Swiss Days

Heading off the Swiss Days in Midway this morning. It’s tradition. Cathy’s birthday was a couple of days ago, so each year, we go to Swiss Days to celebrate. This year Brendalyn got off work and is joining us. I pick them up, then we head to Rich’s Bagels for a bagel smear and a big drink. That’s tradition.

Then we head to Midway, startling when we see some red or orange in the mountains near there. That’s tradition.

We park somewhere in a cow pasture and then shuttle to the packed town square. That’s tradition.

Then we move like cattle up and down all the venues...being careful to only look on one side of the aisles (we go up one side and then down the other)....self control is vital. We shake our heads when we hear husbands complaining because we know they should be left at home (we’d never take ours!) Babies crying are only natural...we’ve been there, done that, but please! Leave the strollers at home! They don’t navigate the grass or the crowds. Before we know it, it is lunchtime. We stand in line for a braut, sauerkraut, slice of homemade bread and a warm cookie and drink. Tradition. We know the Navajo Tacos are good but this is just once a year for the kraut.


Just wanted to leave one neat memory about Swiss Days. About ten years ago, I had a booth in Swiss Days. It is pretty hard to get in, but a friend and I (Sharon) went through the process, and were juried in. There are all sorts of details like your booth has to be fabulous and Swissy. That’s a lot of work. (And ours won a prize and an automatic in for the next year. We didn't take it!) Then they even like you to dress Swissy. More work. I had been working all summer on perfecting my wares....my specialty was sculpted Old World Santas, garden benches with dowels on the back that you changed for the season, and then a huge assortment of wooden dolls dressed funky, etc. The problem was, about a month before Swiss Days, when David and I flew to Guatemala to pick up Ryan from his mission, I about died on top of a pyramid. I thought my heart would burst out of my chest and it took 45 minutes for it to calm down, while I sat on top wondering how they were going to get my body off of a pyramid. I did get home, but continued to fail when I got home. It took a couple of weeks to figure out what was going on...I felt like I had been in a car wreck, my body felt bruised, and kept going nuts. Come to find out, I had thyroidities...like mono only in the thyroid. And it can cause thyroid storm- which means your heart bursts. So, I lived on beta-blockers for about 6 months. The problem is, beta blockers cut all emotion and put you in slow drive. Zombie land. And I had Swiss Days to do, and a million projects to finish up and no energy to even go about it. A couple of nights before d-day, the doorbell rang. About a dozen of my friends showed up, unannounced, and while I sat in zombie shock, they proceeded to finish all my projects, then packed me up, ready to go. Cathy went with me to Midway to help me set up, and we stayed in this glorious chalet place (Inn on the Creek) that was pure luxury. She worked her tail off for me. I never wanted to "do" Swiss Days again (and I doubt my friends would let me!)...but I always have a little lump in my throat whenever I think of the great service they did for me. How many times can I say....friends, they are the best!

True Love and Friend Love

First of all, Josh Groban. I love his music. I actually saw him the last time (his first concert in Salt Lake) he was here...when the venue was just 5,000 people. That small venue was his choice...he could have sold out the entire arena (Delta Center at the time.) It was so awesome and personal and he was just at the "beginning" of his "hotness." Can I say that he seems just the same. So likeable. So totally at ease and working hard to put on a good show. This was a concert that was filmed for a DVD release of Awake. He could have chosen any city that he has been touring to be the film version of this CD, but chose us. We didn’t let him down. It was a great evening. Although I’m not as crazy about "Awake" (as Closer)...I think he has grown up nice. And he did end with my favorite, favorite (everyone’s favorite) "You Raise Me Up."


Okay, that being said, EVEN better than getting to go to the concert, was, that my husband went out of his way to secure tickets for us to go. I asked him if I could get the firm suite when I first heard he was coming, like I did with the last concert, but it was immediately gone. So I just thought, "Darn"...and that was that. Apparently David heard some tickets for the suite were turned back in on Friday so he had been arranging it since then. And he could have called and said, "I got two tickets. Do you want to take Cathy or Brandi?" But he didn’t. He said, "Do you want to go with me?"
Yes. Double yes. He is even better than Josh Groban. True Love is better than singing about love.

And he even liked the concert although he thought it was too loud. I had to remind him it wasn’t as loud as Dixie Chicks loud. He agreed.

And what a great day today. Elaine’s birthday was Sunday (Cathy’s is today!) And I got to take her to lunch. And I’ve been so proud of myself for going almost a month without mentioning Harry’s...but gosh, she’s never been so I had to take her! And she loved it...but I think Harry’s will be short-lived in my book. They keep changing the menu and are going more in the sushi direction. I’m too old for sushi direction and I don’t love bottom of the aquarium bowl smells (sorry, sushi fans) so I just can’t go there. Tried that, didn’t love it. But my 4-year- old granddaughter loves the stuff. And half my boys. But we shared my favorites (the Harry’s Big Dip...french dip with shaved prime rib...and homemade fries...if you have forgotten) and prawns in an Aioli sauce. We were both in heaven. And we talked, talked, talked. Cried a little. Laughed a lot. We have so much history. She smacked me when I read that part of my tribute about Hanauma Bay. She accused me of only putting in the funny stuff about her, not me! But you hear funny about me all the time. Well, Lainey, at least I didn’t put in the part...when you and Rog were going to leave for the mission...and you were meeting with all the general authorities...and you picked up a picture in one of the offices and asked the general authority if it was a picture of his handicapped daughter! And it was actually of his wife! (that one didn't have a handicapped daughter...she got the G.A,'s mixed up as well) See, I didn’t tell THAT story (my favorite!) and I could have!

SURPRISE!!!

Serendipitous

Spur of the moment...

On a lark...

Out of the blue...

Unexpected...

Amazing

Astonishing

Fortuitous

Impetuous

Impulsive

Instantaneous

Startling

Stunning

Unanticipated

Unforseen

Unheralded

Unpredictable

Wonderful

Out of the ordinary

Different

Exceptional

Extraordinary

Uncomman

Sudden

Unanticipated

Unusual

Unforeseen

Random

Extemporaneous

Spontaneous

You know that man I’m married to. Who Cathy says is so predictable.
He called this afternoon for a date. Tonight. He was all of the above.
Can I just say I love that man!
Wow!!!

Vis-a-Vis

I mentioned that when we were young marrieds, Elaine and I wrote with a small group of friends. I did write some poetry, mostly funny, ala Judith Viorst, who was my favorite. When I started writing workshops, my instructor, of course, crucified it because it rhymed. Oh well. I still like it. (note: vis-a-vis means face-to-face)

Best Friends Vis-A-Vis

My best friend subscribes to House Beautiful;
Her hair style and clothes are strictly in vogue.
I, on the other hand, buy National Enquirer
And empty garbage in my old terry robe.
My best friend serves petit-fours for snack time;
I mix brownies straight from the box.
For dinner I serve Hamburger Helper,
She serves cheese, bagels and lox.

My best friend is an experimental artist,
She truly is avant-garde.
I am into experiments with fertilizer
Puttering around in my suburban yard.

My best friend had dalliances with musicians,
A cross-country skier and an actor named Raoul.
I, on the other hand, get compliments from the butcher
Or the crosswalk attendant at my first grader’s school.

My best friend is teaching me chanting;
I’m doing my best to help unclog her sink.
Our friendship’s unique, a study in contrast
Complete without envy...I think?


Marilyn Darley Williams

Girlfriend Tribute-Elaine Part Two

After Eric died, after Elaine started to heal a little, she started looking for something to fill the hole in her heart. She is a talented singer (contrary to the opera scales she was singing when I first met her!) and had a great role in Pirates of Penzance at the Capital Theater and loved musical theater but that lifestyle didn’t work really well with young children still at home and a husband serving as Bishop. So, she found another window and opened it and that window was poetry. Elaine and I had written together in a group a few years before but nothing serious. She started getting serious and, as I mentioned before, she IS my favorite poet. She’s had two books of poetry published, and started teaching poetry classes at Pioneer Craft House. She started buggin me to come back to writing but I still had a young-un. When Tanner started school, I was ready to go. I didn’t think poetry was really the kind of writing I had in mind but Elaine turned it into another love for me. She was a wonderful teacher and we made wonderful friends through the State poetry society.

Elaine and I have so many things in common, that we can share together, but our closeness in friendship had to be earned. If any of you have read the Color Code by Taylor Hartman, you’ll understand the problem- Elaine is a red and I am a blue. Fire and Water. Elaine was rather outspoken, and I would take things too personally. She could blow and be over something and I would harbor it within and let it fester. The Color Code really changed our lives (besides helping us understand and rear some of our boys!) We loved each other so much, we both took the book to heart and started interacting with each other differently. I love that book.

I missed her so much when Roger was called as a mission president in Long Beach, Calif. But I’m a letter writer and I traveled there to see her several times. It is great to have her home again, back into my life again. We thought that life would become less busy when we had our babies out the door, but that hasn’t been the case. Thankfully we see each other at Girl’s Night Out once a month and we continue to make great Lake Powell memories and our annual New Year’s Eve party with our group of couple friends. But we have to work for more than that. But that’s okay...some friendships are worth the effort!

Here’s a little p.s. that is about Roger. It is a funny story that I submitted to the Ensign and they published when they used to have a column called Mirthright.

Roger was the Bishop when his counselor was releasing during sacrament meeting, the RS president, Annette Burgess (now a member of the General YW board.) Roger wanted Annette to know that he really appreciated her so he got up to say a few words of thanks. But he ended with this: "You know, a couple of years ago when I called Annette into my office and called her as Relief Society president, she sat there and just sobbed. Then, yesterday when I called her in to release her, she sobbed again. It’s a typical male/ female relationship....I don’t know what to do to make that woman happy!"

Girlfriend Tribute- Elaine

Today is Elaine’s birthday so I thought I’d do a tribute to her. Our friendship goes back, to when our children were young and we raised them together. She is a self-described army brat who has lived all over- Germany, Japan, McLain,Virginia. She met her husband Roger at Utah State (he’s a Logan boy) and then her husband graduated from the U of U law school and they settled in Sandy. We happened to be driving through a new neighborhood under construction, and saw Roger out on the front lawn of their home. He and my husband had met earlier through law business so we pulled over and talked for a bit. He enthusiastically endorsed the neighborhood and took us around to the back yard to admire the view. It was a spring day and their back deck door was open and I was startled when I heard this almost operatic voice singing musical scales from inside the house. Loudly. Roger called for Elaine to come out...and she pops out to the deck with a bathrobe and curlers in her hair like a....I’m not sure what. Ta-da! I was speechless! Little did I know, this sassy little theatrical firebomb would become one of my dearest friends.

We moved in a few months later to a Ward that was huge and growing (over 950 people) when they divided it after 9 months. Roger was called as the Bishop and David as his 1st counselor, Art Richards as his 2nd. (I did a tribute about Art’s wife Cynthia earlier.) Roger is pretty much a ham and when he was introducing his counselors to the Ward, he said that he and David were both attorneys and sometimes on opposing sides....and if that were the case, he didn’t want David to have an more preparation time than he had!

I could write a book on our friendship....

We have owned a boat together forever...I guess this is our 3rd ski boat together. I was so worried about it because I thought it would ruin Elaine and my friendship, so, we decided early on to let the boys handle it. And they do. We have done a million ski trips to Powell, with our kids growing up and with couples. A lifetime of memories are told and retold and we laugh until we can hardly breath.

We used to travel a lot together....Puerto Vallarta, Hawaii, San Diego. We loved our San Diego trips...while the guys attended meetings, Elaine and I would rush to Seaport Village and always start the day with hot cocoa at the little bookshop there. We loved every little shop...the Mexican tile shop, the left-handers shop (and we’re not even left-handed), the shell shop. The first time Elaine went into that little shell shop, it just took her breath away. She later wrote a poem about it....saying that she must have been on the sea shell committee in heaven- she loves shells and the ocean so much. Elaine is probably my all-time favorite poet. I’ll talk about that later.

In Puerto Vallarta, we stayed the first time in a private villa...with our own swimming pool! We thought we had died and gone to heaven.The villa was called Garza Blanca. We laughed at the giant iguana that terrorized our sunbathing and the lizards that ran up our open-roofed showers, parasailed on the beach where “Night Of The Iguana” was filmed (circa our parent’s age...where Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton rendezvoused.), went on wild taxi rides up winding dirt, pot-holed roads when we thought surely we would die. Our crazy trip to Tijuana, Mexico where our husbands bartered like fools and I just wanted to give everyone all the money I had. All the little ragged children would beg “Miss, chicklets?” Roger tried on this huge leather coat but the Mexican assured him he would grow into it! And David bought a llama skin gun case, that smelled like you don’t know want to know what, when it got wet. And in one stall, hanging right next to Elvis, was Joseph Smith in velvet! It was a proud moment!

One of my funniest memories of our first trip to Hawaii was snorkeling at Hanauma Bay. We were pretty novice and all of a sudden, I saw Elaine thrashing and screaming, “Roger, help me! Help me! I’m drowning! I’m drowning!” She was hysterical (ala Helen Keller) ...and we kept yelling, “Stand up, Elaine. Stand up!” .....We were only in a couple feet of water! She had just gotten disoriented and went berserk. Good friends remember such things to bring up years later....
Elaine and I used to go with a group of friends to Women’s Conference and Education Week at BYU. It was a favorite thing. One year, after we got home, she called early the next morning to say she couldn’t remember the last time she had felt her baby move. She was almost full term. I was hysterical and urged her to run down to the local hospital for an ultra sound. About 15 minutes later I called her back and she was still at home, having breakfast. I went nuts until she said that if something were wrong, she wasn’t ready to handle it yet. She finally went. There was no heartbeat. Little Eric was gone. It about broke my friend. And we were so close, I thought I would break in two also. I learned a lot about grieving from that experience. I learned that not everyone grieves in the same way, for the same length of time. It took about 3 years before she was “normal” again. I mean functioning normal. Her heart still grieves as only a mother’s does.

Tanner was born shortly after... we had talked about how our “boys” would be best friends since our older sons were and the girls were close. It was awkward for me when Tanner was born, because I didn’t want it to hurt Elaine to be around him. But she was sensitive and begged me to not keep him away from her. But I do know that through the years, she has looked at him, what he was doing, when he started school, when he graduated and left on his mission and felt that tug. An interesting thing happened when Tanner was baptized. I was standing at the front of the RS room...maybe giving a baptism talk and I looked over and saw Eric standing in the corner of the room. My eyes popped wide open, and I caught my breath and I looked over at Elaine expectantly. She was like mouthing, “What? What?” and looking toward the corner. Then he was gone. Afterwards, I told her who I had seen. Instead of being happy, she was angry. Angry that she hadn’t seen him. It has always puzzled me why I had that experience until a few months ago. I shared that I ran into a friend at the store (CONNECTING WITH EACH OTHER )...kind of a little miracle in and of itself, and as we were talking, I asked her how she became friends with a certain person, Elizabeth. She shared a situation when Elizabeth brought her little girl to J.’s little girl’s party, and kind of stayed around and helped. After all had left, Elizabeth asked my friend if she had lost a little baby. J. replied yes. Then Elizabeth said, “Was it a little boy?” J. replied yes it was and asked why. E. said, “Because I saw him. He was here in this room.” That made my friend J. upset....who was this woman and why in the world would “she” see her little boy and not her! It really disturbed her like it did my friend Elaine. But J. taught me a beautiful truth. She said that she had come to realize that we are here to witness for each other, witness to each other. If J. or my friend Elaine had seen their babies, it could have been discounted as “a wishful mother’s imagination.” But E. and I saw these children! We really did! And we stand as witnesses to their mothers that they LIVE! They truly live for we saw them. Just a sacred, sacred experience!

And Elaine and I have witnessed many things for each other. When I went through a terrible post- partum depression ( before there was a “name” to the chemical imbalance) after one of my babies, Elaine would just show up at the door and throw her arms around me and hold me, as I’m sobbing, and tell me over and over I wasn’t going crazy. Because she had experienced post-partum earlier, she then could help and teach me. That is what women do for each other.

(Happy birthday, Lainey! Stay tune for part two tomorrow)

Just recipes

Yesterday was Ericka Olsen’s bridal shower. What a happy event! I took the chicken salad for the croissants and thought I’d post this recipe, then I don’t have to look for it each time, trying to figure out which cookbook I put it in. I like it because it is just enough different from the traditional recipes. The chutney and the little bit of curry is the key. It is always a hit.

Curried Chicken Salad

1 bottle Major Grey’s Mango Chutney (found by ketchup and chili sauce)
3/4 c. mayonnaise
2 tsp. Curry powder
5-6 boneless chicken breasts or 10-12 chicken tenders, cooked and diced
1 cup halved green or red seedless grapes
1 cup cashew pieces or ½ c. toasted almond slices
3/4 c. toasted coconut (opt.) (I didn’t put this in for the shower)

Mix the chutney, mayo and curry together. Mix the dressing with the chicken, stir in grapes. Stir in cashew pieces just before serving. This is great in pita pockets or croissants.


Another recipe that several people have asked me for and that I know read this blog, is the Chili Rellanos that I did the other night at the Dutch oven party. Although I made them in the Dutch oven over charcoal, you can just make them in your oven with a casserole dish as well. I served them with fresh pico de gallo )(chopped tomato, a little green onion, cilantro, a dab of olive oil) on the side, but I love guacamole and sour cream as well. And regular salad would be okay too.

Chili Rellanos Casserole

1 lg can whole green chillies, chopped into about 2 pieces (large bite size)
1 cup cheddar cheese
1 cup Monterey Jack Cheese (or I’ll use Colby jack)
1 can (13 oz) evaporated milk
3 tbs flour
4 eggs, separated
Salt & Pepper
Place ½ of chillies in bottom of greased casserole dish, cover with all of cheddar cheese. Top with rest of chillies. Cover with all of jack cheese. Beat egg whites until stiff. Beat yolks with flour, milk, salt and pepper in large bowl. Fold egg whites into yolk mixture. Pour over casserole. Bake in 325 Dutch oven for 45 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. (For ovens, I’d do 350 for ½ hour...don’t let it get too brown on the top.)

The Staircase

On the seventh day God rested. His grandchildren must have been out of town.
~Gener Perret~






Since I mentioned in my meme, my goal in 10 years is to have my staircase filled with my kiddo's names. This is half of my staircase. It has a landing, then turns and has another set. The first 8 kiddo's names on the steps, in birth order. The last 3 are on the other side. The pictures on the Red Rooster Cafe wall are off center because I plan to hang my framed book jacket on the right side. Hasn't happened for 2 years. I'm a little slow.

Just Answers

A new meme. They are good to do when you don’t have a ready subject come to mind. 

Yourself: Gotta get my act together

Your partner: I love him. I love him. I love him. I’ve been laughing because I just finished "These Is My Words." It’s so darn romantic and I was just swooning. Doesn’t every girl want romance?! So I had just finished the book when David came to bed. I complained, as we crawled under the cool sheets....that I needed to keep the French doors shut at night because, as I sleep on the side by the door, the mosquitoes were just eating me alive. To which David replied, "If I were a mosquito, I’d be all over you too!" Ah, my silver-tongued Captain Elliot.

Your hair: Short. Too short. Whenever I go to Johnna, and she gets talking on a subject that gets her riled, she just cuts and cuts and cuts. She was riled the other day.

Your mother: Cracks me up. It is awesome to have a mom that is a best friend too!

Your father: Still thinks of me as his sweetie pie. I love to go home and be the princess once again. Some things I can count on. When I call and he picks up, he'll say "Why hello, David." (caller I.D.) Before caller I.D. and his latest pick-up....I'd say, "Hi, Dad, this is Marilyn." and he'd say, "Marilyn who?" or he'll call to my mom and say, "Mother dear, our sweetie pie is on the phone and she'd like to talk to you." Aren't they great! I always thought everyone had parents as great as mine. I was surprised when I found out how few really do.

Your favorite item: Oh, I hate singular questions! I live in plural. I love my computer, my bathtub, my bed, my pillow, my new foot cream. And my cold water dispenser in the refrigerator. I love my fireplace in the winter. Oh, and for sure my digital camera. I take it everywhere.

Your dream last night: My dreams are so funny or juicy or delightful, I sometimes hate waking up, they’re just so darn fun. But last night? Can’t remember. Had too much to do this morning and was exhausted last night after the party so I think it was a dead sleep. The only thing I do remember is that I did see someone in it that caused me concern...and I need to call her today.

Your favorite drink: Again, I can’t do singular. I love Ovaltine Malt, hot chocolate (made with milk, not water) with a little French Vanilla stirred in it. I love Diet Coke with Vanilla. Of course I’d rather have real Coke but after making Root Beer last night, I don’t think I had better have the real thing. And I try to drink caffeine-free. And I love good lemonade. And limeade. And a root beer freeze. And a chocolate soda...not milkshake, but soda. (Well, I love milkshakes too!) And love, love, love cold water. With Sonic ice is even better. Anything is better with Sonic ice.

Your dream car: I don’t have a dream car. I am the ultimate non-car snob. If I had to go out into the grocery store parking lot and find my kids cars or Cathy’s or my parents...I would never find it. My friends talk cars and I could just care less. I don’t pay attention. But, with that being said, I insist on heaters in the seat, a multiple cd changer and any color but silver. Because we have a silver truck, and two other silver cars. I REALLY can’t find a silver (or white car) in the parking lot. I just don't pay attention enough to consider the details that makes one stand out from another. Oh, I do love good tires. Tires I don't have to worry about. That is a great blessing.

Your dream home: Gosh, I’ve already had it. I thought my heart would break to leave it, but guess what, I’m still alive. And this home, even though it is so much smaller, is just cozy enough for my hubby and I...plus family to visit. I miss a couple of rooms...a craft room. A huge food storage room. A place for everything. A huge laundry room. Oh wait, I'm not responsible enough for a huge laundry room. David loves this property so much and I’m so happy that he’s happy, and he was a doll to give me full rein with designing the remodel and decorating, so I’m pretty happy. I would always love more furniture.... I love to decorate...but I mostly love family and people to visit. That makes it great.

The room you are in now: the kitchen, with my tiny computer nookie.

Your fear: as mentioned in a previous post, that someday I’ll have a stroke or something, and be in a rest home and act gross or crude. Say bad words. Hurt people.

Where you want to be in 10 yrs: Hopefully in ten years, I’ll have all my kiddo’s married and David and I will have returned from a mission. All my stairs will be filled with my grand-kiddo’s names.

Who did you hang out with last night: David and about 38 other people at the Dutch oven party.

You're not: too self-disciplined.

Wish list items: for my son and parents to be in the Church. For Tanner (and Ben if he hasn't already) to find a wonderful girl that inspires him (them) to be his best. That all my kids can provide for their families. That life won't be so hard that they get pounded in the ground. That the kiddos can be strong enough in this difficult world. That my foot would heal (it is on its way). To travel some more. To write a good poem. To have the discipline to write a novel. Some chocolate right now sounds good.
World peace. (ala' Miss Congeniality)

Last thing you did: babysat the kiddo’s for about 1 ½ hours. I ran them a bubble tubby, then had to do hair when they got out. Then I painted 3 little girl’s toe nails and finger nails. Then I spent a great deal of time getting fingernail polish off of one’s body and clothes.

What are you wearing: Red Capri's, black top, black flip-flops. No jewelry.
Favorite weather: I love spring and fall the best. I love the relaxed atmosphere of summer and the mountains draped in snow. I don’t like the old winter that just drags and everything is muddy and dead and bland. I love the woodsmoke smell of autumn. I love the freshness of spring with everything coming alive.

Favorite book: Well, at the moment "These Is My Words." I can’t imagine a book surpassing that one for a long, long time.

Last thing you ate: peanut butter/blackberry jam sandwich with the girls.

Your life: about the richest I could imagine. With life, I won the lottery.

Your mood: Happy. Content. Restless. Tired. Excited. Relaxed. Remember I’m attention deficit so I change from moment to moment.

Your best friend: Well, after David and Brandi and Mother and all family-in no particular order....Cathy, Valene, Penny, Elaine, Debbie (a couple of Debbies), Elsa, Kathy W., Cynthia, Peggy, Brendalyn, Pretty Patty Petty.

What are you thinking about right now: That I need to run to the store to pick up items to finish the salads for the Single’s Ward activity before I go to the movies with Brendalyn (Becoming Jane).

Your car: A 2007 Jeep- don’t laugh, I had to think about what color it was for a moment! Really! How goofy is that?! It is a light khaki color. This has been my third Jeep in a row.

Relationship status: Happily-ever -after married.

What's on TV: Nada. Nothing. Not on. Not on a whole lot.

Last time you laughed: Well, I laugh a lot, but my biggest laugh was when I got the "out of controls" two Sundays ago during dinner, right when I was drinking chocolate milk, and sprayed everyone at the table. I won’t tell what happened after that......

Odds And Ends

Gosh, we had the best party last night....a great turnout...a few people called regrets at the last minute but a few others called and said, "Is it too late for us to come?" so it all worked out perfect. We had young’uns (the newly-wed kids in the Ward) and the old’ums...that would be the rest of us! It is funny because Kevin (Cathy’s son/Tanner’s best friend) and his wife, Lori, are part of the young-uns now! That was cool. We just visited and shared and ate and ate and ate. The food was fabulous...the Moreton’s did really yummy dishes as well as the ones I did. And I forgot how much I love homemade root beer. Several have never made it before and it is so easy:

Homemade Root Beer
5 gallons of water
5 lb. sugar (don’t tell anyone!)
5 lbs. of dry ice
1 bottle of root beer extract

Don’t mix it in an aluminum pan. A 5- gallon drink container works great. It needs to "root" about 30-45 minutes before drinking.

Ryan called from Guatemala just after we finished cleaning up from the party so it was awesome! They are having a great time (although Elijah has been the hardest...he’s two - the one I had said I would keep if they wanted to leave him at home...but he’s doing okay, not just great.) They’ve spent two days helping at the orphanage, plus hit several Book of Mormon sites. It has been rainy but not buggy so that’s okay. They fly back to LA on Sunday, I think and will be home on Tuesday. Safe and sound, I hope.

This morning is art class with Arlo. I haven’t painted with him for a while...so that will be nice. Brandi has one patient she needed to see today so I’ll have the kiddo’s for just a little bit. Heh, I just had a happy thought. Brendalyn has the day off today so she’s coming to paint in a little while (she works at Zions), so I’m going to talk her into going and seeing "Becoming Jane" in the afternoon. We were going to go tomorrow but I can’t wait. I’ll try and not make myself sick on popcorn again.

Cousin Casey (with Tanner on the committee) is in charge of the big super activity for the single’s ward. They are going tonight to camp at Deer Creek Resevior. Last night was the big shop so after the party, I came upstairs and found all the tables covered with boxes and boxes of food. I told Casey I would make all the pasta salads for the dinner and then I’m making chicken salad for Erica’s (my BF Cathy’s daughter) bridal shower in the morning (brunch). I’m so happy for her! She’s waited for her prince charming a long time (she’s 30) and he’s just a doll! So today is a cook day- I love it! But I’m hoping a movie day as well!

Random Thoughts

1. "These Is My Words"- possibably one of my favorite all-time books! Thank you, Heidi and Sophia for recommending it! The first couple of chapters, I kept thinking, "I don't really think I'm going to love this book:...and then,you were both right! Oh my! Oh my! Oh my! I cannot pick up another book until I get caught up with my B o M studies. I would make deals with myself...I cannot read until I do my B o M studies, I cannot read until I do 3 batches of laundry. I cannot read until I work in the yard for an hour. I cannot read until my kitchen is spotless! Ha! Double ha!

2. Tonight I am having a kick-off to our "Creative Cooking" focus group of which I am chair. We took off June and July, and tonight we have invited husbands for Dutch oven cooking. I think we have about 40 people coming. We'll do it in the backyard, and of course, I see big rainclouds in the sky! This house is so much smaller than our last, so if it rains, we might be in the pool greenhouse (which drips when it rains)....yikes! David's parting words this morning were "Well, at least it won't be so hot." Good point. Thankfully we have a darling young couple in the Ward (she's one of my favorite people), Kristy and Kevin Moreton, who are Dutch oven gurus. I do quite a bit myself but it will be nice to not have all the pressure on me. They are doing roast (which is so delicious) and a breaded chicken dish in gravy (sounds low-fat and delicious!) and another dish I can't remember. I am making the potatoes (potatoes, bacon and onions) that is our family's favorite, and two kinds of dessert. I'll post one of the recipes here (remember, you can do any of these in your stove or a regular dish.) I'm thinking, if I get my work done (and I probably will now that I am done with that darn (fabulous) book, maybe I'll do homemade root beer....and have a big tub of icy water bottles. I got western vinyl tables cloths and matching paper plates, etc. Little kids cowboy hats for centerpieces, you know- the whole western theme. Looking forward to getting this party started! (And thank you, Maureen, for sharing fabulous recipes! This one is hers.)


Coconut Mounds Cake 
12 inch D O 24 Charcoal Briquettes / 16 on top - 8 on bottom = 350º
1 package Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe German Chocolate Cake Mix
1- 8 ounces cream cheese
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 whole, large egg
3/4 cup chocolate chips
3/4 cup coconut

Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.

Bake in a 12 inch Dutch Oven that has been coated with Pam or other vegetable release spray.
Prepare cake mix following directions for Basic Recipe.
Combine cream cheese, sugar and egg and mix until smooth. Stir in chocolate chips and coconut.
Pour cake batter into prepared pan and drop spoonfuls of filling onto cake (4 spoonfuls across and 6 spoonfuls down), using all of the filling.
Bake 40 minutes or until cake springs bake. Remove pan from oven and cool on rack.
Cook with 24 charcoal briquettes-- and 16 coals top 8 coals bottom to equal 350º

3. Yesterday Debbie Stowell and I went to BYU Education week. We just attended 4 classes with lunch inbetween (when I got to see my dear friend, Joy, from Colorado and visit). The classes were good...nothing that I was standing on my head for. I used to "live" for education week when I was younger. But, I think, because we live in a mecca of wonderful teachers and available CES classes, and I've attended Michael Wilcox for years and years through CES and others (like Judith McConkie), and also have raised my kiddo's so I have a clue about what works and what doesn't, and I have taken so many classes on all the scriptures.....I don't have this vaccuum to be filled. But you can always learn something new and I had a few sparks. One class that I attended...the speaker was a man that I dated as a young man (correction....HE was the young man, not me!)....and wrote to his entire mission! I have never seen him since then (he came home right as David and I were deciding to get engaged)...but I kept his letters since he changed my life. They were filled with great wisdom and poetry. He was really my greatest spiritual influence for those two years, when it was a difficult time for me...and we shared a love of words and he really taught me so much about the gospel. I never thought I could marry him because I thought for sure he would be a General Authority someday. And he still probably will be. I didn't go up and re-introduce myself. It was just nice to be there. And silently whisper, "Thank you." And come home to my husband that I adore. I chose right. Deb and I had a great time...chattering all the way there and back, telling our life stories. Friends are the best!

To My Favorite Son-in-Law

Today is my favorite son-in-law Ryan’s birthday. Actually he’s the only son-in-law I have but he’s still my favorite (just as I’m his favorite mother-in-law) We’ve known Ryan since he was a little boy. Probably about 7-years-old. We lived in the same neighborhood for many years. I visit taught his mother and she was like a mentor to me. His dad is a riot but I could hardly look at him for years, because he looked just like an old boyfriend! Ryan was a tail-ender baby...I called him an "opps baby" and he didn’t know what I was talking about...leave it up to me to tell him that so he went to his mom and said, "Wasn’t I planned?" Surprise! Sorry, Ryan! But they called him their bonus baby. He was about ten years after the last sibling and Ryan’s oldest sister is closer to my age. Ryan used to come to our house and play basketball with all the guys in the neighborhood and he remembers chasing Brandi all around but she just thought he was annoying. His older brother, Gordie, was our hometeacher and he was a star basketball player at Alta and I just adored him. One day I said to Ryan’s mom, "I wonder if Gordie could just wait until Brandi grew up (12 years difference) so they could get married?" To which Raye Dean answered, "Well, I think that is a little too long...but she could always marry Ryan." To which I thought, "Over my dead body!" You see, I was Primary president when he was a Blazer and he (and all the other boys his age) were always just swinging from the rafters! When Brandi was a sophomore and Ryan a senior, I used to ask about him. I knew he was a cute senior boy. But Brandi always replied, "Oh, he a wild boy....I’d never go out with him!" I have all this video, from youth conferences (because then I was Stake YW president) showing Ryan and Brandi on the same teams or whatever and they were oblivious to each other. Another favorite video was at the State football championship Ryan’s senior year....they took State...and here was Ryan, with shaved head with most of the football players, jumping around and Brandi in the same scene, a cheerleader, right in the same scene...at the big win....oblivious! But the moms kind of suggested maybe they would just like to go out for fun (after his mission to Puerto Rico when he wasn’t a wild boy anymore)...and that’s all it took. He made her laugh. He really is a clown! So, over my dead body, wedding bells rang! We love him! He makes us laugh! Happy birthday, funny boy!

OFFENSE

Yesterday I received a request from a friend, for advice concerning a problem she was facing. It had to do with someone called to a counselor position in their bishopric, that she is struggling with. There is past history, especially with his wife. Their actions and conversation aren’t always appropriate. Maybe even offensive. She was at a loss as to why this was happening and how she should or could handle it. With her permission, I will post my reply, especially since in thinking about it, I realized how many situations I have never recorded before. But they were all great learning opportunities for me.


Dear Friend-

First of all, let me just say, of course you can and will do this...and not just do this but you will look back (however much later) and realize that it was a turning point for you. And you won't trade what you learn. That being said, I know, I promise you that I know, exactly what you feel like....

So this is what I have learned (and "am" learning):

I was serving as the Stake YW president in a former Stake. My husband was serving as gospel doctrine teacher. We had 3 men in our Ward that suddenly, because of their great study and "intellect", received further light and knowledge....and proceeded to try and show us (the Ward and Stake) the errors of our ways. One had felt like he had received a vision, a "window" had been opened up with insight that he was to preach. It was during Pres. Benson's time....and his exhortation to read the Bk of Mormon each day with our families (sound familiar?)....and they knew, that Pres. Benson knew, what they knew. That the message of the Bk of M. was this: We are to live in a common society, with no rich and no poor...and our Ward and Stake (including our Stake President, who was quite wealthy) was going to be damned for whatever we "keep." I know it must seem like such a small thing but every Sunday after church, these men would drop off further "documentation" supporting their cause to us at our home, and would huff and puff all through Sunday School, sabotaging lessons, always drawing any discussion back to their agenda. David just rolled with it but I was deeply affected by these men. Their actions were so intense and targeted at us (because David was teaching, I suppose and was a past bishopric member) and they were working on other couples as well. Several times, I remember sitting in the Stake offices, so upset, while the counselor over me tried to calm me down.

About a year later (all the while this was going on), our Ward needed a division. Pres. Dahlquist, Heather's dad and our Stake President, specifically asked for me to attend another Ward's meeting instead of our own. I was a little bummed because I wanted to be in our Ward to see who our new bishopric would be. Pres. Dahlquist was going to be out of town, and the counselor called me about something else and when I mentioned it, he said, "Oh, just go to your own Ward." I really wanted to but then I figured I should do what Pres. Dahlquist asked me to do (although there didn't really seem to be any reason except be there for Stake support.) Well, it was a good thing, because one of these men was called as the new counselor in my home Ward. If I had been there, I know I would have burst into tears and caused a scene and surely would have had to vote not to sustain him. I was hysterical and confused when I heard. Finally I ended up back at the Stake offices with my dear counselor. He taught me a lesson I have never forgotten. He said (although I knew it before), that people aren't called to callings simply because they are righteous servants, or that they would do the best job. He said that sometimes God gives callings to people "because of their shortcomings"...and sometimes as a last ditch effort to save them. It was really an "ah-ha" for me...and even caused me to re-evaluate some of my own callings, when maybe I was being "saved." I think of Enoch in the Pearl of Great Price...and how he became so disgusted with all the wickedness in the world and asked God why he didn't just wipe us all out. But then he was exposed to, and finally understood God's great love for each of us "individually" and then Enoch "got it." If this person was enough for Christ to lay down his life and atone for, surely he is enough to be given a great chance to grow and learn. He may or may not change his behavior. That really isn't the point. The point is, God loves him and his family so much, he wants to give them the "chance" to change! And who was I to stand in the way of that opportunity? So, I took off my rose-colored glasses, and realized, once again, what I know, that the church is made up of imperfect people. Even, sometimes leadership in the church.

We once had a bishop, a new man that moved into the Ward and I received a confirmation by the Spirit before he was called, that he would be our new bishop. I was the Ward YW president at the time, and at the first ward party, he came up to meet me, and asked me what was planned for the joint activity commemorating the Aaronic priesthood organization. I told him frankly, that we (the YW) had done the last several activities and I thought the Young Men should plan this one and we would do whatever they assigned us to do.....and I was promptly released. I actually was okay, surprised, but okay with it....the gal they called was one of my advisors...the poorest in the bunch...she ended up having an affair with someone and running off and abandoning her family. I remember thinking or reflecting, "What was up with that?" During the years after we left, the bishop actually started getting bizarre... people would call me up and say, "You won't believe what he said today!" Things like telling people they would be damned if they used birth control, etc. That would have been a struggle but my advice was, maybe there were some people who needed a stern talking to, but for the most part, we each have the responsibility when we hear something that doesn't set quite right, to kneel and pray for understanding, and ask what HF would have us do. The bishop, after his almost full service, ended up leaving the Church and his family, coming out of the closet and then went on national television as the "President of the LDS church of Gays." It does make you question the purpose of his calling to that sacred calling, and it helped that I knew I had that confirmation when he was called. In retrospect, I realized that HF was giving him a big chance to change his life. Unfortunately, he did a lot of damage to testimonies....that relied on the misconception that all leaders are divine.

One last story. When we first moved to this Ward, 17 years ago, I was immediately called as Young Women's president AGAIN! That was fine, but I actually went into a 3-year depression (that I will share about another time) and was a little loopy in private, fully functioning in public. We had lived here a year when a member of the bishopric asked to come over. He did and reported that my son's quorum teacher had "had" it with T. and didn't want him in his class anymore. He said that T. had "jumped all over the teacher's prized- restored automobile, causing severe damage" among other things. We were horrified but T. seemed clueless. I was also surprised and upset...since David and I had spent the past 13 years working with Young Men and Young Women.....and remembering that my first night as YW's president in the last ward (serving before the gay bishop was called), I had one of my young women punch out a young man...they used the "f" word over the pulpit, climbed out of the windows during lessons and climbed up on the roof of the church running around...one girl had a sexual disease.....yikes! But did we EVER tell someone they couldn't come? Never!

So, we marched over with the counselor to the teacher's home with our son. Well, the teacher hemmed and hawed around....when we said we'd pay for the damage, ( we then learned, that T. and two other boys had just sat on the hood....no jumping) and he thought the hood had buckled in and out...and no one else could see the damage but he knew it was there. Every accusation turned out not to be what we were told. Through this man’s anger, we realized that this man had lost control of his class and thought our son was the ringleader.......or least someone to blame.
Anyway, I was already down and out with the Ward.....and I was so offended by not just the teacher (who I was REALLY angry with) but the counselor who had reacted so poorly and came to us with misinformation. I remember crying and crying, why did we move here, what is wrong with these people, we have served and served and now we get this....you know, all those things. And I was desperately lonely and needed a friend. So I prayed and prayed and poured out my heart to God about the injustice of it all and how I needed a friend to get me through.....And the RS changed my visiting teachers the following week....and one was the wife of the teacher! I couldn't BELIEVE IT! I felt like HF had let me down AGAIN!

...but then, I went to my knees. HF knows that eventually that is where I end up. I have to throw a little tantrum and cry and carry on, until I get humbled enough to start to listen. I started praying for this man and his wife. I prayed to love her. And I did. And as we became friends, she confided in me the personal problems her husband was having and challenges they were facing. Come to find out that his tantrum wasn't about T. at all, he was just falling apart and T. was his release. It would make an okay ending for me to just understand that and move on. But that is not the end of the story. Because I prayed and prayed for this man and came to love his wife, and she me, hearts changed all around.....and 9 years later, when T. left for his mission, that man, his former teacher, was at the airport to send him off. The whole thing just amazes me.

Inappropriate people. Absolutely. All wards have them. Wives of leaders talking out of school, maybe even leaders doing and saying inappropriate things. Happens all the time. What I am learning is this. Let them be a lesson to me, to you, that we never indulge in that behavior. My sweet cousin, Heather's mom, Zella was a great example to me in a bad situation. We had one of those retreats (that you're thinking you're missing!) that went sorely astray. Someone in charge of the "entertainment" chose to do something totally inappropriate and offensive. I was riding in the car with Zella and others the next day, driving home and immediately, the conversation went to what had happened. Zella, very firmly, stated that the activity was truly unfortunate and then changed the subject in such a way that we knew the subject was closed. I was SO IMPRESSED and learned a great lesson from a great lady....that we need to protect even the guilty. That we should never include our comments in conversation that is destructive about others, even if they have acted inappropriately.

So, my advice to you is this....you know you were called to your calling for a purpose. You know what that is, having already received many testaments to that privately. Now, it is time for you to "bloody your knees"....as I like to call it. I know you have, I know you have cried the tears and have questioned why. And that is okay and normal...you're going through a grieving period and that is okay. For however long it takes. HF is very patient and He knows you'll eventually get to the point that Enoch did....when he started looking at the world through God's loving eyes, suddenly he started feeling differently. I know I did. It didn't happen over night. But when it happened, I felt a great burden lift...when I realized I wasn't in charge of the world, much less staffing the Ward. And that not only does HF love these other, sometimes inappropriate individuals, so, so, so much, he also loves me enough to offer me the balm to heal my confusion and hurt.
Whew! Didn't mean to talk your ear off, but I hope these examples help. I think you have already laid your concerns at your Bishop's feet. And that is well and totally appropriate. He can decide if maybe the counselor's responsibilities could be shifted. Or maybe they don't need to be. Maybe, with your new confidence with the Lord, things will just work out just fine. You and Heavenly Father can do that, armed with new love.

But that doesn't mean today, if you need another good cry, you have to stifle it. Just have a good cry...if I were there, I would offer to slap you across the face...that is what I tell my friends...sometimes I just need someone to slap me, ala Steel Magnolias, to get out some emotion. Then you start healing......

I really, really feel, that forgiveness is about the biggest thing I've been learning in the past few years. I need to 'get over' the offensives that people have assaulted me with....that I have carried like burdens on my spirit. It is hard work but so worth it. I realize the the atonement and the scripture, "as you forgive others, you will be forgiven" go hand in hand.
xo M.

Happy Birthday, Rylee!

Rylee turns 5 today...I think she is 5 going on 16. High School Musical is her favorite show and went to a High School Musical II party this weekend. I saw part of it on television....David came in to see what in the heck I was watching....and I filled him in that this was our granddaughter’s obsession. Tonight she is going to a musical production of the first one at the Draper Theater. Whoa! I don’t want her being enthralled with a teenage-ie kind of movie. But she is. What’s a grammy to do? There are so many things I love about Rylee...she always cracks me up and she has the best belly laugh I’ve ever heard. She’s a fish in the pool and swimming is one of her favorite things to do. They lived with us until she was 3 ½ years old and it about broke my heart when they moved out. But we all survived and now we’re just a fun place to visit.

Yesterday was nice. Debbie S. and I were in the nursery together. She brought me a present....her little granddaughter, Emma, has made a CD that just came off the presses. It really is so precious! I love Debbie. I’ve mentioned before that she was my councilor when I was RS president, but years before that, she was Young Women’s president and I was the Laurel leader so we got to do all the Laurel activities together which was so fun. We only had 3 of our little punkins yesterday, so it was a little quieter and we could relax a little more and talk. We shared about answers to prayers and I shared my little experience with my foot last week....I just mentioned briefly about waking up and it was so inflamed and going nuts....and how I had prayed to Heavenly Father for relief....and, just like that.....He took the pain away. I remember looking up and just saying, "Oh!" Debbie then shared how she hadn’t received a letter from her son two weeks ago (he’s serving in the Baltic Seas mission) and was worried because she always gets an email from him on a certain day. Her married son said that he had received one and she wondered why she hadn’t. Then she learned he had been quite sick. And the second week came and no letter. She was really starting to get worried (us moms....that’s what we do best!), then kind of broke down to the Lord. She reminded him of how hard they had worked to get him out on his mission, and what a good boy he was, and how she was trying so hard to do what is right and she really needed to know that He was alright.....you know how we mothers plea.... She said, she had no sooner said "Amen" than her computer chimed, "You’ve got mail." That fast. That perfect timing. Just little, quick answers to prayers but then we talked how the big ones don’t come that fast. It is easy to be discouraged but I realize that these little evidences of God’s love and attention to these little prayers, reminds me that He is there and I hang on to those during the big crisis. He really is there and involved in our lives. I have a testimony of little things.

David’s and my talks went well yesterday. It is always so much fun to speak there. The kids are great. I ended my talk with one of my favorite anecdotes.

A man looked out over the world, and saw all the destruction and chaos and man’s inhumanity to man, and all the troubles and trials and sorrows and finally he fell to the earth and cried, "God, how can you look upon all of this and do nothing?" And then God replied, "I did do something. I made you."

Sunday

It is Sunday morning and I’ve been busily preparing a talk for the Single’s Ward today about the Joy of Service. As you know, from my past reports, serving has been on my mind. And I realize that whenever I get a handle or think I get a handle on a certain principle, Heavenly Father then gives me a bump...something that startles me into realizing that I don’t know as much as I think I know, and He has more to teach me. I think I have learned some valuable lessons in the past couple of months about service...and I am humbled to the core, and thankful for His guidance- even His rebuke, in wanting me to be and become a better person. I would share my talk here but as I looked through it, most of what I plan on saying, I have shared here in the past 6 months since starting this journal. So much has been a reflection of Elder Busche’s quote, where my blog name "Constant Growing Amazement" comes from...that I have repeated over and over here because it means so much to me.
That truly-

When we consistently follow the Holy Spirit, in a continuous, constant spirit of prayer, the world of miracles is open to us now, in this life. A life of adventures, of constant, growing amazement, of surprising vision, of new aspects of life, of new dimensions of joy and peace will be the consequence.
Elder Busche "The Only Real Treasure"

And I am, truly, constantly amazed.....

Last night, FINALLY, we were able to go out to dinner with Kirk and Cathy. And of course, we talked about the mine disaster. I can’t believe that we have been friends forever (when I was called as her Visiting Teacher) and although I know she lost a brother about 10 years ago, I had forgotten that it was a mining accident as well. Because both of them are from Orangeville, they have been affected by the mining community. Kirk said that they realized, that they have lost family members (between them) in every mine in the counties of Emery and Sanpete since the early 1900's, beginning with Kirk’s Great-great-grandfather and 3 sons who died in a mining disaster. Poor Cathy, who has lost both her parents in the last 5 months...and is still grieving, now is faced with this very sad reminder of her brother as well. Her (ex) sister-in-law, widowed by the accident ten years ago, ended up marrying his best friend, who has graciously helped raise their 6 children. He was actually the head of the second rescue team that intended to go into the current mine after the first crew went in the other day and lost more people. Can you even begin to imagine the terror that she was feeling...that any of these people are feeling? And yet, as my sweet friend, Marilyn B (or Mama Bawden) reminded me, in her comments yesterday, that prayers are needed here, in China and elsewhere and Ann S. reminded me that prayers are needed in Jamaica, as they prepare for the hurricane, and ...... and I know we all have personal sorrows and needs. I’m so glad that Heavenly Father’s arms are so large, so long, they can fit around each of our needs.

We have a wonderful sister in our Ward, Ruthie...that I love. She succeeded me as Ward RS President and was recently released. Before she was the RS President, she led our choir...and one time I was so moved, by the singing, but also mesmerized by her long beautiful arms leading the music. This is the poem I wrote for her that day.

HEAVENLY CHOIRS
Sister Spangler leads the choir
with long, flourishing arms.
Her hands have celestial powers
as she draws music from young men.
Her army of boys fidgets in unison
in Sunday armor of pressed shirts,
uncomfortable ties.
The young women sing parts.
They sing like angels.
I picture them all as that Heavenly Choir
that rejoiced at the Savior’s birth.
Sister Spangler would have been dressed
in iridescent white,
her robes draping the earth
like cumulus clouds.
The young men stood tall, their armor bright.
Light shines from the young women,
faces illuminated by the new star.
Sister Spangler gathers all the notes
of heaven with those wonderful arms.
I love her arms. They remind me
of God’s arms,
long enough to touch eternity,
yet encircle each of us
with love.

Marilyn Darley Williams

Five Things on My Mind Friday Night

1. First of all, more death at the mines. I talked to Cathy (she’s been in Sun Valley...we haven’t seen each other FOREVER! But we’re going out with hubbies Sat. night!)....she’s been trying to get a hold of relatives in the area but hasn’t heard who the dead are yet. So heartbreaking! I wish they would FIND THEM! And that no one else would get hurt! Cathy’s cousin’s son is Brandon Phillips. Sad, sad, sad.

2. Elvis has come and gone. Again. I wasn’t a big fan. I have never purchased an Elvis record but I’m sure I saw most of his movies. Just didn’t do it for me. But Flo was a HUGE fan so I kind of had a moment of silence. Flo is one of my alter-egos. She came alive awhile back when I was visiting teaching a lady who was a little depressed. Kay loved mysteries so, unbeknownst to her, I created a "mystery" for her. We live in a Ward that travels a lot, so I started writing Kay letters from someone named Flo, married to Bubba, who had an obsession with Elvis. Flo, that is. Of course, Kay didn’t know who in the world this person was, but she received (as well as my parents and Cousin Casey’s mom, Pat, since I figured they all needed some excitement in their lives) letters from around the world, chronicling Flo and Bubba’s adventures. They all received bizarre letters (okay, I thought they were funny!) and a postcard from where they were mailed from-Mexico, Rio, Paris, etc. My friends are all good sports. I sent the letters for at least a year (Pat would go nuts whenever she would get a letter and take them to work and read them to everyone....Casey would say, "It’s got to be Aunt Marilyn" and Pat would say, "No, she doesn’t have time for that! Someone must have gotten them off the Internet...." Cousin Casey is such a bright boy.) I quit writing them, when Travis left or came home from his mission, because at the open house, Pat came armed with her many letters. She read them to a whole crowd in the dining room, and my mom walked by....alarmed when she heard Pat reading "her" letters! I didn’t fess up to anything but thought it was time Flo and Bubba took a sabbatical......ok, I admit it....I’m a little offbeat. Maybe I’ll start sharing the "Flo and Bubba chronicles here......) (And, Mom, if you’re reading this...surprise!!!)

3. Sabra Johnson won "So you Think You Can Dance!" Yeah! I thought that Lacey Schwimmer would win....and although I loved her brother, Benji, last year’s winner, and although she probably is of the same faith, I thought her costumes were absolutely horrid. The outfits are such an issues with me. Last year, one of the finalists was Allison Holker, from Orem. Same thing. And she was such a doll......AND, I dated her father (and cooked for her father) at Ricks, AND her mother and I were roommates. So I was disappointed when she dressed more immodestly than most of the other dancers! Sabra is from Roy, Utah. Utah grooms great dancers. Well, except for David and I. We’re not so hot.

4. Diet and exercise. I’m thinking about it. Thinking about it makes me panic. I love food and hate exercising! What’s a girl to do? If Cathy were in town, I’d make her go out to lunch with me! But she’s not, so I guess I’ll go brush the cobwebs off the treadmill, then swim a little. Not a lot, mind you, a little. And I have to wear flip-slops on the treadmill, because, my foot has issues....I hope I don’t break my leg, because, well, I don’t like hospital food.....

5. I hated finishing Eclipse. I’m in love with Edward (because I love integrity and nice), can’t really see that many redeeming qualities in Bella, and Jacob smells like a dog. For any fans, go to Stephanie Meyers website. She has a chapter of a book that she’d like to publish someday, as a companion to Twilight. It is the first chapter of Twilight written in Edward’s viewpoint. Better than Twilight. I don’t dare pick up another book to read, since this trilogy got me SOOO far behind in my B of M studies....but I have "These Is My Words" and "Thirteenth Tale" waiting in the wings. I love the B of M, I do, I do, I do....but I can’t sit down and read it in 3 days.

Tow-Heads in Guatemala

One of my favorite Walter Rane's pictures- "He Is Not There."
My son, Ryan, and his entire family are heading to LA today to fly out to Guatemala on Sunday. Another group will join them on Monday. Ryan has led Book of Mormon tours for years and although he doesn't do that full time anymore, he keeps his foot in the door because his real love is to do tours combined with humanitarian work. I've been thinking back to when Ryan was first called to serve his mission there...the great fear I had about him going. And there was reason to fear...the country was just coming out of a civil war and the guerrilla's still carry on much damage there. I think he had been there two weeks, when the bus he and his companion were on, was held up at gunpoint (machine guns) and all the people were ordered off the bus, then the bus was set on fire. That wasn't guerrilla warfare but a protest of some kind. Then, about two years ago, Book of Mormon tours (headed by Dr. Joseph Allen, who Ryan worked for), had a tour bus held up and robbed and one fellow from Ogden was killed and Dr. Allen headbutted with a rifle. That actually was suppose to be Ryan's tour but Ryan had just quit so Dr. Allen was there in his place. (also see Happy, Happy Birthday, Ryan, Dear... )

So, how do I feel about Ryan taking his entire little family there? I'm not sure. I would go in a heartbeat (actually, Tanner and I were planning on going with them this time but I backed out at the last minute for other reasons)..but it still makes me nervous. Guatemala is a land of contrasts...it is so beautiful, it is so depressed. It is holy, it is wicked. It is filled with Book of Mormon sites....Lake Attilan is where most scholars think the waters of Mormon are. It is the most amazing lake, surrounded by, I think, twelve volcanoes (named for the twelve apostles, ironically enough). It is actually their main destination since that is where an orphanage that Ryan helps sponsor is located. http://www.safehomesforchildren.org/ (you can click on this site and see the orphange and take a tour.) The orphanage is called "The House of Zion" or "Casa de Sion." They are taking down 50 backpacks of supplies and have to leave at least that many at home. Ryan has taken down some interesting groups....he took Chris Heimerdinger down for research for his "Nephite and Tennis Shoes" books. He took the wonderful LDS artist, Walter Rane and musician Sam Cardon. Walter did a book , "By the Hand of Mormon: Scenes from the Land of Promise" and Sam a CD that went with it, filled with beautiful BoM images. Sam even has a dedication to Ryan on the CD.

You can find Walter's work in most Ensigns. And it is cool, because Ryan can identify many of the people in his paintings, from people that Ryan knows and had pose for him.

It's awesome because Marci went to Paraguay on a mission so she speaks fluently and they only speak Spanish in their home so the kids are bilingual (well, Elijah is only two and then Noah, a two-month-old baby!) They attend a Spanish ward (Ryan used to be in the Bishopric...he was released a couple of months ago) so their comprehension is very good. Joshie attends a charter school (he's just going into second grade) that has Spanish immersion, and corrects the teacher's grammar (whoops!) When I speak Spanish to him, he just rolls his eyes! When I read a book to Heidi (age 4) in Spanish, she giggles the whole way through. One of my hidden talents is that I memorized the first dialogue page from freshman Spanish and can recite it on demand (there is very little demand, I might add.) So, if the conversation is about "Hello, how are you? Very well, thank you. How's your family? Good, except Louisa has a cold. Lo siento!" I'm in business.

So, I'm thinking lots of prayers are in order. They have been down before with just Josh and Heidi. They went down a few Christmases ago. It was Joshie's first plane ride, and when they were up high above the clouds, Josh looked out the window and asked, "Where's Jesus?" 

Well, hopefully He's with them this entire trip, looking out for my sweet family whose hearts are so good.

Girlfriends Tribute- Cynthia

When we moved into our second home, the home where we did most of the raising of our children, it was a huge, growing, young Ward. Roger Christensen was called as Bishop and my husband was first counselor and the second counselor was Art Richards. Since we didn’t really know each other, we decided to go to the temple as a bishopric activity. That was really the first time I met Cynthia Richards. I remember coming out of the dressing room and Cynthia giving me the"look over", then she said, "I don’t know if it matters to you or not, but your dress is on backwards!"

And that was the beginning of our best friendship! Cynthia was the person that everyone wanted to be best friends with. She was a fabulous cook, gardener and party planner extraordinare. She was the person who saw the need and just DID it. Together we were a team. Every day was an adventure with Cynthia. She is who I need to be around when I take myself too seriously. She can poke fun at me with a smile. When she and her family moved back to Portland, I thought my heart would break. Really, I sobbed like she had died. For years, we talked long distance either daily or several times weekly. Then monthly. Then a couple times a year. But it didn’t matter. I always knew as soon as she picked up the phone, we would be back to where we once were. She’s that kind of friend.

The best thing is 2 and ½ years ago, my parents moved to Battleground, WA. which is just outside of Vancouver, WA. which is just over the bridge from Portland. So when I go and see my folks, Cynthia either picks me up at the airport and we play for a day or we’ll meet halfway. We didn't get together this time, but just talked on the phone because sometimes my mom doesn't like to share! (I wonder where I get that from?) Cynthia knows every fabulous place to eat, every unique store, where to find anything you've never seen before. My first visit to her, before my parents moved close by, she met me at the airport with a HUGE basket filled with the best of everything Portland has to offer. It was filled with flowers, gifts, chocolate, a boxed dessert, a book. It was unreal! After one such visit, I wrote this poem. When you read it, read it fast. Because that is how the day went. Breathless! (The street is really NW 23rd Ave. but that didn't sound very poetic.)

GIRLFRIENDS, BREATHLESS

That afternoon, squeezing out
one last adventure,
you raced through Bawden Street
saying, "See there. See there" and lucky!
We found a parking spot
and everything came at once.
The restaurant, painted like a Tai flag,
that featured Asian Blends,
the Dish n’ Dat--
a large layered wedding cake
with a 50's cardboard couple on the top
in the display window
and little wooden pushtoys
with a wiggling bride and groom.
And we bought
funky handmade bracelets
and laughed, because we knew
we had such good taste
but then you say, we need
to leave to catch my plane. But I begged to run
into one more store
and find hand-pressed paper
to make a collage in the colors of your room
and you run
into the corner delicatessen
because you know they have fabulous desserts.
And there isn’t time
to go into Three Monkeys,
Body Piercing and Jewelry, The Kite-eri
but it is enough to see
the psychic’s turquoise and yellow
painted door with moons and stars
and the droopy old man sitting
at the sidewalk table,
eating a wrap,
feeding pieces to a spotted dog,
the smell of curry blending
with the scent of patchouli coming
from that thin girl
with shiny black and purple hair,
and to see the sun bouncing off the shaved head
of the other one
and we laugh as we run
to the car, us at our age,
and you say "You need to come back soon" and
pull the car out in traffic, and we eat the dessert
from the white boxes with our fingers
(because you forgot the forks),
praying for a traffic jam or a missed plane.
Pleased with ourselves
that not everyone would do as we do,
eating one more bite,
laughing as we lick the last hurrah.


Marilyn Darley Williams

Home Again, Home Again

Today is my last day with the folks. It has been a great week. Mom and Dad and I went to Gary and Cher's house today, to do some watering while they are in Hawaii. The zucchini are about the size of canoes.....I remember playing the game of zucchini ditching....you take your canoe zucchini's and put them on a neighbor's doorstep...then ring the doorbell and run away. I know this sounds weird, but I really can't remember now if I really did that (I think I did) or I just "thought" about doing it! That's what happens when you have a wild imagination...the lines cross!

Speaking of crossing lines, Mom and I watched "Premonition" last night after Dad went to bed. When it was over, we just sort of looked at each other with our eyebrows raised. We're not really sure what happened. It was suspensful but.....

But, oh well, we went and saw "No Reservations" earlier at the movies...and ate way too much popcorn so the evening was miserable. I never used to get sick from eating popcorn until one time David said something about "all the popcorn just floating around in your stomach"....and now I get sick! Thanks, sweetie pie! But I'll forgive him since I'm anxious to see him tonight!

Dad went and picked blackberries for me (or got his friend to) so I also made a batch of blackberry freezer jam for them and a batch for me to take home. David loves blackberries and hopefully I will get them all home without incident. Last year, when I came, we went blueberry picking. I had a ton of frozen blueberries to take home. I put them in a smaller cooler and placed the cooler in the overhead compartment of the plane. Later, during the flight, I heard some people in the seat behind me complaining about something dripping from the overhead......I just stayed on board until everyone around me left....then nonchalantly took down my cooler...

Also, last time when we went blueberry picking, I lost my sunglasses in the blueberry field. I wouldn't have worried about it except they are part prescription....I had lasik surgery about 5 years ago...in just one eye. It is called "mono" vision. My corrected eye sees far away and my "bad" eye or uncorrected eye sees up close just fine, so I don't need reading glasses (if you are reading this and are under 40, you are clueless what I am talking about. One day you can read Campbell soup labels, and the minute you turn 43, you can't. Same with scriptures. When I moved into this Ward and saw all these women with reading glasses perched on the ends of their noses, I thought, "I wonder if they think that's cute?" Hell-o! I wasn't 43 yet! I was clueless.)
So, my prescription sunglasses have prescription in just one eye.....and they were expensive, so I left my name and address with the people who ran the farm. Of course, I didn't expect for them to find them. So, was I surprised, a few months later, when I received a package in the mail....they had found my sunglasses! I couldn't believe it.....well, then I opened the package and saw they weren't mine. Oh well, I guess blueberries are just plain trouble!

BLACKBERRY FOOL
4 cups heavy cream
1 cup confectioners' sugar, divided
1/2 cup sour cream, at room temperature
1/8 teaspoon almond extract
2 pints fresh blackberries
8 strips of lemon zest, for garnish
8 sprigs fresh mint

DIRECTIONS
Pour the heavy cream into a large bowl with half of the confectioners' sugar and almond extract. Whip until stiff. Fold in sour cream. Refrigerate. In a separate bowl, toss blackberries with the remaining confectioners' sugar. Let stand at room temperature for about 15 minutes.
In 8 parfait glasses, layer whipped cream and blackberries, beginning and ending with whipped cream. Garnish each parfait with a strip of lemon zest, a few blackberries and a sprig of mint.

Okay, hopefully you know that if you don't have a strip of lemon zest or a sprig of mint or parfait glasses, for that matter, you are always welcome to just pour all the blackberries into the "fool" and eat the whole darn thing yourself. You know, before the kids or your husband comes home. And I guarantee you'll feel heavenly for a moment. Okay, for a few minutes. Then you'll feel like you just ate a whole bag of popcorn at the movies....like a popcorn fool. So, show a little restraint....share the blackberries!

Moms

Yesterday was such a fun day. Melinda picked Tanner and me up early and we headed to Portland. All the bridges keep your head spinning! Melinda was a great tour guide....she drove us by the Rose Garden stadium so Tanner was happy, then we hit Nike World, so he was REALLY happy. We shopped at Pioneer Square Mall, and every time I'd turn around, Tanner was talking to someone new, asking about their lives. You can take a missionary out of the field, but......

Then we headed to my favorite street in Portland. Northwest 23rd Street. My friend Cynthia first took me there years ago and whenever we get together, I make her take me back! I've even written a poem about it that I'll share when I get home.

We had lunch at one of my favorite places here, Papa Haydn. It was a little fru-fru for Tanner but he survived. We took him to the airport and now I'm here alone for a couple more days. I love being with my parents so much, but I get terribly homesick for my family after about 3 or 4 days. So, last night, after Mom and I picked up Chinese take-out for dinner, and after Dad went to bed (he retires early), and Mom and I watched Miss Potter (she loved it as I knew she would!) and then we decided that we've played enough Phase Ten (I'm 7 wins, she's 2....and she's not very happy about the slaughter!), we decided we'd just sit together and read. I'm was finishing up my last hundred pages of Eclipse....she's is reading the old classic "Grapes of Wrath" (such a happy book!). We can just sit there, silently reading...then I looked over at her and said, "I love you, Mom" and she got teary and said, "You'll never know how much I love you" and I said "I know, because I feel the same way about Brandi"....and then we're both teary, and then it was quiet and we went back to reading our books. Moms.....they are just the best!

So, I'm sure you've all read this before, but it really is a classic in my relationship with my parents. They are the kingpins of cliches. I was raised on them (including all those listed below.) I started making a list of the regulars they use and I'll publish them when I have 4 or 5 hours to list them all. Here's my favorites from each of them, that I've heard just about a million times (and I'm not exaggerating!)

Dad: "Ten thousand comedians out of work, and you want to be one."

Mom: (every time we get into the car to go someplace) "We're off...like a herd of turtles!"


Things I Learned From My Mother
1. My mother taught me to APPRECIATE A JOB WELL DONE."If you're going to kill each other, do it outside. I just finished cleaning."

2. My mother taught me about RELIGION."You better pray that will come out of the carpet."

3. My mother taught me about TIME TRAVEL."If you don't straighten up, I'm going to knock you into the middle of next week!"

4. My mother taught me about LOGIC."Because I said so, that's why."

5. My mother taught me about FORESIGHT."Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you're in an accident."

6. My mother taught me about IRONY."Keep crying, and I'll give you something to cry about."

7. My mother taught me about STAMINA."You'll sit there until all that spinach is gone."

8. My mother taught me about WEATHER."This room of yours looks like a tornado went through it."

9. My mother taught me about HYPOCRISY."If I told you once, I've told you a million times. Don't exaggerate!"

10. My mother taught me about the CIRCLE OF LIFE."I brought you into this world, and I can take you out."

11. My mother taught me about BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION."Stop acting like your father!"

12. My mother taught me about ENVY."There are millions of children in this world who don't have wonderful parents like you do."

13. My mother taught me about ANTICIPATION."Just wait until we get home."

14. My mother taught me about RECEIVING."You are going to get it when you get home!"

15. My mother taught me about MEDICAL SCIENCE."If you don't stop crossing your eyes, they are going to freeze that way."

16. My mother taught me about ESP."Put your sweater on; don't you think I know when you'll be cold?"

17. My mother taught me about HUMOR."When that lawnmower cuts off your toes, don't come running to me."

18. My mother taught me HOW TO BECOME AN ADULT."If you don't eat your vegetables, you'll never grow up."

19. My mother taught me about GENETICS."You're just like your father."

20. My mother taught me about WISDOM."When you get to be my age, you'll understand.

21. My mother taught me about SHARING." I’m going to give you a piece of my mind!"

22. My mother taught me about FEAR."One day you'll have a child who'll do the same things to you."