Still reliving some summer events!

I have decided to put some pictures on my blog.  Occasionally.  I have a simple little camera and take simple pictures that look like old fashioned very amateur shots as they are not photo-shopped etc.  I have no idea about those sorts of things.  Thanks to Emma for helping me with basics.  Also my son gave me help.

 This summer I would shop with the girls and then opt out and people watch.  These are from the concert gazebo area in Leavenworth.  Here is a man from Utah (yes, he's LDS) playing his solo accordion concert.  Over the years he has added equipment and he has a great system that allows him to sing harmony with himself and add other instruments, with the touch of a button, to create a great show. The picture with the mic covering his face is typical of some of my shots!

He ended his concert early as another special event was planned.  This one really touched my heart.  Some paralyzed Veterans are biking to Washington DC to bring attention to how injured warriors are treated with both health care and other care.  There were several bikers there from various biking clubs escorting the veterans.  they looked as lean and fit as the Tour de France men.  They were escorting the 3 men to Wenatchee.  Things were delayed as the bikers coming in had to buck a head wind.

The bikes the Veterans used were low to the ground and they recline and pedal with their hands.  One man patiently waited for the others to arrive, seated in his wheel chair, with Paralyzed War Veteran emblazoned on his back.  When the other two bikers arrived then they had to be unstrapped and lifted to sitting position.  It was so touching.

If they are traveling uphill, then the able bodied bikers, grab hold of that pole on the back and push and assist.

As I sat in the shade and watched the happenings, witnessed the camaraderie, the love and support and care the healthy riders had for the veterans, my heart was so touched.  I thought about freedom and my gratitude  for what men, such as these with altered lives, did for me, to enjoy so much, that I was very teary.  It was nice to be able to thank them for my life of such great freedom.

I love America!!!  I treasure my freedom!!

11th Article of Faith...came to mind

In hot weather I steer clear of being in the intensity of the heat.  I love evenings after things have cooled down a bit and sitting on the porch.  I love the brightness of warm weather, even hot weather, and the growth of all vegetation but I'm usually looking at it from the chilliness of AC, be it car or house.  The last few weeks and being on the run, out in public midday, and seeking shade under trees or awnings of some sort really brought home the fact that a lot of people wear very little clothing in order to stay comfortable.  I have seen more cleavage/bra straps/midriffs and shorts, as short as the zipper on jeans, which gives additional glimpses beyond the upper leg!  Enough to last a lifetime!

True there were several that tried and achieved a bit of modesty.  They looked stylish and cute but did not fit in the majority's choice of very summer wear. (In the old movie Laurence of Arabia in that sweltering desert didn't they wear voluminous robes?  Don't people in that type of heat wear clothing that covers their skin to stay cool?... and not uncover and expose themselves to the scorching rays?  Just a thought!)

Sunday at Church, in my own Home Ward!!, I was so happy to be in attendance.  It was such a marked change from the past few weeks of hotel hopping, mingling with strangers, and observing the world in action.  I was in a building that each person was clean and fresh looking.  The majority of men in white shirts, ties, suits.  Women dressed in summer dresses, modest on all counts, stylish shoes.  It was so refreshing!!  Everyone looked so classy!!  loved it!!

One morning on my adventures, I'd grown tired of looking at trinkets in shops and opted to stay at the Hotel lobby, read the paper and just people watch.  Even though I had on a white long sleeve blouse, with cuffs rolled up, my pants were long (by choice!), and I soon realized that I really looked strange compared to everyone else.  I was overdressed!  not overdressed as to fancy.  overdressed as with-- to many clothes.  Truly I stood out even though I was sitting. I thought of the scripture....being in the world but not of the world.

But then my attention turned to an entire group of women that made me look conservative!  We'd noticed them at the breakfast served earlier in the day.  They were on a woman's retreat.  Late teens through Grannies.  The Church group had the name Apostolic in it but I can't remember the rest of it.
They all wore floor length skirts, high-neck/long sleeved tops.  Not a bit of  make-up. And their hair was all fixed the same.  3 buns in the back and a big slicked back pompadour in the front.

I was seated when they made their way to the lobby.  they were meeting there to get ready for their day's adventure.  I was staring.  I saw and heard people ask them....are you a club?  is this some sort of initiation?  is your group part of a wedding? etc. etc.  They always answered the same...we are a Church women's group on a retreat.

As I was staring/observing/watching, I got to thinking that I should introduce myself to them.  About then I noticed a young woman walking straight towards me.  She came right up to me and I motioned for her to sit down in the chair by me.  She was so sweet.  A 17 year old girl.  Her grandfather was a convert to her faith and thus her mother was and the girl had also opted to be a member.

I asked about her elaborate hairstyle.  She told me that you pull your hair back into a ponytail and divide it into 3 sections.  The top section is rolled to the front and secured with bobby pins.  The middle is rolled to the back of the head and touched the first roll.  Then the bottom one is rolled downward and pushed up to the middle roll.  The poufy-ness comes because they never cut their hair as they feel that is a Bible teaching.  They have hair way past their backside so they can sort of do a conservative Geisha hairdo.  To see 50 women fixed up in similar fashion was a very interesting sight to all of us lobby seated nonmembers.

She shared some of the things they were doing and one was going rafting in the afternoon.  I asked how they would be able to keep their skirts down and she said it wasn't a problem.

After some chitchat, I asked the girl if she had come to save my soul and she timidly smiled.  She was 17. I asked what her Church doctrine was and she wanted to know what that meant.  I said...it's what your Church teaches you that are truths to you.  I asked who authorized her pastor and she said he had asked each Church member if they felt he was called of God and they all said yes.  She said she believed in Jesus Christ and I said I did also.  She said she believed in the King James version of the Bible and I said I did also.  She said she believed in the Holy Ghost and I said I did also.  We did that short of sharing on basic Bible teachings and then I said...I am a Mormon.  She was startled and told me I was wrong.  I told her that I believe the Gospel is about love and not contention and my life is the Gospel.  She countered with...God is my life.   

I was thinking of the YW I know and how they, along with me, are suppose to bear our witness at all times and in all places.  She was doing what she knew to be true.  My heart felt tender towards her.

Our conversation was abruptly cut short when her Mother came over and said to her....What are you talking about?   She said...She wanted to know what I believe.  The Mother said...Come on we need to leave.

 And so they did.  I sat there and watched the Mother usher her daughter back to the safety of their fold.  Not out of the door but just back into the waiting group.

#11 Article of Faith 

We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.

 In quiet thought, as they later exited the building, I thought of how much I love the Gospel and the certainty of it that resides way down deep in my heart.  The peace that I feel because of my testimony. 

Robyn

Truly I am overwhelmed with how blessed my life is.  I just see that I'm blessed on every side.  I'm not in pain.  I'm not sick.  I don't need surgery.  I don't need medication (okay.  yes.  I confess. I do take BP medicine but that's all)  I can walk without assistance.  True- there is to much of me but you know that I'm still eating good (more on that later!).

This summer in the midst of all my joy/appreciation/gratitude I saw many that were struggling.  I'm so happy that it's sort of scary.  You know, that sort of wondering if the other shoe is going to suddenly drop (do you even know of that expression?).  Terry is sometimes a bit like Eeyore and at times has a small gray cloud trying to shadow my sunshine!!  So he tells me to-- enjoy it while it lasts as this is mortality and it's a rough ride.  I tell him--Not so.  I've had enough tough times for 2 lifetimes!  (not really but it sounds grim, doesn't it)

The first person I ever met that suffered with Cystic Fibrosis was a young woman at the Branch, just graduated from high school, and attended faithfully.  When she could.  Actually I knew about her before I met her formally.  This is what happened.

I was teaching Seminary and they had one meeting of all the teachers, in Selah and Yakima Stakes, so our supplies could be given out.  Our Area Supervisor taught a lesson etc.  At one point he let each of us choose a Bible picture and tell why it was special to us.  I was new to the area and didn't know anyone.  This one sister chose a story and related it to the reality of her life that her young daughter had CF and would eventually die early.  Her tender sharing was such a beautiful experience and from that moment on I prayed for her daughter.  I didn't know the woman nor her daughter's name.

Fast forward several years and we were serving in the Young Adult Branch.  There are always all sorts of new youth the beginning of the school year and it took a bit to sort them out.  I knew this young woman was new but hadn't yet met her.  We went on a Temple trip to Bellvue/Seattle Temple and she went.  some were going to do baptism and some were going through a session.

I was surprised to see her sitting in the Chapel area.  I thought a mistake was made that she was lost or something or other.  I went over to her and sat down and said...you look so young to be endowed.
she replied....I am young to be endowed.  I think she was 18.  I was stunned and wondered why but didn't ask.  As I went to sit down the Spirit spoke to me very clearly...this is the young woman that you have prayed for all this time.

I was dumbfounded and thought it couldn't be.  It was.  I called and asked if her Mother had been a Seminary teacher.  She was.  We had a very tender spiritual talk.  Her young daughter had wanted to take out her endowments so bad and permission had been granted as her time was running out.  Turns out her name was Jolene.  from Selah.


She was such a valiant fighter.  Suffered so much but just battled through all that her CF dealt her.  She was in her 20's when she moved to the next realm of life.   She outlived all her friends at Children's in Seattle.  Her Dad called me the day she died and we had a tearful talk.  She was a valiant spirit and I enjoyed our association so much.

Several years ago I met another amazing CF victim.  She is a friend of my daughters in FL.  I was amazed at how long she had lived and those in the medical field are also surprised at her longevity.  I'd seen pictures of her before and knew her through the dance studio that she taught in. Cassie and Tori took dance lessons there.  Ballet is her life.  (Well, 2nd to her husband and 2 sons.)  Jeanee had done a photo shoot of her for a CF fundraiser calendar.  I met her in person at Jeanee's Gala, featuring her photography at the King Center.  I couldn't find my favorite shot of her, eventually used on a magazine cover.  Just shows her ballet shoes, on pointe, on the beach, standing on rocks.  gorgeous!  but the one below is one I lifted from Jeanee that was on the calendar!

Robyn just had a double lung transplant!!!  What a miracle!!  She is 42 years old!!  weighed 82#!  down to 18% lung capacity!  2 months away from certain death!  On oxygen all the time.  as her health rapidly declined her chances for being a recipient narrowed.  You have to have enough strength to withstand the rigor of the surgery and then fight to survive.

We were thrilled when she made the list.  Stunned when Jeanee got the call that she was headed to the hospital.  We were just leaving Leavenworth and on our way to Kirkland.

She is such a fighter.  She reminds me of an Olympian.  Jolene was that way also.

They did the surgery through her side.  that surprised me.  she got the trach out real soon and 2 of the 4 drainage tubes are out.  now she is in a lot of pain and the battle to survive starts again.

I thought you'd enjoy these pictures....  The ballerina during the calendar shoot.   with her husband.  after surgery.  then a couple of days later.

She is in my prayers.  Yours also?  Please.



 

Value of Repetition

What a whirlwind!!  I feel jet-lagged and I never even flew anywhere!!  The girls and Jeanee arrived, exhilarated and exhausted, from 2 weeks of fun in the cold of an Alaskan summer.  We did all the laundry and it was off to Portland, to see their friend from the week long Disney Cruise, that they went on before they even went to Alaska!  That pretty much established the routine.  Laundry, catch your breath, repack, load car and off to next place which included, beyond the Portland trek-- Eagle/Boise, Kirkland and Leavenworth.  At each place there were family members, new memories made/and old ones relived, food/fun/laughter and start the cycle again!!!  Including Terry and I, we numbered 20!!  the most we ever had together, at any one time and place, was 14 in Eagle- followed up by 10 in Kirkland.  Our only son-in-law even showed up!  He had flown to Italy for his job (luxury yachts) and then flew into Seattle for business and Jeanee picked him up to be with us in Kirkland.  Plus we stayed at the home of our Grandson and his family and got to see our 2 great grandchildren!  All in all it was a trip not for the faint of heart but well worth all the scrambling around.

Then there were the things done each year, wedged in while the laundry was drying and before we gassed up the van and headed out again!

A trip to Tri-cities for new CTR rings.  A sleepover and shopping etc. with Madeline.  Several plays...Thoroughly Modern Millie (saw it twice!! Aiken Center Theater.  Theater in the round is now the new favorite form of theater seating for the girls.  amazing what they did with that play!!), Sound of Music (magnificent, as always.  at the Leavenworth Ski Hill. saw the lead nun as always and she checked on girls and their schooling plans and grades)  Hello Dolly (Boo Hiss.  dreadful rendition at Warehouse Theater.  I totally support community theater but really!....this was horrible. most disastrous production I've ever seen there.  made all the worse because the air conditioning was out but we lasted until Intermission and made a quick exit.  I've never, not even once, seen a bad play there.  I'm sure the actors/actresses did as directed by director and choreographer so not blaming them.  It was a shame to see it happen that way!!)

Years, and years ago in Homer , I put on a production of My Turn on Earth and I used 5 high school seniors in the parts.  The 3 girls were dressed to make them look like children.  I brought several boxes of costumes with me when we moved here and those 3 dresses are the only thing I ended up saving.  (bit by bit I got rid of things!) Each year, since they were about 5, Madeline, Cassie and Tori don those dresses and have a tea party with a little tiny tea set.  Along with lemonade this year they also dipped strawberries in chocolate.  They wore the dresses, when very young, to the Melodrama and other productions that used to be an annual theater event in Toppenish.  They haven't done any in a couple of years.  We miss their shows.
 
There is such a connection of doing the same ol' things on an annual basis.  Neither age nor time seems to dim the enjoyment.  The memories seem to be enhanced.  Cramming in as much as possible. I thought about that as I saw the girls enjoying golden raspberries, picking cherries, picking huge blueberries,  requesting Poppa to make Sour Dough Waffles and on another morning asking for Yellow Porridge (corn meal mush!), and his ever famous Poor Man's Mush (aka wallpaper paste!)

The last night they were here, there was a meal, with games (5 Crowns.  Hed Banz.), both before and after eating.  Lots of conversation and laughing and enjoyment.  One last ride on their bikes that they painted and decorated a few years ago.  One last swing on the front porch and giggling when ice water was accidentally spilled on them.

In Kirkland it was the same way....eating a beautiful meal of Alaskan Halibut (which we all love!), a huge salad and then laughing and talking and sitting around their fire-pit.  talking and laughing and remembering past events and making S'mores.

Anchored in the Gospel, blessed with a family that I love and friends that are so wonderful, the thing I most feel, and I felt it over and over this summer, is gratitude.  I'm just so grateful to have the richness of people that I love in my life, be they family or friends.  The Gospel helps me to savor mortality.

Hither,Thither and Yon

How wonderful family is!!  We are going to be in town and out of town....Portland, Kent, Leavenworth, Boise -possibly SLC- plus things going on right here.  All plans to be wrapped up in a neat little package, by July 25, tied with a bow and labeled Summer Memories-2012.

Looking forward to hearing about your summer fun and I'll be back here on July 26th.

Enjoy your friends and family!!

Carpet Beater-like my Grandmother's!

This isn't the one featured on the Wikipedia site but this one is like my Grandmother Clark's!  It had a handle about 2' as well as I can guesstimate. 

Carpet beater

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A carpet beater

A carpet beater or carpetbeater (also referred to as a rug beater or rugbeater, mattenklopper, carpet whip, rug whip, clothes-beater, dust beater or dustbeater, carpet duster, rug duster, or pillow fluffer, and formerly also as a carpet cleaner or rug cleaner) is a housecleaning tool that was in common use until the vacuum cleaner became affordable during the early 20th century. Carpets, rugs, clothes, cushions, and bedding were hung over a clothesline or railing and the dust and dirt was beaten out of them. Typically made of wood, rattan, cane, wicker, spring steel or coiled wire, antique rug beaters have become very collectible. Modern mass-production versions can also be in plastic or wire.

Let the Games begin

The upcoming Summer Olympic time trials were fun to see on TV.  At least the ones we saw!  We are preparing for our own summer games.  Family!!

Our 4th of July felt strange this year and we were slow on the pick-up as to why.  It was just us.  Alone.  The girls and our daughter have been here for every 4th of July since the girls were 6 months old and they will be 16! in October.  Each year they don red/white/blue clothing and all sorts of doo-dads.  We go to the Toppenish parade.  The Toppenish rodeo for at least one event.  Firecrackers are purchased.  Mostly sparklers.  Special foods.  A white frosted sheet cake.  Decorated with raspberries and blueberries to form a flag.  Sometimes watching fireworks at Yakima fair grounds and sometimes at our local park.  Late night TV --watching the Boston Pops 4th of July special.

The sameness.  The routine.  All make memories that will be rewound and replayed throughout each of our lives.  Each memory is peppered with...Oh! That was the time that such and such happened.  or....that was the time that she said this or that.  

Even if the happening details slightly change each year, the fact that the event is done each year keeps it a force of power in our lives.

Time is fleeting.  The girls are aging.  Education and jobs will take more time and the freedom of doing what you want for an entire summer will fade but a core niche will remain.  Getting together and just enjoying every single minute of that precious time.  Long or limited.  Eternally valuable.

Today I'm thinking of my Grandmother Clark.  Today the memory I have of her is 2-fold.  One  is her plumping a feather bed and then taking her kitchen broom handle and carefully leveling that top until it looked taut as a board.  The other is her taking her rugs out and hanging them on the clothesline and beating them with a wire beater.  I remember it looked like scrolled long handled spatula.  She'd beat the dickens out of those couple of rugs after having shook them to pieces.  (In Alaska my Mother would lay her throw rugs flat on the hard ground and then sprinkle snow on them and sweep them over and over with her kitchen broom until the snow was no longer dirty but white).

why these thoughts?  I guess because I'm in nesting mode and readying for these chicks to come home to roost a bit.  The usual annual routine of readiness....all blankets hung on clothesline for airing out, fresh flowers, blueberries in fridge, fresh baked bread, lots of towels, books, tickets to theatre, calendar notes of where we will be going and those we will see.

And the last calendar note?  Their airline departure time.  And thus another memory will be created to be savored and enjoyed and relived, through pictures, to enhance our minds and verify that we really did experience such a wonderful summer time!

A lightbulb moment!

I have really thought a lot about the classes I've taught over the years and have never failed to mention about Martin Harris losing 116 pages of the manuscript.  Joseph Smith was involved also as he gave the pages to Martin.  I never mentioned that in the same breath.  It was always about Martin and his blunder.

The July Ensign has an article that really woke me up to this fact...

"Though Martin Harris is remembered for his mistake of losing 116 pages of the Book of Mormon, he also was dedicated to seeing the Book of Mormon published and accepted by the public.  He took a  transcription of some of the book's ancient characters to professor Charles Anthon in hopes of obtaining a certificate of authenticity, and he worked with printer E.B. Grandin and Joseph Smith to finance the book's publication and sell copies."

The article (you can peek at the site below) also states that the $3000 needed for the publication would be around $73,000.00 in today's economy.  Martin Harris made that possible.

I have always looked at this incident to how the Lord had prepared a double record so to speak and thus the work of restoration was not thwarted.  Also that we shouldn't pester the Lord.  All those sorts of things.

It never hit me- here was a convert with determination to help Joseph Smith in any way he could.  He was human and he was wonderful.  Even after losing those manuscript pages by the next spring he was back working again.  He got caught up, as many of us do nowadays, in the shortcomings of the humans in leadership roles but also, as many of us do nowadays, he never denied his testimony.  Even on his deathbed he bore that testimony.

Another point that hit me was the fact that Martin didn't beat himself to pieces after his repentance.  He repented and went on with the work and did all within his power.

Shame on me for judging him!!!  Sorry Brother Harris!! 

I like this sidebar in the article...

"From the life of Martin Harris we learn that when we are humble, we are blessed, and that we can make important contributions to the Lord's work despite past mistakes."

There is a lot to learn from this dedicated man!  I moved ahead in that realm!
 
http://www.lds.org/ensign/2012/07/the-life-of-martin-harris-patterns-of-humility-and-repentance?lang=eng


  (I like #3 in this quote)
 Martin’s Faithfulness

“What do we learn from this example? (1) Witnesses are important, and the testimony of the Three Witnesses to the Book of Mormon is impressive and reliable. (2) Happiness and spiritual progress lie in following the leaders of the Church. (3) There is hope for each of us, even if we have sinned and strayed from a favored position.

“The Lord’s invitation is warm and loving: ‘Come back and feast at the table of the Lord, and taste again the sweet and satisfying fruits of fellowship with the saints.’”

Elder Dallin H. Oaks of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, “The Witness: Martin Harris,” Ensign, May 1999, 37.  http://www.lds.org/ensign/1999/05/the-witness-martin-harris?lang=eng

Homesick!

My sweet daughter, with her girls, is in Alaska, revisiting where we lived and where she was raised and where our hearts still reside.  This picture made me cry.  It's so familiar in it's beauty.  So homey to me.  I've seen this view for years on end and never tired of it.  Right now, I wish I could wind the clock back and return to the land I love.  I wish I could live in a little kooky home-made house, like artistic hippies do, and have that appear to be normal, without any more judgement than the folks who live in a yellow school bus tucked back in the trees.  Jeanee said this was taken at midnight, 40`, cold.  I can feel that pure fresh air in my nostrils and see it in the vapor of my warm breath in the cold. This what the vision of my heaven on earth is and I'll take it in all it's seasons for my heaven beyond this earth life.  How was I ever so fortunate to have been raised in Alaska?  Always appreciated and never taken for granted.  Sigh.  If I was young again I'd do a retake!!   (Jeanee is a professional photographer and I'm so proud of her artistic abilities!!)



Remember Elder Uchtdorf's talk about Forget-me-nots?  Alaska's State flower.  A wildflower.  Here is a beautiful shot that she got of a sweet forget-me-not.  Alaska's wildflowers are glorious as you can see from these two pictures

Errand of Angels

This is my great-grandaugter, Ava.  She personifies at a very young age what Joseph Smith said is the true nature of women.  Actually he said, to the RS women...."This is a charitable society and according to your natures...It is natural for females to have feelings of charity and benevolence."....

Benevolent-- wishing to do good to others, kindly and helpful.

Charity-- loving kindness towards others.
 
I love these pictures that show this adorable little girl, naturally manifesting those feelings. It really illustrates how soul deep these feelings are according to our divine nature.

In this first picture, she's about 18 months old & her concern is for this puppy.  The dog was looking out the window across the street to another dog.  The inside dog was whimpering and Ava felt such concern.  That look says it all!





In this picture she was around 2 years old and she decided to feed the dog with a spoon
and make life easier, perhaps?   Such desire and determination and focus!



She is sometimes so overwhelmed with love for her "babies" that she just squeezes them and squeals with love just coming out her pores!