Life in Weyers Cave

I went to an appointment at 1, which I had reconfirmed at 11:30. No show, just a note saying she had to drive a kid somewhere. Then went to GoodWill to drop off clothes. Oops. I forgot the lists so I can get the tax writeoff. Went to the concession stands -- oops. I forgot the ant bait since there is an ant problem. I finished getting the Wright's computer back to them last night and thought I was done with Franks. But no, there is a bad spot on the hard drive, and the Windows 98 program keeps restarting when I try to run it. Plus I still have another computer to fix that was struck by lightning. All of this, of course, is for free. Sigh. I need some chocolate.

The Franks brought me handmade cards and roses on my birthday. Yesterday TAT stopped by and left a bottle of carrot juice in front of my computer when I was gone for 20 minutes. We had a nice visit with Glen Finnegan and made him cookies, but they kind of burned, but he was appreciative. Jeff sent me a gorgeous tool box. I put my name on the front real quick. I have psnet hours sorting all my little screws into it. Dianna is having a great time this week at EFY. Cathryn's comments always have sparkles in them. I can't figure out how she does it. We had some wonderful steaks for dinner last night. That is because the ladies at the grocery store know I like them and told me there were a couple on sale. They were hidden and I had to look for them. But they don't want me to pay with two dollar bills. There are lot of people that make me smile just when I think of them. I love the sound of rain, the smell and beauty of flowers, the neighbor cat who likes to perch just outs...

Today I found a box that was hidden in the basement of stuff packed from before we went to Europe the first time. So I am busy trying to unpack and put things away. Mostly first aid supplies. I put some patches in the D's new EMT shirt. Whoo Hoo! I went to the Butlers to try to teach him how to make DVD copies, but found it very difficult since he gave me a blank CD to copy to. Fortunately, we found some blank DVD's, which he then told me to put in the CD ROM drive. Nope. Then he said I should put it in the DVD ROM drive and write to it. Uhhhhh, no! Fortunately, Brother Butler is a great guy and a humble one, so he was all for hopping on the internet and buying an external DVD writer and I will go back next week after NewEgg comes through and we can go from there. DJ and I then attended the big party in his barn with sixty people from First Ward. Just before we left, they started singing "Happy Birthday" and I joined in and looked around to see who we were si...

These streaks are NOT on the glass -- they are hailstones coming down from the sky. It kept up for twenty minutes. (But fear not, the Bee Box is fine.)

Some of these hailstones were nearly an inch and a half long! Yeow!

David asked for rain, so I made it rain, but it wasn't enough, so I made it rain more, but it wasn't enough, so HERE COMES THE STORM!

They're not dead yet, Martha!

Thank you, Michele and James and Corbin and Miranda and Ashton (and Sam)

Um, yeah, that IS a lot of candles.

Dianna learns that it is best to wait for the brownies to cool before you put in the birthday candles.

David woke me up at midnight on the morning of my birthday to say Happy Birthday. He didn't want to miss it this year. Grrr. Let me sleep! I got up really early to take Gail to the doctor in Harrisonburg to have some laser surgery on her eye. As I was driving there at 70 miles an hour on the interstate, a head popped up out of the tall grass by the side of the road, and next thing I knew there was a deer running out behind the truck just ahead of me. I hit the brake and missed him by inches. Guess someone was looking out for me, because if the Bee Box had a head to head with deer at 70 mph, the Bee Box would NOT be the winner. Anyway, got to Gail's had the surgery, went back to her house, then to her next doctor, then to her house, where I traded off with someone else so she could go to a THIRD appointment, this time for her daily antibiotic IV. Her knee is STILL INFECTED!!!!! Went home, opened presents (two pins and a necklace) from Mom and called her, took it easy, wor...

"50 Things Turning 50 This Year” by Laura Mathews (From Good Housekeeping) ----- 1. My Fair Lady 2. The Interstate Highway System 3. Doris Day’s “Que Sera, Sera” 4. “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” 5. The Hermes “Kelly bag” (inspired by Grace Kelly) 6. Yahtzee 7. Colo, the 1st gorilla born in captivity 8. Plymouth Fury car (star of Stephen King’s “Christine”) 9. The Wizard of Oz on TV 10. Masters Tournament on TV 11. Jif peanut butter 12. Artificial intelligence 13. “In God We Trust” as our national motto 14. Elvis’s hit “Heartbreak Hotel” 15. Pampers 16. Cytogenetics (look it up!) 17. 1st hard disk drive (from IBM) 18. “Dear Abby” 19. The Hundred and One Dalmatians (the book) 20. Kim Cattrall 21. Toaster ovens 22. Peyton Place (the book) 23. 1st climate-controlled shopping mall 24. Queen for a Day 25. Mel Gibson 26. Certs 27. Transatlantic phone cable 28. Johnny Cash’s “I Walk The Line” 29. Battery-run watches 30. Uncle Milton’s Ant Farm 31. “As The World Turns” 32. Diorissimo pe...

So I was at the opti-eye doctor office and was surrounded by older women going in for cataract and other laser eye surgery. I told them that a 94 year old woman had surprised me with her answer about what age she would be if she could be any age. All three of them looked at me and agreed 50 is the best age to be. Same thing Marjorie Pay Hinckley had said. Hmmmmm.

Today I went to Broadway to work for a client, then came in to town to run errands. DJ called and said she was dying of boredom, so I suggested she drive into town and rent a movie. She loved the idea, but then called again to tell me what she got, so I suggested we hit Jalisco together for lunch. You know, it was really sweet meeting my youngest daughter for lunch. I had chimichanga and she had a burrito. I ran a bunch of errands today, then came home and there was Martha in my drive with a bunch of flowers for me. We worked on my pitiful gardens in the front yard. Then, I had a bunch of signs to make since we are now selling cheeseburgers at the Concessions Stands. David was a great help, making a big poster sign and then going to the Stand and putting up the stupid little letters on the board to let people know about the burgers. Our home teachers came by and we had a nice visit, but it is 9 and we are just starting to eat dinner. Dianna is walking in from Young Women where...

Dianna had bought all the fixin's for David's favorite -- tin foil dinners -- and after we got home from church we packed up and went to the mountains to cook them. David seemed to enjoy it and appreciate the Father's Day activity. The weather was nice and we all had a good time. As we were coming home at 8:30 my cell phone rang and Matt said there were eight cases of chicken left over from the lawn party (still raw) that I needed to clear out that night. I found that the grocery store would keep them overnight if I got them there by 9. Also, I had to take the leftover catsup, mustard, onions, etc. from the Firemen and put them in the Ruritan concession hut. I took six cases of chicken to the store to keep in their cooler overnight and took two boxes home (forty pounds, sixty pieces each). I cleaned and bagged the two cases in bags of four, and put them in my freezer. Then this morning, I got up at 6:30, dragged poor Dianna out of bed, and we picked up the extra cas...

I am so, so tired today. I am assistant directing the chicken booth at the Weyers Cave Fireman's Lawn Party for two days. I need 16 volunteers a day to make and sell fried chicken and ham sandwiches. Problem is, I was told to get two shifts, 8 people from 2-6 and 8 people from 5-9. What I need is two people from 2-4 cooking chicken, then five people from 4-5, then 10 from 5-9 and 5 from 9-11. I didn't even have my name on the list yesterday and served from 2-3 to set up, then back at 4 and didn't get home until 11. On my feet the whole time, so yes, I am BEAT! I had one volunteer whose father died yesterday, one who dropped a tractor engine cover on his hand and pulled off all the skin yesterday, one who lost use of his left arm in WW II (but a good worker anyway), and one woman couldn't come because she is covered in poison ivy. Yet another one said he had overbooked and was hiring a home schooled teenager at ten dollars an hour to take his place. And one didn...

I worked on putting together my new computer last night and am thoroughly flumoxed. I hope my pilot son will come and save me from my sins. I am clueless as to the 200 plugs and what goes where and in what direction. Sheesh. Biggest problem is that I don't seem to have enough power cables. And I just threw out a bunch of them last week. Bummer. I spent the morning with Gail at the Eye Doctor. She had cataracts removed a year ago, and apparently it is quite common, after a year, for the remaining whatever to develop a film that needs to be laser zapped. They zapped one eye and she is better already, but they want to wait a week to zap the other. I was so grateful when they said I had to leave the room for the zapping. I am too squeamish for that. I am getting together 32 volunteers for frying and selling chicken for the Weyers Cave Lawn Party Friday and Saturday. What a trip! People are calling and changing their dates and times, asking for half shifts, etc. and I am so con...

I really am proud of my kids. They have had a lot of life's little problems this summer, and continue to forge onward, learn from mistakes, take the setbacks with grace, and handle their problems in a mature manner. You know, the disappoint sets in, then they gird up their loins and move on. I never was too sure about that expression, "gird up your loins". But the Bible has it, so I guess I can say it. Teh latest setback is for Bryan, who lost pretty much all he had in last year's hurricane, then had three loads of laundry stolen from the apartment complex laundromat this week. Sadness. Those uniforms are pricy. Allen, of course, has had a few setbacks in starting his car window dingy business in Boise. He has had a tough time finding good employees. Cathryn hasn't gotten the hours she wanted. And Dianna has had a heck of a time getting her license. But I guess they are all pretty well girded up, because they continue to smile and sparkle and lift my spirits ...

Yup, the D took these, too.

Today was Time Out for Women in Northern Virginia. There is a lot of sickness (the cough that hangs on) around here and several people didn't go. I went up with Rayenelle Coiner, Rebekkah Coiner, and Sarah Coiner and baby Garner, three months. The trip was just two hours and Rayenelle drove. Hilary Weeks sang, Joseph Fielding McConkie spoke, Chris Stewart (a pilot and author) spoke, Emily Wyatt who turns 50 on Monday, Virginia Pierce (daughter of Hinckley) and my favorite, Sherri Dew. 2000 women were there. Emily said that Marjorie Hinckley said if she could choose any age, it would be 50. They talked about Pollyana and playing The Happy Game -- looking for happiness in every situation. A little sappy, but still something that is important to do. They also talked a lot about patience and how it is more important than brains. Ouch. Great day. Glad to be home.

Last night was the Ruritan picnic. Martha Carper announced to the world that I had a birthday this month (and which one). I am absolutely ready to seek revenge. I am looking for a program to randomly switch her right and mouse buttons (I DO have access to her computer.) There was quite a discussion about how to keep the tractors that participate in the tractor pull from driving on the soccer field as they have done in the past. Some things are VERY IMPORTANT here in Weyers Cave. I get to make up and laminate the signs to hang from the rope. "NO TRACTORS ON FIELD" This is assuming the tractor drivers can read. Maye every other sign should just be a picture of a tractor with the international "NO" red circle with the slash through it. We have to host the Zone Summer Meeting so I need to find someone to cook dinner for 60 people on August 1st. Plus signups for the chicken booth at the Weyers Cave Lawn Party. Dianna had a church assignment and had to take a 2...

Last night Brother Painter gave the second presentation to the Young Women (aka Dianna) at Church on taking pictures, cropping them, etc. He talked about composition, the rule of thirds, lines and how they run, diagonals, positioning of subjects, and lighting. It was very good. There were six adults, three munchkins, and the D. We brought a lot of our pictures from Belgium and I was glad to learn what I did. David is still in Florida. He calls every day. I feel really empty since I haven't talked to Bryan in several days since his phone is lost. Cathryn called. Oh JOY! I talk to Allen pretty often as well. Guess I need to get a line where I get all the long distance I want for free. My internet DSL connection continues to get every worse. It goes out on me often and drives me nuts. Usually, if Dianna and I try to load pages at the same time we lose it. Or if I try to use the Mozilla thing of loading ten pages at once, it goes out. If I am on the phone, about two minut...

Today was the Fort Defiance High School graduation. Wouldn't it be great to say you graduated at 6:00 on 6-6-06? Last night Mr. Shull said they were short on the band and invited me to play. I jumped at the chance, but it was kind of funny. There were several other parents and former band members, and it was really a lot of fun. The speaker was a West Point graduate and yelled every once in a while to get everyone's attention. The students held the beach balls until the very end. Congratulations to Chris Redifer and Ashley Clayton. Then we ate pizza and came home.

It is Tuesday morning. I was up past midnight working on Ruritan reports, but they are done, so I don't have to continue that job for another month. Acutally, Martha did a lot and I just ran around and tried to find information. Cathryn and Allen are both having some job problems, which makes me sad. Bryan says he has the coolest job in the world, but is having some apartment problems. Dianna is still having trouble getting her license, which makes the job hunt tough. Wish I could solve all their problems, but they are handling them very maturely and I am proud of them. Gail is home, but her knee continues to swell and be red. I held the ladder for Don Garber while he changed a bulb in the Community Center yesterday. He was WAY UP there and I got scared of the height even though I was on the floor the whole time. He said I should run if dropped the bulb, but I think falling glass would hurt me less than a twenty a foot fall would hurt him. I don't like that game.

David is off for a week at his parents. He bought his dad a nice computer and is going to set it up. Maybe install DSL for him. Kids are all doing great. I have a full day and lots to do. Nothing exciting, though. Sorry. If you want excitement, read Cathryn's blog!

I don't think I ever slept so well. I was so tired from the night before that if we had another "earthquake" last night or David put on a leotard and was dancing to Cats, I slept through it.

This afternoon Dianna was asleep in her bed, David was asleep on his bed with the cat between his knees, and I was in the kitchen teaching math to Katie Horne. All of a sudden there was a huge crash. The five foot tall bookcase in Dianna's bedroom had just fallen over. I think The Raven did it.

David is sick. He now has a strange, painful swelling in his left cheek, and the doctors aren't sure what it is. They think it is the gland. At first they were thinking mumps, but he is sure he had mumps. Not infection because he is on an antibiotic, and not clogged because it isn't hard. It is tender, though. I think he is swollen on the other side as well, but not as much. Be that as it may, they told him to take Percocet for the pain. So last night at ten, he took one. But at ten thirty he was still in a lot of pain, so he took a second. (Later I found out he took not one, but TWO MORE!) Hey, the bottle said that two was okay (take 1-2 pills as needed for pain). It wasn't okay. I went to bed at 11 and he was in the bathroom, then the shower, a little strange since he showers in the morning. Then in my half-asleepness I thought I heard him shaving. He came out of the bathroom all clean and shaved and looking for his keys so he could go to work. In his underwea...

Ow! Ow! Stop hitting me Dianna!

Notice how the lovely handle is NOT being held together by duct tape!

Yes! Stewart the Chipmunk is alive and well.

Seriously, I have gotten up to 36 miles to the gallon in this bug. But yeah, I was disappointed they put the flowers too high on the back and I think they run into the bee.