Time for Change

Three weeks since my last post, but then a whole lot didn’t happen the first two weeks.  We did celebrate our 43rd wedding anniversary.  Sandra invited us to dinner at Homestead and when we arrived, all our family that lived close by surprised us by being there!  Unfortunately, we missed Kash, and I didn’t take any pictures to document the event.

Our washing machine quit working and dumped a LOT of water on our floor.  I happened to mention it to Audrey a day later and was wondering aloud if our insurance would pay for a new floor.  She assured me it would and the next day Beau and Steve showed up to assess the damage and began taking measurements and ripping up carpet and floor.  Things moved really fast but are now on hold waiting for new LVP and carpet.  We did go get a new washing machine and its operation style is a shock and we aren’t sure we like it.  We are used to seeing the clothes thrown around and this just jiggles them in not a lot of water.  It will be an adjustment and a trust issue.  I am not looking forward to the work involved in moving all items out of rooms to be carpeted, as we have a LOT of stuff, and HEAVY stuff like a piano, bed, roll top desk, gun safes, etc.  I am anxious to see how the new flooring looks in my house.

Last week was more to my liking. I drove to Kara's house in Payson on Sunday afternoon and spent the night there and had a nice visit with them. It was the first time I'd seen them since the day we reported to the MTC. Monday I drove on to St. George. My time in St. George was spent doing the following: took down Peachy's Christmas tree and decorations, walked each morning with the two of them, shopped a little at Costco, Target, and TJMaxx, sewed while watching TV, went bowling, visited with Doug, and ate some yummy food Chad made. He seemed to go all out in the food department. We had fish tacos, rib steaks, lamb chops, lobster tail, barbeque, and roasted chicken. Peachy and I cheated on the Keto menu and added cheesecake, an eclair, and cookie butter.

On Peachy's birthday we got up and drove to Snow Canyon State Park and did three different short hikes. That was the day it reached 108 degrees. On the second hike, as we neared the cliffs, you could feel the air temperature cool the closer you got to the shade. The last hike we did had NO shade and it got super hot by the time we were done. We stopped at Viva Chicken on the way back into town. I drove home on Friday and it took extra long because of the construction areas near SLC.

Now I am getting prepared to take five grandchildren to the cabin for the weekend. Hopefully the weather will cooperate as it has been rainy and cool for the last two days.

Our first hike was to the slot canyon.  It had some cool rock formations.  There was only one slot, but it had lots of caves and crevices inside it.

This shot of Peachy was at the summit part of the hike.  I was interested by all the little holes that have formed along the rock wall.

 We kept trying for a good jump shot--Peachy is wearing a knee brace and can't actually jump.  All the pictures were blurry because Peachy was close and Chad was far.  I did get a good shot on Chad's camera, but don't have it to share.

                                                     Interesting patterns of erosion here.

Next, we did the Pioneer Names hike. You come to a rock with names carved in it from 1894. Of course, some idiots have defaced it by spray painting their names too--I hope they catch "Dave and Roberta" and fine them a buttload of money for vandalism. You can tell they have tried to remove their names.

I wanted Chad in this picture to show the size of the cave behind him. These rocks look like they are leaning on each other for support.

                                            The rock in the foreground is hiding the graffiti.  

                                    The crevice with the names is on  the left behind me.

Chad climbed all the way up to the crevice with the names and posed there. I don't have that picture either. This one is on his way down. I had told them how Rhett has gotten into the habit of setting his elbow down and leaning in to tell you something. On Sunday as I was getting packed and ready to leave for my trip, Rhett went up to Matt on the couch, placed his elbow on the couch and said to Matt, "We need to go see Chad and Peachy." This is Chad's attempt at a Rhett elbow pose.

The last hike was called White Rock Amphitheater. You hike in until you are in a hole surrounded by white rocks and mountains. The rock has a layered look to it and provides lots of places for seating. It got hot in there. Chad hiked up to the top of one mountain and had a good view and saw a canyon that had trees, but Peachy and I never made it that high.

                                         This was the smallest and third lizard we ran into.

                                             Chad is the speck at the top in the middle.

Miscellaneous recent shots:

My climbing rose bush has gone crazy. I was hoping the close up would show all the bees it has attracted, but no.

               I love the above rosebush because the buds are orange, but the blooms are yellow.

                                                      A lone poppy survived the winter.

                                    Got Leslie's baby quilt done and took it over to Doug's house.

 Saw this sunset as I was driving home near Jensen's Grove and had to pull over to capture it.

I sent this outfit to Mary Early Bird for her daughter Summer and she sent me this picture today. Mary is in the branch in San Carlos and we keep in touch. Summer just turned one and is walking and climbing everywhere according to her mom. Today's significance: This would have been the last day of our mission if the world hadn't turned upside down. Makes me a little teary.

The Saga Continues--Kinda

Two more weeks and the world just keeps getting crazier!  George Floyd is a name that will go down in history.  He suffered a horrible death on camera by a white police officer placing his knee on Mr. Floyd’s neck until he expired.  It happened two weeks ago Monday in Minnesota, and from then until now, there has been nothing but coverage of protests, marches, riots, looting, calls for justice, and the battle cry, 'Black Lives Matter'.   I am sickened by his tragic death and I admire people who go out and protest and join together in a just cause, but the burning of buildings and the trashing of cities and police is an abomination.  As Dr. Phil says, “You don’t reward bad behavior,” and there has been a LOT of bad behavior.  I am just happy I live in small town America and don’t see the riot/mob mentality close up (and hope I never do).  It seems the gathering of thousands has thrown the notion of social distancing out the window. 

As for me and my house: Quinn and I took Sandra up to the cabin last weekend.  We drove up Friday when Quinn finished golfing.  Once we got up there, Sandra and I took off to play 9 holes (for free) and it was a beautiful night.  We had a great time and by the last hole, we couldn’t see where our balls were landing because it was getting too dark.  The next day I joined up with those two on the second nine at Cedar Creek.  My game is consistently poor, but I did par one hole! 

This picture I took on the 8th green Friday night.

A deer relaxing in front of a cabin on the way down the hill.

Daffodils still blooming and Quinn's swing.

For lunch, we ordered take out from Juan’s.  On Sunday, I walked the loop, put together a puzzle, we had ham and baked potatoes to go with the boysenberry pie, and drove home that evening.  Great weekend.

I’ve been watching the grandkids a little bit.  Katie took Wes to the doctor for his checkup and I kept Dax and Rhett.  We got the golf cart, bought treats at the clubhouse, threw rocks, drove through the neighborhood, and then they played in buckets of water outside and Dax had a waterslide.  I spent last Friday in Idaho Falls at the girls' softball games.  They played early in the morning and I missed that game, but I watched their next two games.  It was a long afternoon/evening waiting around, but I got to spend time with them and hang out.  The next day, Audrey left Gus and Regan with me while she went back for more games.  I then watched Dax and Rhett that evening so the Murdocks could go celebrate Matt’s birthday by having dinner out.

Gus's swing compared to Quinn's.

Some more journaling questions:

*Quarantine has taught me:  I have no patience and I don’t like change, especially when it changes things I like.

*I’ve realized I’ve been taking going to church, attending the temple, a trip to the mall, booking a flight, giving hugs, meeting friends for dinner, and many more things for granted.

*One thing that will never change is: my love for my spouse, my family, my home, and my hobbies.

*The first thing I’m going to do when this is all over is:  PLAN a trip--in fact I’ve already started.  I want to travel again!

Got the wilted nearly dead flowers off the graves and fixed mom and dad's with some silk arrangements.

Above is our Thompson rose bush in bloom.  Sandra told me it was a Thompson rose because it blooms both red and yellow roses.  Below is what happens after some strong wind.

My neighbor's beautiful irises.

We took a drive Sunday to see the progress on the Pocatello Temple.  It seems to be moving along.

Our across the street neighbor brought us this gift to celebrate the end of quarantine!

Who thinks like this?  I know it never crossed my mind to hand out gifts.