Fine Dining

This holiday season, we have had a few dinners at our house. I know some people would blog about the food and the recipes . . . . L and I had a fun time decorating the tables.

THANKSGIVING
For Thanksgiving, we hosted the B family dinner.  I think there were about 29 of us, primarily adults and adult-sized teens.  I really spent a lot of time stewing about whether we would all fit into one room (whether the table would fit by the computer, whether extra people would show up, etc.) but it turned out that we did fit in nicely.  We cleared out the furniture in the family room and set up long tables.

This is the "china" table setting.  The napkins alternated on all the tables--plaid, then a solid color (green, brown, mustard yellow and burgandy), then plaid, etc.

This is the table set with the china.  Twelve places were set at this table.

This is the "white plate" table setting.  

This is the long "white plate" table.  There were fourteen places set at this table.  There was another table with six place settings but we did not get a picture of that table.  It looked much the same as the others as it had white plates but it had green candles.

CHRISTMAS

For dinner on Christmas day, we had a much smaller group.  We had expected between 13 and 15 people, but ended up with 9.

This is the place setting--it is fun to use this china since it is a seasonal item that kind of begs to be used at Christmas.

This was the only table set up.  First, we didn't have that many people coming and second, we couldn't clear the room because of the Christmas tree in the hall (couldn't get the couches past the tree without knocking it over) and couldn't fill the family room with more tables because of the Christmas tree in the family room--hence, the small guest list.

 

This is the place setting at the kitchen counter.  The idea was that the kids would sit here (hence the snowman chocolate consolation prize at each place).  (For some reason, this picture will not center itself despite the settings showing it as centered.)

 In this shot, you can see the counter with the settings on one side and the buffet on the other--with yours truly setting things up and B at the stove (you can see his back).

NEW YEAR'S EVE
Today is New Year's Eve and ever since the kids were small we have had a family party--just the five of us.  One of the things we are going to do today is have a nice dinner.  This time, we will use what I guess should be called the dining room at our house.

Like I said, some people would blog about the food and recipes . . . . I blog about the table decorations.  Maybe another day I will blog about the food.  Happy New Year!

Top Books [Authors] for 2013

When I looked back on my list of books for 2013 (thanks to goodreads.com), there were 48 to which I gave 5 out of 5 stars. I noticed as I read through the list of 48 that many of them were from my favorite authors and wondered whether I should say "My Top Authors for 2013" rather than "My Top Books for 2013."

1.  Kerstin Gier.
Probably my favorite series for 2013 is The Ruby Red Trilogy (Young Adult Fiction) and I could also say that those three books are three of my favorites for 2013. I read books #1 (Ruby Red) and #2 (Sapphire Blue) in 2012, and re-read them in 2013. Book #3, Emerald Green, came out in 2013, and I was so excited to get my hands on it!  This is a time travel series (one of my favorite kinds of books).  I wish more of Gier's books were translated from German to English.  This was a great series and I was sad it was only a trilogy.

2.  Janette Rallison.  
I have been a fan of Rallison's for years now.  I read several of her books for the first time this year.  Here are the ones that ranked five out of five stars.
1. Revenge of the Cheerleaders (YA Fiction).
2. Fame, Glory and Other Things on My To Do List (YA Fiction).
3. Blue Eyes and Other Teenage Hazards (YA Fiction).
I also re-read a couple of my 2012 favorites by Rallison.
1.  Masquerade (maybe YA Fiction?).
2. A Longtime (and at one point illegal) Crush ( maybe YA Fiction?).

3. Charles Todd.
Several years ago, my friend QV recommended a book to me that was by Charles Todd.  I put off reading it for a long time but, when I finally did, I was hooked.  I have to admit that all of their books (a mother/son writing team) are somewhat depressing.  I know I read a lot of fluff (chick lit, fantasy fiction, LDS fiction, etc.) but, even if I did not, this Charles Todd stuff is pretty somber reading. Both series are set in World War I, bring out the atrocities of war, and involve murders that have to be solved and resolved. This year, several Charles Todd books made it to the five-of-five-stars category.
1. Wings of Fire (Book 2 of the Ian Rutledge series--the more somber of the two series I have read by Charles Todd).
2. Legacy of the Dead (Book 4 of the Ian Rutledge series).

4.  Alexander McCall Smith.
I think Alexander McCall Smith is an acquired taste--and I have acquired it. :o)  There are a couple of his series that I dislike but the rest are great!  Several of his books made it to the five-of-five-star list.
1. The Dog who Came in from the Cold (Book 2, Corduroy Mansions).
2. A Conspiracy of Friends (Book 3, Corduroy Mansions).
3. The Importance of Being Seven (Book 6 of 44 Scotland Street).
4. The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection (Book 13 in #1 Ladies' Detective Agency).

5.  Jennifer A. Nielsen.
While I have read just two of Nielsen's books, I really liked both of them and I am anxiously awaiting publication of the third in the series.
1. The False Prince (I read it in 2012 and it is Book 1 in The Ascendance Trilogy).  (YA Fiction.)
2. The Runaway King (Book 2 in The Ascendance Trilogy). (YA Fiction.)

6.  Carla Kelly.
I am a bit reluctant to add her as a favorite author of 2013, except that I read two of her books this year and both made it to the five-out-of-five-stars list.  She has published a lot of romance books, not all of which would be up to my standards. I started one from her earlier days that I had to stop reading.  She is LDS and has moved back to Utah.  I believe the books published since her return to Utah by Cedar Fort would be LDS standards. These two were.
1.  Safe Passage.
2.  Borrowed Light (Book 1 of Borrowed Light series).

7.  Sarah M. Eden.
I just love some of Sarah Eden's books (The Kiss of a Stranger, The Lancaster Sisters series, the Jonquil Brothers series) and I am eagerly waiting the reprinting of some of her earlier books.
1. Drops of Gold (Book 2 of the Jonquil Brothers series).

8.  Ivan Doig.
I think Ivan Doig is also an acquired taste and I have to be in a particular mood to listen to his books.  For both of his books that I "read" this year, I listened to the audio book version, which I think enhanced the reading experience of this author's works for me.
1. The Whistling Season.
2. The Bartender's Tale.

9.  Cora Harrison.
Her other books have made it on my "Top Ten" lists before.  I love her Burren series (Ireland, lady judge, married to the king, runs a school for training lawyers).  Reading these books makes me have to listen to Irish music. :o)
1. Laws in Conflict (Book 8 in the Burren series).

10.  Marissa Meyer.
The first book in the Lunar Chronicles series Cinder made it on my top ten list last year.  The second book in the series makes it on my list this year.
1.  Scarlet (Book 2 in the Lunar Chronicles series). (YA Fiction.)

11.  Sian Ann Bessey.
I have enjoyed reading a lot of Sian Bessey's books this year (LDS fiction) and one of her more recent ones earned five stars from me.
1.  You Came For Me.

12.  Nancy Allen Campbell.
I read all of her books we had in our school library.  Some made it to the five-star list.
1.  Isabelle Webb: Legend of the Jewel (Book 1 in the Isabelle Webb series).
2.  Isabelle Webb: The Pharaoh's Daughter (Book 2 in the Isabelle Webb series). (Just an aside: Book 3 was a disappointment.)
3. Love Beyond Time (Book 1 in the Time series--time travel).

13.  Lisa Tawn Bergren.
I have enjoyed reading The River of Time series (time travel).  Books 1 and 2 made it to the five-star list. The farther into the series I've read, the fewer the stars I give them so I am not raving about this series at this point, but those two books did get five stars from me.  Maybe that is why she is in the "lucky" 13th spot. Ha! I would like to try other books by Bergren (a Christian fiction author) because she has such likable characters.

Best Audio Book for 2013
The best audio book I listened to this year was Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol that was at the lds.org site.  It was a dramatized version that really brought the story to life for me and really touched me.

Best Christian Fiction (as opposed to LDS fiction) for 2013
Meine gute.  I have read/listened to a LOT of Christian fiction this year.  Most of it ranks at three of five stars.  This was one book that made it to the top of my list.  I don't recall it being a five-star book but perhaps it benefited from comparison to the other, in my opinion, lesser Christian fiction books I have made it through this year. I do like how Klassen uses the English language.
1.  The Silent Governess by Julie Klassen.

Two Excellent Non-fiction Books for 2013
1. Outwitting History: The Amazing Adventures of a Man Who Rescued a Million Yiddish Books by Aaron Lansky.
 2. This Just In: What I Couldn't Tell You on TV by Bob Schieffer (I loved listening to this on audio book).

Some stand-alone recommendations.
1. Reality Check by Karen Tuft.**
2. A Kiss in Time by Alex Flinn (I re-read this in 2013).**
3. 52 Reasons to Hate My Father by Jessica Brody.**
4. The Cadet of Tildor by Alex Lidell.**
5. Variant by Robison Wells.**
6. A Drowned Maiden's Hair by Laura Amy Schlitz.
7. Through the Ever Night (Book 2 in the Ever Night series) by Veronica Rossi.
8.  Daddy-Long-Legs by Jean Webster.
9. Dark Angel by Robert Kirby.

And there you have it for 2013!

Goal Realized!

What seemed like a fun and simple reading goal back when I was keeping my sprained foot elevated for months on end, felt like a lot of work from about October forward as we went headlong into the holiday season!  However, I am happy to report that on December 26th, 2013, I hit my goal of reading 365 books in one year.  That is a once-in-a-lifetime event. 

Just for laughs

Edna Mode is the super hero costume designer on the movie "The Incredibles." Since I dyed my hair a dark brown (shhh, don't tell) and purchased new glasses, I have suddenly felt a resemblance to Edna Mode.  With a name like Edna, how could she be anything but great, right?!

New specs

I am waiting for these glasses to come.  I have had my last pair for six years (wow, huh?).  I hope I like these as well as I think I will right now.

Edna=isms, Forty-six

1) Turn the feather over in your cap.  This meant to get ready to go somewhere really fast or to not make a lot of fuss when you were getting ready to go somewhere.
2) Crack pot.  Common idiom.  Sometimes I really don't know if these sayings are common or unique until I look them up.
3) That will go over like a lead balloon.  It means a bad idea.
4) Mad as a wet hen.  A common idiom meaning really mad.
5) Queen of the May.  Mom might say someone (a girl) looked like the Queen of the May if she were all fancied up to go somewhere. "She looked like the Queen of the May!"
6) I don't have any oomph.  It meant being tired.
7) Better than a kick in the pants.  Just what it sounds like.
8) Oh, I love to watch my poor old mother work.  I thought Mom told me this was an old song.  She would use this phrase when we kids seemed to be sitting around while she was working.
9) A change is as good as a rest.  A word of wisdom....
10) Living the life of Riley.  I thought this would be a common idiom.  It means sewing wild oats.
11) Living high on the hog.  A common idiom.  Living extravagantly.
12) All apple pie ala mode.  When something is very neatly done up or looked good, Mom might say, "It was done up all apple pie ala mode."
13) Nervy Norvis.  This was a name for someone who had a lot of nerve. "What a Nervy Norvis!"
14) Nervous Nelly.  This was a name for a nervous person. "Don't be a Nervous Nelly!"
15) 'Til kingdom come!  Doing something forever and ever--like an endless job.  "We'll be bottling these peaches 'til kingdom come!"
16) Being on someone's stink list or someone is on your stink list.  When someone is not in someone's favor.  "He's really on my stink list!"
 17) Sister Sue Sally M'Lou. A name Mom might call my sister or me.
18) A list as long as your arm. A long list, usually of things to do.  "My list of things to do is as long as your arm."
19) She won't know what hit her.  Something coming as a surprise to someone else.
20) As long as Nelly's dream.  I really thought this would be a common idiom but I couldn't find it.  It means something is really long.  Who is this Nelly?

Edna-isms, Forty-five

1) Laugh, Clown!  Mom would say this to us when she did something unintentionally that made us laugh--something the equivalent of a slip and fall or of dropping something on the floor.  It meant that we were laughing at her now but we had done similar oopsies ourselves.
2) Destructions.  A joke word for instructions.
3) Cold as Christmas or cold as Klondike.  Just what they sound like.
4) Undressed blues.  This meant someone was in their undies, such as when someone might knock on Mom's bedroom door and Mom would reply : "I'm in my undressed blues."
5) Let's get crackin'!  Meaning: let's get to work or go on errands or whatever.
6) They're not giving it away.  This meant something was expensive.
7) Owling around.  This meant someone was staying up late at night doing something.
8) Pu-firm.  A joke word for perfume.
9) If I were half the girl I think I am. Mom might say:  "If I were half the girl I think I am, I would [do some good thing].  This usually meant she thought of it but wasn't going to do it.
10) By hook or by crook (or by hook or crook).  A common idiom.  It means you're going to do something no matter what.
11) I want to do this like I want warts.  It means what it sounds like it means.
12) Back/Off to the salt mines.  This meant back to work or off to work--usually some job that someone didn't want to do.
13) Like a sore heel or worse than a sore heel.  This was said in regard to a person who was a pest, like a whiny child.
14) No matter what else keeps. "I have to pay my taxes today no matter what else keeps!"  It was a job that absolutely had to be done.
15) Old Sober Sides.  This was a name for a family member who seemed serious or in a bad mood.  "Come here, Old Sober Sides, and eat some dinner."
16) One good deed deserves another.  This could be used just like it sounds or it could be used sarcastically.
17) Smells like a house afire!  Something stinks.
18) A call to arms.  This means a call to take up arms in an attack and Mom would use this when she heard something that she felt stirred us to take some action.  "Well, that was a call to arms!"
19) Good enough for the boys I go with.  This had absolutely nothing to do with dating or boys or anything.  It meant something was good enough for Mom.  It could be food, clothing, hairstyle, etc.
20) A fate worse than death.  A common idiom but Mom often employed it as a joke--for something not really worse than death but not desired.

Edna-isms, Forty-four

I am still keeping a list on my iPad of Edna-isms as they occur to me but I am to the point where there are so many that I struggle to identify repeats of those Edna-isms I have already posted here.  So bear with me.  Also, for the time being (or longer), I am leaving off the pictures. It is hard to tell repeats there, too.

1)  Stew in one's own juice. According to the idiom site, this means to be left alone to your own disappointment or anger.
2)  Go through something with a fine toothed comb.  According to the idiom site, this means to go through something carefully.
3) Don't mishmash/I won't mishmash/No mishmashing.  Mishmash means a hodgepodge.  However, Mom used these phrases to mean "no beating around the bush" or "no lollygagging."
4) Mean as a strychnine tomcat.  This meant someone who was pretty mean.
5) Put a little zizz boom bah into it.  This meant to put a little zip into something.
6) It'll put hair on your chest.  I really thought this would be a common idiom.  Maybe I am not typing it in correctly. My main recollection of the use of this was about food. If I didn't like something, she would reply, "Eat it.  It will put hair on your chest."  It was also said as an "encouragement" to do hard things.  Of course, as a girl, who wants hair on HER chest?!
7) Cabbash.  A joke word approximation for cabbage.
8) Lady Goose or Lady Goosely.  Two nicknames Mom might call C or me.
9) Slumgullion.  It means a watery meat stew but Mom used it for a dish with a variety of ingredients mixed together.
10) Wisenheimer.  A smart alack.  Common idiom.
11) Horse Pistol.  A joke word approximation for hospital.
12) Not fit for man nor beast.  I really thought this would be a common idiom.  It means pretty much what it sounds like.
13) Every last jack dab.  It might be used like this:  "You need to eat every last jack dab of that."
14) There's more than one way to skin a cat.  A common idiom.
15) Who dat sayin', "Who dat?" when I say who dat?  This was some old radio saying that my mother liked to use when, perhaps, she heard someone coming but did not know yet who it was.
16) Enjoying poor health.  This is one of my favorites.  It was said about someone who was sick and seemed to enjoy being pampered and taken care of and perhaps enjoyed it so much that the "enjoyer" didn't want to get up and be back among the healthy.
17) That'll teach you/me how to take a joke!  When something backfired, Mom might use this phrase.
18) If you're 30 [or whatever age], how old does that make me?  This was something my mother would say to us, her children.  This was said as a joke and not because of dementia.
19) Oh to be 70 again!  My mother was the baby of the family.  One day, she was complaining to her older sister (B) about turning 70.  Aunt B relied, "Oh to be 70 again!"  This became one of Mom's phrases she liked to use.
20) Not all they're cracked up to be.  Strangely, the idiom is cracked up to be--as an affirmative: "She was cracked up to be a pretty good player."  I have never heard it used like this.  Mom meant that someone or something was not all it was reputed to be or not all the person considered himself/herself to be.  A common sentence Mom said when using this phrase was: "Children are not all they're cracked up to be."  This meant children are sometimes a pain in the neck.

Little bird leaves the nest

Last Wednesday, a little bird flew the coop and landed at college.  She is excited to be there and I am excited for her!

A goal for 2013

Since the last of the pre-scheduled Edna-isms posted last week, I felt I needed to follow up with something else just to move the blog along. So I thought I would divulge a goal I have been working on  this year.  To preface, I need to say that I read 180 books last year and so I thought I would bump that up to 200 for this year. However, for about the first three months of the year, I sat with my bad ankle elevated while I read books instead of watching TV.  So I decided to up that goal to 365 books. So far, I have read about 244 books, which puts me about 10% ahead of schedule. I have to admit that I avoid heavy reading (it would slow my brain down!!) and thick books, preferring to fly through thinner books to keep on schedule. However, I have read some thicker books along the way and the thinner books are not like children's picture books, either. My goal is not in the bag, yet! We will see whether I can pull this off.  

Edna-isms, Part Forty-three

Edna captured in newspaper photo with Pres. Ronald Reagan.

1.  "Lost my zizz-wheel." Well, I looked this up online and I should probably leave this out of the Edna-isms line-up.  I won't even mention what zizz-wheel really means.  HOWEVER, Mom meant her brain or her mind.  She might say, "If I should ever lose my zizz-wheel . . . " which, unfortunately, she really did do eventually.

2.  "What you don't know won't hurt you."  This was usually said about someone who wasn't present and about something that absent person was not likely to discover.  Let's say we were somewhere and were given a plate of cookies, which we promptly ate before sharing with someone at home.  This is total fiction but then regarding the person who missed out on the cookies, Mom might say, "What she doesn't know won't hurt her."

3,  "To make a long story short."  If I had a nickel for every time I have heard this phrase from my mother's lips, I would be a rich, rich woman.

New calling

As of July 18th, I was called to be the stake YW secretary in the presidency that was called back in March.  I was sustained on July 25th, and set apart this past Sunday. 

PGB, JE, LW and DE.  Fun group.  

Edna-isms, Part Forty-two

1.   "Breeding a scab on your nose."  I found only one reference to this online, on some woman's blog, and she said it was a common Midwestern phrase meaning you are asking for trouble and you are likely going to get it. I think my mother used it to mean we were acting up and were about to get in trouble (i.e., punished--although my mother was not a punishment kind of mom).  It was kind of like another saying she used, "You're cruisin' for a bruisin'."

2.  "What in the name of Peter Alice?!"  This was a common cuss phrase.  I have no idea where it came from.

3.  "Spitting distance."  Ah, I always thought this was just my mother's phrase, but it is a known idiom meaning "within reach or not far away."

Edna-isms, Part Forty-one

1.  There were several commonly known idiomatic phrases Mom would use:

• "Don't take any wooden nickels."  This is a known idiomatic phrase meaning take care of yourself.  This was also a phrase that Mom say when someone was leaving.  
• 
  
• "Deaf as a post"--just what it sounds like.  
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• "Wild as a March hare," meaning . . . well, I never knew this . . . but a hare in breeding season, as in an excitable hare.  
• 
  
• "Not worth a plug nickel," means a coin with a hole in the middle and therefore valueless.  
• 
  
• "Put that in your pipe and smoke it!" That means:  "You do it and see how YOU like it." I always thought this was my mother's own expression.  Now I know it was not. 
• 
  
• "Fighting tooth and nail."  This means really fighting, either physically or verbally.

Happy July 24th

L and I were in the July 24th parade this morning! Happy July 24th everyone!

Edna-isms, Part Forty

My wedding dinner.

"Lochinvar."  This was what my mother called my husband back when he and I were first dating.  "How is Lochinvar?"  "When is Lochinvar coming?"  It was a reference to an epic poem by Sir Walter Scott.  Evidently my grandmother (my mother's mother) used to quote from the poem.  Here is the poem's first stanza:

O young Lochinvar is come out of the west,
Through all the wide Border his steed was the best;
And save his good broadsword he weapons had none,
He rode all unarm'd, and he rode all alone.
So faithful in love, and so dauntless in war,
There never was knight like the young Lochinvar.

Attempt at a little patriotic baking! HA!

L and I decided we would try a little patriotic cake on the 4th of July.  This is what it was supposed to look like.  

Very lovely, very red, white and blue, right?  Well, to give us a little credit, we did not see the picture until AFTER we made our cake.  

You use a white cake mix (mix following the instructions on the package).  Then take out one cup of batter and mix in red food coloring.  Take out another cup of frosting and mix with blue food coloring. Grease a bundt pan well and pour in red first, then white, then blue.  Bake and cool according to the instructions on the box.  

Now, here's were things went awry.

I was shy about adding lots of food coloring--it can turn frosting or cake into something that turns the eater's teeth red.  So we ended up with a cake with a hot pink top and a green (well, teal blue) bottom.  It looked more like a carnival cake than a patriotic cake.  

Somehow, despite my best efforts, the cake stuck to the pan, so we peeled out the pieces and just set them on the cake.  This made the cake looked a bit "pre-eaten" (as you can see below).

For frosting, you take a white "can" of frosting and divide it in thirds.  Microwave one third and color it blue. Drizzle over the cake. Microwave the white and drizzle, then microwave and color the last one red and drizzle over the cake.  Use patriotic sprinkles (which we did not have).

As you can see for yourself, we were only slightly more adventurous in adding color to the frosting!  When L finished drizzling the frosting, she said, "This looks more like a Doctor Seuss cake!"  Yep.

Strange but tasty cake and some fun memories with L.

Faith Quote

"In faith there is enough light for those who want to believe, and enough shadow to blind those who don't."

--Blaise Pascal

Edna-isms, Part Thirty-nine

Mom in the hat.  She was in a church/community? play.

1.  "Cheek to jowl."  The common phrasing is "cheek by jowl" and refers to part of the face.  My mother used it like this: "We were working cheek to jowl."  So close together that our faces were touching--exaggeration, of course.

2.  "Going through ________ like gangbusters."  We might be "going through eggs like gangbusters" or "going through money like gangbusters" or "going through clothes like gangbusters."  In other words, we were using up some consumable resource really fast.

3.  "Gimme an hour!"  This was used in place of: "Gimme a minute."

A glance back

This blog post is a glance back at the past few months (minus L's graduation and my masquerade at Walmart!).

B and I on my first time ever at Four Corners.

J going in to get his braces off. That day, we saw pictures of J when his braces were first put on--he was half as tall and still a little boy.  Now he is (as my mother would say) "a tall drink of water."

These Easter eggs were loaded in 2012 but the Easter Bunny finally hopped by in 2013!  *Whew!*
Couldn't find the Easter baskets in a hurry--so trick-or-treat buckets were put to work!
The Easter bunny will need to work on that for 2014, I guess.

L with her swim coaches at the last [*sigh*] swim banquet.  Great coaches!

J and L at their last ever piano recital.  *Sigh* and *whew* at the same time.  Well, *whew* and *sigh* respectively.

Someone having a birthday without getting any older! I know "old" and that is not what I am!

My sister's family after we went through with T to get his endowments.

G family reunion in June.  This is the family's old sorghum press being demonstrated.  I have heard a lot about it but never seen it.

Another shot of the sorghum press with me snapping photos.

T took Spring Term classes at a nearby university and he took a difficult and consolidated summer college class.

Of course this is from the spring--no one would wear long sleeves when it is 110 degrees.
B and Rosie are pictured here.
B is busy between his regular job and his fire work this summer.

So, we're up to our usual tricks.  How about you?

Edna-isms, Part Thirty-eight

1.  "Eat/eaten everything that isn't nailed down.  This meant someone was pretty hungry.

2.  "Don't break your arm patting yourself on the back!"  This was something my mother AND father said anytime someone was the least bit self-congratulatory.

3.  "[Something] throws us into the middle of next week!" This meant that something completely threw us for a loop or threw us off schedule.

Edna-isms, Part Thirty-seven

1.  "Up to our usual tricks" or "Up to our old tricks."  This would be a response to a "how are you" question or it might be used about someone else who was up to no good.

2.  "That would be the kiss of death."  She used this phrase to mean that something would be the end of some plan or activity. This was not usually used as part of a sentence but as a response phrase.

3.  "I'm busier than a one-armed paper hanger."  This is one of my personal favorites because it is exactly how it feels sometimes to be so busy and not making much headway on some big project.  Mom would use it to mean she was extra busy.

Crazy YW Activity

Somehow I was roped in to helping with a Young Women activity last week.  Along with several others, I was asked to dress up so the girls would not recognize me and I was to walk around Walmart while the girls tried to find us.  I knew I needed to somehow cover my hair and my face to the extent I could while not looking blatantly costumed.  I decided to go as a firefighter. Ha!  You can see the results.  Here I am with the other "suspects" aka "lost sheep" and definite good sports.  It was completely outside my comfort zone but I had said yes BEFORE knowing the details.  Note to self . . . .

Quick little summer project

I just finished making a cute little lap quilt for L to take to school in the fall.

Edna-isms, Part Thirty-six

Mom and some unknown person.

1.  "Well, I'll love ya and leave ya."  This was said jokingly at parting.

2.  "You leave the dance with the same boy you came with."  Some dating advice but I don't recall the occasion. This comes to my mind when I carpool--I've had kids go home with other people and not tell me.

3.  "See ya in the movies!" or "See ya on the ice!" (my personal favorite).  Two phrases by way of farewell that she might say when she or someone else was leaving.

L's Graduation

Hey, guess who graduated recently?  Yep, my seemingly main-blog-fodder person--my "best girl ever" daughter L.  

 Of course, no self-respecting competitive girl swimmer would be caught without her cap for a race but I loved this shot for the vivid bursts of color--neon goggles, bright green grass, sparkly blue eyes, and vivid red suit (not to mention L's cute expression).

Here is L and one of her "besties" NB at the Sterling Scholar regional competition.  L graduated 5th in her class, NB graduated 3rd, and another bestie (see seminary grad pic, next) graduated 4th.  What smart, cute friends.

Here is L and one of her "besties" KH displaying their four-year seminary graduation diplomas.

 Here is our grad with her principal, both posing by the H after graduation exercises in May.

 Here is the family after eating our celebratory post-graduation meal.  We almost forgot to take a family shot at all!  Whew--glad I did remember after all.

 My sister's son T graduated at the same time (same school) as L did.  Years ago, my sister and I hoped that we'd have children the same age.  Who knew it would be a boy and girl?

 Here is T and his dad--his dad who gave us a big scare by needing heart stents put in just two days before graduation!

Here is my sis and T, post-graduation.  C (my sis) hates to have her picture taken.  Why??  She looks great!  She always did have all the looks in the family!  :0)

Here is L with all of her graduation "bling."  You can barely see it but she has on the white (look by her neck) National Honor Society collar. The gold rope (see on the left) is for being in the top of her class academically.  She is wearing three medallions: a medallion for being the high school's English Sterling Scholar, a medallion for graduating with honors ("Seniors Honors Diploma"), and a medallion for taking rigorous course work (Utah Scholar's Award--associated with the Regent's Scholarship).  She is also wearing a pretty flower lei from her good dad who is thoughtful like that.  The baby blue ribbon pinned to one of the medallion ribbons was worn by the seniors in remembrance of a classmate's mother who had passed away the day before graduation.

So here is our girl, poised to drive off into the sunset (aka drive off to college) this fall.  What will there be to blog about once she's "off and away" (to borrow a phrase from Dr. Suess!)?