Planting and Growing...

I mentioned in an April 21st post about purchasing two new trees for the back yard. Claude has planted those and they are growing nicely. They seem very happy in their new locations. The dogwood with pink blossoms is in the lower left of the picture and the second tree is the little red one on the right. Nice additions to the yard.

We also purchased some more moss plants. I tried these last year in a spot that gets minimal direct sun light and tends to stay damp because the drain from the gutters comes out of the ground in this spot. I planted 12 little moss plants and they are all happy as well.

While weeding to plant the moss plants, I came across a pretty little white flower. I posted a picture of it on Facebook to see if anyone could tell me what it was. I did not plant it and yet there it was blooming on our hill. Very pretty.


I was informed it is a 'Star of Bethlehem' flower and it will spread if left alone. Some of the people said it was a weed and hard to get rid of. Another said she actually purchased a lot of them and planted them randomly in her back yard since she loves them so much. I just left this little beauty where it made its appearance in our yard. We'll see what happens. It sure doesn't look weed-like to me. 


It always brings me joy when the iris bed blossoms. These irises came from Utah and are from Claude's family. It gives us a little Utah in our Kentucky home.

One more random nature picture. We had some major thunderstorms the other day. They seemed to come in waves. Between one set as it was getting closer to the sun going down, the sun happened to peek through some clouds as they rolled in for the next set of thunderstorms. I looked out my back windows and then looked out the front windows. The view in the front of our home was fantastic. That is where the sunsets and I was able to capture this picture from our front porch. I posted it on Facebook and titled it "Hope After The Storm". Then I set it as the background on my lap top. I even eMailed it to our local television station.

Such an amazing world in which we live. Some of it we have to work very hard to bring the beauty we want to see. Then something pops up that we had absolutely nothing to do with but we still are blessed with its beauty and get to enjoy it free of labor. Life is amazing sometimes.

A Request for Great Gramma...

Received a text from our Katelyn Friday. It seems Raelyn loves the afghans I made for Katelyn and Drew. She seems to have taken them over and wants them to go to sleep. Katelyn and Drew want to use them also. Katelyn's solution to this dilemma...ask me to crochet a foot square piece with holes (translated that means loosely crocheted granny square). I assured her I could do that and I had yarn left over from the really nice bear afghan I made for Raelyn. She was happy. 

This was the project I worked on this weekend. I ended up making one that about about a foot square. The other is really a baby blanket size because I used all the left over yarn.

I have texted this picture to Katelyn. She pronounced them good. I told Jake what I was doing and he assured me Raelyn will decide she still wants to sleep with theirs and Katelyn and Drew will be using Raelyn's!! Silly family.

The Interesting Visit...

Claude and I attended a fundraiser for Bluegrass Tomorrow some time back. It was held in a huge, beautiful horse barn. Elegant dinner on white linen tablecloths. And several of the stalls had been converted into displays of silent auction items. One of them we bid on and we won. It was tickets to see Hal Holbrook do his one-man show of Mark Twain. It was to be at the Eastern Kentucky University Performing Arts Center. It also came with a nice coupon off on dinner at Boone's Tavern in Berea, Kentucky. 

While visiting family in Michigan, we mentioned this to Jake and suggested he make a trip to Kentucky to go see this with us. To our delight, he was very interested. He put it on his calendar and came this weekend for a visit, arriving late Friday evening.

Saturday we all slept in. When we got up, Claude made us cinnamon rolls for breakfast. Our thought had been to take Jake to say hi to Papa followed by a drive through the 'knob country' around Berea, making sure we stopped at the old iron forge. The problem, it was rainy and that just isn't the best for a drive and hiking through grass to visit the iron furnace. So we chilled at home and I started working on a crochet project for Katelyn. We enjoyed conversation, Jake got some of his writing done on his Blog and for a class he is taking. 

About 3pm we headed into Georgetown to say hi to Papa. It seems his refrigerator bit the dust and he needed milk. We took Papa some milk, I called the realty company and set up for them to deliver a loaner fridge, then we started our drive to Berea to have dinner at Boone's Tavern. Still rainy but a nice drive and no traffic backups.

However, upon arrival at Boone's Tavern they had part of the parking lot blocked off. Claude drove around to the second half and found us a spot. As we walked across the first part of the parking lot, we realized there was a set outside for a wedding. Hence, the blocking off of that part of the parking lot. The door had a sign on it requesting we use the side entrance. So we walked around to the side of the building. There we saw a young girl in a bright red dress with lots of sequins on it. I'm a little confused because I was thinking she might be the bride and I've never seen a bride dressed in a strapless, red sequined dress before. And the young man with her was in a black tuxedo with a black shirt and a red rose for a boutonniere.  To each his own and we entered Boone's Tavern by the side door.

Our reservation was for 5pm and it was about 5 minutes till 5pm. The lobby area was clearly set for reception foods. We walked past that to the dining room which had half the tables removed for a dance floor and half the room set for seating and eating. Hmmm...We had reservations so they must have somewhere for us to eat. We had really hyped this place to Jake and were looking forward to treating him to a really nice evening. This was getting a bit frustrating. 

A nice man came over and asked if he could help. I told him we had dinner reservations for 5pm and were not sure where to go now. He asked is we were staying in the hotel. I assured him we were only there for dinner. He seemed concerned. Now I'm getting a bit anxious. Claude had carefully laid this evening out and it was looking to be a bit messed up.

The man led us back through the lobby to the check-in desk for the hotel part of the building. A man came out of their meeting room space and the man with us explained what we were looking for. The man from the meeting room space told us they were not quite ready for dinner yet and that we were 5 minutes early. Geez!! Okay, I assured him we would wait for 5 minutes in the back portion of the hotel where there is a sitting area. It gave us a good view of the podium in front of the meeting rooms being used to assign tables to guests.

We had not sat there long before a girl and her parents came down the elevators. Clearly they were guests in the hotel portion. They went to the podium and talked to the girl who had just told us to wait for 5 minutes. They explained they wanted to dine in the hotel restaurant. She asked if they had reservations. They assured her they did not have reservations. Then she looked at a computer monitor for a bit and told them to follow her. Whereupon she took them promptly to a table in the meeting rooms to be seated for their dinner. I looked at Claude and told him they should definitely have room for us if they seated people without a reservation. We hopped up from our comfy chairs and made our way to the podium. 

The girl was back and looked at us. We explained again we had a reservation. She worked with her computer like it might not be easy to find us a table. Then she said, "Follow me, please" and picked up two menus and led us into the meeting rooms not converted into a restaurant. She started to seat us at a table for two by the window. Then she realized there were three of us. So she quickly moved to another table for four people and seated us there and went to get a third menu. Goodness!!

We had a perfectly lovely meal. Delicious and we were all so full we passed on the dessert portion. 

While we were dining, Jake was positioned so he could see out the window. The bride and groom came for their wedding while the rain was stopped and they were not wearing black and red. It turns out it was also prom night and Berea was crawling with teens in evening attire and being as grown up as they can be at that point in their lives. It was fodder for remembering Jake's proms. I was happy the young people we saw in black and red were probably going to a prom and not the bride and groom.

After dinner we got in the car and headed back up the road to Richmond to find Eastern Kentucky University and the Performing Arts Center. Claude had located it in hims computer before leaving home and he drove right there. However, there were no cars in the parking lot and we were 45 minutes before the performance. We drove around the building and determined the parking lot we should probably be parking in and Claude backed into a nice spot. Then a man came to Jake's car window and tapped on the glass. He stated their superintendent or someone at a high level had made a mistake. He then said that the performance was going to May 21st!! What? I heard this performance advertised on NPR during the week. This nice man then asked if we were on the 'eMail list'. We assured him we were not. He apologized and then again told us the performance was moved to another date. He left, got in his car and drove away.

Jake suggested we drive around to another door and read the notice taped to the door. We did and sure enough it just said the performance was moved to May 21st and they hoped it didn't inconvenience anyone. Really. Our son drove 5 hours from Michigan just to see this and it wasn't happening. What to do, what to do? 

I suggested we go to Cold Stone Creamery since we weren't going to see Hal Holbrook/Mark Twain. Jake, bless his heart, knew we were disappoint and frustrated since he made this great effort to be there with us. He sincerely said something like, "Well, I can't feel too bad after a meal like that!" Claude point the car to Lexington. 

Jake started to research on his cellphone and learned that Hal Holbrook was a little sick and just couldn't come to perform. After all he is 91 years old. And this performance really doesn't have an understudy. Now we all knew and understood. We totally enjoyed our ice cream in lieu of Mark Twain. 

Once home we all got into comfy clothes and piled up on the living room furniture to watch a little television. 

This morning Claude had meetings in Lexington to attend. He was out of the house by 5:30am. Jake and I slept in a bit. Jake decided to hang around for a little while. He is taking a writing class and wanted to work on his homework that needed to be sent in this evening. We did go get a quick breakfast a Hardee's. Then ,I just curled up on the love seat and crocheted away while Jake worked at the breakfast room table. Every now and then one of us would pause and bring up a topic for discussion. It was just such a lovely morning with my son.

We met Claude in Georgetown and had a sandwich as Jimmy John's before Jake hit the road for home. But I requested one selfie of us all before he left. I don't get many pictures of our son and I really want to be better at getting some taken. 

This was a fun visit. We missed the performance but we still had great fun being together. I love my kids. And I love having adult time with them when the opportunity presents itself. Turns out Jake will be back in May. He is taking some one-day class in Louisville. So he will come on a Friday and leave on a Monday as it is Labor Day weekend. Yippee!!

A Final Performance...

Thursday, April 28th, found us heading to LaGrange. Hayden had a lead role in what was his final Performing Arts Club (PAC) play. They were doing a play called "At the Bandstand". Hayden was one of the announcers. So many kids want to participate in these that the teacher has found very creative ways to include everyone that wants to participate. This play she divided the announcer into two roles, one female and one male. 

The play was based on the television show "American Bandstand". Hayden would have been a Dick Clark character. It was absolutely the perfect role for him. We loved it because American Bandstand is from our era and we knew all the songs!!

Claude and I got to LaGrange and went to McDonald's to get Happy Meals for the kids. We would begin our visit by having lunch with each of them. 

Bailey first:

Then lunch with Hayden:

I'm sure I'll get better with selfies as I do them more. 

Then Claude and I sat on the benches in front of the office until Hayden came down back to perform.

We found our seats on the bleachers in the gym and got the cameras ready (digital and cell phone). These are a few pictures of Hayden. Love his expressions.

After his performance, I very much enjoyed his class mates patting him on the back as they came down from the bleachers and telling him how good he did. 

We delivered a few things to the Marx home. Joyce had arrived for her weekend visit. We talked to her a bit and then headed back to Sadieville.

So much fun to see the kids participate in these things. Great experience for them. Teaches them so much about themselves and gives them skills they really can use in living life. 

Time Out for Women...

Had my 'fill my cup' experience Friday and Saturday, April 22 and 23, 2016. Claude bought me the ticket for Christmas. I attended Time Out for Women (TOFW) in Cincinnati, Ohio. Well, they call it being in Cincinnati but it is actually in Covington, Kentucky. Just like the Cincinnati Airport is really in Kentucky. It is just easier to identify with the city with the bigger name. I enjoy this time to listen to great speakers and hear very good music. 

Friday the event began at 6:30pm and ended at 9:00pm (or thereabouts!). The music was provided by David Archuletta and the speakers were Fiona Givens and S. Michael Wilcox.  The theme this year was "One Heart, One Faith". 

These are some notes from Fiona Givens talk:

• The four "L's" of Creation:  Law (order), Life, Light and Love
• Oneness = One heart, one faith, one mind
• D&C 38:1 "...I say unto you, be one; and if ye are not one ye are not mine."
• Reconciliation = Bringing things together that were apart
• Revelation 12:6 The woman flees to the wilderness (apostasy & dark ages) where God has prepared a place for her (he nourishes her)
• John Taylor - "If those were the dark ages, I pray God to give me a little more darkness."
• Joseph Smith - "Gather all good and true principles or we shall not come out Mormons."
• Jacob 5 - Jacob shares the words of Zenos and relates the allegory of the tame and wild olive trees. Look at the verbs in this allegory: "nourish" used 22 times; "preserve" (save) used 20 times; "grieve" used 8 times; and "wept" is the Lord weeping,.
• Moses 7 tells about Enoch. In this story God also weeps. Enoch says, "How is it God weeps?"
• Sigmund Frued - "No one is so defenseless against suffering as when one loves."
• Dietrich Bonhoffer - "Love is God's power. It makes him vulnerable."
• Eve - When God created things, he started with the lowest life form and goes to the highest....Eve.  (Lots of chuckles at this.)
  - IF you eat; YOU WILL surely die
  - Fruit: Good for food, beauty, wisdom.
  - Genesis 3:23 "Become as one of us"
  - Life is an ascent, not a fall
  - Never had known good and evil
  - Never should have had children
  - Never known the joy of our redeemption
• Robert D. Hales  - "Never, never shut the door of your heart to any of your children."
• Atonement = Reconciliation, Healing, Bringing Back
• Romans 8:38-39
  38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers nor things present, nor things to come,
  39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

David Archuletta sang a beautiful song titled "In the Arms of the Angels". These are the words to the chorus:

In the arms of the angel,

Fly away from here,

From this dark, cold hotel room,

And the endlessness that you fear.

You are pulled from the wreckage,

Of your silent reverie.

You're in the arms of the angel,

May you find some comfort here.

The song sung by David Archuletta can be found at this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ko-lNqco45A.

He also sang "Bridge over Troubled Waters" which is a blast of my past. Loved listening to this young man sing.

The concluding speaker Friday evening was S. Michael Wilcox.  These are my notes from his talk:

• Mike talked of the Savior creating the earth. He noted that after each day the Savior pronounced the work good. On the final day he called the work 'very good'. How many 'goods' before the 'very good'? 6 times. He said we should note not just the big rest at the end but also the rests in between. 
• His wife gave him a letter once as a gift. It was a list of the things she felt he had perfected. (This was a great idea to me.)
• Mark 14 relates the story of the woman and the ointment in an alabaster jar. She is chastised by some apostles for using such an expensive ointment when the money could have been given to the poor. The Savior supports what she is doing. Mike used the phrase 'substitute a morality of severity for a morality of sympathy,' He pointed out there were two goods in this story. 1) She hath done what she could and 2) It is the nature of women to break the alabaster jars and it is the nature of Jesus to love them for it. 
• He told the New Testament story of the widow giving 2 mites. 1) She gave all that she had. 2) Look for 2 mite moments in people's lives.
• The Lord wants us to hand broken hearts for one another. The Lord will handle broken souls Himself.

I went home Friday night and returned Saturday morning to a speaker I was anxious to hear. Mary Ellen Edmunds (MEE) is definitely one of my favorites to listen talk about anything.  Here are a few notes from her talk:

• A greeting from the Philippines or Indonesia:  "I am well, if you are well."
• You are not in charge of the whole planet.
• Spending the wind without raising the sails. (Do I live life this way?)
• Cause the critical mass to tip toward an unending goal.
• John 13:35 My disciples love one to another.
• Matthew 7:12 The Golden Rule
• Confucius: "My hear responds to yours."
• 13th Article of Faith - We believe in being benevolent.
• Cyrus: "Cherish reciprocal benevolence."
• 13th Article of Faith - We believe in doing good to all men.
• Compassion = The love the Savior has. The love he wants us to have for each other.
• Mosiah 5:2 "Might Change" 1) No more disposition to do evil. 2) To do good continually.
• Afternoon of the 1st Resurrection: 1) Don't measure time. 2) Lots of reunions. 3) When we're helping we're happy.
• D&C 38:25 Esteem brother as self
• Joseph Smith: "It grieves me there is no fuller fellowship. If one member suffers, all the members suffer with him. If one be honored, all the members rejoice with him.

Saturday's music was provided by Gentri. These three young men were in the play Les Miserable together. One of their wives suggested they should get a group together and perform for others. The idea became the 'gentleman's trio' or Gentri. They were excellent. I especially loved the set they did with excepts from Les Miserable. This is my all-time favorite musical play. Just love it and the music is very powerful.

The second speaker Saturday was Lisa Valentine Clark. Here are some notes from her talk.

• "Energy" is our most precious commodity.
• 2 Nephi 31:20 states we should 'press forward'. Press = Measured effort.
• Begin with hope.

Mary Ellen Edmunds, Lisa Valentine Clark and Mary Cook formed a panel to discuss this question: How do you engage with the word of God? Some notes from their comments:

• Feast on the word
• Teach the word given in the scriptures.
• Text each other comments and impressions when reading
• eMail a friend, "What do you think about this verse?"
• Study with emphasis on a topic or word.
• Law of the 'Firsts' (Elaine Dalton quoting Pres. Henry B. Eyring.
• The Lord honors our effort.
• Arise at an early hour (so quiet).
• Read entire book in a short period of time on occasion.E

Eric Huntsman spoke to use next about "Experiencing and Keeping the Mighty Change of Heart".

• In Alma 5, Alma is in Zarahemla speaking to members of the Church. His question to them, "Have you spiritually been born of God?"
• John 20:22 states he 'breathes on them' meaning he gives them the Holy Ghost. This echos Genesis 1 & 2. We become alive as the Holy ghost comes into us.
• Mosiah 2:3 Service, Atonement
• Mosiah 4:1 Have mercy, apply the atoning blood of Christ.
• First, believe in Jesus Christ
• Second, Apply the Atonement
• Mosiah 4:3 Spirit came, filled with joy, peace of conscience
• Mosiah 5:2 Mighty Change of Heart (The heart was changed through faith in Him)
• Big bang conversion = Alma and Paul
• Steady state conversions = Sons of Helaman were taught by their mothers
• Oscillating testimony conversion = Little bangs along the way
• Alma 5:26 Can you feel so now?
• Conversion is an offering of self, of love, and of loyalty we give to God in gratitude for the gift of testimony. (Elder David Bednar, "Converted Unto the Lord, Ensign, November 2012)
• Ordinances put covenants into effect.
• Sacrament is the 'heart of the Sabbath'.
• Mosiah 4:11-12  Retain in remembrance
• Sincere Prayer
• Regularly participating in ordinances in Holy Places (Stand in Holy Places)
• Keeping sacred time - Sabbath and Holidays
• Feast on the word
• Uplifting music
• Christ-like Service

The concluding speaker was Mary Cook whose talk was titled "Living Your Circumstances".

• Circumstances - Events which change your life over which you have no control.
• Alma 17:5 Alma meets the sons of Mosiah. Their circumstances for the last 14 years were afflictions and suffering both body and soul
• 3 Principles: 1) Live Ye! (Ezekiel 18:32 Determine God's plan for you); 2) Live gratefully and 3) Life patiently
• Live Ye!
  - Look up - Focus on what the Lord would have your do
  - Focus on the opportunities the circumstances in your life provide
  - Trust in the Lord
  - Circumstances are not always our choice but we can choose how to respond to them.
• Life Gratefully
  - Key to happiness
  - What makes you happy: Think about a person; Write why; Call them and share what you wrote.
  - Happiness Journal
  - It is sufficient (Julie Beck)
• Live Patiently
  - Circumstances require time
  - Patient active waiting and enduring
  - Endure well (40 years for the children of Israel; 14 years for the sons of Mosiah; 70 years for the children of Israel in Babylon; Joseph Smith in Liberty Jail)
  - Charity Never Faileth. Forgive, forgive, forgive.

This was a very rewarding and uplifting use of my time.  Grateful for the opportunity to go. Look forward to going again in two years.