Days

The other day Robin said, "Only 77 days until I am 18!" So I've been thinking about days and in no particular order, there are:

~4 days until Halloween (costumes ready!)

~8 days until the election (does anyone else wish it was over already?)

~363 days until I have to put on another Primary Program

~59 days until Christmas (yea!)

~74 days until Mexico (cha cha cha)

~547 (approx) days until Mom and Roger come home from Russia

~18 days until we can go back to Galveston (sigh)

~130 days of school left (whoo hoo!)

~770 days until Pauly turns 19

~200 days until Dan turns 12

~365 days until I will still be missing Robin who will be away at school.

~231 days until I'm 40 years old!

Morning Glory

I was so pleased with the swing set when it had been improved and finished. The girls use it a lot more than I expected they would and I love having a safe place to send visiting kids when they are over. However, to improve it even more, we planted Morning Glory at the bottom or each post under the fort. They are coming in nicely and give it a fairytale look with the vines winding up and around the pillars. I love it.

Now I understand that once it is growing, Morning Glory is very hard to get rid of and farmers and others who have had Morning Glory to deal with, cringe and wail when anyone talks about actually planing the stuff. (Roger, I'm talking to you.) Apparently it actually takes two years and at least 4 professional sprays to get rid of it, when it gets out of control. I've been given more than one lecture on the subject.

So, having said that and with the full knowledge of that I am in for if I let it get out of control . . . doesn't it look pretty?

Healing

Paul and I just got home from a much needed trip to Galveston.

It has been over month since Ike hit and there is still a ton of work to be done. Lots of buildings are still boarded up but the majority of the buildings still standing are in pretty good shape and about half are back in business. Electricity and water are back on but things are definitely not back to normal.

It was alarming to be driving along a seemingly ordinary, clean road when out of the blue and completely out of place, there is an enormous 75 foot boat laying on the median with the mast cut off so as not to impede traffic. Things like that happened again and again.

This is an example of what I mean about driving along and being accosted by something very wrong.

The streets are clean and street signs are up. Only about one quarter of the traffic lights work so everyone treats the corners as 4-way stops. I like the order that our laws give when things are out of order.

Next to some roads, huge piles of debris are waiting to be picked up and and taken to a landfill somewhere. And as soon as they are, they are replaced with the beginnings of new huge piles of debris that will await their turn. On other roads piles of rock, concrete, and asphalt sit patiently expecting the same fate.

It was hard to find a hotel room as they are all occupied by or being reserved for workers, FEMA, Red Cross, roofers, electricians, etc. One hotel would only give us a room if we were staying for 5 or more days. We felt a little guilty walking through the plush hotel lobby in our swimming suits and surf board while others were wearing hard hats or FEMA badges.

It was an ideal day in Galveston; the beaches were clean, the air was warm, the waves were perfect, 4-6 foot and glassy with off shore winds. If you had clicked here Thursday morning, you could have watched us.

It was exactly what was needed. . . . and now Paul can sleep again.

Strawberries and Cinnamon

One thing I'm glad my mom did was to really dislike artificial smells. I learned this in 1982 when I was given a tiny bottle of strawberry scented oil. See, you rub it on your light bulbs and then as the light bulb heats up your whole room is filled with lovely scent of strawberries. How cool is that?!?

As I walked home with my pretty little treasure I was so excited! I was perfectly ready and willing to rub this stuff on every light bulb in the house and I could just imagine what is was going to be like for everyone to walk through our front door into our own strawberry paradise.

I ran in and threatened my mom with my plan and got an immediate no-go; I couldn't believe it! "What does she mean she hates the smell of fake strawberry?" How could she NOT want our house to smell like fake strawberries?!?

After that, I learned to pay attention to what things smell like and learned that just because it comes in a pretty bottle, it doesn't necessarily mean that it smells good.

In my own house I don't usually have smells. I've been given some really beautiful smelling candles and oils and have happily used them but when they're gone, they're gone and I can never bring myself to spend real money on the good stuff . So, I'm afraid that generally, the only smells in my house are whatever I'm cooking or baking and occasionally a stinky rag that needs finding . . . that is until fall.

When the cooler air of autumn arrives, or in Texas, when October 1st arrives, that is my signal to get the simmering spices out.

I've experimented with lots of them but always come back to the basics: cinnamon sticks, ginger root and whole cloves. I put them in a small pot, fill the pot with water, and let them simmer all day. Sometimes I add apple or orange peels, yesterday I used the lemon pieces from our dinner prep.

I just love when the whole house smells spicy and cheery and makes me want to build a fire and snuggle on the couch with a good book or some cuddly kids. The other day one of the kids said, "That smell makes me excited for Christmas."

Me too.

Iris means rainbow . . .

Near our house is a quiet road lined by huge old shade trees and pastures with horses on that side of the road and cows over there. There are also some quiet streams and a pretty little lake. This is a super relaxing run. I love it because of the trees and the flowers and the animals and because it measures exactly 2 miles from my driveway to the end of the road and back. It is also a favorite place for us to go on walks for pretty much the same reasons.

Can you see how far back they go??

Last spring on one of our walks I noticed, right in one of the stream beds, about (this is just an estimate) a kazillion iris just beginning to bloom. Truly there must be thousands, and on both sides of the road too. They are yellow and most are at least 4 feet tall. It is really a breathtaking sight.

My friend Lark, holding up a giant rhizome.

I told a friend about them and last week she and I went and harvested some of them. I planted them in our flowerbeds; I guess they survived the transplant because they are poking up through the ground already. I can't wait to see what they do next spring!!

Iris Facts

~Iris are a perennial.

~Iris means rainbow in Greek.

~Iris bloom in many colors including black and brown.

~The Iris bulb is called a rhizome.

SNL and the Bailout

Just in case you haven't seen this yet.

Progress

When we lived on Randolph Street in Riverside, (I was ages 4-7) I remember my mom calling us into the den and trying to tune in a UHF channel on our little television. Through a blizzard of television snow we watched a little and heard a little bit of President Kimball speaking at General Conference in Salt Lake City. I remember how emotional my mom was that this was possible and I knew I should be impressed, although I wasn't.

When we moved to Utah of course, we watched it on T.V.

Our first general conference in Germany, we went to the church for the satellite feed. After that conference was offered on the Internet so we watched, well, listened it on the Internet. We only had dial-up while we were there and in '97 the picture was terrible and constantly interrupted. Listening to it without the picture made the connection a little less spotty . . . a little.

For the next year or so, there was a note on the LDS.org site that asked people to please watch elsewhere if possible, to keep lines open for people who had no other means to listen. We would wait and listen to the archived sessions. I was so happy when that note was gone and we could listen to it live again.

We had such a nice day yesterday. Between sessions we all ended up outside on the trampoline. The boys and Sara were wrestling, the rest of the girls were cheering and there were some belated birthday spanks given. It was a perfectly warm, Texas autumn day. Life just doesn't get any better!

We stayed out there until Pauly received a text . . . "It's Becca, conference is starting." . . . we headed back into the house for the afternoon session.

Red is the New Blue

"Gloria, are you supposed to wear a certain color for your field trip tomorrow?"

"Yes, Mrs. Phillips told us to wear a red shirt."

Nursery

I love the new nursery manual. I'm so glad I'm in Primary right now or I don't think this would even be on my radar screen.

The manual has simple sweet lessons. Each lesson has a picture of real people that reinforce the lesson as well as a coloring page that can be copied. Each lesson also includes lots of activity ideas for little children.

Another thing I love is that the entire book has teaching tips down the side of almost every page; all the things I wish I could explain to new or not-so-confident teachers. Example~ "To engage the children and help them focus on the lesson, gather them close around you. If possible kneel or sit so that you can look into their eyes. Hold the pictures close to them."

Not only is this perfect for the nursery but I think it is perfect for younger children to use for FHE lessons and talks in primary. I'm happy that I have so many nieces and nephews that will feel the impact of this beautiful book. I love it.

Click here to learn more.