Saturday Afternoon Ride

Today my oldest brother and his wife came to visit. We decided to go to the Polar Queen to have some of their yummy fish and chips.

They use to be even better when they served them with English chips, but they still fulfill that greasy fish and chip craving. I have never figured out why they think they need to serve them with toast. Not enough carbs and fat in the fish and the fries?
Then mom felt like she was up for a ride so we drove out through Spring Lake, Santaquin, and Goshen. My brother is pretty smart and he remembered how to get to the group of white birch trees out in the fields where the bald eagles roost.

I was surprised at how many of them were hanging out there.

We counted 7 in one tree. The trees were in a field a little way from the road, but the eagles had to know we were there and they were perfectly content to have us gawk at them.
Then we drove on through Elberta to the thriving metropolis of Eureka, nearly running over a group of deer in the process. Some of them looked before crossing the road and some of them didn't.

Of course, by the time I got the camera out and working they had gotten pretty far away. It was interesting how in this one spot there was hardly any snow, but the rest of the ride there was still a lot.
It was a really pretty ride. The snow had started to melt and then refrozen and the hills were so shiny and beautiful. It looked like it would be nice, slick tubing snow. Then all the sagebrush bushes were covered with snow and they looked like little snow rocks dotting the landscape. Along one section of road there were some rock cliffs all covered with frozen water falls. So pretty.

On the way back home we stopped at the Red Barn in Santaquin for some ice cream. It was a very fun few hours of visiting, exploring, reminiscing, and eating, of course. My favorite way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

Today I am thankful for

history. Both my family history and the history of the world that I live in.

nature. It's so nice to get out of the city and just enjoy all the living things that share our world with us.

small towns. I am definitely a small town kind of girl. They each seem to have their own unique personality.

Passing of the Notebook

I am very blessed to have two wonderful sisters with flexible schedules and big hearts who take turns, along with me, staying with my mom while she recovers from her recent health problems. One sister came from her home in Seattle while my mom was in the hospital and for the transfer to the rehabilitation center. She doesn't enjoy driving in the snow anymore than I do, but she did it to transport my mom to her new, temporary home. While she was here she started keeping a notebook with information about how mom was feeling, what medical procedures were being done on her, how she was eating... so she could pass the information on to us. My other sister continued making additions when the notebook, along with mom's care, was passed to her. Since mom has returned to her home the notebook entries have slowed down, but when I arrived I read through the notebook to catch up on what had transpired since I was here last month. It was interesting to read about mom's progress as her health improved and there were a few other interesting tidbits. One sister had made a notation about how the nurse had taught her an easy way to put mom's elastic hose on that made the process so much simpler, but that was all that was said. This morning as I was helping mom get dressed and I came to the socks I began to wish that the notebook had contained a little more detailed information. I commented about it to mom and she said, "Oh, it's easy. You just turn the socks inside out and they roll right on." That didn't sound too difficult so I jumped right in. I turned the socks inside out and then tried to figure out how to get them on so they ended up right. It definitely wasn't as simple as my mom made it sound. Things improved once I figured out that her toes weren't suppose to poke out of the hole at the end of the foot, but I still got a headache concentrating so hard on how in the world this was suppose to work. My mom teased me that she wished she had a camera so she could record my look of concentration and determination as I tried to figure it out. I think I am glad she didn't. We did get them on, but I'm still not sure how I finally did it. Hopefully tomorrow I'll remember what I did. Perhaps if I get it down right I can draw a diagram in the notebook as my contribution. I am also thinking there are a few other things that need to be recorded in the notebook such as how long that cream cheese, bacon, milk,... has actually been open in the fridge and maybe the last time the plants were watered. I just watered the plants, so I guess I better go write in the notebook.

Today I am thankful for

a fireplace. It's so fun to sit next to my mom's fireplace and enjoy the warmth and a good book.
physical therapy that gives my mom something to get up for.
pancakes!

Guess Where I Am?

First I looked at this for a while.

Then I focused on this for a while longer.

Finally, I was greeted by this.

I'm back in cold, snowy, beautiful Utah with my mom for the week. It was 19 degrees at 11:00 AM when my plane landed,
but the sun was shining and my mom felt good enough to come with my sister to pick me up at the airport. Life is good!

Today I am thankful that

my family can take care of themselves pretty well.
my sister is willing to pick me up at the airport.
I get to spend time with my mom and see for myself how she is doing.

New TV Excitement

Tonight the oldest son and the hubby went out and purchased a new 32 inch Digital TV. They hurriedly ate dinner so they could get it up and working. Pretty soon they were watching it and enjoying the improved picture and sound quality. I thought my husband was containing his excitement pretty well until he came to bed and we started to read the Book of Mormon together. I reminded him it was his turn to start reading and he promptly read Channel 9 (instead of Chapter 9). He can try and hide that excitement, but I still know he is thrilled with his new toy.

May I Borrow ...?

I came home today to find the oldest son and the fiancee preparing to make Snicker doodles. They were searching the cupboard looking for Cream of Tartar without much luck. I was 99% sure that we had some, so I dug through the cupboard too. No luck. We searched some other cupboards thinking perhaps it got misplaced. No Cream of Tartar. Luckily two doors down I have a wonderful friend and neighbor who keeps very well stocked shelves. I told the son I would call her and borrow some. When she answered the phone I asked if she had any Cream of Tartar I could borrow. There was a little giggle on her end of the phone. "Just yours that's been sitting on my counter for a week." Then I remembered where my Cream of Tartar had run off to. Apparently I'm not the only one who uses the "grocery store" two doors down.

Today I am grateful for

oranges and grapefruit from the Orange Patch.

Snicker doodles.
church basketball because it makes my sons happy and it makes me laugh.

Church Basketball

The new, extra-special basketball shoes finally got some game time. Church basketball has officially begun once more and the youngest son is a happy guy.

Coronation Invite

Today the youngest son got invited to an upcoming dance. I think he was excited, but he has an image that he has to keep up so it was kind of hard to tell.

Today I am thankful for

a clean refrigerator.
a "B" in math.
helpful siblings who assist with coronation acceptance activities.

Today I am thankful that

all days aren't like today.
my husband cuts raw meat.
my friends share their good recipes.

Today I am thankful that

my youngest son is home safe and sound.
my mom is back home and improving daily.
my husband called the phone company tonight when the phone didn't work.

Where Were You?

January 20, 2009
10:00 AM Arizona Time

My youngest son was here.

I was here.
Where were you?