Wowzers!!! What a night! T'was the ghost of winters past all night long. It started yesterday with a nice little snow storm that produced some huge fluffy flakes. There was sufficient moisture in the air to make for perfect snowball and snowfort construction material. Since the temperature didn't drop much below freezing, the snow remained very heavy and stuck tenaciously to everything it touched. Therefore, the emergency calls started coming in fast and flurrier. The electricity went out a few times here in Webbville, and we heard of two pretty big outages in ShowLow on the FD radio. Cars were running off the road and all sorts of medical calls were coming in for Pinetop, Lakeside and ShowLow. Then we got a call from Quentin asking if our lights were out. At that time we had electricity here. Then Q explained that the lines had fallen on his car and his whole neighborhood was dark. We invited him to come over but he thought he could tough it out. Which he did till just a little before 6 o'clock. Then we heard Jhade's little squeaky cry and knew that Christmas had arrived early...Poor Yesenia needed to sleep and it was just too cold in ShowLow with no furnace. So mom took care of Jhade and Q and Y got a nap and got to eat some yummy biscuits and gravy upon arising. I shoveled some paths to the woodpile and to Gramp and Gram Webb's place then shoveled some snow off the roof. Brought back some good memories. Lead on, global warming!

if we do this often enough, it just may stick. Here's another pic

Here's what Jhade looks like with hair. Elvis hair and then Cher hair. We thought it was pretty funny and cute of course. She didn't much like it maybe that's why she was born without any, she needs to get used to it gradually.....just a thought.

Note to world...it's only easy after you figure out what the heck you're doing. I was trying to follow Tev's instructions on importing a picture to a blog and i screwed it up. Thought I had lost mom's info to the dark netherlands, but she found what she had typed so now i will try to get the fotos to the site. May the force be with me.

Well Tev here's some pics for you. It's been snowing all day....beautiful! (That's if we can get the pics uploaded you know that techtarted thing that rears it's ugly head.)
I'm really glad you guys plan on coming up in January to go tubing, hopefully there will be enough snow to do so.
Well it finally feels like a real winter here. It's been a long time since it has snowed like this. We did get a fair amount last year as you might remember. When I was a kid we got a lot of the white stuff and we were even able to ice skate on the ponds and very brave and stupid people used to drive their cars on the lakes. Maybe that global warming thing is a done deal and now we will get our normal weather back. Hawley lake used to get 35 feet of snow and you couldn't drive to the lake until June. Ca...Razy! I have such fond memories as a kid of all the tubing and fox and geese and igloos and snow ball fights, missing lots of school.....man those were the days.
I'm so jazzed about the "holidays" this year, not the actual Christmas day but everything that preceeds it. Quentin has a family that he wants to do something for cuz the dad lost his job and they have a new baby and a couple of little ones, so we're gonna go in together and help them out. I just love doing stuff like that. I haven't got the book the Christmas Jar yet but I think it's about saving your change and giving it anonomosly to a family in need. I have been saving my change all year just for a 'snowy day' soooo.......
Welp can't think of much else to say but "MERRY CHRISTMAS"!!!!!!! and LOVE to ALL.

Haha......bet you thought I'm expecting.
Granny is our new addition. She's going to stay with us for the winter. She had been in the hospital last week so I went down to help her and when she was in the hospital I offered for her to stay with us and she readily agreed. Whew! It will be a lot easier on all of us if she isn't home by herself. I took her to her home on Wednesday and planned on staying til Friday because we had arrangements made for someone to stay til Sunday until I could come back down to get her and move her stuff, but they fell through so she ended up coming with me on that day. On Thursday, Tevia, her boys, Risa and Brandt came down and helped her with house work and a lot of yard work. The boys were such good hard workers and kept at it and did a great job. We gave Enok a watering can and just kept filling it so it kept him busy and out of trouble. Her yard looks so nice, she was sooooo happy, not just because of all the work but for the "eeexxxcellent" company. We had a picnic on the floor in her front room and all had a good visit. Wished I had some pictures to post but I didn't take any...... so there ya go. Enok finally got to see a real train up close and personal.......I mean an actual moving on tracks horn blowing train. He was blown away! "pun intended" He stood there just shaking, scared, it was actually pretty funny. I'm sure the loud sound and immense size of the train was more than he had bargained for. He finally got over it and waved at the engineer and got an extra toot, toot! That was one of those memory building days. Thanks Tev for taking an opportunity to teach your boys about service and work. Jarek was so cute when he came into the house and announced that he just loved to do work because it was for both of his "grannies". MUWAH to all!

I've been meaning to blog about our visit to Utah to see Jacob, Millie and Ellery but just didn't get around to it until now. We left on Thursday the 13th of August and came back on the 18th. WOW! "I tell ya what, wow", we had sooooo much fun. Jacob and Millie were great hostesses and Ellery was the icing on our little vacation cake. She is so dang cute and such a happy little girl. (Well Thad I now have a pretty good idea how you feel about Enok and his attachment to you, it's great!) Ellery warmed up to me pretty darn quick and I loved every minute of it, well except for the few times she wanted to be with her boyfriend 'Uncle Bent'. She talks almost non stop and I even got to where I could understand the majority of what she was saying.
Not sure if this is right but I think on Thursday we played the card game Rage that evening which was a lot of fun.
Anyways on Friday we went to Mona Resevoir and the kids and Thad all swung out on a rope and dropped, flipped and flopped into the water. I wish I had the pictures downloaded to post but I don't.
Millie's sister and her husband came and they were a lot of fun. Brandon was so determined to do a back flip and by darn he did it and of course Jacob and Brandt couldn't be outdone so they accomplished that little talent too. We had a picnic there and Brandon had brought an inflateable boat and we all took turns and paddled around. Lovely, lovely day. Millie had to work that night so she left around six. I could tell she really didn't want to go and she wasn't feeling to great either. Thank goodness she was able to come home at midnight. Jake ordered pizza and we just hung out.
Saturday we got up late got ready for the day ate breakfast and chilled for awhile then lunch time came around and we decided to go eat soup at Zupas cuz it was overcast and rainy that morning so soup sounded good. It was reeeeally good. Ellery liked the soup I got so I shared with her and she pretty much ate what ever anyone else would share. That girl loves her cheese. The sun came out so we decided to go on a hike to Stewart's Cascade (another word for waterfalls) What an exhilerating hike! Jacob walks pretty fast even with Ellery on his shoulders but we kept up. It was a mile and a half to the falls and the vegetation and scenery was breathtaking. Loved that part of our trip. Brandt didn't go with us, he missed out but he got to hang out with some missionary companions and played soccer and it was his birthday so I think he had a good time too. That evening we played the game Apples to Apples, I had never played before....what a kick! We got pretty silly and laughed and laughed and just had a lot of fun playing. Yes I did buy the game. We also had bought an ice cream cake from DQ for Toasty's birthday, yummmy!
Sunday was church and just a resting, nappy kind of day. We were invited to Millie's parent's house for dinner so we went and as always had a very nice time with them. They are so hospitable and we have always appreciated it. The dinner was yummy of course and the company was just as good. All her family was there and we played a sort of "gambling game" which was interesting, no money of course. Later when we got back to Jacob's place he was all hiped up about the hike he was going on so he met with Jacob Wall and they were getting things together.
Monday Jake left for his hike and we had Millie all to ourselves. She's hilarious, she has such a great sense of humor, lucky for Jacob. We went to Costco and then took her to lunch or it may have been the other way around, doesn't matter. Ellery kept wanting to either go to the 'big park' or the 'purple slide' at 7 peaks. It just wasn't warm enough. Thad and I went to go visit my cousin Lois for a few hours and had a nice time with her. Risa stayed with Millie not sure what Brandt did. We had a cookout with Karen, Kathy, Carrie and Hazel Wall out by the pool. Carrie had grilled some chicken breasts that were fabulously limey. (I love lime), we brought a potato salad and I'm not sure who made the fruit salad but it was good too. Carrie and Millie swam with the babies and the rest of us just sat and visited. It was such a balmy pleasant evening with good company. Brandt later drove to Salt Lake City to meet up with some friends. I told him not to get in too late since we were gonna leave early the next day. Good kid he obeyed. We went back to visit Lois again so we could see Jim. After that we (I) had to go to sconecutters and have a scone, by darn. Yes it was yummy of course. Then we went to Macey's and bought some Grandma Sycamore's bread which was really cheap. They don't sell it in Az any more so I bought 8 loaves and gave some to Tev cuz Bret loves that bread. We bought some snacky things for the trip back home. Ellery was already in bed when we got back so we didn't get to see her before we left the next morning. She was still asleep when we left so 'boohoo' for us. Thad had an abscessed tooth so it was pretty crummy for him on the way home. Thank goodness Brandt was willing to drive and he pretty much drove most of the way home. Risa and I watched the Mentalist on her compy and we did crossword puzzles and just did the best we could to entertain ourselves. Even though the ride was long we did have an enjoyable trip back. I'm so grateful for being able to visit with Jake and his family and get to spend time getting to know them better. Thanks again Jake and Millie we can hardly wait to see ya'll again.

Well I went to a funeral on Monday for a very dear friend of my family (Borrego). The lady's name was Pearl Tortice Lee she was part Apache and Hopi I think. My family knew her ever since I was a little girl. My dad was their first Branch president when they were baptized. I LOVED being in that Lamanite branch as a young girl. In fact that's the only church I really remember going to. I do know I went to primary in Show Low 2nd ward for a time but I didn't actually go to a ward til I was 12. Very many happy memories, I feel very fortunate to have been able to be raised in that environment. Oh I also went to Mass quite a bit as a kid too, another story.
Pearl's two oldest girls were the only babysitters I ever had and then when I got older I babysat my younger siblings. They were the sweetest girls and so nice and kind, just like their mother. She was NEVER pretentious about anything and the gospel was one of the most important things in her life. Pearl and her husband were going to the temple clear up until she got sick doing her family's work. It looked like she wore a white camp dress for her temple dress, I thought how cute. She had the kindest face and smile I have ever seen . We have kept in touch with them through all these years. The stories her kids and grandkids told were so funny, I had NO idea that she had such a sense of humor but she was very shy too, so we all didn't get to see it much except through her kids, who are hilarious.
When we went to the veiwing on Sunday, Pheobe just broke down and sobbed when she saw my mom and then sobbed some more when she saw me and my sister. She said she was fine until we showed up, then she told my mom she was her other mom. What an honor for my mother.
BUT.....the most beautiful part about this funeral was the chapel and the cultral hall filled with all Native Americans and a few white people scattered here and there. You don't see that too much and it just made my heart feel full. I love these people sooo much, not as a whole but the ones I've known and grew up with. The spirit there was so humbling and strong. I have not felt that in a long time. Usually I come away from some meeting feeling drained but this time I came away feeling so energized and happy from all the love that was shown to me and my family. What an example as to how we should treat each other in our own wards. Hopefully I can remember that and make an extra effort to be friendly, loving and accepting to all in my own ward. I don't put myself out there too much.....bad Llama. OH! and another dear friend showed up. Her name is Claralynn (used to be West) but I can't for the life of me remember her married name. Her dad was white and her mom was Apache. I thought Claralynn was the most beautiful girl and woman I had ever seen up to that point in my life and.....she still is very beautiful. She sat by us and hung out with us the whole time. Happy, happy, joy, joy. It was a great day and reunion. Just thought I would share the joy.

Got a call Tuesday morning asking for help cleaning up the Stake building after some vandalism. They wanted us to show up at around 2:00pm to allow the law enforcement personnel to finish their investigative process. I asked what equipment would be needed and the Elder's Quorum president said that as far as he knew, we would be picking up broken glass and doing general cleanup. So I envisioned some broken classroom windows and possibly even some plate glass of one of the entry areas. I also figured we would see the usual four or five elders and a handful of high priests to tackle the job. I arrived at the Stake Center shortly before 2:00 and there were at least fifteen cars and trucks there and more arriving and dropping people off. Kids from age five to out of high school were already busy gathering up trash and broken glass and vacuuming the rooms most heavily hit. Almost every picture in the building had been either smashed, cracked or soiled somehow. Cleaning products had been taken from the janitorial closet and spilled on the carpet and some furniture. The library was hit particularly hard with materials torn and flung and a lot of the lights broken. Bishop Lindsey's office had been thoroughly trashed and stuff scattered everywhere. We had been busy picking up the mess for around fifteen minutes when we got the word that Bishop Lindsey wanted us all to meet in the chapel for a short meeting. We gathered quickly. There were probably sixty or more of us there. First Bishop thanked us for showing up then asked the HP group leader to say a prayer. In that prayer Brother Short asked that the troubled heart of the person or persons who did this would be able to find peace and that we would be able to avoid the temptation for vengeance. Then Bishop thanked us again and said that the authorities had no idea who was responsible nor any reason why this happened. He said it was not our concern to worry or fret about that but wanted us to know that he planned to have Mutual the following night as usual. I have to say that THAT was one of the shortest, most spiritual meetings i have been to. We got back to work and soon had the bulk of the task completed. A feeling of calm prevailed as we finished up. It was almost as if no one wanted to leave the building. I am grateful that we were able to share this sacred experience. It made me wonder if it might be a preparatory event as things in the world continue to decline (in one sense) and wrap up.

As most of you know we went to Mexico again this year. Love it, love it, love it.
We left on my birthday so I thought that was a great way to spend the day of the beginning of my existence. The trip down is really not that bad, weeellll maybe cuz Thad is so good about driving the whole way there and back. Anyways fun was had by all if you happened to read Tevs blog and look at her pix. It is so nice to just hang around and chill even though it's hot down there ya can still chill, we don't plan much as far as going places and seeing things and running, running, running to one event or another. I realized a long time ago that just being together is enough and we don't need to have every inch of our vacation 'booked'........ but that's just me. Oh and it's quite a bit cheaper than having to pay to get into some park or museum or whatever, plus I'm pretty tired and crabby after doing something like that. Don't get me wrong I do enjoy that kind of stuff but not as a regular vacation thing. Everyone is different and enjoys things differently. I'm a lazy vacationer (just saying what everyone is thinking). It was especially nice that Risa could be there and like Tev I wish we could've had more people come but you do what ya gotta do and make the sacrifice to go without everyone. Tough job...I know.
Just so everyone knows we plan on doing this as long as we can so hopefully ya'll will try to fit it in your summer plans sometime in the future. We want to share the fun with everyone. Happy rest of the summer! TA! from MAW

Well I got to see the play 'wicked' and it was totally aaaaawwwwsome! I 'm really glad we listened to the CD first even though we were lost listening it all made sense when we finally saw the play.
OK, so, I'm a people watcher and I think I enjoyed watching all the people walking to the Gammage and then inside watching all the pipples and how they dressed up or not dressed up. One girl was there in what looked like a prom dress. I guess I shouldn't snicker too much since I wore my reeeally bright pink dress from Hawaii.....Casual but nice (I thought). I've decided I want to see that play again sometime. Thanks Tev and Bret for the tickets for M-day and D-day that was very, very, very nice of you two.
Just so any of you might want to know Granny was in the hospital again on Friday night. She was having some intense pain in her left arm so she thought she should drive herself to the hospital. After being checked out her heart is fine but....she had a urinary tract infection so now her kidneys are hurting and she has to be on antibiotics. We left from Tevs in the early afternoon and went down to Claypool and got Granny taken care of. She's getting pretty discouraged because things keep falling apart on her. She thought since she was fixed up from her heart attacks she would be going for a few more miles in good shape. I just said " Sorry mom, your old and falling apart that's just the way it is and you're actually doing pretty good for what you've been through so buckle up buckaroo". I know, I know it's gonna happen to all of us....ARGH! Drinette Ellison said getting old is not a pretty sight, nooootttt very comforting. Anyhoooo Jim stopped by with his family and he climbed on the roof and fixed grannie's cooler so now she's a little more comfy than before. Good Ol Jim.
It's thundering and lightening right now so I guess I better get off the computer. (I'm not sitting on it, but you know what I mean). Can't wait for Risa and Mexico, in that order. TA!

Granny came up to visit and get a perm and go to a single adult conference and visit her brother and go to the temple. She looked so good and was very happy to see a lot of people she knew. I'm so glad she's feeling better and getting around on her own again.
This was a great weekend for me. I got to go to lunch with Amanda, attend my book club thing, buy a paddle boat and go paddling, have granny visit etc....etc...etc...
That's all for now until I get another blog bug....so TA!

WOW! What can I say after reading Tevs blog but I have to agree with her that we had an amazing relaxing time out at camp and the fireworks were pretty fun too.
I also wish more family and or friends could have been there but what the heck you do what you can do when you can do it! I am always grateful for the pockets of time I get to spend with any of my kids. Even though we don't have many chances to be all together I'm just glad for what I can get. Some time with some of them is better than no time.
Just so ya'll all know Tevia basically kicked our trash playing horseshoes. She got five ringers total I had three and Thad got two so yeah one can understand why that was her favorite thing to do. I really enjoyed the time spent with the boys they're so funny and just sweet. I hope we can camp again sometime soon, I know it won't be the same but it will still be fun. The best part of the fireworks was watching the boys running around wild and free with their new friends and even better I got to visit with a very good friend that I hadn't seen in years. He was a DPS officer up here for a long time and I also had gone to school with him and his wife. We caught up on a lot of years. I actually got to see quite a few people and had fun visiting with old friends and new ones that we made there. All in all it was a most enjoyable time. Can't wait for the next time! I hope everyone had a great 4th of July, best Holiday EV.....ER!!!!......no seriously it's my favortite holiday.

Well I woke up early today (used to always hear about 'old people' getting up early and thought that's just crazy!) and decided to check email etc....aaaaand decided I would post something. I'm hoping to get the rest of our camping stuff packed so we can leave when Thad gets off shift. I have been looking so forward to this campout, even though the majority of the people who were coming have pooped out on us. I told Thad "God willing and the creek don't rise" we are still going. I just love to cook in the dutch ovens and sit by the fire, play horseshoes, ride bikes and just hang out. I'm really looking forward to Tev and her fam coming. Quentin informed me that he and his little fam might come out on Thursday and spend some time....yaaaaaaay! SOMEDAY all or most of our fam wil be able to camp together like old times. Just want all you kids to know that I miss all of you and look forward to seeing ya'll whenever I can. Have a wonderful fourth of July in this great and blessed land that we live in, well except Risa and Nephi since they're out of the country but they can still have a good time regardless. Love to all!!! MOM

Hey, this is finally Nephi again. I just want to clear a couple of things up to start with. Tev didn't have to pry the pictures from my greedy hands. I most willingly sent them to her. It's just that I really don't have a whole lot of free time to do stuff like blogging and such. I figure if I have the time to blog, I could be creating new worksheets or whatever for work. But, I realise that it's not a very good excuse.


I am doing extremely well, as far a I can tell. Naomi and I are having fun being together (of course). Our school is doing really well, all the classes are full and we just had a few new students join the past couple of weeks (which is why we now have all the classes full).
Jacob let me know the other day that they are expecting again, and am so happy for them. I hope all goes well with the pregnancy.

I see the kids (my kids of course) every weekend for a few minutes while they do thier swimming and ballet. Elijah is still being big and Alisha is still being cute. Her face healed up almost perfectly. It is hard to tell there were even any scrapes there. She loves ballet and dancing and is so excited every time I go and see her. Elijah seems to enjoy swimming too. They love coming over to our place and spending the night whenever their mother lets them. (which unfortunately is not very often). But when they do come, they always remember to thank their mother for letting them come. They are both really well behaved children and Elijah is also a wonderful brother to his little sister.
Well, I guess I've rambled long enough, and I need to get going anyway.
I love and miss you all!

Have a great time being you

Love,
Neefee

here are some pics of the kids playing dress-up just before Naomi and my reception.

I've been meaning to post about this but have not done so for various and sundry reasons. I was asked to be in a book club by one of my former co-workers (Char, in case anyone knows her). It was decided that we would pick a different book to read and report on it. It had to be a Newberry winner. Fortunately for me Tev had me listen to the book The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman. It was the winner for this year. ( Highly recommend it especially on disc). We met at Show Low park and had yummies to eat and discussed each of our books. I really like the other 'girls' in the group. I'm the oldie, they're all under the age of 30. We had a lively conversation about the books. Our next book will be the Scarlet Pimpernel, none of us has read it and then we will compare it to the movie. We decide to change up the way most book clubs run. Next time different books again....maybe. We are going to have brunch on a Saturday and then discuss away!
Next item in my life...I was rehired VERY part time at my old job. I'm happy about it, nice change of pace and get to see my old friends again. I will be on an on-call basis, so if I have plans already then it's ok I'll just go in the next time if available, very flexible.
Changing subject....I have Allysa staying with me this week. What a cute girl (Valerie's youngest), been making Barbie clothes today, we got to be buddies when I was taking care of granny down in Patagonia. Hopefully this will be a recuring event. She will be going to Indian Christian Camp this next week. I remember going to Vacation Bible School with the Swensons at the Baptist church when I was a kid, it was fun.
We spent time with Tev for a few days and had a blast. Went boating at Canyon Lake ate at an Indian Bistro, played in the pool, went shopping...woe so dif with little girls and generally had a good time.
Well I can't recall what else I was going to post but maybe another time. TTFN!!

I keep trying to pry some pictures of Nephi's kids from his greedy little hands. One night I got him to send me some via google talk. The kids happened to be over there for the weekend so here a couple that he sent me. Alisha's face is all jacked up because she got in a fight with a boy. I don't remember the whole story, but I am pretty sure she won. She is a tough little girl.

Elijah is getting big too. I was able to chat with them the other night as well. Nephi had figured out how to do the video chat from google talk so I got to see all of them! They were driving the kids back to Misaki's place. Naomi was driving so she didn't get to say hi too well. It was fun seeing them in real time even though I don't think they understood much of what I was saying. We all wish that Nephi and Naomi could bring the kids to visit, but that would be hard to convince Misaki.

Anyhow, just wanted to share a little about Nephi and his family. He seems very happy with his job and with Naomi. We all love Naomi and are so glad she is part of our family.

Well it's Sunday and Toast has some elevator music going (he says it's his Sunday listening music) and surprise he's asleep on the couch.
I just wanted to express my appreciation for all those young men and women who serve in our armed forces. I pray for them every day and thank the Lord that there are people willing to do that job. I'm proud to say my dad was in the Air Force and that he too served his country. Also my baby brother Ben who I miss very much (dang him for living in Alaska) he is also in the Air Force and my nephew Jessie Cool. Bless them all for their service. We are so blessed to live in such a wonderful country even with it's problems it's still the best place to live. I hope everyone takes a moment to ask God to bless our soldiers and their families at sometime while we are all out having picnics or cookouts. Everyone have wonderful and safe holiday!!

I've been meaning to post about M-Day. So here it is. I had a great Day! I am one happy 'Mutha'. Thank you all my children for making my day so great. I appreciate that you appreciate that I'm your mom. I hope all of you who are mom's had a great day too! Hang in there and keep up the good work you are doing, it is "totally" worth it! Take it from someone who's been through the mill a few years. Love you all!!!! MOM

I know it's been a while since I've slogged through a blogg. Just thought I would post my thoughts about this last week spending time here with Tev and trying to pitch in with this whole Enok thing. What a character! I have enjoyed my stay here as always and glad I could be of some help to Tev while she's been so diligently taking care of Enok and trying to keep tabs of the goings on at home. I got to witness a miracle on Monday with Malik......he was already up and dressed for school before I even got up to get them up. THEN he even got his own breakfast, put his shoes on with out being told (I just had to tie them), brushed his teeth with only being told once Ummmmm....oh and sang pretty much all the way to school. Don't get me wrong he generally does pretty good but that day was exceptional. Alas it was a one day thing but hey it was great!
I'm a big girl now cuz I drove into the heart of the city which I don't do very well, makes me very nervous, but you know us moms, we suck it up and do what ever needs to be done for our children and yes grandchildren. I'm still such a country girl (you know....turn at the big pine tree and broken down truck kind of directions).
I stayed the night on Tuesday night so Tev could have a break. I don't know how she did it all those nights and days....very tedious trying to keep an active two entertained with limited resources, thank goodness he's so stinkin' cute and loveable. He basically melted the hearts of all the nurses there and Tev and I are like OH BROTHER! I was thinking, stop....... you're embarrasing yourselves you silly nurses, but I guess it was to his advantage cuz he could be a hand full.
I see better now the wisdom of having kids while young, as I've gotten older I get worn out a bit quicker but being reminded of the 'joys' of motherhood has been good too. Especially when the kids are so good like Jarek, Malik and yes even Enie. I always look forward to spending time with the fam regardless of the situation every moment is precious. I apologize if I wasn't too informative, not too good about 'writing' like my daughters but there you go.

durned prognosticating rodent, anyway. I truly hoped he might get it wrong this year and we could begin in earnest with the garden prep activities, but all in vain. Seems like almost every year we get an abundance of lilac buds and then one last murderous snow storm. When the weather channel indicated a pretty strong possibility of snow and freezing temperatures, i figured i would try to cheat the global warming whoha and cover the bush with a big grey tarp and put a non-green incandescent light under it to burn all night long and contribute my share of co2 and excess warming to the planet. It looks like the buds made it through the night still kicking. I left the tent in place the next couple of days, relying on the forecaster's assurance that the frost potential still esixted. The same low pressure system that destroyed Bret and Tev's fence brought some pretty fierce winds to the mountain through the night so i was gald to see the tent still standing in the morning. We supposedly have a few more nights of below freezing temps, so i will deprive the lilac of direct sunlight till we head for the valley after my last day of rotation for this tour.(which will be wed. 1 april) can't hardly wait for the luscious smell of fresh lilac blossom. (think positive)

Well since it's been a long time since I've written I guess I better dust off the Ol fingers and get typing.
Granny is now back in her casita, snug as a bug in a rug. She's so happy to be there.....finally. I know she's missed her home. I've been taking care of her for about 5 weeks. Two at Val's and three here at my house. I've really enjoyed spoiling her and taking care of whatever she's needed. This whole service thing has been really good for me. Yesterday I took her to her last appointment in Tucson and now she will be going back to her original doc. She's doing really good and hopefully will behave herself and do the things she needs to, to be able to stay home. She received a thumbs up from the doctor and we are all grateful. Thanks for all the prayers in her behalf and in mine, especially when I've had to do a lot of traveling. Also, thank you Thad for being so generous with money and car and time in helping to take care of mom.
We also took some time to visit with Kathy and the boys. Bless their hearts they are always so sweet and gracious everytime I've had the chance to see them. Please keep them in your prayers. Kathy is doing much better battling her graves disease. She's been reading up on healing herself nutritionally and it seems to be working for her.
I thought I would have more to say but I don't. Sorry for taking so long to post but I just haven't taken the time to do so. Thank goodness for second chances. I'm not saying I'm completely repenting for not posting but I will do better.

This blog is getting dusty mother. I know you have been busy, but we would still like to hear from you on occasion. Tell us what crazy shenanigans you and granny have been up to. 

For those who are interested Granny will be coming home with me this weekend to stay for awhile til we can get her re-settled in her own little home. The fam up on the mountain will be able to spend some time with her and I know "Ankle" Manuel is totally excited about her being closer. She's coming right along and is having to learn to behave herself as far as her eating goes. I think she now understands how serious she needs to be about eating the right things. We are never too old to learn. Keep all the prayers coming in her behalf I do believe she's a living miracle. I'm grateful for the chance I've been given to take care of her.

Arose before my alarm sounded (0530) and checked my phone's text in-box to see if i was dreaming about Nephi and Naomi...t'was no dream. Congratulations to the both of them. Nephi said that as long as the paper work is officially accepted, they are officially married.
Then i got myself ready for my appointment for the annual fire department physical. I had to go fasting so they could do a blood draw to check cholesterol levels, glucose levels and generally have me in a weakened condition so i wouldn't put up much resistance to the pokes and prods. They got what they wanted out of me. (though it took a little effort for the urine sample because of the dehydration factor) Then they ran the battery of tests to see how much I've deteriorated during the last year and what kind of a liability I have become.
Hearing test: ok in the mid ranges...weak in the upper tones in left ear and sub standard in the very low frequencies for both ears, but not so bad that medical or technological intervention is required...yet.
Pulmonary function test: above 100% in all catagories. about 120 in the cellular level portion (in other words, my alveoli are in excellent shape for a geezer)
Eyes: 20/30 for distance. Not quite that good for near stuff. that's to be expected with age
EKG: Looks good as far as i can tell. have to wait for the follow up visit when they do the treadmill stress test and have the doc interpret it.
Body composition: I fell in the desirable range for BMI and percentage body fat.
Then I hurried home to get some breakfast down and rushed to Taylor to do some flash chamber live burn training. (hence the title above) The idea was to give our crew experience in recognizing and anticipating flashover conditions in a structure fire. As fuel is burned in an enclosed space and the temperature rises and the available oxygen is depleted, the smoke (composed of unburned hydrocarbons and products of combustion) gets thicker and banks down. Eventually the gases in the room reach ignition temperature resulting in an amazing display of grace and beauty known as a rollover. Wish I could have had a heat-resistant camera to record the day's events. Wow! It almost seemed as if the fire had a soul and is was living being. It got plenty hot in there, but probably did not exceed 600 degrees because the reflective stickers on our helmets didn't burn off. A few of us did get slightly scorched, but no major damage to the gear. All in all it was a very productive day and one I'm sure everyone will remember for a long time. Now everyone involved has to wash their turnouts to remove the carbon particles that have become imbedded in the fabric. It's fun to watch all these macho guys man up the washing machines!

After about a week of exceptionally good weather i was rather hoping that Punxsutawney Phil would not see his shadow and we could slip into spring a little early this year. But no...there still must be plenty of faithful saints praying for continued moisture here on the mountain, because it has snowed off and on all day. Not that its not appreciated. Not that we don't need as much as can be sent. It's just that its a lot easier to shovel rain than the snow. Had a chance to run the little Lucas Mill again to make some lumber for the downstairs bedroom remodel that's going on. Was rather fun and it reminded me that grandpa June indicated a desire to mill some lumber to help with a project that the Historical Society had discussed last year. Maybe when the weather gets nice again i can give him a jump start. Not actually as in hook up the cables to him or anything, its just that he has not even seen the mill in operation. I'm sure he could figure it out. He and Quentin have a supperhuman ability to master the mechanical things of life.
As you read previously, mom is in Patagonia and even though i miss her terribly, its probably good that she is not here to see me transform her living room into a dry kiln. I have been very careful to move stuff out of the way and place plenty of tarps to portect the new floor. But hopefully this blazing heater will get its magic done before the weekend and the stack of lumber will be gone in time. It sure is nice to have tools and time with which to work.
Speaking of nice...I am really fortunate to have Quentin and Yesenia so close by. They invited me to Yessie's parent's for Sunday dinner and fed me again tonight. I appreciate them in numerous ways, not the least of which would be the fact that i can smooch on a beautiful granddaughter at will. Sometimes i just ache to see and hold all the grandkids. Makes one appreciate the moments when it actually happens. Also makes one grateful for technology so we can keep in touch electronically if nothing else. So keep those pictures and blogs a commin'...
Hasta ls vista, bay bay















s

Well here I am in Patagonia, it's the end of the week and I'm still sane (or the same as I was). This place has it's own kind of beauty but......I would not like to live here. I've enjoyed the time I've been able to spend with my mom but to be honest I wish it was in Claypool. I'm a little more familiar with the area etc..... I soooo look forward to when I can go back to my own home. Mom has a doc's appointment on Monday and we'll find out whassup. We're all hoping for "great" news but will settle for good. All's well, all's well.

Welp, I hope this is how you post. I've learned that sometimes you just have to start clicking on things and eventually you can figure out how to use 'a computer' (thank you Charlotte). Anywho I have really enjoyed getting involved with all this blog stuff. I more frequently check them AND read the comments so keep up the good work everyone who participates, oh and thank you Tevia for being patient and not so patient with us old fogies in catching up with the 21st century or the "O's" as Quentin so elequently puts it. Right now we are getting ready for family to come up and bless Hjade on Sunday and then to watch the Super Bowl together.......great family activity....I just like to make goodies for such occasions so I will be totally in my element. TTFN!

Brandt is going to school now. He is so smart! He went to church today and saw some peeps from high school. Yeah!!! Now he knows how to post a post on a blog. The end.

Okay, So this blog is not all that up to date, but it hasn't been forgotten about all together. I will try and get mom and dad to be in charge of this one this year.

One thing really quick, I am not really sure how Allen Halls came across this blog, I am guessing through a myriad of other blogs he must have stumbled across it. No worries. Allen, you left a message on one of the post saying you were looking for Risa and myself. Well, first of all, there is a very very high probability that you won't find us on facebook as we do not subscribe to it. Risa can be reached via her blog, which you can link to from this blog, and I can be reached on this blog. I hope you are doing well.

Now, we shall see how I do at getting mom and dad to post on this blog. I will give them lessons again and hopefully they can take it over and getting it up and running on a regular basis.

Till then, ciao!