Grammie Date

I had the great pleasure of going on a date with two of my darling granddaughters! What a treat! I've been to Thanksgiving Point gardens many times, but I haven't done much else than one movie and a quick walk-through the Dinosaur Museum. So when Jessica offered I jumped at the chance. This day we went to the Museum of Natural Curiosity- which is a bit like any museum... you have to go back many times to see everything!

Both girls were very excited to introduce Grammie to this new experience. They showed me the little door, which Grammie walked through too with barely a stoop!

They made a beeline to this play area and told me all about the time Sophie plummeted from the top to the bottom all at once- and didn't even cry!!

I love how Roxie's hair is full of static electricity.

They negotiated the rope bridges with Roxie never leaving Sophie behind. I am always so impressed at how kind and loving these children are to each other. (Good home training!) We poked around in a few of the rooms enjoying different experiences.

One was the Cave of Courage. Roxie asked if I wanted to go through and since I could see that it required lots of bending and crawling, I opted out. So off they went. What I didn't know is that they were in the pitch black and had to feel their way through a maze! There were cameras so I could watch their progress. Roxie always had a hold of Sophie. After several minutes I started to panic... Yikes! Then I could hear Sophie's plaintive plea, "Grammie, how do we get out?" Luckily there was a very brave boy who went in, at my request, to help them find the way out. I gave Soph a big hug but there were no tears. Again with the yikes!

They wanted to go outside and since it was a mild day, 45°, we did. They had a dandy time sliding, climbing, teetering and zip-lining! (Grammie even zipped once!)

But after 2 hours Grammie was hungry and tired...

Then it was Grammie's turn to introduce these sweeties to a culinary delight. El Pollo Loco just makes my mouth happy! (We are lucky enough to have one of the two in Utah! That was a happy day for me since they are all over in CA!)

The best part... I don't think these two have ever eaten drumsticks before. But the time Roxie finished the second one she told me she thought she had it figured out!

I can tell you, we need to do this more often!

Laundry Pedestal

You may remember that last March we bought a new front-loading Samsung washer and dryer. Boy, oh boy, are they ever the pip! This model has the a steam feature on both the washer and dryer. Gordon's undershirts have long been plagued with deodorant stained armpits. NOT ANY MORE! It only took one wash on the steam cycle and his *bunders* are as clean and white as new... even the ones that are practically threadbare.

There is only one problem with my new super-dee-dupper laundry-duo... they are too low. My poor old low back just can't do all the bending over so I end up kneeling on the rug in order to move a load from the washer to the dryer. (Guess it's a good thing that my knees still work really well!)

I NEEDED a laundry pedestal... but I wasn't going to pay the $259.99 a piece that's wanted at Lowe's. (Where we purchased the washer and dryer). Besides the drawers in those are so shallow you really can't store much in them.

Enter Pinterest! (Can that ever suck you in if you'll let it!)

I had a purpose so I dove right in. I spent several hours over a couple of days ferreting out just what I liked the best and came up with some very workable and helpful plans. I liked Courtney's take on Ana White's plans that she got from Sausha... yeah, that's kind of how it goes on Pinterest!

Behold... my new laundry pedestal!!

I am so happy with how it turned out! And, for me, half the fun was in the making. I like that there is no bottom shelf so I can easily clean under there AND let's face it... retrieve lost items that always fall behind the washer and dryer disappearing forever!

One tweak Courtney made, and I copied, is the four legs support the pedestal top and the frame is screw right into the 4x4" legs instead of using brackets. I also made my pedestal 58" x 30" x 15 3/4" so I can still hang my ironing board next to the dryer.

I went to my favorite Home Depot where, for a fraction of the cost ($100), I bought the materials. They offer free cutting at my store so I had them cut the MDF for me... I'm terrible when it comes to using a circular saw! And even though I wore gloves, I wore a blister at the base of my right thumb from drilling in all of those 3" screws!

I also discovered that a quart of Behr primer and paint would have been more than enough. (Hmmm... what else do I want to paint smoky-grey-blue?)

(BTW- can you believe this beautiful January weather here in Utah? I feel like we're having a Palmdale winter!)

Once it was all built, painted and distressed Gordon and I moved it into the laundry room but we knew there was no way WE could lift that washer up 15 3/4"!! Enter our wonderful friends (and Home Teachers): Clark, Brooks and even Spencer came to do the heavy lifting.

I dazzled them with my skills of hooking up the washer and dryer AND then getting out from behind them. I told them I'd just climb over the top. They watched me lift my leg to the height of my shoulder and crawl out like a squirrel...  they were amazed. Clark said he never would have been able to stand up...

And I was also needed to shimmy under to level the back legs on the dryer. There are many times when being a short gal is very advantageous! I've never wanted to be tall... good thing, I guess! (Hey, those are good lookin' 62-year old legs! I'll keep them!)

I'm so pleased to have my washer and dryer at this new, convenient height! It has opened up a whole new level of laundry fulfillment!

The Best Move I've Ever Made!

For a girl who was born and raised in the same little house in Greenville, CA, I've sure moved around a lot; so I know a thing or two about moving! The sad part is that 17 of the 25 moves happened between 1970-80! (That pretty much sums up that decade of my life!)

Other than the first 17 years and 10 months I spent in my first home the longest I've lived at any address was 8 years and 10 months...

Until now!

We've lived here, on our little quarter acre of heaven for 10 years. As Gordon and I were driving to the Temple yesterday I mentioned to him something that has been rolling around in my little head but finally found its way out-

THIS IS THE BEST MOVE I'VE EVER MADE!

(PHOTO TAKEN MAY 2014)

Gordon asked why so I started counting off the blessings (name them one by one!)

• We are close to many of our children and grandchildren and get to interact with them on a frequent basis.
• We have a paid for home.
• We are able to serve in the Temple often.
• We have the privilege of being ordinance workers- which has brought greater meaning to the wonderful blessings administered there.
• We live in a wonderful neighborhood and community.
• We are surrounded by good people trying to do the right thing.
• We live in the mountains (a plus for this mountain-born girl).
• We live in an area with a lower cost of living.
• We have four seasons!

The list could go on and on. But I just wanted to share here, publicly, my great gratitude to my Heavenly Father who truly has "opened the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing that there is not room enough to receive."

Primary Sharing Time Jan- week 2

I always feel like I want to share any ideas I have with others. Today's post may be too late to help many folks, but since I was sick most of the week this is when you get it.

My responsibility as Primary 1st counselor is to not only write the Sacrament meeting program but to do the 2nd week sharing time. I'm frequently at a loss with the small amount of help from the 2015 outline so I have to search for other ideas.

I hope this can help others in their calling.

Jesus Christ is the Son of God

I will follow the outline in the Primary sharing time booklet for week 2.

For Jr Primary I will have additional pictures of Jesus displayed. We will talk about Jesus, who is the Son of God and read the scriptures outlined. Then sing Tell Me The Stories of Jesus.

I will pass out these small coloring books to the children and let them draw their own pictures of their favorite stories of Jesus.

You should be able to right click the image and do a save as. Then print on your computer. I printed mine on 8.5 x 11.  Then added one blank sheet of paper and  cut both papers in thirds horizontally, fold in half and staple on the fold.

Poor Babies

You know that I have a love/hate relationship with the local deer. I love that they are right here in my yard and that we share a neighborhood BUT I hate that they vandalize my garden.

That being said, I can't help but feel sorry for them in the winter time. I know that the whole Bambi thing comes back to me when he says, "But I'm so hungry Mother!" I've never been hungry other than by choice! And the thought of any creature staving just breaks my heart.

I was sitting here in my perch-up-on-top (aka my office) when I caught some movement through the partially closed blinds. On closer inspection I saw that it was our neighborhood Mama and her twins. I've watched this little family all year. (On a side note, Bekah has a similar trio at her house and they literally sleep right outside their master bedroom window and have eaten her yard to bits!)

They were scavenging on the berries dropped by the *fat-flappers* that also share my neighborhood!

Now, help me understand how this works... there is this whole flock of robins that DO NOT fly south for the winter. They just stay here in their plentiful neighborhood all year long. Besides many trees that keep their summer fruit on the tree through the winter, nature's bird feeders, there are plenty of folks that have out regular bird feeders. As you can see they are not hurting for food-supply! But the deer? Well, they don't have wings yet so they only get the droppings or what they can reach from the ground.

This little deer-family stayed for quite a while and let me get some sneaky photos through the blinds (NEVER pull the blinds up!). Finally Mama ambled across the street to see what they were serving up over there today. And this little slow baby finally followed.

I have to tell you that I felt so bad for them that I dug out some of the ancient, sprouting carrots from my vegetable drawer in the fridge and horked them out under their feeder tree. Poor babies...