Sleepovers

Of course, any loving married adult over the age of 60 knows that God's greatest gift is GRANDCHILDREN.  There is a very marked discrepancy at this point, however.  I think mine are the best, the smartest, the cutest, the most polite, and the most loving.  I have a sleepover before they all go back to school.  The boys always choose the mountain, so I load up my SUV as full as I can with boys, air guns, bows, arrows, and many other boy toys.  This year I had to arrange for a couple of them to go up in another vehicle.  Walt said I am going to have to get a school bus before I am through with this tradition.  They had a great time, but Brad said he had really been cheated this year.  We did not go until August and I usually take them late June or July.  I spent July with my sister Robin, so it threw me off schedule and this grandson let me know about it.  They love it.

The girls are all too prissy to want the mountain experience.  This year they chose to sleep at our house, picked out a movie, and opted to dine out instead of roast over the camp fire.  They had a great time.  Tori (Victoria) is in Young Women now and she is the oldest.  I was impressed with how patient she was with the younger ones.  Lesley, after everyone  voted on where to eat, quietly asked me if it was too expensive and that they could select one that is cheaper.  They decided to watch Sound of Music.  They had so much fun playing that the movie was put off until 8:30, which made for only Taiha and Tori making it to the half way point.   At 1:30 p.m.  Josie woke all of them to go down stairs to the bathroom.  She was too scared to go alone.  They all trailed down, so she would not be afraid.  I think when I was that age I would have yelled "Go yourself you little coward" and went back to sleep.    (9-27 post script:  I have since been corrected.  Perhaps they all woke up each other and one of them had to go to the bathroom.  As I said previously, when I was that age, I would have not been as sweet as all these girls were to each other.  I would have rolled over and said something not very nice and definitely went back to sleep.  I am so pleased with the kindness they all show to one another.)

Josie Ann Got the "Cleaning Machine" Gene

Josie went to the mountain with her Dad during Labor Day weekend and did not want to return with her brother and mother, so she hung out with me for a few days.  I taught her to ride the 4 wheeler.  She would drive at 3 miles per hour, while I got my walk.  Walt and I came down from the mountain to attend a funeral and then went back a few hours later.  I explained when Josie wanted to stay that she would be alone at the camper while we were gone.    Josie said she could stay alone, so her mom left her.  We returned from the funeral and Josie had completely scrubbed clean the 5th wheel trailer.  I think she might suffer her Granny's trait of having to make use of energy caused from worry or anxiety.  She had even beat the rugs.  She even got down on her hands and knees using the scrub side of a sponge to clean the kitchen floor.  Those spots had been there all summer.  What an dedication and focus!  It probably took her a long time on one little ugly spot.   I was impressed.  Walt always knows when I am upset over something because I become a cleaning machine...cupboards, floors, drawers, closets.  The louder the cleaning noise the better I feel!  Regardless, I think of all my "interesting" ways to handle times of anxiety would be the one to pass on to my posterity.  Being a cleaning machine for a few hours is better than getting into words with someone, filling a kleenex with tears, tearing someone's head off for no some unknown reason, or watching a clock tick by until I feel better.  Yup,  utilizing the cleaning -machine- gene works almost every time at least for me and Josie Ann.

Fruit Leather (crying over peaches)

Walt signed us up to help at the Cannery last week.  I had a ton to do, but went without complaining  UNTIL I started putting the greenest peaches in a can I had ever seen.  They were so hard that they would not go into the cans.  They would not mush down.  I was the last of the assembly, so they were already washed and preped for the can.  After about two hours of this, I started to get very sad.  I was raised on a farm and taught that you harvest when the fruit, potato, grain, or hay is ready.  It is against the law of the harvest to take a beautiful fruit, pick it on your time schedule, and tell it is ready.  Crazy.  I did not know how much it bothered me until we were at KFC later for lunch and Walt asked me what I was thinking.  As I tried to explain to him how I felt, I had to actually wipe tears from my eyes with my napkin.  Crying over a green batch of peaches! Later he told me that we could have had free seconds from the day before.  The seconds were ripe from the previous day, I made jam and fruit leather.  I read in Cori's dehydrator book that you can add nuts to leather before starting the drying.  I sprinkled them on top and it was not just good, but I could not stay out of the darn stuff.  Walt took an entire dryed tray with him for his day of hunting.

Mountain Get Away

Walt and I finally got away to Cedar Mountain for five days. His last words while loading the last box was "We will only come down if someone dies". Someone did. Someone we have come to love and respect through the years. We came down for viewing and funeral and went right back up. Walt surprised me with an invitation to go on a 15 mile 4-wheel ride on a trail near Stout Canyon. It rained for a few hours before we left, so the dust was minimal, and the trees and rocks were spectacular. The dust reduction was important to me because I follow Walt on my 4-wheeler and eat his dust,so usually lag far behind, but this trip I did not have to. It was fun and relaxing. My thumb was sore from running the gas feed, but fun none the less.

Doer Not Hearer Only?

Today is the primary election in Washington City. Walt and I are going to vote before he goes to Bishopic meeting tonight. The condition of our country through government decision at the highest level has been on my mind today due to casting a vote today. I decided to take try to make a difference in my own way. This is a copy of email I sent to family and friends to join the Patrick Henry Caucus. The email communication says it all:"Here is our personal invitation to join this Caucus. Here is my personal invitation to make a difference and it does not cost you a cent. Walt and I have found their updates and notifications to be very integrated with our core values. Another thing is that we have found their substance for opposing many of the decisions being made by government based on fact not drama, racism, etc. It is growing around the US. What I like about the Caucus is that it saves a lot of work and research. Their updates give you exactly who to contact where it will make the most impact. They were very involved in the organization of the 9/12 march in Washington DC. We were the 400th to join the caucus. We have not been disappointed. This is my perspective, we can sit on our rears and complain and say the country is going to pot or we can join a movement that wants to make a difference in an effective organized way. Here it is....mine and Walt's personal invitation, or you can just keep complaining, sending email to your friends about your disapproval of what is happening in DC, and not getting anything but frustrated. Or you can add to your email a communication to those whom it might make a difference. We have seen that the squeeky wheel got the grease in the environmental movement, and now we think, how did such a small group of society get such a mammoth amount of power is America? They organized and yelled. Now you can become an important spoke in a squeeky wheel that will really make a difference to restore common sense as we safe guard the constitution. Here is a question I want to ask all of you, just for your personal perspective. Does there need to be a change? How many letters, phone calls, or email have you personally sent to those in power making government decisions you disapprove of? How many times have you expressed your concern and complained to friends, family, or anyone for that matter? If the answer to the first question is a lot smaller than the answer to the 2nd question, then there needs to be a change, but maybe it starts with the person looking back in the mirror. " Following the email was a link to education and opportunity to join the caucus.