Hardy Fifties Party




Jacob is #1



Jacob is #2



Jacob is on the right.

Jacob is #4

Camber said this was a young men's & young women's activity for 2 wards combined. and was really fun!  It was Jacob's first activity with the girls since becoming a deacon.  All the girls need are saddle shoes or flats to look like they were straight out of the 50s.  We didn't have cute tennies like that then.  Oh, and the boys, they were wearing penny loafers or lace up oxfords, good for dancing plus they didn't have cute tennies or deck shoes in those days for boys either.  The Las Vegas and California boys at BYU also rolled up their T Shirt sleeves a little...the Utah, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho boys did not.  You could always tell the boys from California, they were the first to sometimes part their hair in the middle and wear sunglasses.  Oh, yes, and the California boys did roll up their levis a little so you could see their white sox, the other 'states' boys did not.  And the boys from the East and Arizona did not dress like this at all.  These are definitely cute California kids.  Now all they need to do is learn to dance the Salt Lake Drag and jitter bug and swing those skirts around.  Oh, and those hip levis are perfect.

Good Reads!

On my quick trip to Kelly's Wedding I listened to some great audios.

"The Fixer Upper" by Mary Kay Andrews was really fun.  This is how it is described:

A sassy, sexy, sometimes poignant look at small town Southern life, as only New York Times bestseller Mary Kay Andrews can tell it, The Fixer Upper is a must-read for fans of Fannie Flagg, Sophie Kinsella, the Ya-Yas, and the Sweet Potato Queens, and for every reader obsessed with decorating and home repair. It is a truly delectable story of a woman whose professional fall from grace lands her back in a hometown she never knew, amongst a gothic Southern family she’s never met, and saddled with a task she could never have imagined. 

The next book was "Etta"--a historical novel based on diaries, etc.  Etta was the girlfriend of The Sundance Kid and what a life she had.  You will love hearing (or reading) about it.

The last book was 'The Summons' by John Grisham.  I had to finish that when I arrived back home as each of the other books were 12-13 hrs long.  It was another great Grisham story as only he can  tell them and I liked the way it was read. 

I love it when I choose fun and interesting books.  We are so fortunate to have so many wonderful authors to choose to read.  Currently I am listening to "The Hunger Games" and every day I threaten to discontinue.  I doubt I will go on with the sequels.  I don't like science-fiction and I really don't like the violent theme of this book.  Why is it reported as being so great?  I don't get it.

Another book I just listened to--well, not all of it was Steven Tyler's autobiography.  I was curious after seeing him on American Idol.  He obviously has the musical talent but I just don't get the filthy language and sex and drugs.  Is that the only way they can write rock and roll?  I listened to 'Aerosmith' and certainly not my kind of music.  I am definitely from another culture and another generation.  I wonder if his father liked his music.  He told about being brought up playing under the grand piano hearing his father play as a concert pianist all the great music of the centuries.  Such a change to go to rock and roll.  He has survived all his rehabs and wives and girlfriends and made the money and is famous...that says it all, I suppose, what do I know.

Bandido Adapts

Since Bandido has been having an incontinent problem, I have banned him from the bedrooms.  He has been perplexed as to where to sleep.

Michael put the big doggy cushion (which Bandido would never lay on) by the corner bookcase and after I would go to bed and Bandido would fall asleep somewhere--Michael would move him to the doggy bed. 

So here he is in the middle of the day, sleeping there with no help from Michael!!  I guess he has adapted...

My Love for Geraniums

This is the first year I have not had red geraniums at my house.  I chose instead to have the peach in the backyard (go great with my chair covers) and pink on the front deck.  They are really lovely.

Janie Thompson, A Legend at BYU

Christmas 1952 in Glendive (home from BYU) I was very concerned about the state of my Dad's office at Anderson's store.  I had it in good order when I went to college but he had lost his secretary and all was behind.  I suggested I stay home and train my friend Lorraine who was not going back to college, as she was planning an August wedding to a local rancher.  This I did and then went back to college in the spring and stayed through summer and on in to my junior year.

Luckily for me, Janie Thompson was at the Campus Dorm where I was the summer of 53 and there were continual impromptu sessions at the piano.  My roommate, Ellie, was a singer also and I was a supportive audience for all these entertainers.  Janie was something else, so talented, so outgoing, so friendly and inclusive of even the shy people like me.  The summer of 53 with only 1000 students on campus was a very, very fun time for me.

Today I watched a BYU show about Janie Thompson and her career.  Also appearing was Norm Nielson who worked with her.  He used to buy from me at the Dairy Freez and would stay on and talk and talk to me whenever business was slow--usually late at night.  He also was an entertainer.  The show answered some questions I always wondered about. 

Janie graduated from BYU in 1943 and then she entertained troops in the USO overseas.  She worked with Mickey Rooney, Tony Bennett, etc.  Here she is in 2000 being reunited with Tony Bennett.

She did fall in love with a non member--he specifically got out of the service in Germany so he could stay there and wait until her job was finished six months later.  She tried to convert him but it did not work.  She would not marry a nonmember.  She fell in love two more times, another was a nonmember so she did not marry.  The third was a returned missionary but the only thing they had in common was the church.  She decided she would have a full life without marriage.  She was in the Ike Carpenter band until she had a shadow on her lungs and had to stop singing.  She was called on a mission to Wales--in fact her Patriarch called across the street to her one day and said he had a blessing for her--did she want it?  She said that blessing was like the Lord talking directly to her and confirmed she should go on a mission.

She actually stayed in the same place and slept in the same bed her whole mission.  The first thing they asked her when she arrived was "Can you play the piano?"  Janie always accepted the fact that she had been given many talents and she was always determined to serve the Lord with them.  She had to overcome her shyness at being in front of people but she did.  After her mission she was passing through Las Vegas and saw Ike Carpenter was playing at the Flamingo, he asked her to join them.  However, President Wilkinson also called and asked her to return to BYU as the head of the Student Program Bureau.  She said she did not want to accept this call but she knew she should, and did.  She cried all the way to Provo.  This was in summer 1952.

In fall 1952 she wrote "A Y's Promise" for Homecoming--this was my first introduction to her. I looked and yes, I still have my copy -- very dog eared. That summer of 1953 we sang it many times at Campus Dorm.

A Y's Promise I'll make to you and to that Y's Promise I'll e're be true.

You'll find a Y's future is part of the scheme, every girl's dream, may with you come true at BYU.

The Y's spirit is in my heart, to me its so dear it can never depart

With eyes looking toward a future new, I'll give a Y's Y's Promise to you.                 

Here at the BYU, students are learning to build up a worth while future life. 

We're always studying to prepare for a career so fair, or just to be a loving wife.

We want to keep with honor our hopes burning high, here at the Y where we learn in youth of love and truth.

Coming from far and near students are welcome here. 

Friendly and happy be, At BYU, are the promises of lasting happiness And it will come to you and me.

So with eyes looking toward a future new, I'll give a Y's Y's Promise to You.

My dog eared copy of  "A Y's Promise"

The Student Program Bureau put on 2,463 shows within four years, and under Thompson's direction visited every high school in the state of Utah during the 1952-1953 school year. Shows consisted of anything from one solo to an hour and a half performance. These shows served not only as a recruiting tool but also a way to open the doors for missionaries through out the country. Thompson provided BYU shows for the U.S. Defense Department for the service men and women all over the world in order to boost morale. She also performed for the Department of State to provide good will between different countries.  They were the first into China and Viet Nam and performed in India when the church was first introduced to the country.  Mrs. Ghandi said they do more for friendship between the countries than all of the ambassadors.

After four years at BYU, (she said she was having a nervous breakdown she had worked so hard) Thompson moved to New York where she coached talent in a professional talent studio. There she worked with the Kane Sisters. In addition, Thompson had her own quartet that played in various places including Waldorf Astoria Hotel. Three years later, however, Thompson returned to BYU and the Program Bureau.

 By her retirement in 1984, Thompson had created six touring shows including Brigham Youngsters, Young Ambassadors, Lamanite Generation, Holiday in the U.S. and Curtain Time USA. Two of them -- the Young Ambassadors and Lamanite Generation (now Living Legends) still continue to tour, serving as ambassadors for the University.
Incidentally the 'Young' stands for Brigham Young, not youth...

In 2009, the film Janie Thompson: Performance of Faith premiered at the LDS Film Festival in Orem, Utah, which honored Thompson for all of her contributions to BYU. It continues to show periodically on BYU TV.

(This film was very inspiring to me).

Happy Birthday John!

From his trip to Peru.

It would be 51 years today!  These were given to him on his first birthday by his Uncle Dave--they were a Ferrell's store sample (Idaho Falls) from the boot company and they fit!

Alpamayo in Peru

Grandmother and Granddaughter

Caught with similar pose!  I thought this was interesting with my granddaughter Meagan.

Lilies Indoors

The stocks were too heavy to stand up so they come inside.  Alas I am leaving for San Diego today so I will not be able to enjoy them---thus all the pictures for my annual book.  I love lilies, what can I say...

Coming Home

I thoroughly enjoyed watching the two episode British version of "Coming Home" by Rosamond Pilcher.  Of course, I had read it, I read all her books and it did seem a little familiar but not enough so that I would quit watching.  Very good.  It is always fun to watch people with money, being nice, and sharing their wealth and good times with others.  Would be fun to know someone like that.  I think the reason I do not recognize a book I read is that I picture the characters in my mind and the actors they choose do not always fit the version in my head.  I think I need to read it again.  Too bad I gave away all my Pilcher books to the library.

Synopsis:
Against the backdrop of an elegant Cornwall mansion before World War II and a vast continent-spanning canvas during the turbulent war years, this involving story tells of an extraordinary young woman's coming of age, coming to grips with love and sadness, and in every sense of the term, coming home...


In 1935, Judith Dunbar is left behind at a British boarding school when her mother and baby sister go off to join her father in Singapore. At Saint Ursula's, her friendship with Loveday Carey-Lewis sweeps her into the privileged, madcap world of the British aristocracy, teaching her about values, friendship, and wealth. But it will be the drama of war, as it wrenches Judith from those she cares about most, that will teach her about courage...and about love.

 Teeming with marvelous, memorable characters in a novel that is a true masterpiece, Coming Home is a book to be savored, reread, and cherished forever.

It seems the biggest problem we have in our relationships is speaking up and expressing what we are thinking...and asking the hard questions.  Instead we just assume and stay quiet. "Never assume" is a good rule to live by in life as well as the mortgage business.

I am so mad at myself.  They had the book sale at the Chester library on Sunday.  I had wanted to buy the book about the Chester library cat who died.  My neighbor here in Lake Almanor had written and printed the book and was donating all her sales to the library.  I am so forgetful...  I had just told her on Friday I would be there!

Full Service in 2011????

Today I had full service at Jackson's Gas Station in Susanville.  They filled my tank, added oil, washed the windows--all at the same gas price as the the lowest in town.  Why would I go anyplace else??? 

My first thought when a cute young guy asked what I needed was that I was back in high school and cute high school boys were servicing my car and it was 1949.  Very refreshing indeed!

Short Life

It is a good thing I captured the beautiful yellow in picture. Some maurauding deer liked the yellow, too.   He (or she) ate the blooms and all the buds of the yellow lilies for breakfast this morning...

Yellow, Yellow, Glorious Yellow

I think I like the yellow lily best of all.

Here I am taking pictures of the lilies and I should have taken pictures of Matt, Mitch and Mike, all here together.  Matt came up from Tahoe just for the night and then Mitch moved out to his new room, the purple room, in Susanville.  Then Matt left and it was all quiet again.  Last night I made some ice cream for the boys, Cafe Rio Chicken and today we had baked pork chops.  I haven't done so much cooking in a long time. Anyway it was fun having all the boys together.  Last night we played "You Don't Know Jack" and Mike won, as usual, and Matt fell asleep.  I knew about three answers for sure...

 Mike says since he is working he won't be cooking so much.  However, we watched a video on CHOW of how to make nachos correctly and then he bought all the stuff for nachos and we both made our own batch.  I am glad to know how to do it right.  I am not losing weight for the wedding, woe is me.  My skirt will not fit!!!

Buffalo Chips

These are pictures taken 7 years ago at Buffalo Chips, where Mike is now working. It is the one consistent thing in Westwood, a small (formerly logging) town 21 miles from my home in Lake Almanor. It has been in business for 32 years and does have exceptional pizza plus other interesting sandwiches, etc.

Montana Beauty

This is Brooke, daughter of Eric, my nephew.  He took this picture somewhere near Silver Gate, Montana and I think it is such a beautiful picture of a pretty girl on a mountain bike with the green grasses, yellow flowers, lovely mountains and then the blue sky behind.  Pretty girl, Brooke! And Montana is such a magnificent place in the summer...

News from the Stewart Camp

After Ryan's near tragic swimming pool experience, swimming lessons become an important part of his life and he passes with flying colors!!

Brynn is looking very wise and grown up for a three monther.  What a doll!

Serious Artists at Work in Silver Gate



The twinnies Raina and Sage Fuqua at Silver Gate Anderson Cabin.



Raina

Mom Bethany helps.

Sage is happy with her picture.

Sage adds her footprint to the masterpiece.

Crazy Thoughts!

I love to watch these tv dramas with several episodes.  Today it was "He Knew He Was Right".  Like "Anna Karenina" He, the husband, thought things that were not true.  He was so sure his wife was unfaithful he could not accept the truth.  Both He and Anna were driven almost mad by their obesessive wrong thoughts.

Why do we get certain ideas that are false and drive ourselves nutty with imaginings that are not true?  How do you best clear your head of these wrong thoughts.  One prayer I have every night is "Help me to think clearly and correctly"--  I think it helps.

Maryanne and I were discussing obessive dreams we had as children.  They were both awful happenings to ourselves that we dreamed over and over--why???

If I had answers to all my whys, I would be very wise indeed.

Both Mitch and Mike have new jobs, so they are off celebrating tonight, whatever that means!

More Lilies!

Finally!

Wow, we finally have good internet reception.  I should have changed years ago.  A man climbed a 135 foot tree to put a dish right on top!!  It is Digitalpath and he said we are receiving 4 megs where with Frontier we were barely getting 1 meg.

Now Mike can play games and I can watch ROKU at the same time!

Daniel Deronda

This week I watched the George Eliot novel "Daniel Deronda" as pressented by Masterpiece Theater in 2004.  It was excellent.  I should read the book, many ideas to ponder.

I thought a lot about the selfish Gwendolyn when her sister asked.  "How come she always gets what she wants?"  And Gwendolyn said, "Because I won't settle for anything else."  It does seem that some people are able to get what they want for just that reason.  We give it to them, because they insist. 

At least in the novel she does get her come uppance for her selfish ways and eventually changes.  Daniel is the kind of person we would all like to have as a friend, a very caring friend.

Cutie Updated Pix of Keira!

Something healthy but so good!

I love this with her Auntie.

I like this, too, Mom.

The following pictures are from Matt and Meagan's trip to visit the Massey family in Humboldt.

My laughing face.

My serious face with my Dad.

My curious face with my Dad again.

This is amazing, I wonder what it is???

Life is good with my Mom.

Here I am with my Massey family,

Thoughts on Lincoln, BYU and Righteous Living

I just finished the Lincoln Series on PBS.  It was so excellent and I learned so much.  Poor Mary Todd.  I did not realize she had such a hard time emotionally.  I loved  listening to Abraham Lincoln's speeches.  He worked so hard on the words but it was the heart and spirit of them that was so profound.  How wonderful it would be now to be led by men in government who had a deep faith in God and sought inspiration in their law making.  I am so disgusted with our government leaders. 

Sunday I spoke in church with Kaylene.  She is off to BYU this year and it is 60 years since I attended.  I was remembering all those good things about going to college, and how much I loved my time there.  Kaylene said she was more excited than ever after hearing my comments.  She is so talented and has such confidence, she will do well.

The subject I spoke on was Elder L. Tom Perry's address on "The Tradition of  a Balanced, Righteous Life" which he had given at Utah Valley University.  I also put in a few thoughts from his life story and his fireside speech at BYU in March.  He has lived a very righteous life of success in the business world and then as a General Authority.  We are so fortunate to have his caliber of men to lead and teach us in the church, if only our government leaders could be half so competent and righteous.

I think this message was especially intended for me.  I have such a hard time living a balanced life.  When I am stressed out (which has been nonstop for the last 30 years I think) I eat badly and gain weight and then I try to lose weight and it is a vicious circle.  When I read, I read nonstop and then I won't read for a long time.  I can't seem to just lived a balanced, even life with no stress, no indulgence, no sadness, the right foods, consistent exercise, daily scriptures, etc.   How do people do that?  It can't be just that they have money and I don't, because a lot of people with money live very crazy lives.  I know exactly what to do, I just don't do it...Why?

The Mourning Gardens--Mid-July 2011

Sherry's Mourning Garden

Laurie's Mourning Garden

John's Mourning Gardens

The Memorial Mourning Gardens were begun in Spring 2004 after the death of John and added to after the deaths of Sherry and Laurie--all cousins who died in their early to late 40's.

Matt began moving dirt and rocks and that was the beginning.  Considering the gardens grow under the shade of large pine trees and over the pine tree roots and are also the delicacy of the roving deer, rabbits, and squirrels and the fact that they get very little sun, they are doing quite well.  Plus there is only about a four month growing season.  The lilies are just beginning to bloom and the daffodils are already gone for the season.

Anna Karenina--Again!

I just watched the Masterpiece Theater version of Anna Karenina which was produced in two episodes in 2001.  I loved this version.  I must have seen four or five by now and, of course, read the book.  I think I need to read the book again.  I just read one opinion that it is the best novel ever written.  I must think so, I never tire of watching the story or reading the book.

Ad for Masterpiece Theater version:
Leo Tolstoy's powerful tale of love and marriage in imperial Russia comes to Masterpiece Theatre in a stunningly modern adaptation of Anna Karenina.

Completed in 1877, Anna Karenina was not the book Tolstoy intended to write. He had been working on a novel about Peter the Great, designed to follow up his spectacular success with War and Peace. But the project went nowhere, and Tolstoy's thoughts turned increasingly to an incident that haunted him: A neighbor's mistress had thrown herself under a train after being jilted by her lover.

From this tragic seed grew a modern epic of sex, duty, marriage, and moral regeneration that many critics consider the greatest novel ever written.

Tolstoy's themes are particularly resonant today, notes executive producer George Faber of Company Television in Britain: "Anna Karenina isn't concerned with observing the minutiae of social etiquette, like Jane Austen, nor with righting social injustices, like Dickens. It's about raw, often uncontrollable passions, emotional and sexual betrayal, mixed-up people with mixed-up lives. It offers no easy solutions or simple moral judgments."

A Red Rose

 

First bloom on the rose bush I planted this year. Lillies will be blooming soon!

We Were the Mulvaneys

I finished "We Were the Mulvaneys"--at times it was a hard book to read, a family not having the tools they needed to deal with the sometimes tragic realities of life.

The Mulvaneys, a family living in the small, rural town of Mt. Ephraim, New York, during the later part of the 20th century, are the perfect family: four kids, the owners of a successful roofing business, and a high social status. We Were the Mulvaneys tells the tale of the demise of this perfect family—an incident that is hushed up in town and never spoken of again. It is this incident that shatters the family fabric with tragic consequences.--Wikepedia

It is a book where you continually think "if only"--if only she had done this, if only he had felt this, if only she had said this.  Unfortunately there are many "if only" moments in our life because we are not equipped with the right thoughts, the correct understandings, the truth, the correct values, the strength, the compassion, the love, the tenderness--all the basic things we need to navigate the relationships, careers, marriages, events, etc. of our life.  That is why I am so thankful I have been anchored in a "trust in God" belief.  Without it, I would not have been able to muddle through the many personal tragedies and difficulties or even appreciate the many blessings of my life.  I could have been broken so many times or too full of fear to move on...

I was thinking about the moments in my life that have become indelible in my mind.  Little vignettes that are always there for instant recall and feelings, such as:

...being helped down from a tree by my brother when I was about 4 or 5
...standing in front of my Daddy and singing a well-known church hymn with my family in our living room when I was just a tot
...being frozen with fear when a "bum" came to our front door
...riding on the back of our new tricylce with my sister Marilyn when I was about 5
...sharing hard-to-get bubble gum with friends in WWll
...being interviewed for Cougarettes when I was in college
...stranded at the bottom of an icy hill in South Pass when I was in college
...watching a dead boy being pulled from the creek when I was in grade school
...being thrown from side to side in a car that was out of control when I was a sophmore  in high school
...sobbing uncontrollably as they lowered the casket of Marilyn's boyfriend Claude
...Richard telling me he loved me
...being told my Dad had passed away
...seeing Richard wave at me from the upstairs window as I was doing yard work and hearing him say "Your children need you" in a very gentle but persuasive way
...watching my husband die in Maria's house
...hearing over the phone that my son John "did not make it"
...receiving the premonition that James and Cambers  first born was out of danger
...receiving the premonition that James was going to have a life threatening accident
...helping to dress my mother in the morgue
...being sealed to my husbnd and son John in the Temple
...watching my husband helplessly as he had a heart attack in 1970
,,,having the Dr tell the anesethist to "put her out" after the nurse complained they didn't have the right kind of sutures needed (after James was born)
...talking to a friend just before I left my Rancho Barnardo home, after giving the key to the realtor
..feeling so overwhelmed as I looked at all the boxes of files in our garage (after my husband passed away)
...being alone in the office with puppy Bandido trying to make a decision as to whether I could leave unfinished vital office work to make my commitment to be at the Temple--so overwhelmed and defeated
..feelings of despair as I wrestled with my financial situation and having James call at just that moment, with hope
...crying to Maria as I related John's attitude toward my buying my Lake Almanor house
...being with Linda in the delivery room when Gary was out of town
...looking at Maria in such agony just before they did a cesarean on her
,,,talking to a lady at Bank of America as she told me on the phone "that $3500 is yours, come and get it"
...having baby Meagan reach her arms out to me as soon as Jennifer opened the door of their little UCSD apartment


Oh, there are so many moments like this when you have no pictures to help you recall  but they are strongly etched in your mind, never to be forgotten because of your helplessness in the situation, your overwhelming grief or pain, or your great joy.

I love the saying, "Life is fragile, handle it with prayer."  So true.

Books and Reunion

Why do I keep selecting books I have already read???  I thought "The Brave" was a new book by Nicholas Evans but alas, I read it while in San Diego, how quickly I forget.   I will turn the audio off and look for a new bedtime book.  I have read all of Evans books, I wish there were more.  They all take place in Montana though he is an English man.  I just read about his mushroom poisening in 2008 and how it has changed his life.  Has to have dialysis and needs a kidney transplant.  I was just looking at some mushrooms in my yard yesterday and wondering how people knew what was poisenous.  Evidently you can make life changing mistakes by not knowing.

But I will keep reading "We Were the Mulvaneys" by Joyce Carol Oates.  She is an amazing author and I found this book in Tennessee at Goodwill.  What a great place to buy books.

The temp has been up the last few days but thanks to the pine trees my home stays cool and I love the time around 2 or 3 in the morning when it is so cool I need to pull the comforter up around me and really snuggle in.  But will I ever sleep all night ever again?  I doubt it.  I sleep, I wake, I blog, I watch TV, I read, I sleep, I wake, and so the cycle goes all through the night.

I talked for a long time this evening with Myrna, that is always fun.  We are both missing our High School Reunion tonight.  That would be the 60th of Dawson County High School in Glenidve.  It is a long way and not convenient to get to and no family there anymore so we both opted to stay in cool California.  Hope someone fills us in and all the happenings and who was there...and not there.

Letters to God

So enjoyed watching "Letters to God" on Netflix today.  Story of a boy with cancer, an alcoholic, a widow, etc. etc.  Very well done.  Writing letters to God is a good way of praying.

A heartfelt tale of inspiration, hope and redemption, Letters to God is the story of what happens when one boy’s walk of faith crosses paths with one man’s search for meaning—the resulting transformational journey touches the lives of everyone around them.

Dysfunctional Families

Last night I was listening to "Townies" a memoir by Andre Dubus III who wrote "House of Sand and Fog".
I really like 'House of Sand and Fog'.

I did not like 'Townies".  I don't know whether he just exaggerates or what but if not he had the must dysfunctional parents, none of which can be excused by lack of income or having to work and raise children at the same time, after all,  what is new about that?  Most people still try and teach their children the basics of living a good life and being responsible. I turned it off.  I will never know if his parents were really as bad as he made them sound or not.

Why could I read about Jeannette Wall's dysfunctional parents in the "The Glass Castle" and not his?  I don't know but anyway, turned the book off.

Movies and Ice Cream

Tuesday Maryanne and I saw "Larry Crowne" in Susanville.  It was very enjoyable.  After we had a quick taco at Taco Bell (I like the fresco ones) and then did a little shopping in Walmart. 

After I returned home the UPS brought our new Cuisenart ice cream maker and I had everything needed to try the Favorite Ice Cream from the Family Recipes.  The container had to be frozen overnight though so early in the morning I tried it and voila, it worked!!  Very good and I didn't need the Rock Salt I had bought in Susanville.  Since I had cream left over I tried a different Chocolate Malt Ice Cream as well--but here again, it needed to be frozen overnight.  Wow, it works though.  I didn't like the recipe as well as the last one I tried though ,that was more like my cho chos.  I will need to remember that.

Wednesday Michael drove to Sacramento to spend time with his friend and spend the weekend with his Mom and siblings.  I listened to "The Hand that First Held Mine:" by Maggie O'Farrell.  I had listened to it most of the night but kept falling asleep and couldn't follow it.  When you stay awake it really is quite a novel and I will for sure check out more of her books.  She is another Irish author who is now living in London and thus the story took place there.  Interesting that I have several favorite Irish women authors.

The verdict came in Tuesday on Casey Anthony--Not Guilty.  She knows what really happened, how can she live with that???  They say she is a psychopath though and evidently they can live with a lot of bad things.  She will probably get rich by writing a book or doing a movie--will be interesting to see what happens to her next and if the truth ever comes out.

Oh, yes, the daisies that usually come out by Memorial Day, finally bloomed, so I changed my blog pix.  These are wild flowers, that come and go at will with little water, at least I never water them.  It has been very warm the last few days but always cool under my pines.

Oh, yes, there was gluten revenge on me Wednesday for all the hot dogs, hamburgers and pizza I had over the 4th--good thing I am staying home for a few days...and what a tummy ache.

Happy Birthday America!

I fully intended on going to the Chester parade and find Maryanne but I slept in!!!  I wanted to finish "The Age of Innocence" and so read for about 3 hours in the middle of the night,.  I guess I need my sleep more than I used to.

Anyway I enjoyed a lazy morning listening to more of my Bonhoeffer book and then I was curious about how the LDS Church fared in WW ll.  Lo and behold there is a new book out about just that thing!!  Then I find the same author wrote a book in 2009 about being "In Harms Way" during the war.  It is on line so I liked reading about the Saints and some of their stories.  I concluded you are much safer in the small towns and rural areas during a war rather than in the city, of course.  I also concluded the Soviet army that took over after the war was as much, if not more dangerous, as the Nazis..  One story that interested me was this:

In the first few weeks of 1945, the members of the Danzig Branch discussed what they should do as the Red Army approached the city. Branch President Willy Horn had received a letter from Paul Langheinrich (second counselor to the mission leader in Berlin) encouraging the Saints to evacuate the city right away and head west (which some branch members had already done). From Sister Eichler’s recollection:


When Brother Horn finished reading the letter, . . . he [said that he thought that Heavenly Father would protect us from all the terrors of the war, if we had enough faith in him. . . . He asked us to form a circle with the chairs. . . . We all knelt by the chairs, and Brother Horn offered a very humble and long prayer. When he was finished, he . . . told us to trust in the Lord and to return home with peace in our hearts—all would be well. A week later we heard that some of the members did not listen to his counsel but . . . left for the west. . . . Those of us who stayed behind experienced much agony and hardship.

 It would seem that Willy Horn’s inspiration may have been in error on that occasion. In reality, those who rejected his recommendation and left the city right away were spared great hardship. Those who stayed suffered. There were disagreements on the issue even between spouses. For example, Brother Eichler decided that his family should remain in Danzig, though his wife did not agree.

I think the above story illustrates the point that you should follow the direction of your leaders and not take it upon yourself to receive inspiration counter to that for those who you are serving.  I think Willy Horn did a great disservice to his branch by directing them counter to what they had been advised to do.

In another escape story as a family wound themselves through tunnels the wife wanted to follow a different route than her husband.  The daughter who was behind her mother told her Mom she should follow Dad as he had the Priesthood.  They did and they were safe.  If they had gone the other direction they would have been destroyed by fire.  The daughter said it was a testimony to her to always follow the Priesthood and their instruction.

It is interesting to me that these books are being written 66 years after the happenings!!!  Obviously other people are still as curious as I am about what happened in WW ll.  It was obvious from the Bonhoeffer book that the people just did not know what was going on by their government and they trusted to much and gave up one freedom after another until it was too late.

Had a sweet call the other night from a boyfriend from the 50's!  Nice we can still be friends after all this time.  He said he has very happy memories of me.  Nice to hear as I edge closer and closer to 80 years old!!  Who ever thought we would be this old and still feel like '20 something' most of the time????

Oh, yes, I celebrated the birthday of America with another special burger dinner from Michael and the fireworks on the Peninsula.  Unfortunately, I thought they were some of the least exciting fireworks I have ever seen!  The Macy's fireworks on TV are so much more fun and with music to boot!!!  Happy Birthday, America!

Catching Up on the Classics

The last two days I chose to read the classic "The Age of Innocence" by Edith Wharton.  I read it on my "Library to Go".  I thoroughly enjoyed it and yesterday watched the film version made in 1993, thanks to Netflix.

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I think the characters chosen to play the parts were perfect for their roles.  Daniel Day-Lewis as Newbold Archer and Michelle Pfeiffer as Countess Ellen Odessa and Winona Ryder a May Welland.

I actually watched the movie before I finished the book this morning.  Michael queried  that "Wouldn't that ruin the book for me?"  Actually, no, I still like to read the book whether I have seen the movie or not.

Question though, I would like to know why it ended as it did?  Why did he walk away????   He was only 57...which meant they both still had a lot of life and love in them...

Michael, the Gourmet Cook

Yesterday Michael and I reviewed the video "You Are Doing It Wrong?" on Chow.  This is one of the channels received on Roku.  The demonstration Michael was interested in was on making a burger.

He then proceeded to make the best burger I have ever had!!!  He loves to take his time and really does a great job.  It had all kinds of things in it...  I am really enjoying his cooking since I hate to take the time to cook.

Now we just need the ice cream maker!!!  I will do that.

Quotes from Dietrich Bonhoeffer--hung by the Nazis on April 9, 1945

We watched a documentary about Deitrich Bonhoeffer today.  I had no idea Hitler demanded allegiance from the churches and changed them totally.  There are several movies about Bonhoeffer.  I can't believe I had never heard about him.    He was hung by the Nazis just days before the liberation by the Yanks of the prisoners in German prisons.

These are some of his many quotes that have lived on after him.  There are also books of his letters and poems.

 "0nly he who believes is obedient and only he who is obedient believes.”

“Gratitude changes the pangs of memory into a tranquil joy.”

 “First they came for the Communists, but I was not a Communist so I did not speak out. Then they came for the Socialists and the Trade Unionists, but I was neither, so I did not speak out. Then they came for the Jews, but I was not a Jew so I did not speak out. And when they came for me, there was no one left to speak out for me."

It is the nature, and the advantage, of strong people that they can bring out the crucial questions and form a clear opinion about them. The weak always have to decide between alternatives that are not their own.”

The test of the morality of a society is what it does for its children.”

“The essence of optimism is that it takes no account of the present, but it is a source of inspiration, of vitality and hope where others have resigned; it enables a man to hold his head high, to claim the future for himself and not to abandon it to h...”

“Action springs not from thought, but from a readiness for responsibility.”

"One act of obedience is better than one hundred sermons.”

“If you do a good job for others, you heal yourself at the same time, because a dose of joy is a spiritual cure.”

 "The morning prayer determines the day."

"Prayer is not just about opening your heart. It means rather to find the way to God and talk to him, if your heart is full or empty."

 "But the Christian also knows that he not only cannot and dare not be anxious, but there is no need for him to be so."

"Praying certainly does not mean simply pouring out one’s heart. It means, rather, finding the way to and speaking with God, whether the heart is full or empty. No one can do that on one’s own. For that one needs Jesus Christ."

The prison doc who attended his execution wrote, “I was most deeply moved by the way this extraordinary, lovable man prayed, so resigned and so certain that God heard his prayer.”

Bonhoeffer, the Man Who Stood Up to Hitler

I am currently listening to this book on my "Library to Go" and it is fascinating!!!

Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy: A Righteous Gentile Vs. The Third Reich  by Eric Metaxas 

From the New York Times bestselling author of Amazing Grace, a groundbreaking biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, one of the greatest heroes of the twentieth century, the man who stood up to Hitler. A definitive, deeply moving narrative, Bonhoeffer is a story of moral courage in the face of the monstrous evil that was Nazism. After discovering the fire of true faith in a Harlem church, Bonhoeffer returned to Germany and became one of the first to speak out against Hitler. As a double-agent, he joined the plot to assassinate the Fuhrer, and was hanged in Flossenberg concentration camp at age 39. Since his death, Bonhoeffer has grown to be one of the most fascinating, complex figures of the 20th century. Bonhoeffer presents a profoundly orthodox Christian theologian whose faith led him to boldly confront the greatest evil of the 20th century, and uncovers never-before-revealed facts, including the story of his passionate romance. 
 
What an intelligent, exciting and sincere man and I like that the author quotes from many letters, etc. in telling his story.  Now I wish I had the book so I would remember it better.