What did you do today?

I read a book.  Yep, all day I read and read but would hear my mom in my head saying I must get something done so I put in a load of laundry then I read......then I picked up around the house then I read. I've never done that before, read a book in a day and it was so awesome. I read this.....and it was a good read for me..but I'm also excited for the many that I want to read.

I've been watching less and less t.v. lately and that's good. Still addicted to my news but even that I can without if I'm busy doing something. Never bored in Pine Valley.  The kids came the other day and we had a pow-wow and talked about all the things there were to do in Pine Valley when one is bored and it is good for kids to be bored and have to figure out for themselves what to do. Then we talked about the three rules....1. Shut the doors. I have all kinds of critters trying to come into this house and also moths and flies and other flying insects. 2. Can't go into grandma's bedroom and 3. Put things away when you are done playing with them. Grandma is getting too old to pick up things. They did pretty good. It's always fun to have visitors. Scott was up making Randy Pancakes even before I got up. Harry asked Scott "what are Randy pancakes" and he said "pancakes that you have in Pine Valley." Good answer. Wish I would have taken a picture of him. He made them all by himself and they were delicious. He calls them "randcakes".

     Today was like Christmas. I had hired a guy to manicure my yards and he came today with his crew of two. It was so exciting to watch my beautiful front yard become even more beautiful. I got busy and got the porches ready for summer. Now I've just got to spend some time inside and get things clean and ready for company. I'm planning on a lot this summer and excited.

A new tradition I have started is tea parties for the girls and root beer bashes for the boys. 

Joyce even joined me one day last week for High Tea. We are both quite enamored with Meghan Markle and Harry and all the royal hoopla. 

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Instead of painting birdhouses this summer we are going to paint rocks. I'm so excited as I have so many creative grandchildren and guests and I hope everyone will take time to paint a rock to contribute to my rock garden. Time for High Tea. Just so you know what is High Tea. I only include desserts as dinner follows. It's just to calm your hungers before dinner two hours later. I have mine at 3:00 p.m................................................
English High Tea usually involved a mug of tea, bread, vegetables, cheese and occasionally meat. Variations on high tea could include the addition of pies, potatoes and crackers. 

A new season...

....is trying very hard to arrive here in paradise and it has been fun watching it. I do love all four seasons and living in a place where they all happen and I can watch Mother Nature bring each one on. This one has been difficult. The snow just keeps wanting to show it's face and butt in on spring but I think we are finally into the new season......however, snow is predicted for Wednesday so I haven't really planted anything but the daffodils and tulips have bloomed and the leaves are sprouting on the trees as I type this. The birds are out in all their varieties, some more photogenic than others

 

and the turkeys are once again roosting in our tree every evening at 8:23. We love watching them haul their huge bodies in the air and then cling to a branch where they spend the night. Such a fun nightly activity for us.  I've just completed my 4th winter in Pine Valley and I enjoy the solitude of that season very much. We had Jeff Gardner install a mini-split system for us that has helped to heat the house and make it so I only need one fire a day. It's been a wonderful addition to our home.

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SPEAKING OF NEW BEGINNINGS.......

It's been three months since Mom passed away and I think about her every day and miss her so very much. Thoughts of life and death and my own mortality fill my thoughts each day and I have reflected on her life and the things I learned from her and there are many lessons that I try to incorporate into my life each day. She left a wonderful legacy. Here are a few pictures from her funeral that I would like to remember.

I think she would have approved of the program we put together in her honor. She loved her family more than anything and we tried to involved every one as we shared our love and memories of her. She especially loved her grandchildren and she would have loved the choir. They were all there.

I'm so grateful for my siblings and the help and support we were to each other at this time.

I love the casket spray that we were able to honor her with. She taught me to love gardenias and we were able to intersperse them into a lovely red rose and white lilly arrangement. Dad always loved her in red and he always gave her red roses. It was February so the month of "love" and red.

The great grandchildren were invited to come up and help tuck her in for her final journey. So touching. They were all so precious to her.

The most touching end to a wonderful tribute was Ernie Doose, a good friend of mine and hers singing "Just For Now".....written for Dixie College by Roene DiFiore........"and that's why we hate saying adieu, to our friends who are so tried and true.....but we must, thought it's just, for now."

She was most proud of her grand sons and I know she loved this tender moment, their last tribute to a grandmother they all loved and respected.

The Barber cousins that were at the funeral. Always fun times when we get together. Lots of good memories. Too bad that funerals are the only reunions we have. Love my cousins....every one.  I wonder every day what she is doing....knowing full well that she is about doing good which she always did here and I really feel like she is still very much a part of my life. I know she is at peace as she was in such turmoil in her earthly life and I know she is happily reunited with her loved ones there. 

Mom loved her family......Easter a few years back, about the last time we were all together for her birthday celebration.

...and I love my mom. She gave me a wonderful childhood and a sister. What more could a little girl want.(I love my brothers but not like my sister). I held her as she died and I hope she heard me whisper the "thank yous" and "I love yous".  To my mom.....Leila Barber Sullivan, best mom ever.

It is about the Birks.....

....and it all started with a conversation with Emily (my granddaughter) about various high school classmates of which she was able to paint a very excellent verbal picture for me of these various people she surrounds herself with daily (all good) and with a curious mind, I asked how she would describe me....."so Em, what am I? Describe me."  With no hesitation she replied...."You are my grandma, the hippie (I could use hippy but I prefer hippie in this case)." "Really? A hippie?" "Yep, you live in the mountains, you love butterflies, you feed the birds and you love nature." Well, I was flattered and that is all true but I lived in the 60's and I don't think I fit into the category of a hippie from that era i.e....drugs, free love, dread locks, you get the picture.  I asked her for a more thorough explanation..."Oh, grandma, it's all about the fashion".  We bantered back and forth and I told her I'd have to get me some bell bottoms and flowered shirts and some headbands".  Evan piped in at this time and said..."That's not it grandma. You wear comfortable clothes." Here I am sitting in the sun on a winter day in Pine Valley with my oversized sweatshirt (no bra) XL pajama pants and yes....the light went on. "It's my Birkenstocks, isn't it? (Today I actually had on my Uggs but that's just the house slipper form of Birks.)  So I did my research and here's what I found. The dictionary definition of "hippie" includes things like......... A hippie (sometimes spelled hippy)^[1][2] is a member of a counterculture, originally a youth movement that began in the United States during the mid-1960s and spread to other countries around the world. The word hippie came from hipster and used to describe beatniks who moved into New York City's Greenwich Village and San Francisco's Haight-Ashbury district. The term hippie first found popularity in San Francisco by Herb Caen, a journalist for the San Francisco Chronicle. 

Other things I think about when I think of hippies is LSD which I won't try and marijuana which I will try if it will keep me from pain and nausea (and if it's legal) and being anti-everything which I am pretty much anti-nothing: however, I must add here that my recent personality test when the score was tallied up, out of the following: Upholder, Questioner, Obliger or Rebel, I am a rebel so I guess I could be in the category of anti-something. I think it's just that I like to fly by the seat of my pants, hate having a schedule, don't like being told what to do and like to wander, in nature, with comfortable clothes on. In a survey I found online entitled "33-signs-you-might-be-a-hippy",  the only one I fit in was #11 "wears socks with Birkenstocks". Yes, I do that, because I wear my Birks year 'round and it gets mighty cold up here in the winter. Another hippie thing is that I make fires every day and sit in front of them sometimes strumming my guitar. Oh, and today for lunch I had this.....avacado on 7 grain bread. I know some vegetarians and I have some vegans in my family and while I admire them greatly, I just can't do "organic" completely because to me, sugar is a food group. I do love my quiet, serene, peaceful hippie life here in Pine Valley so I'll embrace it and as I live off the grid, feed my birds, chase my butterflies, and drink my Fresca (not a hippie thing but totally a 60's thing) I'm happy to embrace it and be what Emily says....."My Grandma the Hippie".

My Take on Gardening

So here in Pine Valley, our weather is very unpredictable and we are told by some not to plant anything until June 10. Some say on Memorial Day Week-end but I waited this year. We did have a late freeze that took all the blooms off our oak trees and my iris didn't make it but I decided to plant just a small garden, not for sustenance by any means but just because it's fun to see things grow. I did about 6 tomatoes plants, some different kinds of squash and cucumbers.  I was quite proud of our effort as we got 6 barrels for a raised garden (easier for weeding and maybe keep some varmints out) but as soon as the squash and cucumbers started to pop up, they were gone. I caught a huge squirrel in there one day and figured he was the culprit so I've spent the last month trying to get rid of him. Haven't seen him for a while, so maybe.....but I didn't replant in that same place. I planted an egg plant and two pepper plants in my decorative planters along with the flowers.

The squirrels were eating all the petunias and now they are growing so I'm suspecting he really is gone. This planter trio is doing well and I even have a baby eggplant growing. Here are some of the other flowers that are blooming right now that I truly love. My Columbine didn't do too well this year, maybe because of the freeze but there were a few. The daisies are coming out just in time for Randy's family to be here and I love Josephine's mini pink rose bush.  I've also tried some marigolds but we'll have to see how they do.  There's certainly plenty to take care of around here. Some think I need a dog.....but I don't think I do. I poison dogs......Cynthia brought Max and Elliott up for a visit and they snooped around and found my rat poison. They had to take a trip to the Vet and stay in the hospital for a day of observation.  I'm so glad they are o.k. and I'm glad I thought to go check and see what they are in to. They had been quite quiet for a while. So sorry Cynthia (and Max and Elliott). Back to gardening.
 It's like a running, cleaning house, cooking, exercising, going for a walk.....I wish I had the desire. I'm starting small. I have friends up here with huge gardens and they can all their produce to last all year. I just don't have the energy (or the desire).  I even look at the little bit I've done and it gets quite expensive and I don't keep the weeds out any better in the barrels than I did when my garden was in the ground. But, I'm trying....and like they say...."try and fail but don't fail to try."..... or "you never fail unless you fail to try."  I've enjoyed the battle with the squirrel as well. I know they are cute little souls but this one I have has been making me so mad.....but.....he's gone. I have a skunk too. I can only smell him once in a while. I've put out my moth balls and haven't smelled him in a while. This is the price we pay for living in this beautiful "heaven on earth".....because I don't think we'll be battling these things in the real heaven. I do love it here. I've never been more content to just "be". A small garden, grand-children and other family once in a while but I'm not alone here. There's so much to see, hear and feel.....even the varmints and insects. They are sharing their space with me and we're learning to get along.

Two moms, one grandma and eleven kids......

....enjoying Pine Valley for 36 hours and we sure packed a lot into such a short amount of time. I mentioned to Traci that she should plan to come to Pine Valley (not St. George) and invite some of my favorite people, her friends and neighbors, the Beaches.

I figured it probably may never happen but to my surprise and delight, she called and said we're coming next week. It has been the most magical time as I am able to share my beautiful home and surroundings with people that really appreciate it and have enjoyed being here. This combination of children has been remarkable....as she has a son...Leim who is Scott's age. Millie is her oldest and has been the 4th adult....then Greta that is Jake's friend, Phoebe who is Max's friend and Hazel who was willing to play with Harry or Mae. Baby Aggie was so good to tag along on Pam's or Millie's hip wherever we went.

One thing that makes a mom happy is when her children are happy and especially when they have good friends that make raising their children a breeze with good kids that have the same values, hopes and dreams. This is two groups of really delightful and easy children and I have enjoyed this last couple of days very much.

We've enjoyed the hot tub and being sprayed with water on the trampoline, lots of good food, art work, painting birdhouses, exploring, Chicka-boom-boom, s'mores, talent shows, singing and movies.  Lots of fun. Touring the church and a photo shoot at the reservoir were among the activities as well. These kids are all so smart, creative and talented. I think we've made some pretty good memories in these two days. I just hope we can make this a tradition and would welcome others who want to come and do the same. So much to enjoy and explore in this beautiful valley and I do love to share my lovely home and surroundings.  Come again, Staheli's and Beaches.  Me casa es su casa.
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Here are some more pics for posterity.....

Happy Mother's Day.....

....to my mom. On this day I will visit her and tell her in person what it has meant to me that she is my mom and thank her for teaching me well. There are some things I fall short in like housekeeping, charity, service etc.....but these are the things I admire in her but I am grateful that she gave me the opportunity to take piano lessons. I think of her each time I play the piano in Relief Society or Primary and I'm so grateful to her that I got to have that music in my life. My piano teachers were dreadful but they got the job done. I'm sure they were fine ladies but I only knew them as stern teachers that "made" me learn and I'm grateful for Piano Teacher mothers that know how to drill it in. I'm also grateful to my mom for allowing me to spend my summer of 7th grade walking up to the Woodward Annex to take typing lessons from Mrs. Empey. As I sit here typing, I'm filled with gratitude that I have this skill and when I fall short on other skills, it always brings satisfaction to my mind that I can type 100 words a minute....so thanks to my mom and these teacher moms. There's lots more I could mention....she taught me to wear lipstick every day and a nightgown to bed and to always be well groomed (not sure why she didn't want me to shave my legs) but I try to be like her and look nice (at least out in public).  She is a wonderful example to a lot of people and she was shown that in the recent birthday party we had where over 100 people showed up at her house to tell them that they love her. There are a lot of self-help books on mothering but the best lessons come from our own moms. Because she loved me and gave me her all, I wanted to do the same for my own. I remember wanting to share every minute of their cute little lives with her and I called her a lot for advice but mostly, all we want from our moms is validation. She always gave me that and I always felt she loved my children as much as I did. She helped me through the toughest of times when Scott was sick and she was there for me in some happy times when we traveled to Europe as he wanted to get some of that whilst he was young so she tended my kids a lot or I should say, loved my kids a lot while I was gone.  She always felt my joy and pain in love and lost love, crying with me for days when we Scott and I broke up and rejoicing when we married and she still hurts for me because he is gone but is also happy with me that I've found love again. We mothers kinda live our lives through our children by default. She always welcomed my friends, most of them. If there were some that weren't good for me, somehow I knew it. She still prays for me today, well actually for all of us even the greats and the grands. She's a woman of faith, endurance and a heart of gold and has given us her all for a whole lot of years. Love you mom......thanks for teaching me how to "mom" these kids.....

They are awesome kids....none of them are half-baked. Not sure why I said that but they are well done and well rounded and are wonderful parents themselves. They all have perfect spouses....well no not perfect but perfect for each one of them and that's so important to a mom. All I ever wanted was happy children and right now, I think they all are. I'm sure they have tough times, but they work through that because they have each other.  They all know I'm willing to do anything I can to help them just like my mom did for me.

My "in-town kids" took me to lunch for Mother's Day.....and I loved it. It's all a mom wants is a little of their time....They all have such busy schedules and I was very honored to have lunch at Benja's on them. They all have more money than I do so I was totally willing to oblige their generous offer. It was good to get caught up as there still are some things I don't hear about. I get a lot from Instagram and Facebook but not everything, It's good to hear it from their own mouths. Thanks to my kids and Annie for a lovely Mother's Day lunch. Yearly tradition, I hope.
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I pay tribute this day to my daughters and daughters-in-law for the wonderful moms they are to my.......

....... ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL grandchildren. Nothing brings me more joy. I could fill my blog with all the joy they bring to me.

One that is coming and I'm enjoying the anticipation of this day,is when they will all wear their shirts and stand in a line on July 24 and be counted as my choicest blessings...all 20 from #1 Laynee who will walk through the DH at high school graduation to little #20 Annie who is just learning to walk. Love them all with all my heart. The thing I love most about all of my grand kids is that they all have good hearts. I love spending time with them and as they grow I can see how well they have been taught in their families. Especially this day, as I write this I have tears in my eyes to think of my two beautiful daughters and the mothers that they have become. I think of all of their life experiences that prepared them for this and the joy they brought me when they were born and as we were raising them...to the joy they bring me now with their visits, talks, phone calls, laughter and tears, high points and low and I pay tribute and honor to them for how they have handled life's ups and downs. They are raising their children in honesty and integrity. Their children will be ready to enter the jungle out there.

I'm grateful to the mothers that raised the men in my life, Ada Workman Sullivan, Hannah Hegsted Wells Rose and Josephine Jones Reber. I'm grateful for the association I had with them before they died and saw firsthand why they raised such wonderful sons. I learned many lessons by each of their examples. And last, but certainly not least in this post......I honor my therapist, my best friend, my counselor, my partner in a life of mischief.....my sis.

No other person knows me like her....since we have been together since forever.  Don't know what I'd do without her and as she faces some health trials, I want to do all I can to help her. Happy Mother's Day to my best friend sister, Joyce.
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To generation after generation of women we give honor this day....some who have no children of their own but influence a world of children. I'm proud of my mother's hands and I can see 90 years of love and service in every knot, wrinkle, and age spot.  Hands that held my forehead as I leaned over the toilet to throw up. Hands that crushed up pills because I couldn't swallow them. Hands that rubbed Vick's on my chest and sometimes a mustard plaster, ew... Hands that baked bread, and made butter and a gazillion pies cakes for a life of Sunday afternoons. Hands that not only fed us but most of St. George. But mostly, these hands held my children and helped me love them into the people they are today.

THANKS MOM.....FOR BEING MY MOTHER. I THINK YOU DID AN AWESOME JOB AND I'M SO VERY PROUD TO CALL YOU "MY MOM". HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY. I SURE DO LOVE YOU.

Another month...

...and I had really hoped to blog more often but since I ended with our Highway 50 road trip back to Cali, I will start with that as after Randy spent a few days with me getting our place ready for summer, we once again took this trip....and I must say, it's always better together.

We didn't stop at all this time and just zoomed straight through in the usual 10 hours. This is a picture of coming into Tahoe. One place we always stop is a little pizza joint to get the best wings ever and a salad then on to home.  Some wonder why we don't fly....well we do sometimes but we've come to realize it goes pretty fast when you have a good book on tape to listen to and some good music. When I did fly, I left the condo at 6:00 a.m. for a 9:15 flight. An hour drive to the airport, an hour or more wait for flight (usually delayed), land in Vegas then another hour or more wait for the shuttle then a 2 hour drive to St. George. I got home about 6:00. So, I'm saying it's a little less sometimes driving it and not quite so expensive.....I'm just sayin'. We are getting used to this commute.  We've been married 5 years and have come to realize this is our life for now. I have reasons to be in St. George and he has reasons to be in California and that's just how it is but the more I'm with Randy the more I realize I love to be with him so the trips may become more frequent. He moved into a nice little apartment complex with nice amenities....

.....and closer to town and it's a bit more comfortable than the last one. We attended our new ward yesterday and it is really fun to meet new people. Most of them already know Randy and he has painted for 60% of them or served in other wards and stakes with them. Kieth Merrill is in that ward and we sat by one of his grandchildren at the "linger longer" and asked her what her favorite movies that her grandpa had produced. She seemed clueless but we went home and looked them up and we watched "Wind Walker" and "Harry's War".

His most famous ones are his documentaries especially the Zion one that plays in the Imax up there. Several of his children live in this area and in this ward.  BTW....Harry's War was filmed in St. George....mostly out at Schmutz's farm (now Stonecliff) and areas around there. Fun to see that again and a couple of his daughters are in it, one is in our ward. Just a point of interest that I want to record for later memories. Needless to say, we have been welcomed here with open arms. Speaking of church,...

....it's been a month since conference and I wanted to add a copy of my notes for posterity. I was trying my best to doodle like Scott and Jake do as I took notes. It will be interesting in years to come if I can even decipher what they say but it was fun. I do love General Conference and I especially loved it this year because Randy was here to enjoy it with me.

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I live two lives......and I love each one of them. When I'm here in Eldorado  Hills with Randy, I love the simplicity of everything from the tiny apartment we live in to the simple life of no expectations of myself each day. I'm free to do my knitting, reading, wandering and I love getting a good meal ready for him when he comes home from a hard day of work. He loves to be able to look forward to coming to Pine Valley after several weeks of hard work to what is his "simple" life....so I guess you could say that we have the best of both worlds and tho' we are not always together, we are working toward being together in Pine Valley some day and we will be patient. I'm headed back there tomorrow and I also love to be near my family, especially my mother. This time away helps me to realize how important she is in my life and I want to be there for her in these last years of her life. This is what I look forward to about going home.....Pine Valley home that is.

Spring is in full bloom there and it's time to plant my little garden. Top left: planted our little Christmas tree. I hope it's still alive. The plants in my window are thriving if they are still alive and top right: my claw gloves that will help me with my limited gardening skills I hope. I'm sure there have been a lot more blooms since I've been gone and the Columbine should be in full bloom soon. My grandchildren are growing so fast.....lots of changes taking place at this end of the school year comes. 

Laynee is graduating this month and has signed with Dixie State University to do CrossCountry and Track. She's a great kid.

George will be a senior next year and earned his Silver "D" and Gold "D" and I heard he got voted as a Studentbody Officer.  I'm waiting to get the details on that. Wreaks of goodness he does. I'm grateful for social media so I can keep track somewhat of what my kids do. I like to stay in the loop as much as I can. I miss a lot and something I missed this past week-end was IronMan.

His goal was to finish in under 6 hours. He did 5:59:48.....or something like that. He lives life large, trains hard and wears many, many hats these days. Way to go Spence. Sorry I missed this.

Once in a while I do get notice when the kids have accomplishments and I was able to go and see Emily's art display that was entered into this art show. The kids are busy and there's no way I could keep up on all of them if not for posts to Instagram and Facebook and texts that keep me informed.

Evan won the Science Fair at his school and was able to compete at District level. Thanks Kyle for the post. Evan and Seth are playing Little League Baseball and I like to go to those when I can. Traci's kids and Mason's are busy as well up north. I was able to go visit Traci and live in her world for a couple of days and enjoy the kids.

Missing Harry and Max in this collage but they were busy so we took a quick trip to the bakery. Scott is rippin' it on guitar, he and Jake do piano and they all are doing terrific with their wonderful homeschool teacher. Proud of all of them

I love having visitors in Pine Valley and Lauri and James come up quite a bit. They were here on a Monday night and it was a privilege to join in on their Family Home Evening. Mason's family came up for a week-end about a month ago and it was such fun.  I took pictures on my camera and haven't been able to get them off but my next post will be about "My Pine Valley Visitors" and pictures of that fun week-end and others will be included in that but let me just say, those three Wells kids are very busy....Maycee in dance and soccer, McKay so INTO baseball and Miller Moe......

....swimming. Here's a cute post from Mandy.....I do love Instagram. What a cutie.  Speaking of water, Randy and I were taking a ride last Sunday and happened upon this site......

...a hot tub grave yard. I just thought it was interesting so I will end this post here. Bye for now....I'll get my pictures off my camera asap and continue on my saga of daily living and recording it the best I can. "My life is perfect...except when it's not". 

"Life is no brief candle to me. It is a sort of  splendid torch...I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it onto future generations" by George Bernard Shaw.