Color Clouds

Thanksgiving traditions- lots and lots of food. A few games and then off to the city for a light parade and fireworks. My favorite - remember. Well, we had food - prime rib - and this year I did it right. A perfect medium - just the right amount of pink. Dad got a good piece of meat and it was gooood. I didn't go crazy on the side dishes since it was a bunch of old people eating. So we didn't have any leftovers to speak about. That is really weird. I had to cook all weekend. The games part of the day was - guess - your right - Goof!!! Yes, I was the score keeper and yes, I won. Dad and Matt tied for second. Poor Mom.

The next day was me making a tail for the school bus and if you want to know more on this - just read next weeks posting. Anyway at 5 p.m. off Matt and I went to the city. Parked in our usual spot - same place as last year when we were with Da and Nik. It snowed that day so we sloshed along in the melting snow as it was raining then. We watched a few floats go by all lit up - but went on to the beach to stake out our spot. And it continued to rain!! About 6:15 or so the count down started. And off went the fireworks!!! My favorite!!! Except this year - yea for colored clouds. The more the fireworks went off the more smoke it made and the harder it was to see. At one point it looked like the clouds where raining sparklies - as the sparks fell to the water.

This is the beginning. See the pretty, this is the most we got to see.
The ones shot off from the board walk where the ones we could see the best. The show lasted about 10 minutes or so - . Since it was raining and slick - we didn't run back to the car. A nice walk and when we where leaving - there was this family with two girls and a stroller. I kept looking at the guy and I knew I knew him. It was Liz and Dave. Didn't recognize the girls with all the hats and scarfs. So even if it was raining and cold - who cares - its TRADITION.

Fire!!!!

Fire - I love fire. There is nothing better than a good camp fire. Sitting around roasting marshmallows and eating s'mores. The conversation around a camp fire is always fun and sometimes deep. Watch the fire is mesmerizing. I love poking it with a stick and watching the sparks rise from the fire and fad out. Listening to the fire is calming. The snap, crackle, pop of the wood as it slowly turns into ash. Fire is a great motivator sometimes when a pop occurs followed by an amber being shot out of the fire and landing on or close to your shoe. People learn how fast they can move.

We use the word - fire - in allot of different ways. "Light a fire under that guy" is used to get someone to move faster. Fire in someones eyes usually means anger or insanity. The fire of a diamond refers to its brilliance or light. The raging fire of a fever (Shakespeare) and someone is really, really sick. Sorry Darren I know how much you hate Shakespeare. In the army we would like them to cease fire. Lightening is described as fire from the sky. Fire is also to make things stronger. Clay in a kiln - is fired and made stronger. Stories of adventure fire the imagination. When you are excited you are all fired-up or on fire. When we make a mistake we miss fire, and Jack Bauer will open fire on the bad guys.

We listen for the fire alarm. Our sun is a fire ball. We get out of the way of the fire engine. Some of us own a fire arm. Fire crackers are fun to light on the forth of July. My kids favorite family home evening was when we practiced our fire drills. The fire eaters in a circus are just plan nuts. To be a fire man is very honorable. But if you have a fire sale it is because someone had a real fire. I love fireworks. My favorite really. Every one should own a fire extinguisher. Matt and I buy fire wood to go into our fire place almost every weekend.

Then there are fire sides. Meeting at church or in a home where you could learn about fire and brimstone, or maybe something else. Moses was led out of Egypt by a pillar of fire at night. Abinadi was killed by King Noah by fire. We learn of other prophets being saved from the fire. And in Matthew 3:11 "...he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:". I can go on and on but I won't.

Fire is great and then it is scary. Like Saturday morning - I wake up and go into the dinning room. Matt is at an in service meeting at work. Saturday mornings are not for work - anyway - I turn on the light in the dinning room and POP. I hear a loud pop followed by some crackling. I look up and the ceiling light fixture is on fire. UGH!!!!!! I think - fire is not suppose to be coming out of a light bulb. I turn off the light and the fire goes out. YEA!!!!! Now I am really awake. Fire is no fun on your ceiling. My next thought is - darn I should have taken a picture. Dumb - I know - but I did think that. Then I went and made sure I knew where the extinguisher was. I was right!! This is the burnt fixture - not the greatest picture - tuff - it is what I got.

Matt putting up the new fixture.

This is our new dinning room light. Like it? All because of a fire that wasn't bad - just a little unnerving.

What is so great about getting old?

When I was 14 - I used to think "can't wait till I'm 16". Then when I was 16 , I wanted to be 18, than 21. It seemed to stop there. I don't remember ever wishing I was 30. (except maybe now I do, but that is backwards) No one ever says - "wow - I can't wait to be 40!" But then again no one ever warns you about 50 either. Why? I'll tell you why.

In a women's life it is summed up in one word - menopause!! Natures way of getting even for all the times you tried to speed time up. You know the time I was 17 years old and out walking the streets in Las Vegas at two o'clock in the morning, in a mini-skirt. How stupid is that? I can't believe I didn't get into trouble. Not the little trouble from your parents kind - but the guy throws you into his car and you are never the same again - kind of trouble. Not having any brains when you are a teenager is expected but when you are older and don't use your brains - it is something else. When you are 17 - people just shake their heads and say "teenagers" . When you are 50 something - people just shake their heads.

I don't care about the hot flashes or the night sweats. Really they aren't that bad. But I am told that the exercising is helping keep them small. What is bad is the brain thing. I now know it was a 50 something women who coined the phrase -"Of all the things I've lost I miss my mind the most" It is amazing how one minute you can know something and the next have no clue. I mean not one little sparkle of a clue. I give myself all the Alzheimer's tests and keep passing them - thank goodness - but I still keep giving them to myself anyway. At least I think I'm passing them - I mean it is me doing the grading.

The good thing is that these moments go away - fleeting moments of frustration. You get your brain back and can think again. Until the next surge of hormones or lack thereof. So for now I give Grant and Darren tons of material to tease their mother about. Damon, Cristy and Mandy just shake their heads. That's o.k. cause I do to - shake my head that is. Only now I hear a little rattle.

When I was a kid

So today was a very boring Saturday. The third Saturday is clean the house really good day. I limit this to once a month - no I clean other days but this is the big clean day. And really with only two people in the house things stay cleaner. Anyway this is not what I was going to write about today. Today after we got the brakes fixed on the Park Avenue and Pick-up , we went to Costco to get Matt some glasses. Our big date. We ran into Mandy, Grayam and George squared. Surprise!!! That was fun but then again - this is still not what I was going to talk about. Anyway while Matt was gazing into this machine and that, I walked around Costco. All their Christmas stuff is out now. And that is when I got to thinking about when I was a kid. (finally - this is what I want to talk about)

I always thought that my Grandfather Hank saw allot of change. I mean he was born when people where still using horses to get around. I thought that was amazing! But I got to thinking and well, I was here before computers in every household. My TV was the three major networks - ABC, NBC, CBS and PBS. We never watched public TV - too boring. Our telephones had rotary dials on them and when push buttons came out it was a big thing. Our idea of a Mobile phone was one with a eight foot cord. You could get around a kitchen with that. As a kid we could stretch that cord to the basement door, close the door and sit on the top step so we could talk with no one listening. I bet Mom and Dad listened on the other side of that door.

We only had one color TV. The other TV in the house was in mom and dads room and it was black and white. I would lay down on the floor in the hallway and peek through the crack in the door to watch whatever Mom and Dad was watching. I would try to slowly open the door more to get a better view. Like my folks never noticed the door slowly opening on its own. I was such a dweeb. Thought I was so sneaky. My folks where mostly nice and let me watch for awhile but then would shoe me off to bed. A couple of times - on a Friday night - they would fall asleep and I would get to watch TV till the station went off the air - they always played the national anthem to sign off - anyway I would wait for Mom or Dad to get up to shut the TV off and nothing - so I walked in and shut the TV off and then went to bed. For a nine year old that was way cool to stay up to 1 or 2 in the morning. Now I wonder if TV channels even sign off - do they all stay on all night long?

Now I have a satellite on the side of my house to bring me over a hundred channels. I have to pay for this. I remember when there was a big push to stop pay TV. TV was free and should remain that way. I believed that when I was young. When VCR's came out - I remember saying - "who would want to watch the same movie over and over?" What a dweeb!! I own over a hundred movies. Guess I would!! - I also remember the kids asking me - how did I watch movies when I was a kid? - when they learned I didn't have such machines when I was young. Now TV is changing again in February - what is in store for us next?

Anyway thanks for letting me remember - when I was a kid.

Little Girls

I am such a dweeb!! I sit here thinking of my little Cristy and I am tearing up. My little girl turns 29 on the 10Th. That means I'm old. OK I'm not tearing up because I'm old but it sounded like a good cover.

It was just yesterday when her father placed her on the kitchen floor and said "it's time for you to walk" so off she went. Always believing she could do "it". What ever "it" was -she knew she could do it!!! Cristy saw her brother climb a tree and thought "I can do that" and she did. Only to look down when she got up there and then get scared. She was only 2 years old. I won't get into how stupid I was to let her do it in the first place but Cristy couldn't be stopped. Just ask Damon - she wouldn't stop tormenting him no matter what. He would plead but she just smiled and kept it up.

She could charm her way out of trouble like nobody else. Principles could never really yell at her. She would just smile and well..... She got pulled over a few times by the police and no tickets that I know of anyway. Who could ticket that face???? In high school she was voted class president. Poor kid that ran against her. But then again - if Cristy wants to do something - she does it.

She worked two jobs one summer - KFC and Dairy Queen - six hours at one store then off to the other. Paid off her braces that year - more than what her parents could due. Nothing stops Cristy.

She entered Junior Miss pageant - came in second. Came out of it with a scholarship to NIC. Went out for the cross country team and got another scholarship for the rest of her time at NIC. Went to Boise State for a year. Found the money - worked her little self to the bone. Next was BYU. Paid her way through it all.

Now - well she is old now. OK she has a year to go before she is officially old. But she told me a funny story the other day and I hope she doesn't mind me sharing. But she remembers telling someone when she was little that I was 28 years old. She remembers me at 28 and now she is 29. So now she is older than her Mom.

Cristy you will never be older than your Mom. You are definitely wiser, but not older. I am so very impressed with how you have forged your path in life. Always turning to your Heavenly Father and doing what is right for you. Your prayers have lead you to this perfect time in your life - a great job, a great husband. Too far away from me but, that, I am afraid, is also inspired.

So happy birthday Cristy!!! I won't tell everyone that you are also the child that caused the most gray hair. The police never called me on the boys! (teehee) Sorry - just had to mention that. Don't worry no one but family reads this anyway.

The first 29 years where filled with wonder - what shall the next 29 bring? (more grandchildren?)

Nana First!!! (teehee)

First off - I don't have a picture of Grayam in church, so this one was taken on Sunday - soon enough. So why do I need a picture of Grayam in church , you ask? Simple - Mandy and her fam joined me last Sunday for Sacrament meeting. I love Sundays like that - anyway - Grayam is crawling all over his Mom and Dad when he looks over at me and says "Nana". That's right folks he says Nana before he says Mama. Sorry Mandy but that made my year!!!! I have no idea what was said in that testimony meeting except "Nana". Yea for me!!!

This week has been boring - except for the "Nana" thing - I canned pears all week-end. Matt worked on his car. I gave away the rest of the pears we had and we even had a mystery pear picker come and take the rest of the pears off the tree. No more left for the deer to eat.

Mom is doing well, she is going in for blood tests and they are adjusting her medication. Blood got a little too thin there - so keep the prayers coming. Till next time-----Nana signing off!!

Mom is Home !!

So Mom wouldn't let me take a picture of her in the hospital - don't blame her - so here she is at home. The place she loves the most. I'm suppose to tell you all she will look better tomorrow after she goes and gets her hair done. I think she looks great!

I can tell you that she is motivated to eat better and take care of herself. I was able to talk to Cristy for a long time and come up with some important steps for Mom to take. I love getting free professional advise. (I am trying to figure out what profession we are missing in this family and assign Darren to fill that void) She is enjoying one step tonight....

Chocolate mint chip ice cream. OK it wasn't a step but she is my mother and you don't take away the ice cream without allot of tears - and I don't make my Mommy cry!!!

So in the end Mom spent two nights in the hospital, had a ton of tests made on her heart, and tons of blood tests and they just came back to original problem. Her heart doesn't beat right. They are thinning her blood - taking more blood tests along with more Dr. visits. Dad and I are going to help with the better diet. For now that's about it.

Thanks for all the prayers - to Darren who suggested the blessing - thanks but her grandchildren were not there to give it , so she passed. Bummer. But the prayers worked - THANKS!!