A Very Social February

Every once in awhile, Layne goes on a dieting kick.  He is on one now.  He starves himself into losing 20 pounds, rejoices over it for a day or two, then begins to delight in putting it all back on.  We are in the losing cycle at present.  Since I have 10 extra pounds that I've been thinking about losing for some years now, I decided to join him in his dieting efforts.  So we have come up with a system:  we eat breakfast, then only one more meal between 2:00 and 3:00.  Nothing but drinks after that.  I have to say that the pounds do drop off under such a routine.  My plan is to lose just a pound a month for this year so that I have some hope of keeping it off.  So far I'm ahead.  But once Layne goes off his diet, I may have a harder time.  We will see.

A little challenge to our eating plan comes up when we eat with friends.  Which we have done a lot of this month.  We've served dinner for our missionaries, our local CA friends, and several other groups.  I continue to be surprised by the social activities we find ourselves indulging in here on a very regular basis.  This is a social, friendly place like no other I have experienced.  Our CA friends, Chris and Hedy Eyre, came for lunch this week, on their way to Twin Falls, to visit their son, Adam.  They are quality people and a joy to be associated with.  It was a short, but lovely visit.  I'm happy that we are on the way to other places people want to go to.  It seems like we often get visitors on their way to someplace else.

I don't think I mentioned before that not long ago I went in for a yearly physical where they took my weight and height.  "Five feet four and a half inches," the nurse informed me.  Hum.  I'm supposed to be five feet six inches I told her.  Firmly she assured me that her measurement was correct.  I've lost one and a half inches!  That puts me in a whole new weight category!  Hence the weight loss discussed above.  Here you see me with Chris and Hedy.  I look pretty short, don't I?  But keep in mind that Hedy is six feet two and Chris is slightly taller.

Among the many dinner and lunch dates we have had was one with my neighbor and buddy, Carol Wintersteen.  She wanted to take me to lunch for my birthday.  Yes, I know it was in January, but this week was the first time we could get together.  And why not stretch a perfectly good birthday out for as long as possible?  So we enjoyed a Chinese lunch complete with a free Birthday dessert.  Not very good for the diet, but I didn't eat anything for the rest of the day.  Aren't I the disciplined one!  Here you can see Carol and me at the end of a delicious meal.

Our snow fall has been amazing this winter, and covered the ground for many weeks.  This past week brought lots of rain, finally washing all the snow away and revealing the dead lawn and plants below. How dreary the landscape has looked without its white covering.  But, we decided, for this year the snow is gone for good.  Then today a snow blizzard arrived.  We are under snow again!  What a wonder!  I'm sure it won't last as warmer weather is due, but what a fun, unpredictable winter it has been.

Lately I've been frustrated in my efforts to get any of my many goals met.  I have a whole list of things I want to accomplish.  But my mind has been made of mush lately.  "Just relax," my husband tells me.  So, for the last few days I have.  But my muddled mind is churning with a hazy view of what I should be doing.  How does one achieve the right balance between producing and relaxing?  I struggle with this, even now.  Perhaps I'll ponder this for awhile while I watch the snow fall.

California Fun

I wasn't home from Draper very long before Layne and I headed to California, mostly to attend the baptism of son Ben's daughter, Abigail.  She was born just before we lost our granddaughter, Carmen, to brain cancer.  So Ben and Jessica gave Abigail Carmen as a middle name.  Abigail Carmen was baptized February 11th.

We flew into San Jose the previous Thursday and rented a car for the weekend.  We got there just in time to help grandson, Timmy, celebrate his birthday.  We enjoyed a visit to Reed and Dorothy's for that purpose and had a great visit, including meeting grandson James' new girlfriend.  He is set to join the Navy in June.  It will be interesting to see how that works out for him.

Timmy loves legos.  That is just about all he got for his birthday!

My father's younger brother, my Uncle Mike, lives in the Bay Area.  He is 97 now and becoming a little frail.  He's now staying with daughter Judy and her husband, Stan.  We visited them in San Francisco on Friday.  Uncle Mike was lying on a bed in their living room.  I had a sweet visit with him, until he became too tired.  I fear that he will soon be gone.  He is the last of the "older" generation in our family.  When he is gone, we are next!  We had a sweet visit with Judy and Stan too.  I felt impressed that I should give them a Book of Mormon, so I did.  I get worried about doing that as I'm afraid of not introducing it properly.  But I did the beset I could.  I hope they will read it.  I have quite tender feelings for my cousin Judy.  She and Stan are good people.

We headed to Palo Alto on Saturday morning for Abigail's baptism.  I was blessed to speak on baptism.  I've spoken at the baptisms of most of our grandchildren and I've tried to make each talk unique for each child.  I struggled this time but had an impression to use music, and, of course, pictures.  So I illustrated each point in the talk with an illustration with Abigail's picture inserted.  As I spoke of heaven and the Lord, Reed played a sweet little melody.  When I spoke of temptations and Satan, he played a deep unharmonious  sound.   I worried that it might not work well, but it did. Reed did a perfect job and made it quite memorable.  We had a generally sweet time with all the family there, during the baptismal service and during the luncheon afterwards.

Ben and Abigail, just before her baptism.  The hot water heater was broken, so she was immersed in cold water.  She didn't seem to notice!

Granddaughter Rayne went to the temple for the first time last month.  We missed being there for that, so I felt anxious to go through with her during this trip.  So we did Saturday afternoon.  I love being in the Oakland Temple!  It is "our" temple and runs with such a warm, loving spirit.  Being with Rayne is always a happy goal with me so it was wonderful to spend this little bit of time with her and Audrey and Cliff.

Our Adams-Harts outside the Temple:  Rayne, Layne, Audrey and Cliff.

Earlier in the week Ben invited us to go dancing with him, Jessica and Jessica's parents, Judy and John Ault.  Dancing.  Ben doesn't like to dance.  He resisted all my efforts to teach him when he was little.  So this invitation was interesting, coming from Ben.  It turns out that a good friend of his recently retired and is opening a dance "club" of sorts.  He wants to sponsor a couple of big event dances a year, complete with a gourmet dinner, in various venues around the area.  His opening event was February 11th.  He wanted a full house, so he told Ben that if he and Jessica (and the rest of us) would come, there would be no charge.  So Ben agreed.

Could I turn such an invitation down?  Absolutely not!  Layne didn't give me much resistance either.  We agreed to go!  Then I asked him what the dress was.  Formal.  Oh dear.  That calls for a fancier outfit than I have and a tux for Layne.  I managed to find something that would do, and Layne rented a tux.  We set off.  What fun it was!  We danced all night and Layne did a great job of allowing me to lead him along.  Usually he forgets the dance step if I distract him with chatter, but not that night.  He was right on.  It has been so long since we have danced.  I loved it.  And I loved seeing my Ben dance with his lovely girl for many of the dances.  He even let me give him some dancing pointers.  Maybe he will get into it yet.  Dancing, you know, is like any physical activity.  It isn't much fun until your body learns what to do without effort and concentration.  But once the body is trained to it, dancing is euphoric!  Plus it can be a wonderful way to meet people.

Layne in his rented tux, before we left for the dance.  Doesn't he look excited?

 


After a lovely Sabbath with Audrey and Cliff, Reed and Dorothy and kids, we headed home early Monday morning.  We have been involved in tons of activities ever since.  I'm grateful that we can pull off such a frantic pace at this time of life. Well, not without a few naps.  Since our return, the snow has retreated and the temperatures are up.  We are now into rain, not snow.  "What a winter," the locals deep repeating.  In a complaining sort of way, mostly.  But I have loved it.  This amazing winter appears to be on the departure trail now.  Perhaps Spring is around the corner.

A Berrett Good Time

My brother-in-law, Bob Berrett, has been in need of a new knee for awhile now.  He has been putting it off, knowing that the following convalescence would take more time than he wanted to spend.  He worries about my sister, Maryanne, and the help she needs right now.  So I volunteered to help out when he decided to do the surgery.  That took place on January 25th.  So I headed to Draper, Utah, to assist where I could.  I spent 11 days with them.  The surgery went well and the convalescence has set in, as predicted.  It is easy to forget how long it takes to heal when one is outside of the experience.  Once in, it is hard to be patient.  It is hard for Bob.  He wants to be on his feet RIGHT NOW.  But all good things take time.

Bob in his kingdom.

Maryanne and I set up a routine; regular ice for Bob's knee; fixing food that he would eat (that's tricky as Bob doesn't especially like food); making sure he is warm and comfortable.  Then doing Maryanne's hair and helping her with various other things.  In between, we did some personal history and watched Hallmark movies.  The time passed quickly and pleasantly.  It might look as if being involved with this kind of caring would be hard and unpleasant but I did not find it so.  Instead, I found myself enjoying being with Bob and Maryanne.  There is something nourishing to the soul about being useful.  For some reason I have need of being just that.  It is rewarding to me.

Maryanne and I visited with our first foster daughter, Laura White, one day.  We bonded over Jamba Juice.  Laura is retiring from her house cleaning business and going on a mission.  LIfe has not been easy for her, but she has a buoyancy about her, and an enthusiasm for life.  She is a lovely girl and soon will be headed to Independence, MO for an 18 month mission.  She is so excited!  She is a lovely "spark plug" kind of girl who, I feel, is greatly treasured by the Lord for her faithfulness and
joyful spirit.

Laura and me at our Jamba Juice meeting.

Maryanne was with us too.

We spent a little time with nephews too.  B&M's sons Brent, Mark and Bryan, all came to visit.  Bryan's wife Jessica (yet another family "Jessica") came with two of her children.  It was such fun connecting with her little bundle of energy, Maggie.

Jessica with son James and daughter, Maggie.

One of my gripes about traveling without Layne is that he never communicates with me while I'm gone.  By the time I return home, he is always happy to see me, but I tend to feel a bit miffed about his lack of communication.  But this time he sent me texts every day!  I felt so connected to him.  When I got home I felt so warm and loving towards him.  Wow.  I knew this is how it could be and, this time, it was!  I think men don't always realize how important communication is to us women.  We like to bond on many levels.  Men seem to be perfectly happy to localized that bonding to just one rather physical category.

It is good to be home once again.  I'm finding that I need to readjust to where things are here.  I spent just enough time at the Berretts to get used to a routine and locations for things.  When Layne is home without me, he always manages to do something extra.  It is fun to discover his surprises.  This time he mended the laundry room ceiling, which has needed to be done for months.  He cleaned places I've ignored, in some cases ever since we came here.  He takes pleasure in accomplishment and I find that I do too.  So I'm enjoying his hard work and I'm back in my element here at home, and happy to be so.