Sunrise Sunset, Swiftly Go the Days...

Here are couple of kids that mean the world to us. They are our niece and nephew, Erin and Scott. Just yesterday Erin received her Master's Degree in Applied Math from Cal State University, Northridge. I cannot even fathom a thesis on math! This weekend she is moving to Salt Lake City to begin working on her PhD while teaching at the U of U. She gets a 12 day break and then back to the grind. I think she is way too young to be this smart, don't you?

Tomorrow morning Jim and my brother, Steve, are going down to load up her stuff and take it to SLC while she drives her car. The guys are pretty excited about this adventure and we are pretty excited that Erin will have a chance to live a lot closer to our two oldest kids and families for the next five years! None of us would have imagined three kids would end up in the same state, but they are. We are so happy for Erin and are just amazed at her talents, intellect and extreme beauty inside and out. You go, girl! You will make SLC a better place!

As for Scott, he is studying music in NYC. He is an amazing bass player (not guitar but the big upright bass)...and is receiving instruction from some of the best in the world. He is a world class player and has been enjoying the music of the City and making some of his own for a few years while getting his degree in Music.

This is, my brother Gary's, beautiful wife, Marilyn, and mother of these two outstanding kids. She came over today to drop off a few things for the van and trailer before the guys take off. She brought Erin's dog, Lola, whom mom and dad have inherited, and here she is in her doggie car seat. I had no ideas there was such a thing. I lead a sheltered life. You girls need to keep me better informed!

Lola is a Min-Pin

It just seems like yesterday these kids were babies! It is an exciting time to see our parents' grandkids grow up and succeed in their chosen fields. I wish my mom and dad could to be here to see them. They would be so proud of each and everyone of their seven grandkids. I like to think they are gazing down from heaven with happy smiles on their faces. Each one of their grandkids have a wonderful grasp of the work ethic and goal setting. We are very proud of them.

Best of luck, Er-Bear!
Enjoy the snow!

Keep in touch with Jen and Chris!

Urban Dictionary

***

I just finished my work and thought I 'd check out some Facebookers for a minute. I read this from my friend Laura "I think they should outlaw the word cankle."

I had no idea what that was, not living within 500 miles of my kids, not being a TV person or very savvy. I had to Google it. I have to do that a lot to keep up on the pop culture as I spend a good part of my day alone, except for being with you and none of you have been blogging about this to my knowledge.

When I read the Urban Dictionary's Definition...(it hasn't reached Webster yet,) I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. I laughed, but not the funny haha kind.

A cankle is a fat ankle where the calf and foot merge with no apparent ankle.

This is a cankle!
So nice they provide illustrations so
you see for sure if you have them.

One more thing for women and girls; little girls, to worry about and think about and get down on themselves for and to seek a plastics man to remedy the "problem" for them. Give me a break. And we wonder why people walk around sad and depressed and on mind-altering drugs?

This is the restoration of your cankle to an ankle
with a little lipo. (This is the one place I do not
need lipo but if I did I would refuse!)

Do you know who is really worried about this besides women in general? The fashion industry. Many women are reluctant to buy shorter pants like crops because of it. If this isn't full-on evidence of a society that is getting sicker by the day, I don't know what is.

I say keep your ankles,
don't worry about them,
don't even think about them!
You have my permission to disconnect
from this concept altogether.

Women have been talking about their fat thighs add infinitum, now it is the fat ankles they are stressing over? Who comes up with this nonsense? I'd like to be on the panel to check them out from head to toe ~ naked (them, not me!!)

I agree with Laura, let's outlaw the use of this word and its ridiculous meaning and replace it with a fresh new word and concept. I am making up a new word just for this special rebellious occasion. My new word is BRECK and a lot of the babes out there need to listen up.

I am sick to death of seeing all the BRECK every time the temperature soars above 65. All the push-up bras and low-cut shirts, and skin tight body gloves are creating breck. It is a shortage of neck due to so much breast merging into it.

Not including photos here as
I know you do not need them!

Anybody out there with me on this one? Leaving something to the imagination comes to mind when innocent people are out and about doing their daily living routine...it is not the time for you to bare all. Save it for some other time and place when the rest of us are somewhere else! Just sayin'.

Hey, maybe Breck will catch on as 'a bad thing' and the fashion industry will get worried and start producing more decent clothing for women of good taste and decorum? Not holding my breath but always hopeful for the up and coming little girls, like my granddaughters and the up and coming little boys, like my grandsons!

***
I have no idea what that book cover of
the Urban Dictionary is trying to communicate
so please don't hold me responsible!

Drive By Blogging and a Give Away

I really love the Google Reader but I have to say it is just a place I go to see who is home...kind of like passing someone's neighborhood to see if their car is in the driveway. Even though the blog post and pictures are there I just love going up and knocking on the door of the blog and seeing what is new inside. I love all the designs, colors and the fun and clever things people put on their sidebars, etc.

The other thing I think is helpful about knocking on the door is that you can actually interact with your friends by adding the comments that everyone loves to get. Did you know you can go into the blog by just clicking on the blog name on the reader? It is hard to keep it going with my friends when I just drive by.

I think driving by is a big contributor to not leaving comments which to me is a down side to the Reader. Another contributor may be that we keep adding more and more blogs to read to our Reader and blogroll and then we don't have time to make comments. Now I weed things out of my reader all the time as I add new blogs of interest.

Another thing I do is I look at some of the high profile blogs but do not leave messages. If they are getting 450 comments they don't need mine. That way I can concentrate on the down to earth bloggers out there that I have grown to love through one on one blogging.

What I do now is I keep different blogs on my reader than on my blogroll. If a blog is on my blogroll I read it every time it is updated and try to leave a comment. I use my reader in a different way now and it is more like a magazine or place I go to get information. So my blogroll is growing as I am converting blogs of people that have become friends. And my reader is diminishing as I choose to spend more time with real friends on the blogroll and get a lot of information from other sources than the computer like real books, real magazines, etc.

Personally, I'd rather visit fewer blogs, park and stay awhile. I may not get to each one everyday but I will before their next post shows up on my blogroll. How do you manage your computer time? Are you for driving by or parking?

Stopping To Enjoy The View

As a side note, I have recently added Linked Within to my blog which is the widget that adds the three thumbnails of possible posts you might want to read at the end of each post. I had been seeing them on a lot of blogs but didn't have a clue how to get it. I tried to find it on all the blogger info with no luck but then realized it is a search engine that you add. Just click on the linked within under the thumbnails or Google linked within to add the widget to your blog. It is easy and a lot of fun to read back through the older posts you or someone else has done. You probably all already know this, right?

I have done 750 blog posts on this blog in a year and half. If you would like to be included in a give away as a thank you to those of you that have kept up and on with me, or if you are new today...just leave a comment and I will put you in the drawing. I have no idea what I am giving away at this point but I promise it will be good! I will draw a winner next Wednesday, August 5, 2009. Don't be shy...chime in!

Wordless Wednesday

Tiny Princess

Is Your Life Passing Before You All Too Quickly?

Poof and it is gone!

If your life is passing you by at an inordinately fast pace...perhaps you can blame RETAIL! As if time does not pass quickly enough on its own, they really push the envelope. Around July 4th I was looking for some new tops and while I was trying on a shirt I needed a smaller size. (Yippee!) I needed a sales clerk to simply hand me another one so I didn't have to get dressed, gather up all the stuff in my dressing, etc. just to go grab another one. Anyway, I could not get a sales person to save my life because they were all tagging winter coats! Also this month I saw my first Christmas Ornaments up at a local Beverly's Gifts and Crafts store. What the heck?


I don't know about you but Christmas is the last thing on my mind right now as far as purchasing ornaments goes! I think we would not feel so rushed all the time if Retail would slow things down just a little. Maybe their reasoning is that if we buy something early enough we will lose it before we actually need it and then buy double? When it is 105 degrees out I am not interested in fall sweaters, are you? We had some windy days and nights that ripped a couple of our patio umbrellas...I am just betting I cannot find one for sale anywhere now because summer is over according to the retail industry.

Don't get me wrong, I am all for being prepared~just like a good boy scout, but I think Retail goes way way way overboard in this department. When you have to hunt for a wading pool in August and can't find a coat in February...something is amiss.

All Better!

Chloe showing Hazie the ropes on the grocery
cart fun mobile! Looks like she liked her first ride!
She looks pretty healthy to me!

A Simple Woman's Day Book~July 27, 2009

While Peggy is taking a summer vacation from her daybook, Grandmother Wren will be hosting so you can post your daybook there until Peggy’s return.

Normally to join in focusing on the simple things and pleasures of your daily life or to read other people's entries, you would click here.

So, For Today...Monday, July 27, 2009

Outside my window...I can actually see a star shining very brightly even though the dawn is breaking. The last few weeks Jim has been sleeping an extra hour due to feeling fatigued, and so the alarm has been going off at 5:00 instead of 4:00! Hallelujah! This has been wonderful for me as I cannot fall and stay asleep as early as he does at night. He seems to be feeling better so I think the new plan may stick. Fingers crossed anyway! It is very still outside which means it will be a warm day. I hope we get our new air-conditioning before summer's end.

I am thinking...I am feeling better after a restless day yesterday. Things always seem better after sleeping.

From the learning room...I am learning a lot about early American history lately. It has been interesting to get a better idea of the personalities of our founding fathers and what each contributed. I had been unaware of all the troubles between them and how they got resolved. From the get go politics has been strained in our nation.

From the kitchen...I need to make a big pot of steelcut oatmeal and put it in a gallon ziplock for early morning breakfasts for Jim. This works so well and saves so much time each morning. He loves it and it is so good for you. I wish I could get more enthused about eating it like he does. When we were in Scotalnd one time we visited a friend and learned of the oatmeal drawer that many have there. You cook your oatmeal and put it in a tin lined drawer, it dried out and becomes in a big slab. You just tear some off as needed. Ahhh, no thanks. But in the bag it stays nice and moist and the microwave saves the day.

I am wondering..what I will do on the weekend when Jim is gone. He is driving to LA with my brother, Steve, to help our niece move to Salt Lake City. She is going there to get her PhD in math. She will be at the U of U for five years. Her Dad, my brother, Gary, is not feeling well and so Jim and Steve are filling in and driving her things. Her mom will fly out to help her get settled but the guys will do all the unloading. She is brilliant, beautiful and in for a great time. Salt Lake is a beautiful city. I am glad she will be close to her cousins since at this point, she does not know a soul that lives there.

I am wearing... a blue nightgown. I don't know why but my two nightgowns are both blue and I am not a big fan of blue...so I am not sure why they are both blue??

I am reading...The Continuous Atonement by Brad Wilcox and a few other books.

I am creating...trip plans and formulating new ideas for our bathroom remodel. I also need to think about landscaping changes in our front yard. This is not my forte. It seems the minute I walk outside the four walls of a house, any design talents I may have seem to vanish.

I am praying for...heighten spirituality, a better world, health for us all, peace, order and enlightenment.

I am hearing..You Are So Beautiful...Kenny Rankin

My spiritual thoughts include...the miracles that we all experience daily. I am thinking about how when the Lord wants us to do something he prepares a way.

Around the house...we are ready to get back to our projects. Soon I will be hearing the buzzing of a saw and the dust will be flying again as new windows go in. I will be ordering some today. Our hope is to have them in and the exterior of the house painted before we go to Italy. Then if all goes really well, we will also have the addition we are doing in the main bathroom skinned in and enclosed before winter sets in again.

Today I miss..my blogging friends and those that live close by as everyone has been vacationing and traveling and gone. Come back..I miss you!

I am hoping... for another good house to work on soon. The consult I did last week was a house I did not want to do. The people were delightful but the house...not so much.

I have been procrastinating...getting our tickets for Italy and this is the week it will be done!

One of my favorite things...a bright, shiny, clean car. I don't care about the make or model I just like it to run well, and be clean. It must also have a good air-conditioner. No exceptions on that one.

A few plans for the rest of the week..work in my warehouse a little, get the tickets for Italy, luncheon for a friend's belated birthday celebration, bridal shower on Saturday, some mall walking, and getting some food together for Jim and Steve's trip. If I can squeeze it out of the budget I want to get some tickets to see Diana Krall in San Francisco at Davies Hall in a few weeks. We haven't been to a concert or play in way too long.

Here is a picture and a thought I am sharing with you...

Our kids went to Bari, Italy to the Zoo Safari a few weeks ago. Laura took this video from the front seat so didn't get much of Spencer in this one but I think it is pretty cute of Ross and his daddy feeding some BIG camels.

Weekend Randomness

I'd Rather be Here, but.....

This weekend has been a very low key one for us. That is something that seems so odd around here. I don't know about you but sometimes when things slow down, I feel antzy and fidgety. It is like I love the idea of a carefree, nothing to do type day, but when they come along...it feels weird sometimes. I feel like I want to do something...but I don't know what.

Yesterday we just basically did nothing. Got up later than usual...did a little planning on the next part of our remodel. Lounged around, went to the Farmer's Market to buy tomatoes, and picked up a dessert for our church potluck. We took naps and Jim rode his bike and that was about it.

For dinner we headed over to the church for a potluck that focused on the pioneers and our ancestors. The activities committee did an amazing job. It is not easy to plan an activity that appeals to all ages but I think they did it. They had a petting zoo for the little ones and some candle making. Check out these tiny ponies and bizarre looking chickens.

This is the tiniest horse I have ever seen. He is just a pony.
The lady in the photo is new since we have returned,
I think her name is Christine.

His mom isn't much bigger and here he is stopping in
for a little milk before being mauled by more kids!

This white rooster had to be the ugliest chicken ever.
He just looked and sounded so mean.
They were crowing up a storm.
It reminded me how I love to hear a rooster crow
in the morning from someone else's yard.

This is Catherine, my new visiting teacher and her
little boy Joshua next to her. I don't know the other little boy.
There is a whole new crop of kids that have been born while we
were gone for five and a half years at the Singles' Ward.
The boys are rolling up wax candles.

Pioneer dresses

Patty was in charge of the pioneer display. These are some pioneer dresses that Lou brought for us to see. Several members brought diaries and photos and artifacts belonging to their pioneer ancestors and that have now been passed on to them for safe keeping and their posterity.

I love that the memories of these brave souls are remembered and celebrated once a year. In settling the west they have given so much to the things and times we so freely enjoy today. We had a nice potluck dinner and enjoyed visiting with friends. We were home by 8:15 and I then watched a documentary on Alexander Hamilton (interesting statesman and character) done by PBS and Jim prepared a lesson for his 14 year-olds for today.

Today was a regular church day and inspiring as usual. We came home, had lunch and took a nap. Hmmm, we are one exciting couple, don't you think?

When I woke up from my nap I was trying to think of what to write about today so I thought I'd try that thing the Indians use to do when naming their kids after the first thing they see after the birth. I saw this and decided to show you some fun things I found on a shopping trip lately.

You can see them better if you double click the photo

We have had this shelf for a long time and lately it had been looking pretty boring so when I was shopping with my friend, Maureen, a few weeks ago, I bought the orange bottle and the other finial type thing with the glass ball. I like them and they fit on this shelf perfectly.

OK, then that is it from here. This blog now has 745 posts on it. I think I shall give myself an award~this may very well be the most boring one I have ever written! Picking up the pace tomorrow, I promise!

Love to you~ Bon

Speak English~Crazy As It May Be

I received this in an e-mail and found it fun and interesting...and it got me to thinking about English being the official language spoken by Americans. When you come to the USA it is not an easy language to learn, that is for sure. Check this out...

1) The bandage was wound around the wound.

2) The farm was used to produce produce .

3) The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse .

4) We must polish the Polish furniture.

5) He could lead if he would get the lead out.

6) The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.

7) Since there is no time like the present ,

he thought it was time to present the present .

8) A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.

9) When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.

10) I did not object to the object.

11) The insurance was invalid for the invalid.

12) There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row

13) They were too close to the door to close it.

14) The buck does funny things when the does are present.

15) A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.

16) To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.

17) The wind was too strong to wind the sail.

18) Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.

19) I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.

20) How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?

Let's face it - English is a crazy language. There is no egg in eggplant, nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple. English muffins weren't invented in England or French fries in France . Sweetmeats are candies while sweetbreads, which aren't sweet, are meat. We take English for granted. But if we explore its paradoxes, we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.

And why is it that writers write but fingers don't fing, grocers don't groce and hammers don't ham? If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn't the plural of booth, beeth? One goose, 2 geese. So one moose, 2 meese? One index, 2 indices? Doesn't it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend? If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it?

If teachers taught, why didn't preachers praught? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat? Sometimes I think all the English speakers should be committed to an asylum for the verbally insane. In what language do people recite at a play and play at a recital? Ship by truck and send cargo by ship? Have noses that run and feet that smell?

How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites? You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out and in which, an alarm goes off by going on.

English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the creativity of the human race, which, of course, is not a race at all. That is why, when the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible."

All that being said, I still believe that if you want to live in the United States and seek the privilege of being an American, then you need to learn English. Call me crazy but it just makes sense. Maybe that is why this thought is not politically correct anymore. The making sense part, that is.

Our kids have been in Italy for over two years. They have struggled and learned the language because guess what...no on over there is trying to learn English to try to understand or accommodate what the Americans want or need. Learning the language of a country is essential to living your best life there. It is that simple, even though learning a new language is not easy. Few things in life that are easy are worth much anyway.

Google Reader

Hi Friends,

If you read my blog via the Google Reader you will not be able to see any updates on Hazel. By going to the reader and clicking on my blog name you can come directly to my page and you will find the update just at the top of my side bar. She is home now but still not up to par yet. Still watching and praying for our baby. We always get a little nervous around the weekend...nine times out of ten that's when this little one needs her doctor.

Thanks for your love and concern,

Bonnie

20 Things I like About Summer

Jen's Summer Craft Project

Beautiful Summer Mornings

Gorgeous Flowers


Sounds and Sight of Children
Swimming and Splashing in a Pool


Potato Salad and Watermelon


Warn Summer Evenings

The Smell of Freshly Cut Grass

Delicious Fresh Fruits and Veggies


Fireworks on The Fourth of July

Sandals and Pedicures

Wearing White

Open Windows


Air Conditioning in the Car

The Sound of the Sprinklers

BBQs

Memories of the Drive-in Movies
When I Was a Kid

Corn on the Cob


Road Trips

Garden Tomato Sandwiches

Lemonade


Lots of Daylight

Ice Cream Cones


*********************************

A couple of things thing I really dislike about summer...
Being Hot and Sticky, Sunburns, Mosquitoes, and Yellow Jackets!


How about you? What do you love or
not enjoy so much about the summer?

Nap Time for Hazel

Jen just sent this over via iPhone to me and now they are waiting to see what the blood culture reveals today. Maybe they can go home with the IV if the culture is good. Hopeful but not gleeful yet. Our temple is closed for summer cleaning. Thanks to Mary Jane and Marie for putting her name on the prayer rolls of the London and Las Vegas Temple. I called Sacramento too. Thanks to everyone for praying. Prayer works! Thanks for being a part of it with us!

What To Actually DO With Your Grandkids

From grandparents. com here is a list of 100 things to teach your grandkids. I have to say I love lists like this because I don't have much imagination when it comes to playing with and entertaining little ones.

Now Jim, on the other hand , has always got something cooking with the kids. I rarely get beyond the hugging and kissing and telling them I love them and reading books while snuggling on the bed. Maybe that is because that's when they come to me when their Grampa has worn them out and they need a rest.

I must say though I do think about how I can teach and entertain and just be with Hazie as she gets older and all the fun things I can do with her when the other kids are off doing things she may not be able to do. We will read and play and listen to great books and music and sing and do some writing and make things, and it will be fun. I'll teach her all that I know... and that won't take too long, so I'll have to keep learning right along with her! That is one of the things I look forward to the most when we go to Utah to live. I should start my list of 100o things to do with Hazie now.

Here is the project Julia did at the outdoor craft area
set up for the grandkids by Grampa, of course.
This is her collage made with natural elements.


What is she writing?
Come Stay at Our House!

This is my favorite part~she dedicated this effort to us!
This little grand girl is such a treasure!

100 Things You Can Teach Your Grandchildren

Share a tip, game, or skill that they'll remember forever

by Stewart Coerver

E-mail this | Print | Save | Comments (5)

You don’t have to be an expert in anything to impress a child with your knowledge, and leave an indelible impact. From tying a necktie to driving a car, here’s a list of things you can teach them that they’ll never forget.

1.Whistle. This simple skill tops the wish list for preschoolers everywhere. If your grandchildren already know how to whistle, teach them to use their fingers to make it extra-loud.

2. Spread icing on a cake. Show them how to spread icing smoothly on all sides to make it look just so. Get creative and pipe on some decorations, too. Don't forget to lick your fingers — and the bowl!

3. Dive. It's the coolest way to enter the pool. Help your grandchildren learn to use the proper technique and hit the water straight as an arrow. But remind them that diving is only for the deep end!

4. Grow a plant from seed.

5. Shoot a basketball like their idols. By middle school, many young cagers are ready and eager to shoot one-handed like their favorite players.

6. Tie a necktie. Grandsons will feel grown-up when they ditch clip-on ties for the real thing. Watch them practice and give pointers. Older kids likely don't know how to tie a real bow tie, a lost art and a classy touch — and one you'll teach them.

7. Paint fingernails and toenails.

8. Write a thank-you note. This is a skill your grandchildren can use for the rest of their lives. The simple appreciative gesture is fading fast.

9. Discover the wonders of the local library. Show your grandchildren all the amazing free things the library has to offer. Search on the computer for books they love and teach them how to use call numbers to locate them.

10. Jump rope. Young children love the simple joy of mastering this healthy activity. Teach older children how to jump double-dutch.

Well there you have the first ten...if you want to read the rest go to this link.