Not as effective, but much more fun

Today Austin came out to help me weed. "Grandma, shall we pull some weeds?" is how he put it. So I donned my hat and gloves, grabbed the bucket, tool, and cushion, and off we went. He led me right to where we should weed.

"I use the tool," he said, and he began to dig indiscriminately. Luckily that was a great area to dig in. I climbed up to where I wanted to work on a raised area. He soon decided that looked like more fun. Of course, he joined me. Then he began to pull indiscriminately. Yikes! I actually had some things that are growing, and he was yanking away at them. We soon came up with a fine compromise: I pulled weeds, and he put them in the bucket for me. We had extensive conversations - something that is a nice change from my silent sojourns in the garden. He pointed out all the exciting events going on around us. "Look, Grandma, a plane", then "Grandma, a dinosaur". That warranted a second look. In fact it was a lawn mower. I tried to get him to say that, but it remained a dinosaur. Then, "Grandma, what's that?" A leaf blower. "What's he doing?" etc, etc. The hour passed quickly, and though there weren't as many weeds as usual in the bucket, it was a fine hour for me.

Five, count 'em, five

I'm either getting more brave, or more desperate to rid my yard of weeds. During my time on the rock wall today, no less than five spiders ran out from where I was weeding. Luckily they were measly little ones, so I could persevere. And luckily it was not while I was precariously perched, reaching for the weeds on the top of the wall. However, I did hit my limit when the 5th one dashed out.

Happy Birthday Debra!

Debra is my second child, and second daughter. Except for a brief foray into intense stubborness at the age of two, she was an easy-going child. She is level headed, logical, and best of all, lots of fun. Debra is my game playing partner. When she was in high school she came home for lunch very frequently and we could get 5 games of Yahtzee in during the half hour she was home. When we weren't playing Yahtzee, we were playing Scrabble. Both of us love to play, and neither of us really cares who wins.

The two of us had a very fun trip to Hawaii when she graduated from college. We spent a week relaxing, reading, attempting to snorkel, and seeing favorite sights along the north shore of Oahu. (Kua Aina burgers and Matsumoto shave ice just can't be beat.) Debra even gave surfing a shot, and did a pretty good job.

I admire Debra for her deep level of commitment to the gospel. She is a great example in all ways. She is a great companion, and I treasure her friendship as well as love.

Happy birthday, Girlie! I love you!

The birthday dinner crowd.

My roommates from BYU

Thirty-three years ago I arrived at BYU as a new freshman. I knew only one person (Ray ♥). It was a wonderful adventure for me: I fell in love, found the church, and received my degree. What more could a girl ask for? Well, lucky for me I got more, and didn't even know enough to ask for it at the time.

I got wonderful roommates. Through no direction on my own part, I ended up with fabulous girls to live with. For the most part we all lived together from our sophomore year until we graduated or got married. There were six in our apartment, and a few came and went, but the core of us were there for the duration.

Fast forward to ten years ago. By that time I was living in Kirkland. We came to Utah for my niece's wedding and I had a few extra days. I decided to try to get together with the roommates who lived here in Utah - Cindi, Janet, and Ilona. Miracle of miracles, they were able to make it, and we all had lunch together. It was so fun to get together and catch up on things, and felt like it had been six months instead of almost 20 years since we had seen each other.

It was so much fun for me that I tried to make time as often as I could when I came to Utah to meet with them. Mostly we could all make it. Those lunches were highlights for me over the years.

Now I live here. I've been here almost two years now, and we have continued the tradition. In fact, we try to have lunch with each other once a month. We are pretty consistent at keeping that date. I really look forward to it each month. There is something about talking with friends who have a deep connection with you that is soothing. "They knew me when", and they know me now. We can talk about the gospel, our families, and our feelings. It is safe, and healing.

Last night we broke with tradition a little bit. Cindi had us all over to dinner with our husbands. It was fabulous! I knew the women would have a good time, but it sure seemed like the men did too. Ray had a great time. We did my favorite things - talk and eat good food.

Thanks Cindi, Janet, and Ilona. You have been, and still are a blessing in my life.

The last of the easy ones

Another satisfactory line drawn through an item on a to-do list: I finished the last of the quilts that were already almost finished. Now all the projects I have left have either never even been started, or have only a few blocks made and have a substantial amount left to make.

This quilt I started in Washington. In fact I took a class with my mom to make it. My mom has not only finished hers, but made an additional very, very large one (it is beautiful) that is also completed.

The print fabric I used I have had for years, and love so much that I have hesitated to use it. After all, once it is used, it is no longer available to choose from. (This is one dilemma that quilters frequently face.)I still have more of the fabric, but not that much.

It took me (literally) less than five minutes to finish the top. Is that embarrassing, or what? The pinning and quilting took me as long as the movie When Harry Met Sally. The binding took me as long as the special features on When Harry Met Sally. So I had the satisfaction of finishing another quilt as well as watching one of my favorite movies. (Such snappy dialogue!)

Quilt: Winding Ways
Size: 37 X 37 inches
Completed: June 6, 2008

Game Widow by Wendy Kays

I know Wendy, and was interested to read her book. It will actually be available on shelves in August or September. If you go to her website, (gamewidow.org), you can order it now.

The book is her insight and practical strategies for reclaiming relationships with video-gaming spouses, friends, or family members.

Wendy breaks down the video game industry into regular language for those of us who are not as familiar with it, and proposes ways to deal with problems stemming from addictive video game behaviors.

I discussed the book with my son, who is an avid gamer - we had a great conversation, and he further clarified a few things for me. Although I don't agree in entirety with some of Wendy's projections in Chapter 4, the rest of the book is pretty informative. If you are not familiar with the world of video games, it's worth a read to get yourself up to speed. It's a quick read, only about 120 pages long.

Happy Birthday Audrey!

Today is Audrey's birthday. She is my first born, and a delight in my life. Audrey is the communication glue that holds our family together. She is always encouraging me in my endeavors, cheering me on when things seem too hard.

When Audrey was a baby she was so pretty that people would stop me on the street and comment on it. One man gave me a dollar to give her, but said not to mention it to anyone or his own grandchildren would be jealous. (I had no idea who he was). We lived in Provo, and at the time they had a beauty contest for babies around the 4th of July or Pioneer Day, I can't remember which. Ray said in all serousness that we would never enter Audrey (not that I wanted to), but I asked why. "Because she is so beautiful that the judges wouldn't even consider the other contestants." There was never a father so enamored with his little girl.

Yes, she is beautiful, yes, she is smart as a whip, but most of all she is GOOD. I love and admire her.

Happy birthday Girlie!

Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin

I loved this book. At 749 pages, it is a daunting read, but well worth it.

Goodwin is a master of portraying history in a most engaging way. It's a true story - all the facts are already available to us, yet she still manages to make it a page turner.

I have a fascination for Lincoln and the Civil War. I thought I knew a lot of the basic facts. It turns out most of what I knew before reading this would have filled perhaps 25 pages of this book. It was wonderful to discover so much more. I knew Lincoln was elected president, and I knew he was assassinated, yet the pathways leading to these facts kept me completely engrossed. This book is much more than just about Lincoln. It is also about the men he surrounded himself with to help ensure the success of the Union. Most of those men had been his political rivals. How he built and sustained a strong presidential cabinet with them is the crux of the book.

I enjoy most of what I read; I no longer feel driven to finish a book I don't like. There are too many wonderful things to read to waste my time on bad stuff. Still, lots of what I read is just enjoyable. This was more than just enjoyable, it was fulfilling. I feel I am a more knowledgeable person for having read it, and in addition, if I could incorporate just a few of Lincoln's qualities into my own life, I would be a better person.

I also highly recommend Doris Kearns Goodwin's No Ordinary Time (about FDR's time in the White House).

Now I've got to shake off this sense of living in the 1860's, and get back into the real world.