Better Days!

Polyester was In!

Wish I still looked like that from behind.

Oh My Gosh--Look at that Hair!

Early 70's- Late 30's??

Update on the Stewarts

Sweet Brynn

Ryan enjoying the great outdoors.

Kate ready for school.

Flannel Time!

Last night I felt the chill so it is that time of year--flannel sheets.  Love them.  Flannel shirts and sweat shirts.  Tuesday we are to have our first big storm of the year with snow down to 6000 ft so we will miss that, but time to plant the poppies and watch the needles and pods drop to the ground and leaves to turn yellow and drop.  One aggressive deer has found if he pushes my wire screen at just the right angle he can eat the birch leaves on the smallest birch tree.  May as well let him fill up while he can, they will soon be gone.  It is Fall in Lake Almanor.

Update on Keira

Keira goes swimming.  She loves to laugh.  What a fun baby.  Thanks for the pix, Meagan.

Good Two Days!

I really enjoyed Conference for the last two days.  And I especially enjoyed all the info between morning and afternoon conferences.  It is so amazing how fast moving the Church is as far as missionary work, humanitarian aid, Temple building,  Perpetual Education Fund, absolutely amazing.  It was exciting to hear about all the new Temples, especially the ones in Star Valley and the Provo Tabernacle.  It will also be interesting to see how far reaching the Perpetual First Temple Visit Fund will be.  There have been so many heart rendering stories of people's struggle to get to the Temple.

I also watched the MTC documentary and had no idea there are 15 MTC's and the one in Chili is 100,000 square feet!!  It was also very informational to know all that goes on there.  Excellent documentary.

Then I watched the 5000 Days project of Two Brothers--what an amazing project and so honestly stated about their feelings and their lives.  And I still have the 'Midway to Heaven' to watch later.  Good two days!  BYU TV, thank you!!

'Midway to Heaven' is a Dean Hughes novel about  a 43 year old widower--really good and a girl in it is from Bachlorette, the one who won a quarter of a million dollars on Bachelor Pad.

Update on the Twins...

Steph takes such interesting pictures of the  twins--they are two years old now.

Sage on the left and Raina on the right.  Sage has such blue eyes and Raina has the long eyelashes.

Kelly

I had not seen this picture before.  I love posing with my beautiful granddaughter Kelly.  What a lovely bride.

More Boxes!

Like me, with all their flaws, they look better in dimlight, than sunlight.  

Good Planning!

It has been so extremely dry here I was having a hard time breathing.  Then I remembered I had a humidifior attached to the furnace I bought in 2004.  All I had to do is turn the fan on, shut the windows and I can breathe, yea!!! Course the electric bill will be higher...

Tips for Janet for Spring

Next spring I want to remember what I did:
Front yard I lifted the iris on the right front as you look from the street--the left I did not touch but I gave them all bone meal.  Which ones bloomed if any?
I put bone meal in the daffodils and Laurie's garden--did it do any good?  Need some shade plants to put in Laurie's garden that the deer won't eat and need to keep deer spray on it.  Almost out of deer spray, buy some more before spring.

I lifted the iris on the hill and gave all of them bone meal as well as bone meal to the iris in the lower garden .  I planted a cedar three where the other tree I planted died.   Will it grow? I put fertilizer pellets in all the trees but one nearest the hill of plants.  Will be interesting to see if it grows less than the others.

I planted daffodils in front by the sign, in front of the stump and by the bird house.  The ground was so hard and root filled by the birdhouse.  I also planted them by the birdhouse closest to Laurie's garden.  I didn't plant them too deep and I used amend but not under them.  If they do not do well, I need to dig them up and plant them somewhere else.

My Fascination with Boxes

I just counted the boxes in the office.  I have 14!!  I love boxes, and I like them covered with some kind of design.  Lately my covering them with pictures from calendars and magazines continues.  I did have all my jewelry (that I seldom wear) in labeled boxes.  Boring!  More fun to have designed boxes with no specific purpose known to anyone but me.  I have pictures, sewing projects, materials, chargers, plugs, etc, etc, etc. I have all kinds of things and nothing stored in my boxes.  If anyone comes by my house and finds an empty one they like, they can have it!  I need more empty boxes to cover…it is a great pastime.

I especially like these last two I covered with a $1 calendar from the dollar store about angels.  The paper is so thin I did not think it would work, but it did!  The difference between the store bought boxes and mine is that mine have wrinkles, bumps, and many other imperfections but are originals, just like us people.

Below are some I did last week.

Matt and Emily

Matt and Emily from Tahoe City came by last night and we breakfasted this morning after they fished. Then they were off again back to Tahoe. They said they were stopping to see Mitch on the way. While they were here I showed them the boxes I had been making and Matt chose one to keep and Emily wanted to know how to do them. They would be cute little gift boxes for her feather jewelry business. Anyway it was fun to see them and chat with them about their life. Matt gathered up some of his 'winter' stuff to take back with him.

Carl Larsson Box

It  is very relaxing for me when I am tired of working to cover boxes with calendars.  So here is another one from my Carl Larsson calendar.

I will soon be out of boxes and calendars!

Iris Garden



Planted Iris up by fence in the sun.



Yesterday was a very productive day. I washed and cleaned the car. The Scratch Cover I bought didn't do anything however. Then I split all the Iris and planted some on the hill by the fence. Maybe they will get more sun there. Getting up and down and digging and etc. make me very tired and today I will have to do something less strenuous like cleaning the bedrooms. Computer is finally working quite well, however, Webroot keeps discovering those same two virus I had last week and I have to keep unhiding the files so I don't know if I am on the finish line yet. What a miserable two weeks this has been for computer problems. Last night neither Mike or I could open our browsers and today they work fine. He thinks I have infected his machine with my virus...so the saga and mystery of computer woes go



More Boxes!

You know what the say, "Idle hands are the devils tools--or something like that--so I keep my hands busy."

Besides it is more fun than work, and it was too cold to work on the car or deck this morning.  So I cleaned the floors and made boxes.

I Didn't Want to Do It!

I totally formatted my computer and reloaded it and am now ready to restore the files again and hopefully this time there will not be so many problems.  The final straw was when they couldn't even look at my files because of problems.  It was just so messed up.  Hope I can keep it clean and happy this time.

Mike's Birthday

Very Special Pizza with from Buffalo Chips Mike made for his birthday.  It will last him for days!

This is a Caramel Macchiato Cheesecake with Heath and Skor Bars on top.  You finish it off with whipped cream, caramel sauce and a maraschino cherry.  Mike made it for his birthday.

A Diversion from Computer Problems



Greece

I gave this one to Michael for his birthday for his papers, receipts, etc.  He had said it was a nice looking box so I thought he might like  it.



Outer Space

I use this one for all my chargers, plug, etc. etc. and it matches the wooden calendar holder it is under.

  I love making these storage boxes from the grandchildren's tennis shoe boxes and calendars.  I make a mess and they are not very well done but I like them!

So Precious!

Meagan just posted a picture on Facebook of Keira looking so grown up in shoes and
sox and such a pretty dress with a big smile.  She must be about 7 months old.

It's Always Something!

Since Wednesday I have been dealing with a computer recovery after a virus.   An expert told me it is the mob that causes the virus and then says they can recover it for a fee.  What they want is your credit card!!  I didn't fall for it but they hid all my files and even though I have Carbonite there is still so much to do to get back to where I was...if I ever can. I  have some things functioning ok but others are still a mess, mostly the pictures.

Then last night when I was watering I walked between the lilac bush and the deck and the wire cage around the bush was too close and the raw edge of the cage had uncovered sharp, rusty projections and one dug deep into my right arm. I didn't realize what did it but after I had tended to it I came back outside and did the same thing in the other arm!  Mike, Maria and the internet convinced me I needed a Tetanus shot and the Urgent Care this morning agreed.  In fact, the nurse who gave the shot, said if you work in the garden you should keep up your shots because it is in the dirt!  You don't even need a rusty nail to have the threat!!!  She gave me all kinds of bad news about the after affects but so far so good, will probably hit in the morning.

Mike is enjoying his work and becoming the expert in all areas.  Today he bought the most delicious pizza I have ever had on our way home from Wal Mart.  It was from Buffalo Chips, of course.  So good.  He was looking forward to buying a new game that was supposed to be out today and Wal Mart didn't have it!!!  He may never shop at Wal Mart again. 

It Happened!

In the morning all was fine, late afternoon my computer had been seized.  Some program wanted to fix all the damage at a price.  Mike said this was who had given me the virus in the first place.  What did I open that I shouldn't?  I have a vague recollection of giving permission to something I shouldn't have when I was checking out glutenfree recipes.  I should not have said ok, when Webroot was warning me it was not a safe site.  That is what I pay them for, isn't it?  Dumb, dumb me, not thinking.  My Webroot Security was still working though and they quickly found the two virus and quarantined them.  Hopefully nothing is still lurking.  I had to reinstall all my files from Carbonite and then they began the task of restoring all my files.  It will take two days.

I am so glad that Mary Anne and Jean told me about Carbonite last year, this is the second time I have saved my data.  Last year it was the computer that broke and I bought a new one and Carbonite put everything on the new computer they had been storing.  Now this, never thought it would happen to me but paying for security and backup is worth it.

I did find two interesting sites yesterday as I was exploring.  Hope they are not the ones that did me damage.  One was Luminosity.  The thing I chose to do was have them give me certain exercises to improve my skills of focus and memory.  It is like playing games.  The other interesting site was StumbleUpon which are all kinds of interesting sites and pictures.

The other interesting thing that was sent to me yesterday is an article on FEMA and lack of funds for disasters.  The present administration does not want to ask for more funds as it is an election year.  Thus projects that have been started have been put on hold and response to disasters is thwarted.  This, of course, affects my job also.  That being said, I must admit, that like all government programs, I have seen a lot of mismanagement and waste of the funds being received and the funds not getting used where they are needed.  We all need to be better prepared to take care of ourselves is the one answer and the second is to try and monitor this necessary beast called government.

Birthday Girls!

Mary Anne went all out with a plant, balloon and poster for Margaret--86 years young.

Mary Anne and Margaret shared Birthday honors at Burger Depot on Monday at 1 PM.

Sue, Jean, Mary Anne and Margaret and joined by me...

Kathy added in...

Jeannette added in... It was a fun day!

Twinnies are Two Years Old!

Raine and Sage

Lost in Austen

I had just finished watching "Lost in Austen" which was a fun miniseries.  A young woman who lived all her frustrations out by reading "Pride and Prejudice" and knew the book intimately was visited by Elizabeth Bennett (from the book) in her bathroom.  Amanda (the modern girl) goes back into time and lives at Elizabeth's house for a time.  She tries to get all the characters to follow the book and messes things up royally.  It was very enjoyable.

Earlier in the day I raked and watered the front and side yards and then collapsed back into bed and slept until 2 in the afternoon.  

Mike brought some pizza to try when he came back from work around 10--it was chicken barbeque and we decided the one he makes at home is even better, but it was very good.  I just had a little, I do not want another gluten revenge!  I think MIke is doing a very good job at work as the boss was complimenting him today on all he has learned and how well he does.
Since I came back from Tennessee in May I finished my book of 204 plus Suduko and am on # 140 of another book that Maria gave me a few years ago.  I am still on EASY but getting faster.  Hope to avoid Altheimers, ha.

Brynn

Brynn finds her toes, how cute is that?

Surfer Jacob

 A cool picture of Jacob with his surf board--looks like a Calfornia boy, for sure.

Richard in 1950

Jacob's Fifties party reminded me of how Richard looked at that time, before I knew him. Richard had the duck tail hair-do fashionable with the Las Vegas and California boys and notice the rolled up levis and black oxford shoes. They didn't have cute tennies, as I said before, at that time. Happy 80th Birthday to Richard, tomorrow!

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.