Tree Thieves!

I feel violated! Someone cut and carried off two of my cedar trees! Who and why (well, for money I guess) and when. I raked my branches up on Monday because Ron was coming to pick up all my yard waste. They were there then. On Tuesday I was in town for a couple of hours and Wednesday I cleaned house all day and never noticed anyone out there. There were some guys walking through on Tuesday but one was a neighbor so doubt it would be them.

Of course, there was the loggers I made clean up their mess. Could this be a revenge steal? The lady security guard said she thought that would be too obvious.

A real mystery in my own back yard which can probably never be solved. I hate days like this.

The Perfect Cookie

Cookies are a really good thing in this life. As a child I had lots of cookies. My Mom was a great cookie maker. It was always fun to come home from school and find fresh baked cookies. One of my favorites was a raisin filled cookie. She would roll the dough out and cut large circles with a glass and then put a scrumptious raisin filling on one circle and top with another and then bake. They were wonderful. I probably only made them once in my life--too time consuming. My children got raisin oatmeal drop cookies which were flattened with a glass covered in sugar, but still a great cookie.

But about 20 years ago or whenever Deer Valley Ski Resort opened I was there with my husband. We didn't always ski there as you had to make a reservation and it was very expensive. However, they had the best food buffet of any of the ski resorts and my husband loved to eat lunch there--just he and I, while everyone else was skiing.

It was there I discovered the large sugar cookie with soft raisins in it. I loved it. Reminiscent of childhood--maybe. But I started a crusade to figure out the recipe for that cookie. And I finally did. Kids of today would prefer chocolate chips in it but I love the raisins. I seldom make cookies anymore. I have no one to feed them, too. And besides even the children of today don't eat the goodies the way we did when we were young and running all the calories off instead of sitting at computers.

Anyway Tuesday I made a batch of that perfect raisin cookie and I have so enjoyed sitting down and dunking my cookie in milk (soy milk, but still good). There is something about the texture of a well made cookie with just the perfect crunch and chew that is very, very satisfying. It can keep you happy for a long, long time. Not every cookie has it and we all discover our favorite. I had my favorite packaged cookies, too, but I never buy them now. Too dangerous. I would eat the whole package in one sitting! So here's to the cookie, long may it live and may the search never end for the perfect cookie.

 

The Warburton Home in Avon, Utah

While in Utah we drove up to see Jeanne's daughter's home in Avon (past Brigham City). It has this wonderful wraparound porch!

There are also umpteen rooms for family gatherings...

What is really amazing is this view from all sides of the porch--really gorgeous. This is Mick, Carole's husband.

This is a picture of Carole, her daughter, daughter-in-law and granddaughter plus her Mom Jeanne, myself and sister Marilyn. Great home in a really cool place!

Grumpy Old Men and Cranky Old Ladies

What is there about us old men and old ladies that makes us speak our mind and become grumpies and crankies. I thought one of my neighbors was bad when I went to ask him about bringing a truck back to my yard to pick up my yard waste. He was just a whole lot grumpier than he needed to be. And his sweet wife was embarrassed behind him.

But today when I went out to inspect the tree another neighbor had had cut down and the clean up of my yard the workers were doing, I let the two young guys in the truck know their clean up job was not finished. I rake up all those loose branches at least twice a year. Why should I let them leave all the ones they caused for me to rake up later? I think not. Anyway I became that cranky old lady that pops in and out of my house from time to time. And they cleaned it up.

There was a time in my life I would have said nothing. My husband always had to handle any difficult situations that arose. But not anymore. The hard knocks of the business world and then being on my own to handle everything has changed me. That cranky old lady is me...

News from High School Friends

Bill Hayford looks like he is keeping ready for those Santa Claus stints. He sent the news on Chuck and also wondered if I knew that Sugar Loaf had been flattened. How can they mess with a memory like that? At least I can still see it well in my mind. Thanks for the news, Bill, good and bad.

News on Chuck England is that he is recuping nicely from his surgery. He can still drink beer but eating steak is a little harder, bummer, well, at least you have the beer, Chuck. Good to see you are up and around but still couldn't get a smile out of you? Maybe next time.

Carla's son Rhahime is pictured here with the President and one of his administrators. I don't know what Rhahime does but it must be important! Thanks Carla for the pix.

Being Your Own Best Friend

Janet at Choice Mortgage in the 1980's

Sometimes in life we have to be our own best friend to get that encouragement we so need to keep trying to do our best. Richard was always such a good friend in giving me the appreciation I needed, I miss that. Anyway I had a pleasant surprise while throwing away old paperwork from the garage the other day. I found a whole stack of letters received from happy clients when I was a mortgage loan officer in our business Choice Mortgage, Inc. Naturally I kept a few to read when I might feel I have failed or am of little worth to the world...

Here are a few comments...very fast, efficient, courteous, patient, always took the time to explain, very good person to work with, very good service, could not have asked for any better service, appreciate all the work Janet did for us, very satisfied with your skill and knowledge, excellent job in handling our loan, very helpful to clarify any questions, was patient with us, even spending time outside of office hours to talk to us, non-defensive attitude helped to smooth the process, appreciated your efficiency and integrity, impressed with the speed of the transaction, thank you again for making the process an easy one.

Thanks to Mrs. Hardy's extreme professionalism, Janet acted as an agent in our behalf rather than an institution, Janet was exemplary in putting together the loan package and managed the whole affair very effectively and efficiently, truly an exceptional effort, we really appreciate what you did in the ................ situation--it will never be forgotten, Janet, we think you are great, Janet was terrific and she did just what she told me she would do, quick, accurate, professional and honest, Janet was always on top of things, expeditiously accomplished, prompt and great service, pleasure to do business with someone we really trust, service was second to none, always attentive and knowledgable, outstanding, appreciate the attention to detail--saved us quite a sum of money, nice to feel confident someone was looking out for our interests.

I have never had the service I received from you and your group, Janet has been a wonderful person to have on our side, she has been a major contributor to keeping us sane, her professialism is the finest, every curve ball that came to you--you hit, a great job, you are the best, if I am ever in need to secure another mortgage--there is only one call I'll make--to you, service and guidance we have received was exceptional, it's just a shame that all professional business people don't conduct themselves in the manner that Janet does, every time we came into, or left your office we felt confident that we were receiving the most professional, courteous service that we could expect, always took the time to see us and to answer all of our questions without making us feel awkward or uneducated, helpful-courteous-and patient...

Oh, well, that should be enough accolades to take me through some more of my many senior moments and embarrassing situations that I encounter as I drift from efficiency and speed into old age.

Summer at 709 East Mountain Ridge Rd

It is summer in Lake Almanor and I am so enjoying my little habitat. It is a wonder how the weeds avoid growing but then so does everything else. Oh, well, you can say it is neat, if nothing else. Maria used to tell the kids I vaccumed my yard!

My Dog Bandido, and Me

You know how they say pets look like their owners? I can certainly say we have aged together, wouldn't you say?

 

When he was younger!!!

ay \nd I look a little spacey, wouldn't you? No wonder he looks at me as if I am crazy sometimes. Of course, my arm isn't long enough to get a good self picture anyway...

Visit Sisters in Utah

At a restaurant in Midway.

Since I didn't get to use my plane ticket to Utah for the BYU Homecoming in October I flew in on July 15th and we gathered at my sister Jeanne's in Orem for a week of chatting, eating and celebrating Jeanne's 80th birthday. She looks more like 50! Beautiful skin with hardly any wrinkles. She didn't spend her time in the sun like I did.

I had never been to Thanksgiving Point so we did a quick trip there and shopped in this wonderful vintage shop.

Sister Carole, she is the only one still in Montana.

 

We went to Julie's (Jeanne's granddaughter) to pick her up for lunch and her son Nixon entertained us royally.

Julie has decorated her house so beautifully.

Julie, Carole and Jeanne at a French boutique for lunch.

 

Marilyn, Janet and David's wife Tammy also at lunch. David is Jeanne's son.

 

Jeanne's granddaughter Ginger, the world traveler and adventurer. She is the daughter of Carole and Mick.

Jeanne's 80th Birthday Party

We gathered at Cascade Pavillion in Orem, Utah for a 80th birthday celebration for my sister Jeanne.

Granddaughter Winter (Steve's), husband and daughter Isabella.

 

Jeanne's son David and wife Tammy.

Our brother David and wife Dorothy, still looking very young and spry.

Jeanne's grandson Stan (Norma and Bryan's) and wife and son Emerson.

Jeanne's granddaughter Julie next to the friend of grandson Michael, Juliana, grandson Michael (Doug's) and grandson Trevor's wife and daughter.

Several grandchildren have lived a time with Jeanne while going to school. This is Julie, daughter of David Thayne and Gina, and mother of Nixon and wife of Morgan.

 

It was a fun party with a book being given to Jeanne of rememberances, gifts and nice things being said about her. Lots of good food but no birthday cake!! Michael and Juliana said they would bake one on her real birthday day.

Stockholm July 2009

We traveled by train from Copenhagen to Stockholm and visited with a Political Science professor who gave us very interesting details about Sweden. For instance that only 1% of the Swedish population is religious at this time. Many have domestic partnerships and those that do marry in the many beautiful Lutheran churches do it more for tradition than religious reasons.

To encourage couples to have children the government provides 18 months of paid marital leave which can be used anytime between birth and 8 years of age of the child and the husband can use 6 months of it!!! You see fathers wheeling prams and entertaining children at the parks all over Sweden.

We stayed at the Hilton Slussen near Gamla Stan so we were able to walk to many interesting attractions and were close to the railway and bus. Stockholm is a beautiful city on many islands. I loved it again as I did the first time I saw it in 2000. We were provided lavish breakfasts and suppers and snacks at the hotel but still enjoyed the many delicious pastries and treats available in Sweden. One dish that was surprisingly delicious was the mashed potatoes with deer meat on top of a round soft flat bread as seen in the movie.

My great grandparents on my father's side and my grandparents on my mother's side all emigrated to America in the late 1800s as new members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Their stories are both heroic and inspiring as they embraced a new religion and a new country.

I am so glad the my daughters were able to see some of the beautiful countryside with the many red houses as we took the train from Copenhagen. My ancestors all came from the area east of Stockholm and off the east coast of Sweden below Stockholm. I chatted comfortably with a father and son from Gothenberg on the airplane. They said I must come back and see the west coast where they live as it is truly the most beautiful area of Sweden. I wish...

I am so thankful we were able to take this wonderful trip to Copenhagen and Stockholm with all our accumulated hotel points!!! It will probably be the last such trip for me.

Copenhagen..

Our adventure begins, colorful Copenhagen and then sedate Stockholm.

We went to the palace to see the changing of the guard and walked right into the marching guards--so followed them to the palace!The architecture was beautiful all over Copenhagen and I loved the colorful old buildings along the canals. Hope Maria and Linda have a picture to share of the canals and bridges, spectacular !

Copenhagen was sunny and was packed with tourists and there were jazz concerts all over the city. This activity was all within walking distance of the grand Marriott Linda had us staying at with her points.

Even the lollipops are giant size in Copenhagen! No, I did not buy one. But we surely enjoyed the ice cream, pastry and hot dogs, yum yum. Very good in Copenhagen. Mostly older men run the hot dog kiosks. Can't help but think how happy Richard thought he would be running a hot dog stand.

I couldn't believe how profuse and large the flowers were in Tivoli gardens. And I inspected everything and saw no nibbles from bugs or anything---in Tivoli or in the gardens beside the sidewalks

Lovely Linda next to another lovely garden in Tivoli.

Maria and Linda take a well deserved rest in Tivoli.

See how tall those lillies are! So Cophenhagen will be remembered for the gorgeous gardens with large flowers and no bugs, the most delicious hot dogs, ice cream and pastry, lots of colorful canals and beautiful old buildings and peculiarly the men were better looking than their women partners. Now what is that all about.

Great city to visit...

After the first day I just enjoyed the trip and let Maria and Linda take all the pictures so I will have to wait till they 'publish' to finish my trip.

Tomorrow I am off to a reunion with my siblings in Utah. Bon Voyage!

'June Babies are Nice Babies'

For years I used to say 'June Babies are Nice Babies' and we often had a June Beach Bash to celebrate the birthdays. Where did the saying come from? 1--We had two babies born in June, and both had very easy going, pleasant temperaments and my brother David is a June baby, also with a very easy going, pleasant temperament. Then my loan assistant Connie, who came to work for me for 12 years, was also a June baby with an easy going, pleasant temperament, as was Meagan's mother Jennifer and then James' wife Camber. It just seemed right to say with all those nice family members born in June that--'June babies are nice babies'.

My sister Carole just told me her sons David and Eric and two grandchildren Amber and Darien also have birthdays in June. Plus my nephew Roddy and his son Conrad, Cheri's husband Jeff and son Tanner and Sheree Thayne and her daughter Rachel. Wow, we have a lot of June babies in the family!

Of course, everyone knows that James was the bonus baby. After a traumatic emergency cesarean section birth with John the doctors had said: 'No more than three births, because of the type of cesarean.' But Linda came naturally--(because she came too soon, and with the doctor not having time to do a cesarean) so the doctor said: 'We will see next time, maybe another natural birth.' But then Maria did a breech and they had to go cesarean again, so the doctor said: 'One more and that is it.' And we were blessed with our bonus, Jimmy. Two boys, two girls, just perfect.

Happy Birthday, James and Linda, you have both been a joy and a blessing to our families all your life. We have had 43 and 47 years of NICE! Here is my wish for your very happy birthday and many, many more. I love you both very much.

Yea! Matt was here!

He came, he saw, he conquered! And I am all ready for winter again.

It always amazes me how fast and thorough grandson Matt is in his work habits. In two hours he had cleaned off the roof, cleaned all the rain gutters, trimmed an obtrusive cedar tree, chopped the remaining wood, stacked new wood on the deck, changed the light bulbs in three places and fixed my broken wagon.

I don't know how I will manage here without my grandsons keeping my life in order.

Matt had not seen the river rock patio since it was finished with the help of the Pulsiphers last summer. He was quite impressed. It was five years ago that the first work was done on my backyard and it is Matt who has done most of the hard labor.

After John died, Matt helped me create the two mourning gardens below. He hauled all the rocks from around my lot to make a circle and then filled them in with dirt from further back in the lot. He also dug out and leveled the area for the river rock patio. It had been quite a slope and then the dug out dirt made another little garden where the plum tree is planted.

I would still like to gather a few more river rocks for a path to the hammock and other birdbath. (PS Forget the path to the hammock--hammock #2 bit the dust--between the squirrels and the sun? the ropes just disintegrate--Matt took a nice tumble checking it out!)

For some reason not even the weeds grow in the dirt--no idea why except the dirt is very rocky and compacted.

'Ain't nobody happy growing in that there dirt' but with the help of my children and grandchildren we have created a little slice of heaven here for Bandido and me. Thanks Matt, for all your hard work yesterday.

A Great Father

Today I would like to pay tribute to my Dad. He was without a doubt the best Dad a daughter could have. Some things you need to know about him.

In 1934 he brought his family of five (before Carole) from Utah to Glendive, Montana where he was to manage a department store. He and Mom saw that we all attended church and bible school and he quickly became not only a part of the community, but a leader in the community. We rode the Anderson's Float in the 4th of July parade, attended all the band concerts which he supported, went to the Elks picnics and Christmas party which he helped to organize and he taught us to mow lawns and garden. He took us on picnics, took us fishing, took my brothers hunting, saw that we always had a pet dog, took us to Yellowstone Park and Utah to visit our cousins and when I was in high school always drove my friends and me to out of town basketball and football games. My friends were always treated as part of the family.

He taught us the value of work. We worked at the store with him doing whatever he felt we could handle. (I remember making price labels, unpacking boxes, fringing scarfs and later taking inventory long before I was old enough to clerk.) Later I worked as cashier and organized and paid invoices.

His great teaching which always stuck with me was "to always be worth more than you were paid". Once when I was cleaning a house to earn a little cash he told me there were better ways for me to earn money and he helped me get a job caddying and sweeping greens at the golf club, much better.

Dad was a very kind and gentle man, he never raised a hand in discipline or said unkind things. Once when he was tired of a record I played over and over and over he just walked over and softly turned it off. I got the message. In junior high when I wanted to understand the Virgin Mary bit he found something I could read and understand before he discussed it with me.

When I had my first car accident (car slid into another at the stop sign) he was called and came right down. He did not criticize or yell or make me feel badly. He did, however, insist I drive the car home, instead of him. I think he wanted me to know he trusted me and I needed to regain my confidence.

We used to eat dinner at home every noon instead of at night. And always I remember Dad dancing around the kitchen with my Mom and giving her a kiss before he went back to work. Dad loved us and he love our Mom and we knew it. My aunt Erica once gathered us together and told us to be careful what we asked our Dad for. He would want to get it for us. I have long since forgiven him for selling the Shirley Temple doll that was to be my present. He just did not understand the significance of a Shirley Temple doll over just a doll.

Dad had about three children in college at a time for quite a long time. He always wanted us to have a job but this usually just took care of spending money. Lucky for us, he owned a store with great brand name clothes and we never felt deprived. But he worked long and hard to see that his family was provided for and educated.

Being the leader in our little branch of the Church for so many years could not have been easy. He had to prepare so many talks and guide so many people while he ran a store, was a leader in the Elks, on the school board, chamber of commerce, etc. He was a leader who served well but never for his own glory, always modestly, doing whatever was needed.

A kinder, gentler, more caring father could not be had. A better example for his family and community does not exist. I only wish my children could have known my Dad as their grandfather. He died when my youngest was only 2 and my oldest was only 8 but not before he had instilled in John a great love for fishing and Montana.

Happy Father's Day, Dad, I love you.

Another Graduation!!

Just because Mitch did not 'walk' in his graduation ceremony we did not get an actual graduation picture. But I love this one of him with Bruce looking at him so adoringly.

Mitch graduated from Susanville and will either start a new music career or head for college either in Sacramento with his brother Mike or San Diego area with Mom and Melissa.

Mitch is very talented in music and very smart so has a great future ahead of him in whatever he chooses!

Congratulations, Mitch!

Maria Graduates from National University

Maria made it! A Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from National University!

Commencement Exercises were at the San Diego Convention Center.

Now it is up to you daughter Melissa to follow, and soon...

• James wishes big sis Maria congratulations with a lei and bouquest of flowers...
• Beautiful Maria, we are all so proud of you...
• The Graduate--it only took over half of her life! Wonder what she will do with the next half century. We can only imagine.

• “There is a good reason they call these ceremonies 'commencement exercises'. Graduation is not the end, it's the beginning.” Orrin Hatch quotes (US Senator)

Graduation Dinner Celebration

Maria's family gathers at Busters at Seaport Village for a Celebration after the graduation!

Happy to be here, Camber and James...

The Appetizer!

James and Camber share...

Maria, Linda and Melissa...

Two of the three desserts--Hardys can't have a celebration without desserts.

Brownie Deluxe

Banana Fritters

Great dinner and great fun...