that you if you don't like to draw

hands you don't have to.

I didn't want to draw a face because

I knew I would mess it up,

so I didn't.

Very liberating.

I was so proud of myself!

Recipes tomorrow.