"How can we solve our problems? I'm sure there are as many methods as there are challenges in life. Each of us has different obstacles.
As I was visiting with a friend who is divorced, I asked her what advice she might have. "First," she said, "Never give up. This too will pass. If you look for it, there is always a glimmer of hope. There is no divorce without hurt, Your earning power is limited. Widows get a lot of sympathy, but divorcees don't get much attention."
Though she received help from local leaders and singles groups, her greatest strength came when, she said, "I came to realize that I was entitled to answers from God about my problems if I were in tune. I prayed a lot--a whole lot. And the answers began to come."
Developing patience is another way to cope with our problems. Paul advised us, "And let us run with patience the race that is set before us." (Heb 12:1)
When the American hostages came home in 1981 after 444 days of captivity in Iran, I remember what Bruce Laingen, the spokesman for the captives, said when he was asked how he was able to endure it all: "A friend slipped a tiny piece of paper into my hand. On it these words were written, 'Patience is a bitter cup from which only the strong can drink.' I had these words firmly entrenched in my mind and they helped me through those dark days."
With God's help, and as we help ourselves, our obstacles can be over come. Optimism, prayer, and patience are all important ingredients. My husband (Elder Marvin J. Ashton) has helped many people with these words: "No one is a failure until he stops trying. The direction in which one is headed is the most important."
"In Luftkin, Texas, Marsha Ault, who was eight months pregnant, was shopping with her husband and four children. She endured the curious, disapproving, and pitying stares of several of the store's patrons before a woman approached her and asked, "Don't you believe in birth control?"
The question sent Marsha and her children to the car, leaving Marsha's husband to check out the groceries. Marsha began to cry and her children asked what was wrong. "I tried to explain that many people nowadays feel it is wrong to have more than one or two children, and that people seemed to think I was very foolish to be having another child. Then my five-year-old daughter, Ginger, said innocently, 'Mama, we can duck down!' I have never felt so small."
"GHOST is a love story, a supernatural tale and a murder mystery thriller with comedic moments mixed in, all of which are uniquely blended together to make a superbly entertaining movie." That is what the trailer said and it is true!
It is also a story about Life after Death, and Heaven and Hell and portrays that fairly well, too. I am sure there are many people who gained more hope from this movie than just the fantasy it is described as being.
0 Years Married--even if Richard is up in heaven. Today I went to the Temple with Mary Anne and Jean and, yes, I did think of Richard. When I picture Richard at the Temple, it is always the same. We are kneeling at the altar, holding hands, looking at each other and making promises. Or one time when he unexpectedly walked up to me (we were serving in different areas of the Temple) and whispered in my ear, "You're the prettiest lady here!" Richard was always generous with his complements.
But thankfully, when we are living in the eternities, it will be at our most perfect age--not this old lady look. I wonder if my hair will be bottle red (as it was at my most perfect age) or natural brown. Hmmm....
It was a lovely day for reminiscing. I told Jean, Richard would probably be at the pizza parlor with us afterwards, he always loved to eat out...
Movie of the day today was "Elmer Gantry". Thanks be to Ted Turner for TCM. What excellent movies you can see there. They make some of the fluff of today shameful.
Now, Raina, that is what I call a smile! 
These cuties are still smaller than most babies are when they are born and they look like darling dolls. They remind me of the dolls I bought my girls once which could wear newborn clothes. I think I loved those dolls more than they did. I think the next picture we get will have big smiles--this is Sage with the knowing grin on her face and Raina is observing what Sage is doing. Does that mean Sage will be the leader and Raina the follower? It will be interesting to see...Thanks for the update, Grandma Carole.
and, of course, was a black and white. It was a film about the Nazis prior to the Americans entering the war. An American goes over to Germany to find out what happened to his mother. She had been an actress in Germany, had then moved to America and while there 
befriended German refugees. However, the Germans considered them traitors and therefore she was a traitor to them and so when she came back to Germany to sell her house they arrested her and were holding her in a concentration camp. They planned on executing her.
This is what was printed about the movie in 1940 when it was made.
"Propaganda? Well, of course—if you choose to label a picture which tells a documented story with that word. But this film is something more than a shocking, repulsive account of brutality and inhumanity directed against helpless beings. Rather it is a story of courageous opposition to a system which attempts to crush the freedom of mankind, a vivid and inspiring tale of a small but significant cooperative effort to defeat the forces of oppression. In the course of it, more than one regimented victim breaks his bonds, even though, in the end, only one unfortunate goes free. The conclusion is victory, not defeat."
"There is neither happiness nor misery in this world there is only the comparison of one state with another, nothing more. He who has felt the deepest grief is best able to experience supreme happiness."
Hmm, where have we heard that message before. Sounds a lot like the scriptures.
For it must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things. If not so...righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad. Wherefore, all things must needs be a compound in one; wherefore, if it should be one body it must needs remain as dead, having no life neither death, nor corruption nor incorruption, happiness nor misery, neither sense nor insensibility. 2 Nephi 2:11
Bandido was a real wimp today. I put on our rain coats and had the big umbrella but I had to coax him to even go as far as the driveway. He is truly showing his age.
My neighbors on both sides of me and across from me have all been up this week and closed their homes for the winter. I caught Jeff before he left to help me get my umbrella off and put away for the winter. But I put up all my vent guards myself. And put away all garden decorations and trimmed down the perennials.
The leaves are changing colors--so pretty everywhere.
But the geraniums look better than ever. Freezing nights have not affected them at all. So what to do with them, see if they can live inside or?????? 
Friday night we had a delicious barbeque at the home of John and Jane Goolsby in Chester. Their home sits right on the bank of the Feather River. I had no idea they were so close. The dog even drinks her water by standng on the rocks near the edge. I wish I had remembered my camera!
Jean sent me these pix and from right to left is Jane (John's wife), Margaret, Sue, and Mary Anne.
Garland. This was a movie made from the book her daughter Lorna Luft wrote "Me and My Shadow". It was very well done.
She was one of my favorite movie stars and singers. Of course, she is the one that made
"Over the Rainbow" (my favorite song) famous and was Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz.
She also starred in "A Star Is Born" and I loved her singing in that. Wish I could have seen the full version before they butchered it. Still a great film though.
She started at MGM when she was 13 and even then they controlled her life with pills and too much work. She never really had a childhood. It is so sad the way the very talented are used and abused by those around them. Too often they end up without money, addicted to drugs and die at a young age.
I think she was only 48 when she died. It is amazing to me to see how someone so gifted can have so much doubt about their talent. And need so much love that they are crippled by their doubts and rely too much on other people. Sort of makes our doubts about ourselves seem very appropriate.
Watching films about these movie stars and singers that appear to have everything but a normal life makes you realize that not having any talents can be a blessing, too.
Maria has such a dramatic life, I like hearing of her adventures first hand. From one day to the next it was a puzzle to figure it all out. In the end, she found out for sure that the infamous T is apparently a pathological liar. Better to find out now than later, but it was all so unbelievable until actually proven. If you read her blog, you know what I mean. She better write a book is all I can say, it would be a best seller, I am sure. Or the perfect deception drama that Lifetime Movie Network loves to show about the frailities of the human species. 'My Darling Clementine' with Henry Fonda and Victor Mature. This is without a doubt the best Wyatt Earp film I have seen. Not so violent as the present day ones. Makes Wyatt Earp more believable as Henry Fonda played him.
Then I watched 'Che' which is the story of how Che Guavara helped Fidel Castro overthrow Batista in Cuba and what happed to Che when Castro took power. Very excellent also. That is two for two!!
Movies to Watch For or Rent:
- A Man Escaped
- Adams Rib
- All That Heaven Allows
- Ashes and Diamonds
- Beat the Heat
- Black Narcissus
- Breathless
- Brief Encounter
- Che
- Cleaner
- Deception
- Diary of a Country Priest
- Eyes W? a Face
- Gun Crazy
- Henry V
- His Girl Friday
- I Know Where I’m Going
- In a Lonely Place
- Ivan the Terrible, Part 2
- Kinds Hearts and Coronets
- Kiss Me Deadly
- Lady from Shanghai
- Lars and the Real Girls
- La Stroh
- Leatherheads
- Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
- Lola Montes
- Man Who Knew Too Much
- Marty
- Murder My Sweet
- My Darling Clementine
- Nights and Cabria
- Night and Fog
- Now Voyager
- Open City
- Out of the Past
- Pandora and the Flying Dutchman
- Paths of Glory
- Pickup on South Street
- Postman Always Rings Twice
- Rashomen
- Salt of the Earth
- Smart People
- Strangers on a Train
- Testament of Orpheus
- The Bandwagon
- The Bicycle Thief
- The Big Heat
- The Cranes are Flying
- The Day the Earth Stood Still
- The Palm Beach Story
- The Seventh Seal
- The Stranger
- Throne of Blood
- To Have and Have Not
- Tokyo Story
- Umberto D
- Unfaithfully Yours
- White Heat
- Wild Strawberries
- 21
- 88 Minutes
My niece Sherry and her son Zach lived with us for a time in La Jolla when Meagan was a toddler. I think Meagan was two years older than Zach. The things I remember about Zach was his love of playing 'baseball' with his Mom and the speed with which he could take off in the mall (if he had a mind to) and what a darling boy he was. And, wow, look at him now..
.what a handsome guy.
Meagan and Kristi, do you remember playing with Zach those many years ago??? Kristi was just a baby so doubt she does.
Zach is a Texan. Cute girlfriend is named Belaca and evidently it is serious. Zach works as a valet while finishing his classes at Auburn Community College and will be going to Texas State to complete his marketing degree. Sherry says he is very friendly and quite the salesman. I remember Marilyn telling me he has supported himself for a long time and is a very good worker and student. So nice to get acquainted with you again, Zach. Thanks for the pix, Sherry.
Big surprise. It is cold this morning!!! 28 Degrees. It doesn't feel that cold though. But I had my first cozy fire last night. The wood is so dry it is a huge, crackly, 'catch on fire fast' burn. Nice! I am up to 700 pages (of 1400) on the 'Count of Monte Cristo'. I finally got smart and went to the internet and downloaded a list of all the characters. There are so many characters and so many sub plots, I couldn't keep track of them all. This is much easier. It must be easy to write school essays now when you can get all the answers on the internet.
It is so amazing to me all the inventions since I was a child. How did we live without tv, microwaves, ipods, computers, cell phones, jet planes, etc? And what will life be like when the grandchildren are in their 70's? No way to even imagine.
Calm looking Mom, Bethany. Twins look very mellow and content. Nice going, Mom! They are one month old on Sept 26 and Sept 27.
Close up of Sage and Raina. Sage is larger than Raina, but Raina has the big eyes. Cute, cute. This will be fun to watch as they grow and develop their own personalities.
have gone to grade school with
Santa but there he is--same age
as me and went to Washington
Grade School and Dawson High .
Looking good, Bill, you are a very
authentic looking Santa!
. I noticed when we were at Olive Garden we had very good service and then I realized we had a girl waitress.
Same thing happened last fall at the Outback and
other restaurants. Mike ignores it all and doesn't
appear to notice. Anyway I had a lovely weekend
and hope he did, too. He chose a Strawberry Cheesecake for his birthday cake...
6. Does your dog resist grooming or nail cutting? yes 7. Does your dog sleep in your bed? yes 8. Does your dog ignore you when you ask him to come? yes, tries to 9. Does your dog guard food dish or toys against you. 10. Does your dog snap at treats or try to take them away from you? yes
So before the clock winds down I need to rev up the body and spirit and carpe diem!
FINDING SMELLS THAT REPEL
If you're one of those people whom mosquitoes tend to favor, maybe it's because you aren't sufficiently stressed-out.
(Picture by Michael C Witte)Insects have very keen powers of smell that direct them to their targets. But for researchers trying to figure out what attracts or repels the pests, sorting through the 300 to 400 distinct chemical odors that the human body produces has proved daunting.
Now scientists at Rothamsted Research in the U.K. have been making headway at understanding why some people can end up with dozens of bites after a backyard barbecue, while others remain unscathed. The researchers have identified a handful of the body's chemical odors—some of which may be related to stress—that are present in significantly larger concentrations in people that the bugs are happier to leave alone. If efforts to synthesize these particular chemicals are successful, the result could be an all-natural mosquito repellent that is more effective and safer than products currently available.
Who knew? Go stress yourself out before a trip to the mountain streams and be mosquitoe free!
