Holiday thoughts

The various holidays during December are often a cause of reflection. Christmas, with its message of peace and hope is especially enticing. One of my favorite carols is "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day." I love the ending, "God is not dead, nor doth he sleep for wrong shall fail, the right prevail...." It is sadly ironic that this Christmas is such a time of mourning in our country. At a time of love and hope, we are seeing much hatred and despair.

However, in spite of the sadness in the news, there are still many wonderful people. I have seen many here in Prescott who are doing quiet, little things to make the holiday happier for those around them. Many contribute to so many different worthy causes, all of which make a difference in our little community. The blessings that come from giving are certainly overwhelming.

As the days get shorter and the nights longer, my thoughts become introspective. Have I accomplished my goals for the year? What goals do I want to set for the next year? It provides a sort of report card on my personal progress.

So, how do I see this year? I retired and started writing instead. That has been a true labor of love. Much of the time that I used to spend reading is now spent writing instead. I accepted a new responsibility at church. It is certainly a major change to go from watching over the toddlers to watching over all the adult women. The challenges are different but the rewards are actually similar. I am grateful for the new relationships formed from this change and ache for the difficulties I now see so often. Retirement allows us to visit our extended family far more often. I love that we are seeing all the grandchildren and great-grandchildren so much more. If it weren't for retirement, we probably would not have seen all the football playoffs and championship for our grandson. Retirement has also enabled me to spend more time studying, both for the writing and for my own growth. That has been challenging and fun.

There are still the usual goals not accomplished, including actually becoming less of a clutterer. I set that goal every year. I have made progress in some areas, but one look at my office will tell you that there is still far to go. That will have to remain on the list, I fear. Age has a way of tackling muscular strength, so the fitness goals will have to have more focus on weight training. I think about it but don't do it often enough. That needs to become more regular.

We had a lesson on the Second Coming which caused me to think about what I want to see in the future and what I can do to bring that to pass. My ongoing goal in that space is to continue to increase the unity and support within our women's group at church. I see them as wonderful women with so much to contribute to one another and so much to teach one another. The hard thing is knowing how to help them to do so. I think all people of good will, Christian and not, help raise the level of love and goodness in the world. I am grateful they are willing to do so.

So, Happy/Merry whatever you celebrate, if you do celebrate at this time of year. I love the promise of a Happy New Year, and hope that 2015 brings you joy. 

Advent

The beginning of the Christmas season, Advent, brings a variety of thoughts and memories. I remember holidays of my childhood, those when my daughter was born, and the fun of holidays with grandchildren. The thought that comes foremost, though, is that first Christmas and why we celebrate.

Some celebrate because it is a fun holiday. Most of the Hallmark Christmas movies showcase the tender feelings Christmas brings in our hearts as we reach out in love to one another. This is a great result of the holiday. This can be an important part of the season whether or not one is a believing Christian. As with Scrooge, one he truly understood, it helps us enlarge our hearts in love. This kind of love is an action verb.

Some celebrate because they are commemorating the birth of the Savior of the world, He who came to redeem us all. Our Church has released a video recreation of his birth. It is a good reminder of the reason for the season. For believing Christians, or casual believers, there is an important element that also contains gratitude that God sent His Son to redeem the world. He is the greatest gift ever given.

Just like at New Years' Day, Advent causes me to reflect. I look back on the past year, my progress or lack thereof on my various goals, and I recommit to the various self-improvement plans I practice. I see my personal growth toward a more Christ-like character as my gift to the Savior on His birthday. When I was a child, this was my attempt to be good so Santa would bring me gifts. Now, I realize I already have the gifts and it is important to me to show my gratitude. Advent gives me a jump start on my next year's resolutions and help me come to closure on the current year.

This Christmas, as I send out cards, decorate, listen to the music, enjoy the movies (they all make me cry),read my Christmas books and stories, I will also re-read the Christmas story in Luke and give thanks that I can celebrate Christmas in a country that allows me to believe and practice my faith. To all my friends, I wish a very Merry Christmas. If you celebrate one of the other yuletide holidays, I hope that is a fun and happy celebration as well. 

Once in a lifetime

There are many special events that occur "once in a lifetime." The obvious ones are ones we try to remember and treasure. But there are smaller ones happening almost every day. We need to remember to be grateful for both.

On the larger event front, we are celebrating the Division 1A Championship for the Moapa Valley High School Pirates 9 (see this links for article recapping the game or this video recap. We made the drive to watch each of the play off games because we knew we would not have a chance like this again. Definitely a once in a lifetime opportunity. For us, it is great that Moapa won and our grandson had a chance to participate and make a positive contribution.

Our lives are full of once in a lifetime opportunities, though, and we missed one because we had to choose. During the semi-final game, our stake at church participated in the Phoenix Temple dedication cultural celebration. Youth we know danced with all their might while we were driving home from a football game. We chose our immediate family over our church family, because, after all, family is the most important. There are often choices like that to be made. 

We have missed attending important family events in the past, such as a granddaughter's baptism, a graduation and baby blessing, because of work obligations. We are happy that we are now in a situation where family can have the priority over work. Along with the aches and pains of getting older, there are some blessings such as family. (Also, senior discounts).

Other once in a lifetime events are baby blessings, a first step, recitals, graduations, ordinations, baptisms, weddings, etc. With the wonders of technology, we can stay in touch and develop relationships with family members who do not live nearby. That was much harder when I was raising my daughter. I am grateful Facebook lets us share and record these events.

Our lives are filled with blessings that are truly once in a lifetime. Other blessings occur each day, but these too can be appreciated for the wonders and miracles they are. That paper for school, the talk in church, successfully learning to ride a bike, mastering a gymnastics or cheer move, all of these are miracles to celebrate. Every holiday is a once in a lifetime event. Let us never forget to celebrate the daily miracles in our lives by noting them and giving thanks.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving.


 

Life gets so busy

Life always seems to be so busy. When I was a child, there was always something more to do. I never managed to accomplish everything I wanted to do. One summer, after I got the reading bug, I read all the chapter books in the local library children's section. Some I liked and reread. Most were not particularly memorable and I ignored them. (This worried my parents so much that we went to summer camp every summer after this one.) This was not quite all I did that summer as I rode my bike to the library every day. At least I got some exercise, although my eyes were quite blurry by the end of each day with so much reading. This actually helped the term I took three history courses in college. That was a lot of reading every day.

As I grew older, other things were added to my days. Piano lessons, dance lessons, practicing, and eventually school sports all took a fair amount of time on top of the homework assignments.

Some people think things will ease off after they get out of school, but that really never happens. If you are truly living your life, there are always activities. Some of these are social. Some are family. Some relate to work. Some are for recreation. It is easy to over-schedule ourselves and our families. If we make informed choices, the busyness is manageable.

I read a number of blogs that help me keep my focus on simplifying the busyness in my life. I have cut back on some recreational choices so as to free up time for family choices. Right now, we are in a stage in life where we want to participate as grandparents. When we were both working, that was difficult. We often had to sacrifice grandparent responsibilities to work requirements. Now, we have fewer conflicts of that sort. I am grateful that I have more choice about which family activities I can join than I had when I was working full time. I look forward to this new season in our lives.

If you find too many sacrifices required, perhaps you need to assess what you are committing to that creates these conflicts. At times, we have few choices. At others, we have many more options. We can always choose, we just cannot always choose the consequences of those choices. I am grateful for the current options I have around me that allow me to choose the family more often.

Gratitude for a multiplicy of blessings

November is a time of year when we are reminded of all the wonderful blessings in our lives as we prepare for Thanksgiving. It seems a particularly appropriate time to say thank you.

I have a wonderful extended family. I am grateful for the opportunity to be Facebook friends with many of them. This allows me to have more awareness of their lives than I otherwise would have since we no longer near one another. I have relatives that have been there for me when I needed a kind word. They are caring, loving people.

My daughter is married to a helpful man who is actively engaged in the raising of their children. It is always fun (and chaotic) to visit them or have them visit us. The family is full of sweet, loving children.

When I married the Pro, I inherited step-children and step-grandchildren. They have now added step-great-grandchildren. They are all wonderful people. Trish, the Pro's first wife, was obviously a caring, loving Mom. Since she is no longer around, having passed on many years ago, I feel I am proxy for her to ensure that her family gets a loving grandma/mom figure from that side of the family. While there are other grandparents/great-grandparents as well, these wonderful people deserve as much love as I can give. They have welcomed me as a family member and given me a great deal of love which I want to return.

With us retiring this year, we have more opportunity to visit the little ones in our family. Grandparenting is fun since you get the littles only in small doses. However, it is a true blessing to see how loving all of our little families are. The parents all love each other and it shows. They all love their kids, and that shows too. We are grateful for their love.

We live in a beautiful part of the world. The views are spectacular, the weather pretty nice 10 months of the year, and the small-town atmosphere fun. We are blessed with a fairly comfortable life style, fairly good health, and (for the most part), fairly sound minds. We have many opportunities to serve and contribute to the community. We have many friends and acquaintances.

Although there are many things to dislike in the world, there are many more for which to be grateful. At this season of thanks, I choose to focus on those, and to turn my back on the others. Thank you for being a part of my world.




 

Thoughts on caring for those in need

I had an opportunity to teach a lesson based on Jeffrey R Holland's talk, Are We Not All Beggars? In our church, we have an opportunity to fast once each month and donate the proceeds to help those in need. There are other aspects of caring for those in need that I felt impressed to discuss during the lesson: helping those who have needs other than financial.

Everything we have is a result of blessings in our lives. We may be 'self-made,' but we were successful because of our talents, combined with hard work. Those talents are a gift from God. Elder Holland discusses how we are all indebted, particularly to God, and that we repay this by doing what we can.

As I look around at those I serve, I can see that there are many ways of being in need. Some are lonely. They need someone to care and visit with them. Some are suffering. A visit can often help them think of something beyond their pain. Some just need a little help packing. Others need help moving. Some might need a helping hand watching a child or transporting one. Sometimes, the little things are the ones that have the biggest impact.

In my position at church, I can see the very tangible needs of those whose financial resources do not cover their needs. We use our fast offerings as a way to supplement and help these. However, there are many more needs that cannot be met financially. These are the ones that require a sacrifice of time, talent, or mental energy. That is often harder than abstaining from two meals and donating what you would have spent.

The Savior cared for the needy. He addressed them directly and did what he could to alleviate their suffering. He didn't require them to be 'worthy' of his help. He did what was practical. I hope that we are doing the same. If we pray for opportunities to help, they will come. And the great thing about service is that we benefit at the same time as the one we serve. Is there someone you can lift today?

 

Change is an opportunity for growth-embrace it

A constant in life is change, accompanied either by growth or decay. There is no sitting still. If you are sitting still, you are in the process of decay. If we want growth, we have to choose to move rather than sitting still. It can be a scary choice.

Often, change involves risk. If you take a new job, move to a new place, try a new activity, you might not like it. The resolution would require more change. Many people stay in jobs or careers they hate simply because they know how to do the job and are making decent money. They spend time resenting the job, unhappy with what they are doing, but accepting it without question because it is easier. Change requires effort. You would have to find a different job, perhaps a different career. Start over again at the bottom. Make less money. Perhaps have less status. What if it doesn't work out?

At the other extreme are people who thrive on change. They do not settle into a rut because they are constantly heading out in new directions. They do not stay in one area long enough to master it. They are constantly looking for the next thing.

Between those who will not change and those who do constantly are the rest of us. Some change willingly, others grudgingly. But we do change. I have found that pushing oneself to change will help promote growth. There have been times when I actively seek change, scanning and networking to find a new job when I know it is time to move on. Other times, the job has just appeared. I have never regretted the choice to move on although I have regretted leaving the friendships. Now with social media, I can remain in touch with those left behind. That is truly a blessing.

Since leaving home for college, I have lived in 18 different places after I left the dorms in college. 7 of them have been homes I owned, the rest apartments. That is a lot of moving-and with the number of books I have, always a hassle. However, each of these moves has involved major changes in my life. With the houses, I always hope it will be the last move, but I recognize that I appreciate and enjoy the challenges that these changes have heralded. Although I hope not to move again, I realize that, given my track record, more relocations in the future are likely. These 18 different homes were in seven different states. My father once accused me of being a transient. I think he was correct. However, transience means I embrace the opportunity to experience new places.

Over these many years since I left for college, I have worked at more than a dozen different companies. In college, they were for short periods of time. After college, they have tended to be longer lasting. These have spanned a variety of careers as well: banking, legal, information technology, music, and dance. They have provided lots of opportunity for growth and change, particularly information technology, since that field is constantly moving.

In addition to career changes, my service opportunities have promoted a great deal of growth as well. I was a Girl Scout leader for longer than I was a scout. I managed a sing-along at the senior center (I am good with most music from 1850-1950). I have taught lots of little kids at church, ranging from 18 months to six year olds. I don't seem to get those that read. I have taught adults in a variety of classes. I have been an organist a number of times-which means I have at least learned to play adequately if not well. I am now in a leadership position that requires a lot of listening and problem solving. In our church, change is a given. Except perhaps for organists, when you are called to a position, it is with the understanding that it will probably be for only a year or two. Then you will be asked to serve in a different position. Two of the three times I was asked to be an organist, I only got released from the position by moving. Organists are harder to find than teachers.

As I look back, I am grateful I have faced the different challenges in my life. Without them, I would not have progressed as much. I would not have developed my current strengths and would not have overcome some of my weaknesses. However, there is still more to do, so there is still more growth to occur. In the end, your attitude to what happens determines how much you grow and learn from life. And sometimes, if you refuse to learn, you get more opportunities as life throws you more challenges in that area.

Embrace change. It helps you reach your dreams. If you don't know what those dreams are, start dreaming again. I believe that is why we are here.





 

Family visits in October

I missed posting my blog last week because we left early Monday morning and I didn't have a chance. We spent a week visiting friends and family. We spent the first part of the day traveling, then visited with family in Nevada. The camera remained in the bag.

The next day, we headed up to Utah where more visits occurred. On Wednesday, we went to the rec center for swimming (without camera) while the Pro played golf with his friends.

On Thursday, we had a picnic at Murray Park. What a great park.

 After the park, we visited another great-grandmother in the family and collected canned peaches, picked grapes, pumpkins, and a few tomatoes and apples. Here we have three of the four generations.

On Friday, we went to Farm Country at Thanksgiving Point. As indicated by the name, they have lots of farm animals and produce gardens. This was fun because they had reframed the experience as a visit to Oz. In the pony ride below, one of the white horses has paint behind the saddle-it is the horse of a different color.

 They had painted the sidewalk and lawn to create a yellow brick road. They had poppies along the yellow brick road before the emerald city-which is the pony ride. You can see the green wrapped around the posts in the pictures above. They had a wagon with the Professor Marvel logo from the movie. The area that normally houses a jail and dance hall is now labeled as belonging in Munchkinland. It was all very well done and very cute.

We could not skip a ride in a wagon behind two very large draft horses. It took us around the outside of Farm Country.

Farm country helps kids understand where food really comes from including an interactive exhibit from soil to table. For people unused to gardening, it probably helps teach children about how food is produced. There were lots of people there with little kids.

When we returned, we had a party to go to-an 80's themed party. Mostly, that meant hair in off-center pony tails for our girls.

When I lived in Worcester, I attended church in the Worcester Ward. Many of the people who were my daughters peers have moved to Utah, as she has. Many of the earlier generation have done so as well. One of the younger ones hosted the party at his home to create a Worcester Ward Reunion only it took place in Bountiful Utah. It was fun to reconnect with lots of old friends. I was in the ward from 1993 to 1999. The host's parents are also celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary. They still live in Worcester, but they set up the party to coincide with a visit to Utah so we could all reconnect. This was also a family visit, just a different sort of family, our church family.

It was a fun week which allowed us to visit all of our grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Now that the Pro is working only part time, we have more freedom to be with the family and look forward to many more such trips.

Are we missing out on blessings?

On Saturday, September 27, we had the General Women's Meeting for church. It was a wonderful spiritual feast with excellent music and speakers. (I was moved by so much, it is a good thing I had a handkerchief for the tears). The concluding speaker was Dieter F. Uchtdorf from the first presidency. He shared the picture here on his Facebook page after the meeting.

His message about the wonderful blessings that surround us, that we often block out, really resonated. Many others picked that up as well and share their own interpretations of that portion of the message. This is one of those.

So, this got me thinking about blessings. Have I been showered with them, or have I put up a barrier to keep them away? President Uchtdorf says it is our fear, doubt and sin that can keep them away. I wondered if I had done that in my life?

I know that fear has driven some of my decisions in the past. I could have developed my business into something successful if I had not been afraid. I was doing the Geek Squad before Best Buy even existed. But I was too afraid of the uncertainty to rely on that. Instead, I took safer employment that offered reliable pay and benefits. I may have denied myself significant blessings by that fear. I will never know.

Sometimes, I pushed past the fear and doubt and did see the blessings as a result. I truly enjoyed working at Intel. When they decided to close the Utah office, the Pro and I had a choice. We could stay with Intel and move to either Oregon or Folsom, or we could take a chance that I would find something comparable in Utah. After a great deal of consideration, we decided to stay in Utah. A few short months later, I was working for the church which turned out to be a wonderful experience.

A couple of years after that, we again had an opportunity to stay put or take a risk. The Pro was offered the chance to return to his first big head pro job in Prescott. It was a pay cut. We loved our home and neighborhood and had a number of friends. Again, after much pondering, we made the decision. Again, we pushed past the fear of jeopardizing our security and this time we moved away.

This decision to move saw almost immediate blessings. We thought it would take time to sell the house but we were able to rent it instead within a week of the decision. Instead of me in Utah and him in Arizona, I was able to pack up the house and join him-far sooner than we had anticipated. We have had great tenants in that house; the current ones plan to purchase it next year. After we found a home in Prescott, I found a part-time job. This enabled me to help the Pro, which had always been a dream of his. The experience was lots of fun for both of us.

During the winter, I finally quit the part-time job to help the Pro full time. Then, in May, he was laid off when a management company came in to run the course. They brought their own company guy to be director. However, the Pro is on staff there teaching a few hours per week. Now comes the fear again. Do I look for another job so that I can get benefits and we don't have to live on our savings? So far, I am trying to have faith in the answer we have for now-no. Be 'retired' and continue to help him out. I have other responsibilities that take a great deal of time, so I know that for know, this is the right thing to do.

As I look back, I can see that those times when I was willing to have faith and go for something outside my comfort zone, I have truly been blessed. I cannot know what blessings I turned away by my fear and doubt, but I am now committed to try to avoid that in the future.

If I get a response to my prayers indicating that I need to do something, over the years, I have learned to follow that prompting. I have never regretted it. I know I have been blessed. I also know that it can be frightening to take that leap of faith. But it is worth it.








 

Little Things Matter a Pride and Prejudice re-imagination

Fan Fiction allows people to enjoy the characters they enjoy in slightly altered stories. My first foray into fan fiction is a recasting of Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen. In my story, Darcy was already acquainted with Mr. Bennet, so when he attends the Meryton assembly, everything changes. There are many other variations from the original too, except that they do live happily ever after.

My story is published here at the Derbyshire Writers Guild site.  If you like the characters that Jane Austen created, you will find many wonderful stories in which they star, many of which resemble the originals in unique ways on this great site. This is a wonderful community with many talented and creative writers. I highly recommend it.

Preparedness

This month, the message from the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is entitled, "Are We Prepared?" It is written by President Thomas S. Monson, whom we consider to be a prophet of God. He asks this question and discusses how we might be prepared for many eventualities.  President Monson was involved in scouting for a long time, so being prepared is something that was often stressed in his various activities.

There are many types of preparation in our lives. When we are young, we try to prepare for a career. I was unsure about what career I wanted for a long time. As a result, I tried to prepare so that I could always find employment to sustain life. As mentioned in a previous post, I have earned a living from almost everything I had lessons in as a child. In addition, thanks to a typing class in high school, I even used that as a base. I typed papers for people in college and did work as a Kelly temporary. Both taught me that I didn't want to type for a living, but I could, and often did do office work. I finally found something that fascinated me, computers, and ended up there for most of the rest of my working life. But again, I did many different things. I continued to learn to stay current and to be able to transition into a variety of areas within information technology. Preparation for a career that can sustain us financially and emotionally is important.

There are other life skills we can learn that will make our lives easier. These include things like gardening, basic repairs, cooking, cleaning, mending, and other things in what is termed housework. When I recently took over the responsibility for our women's organization, the lack of these skills became apparent. The tablecloth that we had in our classroom, which is sort of emblematic of the women, is a decent lace tablecloth. However, in many places, the pattern had given way and there were gaping holes. It had been this way for a while. Many were considering buying a new one. I took it home, spent an hour darning it, and returned it. It now looks almost as good as new and we saved the few dollars we would have spent so we can use them on something more important.

Mending is a skill many have never acquired. It is easier not to mend. However, mending significantly increases the life span of our clothing, linens, and other items, and allows us to decrease our spending. In our disposable society, many are not taught to think this way.

At church, we have been taught the importance of industry, thrift, self-reliance, and sharing with others. We are taught to stay out of debt, or to get out of debt as soon as possible. We are taught to save. These concepts were once commonplace but are now foreign. 

With a food supply in reserve, we have the option to purchase on sale. The more often you visit a store, even with a list, the more you tend to spend. With our change in circumstance, we are now doing our primary shopping only once per month. I also did this in the past when our budget was also extremely limited. Now, I plan a month's worth of meals and purchase all but the fresh items at the beginning of the month. I buy my produce through the co-op Bountiful Baskets about every other week. The Pro picks up anything missing when he goes to pick up a prescription. This has allowed me to almost halve our grocery spend. Of course, I also make almost everything from scratch, which also cuts the amount spent. It was nice not to have to do so when I didn't have time, but I am grateful I learned the skills to enable me to do this.

We made a choice to rely on a single income. The Pro retired from full-time employment when we married. He worked part time and used his income for 'treats' such as weekly date night. Then when we moved to Prescott, we reversed roles and I worked part time. Now that he is back to part time, we are both essentially retired. Had we not saved regularly and stayed out of debt, I would be scrambling to find full time employment again. However, because we followed the advice of a prophet to stay out of debt,  this 'plot twist' did not throw us for a loop. We have to make changes to cut back on expenses, but we can manage.

When employment changes, many people cannot manage. They have not been able to prepare. Being prepared means having the skills, savings, and lack of debt to be able to manage when life changes direction. We cannot plan for all eventualities, but if we fail to plan, we can guarantee that we cannot manage during even a minor crisis.

Before the Internet, it was often harder to acquire these old-fashioned skills. You often had to find someone who had them to teach you. Now, you can often find blogs, videos, and articles about these time-honored skills and can implement them in your life. As one of the blogs I follow stated, many are not aware that you can often get by on one income thanks to the homemaking skills of the family. Unpaid contribution is still important if it allows a decrease in needed expenditures.

The scouts are right, Be Prepared. If you are not yet prepared, you can move in that direction. Maybe the first step is to learn to cook so you can cut out processed foods. They cost more per serving (usually) and do not offer as much real nutrition. Real food actually tastes better. You might also find savings in health over time as well.

If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear. (From Doctrine and Covenants 38:30)




 

Summer rains continue

We live in the high desert where rain is somewhat rare. We expect it during monsoon season and during the winter. Most of the time, that means rain in July, and some snow and/or rain in January and maybe February. This year has been different.

Monsoon season started about as expected on July 4. Most years, it ends by the end of July and people talk about how things have changed, that it used to rain into August. Well, this year reverted back to the old days.

We had rain all of July and August, usually a few days of sun, then a few days of thunderstorms. As a result, we used the pool about half the amount we used it the previous year. We also used less air conditioning. I haven't been able to use my clothesline more than five or six times all summer.

We have desert landscaping in much of the yard. That means crushed rock as a ground cover. We have had so much rain, I know have grass instead. This started the spring as only rock.

 

 The garden beds have completely filled the space.  All three are full like this, but this is the most dramatic. Those are mesclun mix lettuce plants going to seed. Note all the grass between the beds where it used to be only crushed rock.

 

 

 The roses have all gone crazy, apparently thinking it is spring again.

 In the more remote corners, we now have lots of wildflowers. These areas were all just crushed rock before July. I have been unable to keep up with cutting back the weeds.

The little water channel is actually clear and full and running during every storm. After I cleaned it this spring, it has stayed clean due to the force of the running water.

There are those that bemoan all the rain. It has definitely had an impact on outdoor activities, including our own. The Pro has less opportunity to teach as people don't play as much golf in the rain.

However, I love it. I love listening to it hit the roof. I love watching through the windows. As long as I can stay home, it is wonderful.

Today, Phoenix has had record rainfall. My rain gauge shows we had about an inch of rain over night. Phoenix had freeways closed due to flooding during rush hour this morning. It was all that the news was reporting for a while.

We have had drought conditions for many years. One year of heavier rain will not change that. However, I have definitely enjoyed it. I am also grateful that I only have to get out in the rain occasionally, instead of every day. That way it hasn't really been much of a nuisance to me. The current rains are due to moisture from hurricane Norbert in the Pacific. We are lucky we aren't having the mudslides portions of California have had.









 

Prickly Pears

My Bountiful Baskets contribution this week included prickly pears. I've seen them in the store, but I have never tried them before. 

The first thing I did was search for recipes using them. Many of those are variations on jelly. I might have tried that, but we use a lot less since we basically stopped eating bread. There were many others to choose from though.

For all of the recipes, you peal the pear.

The first thing I made was prickly pear limeade.

I cut the pear into three chunks. 

I added it to the blender with water. After I blended it for about 60 seconds, I strained out the seeds and pulp. I would have liked the pulp, but the seeds are just too large for a nice drink.

I added the juice of one lime, about 1/4 cup of orange juice and about 2 Tablespoons of honey and ran it again. I was lucky that I added about the right amount of water.

This morning, I made our smoothie with the prickly pear. It started the same as the limeade. After I strained it, I added the rest of today's ingredients: some lettuce, some cucumber, watermelon, ice cubes, pineapple orange juice, and some cream. 

After that ran for a while, I also added 1/2 a banana to make it more like a shake and more some more sweetness.

The Pro approved both the pear limeade and the smoothie, so I guess we've added a new fruit to our diet.







 

Grand Canyon

The Grand Canyon is truly a wonder. It does not disappoint, no matter how often it is seen in pictures. The grandeur and majesty is fabulous. We had visitors last week and took them to see it for their first time. They were all awed by it, even the two year old.

As we visited the various viewpoints, we heard a polyglot of languages. Anyone who comes to northern Arizona must visit the Canyon. The variety was fun to hear.

I first visited when my family did a camping trip during spring break when I was ten. My sisters were seven and three. We saw the Grand Canyon, Zion, and Bryce in a camper. On the way home, we stopped at the sand dunes which became our camping venue for the next decade.

I remember the awe I felt when I first saw this huge hole, with its stratified walls. The place feels ancient and enormous. That hasn't changed. As you can see from the picture, we took binoculars in order to better see detail far down in the canyon. It did not disappoint. This was only my third trip.

While we were there, we saw a deer in the bushes right below the rim. We saw a rescue crew putting away their climbing gear as the ambulance prepared to leave. Apparently, someone had ignored common sense and got into trouble over the edge. They were rescued successfully.

We had a wonderful time. Even the littlest one thought it was fun. To make it easier for everyone, we took a picnic lunch and snacks, but we did buy ice cream for a treat at Bright Angel.

We are so lucky to have the ability to go see a natural wonder like this only two hours from our home. We were also lucky to have family come visit and give us the excuse to go sight seeing. Nature offers so much for us to appreciate. We even got to see a storm rolling in, although all it did was offer cloud cover. The rain came after we left.

 

Fruit treats

Last week we had a meeting at church for the women to socialize. We are always so busy on Sunday's that there isn't much time for chatting. We made the refreshments fruit-themed. Three of us were the hosts. One brought delicious chocolate dipped strawberries (I may have had quite a few of those). One brought a fruit torte. Just delicious. I brought fruit pizza or watermelon pizza.

I have good friends. They arranged the table to look nice. Because she had extra chocolate, we also had dipped pretzels. And because I had extra fruit, we had fruit for those who didn't want sweets.

The watermelon or fruit pizza is something I am starting to see in various food places. (Sorry the lighting isn't very good)

 It was fairly easy to make and a hit. It can be made with or without whipped cream. This time, it was with. For this evening, the recipe was:

1. Slice the watermelon into rounds. Then slice those into wedges-with the rind still attached.
2. Top each slice with whipped cream if using it.
3. Chop strawberries and bananas into bite-sized pieces.
4. Spread chopped strawberries, bananas, and blueberries on top of the whipped cream.
5. Top with more whipped cream and serve.

You can use any combination of fruits to top the watermelon. The whipped cream helps keep the fruit topping from rolling off. There were a few errant berries in spite of the cream.

We all had fun and people enjoyed our fruit-themed refreshments. What more can you ask for?

 

Depression

I'm posting a little late this week. This is due to the recent death of Robin Williams. His demons finally overcame him and we lost him.

Depression is a serious illness. It is not simply sadness. It is far more. And you can be depressed and feel things that you know do not reflect reality. You cannot just "get over it" and decide not to be depressed any more than you can get over a broken leg. You might learn to manage it or cope, but it will always be a possibility.

I had a Bishop at church who didn't really believe that before he became a Bishop. What he saw taught him that it is a true illness and not a weakness. We had a long conversation about it once when I was going through an episode of depression myself. 

I have suffered with depression almost my entire life. I had a very nice childhood and was still frequently suicidal, even before I knew what that meant. Lucky for me, I never acted on those feelings. As I matured, I sought help at various times to deal with specific triggers that could cause a downward spiral. I was lucky in the different therapists I saw that they were able to help me learn to change my reactions and manage my responses to those things that were hardest for me to deal with.

Eventually, I found a med that would help me get back to normal within 10 days. I could then more appropriately deal with whatever was increasing the stress and magnifying my underlying depression. I am lucky that I do not need to remain on the med but can get it again should I need it.

Since the underlying depression is always present to some degree, I have had to find ways to lessen its impact and severity. I could remain on the drug, but I do not like the side effects. After much research, I found a combination of things that I need to do to mange. I try to exercise almost daily for at least 30 minutes. I change up my routines, but I notice if I slack off for more than about 3 days. Of course, this helps in other areas too as I get older, so that is an added bonus. I have found that taking Fish Oil capsules twice a day helps. When I took only one, the depression was closer to the surface. Since switching to two, it has lessened the severity of the underlying feeling. I also read uplifting things both upon first awakening and just before turning out the light at night. I will read scriptures as well as other targeted positive messages. These reminders help me look for the positive in all around me. I actively practice gratitude, especially for the small things. Prayer is a part of that process.

So, for me, a combination of therapy and specific actions to change my brain chemistry and thinking patterns has enabled me to live very happily in spite of my depression. I am lucky to have found something that works for me. People who criticize those that succumb to their demons as cowards simply do not understand the disease and also lack compassion. Mental illness is as real as a broken bone and much harder to treat. If you know someone who suffers from depression, being a supportive friend is the best gift you can give. You never know when it may make a huge difference.

If you want to feel happier, try service

I see many articles, including research, about how serving others can help you feel better. I think there are many aspects to service that help accomplish that. There is a scripture in the Book of Mormon that expresses one aspect very well: ...when ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God. (Mosiah 2:17). To me, this means that when I take an opportunity to serve others, I am also serving God.

It is a frequent teaching that God often uses us to accomplish his goals and to bless the lives of others. This is a two-way street. It means that we are serving God when we serve others, but also, we are serving God when we allow others to serve us.

Service is sort of an all-encompassing activity. It can be the little things you do in your family on a daily basis. It can be large, like joining the military or serving a mission for a church. It can be a life dedicated to service like a nun or minister. It can be a life dedicated to others such as a doctor, many parents, many teachers, and some in public service. It can be very visible or hidden behind the scenes.

Since there are so many opportunities for service, it can be overwhelming to decide what to do and where to serve. When you are unsure, start at home. Service among family members will tend to create a happier environment. Love is an active verb, and one way to express love is to serve those we love. When we do so, we tend to deepen that love.

Another place to look for service opportunities is where we spend time: at school, at work, at church, in community activities. When I was in an opera group, most of our service to others in the group consisted of bringing snacks. In another place, my service consisted of managing their weekly sing-along program. I served as a Girl Scout leader for longer than I was a Girl Scout myself when I was a child. I have served in a wide variety of capacities in my church.

Service helps us to put our own problems, challenges, and trials into perspective. At times, we will recognize how truly blessed our lives are. At others, we can see how much difference we make in the lives of others and that brings joy to our hearts. We had an excellent lesson in church yesterday about turning outward, rather than inward, during trials. Taking the opportunity to find a way to help and serve others when we are challenged helps us rise to meet those challenges.

One does not need to be in the mood to serve in order to be effective. One only needs to act. I have spent hours in service projects repeating that part of the scripture from Mosiah I quoted above over and over again for the duration of the project. I accomplished what needed to be done. At the same time, I managed to focus on another's needs and that helped me to feel better too. While service may not be a cure for clinical depression, it can certainly help us to feel better able to face our daily struggles. And a nice side benefit is that we usually truly come to love those we serve. And often, we grow through that service to become more of what we truly want to be.
 

1996 Chaussee Family Reunion Photos

In July 1996, the Chausee family had a reunion in Grand Junction, Colorado. These photos are from Jody's album. I copied them as they were mounted, which is also pretty much in chronological order.

Grand Junction was up pretty high. I know when I tried to run back to our cabin quickly, I was immediately out of breath. It took a while to recover-and not because I was not in good shape.

Grand Junction was beautiful. Dad wasn't feeling well enough to attend, but the rest of the family went. We had a wonderful time meeting lots of cousins. Marissa and I met up with the rest of the Gerrards in the airport. We drove a rented van through beautiful forest to the lodge for our reunion.
 
One of Mom's cousins coordinated for everyone. 

Here is a synopsis of the event.

 Everyone stayed at Grand Lake Lodge

Here are some of the pictures. First one, Shanna, Marissa, Jackie. Second one, Hilary, Phyllis, Natalie, Mark.

 Linda and Dennis Roos.

 Phyllis, Natalie, Mark, Linda Roos

Connie Colladay, Beverly

 Charlie Colladay
View from our rooms

 On the front porch of the lodge, Jackie, Shanna, Natalie, Hilary, Mark

 Also on the front porch, this time we got Jody in the picture, Shanna, Natalie, Jackie, Mark
Our cabins

 One afternoon, we rented a boat

 Hiding in the shadow is Hilary. Below is a better developed view of that one.

 

Jackie

Jody 

View from the boat
Back of Jackie and Hilary, Natalie, Shanna 

View from the boat



 From the boat

 Phyllis, Marissa, Natalie

 In the back, Mark and Natalie; Marissa, Phyllis, Jody, Jackie
Shanna

Jody again (you can see these are from different albums)
The front porch with all the Chaussee family women 

 Aunt Bev's family
Aunt Esther's family

 Eleanor's family (that's us)
Richard's family

 Ham's family

 Dick and Dennis

 Beverly, Phyllis, Jacquie
Our party

 Linda and Dennis
Linda, Dennis, Jody

 Jackie, Shanna
Hilary, Phyllis, Natalie, Mark

 Marissa, Jackie, Phyllis, Shanna
Natalie, Mark, Linda

 Marlissa, Judy, Dick
Transportation at the lodge

 Marissa on the lounge, Phyllis; Jackie and Hilary in the pool
More lodge vehicles

 The party

 Phyllis and Hilary
Judy, Marlissa Anderson

 Hilary and Jackie
Dick

 Awards: given by Dick: Danny, Shanna, Jean, Vernon. Jackie and Hilary watching. I got award for coming the farthest since we came from Massachusetts.

I still have that award.

 Jackie, Hilary, Phyllis

 Group photos of family groups, cousins, etc.

 Jody
Marissa and Shanna