November and December 2008 Family Letter

I apologize about not writing in November. Crazy month. We went to a Square Dance Festival in San Diego and had a really good time. Another couple from our club was there so we went for meals together, etc. We didn’t go to the day-time workshops, just the evening dances, so we had some free time and went garage sailing on Saturday morning. Each of us was able to find something, so that always makes it more fun. Katy and Jim came and stayed on the boat with us, went to the festival to take some photos of us, went garage sailing with us, etc. I love it when they can come. That was such a fun weekend. It was a bonus to have the festival in San Diego because we didn’t have to figure in a hotel stay. We will be going to another festival in February, in Yuma , so we will need accommodations for that one. It’s only a four-hour drive from here though, so we won’t need airline tickets. We have totally turned into square-dancing nerds. This will maybe be the third festival in six months. It’s way more fun to be there with friends from our club; and Bernie and Dottie are our best friends. We go out for frozen yogurt after every dance, and have gone out to dinner several times, and to there place for dinner a couple of times.
After the festival we drove on to Long Beach and took a cruise to the Mexican Riviera. That was something we likely would not have done, but how can you pass up a cruise at 70% off? We really enjoyed it. The entertainment was very good. The room was nice…balcony and all. The food was not all that fabulous, however. Usually people rave and rave about cruise food. In the long run we decided that it was probably good that the food wasn’t good because we would have gained a lot more weight. We have only been on one cruise before…maybe 30 years ago. Paul got sick on that one so we have never been very anxious to return to the sea. But no problems this time.
Then there was Thanksgiving. Since Katy and Jim were coming into town but unable to eat the big meal on Thanksgiving Day, we decided to have the Thanksgiving a week early. Plans were changed. Since they were going back home on Thanksgiving Day, Paul planned on leaving town that same day to pick up an extra day for business in Florida . All the kids had plans to go to in-laws for the official day, and I was home alone. It was weird, but I was OK with it. After-all, I was already a week or two behind in putting up the Christmas trees. Actually, the trees were standing. Paul managed to get that done, but I had the ornaments to do. I worked on the ornaments for a week, and then worked on the boutique for a week. Because the economy is the way it is and because the location of the boutique had to change this year, I didn’t do as well as I usually do, but better than I thought I would. And it was OK to have a certain amount of left-overs. After the boutique I went back to finishing the trees. I was down to my last three largest 9’ trees when Jane advised me that I didn’t have to decorate them…the other fifteen trees were enough. Of course you know me and know what happened…I worked like crazy and got those trees up. And I’m glad. They look so beautiful with all the lights and sparkly and glittery ornaments. I have at least one more week, maybe two or three before I take them down. We’ll see what happens.
Christmas morning we had to ourselves because Jane, Brian and girls had moved out the Friday before. And then they went to his folks for breakfast. Ben’s kids were with their mom. Ben had slept at Annie’s, so did Elizabeth and Nick. And Katy and Jim did not come since they were here at Thanksgiving time. Late morning we went to Jane’s while they were with Brian’s folks, and set up a trampoline that we had gotten for the girls. We were there when they got home so got to see their reaction. They were thrilled, and Jane says they are out there jumping all the time. Thank goodness for wonderful Arizona weather. Then eventually we all got to our place and everyone else showed up for opening of more presents. I would love to someday be able to have each person take turns with everyone else in opening all presents one at a time so that you can really see what everyone gets and who gave it to them. But I’m dreaming, I know. As it is now, I don’t know who gave what to whom. I do know that my kids gave me great gifts…Ben gave me a box of candy that said, “Do not open unless you were a child of the 50’s.” And, of course, inside were all those wonderful candies that you remember from your childhood but you don’t see anymore…like those little dots on a strip of paper. Too fun. You remember how much I love autumn leaves. (Paul took me to Salt Lake in November to see the leaves.) Well, Jane gave me a serving bowl with four smaller bowls, in the shape of leaves. Perfect. Katy took photos of us, Paul and I, and put six of them in a vertical frame. Great photos! Annie gave us two photos in frames…one of their little family and one of Devon …cute pictures that they used on their Christmas cards. Another perfect gift. Elizabeth made two Christmas pillows…one with a Santa, the other one of a snowman. Lots of sequins and beads, embroidery and ball fringe and piping. Fabulous! Paul had made a Barbie doll house when Jane and Katy were little, and Elizabeth took it and remodeled it for me. Because of her job as a designer she had access to lots of expensive materials, so from carpet to tile to something wonderful that she used like a fence around the deck…it turned out to be totally awesome. Heidi asked me if she could borrow it forever. My kids are so thoughtful and clever and talented and creative! It was a great Christmas. And even though Paul and I decided not to do gifts this year, he bought me a laptop. My very own. He spoils me.
Ben has been here for a week and will be here until Saturday. The kids have been here all the time except Christmas Eve and Christmas morning. Since we don’t have missionaries staying in the missionary apartment, we had them stay down there…like a guest house. It doesn’t have a refrigerator because we took it to a rental property, but we don’t really want to encourage them to stay down there anyway. They just sleep down there, yet all their stuff, mostly, is corralled. Katy and Jim stayed down there on their last visit and told us that we should always just use it as a guest house because it was perfect. Well, if we had company that often we might. But we usually don’t need extra space because we already have a guest room with bath. But Jane and family were still using it when Katy came last time, and they weren’t totally moved out when Ben came, so we were glad it wasn’t occupied by missionaries this time. We really do need to get it ready now though. It’s not been used for over a year.
Hope all of you had a great Christmas as well. It’s almost time to write the January letter. Yikes! Aunt LouEtta, since most of the letters go out via e-mail, do you need money for the family letters anymore? And what about the cabin dues? Did that whole thing get settled? Did we all just pay one lump sum, and we’re finished forever? My memory is like a sieve.
I love all of you so much and wish the happiest of times for you in the New Year.

October 2008 Family Letter

Though Annie's baby was due October 9th, he decided he couldn't wait and came on September 30th. This is her first baby, and our eighth grand child. He weighed 7 lbs. 2.4 oz. and is just adorable!, of course. They tossed around a lot of names, but since their last name is Smith they didn't want anything popular. They didn't want a name that could be shortened so that shortened the list as well. They finally came up with Devon Joseph Smith and call him Devon, as his daddy's name and grandpa's name is also Joseph. So far I only hear Annie call him Baby. I think he was "Baby" for so long that she can't get used to his real name. The funniest thing ever was that one day when I was there I heard her call him Baby D...so much for not shortening his name. It cracked me up. All three are doing well. I'm so proud of the new parents; they are as attentive and as cute as can be. Joe jumps right in there with his fatherly duties...very cute to watch. He picks up the slack around the house, too, doing dishes, etc. I'm glad they are in town. It's been a great year having all of my grand children in town for the very first time; and the oldest one is almost 12.



Early this month Katy had her sonogram telling her the sex of her baby...a girl! But the doctor told her to sit down and listen carefully. Then he proceeded to tell her that her baby had a cyst on her brain, a flap on her kidney, and something about crystallization on her heart. Well, the poor parents fall apart of course. They called us that day, a Wednesday, so we decided to drive to San Diego for the weekend and have them meet us, and feel them out to see how they were handling this very scary situation. It was the same weekend as the Boutique, but I had already decided not to do it because I didn't want it to get in the way of Annie's baby, not knowing when he would arrive. I was going to just sit at the boutique and see if people would order anything from me. I didn't think they would...knowing that my things are probably pure impulse, but I thought it would be a good experiment. Then when we decided to go see Katy and Jim I figured it would definitely be even a better experiment. As expected I only got three orders...I think 14 dozen cookies. At least now I know that it doesn't work to leave order forms. I still don't know if it would work to just sit there and talk to people and fill out order forms. I don't know if I will try that or not.



Back to the boat...Jim gave Katy a really nice blessing; and I was glad that Paul was there to help and that we were there to hear the blessing. We had a great weekend, as usual, when they are with us. They were in good spirits, so we were glad to be with them and know that first-hand. They decided to get a second opinion on the condition of their unborn baby. The appointment was Monday and the doctor said something like, "Yes, there is a little freckle on the heart, and these other issues...well...they always, always, always, go away. You have a perfectly healthy baby." Can you even imagine the great relief that all of us felt? Prayer and Priesthood blessings work.



You remember how much I love autumn leaves? Well, Paul said last week, "Let's go to Salt Lake to see the leaves." So we left Friday, spent the night in Vegas, and then came on to Salt Lake. Paul's grand folks and mom are from Woodruff, so we decided to drive up there for church today and see the leaves on the way to and from. We took Paul's mom with us and she was able to visit a few minutes with a cousin, so that was nice. Most of the leaves were gone from the trees, but there were a few stretches of really lovely scenery...totally worth the trip. We also met Kay and Dave for dinner last night. We haven't been here for quite some time, and it is always nice to get back to Salt Lake, even if I don't know my way around any more. We started at Modern Display, buying some really fun Christmas ornaments. Can't resist. I'm an addict. Tomorrow I am going to go with my high school girlfriend, LeNea, to her cabin in Oakley. We will be alone until Tuesday night when the men join us. Then the next day Paul and I will head home, hoping to see more leaves. Our dear neighbors in Tucson, who moved several years ago, are now living in Provo, so we will stop to visit them. (Mary Bradford, 95, who I used to visit teach, and her daughter and son-in-law, Mary Lou and Bill Bingham). Then we will stay in Vegas again, getting home in plenty of time to rest up a bit before square dancing.



Speaking of square dancing, the night before we left for Salt Lake we hosted our square dance club at our house because the church where we usually go was holding some function, so we got bumped. Rather than skipping the class and the dance, we just volunteered to have it at our house. Our grand daughters came down and watched while their parents were in class. They had a ball...trying to learn the steps themselves. Afterwards Heidi said, "If you and grandpa and mom and dad and me and Emily come, and you get two more people, we can learn to square dance." I overheard Jane telling Annie on the phone, "I hate to admit it but square dancing is really fun?"



So there is the newest news for the month.

September 2008 Family Letter

I am posting this family letter almost a month later than when I wrote it. Sorry about that.

I hardly ever write things on a calendar, so now I am faced with the dilemma of trying to remember if I did anything noteworthy this month.
The only thing I can think of is that I started intermediate clogging classes. I finished the beginner class in May, I think. I invited my summer walking friend to take the class this year. We go together since it takes about half an hour to get to the dance center. I clog with her in her beginning class, which is a good refresher and warm-up for me. Then, since she is a school teacher, she corrects papers, pays bills, reads, etc. while I take my class. It’s so much more fun to be there with someone I know and to have someone to talk to on the way to and from the class. I’m glad I bought the beginner instruction and dance CDs, so that I could practice all summer. It’s so much fun, though I’m not crazy about the music…mostly country, played by banjo music. It’s great exercise, so that is a bonus. One funny thing about my practicing clogging at home is that as soon as I put my clogging shoes on, my little grand baby Sadie, almost 15 months old, starts bouncing up and down. Then I put on the music and she really gets into it. It is so cute to watch. Babies sure do love music. At the encouragement of some square dance friends, we started taking round dance lessons as well. We never thought we would do it…way too nerdy for us. After three weeks we have pretty much mastered one of the dances; and I have to admit that it is kind of fun. Our friends didn’t catch on very well, however, and are ready to quit. If they quit maybe we will quit, too. If you round dance and square dance, you never get a break all night from dancing, so that may be a good enough excuse to quit. Paul does need to rest his knee some. He wears a brace to the dances, and that helps him a lot.
Annie’s baby is due on October 9th, so that means any day now. The crib is set up, the little clothes are washed and hanging in the closet, and her hospital bag is packed. She is way ready. It will be really different for me not to have to get on a plane to go help with a new grand baby. She just lives about 20 minutes away, and I don’t know what she will even want of me, help wise, since this is her first.
Kay called me on September 23rd and said, “Do you know what today is? It’s the 30th Anniversary of dad’s death.” She always remembers and always calls. I can’t believe it’s been 30 years though! What’s sad is that Annie and Elizabeth never knew him; he died before they were even born. And Katy was only two, Jane five, and Ben seven; so their memories can’t be too strong. That’s one reason it is nice to have the gospel and know we will see each other again.
Boutique season is upon us, and I am so not in the mood. It’s always like this in October. The rent on the school skyrocketed though from last year’s of $2400 for the weekend to $7500 this year. Insane! They had to find a new location, and it’s never as good a show when that happens. They had been at the same middle school for 15 years, and hundreds of people count on the same location. I wish they hadn’t been able to find a new spot and just let the boutique die a nice, peaceful, natural death. My kids tell me, “Mom, you don’t have to do it, you know.” I do know, but I just can’t say no. I would disappoint too many people who are so loyal to me. We’re down to the last two weeks though, so I better get cracking, starting tomorrow…though I’ve been saying that for more than a week. I will still go to my dance classes. I do have my priorities.

August 2008 Family Letter

We began the month with a business trip to Florida, staying with the Carlton’s again. They live in a beautiful neighborhood, and I always look forward to being there and walking the streets first thing each morning. It’s so much nicer than a treadmill. There is certainly something to be said for all the greenery, ferns for ground-cover, included. And to think that Paul’s grandmother had to really baby along one lone fern as a house-plant. I could live in Florida, at least during the non-hurricane season.
Ben was on a school break this month so came and stayed with us from the 20th-30th. Usually he goes to his in-laws, which are now x-in-laws, help get the kids up and off to school, then goes back and picks them up, gets them dinner at our house or “out” and then takes them back to Elizabeth Elena’s house at bedtime. This time she wanted him to pick the kids up as soon as he got into town, and keep them the whole time, including over-night. I thought it was a selfish thing on her part, but he was OK with it. He loved it, as a matter of fact, and said it was the best break he had had in a long time. It was because not once did he have to interact with his x-in-laws, and he got to have the kids longer. It was a little more stressful for me, having all seven of my grandchildren under roof at the same time, because Ben’s are even pickier eaters than Jane’s, and they are allowed to stay up way too late. But if it was better for Ben, then so be it. Elizabeth Elena really got to miss the kids though, so it may not happen this way again. They’ll have to work something out. We had quite a bit of time with Ben, so that was a bonus for us. I think he got to see his sisters quite a bit also. If he passes his classes, he will only have two more semesters until he is finished. Then we’ll see. He just finished and passed Pharmacology…thought it would kill him…but he survived. I can’t remember the class he has right now, but the last one will be pathology. That should be interesting.
We spent Sunday afternoon with some friends from square dancing. Along with family they invited several couples for a bar-b-q. It was very nice, and we were glad to be included. It was a pot-luck. They furnished the hamburgers, hotdogs, and bratwurst, and soda. I let them know ahead of time that I could bring some homemade whole wheat buns for the meat. The bread recipe is so good, and the dough is really easy to work with. I will never buy another hamburger bun again. Plus…a batch doesn’t take all that long to make; I did it between getting home from morning church and when we had to leave. No big deal. And because most people don’t bake, they were a real hit. I want to keep these letters to one page, so time’s up.

Devon Joseph Smith

I can't believe that Joe and Annie's baby is already one week old today. But then he wasn't even due until October 9th or 10th. Even though he was nine days early, it's about time I am getting around to my blog. I'm still not in the groove, as you must have noticed by now. They knew a boy was coming, but they couldn't decide on a name. All of us were giving her suggestions, but they finally came up with Devon Joseph Smith. They wanted a name that was a little bit out of the ordinary because of the very common last name of Smith; so they didn't want Michael, David, etc. And they wanted a name that couldn't be shortened, like from Charles to Charlie or Steven to Steve. And no similar sounds slurring from first name to last, so it couldn't be Max or Alex. He was born on September 30, Tuesday's child, but didn't have a name until Wednesday. Devon Joseph Smith, going by Devon, of course, since there are four previous Joseph Smiths on his dad's side, and besides, Joseph is usually shortened to Joe. He was born at 7:33 a.m. and weighed 7 lbs. 2.4 oz. I'm not the slightest bit prejudiced when I say he is one gorgeous baby boy! Remember that I volunteer once a week at Tucson Medical Center in the newborn nursery and have been there for fourteen years now, and have seen a lot of babies. Annie and Joe are darling parents. It's been fun to watch them. I knew Annie would take right to it because she has always been so very cute with babies, but with Joe I wasn't exactly sure because I don't remember ever seeing him even hold any of our other babies. And when he was handed his son, right after birth, he said, "Now what do I do with it?" ("It"?)The way I understand it is that he wasn't even cradling him...just kind of holding him out like a football. Too funny. Likely we will never let him forget it either. But he has gotten into the groove of fatherhood real quickly...changed diapers at the hospital and everything. I think it was cute of him to tell me that he wants to be an involved parent, even though he was nervous to change diapers because of the circumcision. This is such a bonus time for me as a parent to watch my own kids take on parenthood. Annie and Joe are already doing a wonderful job; I'm very proud of them. I've been taking meals in to them since they have gotten home from the hospital, so for five days now I've gotten to observe them. One funny thing Annie said a couple of days ago..."It was a sad day today. I realized my cats are not my babies." Annie and Joe have both been such cat lovers for such a long time that I wondered how they would transition. Move over Samson and Jasmin...Devon has just knocked you off your pedestals. I can laugh, but it happened to me, too, with our dog, Chuy. I'm embarrassed to say, but it's true...when I was expecting Ben, I actually said, "I wonder if I will love this baby as much as I love this dog." The minute he was born, however, I instantly fell in love with him, and Chuy took the back burner.

Hobbies (The Book Worm)

First of all...when I write a month and year after the title of the book, it represents when I read it...not that it matters...just for my record. A friend told me that Steve Martin had written a good book, "Shopgirl". ( April 2008). So I read it. I don't know whether I was not in the mood for his book or what, but I didn't think it was more than average. Then, while in a Sarasota used-book store, I found another book by Steve Martin, "The Pleasure of My Company". (September 2008) Because I valued the friend's opinion of Steve Martin, I tried this book as well. It took me into the book quite a ways before I finally found myself wondering how it was going to end. It was about a modern-day neurotic yearning to break free.

Hobbies ("Sailing")

It wasn't until we built an apartment, connected to the office, for missionaries, that I knew anything at all about yard sales aka "sailing". Or is that sailing aka "yard sales"? Anyway, I asked people at church to donate anything they needed to get rid of to the cause of furnishing the apartment. Sister Mauri Bell suggested that I go to yard sales, and I told her that I wouldn't have a clue about prices, how to wheel and deal, etc., so she invited me to come along on her excursion the following Saturday. She said that I would have to arrive at 5:55 A.M. because they would leave promptly at 6:00 A.M., whether I was there or not. This was serious business. My first lesson was that you did have to go that early because all the good stuff was gone by 9:00. And, no matter what the price was, you offered half. That was hard for me to do because I don't like to barter. But because we were furnishing an apartment we had to buy virtually everything from beds to potato peelers, so it became easier to dicker on the prices. It was amazing! Brand new twin beds for $25 each, peelers 25 cents, free-standing bookcase $2.00, rice cooker $3.00, pop-corn popper $1.00. The list goes on. I had Paul go with me because I didn't think I could do it by myself and I didn't know how much we could spend. I only wish I had kept track of how much we spent all together to furnish the apartment. After our first Saturday we were hooked. We went almost every Saturday after that for about twenty years. There were "treasures" to be found every week. It became a family tradition, but to bribe the kids to go with us we would get donuts at the local mom and pop donut shop. The double chocolate cake donuts were to die for, even took the place of my favorite donuts from when we lived in Salt Lake. I would say that all of us now have a huge percentage of our things bought from garage sales. It wasn't too long before we were buying presents from yard sales to give to the kids at Christmastime. It replaced our tradition of letting them open one gift on Christmas Eve. It became Garage Sale Christmas Eve. We were buying all year long and saving them until the magical night. But the parents were doing all of the buying, so we eventually brought the kids into the choosing of gifts...they would all buy something for everyone else in the family. It became the highlight of Christmas. Friends heard about it and wanted to come over and watch the unvailing. Though we would buy from the stores and give those gifts on Christmas Day, the Garage Sale Christmas Eve presents would always be the most fun. And our time spent together was the most memorable. One year Annie even said, "Let's not buy regular presents...let's just do the garage sale ones."

It's been a family joke that when I shop yard sales I will shop until I have at least six of everything...one for me and one for each of the kids. A famous and very funny quote from Ben is, "My mom even buys for people who aren't born yet." Well, that may be exaggerating a bit, but I have to admit, not by much. The problem is that right now Annie is the only one with a house, and the rest of the kids don't have storage space enough for me to inflict all these possessions. I have filled up all my storage space and then some, so it really doesn't make sense for me to shop every week anymore. But when I do go I usually say, "We've got to start going every weekend again." We do almost always go when we are out-of-town, however. We even found one when we were in New York with Annie. They blocked off the whole block. I can always find something to buy, even if it's just a book, but I was especially happy that Annie found several treasures. Katy is still in the regular groove so when she comes to San Diego to stay with us on the boat we always go...plug in addresses on the GPS, and away we "sail". We have more fun than should be allowed. She even wanted to write a book about "sailing", but has since put things on a blog instead, with photos and all. Maybe someday I will have her teach me how to do that.

Thoughts on Love

In my reading, I keep finding thoughts that I really like and decided that adding them to my blog would be a good place to store them...a place for me to find them easily and be able to re-read them. I may have several categories when all is said and done, but for now, my first heading will be "Thoughts on Love". Today's quote came from The Ensign, August 2007, by Elder Bruce C. Hafen (Of the Seventy) and Marie K. Hafen, p. 28. "In the little kingdom of a family, each spouse freely gives something the other does not have and without which neither can be complete and return to God's presence. Spouses are not a soloist with an accompanist, nor are they two solos. They are the interdependent parts of a duet, singing together in harmony at a level where no solo can go." And later in the article, same page, a journal entry, which became the last of John Haslem Clark of Manti, Utah, in 1921: "We are alone, We two. We two whom destiny has made one. Long ago, it has been sixty years since we met under the June trees. I kissed you first. How shy and afraid was your girlhood. Not any woman on earth or in heaven could be to me what you are. I would rather you were here, woman, with your gray hair, than any fresh blossom of youth. Where you are is home. Where you are not is homesickness. As I look at you I realize that there is something greater than love, although love is the greatest thing in earth. It is loyalty. For were I driven away in shame you would follow. If I were burning in fever your cool hand would soothe me."

Good Reads

Some time back my dear friend from middle school and high school, LeNea Kimball Liddle, asked me to join "Good Reads". It's an InterNet thing where you and your friends can list books you have read and rate them. Also you can list books you would like to read and make comments on books others have read. I thought it was a good idea, but I haven't totally figured out how to go through the process easily. It made me think that this would be a good Blog Topic, so that this reading list would be in one place. Since I finished a book today, I decided that I would just start now, with this current book, and add to the list as I have time. The thing with me and reading is that I read for the pleasure, right this minute. By the next day I may have forgotten the title, the author, and I couldn't tell you about it if you paid me. Sometimes I can't even remember if I liked the book or not. The good thing in talking to some of my friends about this terrible problem is that the same thing happens to them. Whew! I feel much better. I guess it's not really important to remember a book or not. You either just enjoy it while you are reading it or you don't. Lately I have tried to remember to put a "sticky" on the inside cover of a book, with my name and the month and year I finished the book. Then I write one sentence, either saying if I liked the book or not, or wrote something that would trigger a little detail from the story line.

The book I finished this morning, ( August 27, 2008) was: My first Nora Roberts, "Waiting for Nick." On a scale of 1-5 I probably would rate it a 3. Gotta love a romance novel though.

"Sundays at Tiffany's" by James Patterson (July 2008). I loved this book about a little girl who had an imaginary friend. It would make a great movie. Rated 5.

I've enjoyed several of Diane Mott Davidson's books with their clever culinary/who done it titles.
"Chopping Spree" (August 2008). Maybe I'm not enjoying her books as much as I did in the beginning though because of the similarities. A 3.

James Patterson's "The Lake House". (June 2008)

Hobbies (Tippety Tap)

Last January we went to the annual Tucson Square Dance Festival. While we were taking a break from dancing, we watched the men and women do their "clogging". It looked like so much fun!, so right then and there I decided I wanted to take lessons. One good thing about clogging is that you don't need a partner. I had already gotten Paul to square dance with me, so I didn't want to push my luck. I simply told him that I wanted to learn and would he mind. Not at all. And I didn't even hint at his taking the class because, in the first place, I really was fine in taking the class alone; I didn't even feel the need to find a girlfriend to go with me. So a year ago now I took the beginning clogging class. The reason I have labeled it "tippety tap" is that the shoes have a double tap, and therefore make a double tap sound. It was either Paul or Jane who started calling it "tippety tap." Even my little granddaughters will say things like, "Gramma, when are you going to "tippety tap" again? because I want to do it with you." I kind of struggled in the beginning because I am not a quick learner. But I bought the instructor's cd's and started practicing. He left town for the summer, so there were no classes, and if I wanted to advance to the next level, I knew I would have to practice alone with the cd's all summer long. And it's no punishment, believe me. The music is a little annoying, however. I'm not big on country. All right, I meant the music is a lot annoying, but it is what it is. I have three different cd's, some purely going over the steps and some with actual cued dances. I'm not intimidated any more and don't mind dancing, all by myself, with anyone watching. Not that people are running to watch...I just don't mind if they do. It's good exercise, too, for mind and body. One other good thing is that most of the people in my class are "older". I originally would have thought that it would be a young person's hobby because of the fast movement, but not necessarily so. The only bad part is that I have a hard time quitting to go and do laundry, fix meals, get showered for the day, read, etc. anything...it's just too much fun to stop. The kids are having a hayday with my new hobby. It is pretty comicle.

Hobbies (Allemande Left)

About twenty years ago, roughly 1988, we went to a stake square dance activity. The "caller", Dave Walker, who was in our stake, was fabulous and made it so much fun. He announced that they would soon be starting up beginner square dance lessons, so I told Paul that I would really like to take the class. He agreed to it just to make me happy, not because he had any real interest in it. What a guy! Square dancing lessons are a real commitment because you meet once a week for about eight months. If you miss one lesson it's a good idea to go early the next week to catch up. If you miss two lessons in a row, you are in huge trouble. If you miss three or more, you might as well quit; it's just way too hard to catch up. There are 69 beginning calls to learn. Once you get the lessons under your belt you need to dance once or twice a week so you don't forget any of the calls. Because of the huge time commitment, it's difficult at best to take lessons when you have a young family at home. I think that is why most people think that square dancing is for oldsters. It's just that the retired folks have the time, and that they no longer have to worry about getting kids to soccer games or dance lessons or Mutual or help with homework, etc. If they offered square dancing at the colleges and universities, then the young adults would get hooked, and it wouldn't just be all us grey-haired couples dancing up a storm.





When the craft fair season started we didn't do as much dancing as we should...stopped all together at one point. Paul thought it would be like riding a bike when going to a dance much later. Not me; I was certain I wouldn't remember a thing and made him take the lessons again. He, of course, did remember everything...or at least he re-learned it quickly. Me...it took a little longer. We were probably away from square dancing for ten years when we took the lessons again. Now we take the beginner class every year just to help others learn. There is a name for us and others who help..."angels". We had some great "angels" when we were learning...Bob and Carol Dohrmann and Bob and Helen Koehler. (As a sideline, we were just invited to Bob and Helen's 60th Wedding Anniversary celebration this past weekend. I consider them very special friends.) This last year we "angeled" the beginning class because we had invited nine couples, and we wanted to support them. Now it is almost time for another beginner class to start. If we find some friends to take lessons then we will "angel" again. If not, we may just go to the dances.





Last month we went to Show Low, Arizona for a square dance festival and spent a couple of nights there. It was a lot of fun, especially since some of our friends from our club were there as well. A bonus to that trip was that we stayed with Stan and MaryCay Farnum, good friends from church who have a "cabin" up there. This month we went to Florida for business and a trip to the dentist for Paul, and while there looked up square dance clubs on the Inter Net. Unfortunately the Sarasota clubs didn't dance in the summer because of the humidity. We kept checking and found a little town an hour away in Arcadia where we could dance. An hour away! We are such nerds! It's fun to dance to different callers, though our Dave Walker is the best! Once you learn to square dance you can dance anywhere in the world because dances are always called in English. Interesting. I'm thinking it would be fun for my friends and family to learn and then we could meet at the festivals and have a grand ol' nerdy time together. It's good exercise, both for the body and the brain, and the social part is fun...square dancers are a very friendly group, so you make lots of friends. (As a matter of fact we went to lunch today with two of our favorites...Bernie and Dottie.)





Part of the real fun in square dancing is the clothes, especially the petticoats. When you "weave the ring" you can swish your skirts left and right, with flair! "Ladies in, Men Sashay"...the girls can lift their skirts in front like doing the "can-can". Love it, love it! Even in the heat of the summer I like to wear the petticoats. I remember back when Jane was in high school and we were dancing that she would get embarrassed to death if I had to pick her up from school wearing my square dance clothes. Oh, the humiliation! I wouldn't be surprised if she and Brian decided to take lessons though.





I highly recommend square dancing for all the reasons that I have mentioned, including the cost. We have only been paying $7 a night, per couple, for a two-hour dance, plus the free hour if you come to the class. You don't run or skip when you square dance; you just need to be able to get around easily with a quick walk. Just try it. Our club doesn't charge for lessons for the first three weeks; so I am betting that is probably the case in other clubs. Check it out. You'll love it! Paul even admits he has a good time. Maybe it's the refreshments. Maybe it's the frozen yogurt afterward. Maybe it's the points he is making with me.

I'm interested to know about hobbies of other people, so I am assuming you would like to know about mine. I am not going to write about my favorite one first, though reading could be my favorite. I just need to start somewhere...and reading it is. First of all, let me give a little bit of background. I don't remember liking to read...ever. Wait a minute; that's not quite true. I remember in my baby-sitting days that I read The Five Little Peppers and Anne of Green Gables and one more that I can't think of right now. I loved those books. But when I had to read for English classes in high school, I refused, for the most part. My loss. I had good examples by my parents, too. I always remember my dad reading the newspaper and magazines. And my mom loved to read books. Her favorite was Les Miserables. She tried to encourage me to read, but it didn't work with me. I was rebellious out of the classroom as well. One day, maybe ten years ago or so, I mentioned to my friend that I never liked to read. She said it was because I had not found the right author or the right book to turn me on to reading, and that the reason she knew that was because she was the same way until she read a book that she loved...and has been reading ever since. It was The Secret Garden by Frances Dodgson Burnett. I know that's a young adult book, but I wanted to love to read, so I took her advice and read the book that changed her from a non-reader into a reader. I absolutely loved that book! When I finished it I wanted to start it all over. When I told my grand daughter, Hannah, who has been an avid reader since before kindergarten, that when I finished that book I wanted to start it all over again, she simply said, "Why didn't you do that Gramma?" Good advice. But instead, I picked up another book by a different author, and loved that one, too. So I got hooked on Dean Koonz and read a big stack of his. Then when one of his kind of turned me off, I just found a new author, and then another. And so it goes...I love to read. My mom would be thrilled. I should read Les Miserables one of these days, in her honor. Miss Beal would be happy as well, and say, "It's about time." Some of my favorite authors are Nicholas Sparks, Mary Higgins Clark, James Patterson, and Richard Paul Evans. I think the only reason I like to walk on the treadmill is because I read while I walk. I read four pages in The Book of Mormon, then an article or few pages in our church magazine, The Ensign, then I read a novel until my hour is up. The only disappointing thing about reading is that I can't remember the stories after I have finished. I have started to put sticky notes in the books to either recommend them or not, and maybe written a sentence or two to help me remember the story. But the important thing is I now love to read.

July 2008 Family Letter

July 2008 Family Letter

Dear Family,
It seems like I start each family letter with the same thing…I can’t believe how fast the month has flown.
We began the month with a fun little get-away to San Diego. Paul knows how much I love fireworks, so he tries really hard to make sure I have the opportunity to see good ones. We are fortunate that we “park” our boat at the Sea World Marina because they have fireworks every night during the summer months. Just a little 5-10 minute show, but always wonderful. We were told that they were going to have a big display on the 3rd this year, as well as the 4th of July, so we took the pontoon boat out to get a better view. They were fabulous, and I wondered if they could get any better the next night. They actually were better, but maybe only because they were ten minutes longer. Our friends from Simi Valley came over to meet their kids at Sea World. Their kids were flying in from Salt Lake. Parry and Linda drove over, of course, but their kids’ flight got delayed, so we were able to have them go to lunch with us. Bonus. We invited all of them to come for fireworks but the kids wanted to stay at Sea World, plus they were concerned about the rocking of the boat because a couple of them get seasick. So Parry and Linda came back after their afternoon at Sea World. Linda said she had never had such a good seat for fireworks before and thought these were the best she had ever seen. I’m so glad it all worked out. Good friends are such a blessing.
Jane had a couple of little scares. She had buckled all the kids in the car but then realized she needed to go back in the house to get something. She hopped out of the car and began walking. Heidi started shouting, “Mom! Mom!” Jane turned around to see the car rolling backwards. She ran to get the car stopped and a small branch punctured her leg. Her bad leg, wouldn’t you know…the one where the lymph nodes had been removed. And she got all scratched up and bruised. The door to the car got bent all the way back, but thankfully the kids did not get hurt. She limped around here for days, but is now back to her usual running up the stairs. At some point during the whole ordeal her doctor felt the need to have her get an MRI. He scared us all by saying he was worried that there might be cancer on the brain. She had the MRI…there was nothing. Whew! The moral of the story is…even though we have all been praying for her, and her melanoma no longer exists, and she is off chemo, prayer is still needed…always needed. So please keep her name on your prayer list.

June 2008 Family Letter

For years now my mother's side of the family has written a monthly letter. There were ten children in the family, plus my grandparents Benjamin Franklin Sampson and Mary Francetta Cook Sampson. Originally the youngest would write a letter, send it on to the next older, and he in turn would add a letter and send them on to the next one. And so on. When the letters made their way back to the first one, she would take out the old letter and write a new one. With twelve families writing, it often took over a year for the letters to make the rounds. And by then, the news was very old. Somewhere along the line someone figured that if they each would write a letter and send it on to the one in charge, they could hear from each other once a month instead of once a year, because the letters would then be copied and sent out to everyone in that same month. And now, with the help of e-mail, the letters can just zip and fly at unbelievable speed. Aunt LouEtta, my mother's youngest sister, is in charge now; and I am very proud of her for learning how to e-mail at age 80 plus. I have decided that this is a good place to store my letters because it ends up being a fairly decent monthly summary of the goings on here and with our children and grand children. Rather than save all the letters from other family members, I will simply copy the parts that I think might be of interest.

From now on when I am adding the family letter to my blog I will put parentheses around parts that I add for clarification. I may use bold face if I think that helps.


June 2008 Family Letter
Dear Family,
This month zoomed. I didn’t even have time to talk to myself and say, “You better hurry up and get a letter sent off to Aunt LouEtta before she has to call you.” I can’t believe today is July 1st. (Though I wrote on July 1st, I actually sent the letter to be included in the June letters. Aunt LouEtta is very forgiving for tardiness.)
Tomorrow is Sadie’s first birthday (July 2nd). She is Jane’s youngest and just such a good baby and so adorable. She’s going through the cute stage of learning so many things…patty cake, how to wave bye-bye, signing “more”, spinning on command, kicking her arms and legs when we say “swim”, standing up to furniture, putting her thumb in her mouth when you ask her if she wants “to go night-night.” I’m going to miss her when they leave. Well, actually I will miss all of them, but they will only be about ten minutes away, though in a different ward. The remodeling on their house is going very slowly, though some good progress was made last weekend.
Speaking of Jane…she just found out today that she can stop her chemo treatments, six months early. Great news, huh?!
We are headed off to the boat tomorrow after my hospital duty. Instead of coming back on Sunday we will be leaving early Saturday morning because Ben’s son, Harrison, will be getting baptized that afternoon (July 5th). I have started to crochet an afghan for him to remind him that the Holy Ghost can be a comfort to him, just like the afghan. I likely won’t have it finished, but that will be OK. I just wish I had thought of it before this last weekend. Heidi will be getting baptized in January (or February, as her birthday is on the 14th of January), so I need to get going on hers as well. I can’t leave Hannah out, though she is 11; so hers will be very late. I finished a baby afghan for Annie…in advance of a baby shower, so that is good.
Speaking of “good”…I have some good news…fabulous news actually…Katy and Jim are expecting my ninth grand child. They are the ones who have been married for ten years, so we are all just thrilled. She is due in March, five months after Annie’s baby is born. It will be fun to have little cousins close in age. Believe me…I know how important cousins are.
I’m still walking every morning and clogging some almost every day. Can’t leave square dancing out…still go…still love it. The only real change to my normal life is that we don’t go to garage sales regularly any more. Since I recently gave away so much stuff that I had been accumulating, I realized that most of what I buy is for the kids, and they don’t have room for it. Every time I do go I love it and always find some little treasure, but I don’t go through withdrawals any more if I don’t go.
Paul was gone three weeks in June…Montana…shooting prairie dogs for the ranchers. He loves that little hobby of his. He suggested that I go someplace while he was gone. So, after some consideration, I decided to go to California. On a Thursday I flew to Burbank and stayed with Katy and Jim through Saturday. Then she took me to my friend, Linda’s, until the following Thursday. It was a great time. Linda said I should make it an annual trip, so that made me feel like a very welcomed guest.
Out of room and news.

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