Crazy Granny

Sailing, Sailing

2011-06-20T19:39:00.000-07:00

In the 1950's when I was a small child, my parents went on a grand trip. My father sang with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and the choir went on a goodwill singing trip to Europe. My mother was able to go on this trip, and for them it was the chance of a life time. Unlike the modern age there were no planes. The trip was made in ships and on trains. It always seemed to me like this was the height of romantic traveling. I watched all the great old movies with trains and ships. An affair to Remember, North By Northwest, The lady on the Train, and Murder on the Orient Express, just to name a few. They were all so great, and I just knew that I needed to travel like this some day.

The opportunity to be on a boat, sailing to a foreign port was the goal of a life time for me. I really wanted to sail on the QE-2 but never had the extra cash to make that journey. Now the QE-2 is gone, but the Queen Mary 2 is out there. I'm not giving up hope on the Atlantic trip, but a practice journey seemed like a great idea. My husband has always wanted to go to Alaska, and I always wanted to make an ocean voyage and so a few weeks ago we sailed away.

My sisters asked me if I would ever do this again. I'm already planning the next trip. We had a blast, no one was murdered, and the food was great. The only thing missing was Cary Grant, but I have Kevin so what does that matter!

Emergency

2011-03-17T15:26:00.000-07:00

Last weekend my dear husband decided to show me how to use a propane torch to solder a jewelery project I was working on. Sometimes in my strange crazy life I have projects that require a variety of useful skills such as soldering, pipe cutting, glass cutting, and even sewing. I know how to solder with a soldering iron, but I had never used a torch. So here is how it went....

We decided to do this project out in the garage instead of the basement because the weather was nice and you need good air circulation when you're soldering. It was going pretty well; Kevin explained how to light the torch and we experimented until we found a good safe way to solder the parts I was working on. After I had successfully completed a couple of items Kevin needed to refill the torch. This was a small torch and you use a regular propane tank to fill the smaller tank inside the torch. Kevin has had both of these items for many years. As he was lighting the torch the on/off valve failed and the whole thing went up in flames. See the life like photo below.

Gas was shooting out and it was on fire. Kevin threw the whole thing out onto our driveway and then we both just stared at it for quite a while, not knowing what to do. I said, "this might blow up", so we stared at it again. I said, "Could we smother it". I ran into the house and completely soaked a towel in water, and we threw it over the tank. NOPE that didn't work. Now Imagine a light bulb coming on over Kevin's head. He mentioned that we had a fire extinguisher right over there on the wall. This thing was about 30 years old and we had never used it.

It worked! The fire was out and for the first time we had used one of our fire extinguisher. If you don't have a fire extinguisher, get one! It's a very good thing to have on hand. If you have one, try and remember what it's for. I think we will remember next time.

Now comes part 2

I have very old, dry, abused hands. I think it's because of the wear and tear from all of the strange afore mentioned techniques I have used over the years, not to leave out, roofing, painting, scrubbing, and diaper changing. My hands have participated in a lot of destructive behavior. And so it continues. Last night I was working on the same piece of jewelery from my previous story and one of my fingers developed a crack. When this happens I use Super Glue to fix the crack. This isn't pretty but it takes away the pain and helps the crack to heal. We just so happened to have a whole new pack of super glue. When I poked a hole in the top of the little glue tube, unknown to me it had squirted out and glued two of my fingers together. It was late at night, I was frustrated, my cracked finger was killing me and two other fingers are glued together. This calls for KEVIN! He came down and to his credit did not burst out laughing. We both just kind of stared at my glued fingers and then we tried rubbing alcohol. That was a bust. Then I turned to the source of all knowledge, Google! I don't really like Google but it comes in handy at times. It's hard to type with two fingers glued together, but I found the answer. It suggested acetone. Although I have pitiful hands, I still have acetone in my home at all times, Fingernail polish remover! Hooray! I soaked my unworthy digits and dabbed them with a Q-tip. They aren't pretty but they're free from bondage. If you don't have fingernail polish remover, get some! It's a good thing to have.

The piece of jewelry still isn't done.

O Captain! My Captain!

2011-02-19T12:15:00.000-08:00

When I was a little girl in Second grade, my teacher (Mrs. Olsen) taught me about Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States. I was immediately enthralled with this man. This is what I was taught: Abraham Lincoln would walk miles to return a book, he was honest at all times, he had a tremendous sense of humor, and he was kind. This was all I needed to know, I became a Lincoln fan over night.

Here is a Lincoln Story:

In the old days, when Abraham Lincoln was one of the leading lawyers of the State, he noticed a little girl of ten who stood beside a trunk in front of her home crying bitterly. He stopped to learn what was wrong, and was told that she was about to miss a long-promised visit to Decatur because the wagon had not come for her.
``You needn't let that trouble you,'' was Lincoln's cheering reply. ``Just come along with me and we shall make it all right.''
Lifting the trunk upon his shoulder, and taking the little girl by the hand, Lincoln went through the streets of Springfield, a half-mile to the railway station, put her and her trunk on the train, and sent her away with a happiness in her heart that is still there.

In these times of fear and danger, a little girl being helped by a tall strange man seems a bit odd, but when I was an innocent child in 1957 this seemed like a wonderful story to me. Here was a man who would go out of his way to help a little girl, and I was certain he did this kind of thing every single day, although having spent time personally in Decatur I’m not sure why the little girl was making a fuss to get there. You can find story after story like this about President Lincoln. There are around 16,000 books written about him and there are more published every year. In America there are at least 15,000 serious Lincoln collectors. I am a Lincoln collector, but I would not be in the serious category, mainly because I can’t afford to be.

Although not a handsome man by any standards there was something about his face that drew me in and I loved his face. He had a rather sad and thoughtful expression that I still find compelling.

If you Google “Lincoln Myths” you will find that there are plenty of people who want to rain on my parade, and are not fans of Lincoln at all. They call him a dictator and other less flattering names. I’m only concerned about the man that I think he was. We all need heroes that we look up to and admire. I’m lucky enough to have many of them in my life, and Lincoln is one of them. I like Lincoln so much that I have a room in my house dedicated to him. I call it the Lincoln Library. Any time I or one of my sisters or friends finds a cool (affordable) Lincoln artifact we buy it and the collection grows and grows. This being said I also collect Star Trek, I wonder what this says about me and Lincoln.
Here are a few Lincoln quotes:

All that I am, or hope to be, I owe to my angel mother.

America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves.

Books serve to show a man that those original thoughts of his aren't very new at all.

Every one desires to live long, but no one would be old.

I care not much for a man's religion whose dog and cat are not the better for it.

Here was a man who literally gave his all for our country, Abraham Lincoln, My Captain!

These are a few of my least favorite things

2011-02-10T09:52:00.000-08:00

I've thought a lot about what my sister Victoria said about the HATE word only being used for pornography and other heinous crimes, and I too truly hate and despise those types of things, but also I have a list of minor things that I hate. Here are a few of them..

Late Fees
Stubbed toes
Pot holes
Cracked fingers
Dirty toilets
Dentist drilling on my teeth(actually almost anything that a dentist does to me. Waiting in line at the post office when Bob is the only postal worker available.
My 2010 Word calendar at work that will not print the lines.
Tripping and falling
Dead car batteries

I know that HATE is a strong word, but I have strong feelings about this stuff. I hope I can be forgiven for all my hate crimes.

Next, I'll post a few of my favorite things, of which there are many, many more.

Now I can rant and rave^--^

2011-01-22T12:53:00.000-08:00

Let me just say that I have no idea why I put the picture of Megan's cat, Tony the Tiger on this blog. But it's really cute.

Thanks to Tobi I can now blog once again. Tobi is my personal blog fixer-upper. It looks great Tobi. You're a genius.

I have wanted to rant and rave on my blog about several issues in the last few months, but the thing that has driven most crazy is Google. My question is-----Who died and left them in charge? Suddenly I could not get into my blog. The email address and the password that I have used for years was not responding. Every time I tried to post I'd throw my hands up in despair, stomp off, and loose a lot of air. I am a world class sigh-er. I can let out enough air in one sigh to inflate the Hindenburg. Today was a little different. Yes I was still loosing a lot of air and ranting all over the house but I decided I just couldn't let this technology get to me. I settled into the computer chair determined to conquer. As I explored my options a memory came back to me. Oh yes, I changed to a google account several months ago but I couldn't remember my own address. The reason I changed is because I was forced by Google to do so. Ha ha! I found the address on my smart phone, and was able to get a new password. Thanks to Tobi I'm back, but I'm not sure anybody will notice. It's been a long time. Sigh!

Grandpa's Cheer

2010-10-28T07:35:00.000-07:00

When I was growing up Dad would honor us with a perfomance of his class cheer every now and then. It is so amazing that I felt as though I should put it in writing, and share it with the world. Here is goes....

Yo Triumphy! Yo Triumphy!
Hobbem Swabbem
Rebeccady Andy
Woopty, Woopty,
Shell diveer
Dee Boom Dee Rah
Dee A Dee Paw
Hunika, Swunika,
Wick Wack
Hobb Dobb
Balda Bora, Balda Bora
Com Slobbidy
Hobb Dobb
RAH!

The Toy and Action Figure Museum

2010-03-15T12:10:00.000-07:00

Last week, Kevin and I drove from Denver to Fort Hood, and on down to Austin Texas where our sons and their families reside. We took a different route than we usually do, and went east on I-70 and then turned right at Kansas, and down to Texas. I love to look at this wonderful country as we drive along, and I am amazed by all the peculiar things that you can stop and see on the way. We went this particular way because I wanted to stop and see a museum in Hutchinson Kansas. The Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center.

http://www.cosmo.org

It was a very cool space museum. They have the Apollo 13 space capsule and a bunch of rockets, an IMAX theater. and an observatory dome. It was worth it. When you get into the museum there is a sign that says the Cosmosphere is one of the eight wonders of Kansas. I asked a young man there what the other seven wonders were and he hadn't a clue. I looked them up, and you can too.

¢ Big Well, Greensburg.

¢ Cheyenne Bottoms and Quivira National Wildlife Refuge, in Barton and Stafford counties.

¢ Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, Abilene.

¢ Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center, Hutchinson.

¢ Kansas Underground Salt Museum, Hutchinson.

¢ Monument Rocks and Castle Rock, Gove County.

¢ St. Fidelis Catholic Church (Cathedral of the Plains), Victoria.

¢ Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, Chase County.

The important part of this trip is the stop we didn't make. On our way through Oklahoma I saw a sign for the Toy and Action figure museum. We simply did not have enough time to check this one out, so I guess I'm going to take that route another time. For those of you who know me, you'll understand my interest in this Oklahoma wonder.

http://www.actionfiguremuseum.com/main_page.htm

Where Can I Turn For Peace

2010-02-22T10:41:00.001-08:00

In this world of unrest, worry, and fear, I often wonder where I can turn for help. Yesterday in church I joined our Ward Choir in singing the lovely hymn "Where Can I Turn for peace" The lyrics really hit home with me. Here they are:

Where Can I Turn For Peace?
Music by Joleen C. Meredith
Lyrics by Emma Lou Thayne

Where can I turn for peace?
Where is my solace
When other sources cease to make me whole?
When, with a wounded heart, anger, or malice
I draw myself apart searching my soul?

Where, when my aching grows?
Where, when I languish?
Where, in my need to know?
Where can I run?
Where is the quiet hand to calm my anguish?
Who, who can understand?
He, only One.

He answers privately.
Reaches my reaching.
In my Gethsemane, Savior, and friend.
Gentle, the peace He finds
For my beseeching.
Constant He is, and kind.
Love without end.

A New Kevin and Sylvia Less 75 Pounds

2010-01-05T06:46:00.000-08:00

This year Kevin and I are starting January with our new selves. Let me go back many months and say I decided last April that I was sick and tired of being over-weight. The first thing I did was give up my Achilles heel, SWEETS! Sweets include most the things that I like, candy, pie, and anything else with lots of sugar including soda of any kind. I went down to a 1700 calorie diet and stayed at my same level of activity. I tried to fix meals that gave me the most bulk for the smallest calories. I never miss a meal unless I'm fasting and if I have a bad day I start anew the next day. I have been a walker for most of my adult life and would walk a couple of miles every day. The first few weeks nothing happened, but I stuck with it and finally my body slowly began to shed the weight. After the first couple of weeks Kevin joined me in my effort and that made it kind of fun, and so much easier.One of the amazing parts about loosing the pounds for me is that my energy level seemed to rise in direct proportion to the weight I lost. Part way through this effort the weight loss started to really slow down, that's when we picked up our level of exercise. For our anniversary we bought a tread mill and that helped a lot. We can go down and watch a movie or listen to a book on the Ipod and stay fit. At this point I had reached my goal of weight loss and was feeling great. We climbed the mountain and made it to the top. Then I found the spin bike at a garage sale. I started with four minutes, all that I could handle and now I'm up to 40 minutes. Because of that bike I lost another ten pounds. We have each lost 35 pounds and it took us about 7 months. You can do it too. Don't give up. I need to get down and spin a little before work. Good Luck!

Happy Anniversery

2009-12-14T09:25:00.000-08:00

Today is Joel and Tobi's Anniversary. Or as we fondly call them Toel and Jobi.
Happy Anniversary kids. I love you.

Name That Foot

2009-10-02T19:32:00.001-07:00

Here we all are. Every year as the sister's gather we take a foot picure. You might notice that we had a stranger with us this year. Can you identify the other seven feet?

A hard climb

2009-09-20T18:41:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago I climbed a mountain here in Colorado. This past weekend I climbed a different type of mountain; I said farewell to my brother Kirk. It's so hard to say goodbye to someone that you have adored, played with, teased, loved, been mad at, laughed and cried with, shared a room with, and taken trips with. Someone who knows the very best, and the very worst about you, but still loves you. When I reached the summit of Mount Democrat it seemed like I could see into eternity. I felt the same way when I looked into my brothers face and we expressed our love for each other. Kirk, I will see you on the other side of the mountain. I love you dear brother.

What a summer!

2009-09-06T18:03:00.000-07:00

Here are some of the highlights from the summer of 2009, and it's not over yet.

Megan and Megan.

July 4th at BYU Stadium of Fire

A Surprise visit
from Tobi, Cora, and Alec.

Sylvia and Laura posing
as Forest Rangers.

One of the kivas at Mesa Verde.
The kiva is the hole in the ground
and not the person standing next to it.

Another vacation with Laura and Bill
where we failed to play Johnny Cash music.

This picture was taken just to prove we were really there.

This train is bound
for glory, this train.

Two men and a train.

Tomorrow I'm climbing
a mountain and possibly jumping off
because I've done something very wrong and I can't make this blog work.ARRRGGHH

Yes we climbed the mountain and I didn't jump off. Here we are heading up the path. You can see Kite lake in the distance.

Democrat Peak fourteen thousand and some odd feet. On top of the world looking down on creation.

Riley there really is snow on the mountain even in summer.

Recipe of the day

2009-07-27T06:50:00.000-07:00

In between visiting my kids and grandkids, I work, go to church, read, dance with Kevin, and make baked beans. There is a chance that I do more then just these few things, but I can't think of what that might be. Here is my favorite baked beans recipe.

Old Settler’s Baked Beans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

½ LB sliced bacon, cut into small pieces. (I use precooked bacon)
1 onion chopped
1 (15 oz) can of red kidney beans
1 (15 oz) can of black beans
1 15 oz) can of navy beans
1 (28 oz) can of baked beans
¼ cup of packed brown sugar
¼ cup of granulated sugar
¼ cup ketchup
¼ cup barbecue sauce
2 tablespoons prepared mustard
2 tablespoons molasses
½ tsp black pepper
½ tsp chili powder

Lightly grease a 4 quart baking dish. Fry the bacon until crisp and then sauté the onion in the bacon grease. Remove from the pan and drain. (I completely skip this last part because I’m using precooked bacon and the onion seems to do just fine without being sautéed) Combine all the ingredients and stir well. Turn into the prepared dish. Cover and bake for 1 hour.

I hope you enjoy!

Carlsbad + Wilkinson Reunion

2009-06-26T18:53:00.000-07:00

Make a Smilebox slideshow

The Enterprise is still flying at warp speed.

2009-05-17T18:02:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I finally had the opportunity to go and see the new Star Trek movie. I have to say that it was great! I give it four big stars. Seeing it on the I-MAX screen was the best, and I would highly recommend this movie to most of you.

Kevin and I went with a couple of friends named Bonnie and Mark. These two friends must have been born on the same planet as me. Science fiction is what brought us together, and it has taken us to places beyond the bounds of this earth, where we have cheered for the heroes and prayed for the destruction of the evil-doers. Every time they cancel a Sci-Fi show we mourn and then start watching the re-runs.

it started for me with those cheesy but great Flash Gordon shows that were made in the 1940s or 50s. Flash Gordon's ship was a little model that was lowered on a wire and had smoke that floated straight up when it came out of the engine. it was cool, and I loved it.

From there I went to My favorite Martian. Bill Bixby was the hapless human with Ray Walston as the long suffering Martian stuck on earth. You guessed it. I loved it.

The show that really phaser burned Science Fiction into my heart was Star Trek. I was so caught up in it that I recall having a major tantrum when my grown bother Pete had the audacity to bring his friends down into the basement to turn on the STUPID High-fi, thus making me turn off Star Trek.

I know this is shocking but we only had one sad TV and it was in the same room with the Hi-Fi. I was so mad that I threw my eye glasses on the floor and broke them. I think that might have been what started the great eye glass destruction war that is still going on with me today, but that's another story. I'm happy to say that due to reruns, I was able to see every single episode of Star Trek, including that fateful broken spectacle episode, I've even forgiven Pete.

My love of Science fiction still goes on, from Herbert's Dune to

Azimov's Foundation and on through Star Wars, Firefly and Gattica, just to name a few. I see worlds without end and stories without number. I'm currently listening to Kevin J. Anderson's Saga of the Seven Suns.

Live long and may the Force be with you.

Why the World Needs Good Fathers

2008-12-14T17:09:00.000-08:00

In the last year I have had the wonderful opportunity to visit all of my children. It is so fun to see them in their natural habitat and to watch how they interact with the other wildlife in the vicinity, especially when it's their children. As I watched all of them with the little ones, I was reminded once again how important a good mother and father are to a child. Right now I'll concentrate on the Daddy portion of the family.

In our home it started with a really great father my husband Kevin.........

What a great father he has been to our children. Always putting Myself and the kids before his own needs and wants. A sense of humor, and a quiet nature have made him an ideal dad. It gave our girls an example of the type of man they would marry, and it gave the boys a prototype to follow, and follow his example they all have.

When it comes to Dads, it's hard to beat Jayson. My respect and love of him has grown in direct proportion to the number of kids he has. His kindness and patience with all his children, boggles the mind. When he walks in the door of his home he is surrounded by a group of adoring fans. If ever love was spoken it is here in this home.

Mike, my daughter Alicia's husband is really FUN. When I see him with his boys it makes me wish that I could be little and play around with him the way that they do. His love of his kids just radiates from his face when he's with them, and you can tell that they are secure in the knowledge that they are loved by their father.

Joel, my youngest son has sacrificed much of his time to care for the needs of his children. As a soldier in the army he has spent long hours away from the people that he loves most. I know for a fact that the 15 months that he spent in Iraq were the hardest of his life. Because of the times when he has been gone, the moments
that he does have with his children are more precious to him then to those of us who see our kids every day.

Alex, Megan's husband isn't a dad yet, but I've seen him with babies and his younger siblings. From what I've seen, I have no doubt that he'll be one of the great ones.

The common thread with all these fathers is the unbounded love they have for their kids. What a difference these children will make in the world when they grow up, and in a big part, because of truly great fathers.

Twilight Night

2008-11-22T18:34:00.000-08:00

Yes, I went to to see Twilight last night. I went with a group of what seemed like 2000 14 year olds. Just the thought of all the texting possibility in that place was enough to make my head spin. Before the movie began we were shown a few previews that filled all of their hormone-filled teen hearts with lust and desire, and then they brought on the Harry Potter trailer, and all them cheered. I have to say that I pretty much wanted to cheer with them but thought that I might embarrass my date, who just happens to be my husband. I kept wondering if I was the only Grandma there, and I still think that's a possibility. But there are some things you just want to do, and it was worth it. All through the movie the teen girls giggled, and sighed over Edward. I'm just glad that I'm not as silly as those girls. I didn't giggle at all. I only sighed.

I enjoyed the movie. There are a couple of things that I wish they could have done different, but all of those things would have cost more money than the movie makers had to spend on Twilight. Some of the special effects were a bit lame, but I thought that the acting by Robert Pattenson and Kristen Stewart was pretty good. I also really liked Bella's Dad and felt that he nailed the part. I'm hoping that they will make a ton of money on this film so that they can sink more of it into the next one.

Well that's all folks. Have fun at the movies.

The Last Walk

2008-11-06T08:12:00.000-08:00

Ten years ago our third son Joel went away to college, leaving a distraught and lonely Megan stuck with two of the most boring humans on earth (Mom and Dad). As the days went by, and Megan was not coming out of the depression, Kevin and I then made a decision to find a friend for her. Around that same time, Megan and I became volunteers at the Humane Society, where we would go every week and help clean out the cat room. As we did this, we would check out the dogs. We looked at several different dogs, but none of them seemed like a good fit, until we saw the little tri-colored beagle. Undersized but enthusiastic, she won our hearts in an instant. Her name was Sara, and in a couple of days she had adopted us. An immediate change came over Megan. Every day when she came home from school I'd send the dog out to great her, and who can resist a happy, tail wagging dog? The first year of having Sara in our house Megan claimed that she still liked cats better then dogs, but after a time her allegiance shifted, and now I'd say she's a hard core dog lover. I'm writing as if this was all about Megan and Sara, but this is really about all of us and Sara.

I was the kid that dragged home every stray animal that I came across. All I ever wanted was a dog. With a sister having sever asthma this was not a good idea. That didn't stop me, I persisted until Dad and Mom broke down and gave me a dog for Christmas, and I have to say that I would rank that gift as the best Christmas gift I've ever received. He was a little brown mutt that I named Barney. I loved that dog and he followed me everywhere, sometimes that wasn't so good. If I wanted to go to my best friend, Karen's house, I would have to sneak out of my house and run fast to her house, to get away from Barney. About an hour after I had successfully dodged the dog, he would track me down and be crying at the Swenson's door. I loved the dog anyway, and was devastated when he disappeared. For weeks after he was gone I would search the neighborhood and countryside calling and whistling for him. He never came back.

Along came Megan's dog, Sara. She and I became fast friends and I loved how she was so happy to see me every single time I walked in the door. We spent many hours walking, reading and napping together. If I lay on the sofa she would lay on my feet to keep them warm. Soon after she arrived in our house we discovered that she had a marvelous singing voice, and I loved to hear her bay, (most of the time) at the bunnies, squirrels, and anybody who rang the doorbell. She was smart and easily learned a boat-load of cute tricks that she would perform for anybody that came to the house. She loved the next door neighbor Pauli, and spent time laying next to her on the bed when she was dying of cancer. Every night when Megan went to bed Sara slept next to her like a little sister. When we walked past the bus stop every morning all the girls would want to pet Sara. In other words she was a well loved dog.

You may be wondering why I'm writing this post. Well, today was Sara's last day with us. A couple of months ago we noticed a change in Sara. She was having some problems of which I will not detail here. We kept hoping that it was just a faze and would go away. After some time we realized that it wasn't a faze and we would have some difficult decisions to make. Yesterday I called the vet and made arrangements to have her euthanized. This was a heart wrenching choice to make, and even now I can't stop weeping. This morning we took her on her last walk, fed her, and that was it. When I look back on the ten years she spent with us and the pain at the end, I'd still do it all over again. When I walked in the door from work today, there was no Little Buddy to greet me, and it seems a bit lonely. Here are some of the things that I learned from Sara.

1. Always show friends how happy you are to see them again.

2. Every day is the best day of your life.

3. If you have a tail, wag it a lot.

4. Forgive people for angry, harsh words.

5. If you feel like singing, let loose with all your might.

6. Don't be afraid to show bullies that your not afraid of them.

7. Don't be afraid to back down from a fight if you think you might get hurt.

8. When you itch, scratch.

9. Getting dirty isn't a bad thing.

10. Snuggling is good.

11. If a friend is hurt, give them a kiss.

12. Take long walks as often as you can.

13. If you eat your dinner you'll get a treat.

14. Don't ever turn down a really great meal.

15. Most car rides are great.

16. If you love someone, let them know.

17. If someone pulls your tail, bite back.

18. Cats are a lot scarier then they look.

19. Take every opportunity to chase a bunny.

20. Love without expecting anything in return.

Farewell Little Buddy. I have no doubt that if we meet in heaven, you will greet me with tail wagging, happy face, and dragging Barney behind you.

Kirk

2008-10-15T07:43:00.000-07:00

My parents have seven children, I am the middle child. I guess that would make me Four of Seven. For six years I enjoyed the honor of being the youngest child. Perhaps my parents couldn't stand the thought of having another little person after they had dealt with me, or maybe I was so adorable that they wanted time to enjoy every minute of me. This is one of those questions, never to be answered, because it doesn't really matter. The real story follows:

The great day came when I was six years old, my mother gave birth to a baby boy, his name was to be Kirk. When Dad went to the hospital to pick up my brand new baby brother, he asked me if I wanted to go along. Curiosity and excitement to see this new little stranger was voiced in a big "OK". When Mom came out into the car they placed this little bundle in my lap and my first response was "What's wrong with his face?" Years later after the birth of two other sisters, four children of my own, and twelve grandchildren,I now know that babies are toothless, wrinkled little people, and all of those things are perfectly normal. In other words nothing was wrong with his face.

From the very first I thought having a little brother was great. Not only was he a fun and very cute little boy, but he gave me something I had been wanting for a long time, someone to boss around. Kirk was a boy through and through. We have legends of Kirk and his friend Davy. My favorite story is about the time they started a fire in the basement so that they could dance around it. I also remember the day he found a jar of Vaseline and covered himself in it. Another time I was home sick, and I heard my Mom laughing, she carried Kirk into the room where I was. He had fallen into a drawer where we kept flour and was completely covered with it. He looked like Casper. Mom and I had such a great laugh together over that. All of us adored Kirk. His happy disposition, winning smile, and beautiful hair won everybody over.

Almost from the very beginning Kirk was an unbelievably driven worker. I can remember that one of Kirk's jobs as a boy was to weed the hill in front of our house. Dad would have him go out, and clear that hillside every so often. Kirk didn't like it, but his thinking was, "the sooner I do it, the sooner it will be over". This was a horrible, hard task and I was glad I didn't have to do it, but Kirk stuck with it until it was done. That's how he does everything.

This week Kirk found out that he has to tackle the biggest hill that he's ever faced. He has been diagnosed with Mantel Cell Lymphoma. Like that hill of weeds, he has decided to give it all he's got. Scores of us are rooting for him. He and his great wife Julie, their daughters Liz, and Amanda, are in all of our prayers. We are praying for a miracle. To my dear brother, Keep on weeding that hill! I love you.

A great laugh

2008-10-05T20:15:00.001-07:00

This made me laugh so hard that I thought you should all see it.

Time for Some Campaignin' | Funny Jokes at JibJab

Sisters

2008-09-30T21:12:00.000-07:00

The sisters had a great weekend. We threw in a few brothers for a fabulous time.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Scupper, Sink, and Burn Me.

2008-09-16T16:37:00.000-07:00

Look you here now all ye land lubers. Now then, If I may make so bold, I'll be telling ya plain, the most auspicious, aye, and preposessen of days will soon be upon ye. I'd warrent a handsome wager that ye scurvy dogs all have a strong knowledge of the momentous nineteenth day of the month of September. Arrgh! International Talk Like a Pirate Day. This is not the time to keep your tongue behind your teeth. No standing off and on, set to work, and open your pretty maws. Man the braces and speak forth, or all the world will know that the blood in your veins is skim milk. What say you to this? Some might say one thing and some another, tis no matter, ere's luck and long life to all of us.

www.talklikeapirate.com

Not as good as it could have been

2008-08-04T07:16:00.000-07:00

The dust has settled, and now I've had time to think about the book for a while. I'm disappointed. Since many of you have not yet read the book, I can't really state my reasons. However, as you finish the book, we can talk about it.

These are the voyages of the star ship Enterprise

2008-07-13T17:15:00.000-07:00

"These are the voyages of the star ship Enterprise." When I was a young lassie about the age of fourteen, a new science fiction TV program began with those words. I was totally hooked from the first broadcast and quickly became a rabid Star Trek Fanatic (later called a Trekkie) I morned when the show was cancelled after the second season, and celebrated when because of the huge amount of fan protest, and fan mail they brought it back for a short time. Star Trek quickly became a rerun protege making it so all the fans out there could memorize the lines, the name of the ships, the numbers and titles of the shows, and every single detail. I have to admit I'm not quite that dedicated.

So why do I love it so much? I once read an article in the paper that said Star Trek fans and in fact science fiction geeks tend to have a higher IQ then the rest of the world. Do you think that the article could have been written by a fan? Anyway, I choose to believe that it's my high intelligence that makes me prone to love Sci-fi. The other reason is the total out of this world excitement that I get from Science Fiction. To me it is the ultimate escape, where literally anything is possible. Flying faster then the speed of light, universal translators, technology that can send a person to a different place without the use of a vehicle, not to mention the Vulcan Death Grip (which doesn't really exist). What is truly amazing is how much of it has become reality. Every time I answer my flip cell phone, I think of Star Trek. I think that's why I refuse to get a slider. Wow! I love it all.

My favorite character in the whole entire Star Trek saga and it's off-spring, is SPOCK. With a Vulcan father and a Human mother he was constantly trying to be like his father, all the while fighting the humanity of his mother. Woah! I really am a Trek Geek. Who is your favorite character and why?

Special thanks to Tobi the Great for making the music possible and also saving my sanity.

Megan's choice. Seven of Nine

Rachelle likes the name Riker but thinks Star Trek is not for her.

Tobi's choice. Data, the robot that wants to be a man.

I must admit that If it weren't for Spock I'd vote for Victoria's choice. "Q"

Elizabeth thinks it's a toss up with the before mentioned Seven of Nine, and the intellectual Captain Picard. Make it so.

If it hadn't been for the ever heroic, confident, and charismatic Captain Kirk, the Enterprise would never have left the ground, let alone earth. William Shatner's Portrayal of Kirk, was really the force behind the success of the show. He's one of the few actors from the entire franchise that has continued to act his entire life. I believe he won an Emmy last year for Boston Legal. Right on apis.

Victor J Nelson

2008-06-08T13:41:00.000-07:00

Last week my sister Laura sent all of the siblings a note about our Father. He is ninety years old and is nearing the end of the journey. Because of weakness, he has been falling a lot lately; that mixed with increasing dementia and weight loss have caused his family and care givers great concern. In the note that Laura sent, she mentioned that Dad had been sitting in the lobby of the assisted living center more often then usual, watching people come and go, and singing Edelweiss to them. At first this made me feel pretty sad but then I was reminded of all the times that Dad had sung for me.

When I was a little girl I thought that my Dad was the most handsome, brilliant, and talented Dad in the world. It seemed to me that there wasn't anything out there that my Dad couldn't do. He was always the life of the party and would tell funny and interesting stories. He had a lot of friends and our home was filled with the best kind of love and laughter. He had a large variety of interests and pursued many hobbies with great success. Among some of them were photography, woodwork, and music. Because of my Dad, cultural themes were often a topic of conversation around the dinner table, and I can remember my Dad coming back from Europe after having gone on tour with The Mormon Tabernacle Choir, and mentioning how moved he had been when he stood in front of an enormous painting by Rembrandt called "Night Watch". His words left me with a burning desire to see for myself. His formal piano instruction lasted only a few months but my Dad could play every song in the hymn book.

His love of music and singing gave him an opportunity to sing in the before mentioned Tabernacle Choir. And sing he did. My Dad had a degree in botany from Utah State University, which I guess made him the perfect man to build homes. That's what he did to feed his ever growing family, but he really lived through music. We always knew when Dad was home from work because he would take a shower every evening and the singing would begin. I think he loved to sing in the shower because his wonderful voice would reverberate off the walls of the shower and sounded better then ever. We could all hear him and it seemed like a normal part of the day to us, it was comforting and sweet.

I don't ever remember my Dad mentioning an interesting football game. He couldn't tell you anything about basketball. He probably knew something about baseball, but I don't remember it. I do remember the singing. As I sat in church I could hear my father’s powerful voice above all the others, maybe it was because I was sitting right next to him, but I don't think so. I remember people turning around to stare at him and feeling a huge sense of pride that my Dad could really sing well. He would often gather all of us around the piano and we would have family sing-a-longs. Most of us know all the songs from "My Picture Book Of Songs". When I became sick, Mom would take care of my physical needs, and then Dad would hold me in his lap, rocking and singing to me. He would let us all know when he thought someone had done a good job of singing in church, and why they weren't so good if they had, in his opinion, failed. I still like songs sung in church to be done a certain way, and yes, it's the way my Dad taught me. He had a couple of blind spots when it came to music. He hated rock-n-roll, Jazz, and only liked a handful of pop artists. OK, he was a music snob. One of the best parts of our Sunday was watching the weekly broadcast of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. There was our wonderful, photogenic, TV star Dad, singing his heart out. One week the choir sang a song with words by William Shakespeare, "Who Is Silvia". He told me that they had sung it just for me. As always, I believed him. "He was a man, take him for all in all, I shall not look upon his like again."

I love you Dad.

Tobi's Fan Club

2008-05-25T11:41:00.000-07:00

Memorial Day is the day that we honor our fallen soldiers, men and women who have given their lives in defense of this country. I however, want to honor those who are left behind when soldiers go to war, most particularly my daughter-in-law Tobi.

When Tobi's husband (my son) Joel was deployed to Iraq in August of 2006, Tobi and their sweet children, Alec, and Cora were left behind. Not having lived in Texas for a very long period,I'm certain that they felt like strangers in a strange land. Tobi was terrified at the prospect of twelve months as the sole parent and caregiver of two kids living far from her family.

Despite this and the constant worry about a husband living in a war zone, Tobi rose to the occasion. I'm so proud of her for facing those many months, and numerous challenges all by herself. We tried to give her as much support as we could, but when it comes right down to it, she had to do it herself.

I know that she had many long periods of loneliness and depression. She had to deal with all the little things that come with cars, homes, children, far away husbands and poopy cribs. She was a great support for Joel while he was gone and talked with him on the computer almost every day. Sick kids, potty training, care giving are what she did day in, and day out. When the army increased Joel's tour of duty to 15 months I really worried for her. I know that they were both devastated when this happened, but Tobi bucked up and carried on.

As I look back on those months it seems obvious to me that a loving Heavenly Father kept his eye on Joel and Tobi. For that I will aways be grateful.

Tobi is one in a million. She would give you the shirt off her back if she thought that you needed it. She is lots of fun and extremely bright. She is also very beautiful with the most amazing eyes. In other words, I'm Tobi's #1 fan ( I suspect her Mom might not agree with that) and she's something very special to me.

Thanks Tobi, I love you

A few of my favorite things.....

2008-05-20T15:49:00.001-07:00

Raindrops on roses and
Whiskers on kittens
Here are my grandkids,
Better then mittens.

Last summer we took Riley and Kaiya to the zoo. When my brother saw this picture, he wanted to know who the weirdo in the hat was. Crazy Granny of course. I kinda look like I'm in pain. I think I scared the tiger in the background too.

This is one of the greatest strollers in the world. Rachelle takes the babies out every day for a walk. This was my lucky day, I got to go with her. People are amazed.

How about that, a grandma who can make balloon swords.

Miss Cora gives me lots of love.

Blowing bubbles is great. Especially if you have Alec to help you out.

Five for the price of five. Ohhhh I love those babies.

The kids are in the sunlight and I'm in the shade, just as it should be.

Andrew and Easter eggs, Just don't turn your back on him.

Doesn't Trevor look great in red?

Well, these are just a few of my favorite things. I haven't even started on Star Trek yet.

About Rock Trolls

2008-04-20T15:09:00.000-07:00

My niece Audry asked me the question "What is a Rock Troll?"

Last summer Kevin and I went to Amarillo, Texas to pick up our grand kids, Kaiya and Riley.

We had this great plan to play movies for the kids on our portable DVD player. When we were all settled in the car and ready for the seven hour journey to Denver, we inserted the first DVD, and nothing happened. Much to our dismay the player was broken. Faced with seven hours of children in a confined area ,we resorted to imagination. We started telling them stories. Let me tell you, we came up with some good ones. The very best was Rock Trolls. In case you haven't noticed, rocks are one of the things that you can find in every state and every nation on the earth. In fact, they're even floating in space. What you may not know is that they are really Rock Trolls. Many Rock Trolls spend hours, days, and even years in hibernation. They are actually very shy and only come out when there's a full moon and then they dance by the light of moon under the stars. This mostly happens in the land of enchantment, which would be New Mexico. (yes, we drove through a part of New Mexico and saw a lot of Rock Trolls) The story goes on and on, in fact seven hours. Some of the Rock Trolls are famous. I included pictures of a couple of our favorites.

Can you see the eye of a large Rock Troll?

If you check out this web site you can see more, absolutely amazing Rock Trolls.

http://www.needlesports.com/rockfaces/rockfaces.htm

The other Cowboy

2008-04-07T19:56:00.000-07:00

I guess that most of you don't know that I married a real life cowboy. To prove this to you here is his picture. He's very cute and full of spunk. He looks just the same as he did then, and hasn't changed a bit. Well, the horse is gone, he's a little taller and a wee bit older, but I love him just the same. Ride em cowboy.

New arrival

2008-03-23T14:21:00.000-07:00

I'm happy to announce the arrival of a new member of our family. His Name is Alexander Shafer, he has red hair and blue eyes (we think, but not positive) . His birth into our family happened on March 21st 2008 at about 12:00 PM. He was our second tallest delivery (Mike being the tallest) at about 5 foot Nine inches, He delivered himself at the emergency entrance to the temple at the scheduled time. And I'm happy to say that it was a painless delivery. He has all ten fingers and all ten toes and came with a bonus bachelor's degree. He's a cutie, and already sleeps through the night and eats solids. He also looks great in blue. We are so pleased to welcome him into our family.

The Final Frontier

2008-03-16T20:53:00.000-07:00

Tobi from the planet Killeen which has a harsh environment and very few humans, came to wittness the marriage of fellow alien Megan of Parker (a much kinder planet). She has restored my faith in humanity by making my blog look ohhhh so cooooool. Live long and prosper. I'm just trying to get through this wedding week.. See you on the other side of Vulcon.

The Annual Sylvia Awards

2008-02-24T18:12:00.000-08:00

As I was talking with my sis the other day (that would be V for Victorious). We started disgusting, oops I mean discussing the Academy Awards. That's the show on TV that ended the writers strike and lets the worlds most famous (or would that be infamous) megalomaniacs flaunt themselves before their adoring fans. They choose among themselves the best and brightest ( the ones with the most clout or points obtained from who knows where) to receive awards. You know all this already so I won't assault your intelligence any further. The point is, that they choose, and then tell the world that this is the best they have to offer. I beg to differ. So here for the first time ever, I present the first annual (the theme from Star Wars plays) Sylvia Awards! I know what your thinking... who cares? That however, sounds kind of like a personal problem; so here it goes anyway.

Best Musical Score goes to .............. Hairspray

Let's face it, that was a really fun movie, it made you smile the whole time you were watching . The girl who played the lead, Tracy Turnblad, was so happy that you wanted to bottle some of it up to take home with you. If a movie makes you want to sing along, it must be the best. Kind of like another winner "The Sound of Music". It's hard to believe that a movie like The Sound of Music could ever have received one of those OTHER awards. It wouldn't in this day and age.

Best Choreography goes to......................Stardust

You know that scene where the dead brother is sword fighting with the hero. I thought that was great, how did they do it? It was also extremely funny in a dark and weird way.

Best Screenplay Adaption from a book (have you noticed that almost all the screenplays are from books these days) goes to..........Bourne Ultimatum

If any of you have ever read Robert Ludlum's books, and I don't like to speak ill of the dearly departed, but good grief they were often boring and long. I thought they did a great job of moving the story along and making the fans long for more. It helps when you have an action star who can actually act.

Best Actress goes to........Amy Adams

How can anyone resist a princess who is so happy and clueless. She can sing rats and bugs into doing the dirty work and make darling clothing from anything at hand. You've got to love that.

Best supporting actress............John Travolta

Talk about getting in touch with his feminine side. I thought he was great as a woman and I think he should make it permanent (just joking John).

Best actor............Matt Damon

Is anybody else out there metaphorically holding their breath to find out what happens next to Jason Bourne?

Best supporting actor..............What's his name? You know, the guy who plays Severus Snape in Harry Potter. Oh yea..............Alan Rickman

He is so oily and creepy that you want to wash your hair after watching him.

On a side note, I thought that Daniel Radcliffe's acting was almost good in The Order of the Phoenix.

Now the best movie of 2007...................Stardust

Fun, weird, reality based, oops, I meant non-reality based. It had romance, action, good, evil, and a lot of dead brothers. In short, everything you'd ever want in a movie sans Jimmy Stewart.

Here I am presenting the Sylvia Award to Matt Damon

Well, that's it for the Sylvia Awards until next year (if I like any of them, and so far it's not looking too good).

Lots of beautiful grandkids

2008-01-30T09:04:00.000-08:00

Kevin and I were lucky enough to spend last Christmas with our sons and their wonderful families. Did I mention that I'm a grandma? It was so fun to see so many of our grand kids all at once. We had a blast at Joel and Tobi's with Alec and Cora. We were able to give the mom and dad a break and tend the two kids a couple of nights. Wow! did we ever have fun. We chased those two around the house for a couple of hours and hugged them nearly to pieces. Unfortunately they were so wound up, that they had a hard time sleeping. The next night that we had them, we wound them up again but then wound them down by having them help us vacuum the house. They slept lots better that night. It was so great to see Tobi with her man once again, and having Joel home from Iraq was the best.

We also spent several days with Jayson and Rachelle. For those of you who don't know me, I have quintuplets grand kids. Riley and Kaiya are Jayson and Rachelle's two older children and then they have Rustin, Ryder,Kassidy, Kaydence, and Kyndall. It was so fun. We've loved Riley and Kaiya for years and the quints have been a bonus I would never have imagined. one thing I've learned from getting kids-in-law and grand kids is that there is no limit to how much a persons love can expand. We loved every minute that we could spend with Jayson's family.

We held the babies every minute that we could and played games and told Rock Troll stories to the older kids. Jayson and Rachelle are among the truly amazing humans on this earth. You can't help feeling somewhat humbled by their CAN DO attitude.

Here we are with the Quints

I can't wait to return to Texas and see all nine of those grand kids once again.

dancingranny

2008-01-23T20:33:00.000-08:00

Hello out there,
I just stumbled across this whole blog thing. I don't even know how to post a picture yet. You may wonder about the title of this blog. Well, your not alone, I'm wondering as well. It will all be made clear when I've had some sleep and can figure this out. However, I must warn you that I haven't really slept well in the last fifteen years so it may not happen soon. Ta Ta