Brazilian Missionarias Reunion, 2009

Last Saturday was quite the day.  By the end I was not much good for conversation or anything else.  I even decided I was probably a good candidate for the elderly menu of bread and milk before bed. 

We had our annual sisters reunion in West Bountiful.  It turned out great.  We had about 20 attending to hear Gary and Rose Neeleman share their continued relationship with Brazil.  Gary returned to Brazil with his wife and young son 16 months after his mission as a UPI correspondent.  They lived in Brazil for the next seven years and three more children.  You can see our new blog at brazilianmissionaria.blogspot.com

Nan and I enjoyed "What's So Funny?" at UVU.  Fun seeing Rick and Mavis and their children with spouses and children, Miel, Aerie, Jill and Reed.  

Uncle updates:
Blaine is recovering slowly from open heart surgery on September 1st.
Richard is doing well.  Marilyn is recovering from pneumonia.  We don't agree on politics!
Jim is adjusting to life without Polly.  Cathy plans to move into his Orem home and he plans to move to Oahu and get away from the snow for the last years of his life.

Our community garden Pumpkin Fest was a great success today.  Polly, Griffin and I stopped by to buy our pumpkins.  Wish I had had my camera.  It was a great neighborhood event.  Missed the Michigan City String Band for the General Relief Society Meeting at my stake center.  Nice to go with Myra.  We love our new stake RS presidency and all they are doing.

After my flu shot today I went up to a little boy in the waiting room that had been screaming and hollering before I went in and said to him, "Hey, you really scared me with all your crying, you big tease!  I hardly felt a thing."  He thought he was pretty clever to pull that trick and grinned.  When I got to the car I called Clay, Dave and Danny, to line up in front of the phone.  I wanted to find out what all the fuss was about last week when they got theirs--I didn't feel a thing.  I had to ask the nurse if she really gave it to me. 

Ruth and I are making plans to attend our BYU 50th Reunion in October.  She's going to fly in for four days from Reno.  Too bad no football tickets available except for big bucks at the Marketplace.  I don't believe the team won a game while we were students.  Basketball was another thing.  We will have fun.

Its beautiful warm autumn weather these days.  I dug up everything on the east side of my home, thinned out the day lilies and planted 90 bulbs.  I can't believe there are 90 bulbs in that little space.  Time to check out the Alpine Loop and Nebo Loop fall color. 

What's So Funny

Aunt Nan and I really enjoyed "What's So Funny?" an improv comedy club at UVU started by Reed, youngest son of Rick and Mavis.  I couldn't stop thinking how much Christopher and Griffin would like it and perhaps even Clay and Dave.  Who knows--maybe even their parents. 

About 10 guys and a girl set up "games" of various situations for which several of the actors then improvise dialogue and movement.  There was a wide variety of games.  It was fun to watch and to hear the response of the audience of all ages.  Dad would have loved doing this.

A bonus of the evening was to get to chat with Rick and Mavis, Miel, Aerie, Jill and spouses and children.  A surprise was seeing Glenda, my hiking companion from my last year at Heber Valley Camp, and her husband.  Her son is one of the actors and Reed's roommate. 

I'm looking forward to the next performance of "What's So Funny?" in October.  We'll be there.

Changes

Changes came hourly it seems.  News of Aunt Polly's death Sunday afternoon prompted the need to scratch my visit to Ruth in Reno.  Sad to realize Aunt Polly and I will not have our girls week next month while Jim goes to Hawaii.  Although there were some hard moments last fall what was learned and the great times we had far surpassed any blips.  "All good things must come to an end", that must be something from Anonymous.  Sad also to miss the many wonderful plans Ruth had made for our several days in Reno together.  Sad, but uplifting for Jan, JillXan and me to meet at Cannon Beach for their first trip to "The Compass", their beach house.   Times like these are the priceless values of the losses that we have experienced.  Changes happen and hopefully we are better for them.

This was the first remodel of the Cannon Beach house.  A tiny house on the beachfront.  Later, before Bob died 10 years ago, they bought the house to the right and then joined the two together with a gallery after Bob died to create . . .








this beautiful home.

The view from the lane entry one block west of the Coaster Theater.

It was a quick 24-hour visit with a dear friend.  A few tears, a lot of hugs, much sharing of our lives with Jan's old photos, my GramME quilt book and a family photo calendar brought us up-to-date and ready to move on.  This was there first visit back to the beach house since her son, Devin's, fatal car accident in July.   Wonderful lunch at The Lumberyard--prawn, Tillamook quessadilla, then salmon dinner at a charming place on Hemlock . . . walks on the beach.  I want you to know the GramME story quilt meant a lot especially to JX.  Memories make a difference as we live our lives after losses.

A favorite spot to read in the gallery. 

One day's harvest of sand dollars.

I guess you need to know to walk to the north.  I walked to the south and didn't see many shells except a lovely orange crab shell.

Eeyore, JillXan, Jan and the Haystack to the south of The Compass

and to the north the lighthouse and Lewis and Clark's view of the Pacific.

Eeyore and Jan.


Jan and ME.

From The Compass garden, "If tears could build a stairway. . .

 Until we meet again at Cannon Beach.  Here's hoping Ruth will be able to join us.











A look back to the Oakridge days . . .

Martial Arts class.

 
Ian, Gus, Lily, Brad and a neighbor riding the tracks.

Gus takes some air.

Ian's turn, Heather cruising.

Lily and I ate wild blackberries.  No need to have vines in your backyard--they are everywhere.

Brad and his boys.

Lily's table of clay doodles.  This one is a feast table.  She will tell you all that is there and the recipes as well.  I bought one of her paintings.  Now she really is an artist.

September 7, 2009, #72.

Some cousin shenannigans at GramME's.
Now who do you think this might be?

How fortunate it was that Brad had two weeks vacation.  Heather and family came to UT for Great Aunt Polly's funeral and some days of fun in Midvale, Mapleton and Salt Lake.  Now everyone's home and we can look forward to our 2010 reunion at Bear Lake Villas in August. 

Looks like my blog is the best way to communicate just now.


Yesterday the rain days began, but hey! This is Oregon, press on. We opted out of the horse trail ride and dinner and opted in for the dollar movie of "UP." I love that movie. Still no 3-D, but that’s OK. All the family liked it. Part of the fun is hearing the laughter of children in the theater. That is a good contribution to life.

Brad and the boys bought buckets of balls at the driving range and after eating wild blackberries I bought a bucket also. For $3.50 a bucket this may be another great option to pursue. I always liked golf but couldn’t afford to play the links except for a few times. Driving range was fun. Heather and Lily hit a few also.

We’ve had fun playing rounds of UNO and reminiscing about that multiple-deck game amongst the children at our HVC reunion.

I don’t believe I’ve noted that Oakridge has a great new dirt bike track. It was interesting to talk to the guy who has been part of the development. Interested citizens presented their idea to the city commission made up mostly of mothers with children with bikes. They were awarded a matching grant from a national bike association who sent an advisor for two weeks to get the project started on land the city designated (with its own generous patch of wild blackberries). The track is super—amazing how many routes can be fit into a relatively small space. Its free and its open. I’ll post some pictures when I get home.  Heather and Lily gave it a try with the boys. I had the good sense not to try it out.  When we came home an interesting thing happened—Gus gave Lily one of his old bikes, then Lily gave Zella her old bike and Zella has been riding almost non-stop. Everyone has a better bike fit now.

Off to Cannon Beach Tuesday to meet Jan Donnelly, my college roommate then back to Oakridge for Wednesday night and then on to Ruth's in Reno.

Oregon Trails

I’ve written this once before this morning as an e-mail only to loose it while sending when the computer froze. So here it goes in Word to paste either on the blog or e-mail.
            My drive to Oakridge went just fine. I saw a pair of Sandhill cranes heading to Ontario, OR and a Great Blue Heron and two tall egrets (I think) in the river on the way to Bend. Stopped for lunch at the Twin Falls Temple grounds for a lunch hour. This has been a good chance to listen to some books on my to-read list—“Holes” which for whatever reason I thought Bruce would like, and “Balzac and the Chinese Seamstress” by a Chinese writer which I liked in some ways. Now I’m listening to “In the Time of Butterflies” by Julia Alvarez. This has the qualities of a book about women in another culture written by a native of that culture, a genre that I seem to like to read. Some of the sisters seem frivolous and air-headed until I remember they are from a different culture and time. When they become aware of the reality in the world they become remarkable admired women. I believe Alvarez is a Pulitzer winner or Nobel winner. I like her writing. I’m finishing up the Minerva Teichert letters Heather loaned me on my last trip. It is interesting to read how a remarkable artist whose work I have admired lived each day dealing with the typical day to day happenings of family life plus ranch responsibilities and still made time to paint large murals continually while eventually suffering from lead poisoning manifested in her eyesight. Nobody’s life is easy, but a good foundation sure helps.          Its wonderful to be greeted warmly by my grandchildren as soon as I arrive. So far I’ve had a walk with Zella in the a.m. as she rode her bike, saw them do their school work, watched Lion King 1.5 with the girls, took down the outdoor tents before the rains come this weekend, admired the landscape changes and the rearranging in the house to make small spaces work better . . . .
        Last night after watching the boys and Brad at their martial arts class they gave a demo of a take down. I had watched intently and did a practice on Brad which surprised me to do it pretty good. This time I had the good sense to not do the final step of take down to the floor and likely injury. Ha!
       After dinner we celebrated all the Wells birthdays and Dad’s and mine with ice cream and fresh Wilson peaches and chocolate sauce. Brad almost went ballistic with the goodness of the peaches! Then the IKEA party began of nuts and bolts, rats and Swedish fish candies and pear and pomegranate bubbly. Each of them received a shelf for their birthday 2009-2010 for a shelving frame they have. I admire how they, like the rest of you find new ways to use your home space to better advantage and order.
        This morning when I went out to the car for something I think I discovered the source of what looks like itchy spider bites on my leg. There was an impressive spider web along one side of the boot/trunk and behind my clipboard was the spider which I captured. I had seen the spider before I left home and it escaped. Now hopefully the bites and itching will stop.
         Did I mention that I saw Diane and John Madsen at the temple Tuesday? It was nice to visit quietly in the Celestial Room. When asking what his assignment is currently, after a pause he answered—being a good husband. He is now emeritus having turned 70. Perhaps as with other emeriti we will hear of a call to serve in a temple presidency capacity. I can’t think of a better place to cross paths with old friends.
        If Jan Donnelly (we  and Ruth were college roommates our senior year) is able to arrange her schedule for next week I’ll either drive up to Cannon Beach or Portland for a couple of days on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, then back to Oakridge for overnight before heading to Reno as planned.  Jan is much immersed in her son’s estate management and still hurting from his loss in July--a car accident near his home in the hills above Portland, CEO/owner of NetXposure in Portland, Tokyo, India and London.  We all have our challenges and pains.  This is a time in our lives that the liklihood of getting together probably won't happen again.  I hope it works out.  Life is about people.

It sure is fun to be here with our Oregon family.

Widow Lunch Changes.

Two of my CES widow friends that I lunch with each month are now serving full-time missions.  LaVelle has been at the Polynesian Center in Hawaii since June and Fay leaves soon for Budapest.  She and her companion, Bonnie Marshall, will work with 18 to 30-year old singles.  They will have an apartment across from the mission office.  Gisela and I were impressed with the several phrases of testimony that she can say in Hungarian at the after-meeting brunch at her home.  She learned Finnish when she served with her husband in Finland when their children were young, but it sure isn't anything close to Hungarian which must be in a language world all its own.  Gisela and I are thrilled for our spunky friends. 

In the meantime I'm enjoying making new friends among the wonderful people in our ward that we never see at our meetings and Gisela and I look forward to a variety of get-togethers in the coming months as we hold our little widow group together. 

 

Also in the brunch crowd was Ruth Harris, mother of our Bozeman friends Steve and Carol Harris Jenkins.  Ruth and Faye have played tennis together for years. 

Wrap up August and on to September and Oregon coming up . . .

Myra Welling, Cindy Fields and ME at Albion Basin wildflower hike, Big Cottonwood Canyon.

July/August in the Midwest.

Minnetonka memories for one week.

Harriet's beautiful backstroke.

David's ingenious rigging to turn off/on his light switch.

 

 Kayaking Lake Calhoun with Erik.

Summer baseball tournaments.  Tom making a hit.

Hannah making her way through Steinbeck for the start of school.

Newest member of the family, Snowflake.

 

Dear Splashie.

Mark's community garden plot.  Erik packed out a bundle of goodies.

It may not be obvious that this is a clever method of keeping cukes cool in ice water.  The tall appendage at the upper right of the sink is the channel through which cukes are added to the ice cold water prior to pickling.

I wonder if Karen has carried on Erik's methodology of pickling dills.

 

300-year old Bur Oak at the edge of the community garden plots.

Cancer Center tour--

Mark at the labyrinth in the healing garden.

Memory bricks for DPP and MEP.

Beautiful and interesting art throughout the Cancer Center.

LEED recognition.

 Dedication day--

Table centerpiece.

Tom, Mark, the director, Anne, Karen, Erik.

Minnehaha Creek boardwalk entrance at the Center's parking lot.


Off to Northern Kentucky, across the river from Cincinnati, in Fort Thomas and then Taylor Mill for two weeks.

 

The girls and I played at their playground in Fort Thomas while Bruce and Faith did the last clean up of their rental.

 At this point in time Alice didn't like her picture taken.  I later learned from Faith that the anticipation of just a single stick of gum at the end of a photo day was enough encouragement for a ton of photos.

Over the Roebling Bridge of the Ohio River to Cincinnati and the Great American Ball Park.  No team has a more appropriate sponsor name for their venue than the Cincinnati Reds.  I didn't know baseball could be so fun.  Loved the hoopla of a home run, the antics of the grounds crew and  their "YMCA" routine at the 7th inning stretch,

 What a great setting at night as the lights come up and the riverboat lights cruise the river, the hawkers hawk beer, ice cream, peanuts ..., the fans pay 22 bucks for 5 bottles of water, 8 for 2 snow cones, 7.50 for a beer .... I was tempted just to at least give the hawkers a tip for the ambiance--they each have their personal style.  The little girls were terrific. 

                                                                  Who cares that the Reds got beat by the Rockies. 

Next stop the zoo.  Manatees feeding on large heads of lettuce captivated Myra.

The Cincinnati VA hospital where Bruce works.

The Children's Museum at the old train station.

An early in-car birthday for Alice--"The Kissing Hand."  Pre-school will be starting next month.

Fun at the park near the art museum.  The girls did really well with their mom and friends, the Bakers, at the museum giving me some gallery time on my own.

Home to water the tomato plants on the deck, playing in the yard, swinging in the under-the-deck swing, chalk art on the floor tiles and cement foundation wall.  Nothing but fun and games.

Can you tell this is Myra on the foundation wall?

The Underground Railway Freedom Center.

Loved these huge textile wall hangings.

All the exhibits were very thought provoking . . . almost to tears at times.

 

Story time.

Reflection time on the terrible ordeals of runaway slaves crossing the Ohio River at night  from Kentucky.  Gratitude for those, both free-blacks and whites, who dared to help them on their flight to Canada and freedom. 

Downtown for Cincinnati chili.

It was a wonderful Midwest trip to see our two boys and their families settled and happy in their homes, and happy in their work and play.