Halloween Specter

This is one of the rewards of having an architect in the family. Ryan desgined this ghostly silhouette for my entry wall in the new house. (Actually, he had made one for himself which I "coveted"). He was kind enough to make one for me. I had hoped to place it over the garage outside so more people could see it but everyone was of the opinion that it would be gone with the first Idaho wind. But I certainly thought everyone should see it so feel free to drop in. Come at night--it's A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.! Thanks Ryan--you're AWESOME! Did I mention that this baby is 4 feet tall and 4 feet wide? Impressive!

BULL

My "doctor" hubby is about as useful to me when I'm sick--as a teat is to a bull!

Just Call Me Jane!

Jane Jetson that is! I remember a segment of the Jetson's in which Jane became frazzled and ill because she was pushing too many buttons. Her fingers were gnarled and twisted at her over-exertion. That was approximately fifty years ago. I thought it was a funny episode and for some reason I've remembered it. Well, this morning I decided that after a small amount of baking, the oven in my new house needed cleaning. But . . . I had no instruction manual for the stove. I took a long, hard look at the control panel on top of the stove, pushed the button labeled (of all things) "auto clean". And--wahhhlaaaahhh! My miracle stove locked itself and began cleaning. Now this truly is good stuff as I remember hours spent scrubbing and scouring my old ovens. You'd spray them, let them sit overnight, and then you woke up in the morning to an icky, gooey mess which was all yours! I much prefer this method. I must go lie down now as all this exertion of pushing buttons and typing on keyboards is exhausting!

Precious Gifts!

Sometimes God sends you a little gift and you have to be very observant in order to see it. I've been trying to "baby" my flowers this summer so we'd have a nice back yard for Luke & Janelle's wedding. I was successful at most, but not so lucky with others. There's a hanging planter on the back of the house that I've had to replant--I wanted vining plants that would add a touch of green to that bare spot on the house. It's finally coming along although we only have a few weeks of summer left. This morning I went out to "survey the estate" (a term my family has heard repeatedly when I wanted some 'get-away' time). To my surprise there was a little peach colored flower on one of the newly planted vines. At first I thought someone have put an artificial flower into the pot--but upon closer inspection I realized that my tenacious, little vine also flowered. It was such a nice little surpise to wake up to on this beautiful Sabbath morning--just thought I'd share.

An eye-opening experience!

I just got back from working at the cannery. What an experience that is. For those of you who don't know, the Mormon church has several canneries around the country. We have one of them conveniently in our town. Anyone can participate at the cannery--you do not have to be a member of the Mormon Church. The only requirement is that you be willing to work in the cannery in order to purchase food items there. Today we were making spaghetti sauce. Gwen went with me and we got easy jobs because she's ("tee-hee") pregnant. We spent the morning separating canning lids from canning rings--it was tough. Once we were finished and the cleaning was done we were allowed to browse through the "store" and purchase any of the items there. We bought strawberry jam, salsa, and spaghetti sauce. It's good stuff, it's cheaper, and the mess stays at the cannery. So . . . for anyone of you who is interested just let me know and you can go with me next time I go. Or call the cannery yourself and get their schedule and sign yourself up. It's an experience everyone should have at least once in their lifetime. And you feel SO productive!

The Neighborhood

Moving from a small town with a population of approximately 425 people, to a city with a population of over 50,000 has been a wonderful experience. Occasionally I miss the country (and I especially miss my neighbors and my Aunt Loraine), but for the most part the move has been extremely good for me. Over the weekend I hopped on my little scooter and felt brave enough to travel outside of my "comfort zone"--a.k.a. the immediate neighborhood. I was delighted to learn that if I headed north I was "wahl-lah" right smack, dab, in the heart of country living. On my drive I smelled lilacs in full bloom, cows in full bloom, I got hit with ditch water by an irrigation system, and I again experienced that feeling of freedom that comes only with my time on the scooter. So things haven't changed that much. Now, if I could only get Blake, Lani, Jordan, Kiel, and Loraine up here, I'd be in fine shape!

BTW: Be sure to check out my new blog at
http://ponce-a-time.blogspot.com/

New Blog

I started a new blog this week. Now it may not be interesting to anyone but me, but the truth is, I've had these littles "nudges" running around in my head for years so I thought I'd put them in writing. The link for this blog is:

http://ponce-a-time.blogspot.com/

I've tried writing my life history and it's in this computer somewhere, but I think this will be more fun. I hope to see you there!

Gammie