Tuesday, March 07, 2006

I'm Glad I Have Friends Here

Actor Crush of the Day: Matthew McConaughey

Let's chat. Oh, and Anne GB, could you give me a call please? Thanks . . .

I hate to be so needy, but I need friends. Most everyone does . . .

I've been calling my SIL too much, and so thought I'd turn here for some kindness, warmth, empathy, and support.

And just some good 'ole chat.

So. How are your lives going? Anything new happen lately? Good things, I hope.

My husband lost his job the last day of January. We were fortunate in that he found a good, better-paying job that he's been at for a few weeks now. I can't wait for the benefits in four months, although I am worried that getting us all insurance might eat up most of the difference in pay from his last, lower-paying job.

Still, I've heard they have really GOOD benefits, because they like to keep their employees, and keep them happy. So, we'll see!

I actually cooked quite a bit this last week! Five days of yummy dinners, for $50 for the ingredients, and it included steak, salmon fillets, and two pounds of chicken for two different dinners. Let me say, OOOOOOoooooo we were eating good this week! It has been SO LONG since I could CHOOSE ingredients to buy.

My husband helped me alot with the cooking, and cooked the fifth meal himself last night, but I am proud of myself for doing some cooking this last week. I often don't have it in me to even grab myself anything to eat, let alone cook, except for throwing something in the nuker for Emily sometimes. So most of the time, I eat little to nothing, at least, if it weren't for my hubby, fixing food for me. There's no motivation or incentive to make anything to eat, often, for me, and the few times I do feel like making something, the lack of any possibility of anything I'd want to eat in the house, pretty much puts an end to that, and so I don't eat.

Yeah, I sound finicky, I know, but seriously, if I can't muster up a good reason to eat (yes, I know living should be a good reason, but it needs to be something that MOTIVATES me, that fills me with the desire to overcome all the obstacles and difficulties and extra effort it requires to get up and eat/fix & eat something.)

Anyway, so we had some yummy dinners! What have you all been fixing and eating this week? I LOOOOvvvee talking about food and recipes and stuff, which also helps motivate me to do more of that too.

I don't know what I'd do without my caring husband. With everything else, and he's become a cook for me. That might sound bad, to some, but loved ones of the mentally ill become the caretakers, when the ill just lose every erg of energy, mental and/or otherwise, to do for themselves.

I wish the weather would stay warm, as it's chilled off a bit the last 4-5 days. I know it's barely March, though. It'll warm soon enough.

How is it, the weather, where you are?

I've been beading, and finishing off some necklaces, take a look on my beading blog! It's part of why I haven't been around Piebolar for a few days. I'll have some more things soon, though I must say, I am SO tempted to keep the picture jasper necklace. It looks WONDERFUL, on!

I dunno, what else would you like to talk about? Name it! I need some chat, and to know that people actually want to converse with me.

Course, I know it's not just about me and what I need, it's about enjoying each other's personalities and stuff.

40 comments:

Stephen said...

Something you may find inspirational is some of the Al Anon literature. I know, there is nothing your husband is doing that has anything to do with the core of Al Anon. But if you treat your condition like an outside force, impacting your life like an alcoholic spouse would, you might find some of the literature helpful.

From your kids and your husband's love, it is obvious that you have much to cherish in yourself.

May you find and recognize it. And may all go well with the new job.

Anonymous said...

Hi there! Well, I had some great take out lemon chicken yesterday!

My family is really into watching American Idol. I like the fresh talent. They work so hard each week on their individual songs and group songs. We get rather passionate about it when somebody we like gets the boot. And yet, we have never actually voted. We have bought the singles of Clay Aiken and Rueben Studdard. My sister gave my mom their Christmas CD by Clay Aiken two years ago. I really like listening to it. Then, my mom and she went to a Christmas concert more recently. And my sister gave me Clay's book for Christmas 2 years ago. I was surprised to find the book so interesting. As you may know, he taught autistic children at one time. He said that each child is so individual and he felt he had a gift in that area of learning what their needs were. I respect him as a young man who sticks to his standards in a biz that is known for loose standards.

Anonymous said...

I am going to order a book by Geraldine Brooks called March, which details the Civil War Experinces of Mr. March who is the father of the Little Women written by Louisa May Alcott. I read that book a couple of years ago. I had seen different movie versions so it was neat to actually read the book. There is so much wisdom in the pages. I love how strong-willed Jo is and how very sweet Beth is. They are reading March at the Nauvoo Forum book club.

Anonymous said...

I had my annual review for work recently and was very pleased with the feedback. My supervisors are both very nice.

Anonymous said...

The scent of walnuts was in the air at work as a co-worker walked by my area. As is often the case with scents ingrained in special memories, this took me back to my grandparents home where their were tiers of goodies ready for the taking. This was a pleasant memory although personally I always thought the walnuts ruined things. They had several black walnut trees at the farm that they moved from when I was in around 4th grade. I think Grandma was good about making part of the goodies without nuts as she was sensitive to those who had not cultivated a taste for them. My grandma was a great all around cook, but was especially famous for her banana cream pie with a lot of meringue. It was so pretty with peaks and a tinge of golden brown on the edges. And it was sooooo good!

Anonymous said...

Top of the mornin' to ya! My family has not started listening to the traditional Irish music as we often do this time of year yet. I guess I will have to turn to the digital channel called Sounds of the Season! I have probably more Irish and German in me than anything else. I am a distant relation to the Kennedys and saw once where they had a monument at the home of their ancestor in Ireland. It was kind of a strage feeling as I think that is my direct line. Or so I figure it would be as Joseph Kennedy was from what I am told a first cousin to my great-great maternal grandmother. It is not like I ever met them or that they know that I exist or anything. And believe me, I do not have their money. A great-uncle of my mom attended a family reunion once years ago of the Kennedy family where former presidnet JFK and his brothers were present.

That is my mom's side of the family. On my dad's side of the family I am more than a wee bit Irish. Actually, I may be more Irish on my dad's side if you add it all up. My paternal grandfather went to Ireland for the first and only time when he was 92. Yes at 92, he flew over the ocean blue. I hope to some day make such a journey. Being that he made it at 92 gives me hope despite the reality that I get nervous just moving around my own house and more so going to work or elsewhere. Well, ocd is not like having a spin that is damaged as there is more hope of recovery for many people than a severed or severely damaged spin. However, my emotional paralysis has been going on for about 12 years. But, it does not hurt to dream of going to the land of lush green rolling hills. :)

I hope you have a Happy St. Patrick's Day even if you are not even a wee bit Irish!

Have you ever studies the life of the real St. Patrick? His life was very inspirational. I love to hear my dad recount the story of how serious St. Patrick was and how his example changed the hearts of a savage pagan nation to embrace Christianity.

Anonymous said...

It sounds like you are a great cook! I think it is good that your husband also cooks. I know a lot of families where the division of labor is for the husband to do much or all of the cooking. My sister does much of their cooking, but her husband has a few dishes that he makes. Once he had my family over for a yummy casserole sort of pot pie like dish that he makes.

Anonymous said...

I am curious about your background in writing. Did you take classes in school? I know at my high school that I wanted to take Journalism, but I heard that it was only for students in honors or who received an A in level two composition where I only received a B. I should have asked around as I had a real strong desire. I did have a great experience in Speech class as I alluded to before and enjoyed writing speeches there.

In College, I had a chance to take News Writing and Reporting so I was able to realize my dream then. It was a lot of work, but I like the process. My main paper for the semester was an interview with someone who was in congress at the time. My teacher was very much into politics and almost took a job in political writing so she was very pleased with my choice. The topic was wide open and I could have done anything. I also interviewed someone on an earlier paper in regards to a street nearby my house that they were widening. He was the person he designed the plans and seemed very happy to be interviewed. When I was outisde waiting for my ride to pick me up, the mayor or our city saw me standing there. I must have looked rather professional and I think I had a little tape recording. He asked me what I was up to and I informed him. He proceded to inform me how it was his administration that was getting the job done. He seemed very happy and seemed to say that the previous administration was supposed to do the job. My parents used to really dislike this Mayor when he was a congressman as his politics were so different from theirs. However, they liked him as Mayor as he did a lot for our city. He grew up in the area of town where we live. There are a lot of people who have had a prejudice of people East of 72nd Street, which is just ridiculous as there are some very fine neighborhoods. He was instrumental in revitalizing part of the area and a Home Depot and other businesses went where it was it was declining before. In addition, we believe that it was because of him that our neighborhood library was expanded. This was the same library that my mom went to as a child as did I. Her brother's wife who was both a teacher and a librariarn also went there. As a grown woman, she always patronized this library and would have them bring books from other libraries there as that increased on an interlibary loan increasing the activity there, which is always good for the books of an inner-city library. She used to say this library was the step-sister and when a new library was built at one time, she said the money was supposed to be for our library. When she entered the library for the first time after the expansion, my aunt who I have never known to show much emotion in public became very teary eyed.

Anonymous said...

Sara, I am feeling very talkative this morning. That is not always the case!

I told my teacher that I spoke with the Mayor about the expansion of the road and she told me that I should have put it in my paper. I will reveal to you that I am very compulsive in regards to such things. I did not have a chance to write down what he said verbatim nor did I have my tape recorder on. I guess that I am honest to the point of being neurotic at times and I was afraid that I would somehow misrepresent what he said. It is not like I do not have a pretty good auditory memory as that is one of my strong suits. In fact, I can remember many conversations with people through the years and often with perfect recall. I hope that I have lightened up a bit. I may have added a little something in a re-write to appease my teacher, but I am not quite sure.

Anonymous said...

Have you ever taken a class in creative writing? I have not. There is a writers forum at the Nauvoo forum for LDS writers that I joined. I had fun with a creative exercise as I worked on a brief segment about a young man whose parents recently lost their home to a bank and was now living in a shelter with his mom and dad and little brother. I go by bkb on that section of the forum. My objective was to enlighten people about the plight of the working poor in this country. I recall hearing a few years back how there were people who work 60 or more and still require assistance. I recall a blog that you had in this area that I meant to comment on, but I never got around to it. People can be so judgmental. People buy into the myth that if you work hard that you will get ahead in this country. However, there are many hard working and able people who struggle. Maybe they did not have a chance for an education and have not learned a skill that pays good wages. However, I think that they deserve much dignity for their hard work and should be paid a fair wage to support their families. Also, education does not always mean one will get a job in such a field. I have a friend who has a degree in Electronics. He is very shy and did not market himself well so he did not get a job then. The field changes so fast. He worked fast food for years, but as you get older, naturally that pace is hard to keep up. He had a lot of challenges getting gainfully employed. He did go back to school to continue his education. He is so intelligent in areas of Math and electronics. I think it was Calculus III that he passed in recent years. I never even took PreCalculus. I actually got an A in Algebra II in high school and its equivelent in College, but I think that has more to do with my ability to memorize the way to work out problems and they were not so complex that careful study and hard work made me able to perform well. I could only solve the most simple of equations now. I have such respect for anybody who takes advanced Math! As a man in his 40's he was thinking about taking a paper route at one time for employment. I think it is great when a person is willing to do something to try to be as independent as possible even if they may still need some assistance to make ends meet. I believe in giving credit where credit is due. We need to build people up and give them respect for what they do. I am not sure what he is doing right now. His sister is my best friend locally, but we do not talk about him much.

Anonymous said...

Is this enough dialogue yet for you Sara? I am only just getting started. Oh, know you may be thinking, what have I created! :)

Back to talking about creative writing. My sister took a class in high school and I really enjoyed reading her work. It was so neat to see that side of my sister as she wrote about both fictional and real people. I liked how she was able to bring meaning to the lives of all that she wrote about including to real life elderly twins that may be mentally retarded who would often walk our streets in our nearby business district. My sister writes for a living as she is in PR. She has deadlines every day and a lot of responsiblity. However, I wish she would tap more into this side of herself. She does use her talents in a lot of ways and is on committees that are not required for her job. She was so valued on one committee that they said that they would just cancel the meeting until she came back from her vacation with her husband. She has has had a lot of personality even as a small child. I lived for her growing up and I stayed home after graduating high school for her as she was only starting high school after I graduated. She does not know any of this. I am so happy for her and that she is able to use her talents for good. She has been married for almost 12 years. They do not have children yet other than her three doggies. She always was an animal lover. I will jump to that tangent in just a moment.

Anonymous said...

I am going to talk about doggies now. We raised German Shepherds growing up. It started with our dog Dutchess who was a highly intelligent dog and an excellent mother. She had a lot of champions in her line and we paid a fee or gave the owner of the father the pick of the litter when we bred her. I considered her son Baron my dog. I know dogs are by nature enthusiastic, but he seemed to want to do so everything in his power to really please me. He was a beautiful with a sable coat and a solid body somewhat on the big boned side as his mother was rather big boned. I loved to hug him. He had a good temprament and not really hyper unless I asked him to roll over. He seemed very excitable at the opportunity to please me in this regards. Later, Dutchess also had another puppy that we kept who we named Sasha. She was a beautiful and confident puppy with black and tan markings. She was a victim of violence when she was still rather young where somebody slashed her neck. She survived but I think it took a lot out of her mentally as she never seemed quite right. She was a nice dog and had a lot of puppies at the same time as her mother. We had two homes at one time and when we were not renting the other home, we had part of our dogs there. My dad bought puppies from a lady going out of town and we were to have the dog until she returned. I am not sure if it was just mother's instinct as we were strangers to her, but she was one mean and evil dog. She used to snap at people going up the stairs. She became so vicious that we had to get rid of her before the lady returned. I think it was her litter that had some pups with pink noses or maybe it was Dutchess when somehow she had puppies by a Husky dog alhtough we had a huge privacy fence around our yard. I was afraid of puppies with a pink nose for some reason that I cannot put a finger on. I remember a family member chasing me with such a puppy and my running upstairs to the bathroom, which was the only room with a lock.

Anonymous said...

Soon my dad was buying other litters of puppies and other grown dogs. It kept snow balling. He would even buy litters of mutts and resale them. Now puppies are so sweet when they are little and you can cradle them in your arms. If they do not sell in their early weeks though, they seem to go through a gangly stage. And keeping up with them is such a challenge. It seemed like my dad would put up a wooden fence in their area and keep raising it as they mastered that level. It was real training for them to become masters of the art. Later, he built official pins. Growing up, I cleaned up after the puppies a lot rolling up and laying the newspapers. I gave them a ton of TLC too. My dad grew up on a farm so maybe this was an extension of that. The birth of puppies and their growth is a real natural science. A cute science with a wet nose and wagging tail that brings such excitement to children from their birth to milestones of opening eyes, and walking, and learning basic commands.

Anonymous said...

Now to the memory that talking about my sister and her three dogs triggered that I wanted to talk about. I did not plan to give so much background to get to it. I know that I may stike some people as odder than I am as I like to write in a rather free association style and giving details of about anything that pops into my mind as I go along. It is kind of fun for me to start at one point often not knowing where the road will lead in the end. I am only part way through talking about writing in general, but I will get back to that. Back to my sister and the doggies.

My sister went to Sunday School at our Catholic Church while we were at Mass. I do not think they had that when I was her age. After we were grown, we found a memento of her days in Sunday School when she was probably around Sunbeam age in the LDS Church or what the world would consider Pre-school age. Of course, the world misses out as hearing children louding voice sunbeam with extra stress on the second syllable is a lot to behold. This memento was in teachers hand and was a list of what students in class were thankful for. By my sister Becky, it said somethng to the effect, "Becky thanks God for the doggies."

Anonymous said...

So have you done anything specific to hone your writing skills or is it mainly raw talent that has come very easily for you? I know that you are an avid reader and this helps one be a lot more fluent in expression.

I am considering taking a couple of noncredit classes through BYU at some point. They are rather expensive so that is a drawback at this point. In addition, I am not sure if I am organized enough at this point in my life to get as much out of it as I would like. I think that I may buy a book or two on writing first and build from there.

In creative writing, I mainly like doing character sketches. I am not much on plot development these days. When I was younger, I could write a children's story quite easily. Once I wrote a children's story and drew pictures that accompanied them to illustrate a topic for a Family Home Evening Lesson that I gave for Young Single Adults. I am not much of an artist, but I received at list one compliment. I liked how the story line went and wish that I still had a copy. The basic premise was about two societies in a community. I think I had one group be the polka dot people and the others were striped. They went about their separate lives until there was somebody who was both striped and polka doted. They would become the link between the two worlds. Both groups seemed to have a subset of interests unique to them, but through this liason, they were able to come together and learn each others gifts and talents and become enriched together.

Anonymous said...

My children's story was a pretty big hit among my peers. I think some of the single men started flirting with me a little more after this. When I spoke in Stake Conference before my mission on the topic assigned of how may goal of temple marriage changed my life, I felt that the single brothers were a little more friendly than usual. It seemed a bit of a cruel twist of fate for me to be assigned this talk at the time when I was focused on going on a mission rather than marriage. The marriage in the temple was my goal, but as they say first things first.

Anonymous said...

On with writing about writing....

I worked with someone once had a good job in sales for a major phone company at one time. It was one of those jobs that seemed to require an around the clock committment. We were working as vendors for a different major phone company inbound as well as other line groups unrelated to the phone industry at the time. Our objective for the phone company was to sign people up for a phone plan. When I believed that our plan was the best for a given customer, I was very enthusiastic in selling it. I could honestly tell them that it was a "win/win" situation. Later, there would be plans with fees and this plan had a loop hole that made it less suited to people who spend little so I strived to be very honest in letting a customer know if a plan would save them money. We could see their past history and what they would of saved on a given plan or not in comparison to their current plan and other plans. Oh, I said I was going to get onto writing about writing so I better get back to the topic at hand. He related to me how at times in sales words would come out of his mouth like "pearls" and other times you would stumble over your words. It was not somethng that he felt he had any internal or external control over. I know in sales there are often dry spells, and I am not sure if they correspond much with what he describes here.

I feel this relates to writing as well. Sometimes words flow so nicely and just the write words are found to articulate my thoughts. I like to think about the very process of forming thoughts. In an area of Psycholinguistics, they have a hypothesis that the mind must have some type of pre-language form with thoughts called something like Mentalese. I recall thinking deeply on this for a paper in Psycholinguistics and in doing so concluded that it seemed very plausible becaue if our ideas were held strictly in language form, then how would we know what we were going to say before we composed the sentence. That is hard to express so I hope I got my idea across. You read my blog where I talk about how I feel that many people may have profound feelings but are not able to articulate. They may not be into higher order thinking or such but their feelings are as deep as everyone and their emotions towards God, family, and nature can be so real. I know some people are the silent type or they may be more visual. If only we could read their hearts are hear what their lips will not form.

Anonymous said...

By the way, that site crashed for a while and I lost all my old enteries. I have started making a few enteries again though.

I shall return after I eat an orange.

Anonymous said...

That was a very sweet and juicy orange. It hit the taste buds just right.

I find it difficult to describe taste and smelling. I do not think many adjectives exist for either. Please list all you know of either sense.

Sometimes everything I write seems so choppy. I wrote a paper that I really liked my first year of high school about how to make an Italian dish. Then, the next semester we had to write a paper on a short story. I always felt so confined in doing so and worried so much about following their MLA style and having a thesis and three sentences followed by a body with three sentences. I think that I started every single sentence that was about a short story on a sniper with, The sniper.....

I hope all of this is not too much to follow. I know sometimes your medication can make it hard to concentrate. Believe me, I do not expect you to respond to all of the topics hit upon.

I think I will continue talking more about writing on another day. I do so like thinking about words and writing. My Editing teacher in College assigned a book called Words on words. I found it so interesting to read. However, he seemed a little too sarcastic and elitist at times so I stopped reading it for leisure. If I can find it again though I would like to resume. As of late, I like to go to Barleby and click on things such as idioms to get a definition. There are some there that as a native speaker of the English language that I did not really know. But more for another day. I will share a poem that I wrote in a moment though.

Anonymous said...

I don't write a fraction of all of this in my public blog or in my private online or personal journals. :)

It helps me to have someone to talk to as well. I have a good friend here that I talk to from time to time on the phone, but now that her husband is home from the Middle East, it is hard for me to know a good time to call. Her husband is a friend of mine too. In fact, he is the first man that I went on a real date with! But it has done me a world of good to have you to talk to today.

Here is the poem.
I so delight in musing about and using words.
With words I can speak of cabbages, kittens, and cottage cheese curds.
The words of which I often play each day are of themselves neither good nor bad.
Nor know they the meaning of happy or sad.
It is our minds that give meaning to the words we employ.
Let us use them to bless and not to annoy.
Whether waxing philosophical or speaking in jest, choose from the pool of only the best.
Our quest is to find just the right word for just the right space.
Our reward is mirrored back in the recipient's face.
There are those whose vocabularies and abilities are much greater than mine.
I am often enlightened by others' ordering of words on a line.
At present, most words can still be used for free.
Use them judiciously and with unbridled glee!

Sarebear said...

OOoooh, lots to talk about!

Thanks Barb! I'll reply throughout the day, teehee, it'll take me a bit, though!

I love to read what you write, you are very expressive.

I never took any classes, it was just natural.

Although in highschool I did take a year of Journalism and was editor of the school paper.

Anonymous said...

You were editor of your school paper. Very cool! :)

Anonymous said...

Some of my callers at work gave me a real work out. My concentration was very poor, and I contemplated leaving early. How tempting it was! After my lunch, I had enough in me to make it through the day. I am not very talkative at the moment as you can imagine. Glad to be home though! I hope that your day was a great one!

Anonymous said...

I just had some great Greek food. It was chicken, peas, and potatoes. It was good. All I need now is a fireplace to throw my plate into.

Anonymous said...

There was a segment of pandas on t.v. They were at a playground and going down slides and romping around. They were so cute! There is talk that we may get a panda at our local zoo. :)

Anonymous said...

What kinds of games do you and Emily like to play? I saw a game that I think was Zainy Brainy that looked fun where things like spaghetti in a bowel were scattered on a floor. I have never actually seen it played and think it would take a decent amount of space. I think a person could make their own version and even use it for educational purposes.

annegb said...

I just got back from my cruise, Sara, I'll be in touch momentarily.

I love Mathew m. as well, he gave Barbara Walters a foot rub and I died. I can just feel it and the grin and the dimples and the voice. MMMMM.....

annegb said...

Sara,

Come cook at my house, will ya?

Cruising sort of bites in my opinion. Too loud, too many people, too much food.

I loved Clay Aiken, as well, but I wish he'd be open about his sexuality. When you really respond to a performer, you need to know them in some way. Although they are on TV before millions, the experience is intimate. I need to know where he's coming from.

Sara, Stephen's advice about Al-Anon is very good. It is a healthy program.

I need to unpack, I'll call when I get off line.

A

Anonymous said...

Hey there! How's it going? I was so excited today to write a couple of poems that I really liked. I posted them both at the site where I am poetry moderator. I told you where that was before but if you do not remember, it is Helamans Army. So stop on by if you get a chance. If you get a chance to submitt any or your orignal work or work by others that would be even better! I am bkb there.

Anonymous said...

There were cat acrobats. My favorite was the cat walking on its hind legs pushing a baby carriage!

Anonymous said...

Did you read annegb's excellent guest post at Ethesis?

I watched American Idol tonight. It was Stevie Wonder night. I don't think anybody sang the songs that I really like such as the one that goes "I just called to say I love you" or "Ebony and Ivory" There were some stand out performances though. I think they all did good!

Anonymous said...

I wrote this simple and cheerful little poem earlier today and hope you like it.

In March when the wind is just right, it is time to fly a kite.
Watch it wave in its flight.
And carry troubles out of sight.

Anonymous said...

We are in a blizzard here. I thought I would be the one to shovel when I got home to work. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the man who we used to hire who lived across the street had started the job. So I am nice and snug and warm.

Anonymous said...

My sister picked me up at work today. She was a little late as she waited for the University of Nebraska at Omaha hockey game to get over. They went pretty far, but they lost today. She is a pretty big fan and her in-laws gave her a jacket for her birthday. She stayed and visited awhile and we watched a movie.

Anonymous said...

My sister-in-law called and a couple of days ago and reported to my mom that the outfits that I bought for my niece who is almost nine months arrived. My step-niece was home when the arrived and she and my sister-in-law tried on all three outfits and assisted her in walking around the room. Some of the outifts had matching hats and it turns out that my niece loves wearing hats unlike her sister when she was a baby according to my sister-in-law. My niece was free with her giggles as the marched her around the room and was taking pretty good steps as she often likes to start out with gigantic leaps before moderating her gait. It is like she has believed that she could walk for a couple of months. When being held, one has to do it tightly because she likes to kick her legs and she seems to think that she could just get up and walk. I think she is going to be an early walker like my sister. Her daddy was a late walker. My mom was worried that he would not be walking before I was born. He was a fast crawler and would walk around furniture. He did take his first step at about 16 months and had such strong and sturdy legs that he did not fall like most. My brother grew up to be very athletic and he was the one growing up that was "the smart" one of the family. I remembered in telling this, how my mom and dad told me that on a recent visit that my niece stood up on her own by her toy chest. She had quite a look of concentration as she completed this feat and new instinctively to put her arms out for balance. She is one for liking attention and has been known to make loud sounds when family is focused on t.v. rather than her. Of course, nothing on t.v. could be nearly as interesting as my wonderful and cheeful niece.

Anonymous said...

I am glad that I was able to see all the sessions of General Conference. I missed a little here and there, but think I saw almost all the talks. I really needed the messages and the spiritual nourishment.

Anonymous said...

How's the weather? We have had beautiful Spring weather the last few days. Today was the best so far. My mom and I were in the yard this evening and my sister drove by after going to dinner with her husband. My mom ushered her to stop for a visit. We ended up having a pretty nice visit.

Anonymous said...

"Chirp, chirp, chirp," said the little bird.

"Chirp, chirp, chirp," said the little bird.

"Spring is here" "The air is clear."

"Chirp, chirp, chirp," said the little bird.


poem by me

Happy Spring!

Anonymous said...

My mom and dad went out of town for the day for my great-uncle's funeral. They have returned and said it was a very nice service. His son gave a nice eulogy. Also, he had a grandson and his wife who did musical numbers. One of the musical numbers was the grandson's wife singing while accompanied by their five year old son playing the drums. According to my dad, the boy had rythm! I am not sure what denomation that they were. The misters were a husband and wife and my mom said that of the two that the wife was a better speaker. My great-uncle was a farmer and it was said that he was a believer in conservation before its time. My grandma and her twin sister were the oldest of 14 children(13 raised to adults and 1 died in infancy). I would have liked to have gone to the funeral, but it is hard for me to go places like that. I am glad that my parents were able to go and support the family.

Anonymous said...

H A P P Y E A S T E R !