General Conference

Kirt and I always go over to our ward building to watch General Conference. There was 14 people there with us in the morning and 14 people there in the afternoon... that includes us. Right now he has gone to Priesthood Meeting which is broadcast only at the Vintage Park Building- our stake center.

It was announced that there will be some new temples: Lisbon, Portugal; Tijuana, Mexico; Indianapolis, Indiana;, Hartford, Connecticut; and another temple in the Philippines. Everyone in those locations will be so blessed.

Business Meeting in Clovis

Dad and I got to attend a PARMA meeting in Clovis on the afternoon of September 30 and all day October 1st. It was about Risk Management. I was a little worried to be gone so far from Shaunika, but kept my phone handy and she didn't go into labor.

The highlight of the trip was getting together with our good friends, Cathie and Cory Duersch. They were very close friends when we lived in Lancaster. We visited at their home and got caught up on all our kids and grand-kids, and reminisced about old times when Merika and Birke used to walk home from school with Beth, and all that entailed. Then we went out to eat. Cathie told me that their time in Lancaster was very difficult for them, and that it was our friendship that helped her through those dark days. I guess we never know when we can affect those around us just be being friendly.

Some Pictures from the Garden

A little bit of my tomato harvest. They're so little and yummy! (Ignore the waterspots.)

Marigolds that grew about 4 or 5 feet tall!

Samantha picking a tomato. She doesn't actually like them, but they're fun to pick.

Picking carrots.

"Look! It's just my size!"

100+ today

I substituted for the RS teacher who was teaching the TFOT lesson. She was out of town. I think it went well. It was a talk by President Eyring.

I have been serving as the Preparedness and Home Storage person, and trying to get the sisters inspired to get prepared, and to learn or re-learn how to cook. There is just too many people with too little in their cupboards!

Doors installed on the room under the stair!

Judy is losing weight...

She sent me three large, very tightly packed boxes of clothes. She always buys really nice things so it is very exciting. I haven't counted it all yet, I just go down to the love seat in the living room (where the boxes were unpacked) and take something new off the pile to wear each day. Fun!
Yesterday, I went through all the closets upstairs (not Kirt's or Birke's)and bagged up lots of my old clothes for the RS clothing swap then on to DI day in June.

Monday, May 17th

Birke arrives home. He traveled to John's last week, and then drove with them up to Jeff's for Lexie's Princess Birthday Party. I didn't have the room completely ready,(but the bed was visible) so his stuff is all over the living room, and he is gradually moving the stuff up to his room.

Thursday was Friday

I had the opportunity to fast yesterday for missionary work in our ward. Our ward was doing a 40 day fast with someone fasting every day. On the way home I decided to stop and buy a grilled chicken and other stuff to make a nice meal, and picked up a movie. Kirt has been working so hard every night in the little area under the stairs. and Wednesday had been extremely hard on him as he finished the sheet rock, all while sitting on a little stool under the stairs.
So when he came in the door, supper was ready, and Jeopardy was on and I announced that tonight was actually Friday night and we would have dinner and a movie and not do any work. We enjoyed the movie Hachi, about a dog who was so devoted to his owner that even after the owner died Hachi continued to wait at the train station every day.

Mormon Helping Hands

Today, all across California Mormons were involved in service projects. Every ward had a different project. Our ward did the spiff up and pruning at the Senior Center, then the whole stake got together for lunch. I was unable to help, except for sending jello, as I was in a class all day to learn Photo-shop Elements. I am so excited, I have asked dad to get me the software for Mother's Day- tomorrow. He can get it for a good price at the campus bookstore. I learned how to take the rips out of old photos, and did some black and white with color highlights on a picture of Judy that I will give her for her birthday.

The last week in April

We are all so blessed. Our ward is having a forty day fast for the missionary work, and Kirt and I signed up to fast on Tuesday, April 27th, and then we also signed up to feed the missionaries that night. We told them to be on time as we would be very hungry. It felt really good to do the fast together. Elder Dalton from Tooele, serving in our ward and Elder Logan from Hawaii- he was on splits from Rancho Cordova.

We see many around us losing their jobs, and are thankful that we both have employment.This morning Kirt has gone to WINCO to do a major grocery shop- my bet is that he will spend about $300. I gave him a list with many case of canned goods on it. I think it is important to keep well stocked.

A young father in our ward, Josh MacDonald, died in an auto accident this week, leaving wife and three children.

Out garden now has tomatoes and beans and squash out in the planter boxes, and Kirt transplanted some sunflower seedlings out along the back fence. We have other seedlings almost ready to go outside.

Saturday, April 24th

Kirt cut and installed the insulation in the area under the stairs. Then he cut the piece of sheet rock for the ceiling in that little area. It had to have 8 small square or rectangle holes cut into it to match up with electrical boxes for access. Yikes! it was a lot of work.

Planted Seedlings

On Monday, the 19th, Kirt put our little seedling beans and cucumbers out in the garden. We still have some other vegetables that are not quite ready. Yesterday it poured, so hopefully none of them drowned!
The sunflowers are all about 6 inches tall in their little pots, but their plot is not ready yet.

The Garden...

Every day Kirt comes home, changes and then goes out to work preparing the garden for planting. I started some seeds indoors to get them growing. We have 2 raised planter boxes, but really need more. The trick it putting them where the most sun hits for the longest time during the day. He had to turn over the soil and add some other dark stuff and dig it all up over and over.
The prophet has told us to plant a garden to help feed our families. When we tried growing corn last year and were not successful I showed these cobs to our Relief Society and told them "Don't wait till you NEED to feed your family from your garden to learn how!"
This morning he is able to plant the tomatoes- we bought plants for them. Our seeds are just popping up in their little boxes with the clear plastic domes to keep it warm and moist inside.
We have 2 different kinds of green beans, peas, squash and cucumbers and dill weed. I would like to bottle dill pickles this summer. I have not canned pickles since 1971.

"Pioneer Doctor"

I finished reading this book loaned to me from a friend. It was about a female doctor who went to practice in Montana for the mining companies. She was instrumental in educating the people about tuberculosis, and also lobbied for women to get to vote.

A New Grandson

We were thrilled to have John call us to tell us of the birth of their new little boy. Stephen Allan Stout weighed in at 6#1oz, 19 1/2 long, born Wednesday, March 24, 2010. One month early via a c-section delivery, Angie is doing well.

Saturday is a special day...

This morning Kirt went over and helped clean at our ward building. I did some laundry. He will continue working of preparations for the Passover Seder that the three gospel doctrine teachers are presenting for our ward. He has to go to Priesthood Leadership Meeting this afternoon at 345 to sing in a choir, then the choir sings again in the 7pm session, and again in Stake Conference. We have a visiting General Authority, Bruce Porter- he was in the same mission as Kirt, but a bit later.
I will do an online assignment in my Adobe Acrobat 9 class. I need to send it today, as it is due by 11:59pm 3/20/10. I checked out my Grandma Blog and now Landon, Jordan, Lexie and Bransen had their pictures posted with their new pillowcases. Kitana and Ronan pictures were posted last week. John sent me a picture of Megan on his phone with her pillowcase. Angie is due to have a c-section 4/16, but at her apt the other day her BP was elevated a bit, so they will recheck her again on Monday.
I watched the video "Music America", the presentation by Troupe Cabana a few years ago. I enjoyed all the sections that had Birke performing the most, but it was all good.

Spring is here...

In California, it is time to be thinking seriously about putting in our garden. Our peach trees are in bloom, the apricot and pears and already bloomed and the blossoms are gone. I hope to get a fruit dehydrator this year.
Kirt has the soil in our raised planter boxes all turned over and ready for planting. We have some Raspberry and Marion berry plants ready to plant. - we just don't know for sure where they will go.
The 2 pots of hyacinths that Kirt gave me for Valentine's are blooming on the front entryway and they smell heavenly.
We have a Pomegranate tree that Samantha gave Grampa- it should go in the back yard somewhere.
I think we might build an arbor on the south side and grow some grapes. Then I will have the fruit I need to be able to can fruit cocktail. (except the maraschino cherries and I think fruit cocktail will be just fine without them.)

PASSOVER - April 2nd

This year in our Gospel Doctrine class we are studying the Old Testament. Dad is planning and preparing to have a Passover Seder for those in the class interested in knowing the symbolism of the Passover. A few years ago when he was the YM President he put one on for the YM and YW, and it was very interesting.

Ronald McDonald House

Yesterday, Kirt was involved in a service project at the Ronald McDonald house in Sacramento. He and a bunch of guys from work went there and weeded flowerbed and made it all beautiful.

While he was out weeding, I had to go to an orientation for my online class on Adobe Acrobat. We are using it quite a bit at my work, scanning lots of documents into PDF, etc. I find that no matter how much I know about the "uses of", and "how to do", with a different software- if I take a class in it I end up learning tons more! It is an 8-week class. I am also taking a beginning database (Access 2007)on-line class for the same 8 week period.

Fabric to the Humanitarian Room at our DI

The word came to us in RS that the Humanitarian Room in our DI was out of fabric. They are making quilts for Haiti and now also Chile. So it was Launa to the Rescue... I pulled out everything from the closet shelf in Merika's old room- and put it all into a bag. I pulled out boxes from under the bed in same room- fabric to donate. I even took several boxes from the bottom of the closet in same room. All total is was about 400 yards of fabric. Dad dropped it off today on his lunch. I also donated a lot of yarn so they can tie the quilts, and a few quilt bats.
Last year I donated a lot of fabric to the Sacramento Chapter of Project Linus and the Elk Grove Quilt Guild(this was from the shed in the big plastic bins).
When the weather is nice I think dad and I can go through the garage and find a bit more to donate.

Too bad I had all that sitting there unsewn, but at least I can donate it to a very worthy cause.

Kirt adds

I began the under-stairs project New Year's Eve, as I had just arrived home and had no plans for the evening, as Launa was in Twin Falls. I had hoped to have it done by spring, but it's not done and yard work beckons. Yesterday I mowed and edged front and back lawns and pruned the grapefruit tree. I turned the raised gardens two weeks ago. We like lots of rain, but at the moment we need some good weather so the bees can come out and pollinate the apricot tree, which has been in bloom for two full weeks now. There's maybe 5-7 more days before it's too late to pollinate.

After yard work in the daylight I spent another couple of hours on the project during the evening hours. We're going to have a secret, back door to the area through the back of the coat closet. The back door will mean nothing is completely buried at the back of the storage area. Hanging coats, etc. will have to be moved to open the 24" x 52" door, but it will be easier that moving all boxes in front to get to boxes in the back. I might also build in a secret hiding place within the stair structure in case I figure out something that needs to be hidden there.

More work involved in this project...

Kirt had to nail strips of steel to the beams under the landing so it would not squeak. Alison and Shaunika came to inspect it to make sure it was up to code.

Dad's Project

Dad has been working at carving out a storage space under the stairs. It will be for our food storage. He works about an hour an evening when he has the time. The electricity is done, so next up goes the sheet rock.

Things that I feel strongly about...

1. I am a mom, and grandmon; I love my kids, husband and my grandchildren
2. I am a daughter & I love my mom, she is still very important to me
3. I am a sister – “oh, the joys of sisterhood!” as a child and as an adult
4. I want my children to live good lives, remain active in the church, and work always to be the best they can be
5. Education is important
6. Continuing education continues to work for me
7. The importance of making a marriage work- it is important to marry the right person, at the right time, in the right place
8. Oral histories- I love to find out details about my ancestors lives
9. Family history – who did I descend from?
10. Quilting, knitting, some scrap booking
11. I have arthritis – and can do less with my hands than I want to.
12. Stress management
13. The importance of a good relationship with in-laws
14. Christmas – family holidays and get-togethers
15. Our joys and struggles as we lived in our “Poverty, hunger and dirt” days…we were so poor, with 6 kids in a little 900 sq ft home.
16. Emergency preparedness – follow the prophet
17. Getting out of debt- living within our means

What do you feel strongly about?

Up to the Minute Happenings...

I have gone blog crazy. It makes me feel like what I have to say is important. Maybe only important to me.
Actually, this will be the blog I use to keep everyone up to date with what is going on with our family.
I am still trying to write a mission statement for this...

water barrels