The Lord's Tender Blessings

One never knows what Tender Blessings the Lord has in mind.

This past week we had a "trip North" planned, to see Joanie & Gordie, Sarah and her little kindergarten people, Dave & Niki and Sam & ShaNee.

We enjoyed our wonderful visits so very much. Then Old Man Winter decided the weekend was the opportune time to flex his frosty muscles in snowy show, so we missed our visit with Sam & ShaNee. However Joanie & Gordon made us welcome in their comfy home for another night.

Joanie's enthusiastic YES when I called to see if we could stay with them was followed immediately by a call from her:

"Will you sing O Holy Night with me in church tomorrow?" she asked.

"I'll have to sing alto. Is that OK?" I said.

Well, it has been forever since we have sung together, seeing as how Joanie was a little girl when I went away to college.

Singing with Joanie was a sweet blessing, the huge bonus to a wonderful weekend of visiting. The delightful warmth of singing a song with my sister that Mom used to play for us so very long ago was unexpected and still lingers with me today.

What a choice surprise Heavenly Father had for Joanie & I! What a priceless blessing getting to sing with my sister! What a wonderful Sabbath dividend!

Top picture: The Navitity, birth of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Picture 2: Joanie and baby Jace (Mar 09).

Picture 3: Amy and her Grannie Annie (Jun 09)

I was hoping for a recent picture of Joanie & I together. Didn't have one, but these are a couple of my favorites, taken in the last year.

Harvest Celebration: Thanksgiving 2009

A little baby boy, his first Thanksgiving. The whole family invited. Great food. Choice company. That was our Thanksgiving this year at Joe & Jen's this year.

So much fun to be together and celebrate the blessings of this past year!

We got 'em jammed into Joe & Jen's stairs. Made the picture narrower, you see! That's Andy's Mike & Jake at the top; Joe, Jen, Andy; Becky, Sarah; Brittney, Sammy, Cody; Lizzie in front & Grannie Annie with baby Jace.

Photographer is Grandad. We are missing Amy & Hunter. They may have been hunting for Copper the beagle, who escaped when the door was open. We thought we had cornered everyone, finding out later that we had missing persons!!

What a FUN OCCASION!!!!! What a wonderful party you kids put on!!! Thank you, Thank you, Joe & Jen.

Sunny California -- May 27-30, 2009

We had a memorial service for Aunt Laura's husband Don Seavey on Friday, May 29th. About 35 people were there to support Laura and her sons, including her two brothers and sisters, friends and neighbors, and five drivers from the San Diego transit system. The bus drivers knew the Seaveys, liked them and looked forward to seeing them during their runs.

Laura and son Lonnie.

One of the drivers told a fun story about Lonnie at a time when McDonald's had a 12-cent hamburger deal on Tuesdays. Lonnie and the driver went every Tuesday for their hamburger treats, until one day when the bus driver found the whole family waiting, ready to go the McDonald's . . . Don, Laura, Lonnie, Aaron, Wendy & Holly. He knew them all by name.

Picture: Cousin Tom & wife Joann, the McDonald's bus driver, 2 ward members, Bonnie the bus driver.

Family picture: Brothers & Sisters -- Laura, Wayne, Lyne, Jim, Bonnie.

Wish I had more pictures. This last week I've expended more elbow-grease than picture-clicking, but it was necessary. We washed walls, Jim re-did ceilings, then we painted in the kitchen, living room and hallway. Glad we had the opportunity to help out. Good to be with family.

Another One Bites the Dust!!

Last Monday night, I was busy baking cookies and banana bread, getting ready to go to California for the rest of the week. Wayne was reading to me, keeping me company. I have my head in the cubby where the mixer lives, doing my thing. Wayne is gone when I look up again. Pretty soon he comes in, all excited.

"Hey Honey, know that snag on the back of the lot? It just went down! Come see!"

I went outside with visions of a torn up fence in my mind. A big silver poplar snag has towered over everything else on the northeast back corner of the lot for years. I can't remember the last time it had leaves. It has made a fine lookout for hawks and other birds wanting a clear view of the neighborhood during that time. I thought of dropping it for the wood a few years ago, but the limbs would have taken out the neighbor's nice tight wire fence along the lane strung on straight steel posts, which would have made the fence loose, and the posts, well, less-than-straight.

The wind felled the tree on the diagonal towards the southeast, doing no harm to the fence. The sheep in the field must have scooted out of the way, but by the time we went to look, they were all sampling green leaves from a few small trees that the big one had brought down.

The only hole in the fence was caused when the tree uprooted itself! Wayne and Jim had that fixed in a trice, and the fence is as good as ever it was. [We always have had a rather picturesque back fence! Makes the beautification ladies nuts!]

Honoring Those Who Serve: Memorial Day 2009

A small town, population 850.

A community school, established 1896. Hardworking, good neighbors who help each other.

An annual tribute at the Town Cemetery, sponsored by the American Legion, honoring those who have served in the Armed Forces over these many years.

Wayne & I have made a point to be at the cemetery, 8:00 a.m. on Memorial Day, to enjoy stories of our pioneer neighbors and spend a little quiet time honoring our community and nation. Fresh country air, American flags flying, "new" sunshine, the veterans' dignified honor to our Flag as they post it and salute. Wonderful!

A bugler accompanied the flag-raising with To the Colors. His clear tones through the trees and in the quietness of the morning air foster thoughts of patriotism and Country.

The American Legion also performs a service-ceremony, retiring used and old American flags from service. All veterans and uniformed Scouts are invited to participate, our friends and neighbors, young and old.

One of our neighbors served in WWII in the South Pacific. Every Memorial Day, many of his 10 children, spouses and grandchildren come home to share this choice occasion with their Dad.

And when the speaking and ceremonies are all over, the bugler plays Taps as the vets and scouts salute and stand at attention.



So this year [guess this shows how old we are getting], instead of asking an Old Timer to talk about the early years in Elsinore, one of our boys' very good friends was asked to speak, Master Sgt. Shane Peterson, Utah National Guard.

Dig, as the kids call him, has been in the Guard for about 20 years now, served a tour in the Middle East, and is now working fulltime for the Guard.

Dig spoke about extending the blessings of freedom to all peoples: He is willing to serve to do that.

Cannot say enough good about Dig: he has been such a good friend to us all over the years, so strong and steady doing many good things.

What a great blessing it is to have such neighbors and friends! We watched the older men whom we see every week at church, performing their duties. And we saw our Scoutie boys, diligent and sober in honoring their country and flag.

What a privilege it is to pay tribute to our wonderful nation and those who serve in her Armed Forces.

Our dear friends, Shane & Staci.

Mom's Iris & Memories of Home

Mom's Iris have had a way of migrating to my gardens. When we lived in Randolph, she came in Oct 1970 to tend "us" when David was born. From somewhere in her gear, she produced a refrigerator crisper drawer full of iris roots. She had cleaned her flowerbeds and was sharing. I was glad!! ... But we need to remember that Dave was born the week before Halloween, long after Indian summer had left that frigid corner of Utah ... and so one evening I looked out the south windows, and there was Mom kneeling on the sidewalk, planting iris with rainwater dripping down her neck!

Fast forward to 1973 or so . . . we now have our own house . . . and a flowerbed in front . . . and another baby. Here comes Grammie to take care of us, bless her . . . with iris in tow. One of my favorite photos is of David (about 7 at the time of the picture) with Baby Joe on his lap, looking at our wonderful iris blooms.

I love iris!! They remind me of Mom because she always had them. I always thought they were a regal flower, prettier than orchids even. I am told that not all iris have a perfume to them, just the old ones . . . like Mom's!

I went out the front door the other day, and called back to Wayne, "Something smells good out here!" ... Some of that was iris, but mostly, our black locust

trees are in bloom with that wonderful heady perfume they have. They remind me of early summer, my birthday and home, and being a kid.

So . . . I have been revelling in an At-Home Experience this last week or so, waiting to get the right pictures and enjoying perfumes of long ago.

Thanks Mom!

Top picture: Our wonderful front iris bed, backlit by the afternoon sun.

The poppies came from our next door neighbor years ago. She is gone now, but the poppies are spectacular every spring and gone by June.

How Hard Can It BE??!!

"Hey Dad, d'ya have a socket set and a heavy jack?" says Jake on the cell phone.
"Sure," says Wayne. "Whatcha doin'?"
"Changin' my brake shoes." Pretty soon, here comes Jake, CheckerAutoParts box hugged to his chest. His necessary parts.

"You ever done this before?" I query.

"Nope," grins Jake. "How hard can it be?" [I guess that IS the question.]

Pretty soon he's taken the back tires off and is having trouble getting the outside of the wheel drum off. Wayne has disappeared. Jake walks towards the house. "Gonna look on the Internet, figure out how to do it," he mutters.


Wayne comes back with auto-wise neighbor in tow.


"C'mon, Jake," says this experienced shade-tree mechanic. "I'll show y'how it's done. Not hard." [I mean, how hard can it be?] This guy has that stubborn wheel drum off in a trice.

"Now then, I'll need a piece of cardboard. . ." and he proceeds to take out the little springs and levers and du-jiggies, laying them in the right position on a piece of mechanic paper from the driver's side floor.

"Now then, Jake, y'take off the pieces and put yer new parts in there. Don't tear the other wheel apart until y'have this one back together. Use it for a pattern so y'know where parts go. When y'get this side fixed so it looks like the other side, then y'can tear that one apart and use this side for a pattern. . . . See ya." And with that, he saunters back across the street.

The CheckerAuto brake shoes are the wrong kind. Jake goes to Napa and gets the right ones.

About an hour after he comes back, Jake's working on finishing up the second tire's brake shoes.

He and his Dad have been talking back and forth across the car.
"Does this spring go here?" "Can y'see where this spacer goes?"
Stuff like that.
I am weeding flowerbeds, putting the sprinkler on the lawn, wandering around now and then to snap a picture. Would love to stay and watch the whole production, but how much can you observe when a guy's head is clear in under the fender? It's like watching grass grow.

Pretty soon the brake drums are back together and the tires bolted on. Dad & son take the cement block and the jack out from under the back of the car. Jake is ready to go finish his car inspection with the guys who wanted to charge him in excess of $200 to do the brake job. He takes his old brake shoes and greasy hands along as proof that he has done it.

He backs out of the driveway and waves his greasy paw. "See ya," he says. "Thanks for the help. Thanks for the sandwich." He's gone.

After all, how hard can it be???




About 10 minutes later, Wayne muses, "I wonder if Jake's brakes work?"




[For your information, they did . . . but he SHOULD have taken another sandwich, he told me later.]