Sun Tunnels and Secrets

My sister sent my niece's book for me to read and I started it at suppertime and read it straight through till I finished it.  I couldn't put it down!!  What an interesting book with all it's side story secrets and mysteries, romance, music, family relationships.  It was just a fun, fun read and very touching.

On "Good Reads" they give this synopsis:

On a trip to the Sun Tunnels in the Utah desert, Norma and her sisters find a body on the side of the road. But this awful discovery turns out to be the least of their problems. Norma's husband just passed on, and she learns he kept a secret from her for sixty years.

 LaRue is keeping a secret from Norma. The sisters' young friend Tony is keeping a secret about his famous father, and Tony's mother is keeping a secret of her own. Tony is secretly in love with his friend Kelli, who recently escaped from a polygamist cult. And who is the mysterious young car thief with whom Norma feels a special connection?

Everything converges in Grouse Creek at the Fourth of July celebration. Will secrets prove everyone's undoing?

Definitely a five star read!

Deer Maurauders

My gardens have all had devastation--it is my fault.  I have been neglectful of spraying with the deer deterrent spray.  You can never stop being watchful!!!  

First Cozy Fire of Fall

Today when I came home from Church it was still in the 50's outside--it had rained a little and stayed cool for two days.  I used it as an excuse to start a cozy fire in the stove.  Loved it.  One of the accolades of living in the mountains.  Next week it will probably be up to the 80's again before fall really sets in but for today it was lovely to take a nap in front of a roaring fire.  "If you are lucky enough to live in the mountains, you are lucky enough."

Every Last One

I was lucky on Friday when I snagged a recently donated book at the Chester library.  It was Anne Quindlen's newest book "Every Last One".  I just finished it.  Even though I only started it last night and spent most of the day in Reno I had to read every minute I had available until I finished it.  I love her writing and the way she taps in to my inner most feelings.  This is a the review that "Good Reads" gave and without giving away the plot, it should tempt you to read it also.  I warn you though, most libraries will have a waiting list--as I say I was lucky. 

"In this breathtaking and beautiful novel, the #1 New York Times bestselling author Anna Quindlen creates an unforgettable portrait of a mother, a father, a family, and the explosive, violent consequences of what seem like inconsequential actions.

 Mary Beth Latham is first and foremost a mother, whose three teenaged children come first, before her career as a landscape gardener, or even her life as the wife of a doctor. Caring for her family and preserving their everyday life is paramount. And so, when one of her sons, Max, becomes depressed, Mary Beth becomes focused on him, and is blindsided by a shocking act of violence.

What happens afterwards is a testament to the power of a woman’s love and determination, and to the invisible line of hope and healing that connects one human being with another. Ultimately, in the hands of Anna Quindlen’s mesmerizing prose, Every Last One is a novel about facing every last one of the the things we fear most, about finding ways to navigate a road we never intended to travel, to live a life we never dreamed we’d have to live but must be brave enough to try."

As for the trip to Reno, Mary Anne and I had a nice day at the Temple again and drove through lots of rain.  It smelled so fresh and made everything so green.  I was happy to see it rained in Lake Almanor, too.

Birthday Time

Tomorrow is Mary Anne's birthday so we met at Burger Depot for lunch. Margaret is on the left, Jean in the middle and Mary Anne on the right. These are some of the nicest ladies you would ever want to meet and I have known Mary Anne and Jean since I moved here in 1999 and Margaret came several years later. Our ages range from 85 to 58--I should have gotten myself in the picture. Happy Birthday, Mary Anne. Since Mary Anne is the youngest we let her drive us everywhere. Tomorrow we go to Reno to the Temple as we did last Friday as well.

For the Birds

Some times it is hard to find anything important I do in a day but I do have one steady job and that is keeping the three bird baths filled with clean water. It is so dry right now. The birds like to bathe mostly in the late afternoon and the robins definitely take the most thorough baths.

 Maybe the smaller birds are afraid to get in but at least they use it for drinking all day long. Just previous to this blurry picture two birds were fighting over it and this one won.

Happy Birthday, Richard! 79 Years

After Richard passed away in November 1996, many memories were received in the way of cards, condolences and letters.  Today I will share some of the memories from our daughter Maria about working with her Dad.  She worked closely with him for many years in the business in many different areas.

"I started working for Dad at a very young age - or I should say he started having us work for him.  He often had jobs he needed done that were perfect ways for kids to make pocket money,  probably it all began with stuffing envelopes.  I can remember getting a penny a piece, and I got quite fast at it.  One of my favorite recollections is getting to go to work with Dad on a Saturday at Mansfied Mills, all by myself.  I must have been very young, maybe 6 or 7.  I can't remember what I did while I was at the office, but I remember the rest of the day very well.  We stopped at the gas station on the way to lunch, and I was so impressed with the fact that everyone knew Dad.  Some called him Dick, others called him Mr. Hardy but he was treated as though he was very important and he treated me as though I was very important, introducing me to everyone as his 'beautiful daughter'.  Then we went to John's Waffle Shop for lunch, where again, everyone knew him and again he introduced me as his 'beautiful daughter'.  After that day, I don't think I every looked at my Dad the same way again...

I started working at the La Mesa office on a regular basis in tenth grade - after I got my driver's license.  I can remember I didn't get paid very much, Dad didn't want to be accused of nepotism.  He would make up for the small salary in other ways as in allowing me to use his gas card.  And it was OK since he was always willing to give you a job, if you were willing to work where you were needed most.  I learned many of the different jobs that way.  Jones Mortgage was a bigger office, with several girls working in different parts of the loan processing - not like when he started Choice Mortgage where one person followed the whole loan.

I can remember when I was learning the beginning of processing private loans, one of the girls gave me some general instructions and then I went at it.  The girl who was training me flagged a lot of the areas in my package and then gave it back to me, it kind of depressed me that I did such a poor job.  Afterwards my Dad had walked by my desk and could see what was happening, he sat down next to me and told me a story about when he worked one summer for the forest service.  He helped clear fire hazards from the forest.  When he was being trained they would have the trainees go through and clear the hazards and then the trainers would follow them and attached red flags to the areas they missed and then make them do it over again.  He said he hated having the flags behind him and so got really good at it really fast.  He went on to explain this procedure in training me to process loans was the same principal.  Seeing the mistakes I made so obvious would help me to remember what needed to be done, and I would get better at it quickly.  He had this natural ability of making people feel really good about themselves, although I was his daughter, it certainly didn't apply to me exclusively.

My Dad was an excellent personnel manager - he might have missed his calling - he was amazing at making all the girls feel needed and encouraging them when things got difficult at the office, whether it was business related or employee related.  I can remember many times listening to him talk to different employees at their desks, mostly listening to their problem, giving them understanding and helping them to feel better, even at my young age, I was absolutely amazed at his patience, kindness and generosity of other's feelings.

Another time, I was in charge of a complete mailing.  My Dad was out of the office, and I wanted to impress him with my ability to get it completed and mailed off in record time.  I did, however, when he got back he realized that I missed one letter that was supposed to be inserted..it was the most important letter of the whole mailing and with out it, the mailing didn't even make sense.  I felt terrible, and there was nothing I could do to fix it..the mailing was already at the post office being processed.  Dad was so amazing..he knew how badly I felt, there was nothing he could have said to make me understand anymore had badly I failed..instead he told me that it was OK, he knew the best person for the job was the one who made a huge mistake..because they'd be the one to make sure it never happened again.  He hid his disappointment well, and left me feeling as though he had complete confidence in me.  I never did make that mistake again.

Maria wrote many other interesting experiences working with Dad which should be shared another day.  She finished her letter about Richard with these final words.

...Interestingly enough though, the worse things got, the more Dad read and shared his insights and testimony.  When I was having a difficult time with money and he felt badly that he had none to give, he had great wisdom to share instead.  he always stayed positive in his views and was a wonderful example of perseverance, integrity and courage.

My dad may have died penniless, but he was wealthy to me, wealthy in all the things that mattered.

Bread, Glorious Bread

This week I have been on a bread binge because Holiday Market now stocks UDI'S frozen products.  This includes gluten free bagels, chocolate muffins, cinnamon rolls, white bread and wheat bread.  The texture is the wheat texture I am accustomed to and not the dense, shreddy bread I have found in the past for gluten free products.

I had discovered the UDI'S products in Park City and you can order them online as well. The price online is about the same price as at Holiday Market which I find interesting.

I did order some flour so I can try some of my favorites and see if they taste the same.  I do find the products tend to have more sugar and fat--boo, that is the downside.  Especially since I am trying very hard to live a heart happy life as well as a digestion happy life, too. 

Oh, yes, I am now walking about 1 1/2 mile a day, that is progress!

Fall is in the Air

Seems early but it is already cool in the morning and evening and my front tree is turning into fall colors--so late spring and early fall this year.

John's Birthday--50 Years, August 18th

This year I will share a few of the thoughts that John's friend Matt Recksieck wrote after John's death in April 2004:

 "...I knew John in several different contexts, but there was always a cool enthusiasm about him. He really loved his family. He showed pride over his brother and sisters like I think only a first born can--having seen each and everyone of them come home from the hospital as infants.

 I didn't meet John until a couple of weeks before his 13th birthday. I met and first knew him through surfing. Then school...then his home life...then through the forming of his own family. But it was always his passion and intellectual curiosity that drew me toward him. And like all friendships, it's hard to pin-point all the reasons why. To some surfing is simply a youthful outlet. In fact, I imagine that it is really boring for them--those not actually afflicted with the surfing disease--to listen to surfers talk about it. To me, however, one of the major afflictions associated with surfing is that it leads to a passion for style, self-discovery, and poetry. John Hardy was a surfer along with everything else he was. Surfing at its best leads to concentration in the moment. Poetry is nothing more than this. John was very good at picking up on this. It was something I admired about him. He blew my mind away at times. It's a love we shared. John's never ending quest to be inspired, stoked, or awed dominated his approach to life. He had the intelligence to be able to discipline himself in this regard. He also had the passion to be able to pull it off. John was a very successful poet...

John's brother Jimmy, at the memorial service, briefly mentioned John's first attempt to glass a surfboard in their backyard playroom shed. Jimmy made the comment that it wasn't very good by professional standards, but that the passion that was put into it was second to none. I concur, but there was another thing we use to laugh about in connection to this. John made a gesture of pointing out to us that there were parts of his glass job that were perfect. He took the thumb and forefinger of his hands, and joined them together to make a square. He placed the box created by his hands over a section of the glass job that was very clean, and said look, "perfection". This was an outlook of John's that I try to keep with me in my life perception today. There is perfection...you just have to look for it...you have to look away from peering directly at, that which isn't. Eventually things come into focus-even that which might not be perfect, can become perfect. This is the philosophical statement that epitomizes John's take on life to me.

At the memorial service, John's secret surf spot, Bathtub Rock, was mentioned several times. (I'll let out the secret completely out of the bag if you want to go: it's at the end of the beach trail of Torrey Pines State Park.) All John's surfing buddies knew it wasn't a very good surf spot, but did we believe it wasn't perfect: "no". John made it that way, and so we believed him. Feel free to go down there yourself (even if you don't surf...in fact, it's probably actually better if you don't). I think you can experience the place's beauty if you knew John. It's not the most beautiful stretch of beach you have ever seen either. But if you go down there and begin listening to the hype in John's voice 'concerting' (a verb I feel John could appreciate) the place, you may begin to believe yourself, that it is a beautiful secret spot--bordering on "perfection". That's the way John worked you into believing. There was no trick involved. It was only a treat to be experienced...

For what it's worth, John's memorial service truly was one of the first services I've ever been to where I believe that I celebrated a life more than I felt lousy at it."

Thanks Matt, for sharing so many beautiful thoughts about the John you knew. I will have to share more another time.

Hardys at Temple Square

The Hardys are evidently in Salt Lake City and sending great pictures by Iphone.  Thanks for remembering me, Hardy Family.

Great picture of James with sons Jimmy and Jacob.

Beautiful picture of Camber with Jacob, Lea, ?, Jimmy and Kelsi.

Galveston by Suzanne Morris

 The one upside to being alone is you can read as much as you want and no body cares. Read all night, read all day, no matter. I am always happy to find a new author. Usually I choose books to read by the author but I saw the thick book 'Galveston' on the shelf and couldn't resist. Glad I didn't. When I was in Galveston for a few months after Hurricane Katrina I was so curious about the city. Why wasn't it more prosperous than it was? This book, though a romantic novel, was also historically correct about Galveston at the turn of the century and I learned a lot about how Houston became the main port instead of Galveston and why.

Galveston Wall-wonder how it looks after last year's devastation.

It was a great book and now I know there are seven more of hers I can read, how great. I could visualize all the places she wrote about and how it might have looked in the late 1800's in Galveston. Great story, enjoyable reading with a little mystery.

Restored Victorian Home in Galveston-2005.

I also learned that my favorite Anita Shreve has another coming out this fall. She always has a little mystery in her books. I just read her first book 'Eden Close' for the second time. It wasn't intentional but when I discovered I had read it I couldn't stop reading it again, that is the kind of writer she is, hooks you in and you have to find out what is going to happen next. I marvel at these writers who have all these ideas in their mind. Interesting that both of these ladies started writing novels later in life--I guess you need a little life experience before you can write a really great novel.

Silver Gate, Yellowstone and Jackson Hole 2005

Steph asked us to add pictures to the Anderson Cabin Facebook page and it was then I

realized that the Silver Gate trip we took in 2005 were not in my published Blog book because I didn't start blogging until November 2005.  So here are some of the great pictures from that trip.

View from the Cabin window of the Amphitheater.

In Jackson Hole with Sarah, Linda and Tanner.

Beautiful view of the Amphitheater. Linda, Meagan, Mitch, Tanner and Sarah.

Mitch and Tanner try a little fishing.

Tanner in front of the Amphitheater.

Tanner, Linda, Mitch, Sarah, Meagan at the Canyon

Cafe where we eat our trout in Silvergate.

Waiting for Old Faithful.

It was a great trip!

Twins Go Hiking in Montana

The twins Raina and Sage looked pretty bored with that exquisite scenery. Mom, Bethany, and Dad, Jon, look pretty happy with it all though.  Great pix!

Childhelp

I was watching a true movie tonight. It was the founding of Childhelp 50 years ago.  Childhelp is especially for abused children.  They are taken from parents and raised in a rural type village with animals to love and caring teachers. Obviously it is a very affective organization but with child abuse being reported every 10 seconds there is no way they can save all the children.

I had to stop watching, I couldn't bear to watch the examples of parenting and abuse that they showed.  I only saw one instance of child abuse in my life when my neighbor took his belt to his daughter, but I never forgot that look on his face or the helpless look on her face.

When I see a child being yelled at or mistreated in a grocery store I walk over and stand nearby until they stop.  I remember when Johnny threw a tantrum in a grocery store and Richard just picked him up, yelling and screaming, and carried him out and walked with him till he settled down.  The cashier told me that was so refreshing instead of seeing the yelling at children she usually saw.  I am afraid I became impatient and yelled at the children, I am so sorry for that.  Richard only yelled once that I remember, when he was out of work and trying to do something in the little office he had set up in the playroom and the children were out of control.

Of course, the kind of abuse they were referring to in the movie was so much more than yelling.  It makes you sick to see defenseless children being so mistreated.  It appeared that so often the mother sides with the 'boyfriend' because she does not want to be alone and the child is not believed or taken care of.  So sad.

Johnny and Maria were both tantrum throwers and I did not know how to handle it well at all.  I've decided the most important classes they could give in high school are parenting, auto mechanics, meal planning and housekeeping, high finance (investing in stocks, etc) and money management instead of algebra and geometry and such,

I was one lucky child and so were my children, if you go to Childhelpusa.org and read the statistics you will know why I say that.

Good News--Maybe.

Saturday I was called by SBA and told my request to switch over to a Customer Service Rep from a Loan Officer has been completed and as of Aug 15 I am a Customer Service Rep under the Sacramento Office.

The chances of getting called out are increased but who knows, I am no spring chicken and they know it, so we will see what happens.  Of course, Customer Service Reps travel, no staying in one place too long.  The good part is the dress standard is our blue SBA shirts and jackets with jeans and slacks, so easy packing!! 

Also today President Meyers was doing Temple Recommends and he wanted to know where I lived and he said that was in the heavy duty snow area.  I was telling him about my no door from my garage and he made me promise to call him in three weeks.  He said he was going to be in my area and he would come by and see what he could figure out for me.  He has his own construction company so if he can't figure it out, no one can.  Keep your fingers crossed.

Girls Camp

We had a very spiritual Sacrament Meeting today.  Three of the girls and a leader bore their testimonies about Girls Camp.  Makes me realize I really did miss something by not being able to participate in such things when I was in high school.

Anyway, beautiful girls and beautiful leader--and we are all the benefactors by having them in our small Branch. 

The Branch President told us his daughter was 11 when her mother died.  He said Girls Camp helped her to cement her resolve to marry in the Temple.   He said she had not been successful in meeting the one who could take her to the Temple but she waited, and waited and this year at age 25 (old by LDS standards) she met the one and seven weeks later became engaged and they are going through the Temple December 18th.

A visitor bore his testimony as to the fact he would probably not have met his wife if not for Girls Camp.  She was a visitor at one many years ago and was so impressed it led to her baptism and eventually he met and married her. 

Presient Meyers bore his testimony to the fact these leaders of the girls are prayerfully called and pore their hearts into providing a spiritual and enjoyable experience for the girls.  The girls had told us about the Devotional Hall which resembled a quiet cave far away from the present world.  The girls would go in there as a small group and talk and pray together.  President Meyers said it was actually transformed from a tool shed but appeared inside like a cave with a warm fire of light (christmas tree lights in tissue) which reflected light and warmth on the 'cave' wall.  The girls really were impressed with their lone time there with just the girls from their own branch or ward. 

Anyway very inspirational meetings as the girls testified of their love for one another and the Gospel.  Unify the youth and you unify a ward, that is for sure.

Oh, Deer, NO...

Last night I had a feeling the deer might come for my lilies so I sprayed deer repellent on them--I hope I missed this one.  Some deer had a grandiose breakfast and I would hate to think the repellent didn't work.

This is all that was left this morning... 

Seven Deadly Sins

Saturday I watched a four hour movie on the Seven Deadly Sins in a modern high school setting.   It was taken from some books written by an author I was not familiar with and so have forgotten the name.  However, it was extremely well done but certainly could not have been made in the 40's or 50's when I was in high school.  I don't believe we had so much evil and mischief in our hearts.  Or the writer was just exaggerating all the weaknesses of the youth today as the writers exaggerate all the weaknesses of men and women in Desperate Housewives.

Anyway it made me curious to look up the history of the Seven Deadly Sins and the one that surprised me was Acedia/discouragement.  This is "neglect to take care of something that one should do."  It is translated to apathetic listlessness, depression without joy.  It is similar to melancholy.  In early Christian thought, the lack of joy was regarded as a wilful refusal to enjoy the goodness of God and the world God created..."

"Despair is the precipitating cause of suicide.  Feelings of hopelessness, despondency, and impending doom...Since sadness often results in acedia, Pope Gregory's revision of the list subsumed Despair into Acedia."

 "Sloth --Gradually the focus came to be on the consequences of acedia, rather than the cause, and so by the 17th century the exact deadly sin referred to was believed to be the failure to utilize one's talents and gifts.  In practice, it came to be closer to sloth.  The modern view goes further, regarding laziness and indifference as the sin at the heart of the matter...more a sin of omission than of commission." (Wikepedia)

In other words we need to avoid Acedia and follow the admonition of Paul:

"We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things.  If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after those things." (13th Article of Faith)

We need to be "UP in a DOWN WORLD.".

or as Charlie Chaplin wrote in his song called SMILE:

Smile though your heart is aching

Smile even though it's breaking.

When there are clouds in the sky

you'll get by.

If you smile through your pain and sorrow

Smile and maybe tomorrow

You'll see the sun shining through

For you.

Light up your face with gladness,

Hide every trace of sadness.

Although a tear may be ever so near

That's the time you must keep on trying

Smile, what's the use of crying.

You'll find that life is still worthwhile-

If you just smile.

"We don't smile because we are happy, we are happy because we smile."