Not the best year for my sis.....

....as her husband died last July, big adjustment and she fell down some stairs at her friends house and hurt her shoulder which she had operated on in February.  I moved in with her for 2 weeks to help her recover and she has done a really great job of it and she learned a lot about patience.  Dr. Randy Clark did the surgery and it was a little weird as I know him as the little boy that lived in my neighborhood and played with my boys but he's all grown up now and a very excellent orthopedic surgeon here.  It's so fun to see what these little kids all grew up to be.  In our neighborhood alone we have, I think 6 veterinarians, a dentist and a doctor or two plus other degrees that are just as important but not quite as prestigious.  I'm very proud of the Morningside Park kids.  Didn't know what they would all amount to but they are all doing very well and representing.  Great place to raise kids.
I kept busy while taking care of Joyce with my new hobby,  Amigurumi (編みぐるみ, lit. crocheted or knitted stuffed toy) is the Japanese art of knitting or crocheting small, stuffed yarn creatures. The word is a portmanteau of the Japanese words ami, meaning crocheted or knitted, and nuigurumi, meaning stuffed doll.^[1] In the West they are called amigurumi, which are the original phonetics of 編みぐるみ in Japanese language.^[2] Amigurumi vary in size and there are no restrictions about size or look.^[3] While the art of amigurumi has been known in Japan for several decades, the craft first started appealing to the masses in other countries, especially in the West, in 2003.^[4] By 2006, amigurumi were reported to be some of the most popular items on Etsy, an online craft marketplace, where they typically sold for $10 to $100.^[4] Since then, popularity has continued to increase.^[5]

Here are some of the bears I have made. I'm trying to do one for each of my grandkids for their birthday. I'm sure they might think they are silly but I want them to all have something I have made before I die which I hope will be a long ways away because I'm so happy and healthy and enjoying Pine Valley life. There was a time I told Scott to come get me when I turned 60 but I'm sure glad he didn't because I married Randy and we are really good together.  Whoever may read this, let me know what color of bear you want and I'll be "beary" happy to make you one.

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Speaking of Randy, he lives here now, spent the day getting a new Utah driver's license and the cars registered here. He will soon start looking for work but it sure is nice to have him finally here.  We love to drive around this area and check things out.  This is the overflow at the Baker Res. Dam.

 This is a picture of the spillway. The water is starting to melt off the mountain and it should be a stellar year for water. 

I got ambitious today and jellied up the three quarts of juice I had in the freezer and got 21 little jars of beautiful jelly. Now this really sparks joy as they all set up just beautifully.....and speaking of things that spark joy (that term is from Marie Kondo and her tiddying up book) my family.  We had reason (Mae's birthday and Traci's invitation) to celebrate and I loved every minute of it. 

 It was so fun to celebrate Mae. She is such a little bright spot in all of our lives. All girl.....but  not really. With 4 brothers, she's a little bit boy but mostly girl.

It was a beautiful day to sit and chat and watch the kids run around.

 Lux and Kix were in town so it was fun to have them celebrate with us as well as Mason, Mandy, Miller and McKay.

 Mason brought his toys and let everyone have a turn at "hovering" (not even sure what this is called) but it was really cool. 

I love taking the little ones to Pizza Factory where they make them a pizza of their age.

 She ate the whole thing.....

 Cutest little four year old.....

I need to add a "Mae-ism" here for posterity.  The other day she needed to go potty and likes me to come with her for some reason and usually I do but this day I didn't want to get out of my chair so I told her to call me when she is through and she said....."but I don't have a phone".  More catch up to come but bye for now.