It May Be Spring

There are signs of green outside.  Rumor is that spring and summer here are lovely.  So far we are surrounded by brown.  But a bit of green is pocking out here and there.  The trees are budding out.  Being a California girl almost all of life, I can't help feeling a little excited by the dramatic changes that nature promises to be turning out all around me.  It's not the California way.

Layne and I have been super involved in stuff.  House stuff of course.  Audrey's kitties wander in and out of our space, begging for food and attention.  Life interrupts stuff, but I much prefer the life.

And speaking of that, son Gerald and his family arrived for a weekend visit.  They will soon be off to Utah, but will return to us later in April.  It is wonderful to have them here.  Daughter in law Frances is having all sorts of trouble sleeping and managing the stress in her life.  We are hoping that time in this quiet, peaceful place will calm her spirits and settle her a little.  Gerald is full of ideas and theories.  Sometimes he reminds me of me and my own personal collection of theories.  His conversation is rich in ideas.  I enjoy his tender heart and his desire for a balanced, productive life.

We had fun providing an Easter treasure hunt for our Chinese grandchildren.  They experience little of that in Taiwan, so it is especially fun to see them experience some of these American traditions that our kids have come to expect.  The treasure was a basket of candy of course.  Grandson Seth had no problem munching on the extreme sweets that most asians avoid.  Granddaughter Angelica had trouble coming up with the courage to try one of the chocolates.  She eventually did and liked it OK, in very small doses.  So that just goes to prove that not everyone flips for sugar.  I think she had more fun finding than eating.

One of my spiritual ponderings has been how to use the Atonement more effectively and frequently.  In preparing my new sunday school class for a discussion on this subject, I read a talk by Elder Bednar.  He mentioned that the Atonement is not just meant to make bad people good but is also meant to make good people better.  He said that it is designed to aid us, strengthen us, improve us and to help us to perform beyond our natural abilities as well.  Somehow I missed that before.  With this information I feel armed to use the Savior's gift to much better advantage in the future.  The Savior can lift burdens but, much more often, he strengthens us to make them lighter.  This is my "ah-ha" moment for the week.

Son Gerald with Seth, checking out one of his
treasure hunt clues.

Grandchildren Angelic and Seth inspecting their sweet
treasure.  Seth had no trouble munching it down; Angelica
is a bit more cautious about it.

Seth at work at his never-ending school work.  Taiwan schools
require long hours devoted to school studies.  Gerald thinks
it is a bit too much.  Frances thinks it is all perfectly normal.

       

The Fun of New

I was planning on spending last Tuesday at home.  Every minute.  So I wore junky clothes.  I didn't comb my hair or do much in the way of make-up.  I had a total "grunge" day planned.  But Layne had other ideas.  He wanted to get our Idaho driver's license and other necessary things done.  So I pulled myself together and we got it done.  We are official Idaho drivers now.

On the way home I talked Layne into stopping by R.C. Willey's to look at a bunk bed I thought would be good.  We've decided to furnish our remaining bedroom with one.  He went for it and we bought it.  On the way out we looked at living room furniture.  Guess what.  We bought some of that too. Then we found some furniture for the "TV" room.  We got it all.  Wow.  We've never bought so much in such a short period of time, ever.

Since the living room was about to be filled with furniture, I decided it was a good time to paint one of the walls.  So I transformed the mustardy, beigey wall into...RED.    All the furniture came on Friday and its all arranged.  Wow, what a transformation.  The place is looking pretty close to lived-in.  And I love the red!  Layne likes it too.

Here is the new living room.  I want to add a rug in between the
couch and chairs.  It needs some other touches too, but this is
a great start.

This is part of the TV room.  I'm going to move the
ottoman upstairs so there is more room here.  There's
more to do in this room too, but this is a major contribution.

My community singing group is rehearsing for spring performances in the community.  Mostly convalescent and assisted living places.  So the group isn't what I would fussy about parts.  It is mostly just a fun group of gals that enjoy singing.  At one point, a member of the group from our ward mentioned that Layne sings.  So he was asked to sing a song along with us.  "I'm not a soloist," he warned them.  But he is singing a solo and sang it for us last week.  He sounded great.  The girls were thrilled.  He is singing "I've Got Plenty of Nothin' " with us joining him for the chorus.  Who knew?
Now the girls have asked me to dance with him for another number.  So we are.  I would never have imagined that we would be doing this, but I like it.  Part of what I like is the lack of pressure to do a perfect job.  Singing really isn't my forte but I'm enjoying this.

You can't beat California for winter.  It is warm and green and lovely.  Not so here.  It's cold and everything outside is some shade of brown.  If not covered with snow that is.  But there are signs of a coming spring to be seen.  Little snippets of green are emerging in the expansive lawns in the neighborhood.  It is beginning to be comfortable to go outside with only a sweater.  I believe this place will show us a lovely spring.  I'm getting anxious to see it.

Making a Home

We each are a bundle of gifted parts and retarded parts.  I am gifted at knowing what I like in a home, but retarded in knowing how to create it.  I'm struggling with that problem as we unpack boxes each day and decide where the contents should go.  This house is lovely but organized quite differently from our old one.  I struggle to figure out how to effectively organize things here in a way that is functional and looks good.  I'll be so glad when this challenge is done, the place is a fine-tuned machine that works well and looks lovely.  I hope I can figure out how to pull that off.

I taught my first sunday school class today.  It was on the Atonement.  I read the material I have on how to teach the youth with the new program that involves them lots more.  We spent some time getting acquainted, then discussed what the Atonement actually was and what it should mean to us.  I was surprised at how little the kids seemed to know about it.  So I told them a story that was a kind of parable to explain the essence of Christ's gift.  They listened and they got the message.  I was so pleased that, for a few minutes, I had them.  That is the joy of teaching.  I wish I could experience that all the time.

Granddaughter Rayne is modeling jewelry designed by friend
Debbie Mitchell.  Her company is called, "Twisted Silver".

Layne reading the local paper in our informal eating space.
He's liking it.

Tonight would normally be our extended family home evening.  If we were home in California.  Happily, the kids are continuing it.  Today it is at Audrey and Cliff's house.  Ben "face-timed" me and we were able to visit with all the kids, almost as if we were there.  I so enjoyed it.  I miss family in spite of loving it here.  Face time is a miracle.  I'm grateful to live at such a time as this.