A Fantastic Saturday!

Clogging is taking us places!  Like an audition for the Bill Riley Talent Show associated with the Sturgis Falls celebration.   Fortunately for the audience, the cut-off age was 21--and the moms in our group were happy with that.  We love clogging too, but we're not quite ready for prime time. 

 The audition was at Lincoln school, and the kids were great.  Lots of energy.  And they look like they've been at this a lot longer than 3 months.  (We started on March 1st).

Can't wait to hear if they got in or not!

Then we were off to Nauvoo.  

After taking in one of the shows done by the young performing 

missionaries (and they were very good!),

we performed baptisms.  

It is so nice being in the temple with a good group of youth.

And I had about 25 names to do.  A & E each had 8 females and Jacob Fagersten did the male names.  

 Then it was a picnic supper of hoagies, cookies, chips, etc.  

The weather was superb--dry, 70 degrees.

We finished eating just in time for "Sunset at the Mississippi", 

which is on the stage where "City of Joseph" used to be performed. 

I could seriously see myself as one of those older missionaries! 

I'd be happy to put on some goofy costume for the melodramatic skit,

or dance to a hoe down,

or sing some silly song about mustaches.  And I'm sure I could tell 

all about the bakery or the gun shop or one of the other locations.

Some of the skits were so hilarious--my jaw hurt from laughing.

And it was SO good to laugh.  

I've been taking life too seriously the past couple of weeks.

And to top off the night,

the BYU Folk Dancers performed.

 It was unfortunate that we still had to drive home afterwards, 

because A & E were right in their element.

They got out their clogging shoes and jammed with some of the dancers.

They talked to the band members (who were all really nice).

Elley is really beginning to look forward to college next year!

Now she just has to decide if she wants to be in the band 

or one of the dancers!  

Both girls now have high aspirations.  And that's good.

The day finally had to come to an end,

and we got home about 1:30 a.m. 

It was REALLY nice that we had afternoon church!

We are going to miss Nauvoo...

And it's ALMOST official!

    Yesterday was the last day of school--and still no announcement.  If A & E had agreed to this adventure just so they could have the pleasure of a bit of fame at school, well, that certainly didn't happen.  However, the last two days, other students came up to A & E and asked if we were moving to China.  What?!?  Where did that come from?
    Kevin talked with his boss and remarked about those comments--and that the information didn't come from us!--and his boss said whether people know or not won't affect anything.  The papers still are not signed (but hopefully will be before Kevin leaves for China--otherwise he won't be able to arrange housing), and although it would be nice to have a big announcement and all, it is now alright to tell people that ... 

yes, we might be moving to China!

    There has been at least one nice side-effect of this delay, and that is that we have a few more days before the house will go on the market, so the pace of getting ready isn't quite so frantic.  It is one thing to have the house looking good.  It is another thing to have all the contents inventoried and sorted as to what goes with us, what goes to storage, what goes to Goodwill Industries and what goes in the garbage.  It's rather a cathartic experience, when taken at a decent pace.  I'm afraid my decisions would not be the wisest if made under a time pressure.  And if all goes well, the house will be ready to show AND to pack up.  I really don't want to have to do the one and then go back and do the other.

The A & E Spring Recital

The recital went on as planned on Friday evening, 

even though the girls 

weren't able to announce the REAL reason for it.

They had wanted it to be a farewell party. 

Elley painted a picture of the two of them

to display. (It looks a little different in real life)

 We held it at the church's cultural hall because 

we thought there might 

be too many for our home, and there were.

The only problem was--summer humidity moved in last week, 

and EVERY piano in the building was out of tune.  

The show went on although the piano accompaniment 

sounded a bit like it should have been in a honky-tonk saloon.

Alice's piano teacher had graciously

offered to accompany them.  She has really been a great teacher.

There were ward members and school friends.

It was brief (about a half-hour), enjoyable, and then people stayed 

another 45 minutes having 

refreshments--root beer floats--and chatting.

It was a success!

And "Spring Cleaning" Continues...

All I can say is, good thing we kept a bunch of boxes from past moves!

 We've decluttered,

 reduced and organized,

and removed family pictures.

And now, the hallway is done,  

 as is the living room, the master bathroom,

 and the downstairs TV room.  Four rooms down, 11 to go.

We had a home inspection done, and the guy was pretty picky.  But that's good.

Kevin has been going down the list and fixing every concern or note that he had.

Including replacing some grout.  Unfortunately, the grout has discolored over the years,

so he also had to discolor it!

We did a radon test this week, and have been trying to have everything done that we can do, up to this point.

We've taken the minivan loaded to the landfill twice.

We've taken two full loads to Goodwill.

We took the old typewriter and two bikes to a vintage shop.

And the garage is still half full of stuff to store or give away.

We need to do real spring cleaning more often !!

We're doing updating...

 The last of the wallpaper borders is now gone.  

And that's just ONE of the projects underway this weekend!

 Elley will be repainting segments of her bedroom on Monday.

And we've replaced the bright brass knobs in the kitchen with brushed nickel.  Now that is one update I wish we would have done sooner.  I am amazed at how nice it looks.  And, as Elley pointed out, now it all ties in with the stainless cannisters and appliances.  Why didn't I think of that earlier???

And We're Back!

We replaced the hard drive on our computer this week.  We realized there was a problem last Sunday morning when the computer suddenly couldn't "see" any internet capabilities, nor could it "see" the printer.  Most everything else was okay.  But we found that a computer that works but has no way of communicating is almost worthless.

A phone call to HP tech support took a half hour and got us to the point of, "since your computer is now out of warranty (it is 2 years old), it will cost $150 for 6 months of tech support, and we'll fix your problem."

Then came the call to our home teacher--who just happens to do computer repair as his business, even HP warranty work.  I fully intended to pay him for his service--after all that is his livelihood.  (I've tried to be careful and not ask the doctor in the ward about problems, etc.)

With Bro. Freestone's help, we installed a new hard drive with 1TB of memory.  Actually, he had Elley do all the mechanical stuff--screws, cords, etc.  It was good for her to know that she could do something like this, and in reality, Bob didn't actually DO the repair.  Maybe that is the best way for him to keep his business side separate.   However, he did have the right disk with the HP "tattoo" so the operating system would accept the larger hard drive.  

Since then, it has been a matter of restoring files from the external hard drive back-up, reinstalling soft ware, reconfiguring settings to the way we want.  After 3 days, the computer is now ALMOST back to normal.

Except the printer still won't work.  I have a feeling I need to go find a driver.  

And, as soon as the pictures finish copying,

I'll post some pictures of the updates around the house.

Alice's Birthday

Alice's cake was delicious.  The cards and gifts were fun.  She's been wanting to get some books that she know won't be available in the school library next year.   So that's what she received--a couple of sets of "Warriors" books.  I think I'll have to read them too, if they are that good.

By the way, we love the table cloth Deborah brought back from an eastern European country.

I can't remember which one.

Someone, please refresh my memory!

Decorating Advice, Please!

                                         Today, I just decided to begin.  There are some Relief Society sisters coming on Monday morning to help take off wall paper and paint, but there will still be plenty for them to do.    I wanted to see what a plain color would look like. 

The missionaries had just returned from doing some service, and they WANTED to help out,

so I let them.

I like the light color--which happens to be the paint that was already there before the wallpaper.

But maybe it is too light. And I don't think it goes well with the beige.  What do you think?  Go a tad darker? (This is about the same color as the cross-stitch fabric).                Any input here will be welcome!

Spring!

Even with the long, slow, cold spring, (or maybe because of it), the magnolia tree has been glorious this year.

 It is blooming about a month later than last year, but it has been worth it!

We have a landscape light that shines up through the tree so it is visible even at night. 

With our big summer project coming right up,

it will be nice to be able to look back and remember

the beauties in our yard!

Our Major Summer Project

      Well, today (finally) the project that our family will be involved in this summer was formally offered... and accepted.  So it is really going to happen!  Now we just have to wait for some paperwork to get done, and the announcement to be made before we can share the details.  

     I'm feeling conflicting emotions.  Every big project requires a lot of effort and I hope I am up to the task.  There is excitement, to be sure, for this challenge, but sometimes (like at 4 a.m.) I feel a quaking feeling in my stomach as I realize ALL that has to be done in the next two months.  

 It will all be worth it!  (I hope!)

Something to do on a Saturday night...

Alice has been learning about cake decorating in her FCS class.

She came home so excited!  All these instructions were available on YouTube, and she wanted to make the panda bear cake.

Never mind that she has never even baked a cake before,

let alone frosted one.

But she wanted this for her birthday,

and she wanted to bake it herself.

With just a little help every now and then. 

 She had a few questions for me about greasing cake 

pans, etc., but she did it all.

Kevin helped a touch with the decorating--after 

all it was his licorice that was used.

Alice also was very innovative.  2-inch chocolate wafers were called for, and we didn't have any such thing (that is larger than an oreo cookie).  So Alice got out yogurt lids, melted some chocolate, and made her own chocolate rounds.  And I think these will taste better than the wafers!

 And now we have a panda bear to eat!

Prom!

Five couples.  One very unique dress.  Almost exactly what Elley wanted--something modest, knee-length and fun.  She particularly loves dresses from the 50's:  slim waist and full skirt.  We watched a later Fred Astaire movie the other night (Daddy Long Legs--not one of the better ones), but Elley was oohing over the dresses, exclaiming how she would love to have this one or that one.  And after a day of going over to one friend's to get her hair done up, then having another friend come here to do her hair, then doing the make-up, finally 5 pm came.

 The couples gathered at the home of one of the girls for pictures and a pasta dinner, before going to the dance.

Elley's flowers again were unique in the group--no pink.

 And finally, the group, plus one extra guy.  I'm still not sure why (the one with the green tie.)  It was interesting that the some of the girls complained about their dresses not staying up and having to regularly tug them up.  How uncomfortable!

All the group were from the play (Bye,Bye, Birdie).  They have been good friends for Elley. 

 And finally, Elley and date, J.P.   We found out that means John Paul.  It's another of those situations where the name is longer at home than amongst classmates.  

She's lucky that we have afternoon church, since she also went to post-prom (midnight to 4 a.m.).

She's still asleep.

Spring Cleaning

       In doing some spring cleaning, I came across a a sheet of handwritten notes about home decorating and organizing. It contained a quote, supposedly from Winston Churchill:  "You shape your environment, and then your environment shapes you." 


       How true!  As I have tossed all kinds of things I was holding on to "just in case" I needed them, I felt so liberated.  I've lived with too much stuff (as Kevin very kindly reminds me, periodically), for too long and if has come to feel very confining.  When you have stuff, you have to think about it and plan around it.  Being more of a minimalist sounds nice--I just wonder if I have the courage to let go.  I want to shape my environment to be comfortable but not FILLED.


      I've flirted with this idea before--and purged a lot of belongings at various times.  But soon things start accumulating again.   Things people pass on because they are too good to throw away.  Things on sale.  Things!  My mom said once that to keep from accumulating too much stuff, you either have to move every few years, or have a house fire.  I guess I'd rather not go the fire route.  And I hate moving.  That leaves being brave and letting things go.  And being happy!

Alice's recent NIJO trip...

NIJO.  A 2-hour Friday night orchestra experience from the first of January to the middle of April.  5-7 pm.  EVERY Friday night.  The 6th-8th grade orchestra players endure with a conductor who tells jokes, but what they really look forward to is the day-long trip they get to take. On a nice tour bus!  

 I got to go along this time.  I volunteered to be a chaperon a couple of months ago, and was told the 4 positions were filled a year ago.

But at almost the last minute, one mom had to cancel out, and I was in.  (I began to get the idea that this trip is special--school field trips beg for parent volunteers!)

 With Cathy Craig still involved with the program, everything went smoothly.  She was already the administrative assistant when Deborah began taking violin, back in 1989.

The orchestra (Northern Iowa Junior Orchestra) played at 3 different schools in central Iowa--in auditoriums or gyms.

 It was so cute at one school, as the orchestra walked out to the bus, many of the student body came out and asked for autographs!  They had applauded and seemed to really enjoy the music. They were impressed because they were also 6th-8th graders and realized what it takes to be so proficient at that age.  And, the music was done very well.

 Then came the part of the trip everyone looked forward to--a stop at a park.  Free time.  Change out of concert clothes into casual.  We went to Pine Lake State Park and with about 50 pairs of binoculars, got to watch birds and hike a trail around the lake.

The weather cooperated.  The youth were no problem at all (I now know why being a chaperon is such a coveted job), and we had a great time.  Of course, some of the kids thought the last stop was the best--an all-you-can-eat buffet at Pizza Ranch in Eldora. 

This was Alice's last year after 4 years in NIJO--she got in as a 5th grader, and Elley was in it for 3 years. 

I'm glad I finally got to participate this time! 

A little of this and that...

Easter.  For some reason, I have less inclination to go all out in decorating. Nothing like at Christmas!  Maybe it is because at Christmas I feel like cocooning, and at Easter--springtime--I feel like being outside, and leaving the house uncluttered.

But we still enjoy coloring the eggs.  A dozen hard-boiled, and a couple of dozen fresh (and we keep the them separated!).

I love being able to take an egg out to use in a recipe, and it is a bright, vibrant color.  Of course, then I have to make a decision as to which color to use (and which to save for later).

 

 Then, Kent Hansen brought us some lemons from Arizona, just in time for some lemon curd served on cheesecake.  Or lemon curd just eaten with a spoon.  And some lemon juice and zest in the freezer for the next baking. 

 About 2 weeks ago, we got a letter from the city saying they wanted to develop the 3 acres behind us.  Rats!

We love having the wide-open space

and unimpeded view of... Hudson Road.  

I went to City Hall and found out all about it.

The deal is not complete, but this is what they are hoping for.

Two professional buildings (doctors' offices, etc.).

With a green space still in between them and us.  

The "forest" will be gone, but most of those trees are old and scrubby, and already dying.

It looks like "our" tree line would be allowed to stay.

I was really afraid they were going to do something that would come right up to the property line--and that would make a VERY small backyard for us, especially after what we've been used to

enjoying.  

Of course, there is always the possibility it will turn into condos, or  a strip mall, etc., but the city has written a lot of protections in--i.e., nothing over 1 story and other things.

I just hope they will be quiet neighbors, and maybe now the deer won't feel so free about coming and grazing our garden!

Springtime in Iowa

As birds sing outside this morning, I just have to say how grateful I am for spring to return!

 I am so grateful for the snow to be gone.  We had a light dusting of it on Saturday morning but it was melted by noon.  I felt sorry for those families attending soccer games for their children, as a very stiff northern wind had to be just awful to deal with.

 The first crocuses bring tiny spots of color--and so much joy!--to a very gray landscape.  Once all the snow was gone, I realized that our Iowa "world" was monochromatic:  dark brownish-gray bare trees.  Light brownish-gray dormant grass, bushes and shrubs.  I almost missed the variation of white snow.

***

Alice has been busy in her 8th grade FCS (Food & Consumer Science) class.  She had to sew one item--a pair of cotton sleep pants, but there were a couple of other options available for the students who wanted to get extra credit.

So she also sewed a felt hat.

 And a baby seal.

This past weekend, she worked on a new skirt.  I think she's well on her way! (She did still want me to help her with the zipper.  Next time, I'm sure she'll get to do that as well.)

Notes for Grandma

First on Friday, I got a note in the mail from Marta.

Grandpa received it as well.  And Marta, we love you!

  

 Then on Saturday evening, I grabbed a shirt out of the closet and I noticed something peeking out of the pocket.

 I took it out, and remembered!

A month ago Brenna made this note, and after reading it

 I put in in my pocket.  Brenna, I love you too!

I love surprise notes from my granddaughters!