Starting Again/ Thanksgiving '09

Here I am almost at the end of my great year of blogging. It should be called BOGGING, because four months ago I suddenly got so bogged down with things I had not figured on when I turned 80 and began this project. They were all good things sidetracking me, and I feel so great about how the year is ending. It began in the spring when Sara Jayne became engaged to Tyler. Sunday dinner at our house has become a tradition these last four years when we have had so many grandchildren here at BYU. Last year they were Paige and her husband Chris, Maren, who brought two room mates, and Sara Jayne who brought room mates. We had anywhere from 8 to 16 for dinner. I got used to cooking for ten and occasionally had enough leftover for our dinner on Monday. They always let me know who would be here. John McKenna from Ogden came occasionally, sometimes bringing a friend.

This year is different; Chris got in dental school at USC. We celebrated his graduation from BYU in the summer. His younger brother Nick teasingly said he would take Chris's place at Sunday dinner, and I told him I would be expecting him. He called as soon as he came to start his freshman year, so we have him and his room mate Daniel, such cute boys who get here a little early and help. Nick sounds just like Chris.

Eric returned from his mission in Mexico this summer, and says he looks forward to his one good meal each week. Sara now has a husband and no longer brings room mates. Maren has a handsome boyfriend, but she also bring her room mate. My reward for feeding all these neat kids was not having to cook Thanksgiving dinner. We went up to Salt Lake for the big day, ten around the table and two little ones. John's 6 mo. old Tanner slept through dinner. The beautiful, well behaved two year old Allison took her nap as soon as he woke, so we enjoyed watching him smilin' and crawlin'. Most of them went to the traditional movie down town. This year, the block buster Sandra Bullock "The Blind Side". Tedder and I had already seen it the day before, so we came home early.

I just have to tell about my busy summer, which kept me from blogging. We had been feeling pretty selfish about having such a nice apartment in our basement sitting there empty. We spent so much money a couple of years ago with new carpet, new doors, some new upholstery, and with Eric returning we felt we should let him live down there, although it would be social suicide. Then when Sara became engaged we decided to offer it to them until they graduate in two years.
Sara was so cute. She said, "We will be able to help you a lot, and you are going to need some help at your age." They have fixed it up really cute, and have much more room than most student couples. They have raked leaves and will do the snow shoveling.

Sara is captain of the swim team and is on full scholarship. Tyler works part time , so they will hopefully be able to save a lot of money. We are enjoying having them here, and they will be a help to me next week when Ted goes into the hospital for a hip replacement.

Anticipating all the guests we would have for the wedding, graduation, etc, inspired me to do a major repair job on the deck which is tiled and covers the west side. Two leaks had rotted the wood under the tile and proved hazardous. I removed about a hundred 8" tiles, and not being able to find anything to match, I had to remove the cement from the underside with a diamond blade and reset them after the workman installed the new flooring. I don't mind tile work, but the new products for waterproofing are so tricky, they advised me to get an expert to do it. I found one, but before we got it dry enough to install ( rain every other day in June) he found a bigger job to do and deserted me. I am glad now that I had to do it. I learned how to handle the new epoxy grout, finished it up before our July 4th party, and saved us a couple thousand dollars!!

One other major job was altering Paige's wedding dress for Sara to wear. Her dad gave her a generous budget for her wedding, and told her she could keep anything she could save, hence the borrowed dress. Actually, it is the most beautiful dress I have ever seen. She copied one we saw in Madrid costing three thousand dollars, had it made of embroidered lace from France. I spent well over 50 hours mending the lace and making the alterations. I also made three of the junior bridesmaids dresses and one of the three flower girl's. In case you want to know the duties of a junior bridesmaid, it is keeping the flower girls out of the swimming pool. Disposing of all the stuff I had stored in the basement was a job. As Sara moved stuff in, they brought my stuff upstairs where I sorted, stored or took to DI. Paige and Sara decided to have a yard sale which took care of a lot of it.

We have a very comfortable seven foot sofa in the basement which I had covered twice myself, but every chance I had this summer I worked on covering it in red linen. It turned out beautiful. Tyler and Sara painted the railings on the deck and the cement under the carport so they have a nice entry. We had a 50th birthday party for Tom in August on the deck. As we say in the South."Y'all come to see us now, hear!"

Do I sound like a complete nut? I actually enjoyed all I did this summer, except the yard work which was major. Paige and Chris helped me a lot. People think I love yard work, which is not true. I love to see the results.

If I may describe myself in a few words: I have 110% energy 99% of the time, average organizational skills, zero will power when the calories are accessable, but determination to do anything I set my mind to. I have decided I can set a goal of eating better when he goes in the hospital. I will be fasting with family and praying he will not get a blood clot. The doctor gave us some comfort saying the hospital has a trauma team 24/7, and we will be by his bedside 24/7.

I will blog enough to catch up on our recent events, our plans for next year, my match making efforts and systematically writing biographies of my family. I have the best family around and I am so thankful for all they do for me.