You Can't Eat Too Much Thai Food

Well, like Lindy says: "You can't eat too much Thai food." So this evening, Steven and I went with Russ and Lorene Nielson to the Thai Chili Gardens restaurant here in Orem and had a delicious dinner. Russ and Lorene invited us, and we were happy to oblige. Lorene served her mission in Thailand, making her a Thai food lover, too. Steven and Russ were happy to let us girls make the menu decisions, and Lorene seemed to like all the same things we do, so we ended up with our usual favorites: fresh spring rolls, mussaman curry, pad Thai noodles, plus stir fried veggies & pork. We would have had mango rice for dessert, but they didn't have it. The waiter said mangoes are out of season right now. (Good thing they weren't out of season at Thai Village yesterday. I did think the mangoes could have been riper, but they were still good.) At the end of dinner, Russ and Lorene gave us the good news that they are expecting a baby girl in March. Russ is Steven's assistant in the College, who was hired a few years ago. After working with Russ for awhile, Steven thought it might be nice to line him up with a cute single girl we knew from our BYU student ward days, Lorene Flake. So Russ took her out; and long story short, they ended up eventually getting married. It's our one and only matchmaking success story.

I went over to the Barrett's for awhile this morning to stay with Riley and Sidney while Lindy went to Camden's class to help out. Sidney was asleep, so Riley kept me entertained by showing me all the cute pictures that she and Camden have drawn and by bringing me lots of good food down in the playroom.

Tiffany called this afternoon from a cafe in Mattoon, Illinois, where she and her roommate, Alyson, were having lunch. She said that Elder David Loveless, a missionary from our ward here in Orem, was also having lunch there with a group of elders. Just last Sunday I told his dad that Tiffany was living in David's mission (Illinois Peoria), so he thought that was interesting. He said David was serving in Effingham, which I told him is about 30 (actually 39) miles from Charleston. We didn't know that in less than a week they would be running into each other in Mattoon! David didn't know Tiffany was back there, so he was surprised to see her. We keep finding out that it's a pretty small world.

I can't let the day go by without mentioning: It was another beautiful fall day. The only drawback was the inversion which made the air kind of yucky. The orchard owners down the street had a big fire going that caused lots of smoke which the inversion trapped down low, so the evening walk at the track was pretty smokey. Other than that, the weather's still beautiful.

Lunch with the Girls

Today I had lunch at Thai Village in American Fork with Lindy, Camden, Riley and Sidney. We had a lot of fun and the food was delicious. When we got out of the car at the restaurant we could smell that yummy Thai food, and it turned out to be as good as it smelled! We had the usual--fresh spring rolls, Pad Thai noodles and Mussaman curry and rice. Camden loves the spring rolls and rice and Riley loves the noodles. Sidney loved sitting up at the table like a big kid. For dessert we had--you guessed it--mango rice. Camden thought she was in heaven it was so good. So we had a fun outing today.

Yesterday I had lunch in SLC at Tuscany with the "other" girls--Karalie, Wendy, Relva and I got together for a "sisters" lunch. The food was good--I had a beef and polenta dish which was very tasty--but the service was pretty bad. They need to do something about that, because it's a nice place with good food. Someone who wasn't even our waiter brought Wendy's, Relva's and my dishes, but Karalie just sat there and sat there. Finally, she told someone to get our waiter and then he came along with her order. He had totally forgotten about her. But it was fun anyway. We had a good time visiting.

The weather has still been beautiful these last two days. Today Steven took the day off from work and went on a four-wheeler ride up Hobble Creek canyon and beyond. He got back just after dark. He said it was one of his best adventures ever and he saw some beautiful fall scenery. So he thinks he can be ready for winter now after such a nice outing.

On Tuesday night Steven and I had dinner at the MTC in the cafeteria with the Romneys again. Rick's food choices weren't quite so funny this time. We had a nice visit with them, and then we got to hear from Bishop and Sister Richard C. Edgley at the devotional. Sis. Edgley talked about "Faith vs. Fear" and how "courage is to act in the face of fear." I think the missionaries liked that message. Bishop Edgley said that he is the original nerd from Preson, Idaho, and that Bro. Brenchly (the music director at the MTC) is the second nerd from Preston, long before Napoleon Dynamite came along. Then he told about a missionary who wasn't being let in by a lady until he mentioned that he had come all the way from Preson, Idaho; then the lady was very excited to let him in because she wanted to find out about Napoleon Dynamite. Bishop Edgley then talked about the principles of missionary work: (1)Remember who you are and who you represent, (2) Carry the message, (3) Keep the message simple, (4) Remember the worth of one soul is great, (5) It's the Spirit that testifies, (6) Be worthy, and (7) Work hard. So that was good advice. In district meeting afterward, the missionaries all seemed to find something in the messages that they felt was meant for them. It was a nice evening at the MTC.

P.S. Referendum One ended up losing almost two to one. I guess a lot of people fell for the negative ads.

A Most Spectacular Day!

I have to comment about the weather again. It is a most spectacular fall day today! It's nice and sunny, the air is cool and crisp, the leaves are still pretty. I can't believe the days we've been having. I wonder how long this gorgeous weather will last. I enjoyed my walk over at the track--the weather was perfect for a nice fall walk. Maybe it is trying to make up for the days now being shorter.

Today is election day. Steven voted on his way to work and Richard and I just got back from voting a little while ago. We hope that all the scare tactics of the opposition against school vouchers didn't derail Referendum One. Yesterday morning when I heard Bill Clinton on his trip to Utah on Sunday telling the people to vote against vouchers because a vote for vouchers would be a vote to take money away from the poor and give it to the rich, that clinched it for me. I thought if I were a fence sitter wondering how to vote, that would make my mind up fast. I hope that more people, like me, would think, "If Bill Clinton's against it, then I'm for it!" We'll just have to wait and see what happens. To think our own governor is for it and Bill Clinton's against it, and it very well may go the way of Bill Clinton.

I'm finishing up a little laundry then will head over to AF with Richard. Then it's off to the MTC to meet Steven for dinner and the devotional. I wonder who will be speaking.

Sunday Dinner at Gramma and Grampa's

We had fun at our Sunday dinner yesterday. Lindy and the girls came without Nate because he was still doing finances at the Church. We had lasagna (from frozen), peas, bread, and chocolate chip cookies. I had planned to cook some pork chops, since that's what I thought I had bought at the store, but when I got them out to put in the crock pot, they were petite steaks! Those are best done on the grill, so we'll save them for a later date. I wondered, what will I fix? Then I remembered we had a family-size frozen lasagna in the freezer, so I baked that after I got back from the MTC. When the little girls sat up to eat dinner, Riley said: "Grandma, I LOVE this dinner." And she proceeded to gobble up her dinner. Camden said: "On the way over, Riley said, 'Grandma makes the best spaghetti. I hope we have spaghetti.' But lasagna is good, too." So they all chowed down on their lasagna. Sidney loved the peas. Riley also had fun seeing who could finish their dinner first and she would announce each person as they finished. She and Richard were in a race for last place and she finished a few peas before Richard. While Riley was eating her dinner, she said (as part of the dinner conversation), "When you're singing a song and don't know the words, you just himmmmmm. Like this: hmmmmmmmm." It was very funny. Then we topped dinner off with chocolate chip cookies (Pillsbury refrigerated. The girls love those fresh baked.). So I guess we could say that Sunday dinner was a success. Afterwards, the girls had fun drawing pictures, playing with fridge magnets, and talking to Auntie Tiff on the phone. I've had these cute little pictures on the fridge of all four granddaughters that Camden drew awhile ago. Last night she drew a new and improved version of herself, with longer, more glamorous hair.

The news from Church yesterday is that Lisa Arrington Radulovich made it into the Tabernacle Choir. So we can watch for her now to be singing in the Choir. Also, Sis. Kuehne gave the R.S. lesson from the Pres. Kimball manual on having a happy, successful marriage. It's on p. 189 of the manual and would be a good one to read. I was sitting next to Victoria Wixom and told her that Sis. Kuehne really should be a stand-up comedian. She is SO funny. She was talking about how you need to have the right recipe for a happy marriage and what happens if you don't follow the recipe. She told about the time she tried to make Jil Abegg's peach cobbler and she didn't follow the recipe. It was pretty funny. Then Jil said it was her fault because she hadn't given Carolyn the right ingredients in the first place.

Steven and I had a nice time at the MTC with the missionaries. Five of the new missionaries who came last week stood up to give their testimonies Spanish, and we thought that was quite brave of them. It was good to be back at the branch singing in Spanish. Last week when I was at Sacrament meeting in St. George with Kevin, I thought something seemed weird as I was singing the opening hymn. Then I realized it was because I was singing in English and could actually understand what I was singing!

I just got back from VTing Fay Butterfield. She is leaving for California on Wednesday to help take care of her granddaughter who was in a bad accident and is in a coma. She said her granddaughter seems to be responding to stimuli so they feel like that is good news. Fay is hurrying to finish her fourth king-size hand-pieced quilt that she has done for this year's Festival of the Trees. She is quite the go-getter. Well, I think I'll head over to Curves to get a good start on a new week. This afternoon, Steven and I plan to go to the hospital to visit Sis. Bankhead, wife of one of his counselors, who just had surgery and found out she has cancer. So we are remembering her in our prayers as well as Fay's granddaughter.

Uncle George's Funeral

Today was Uncle George Jakeman's funeral. He's the husband of my mom's step-sister, Aunt Lyle. It was nice to go to the mortuary last night and see Aunt Lyle and my cousins: Linda, Judy, George Leslie, Elaine and Lorraine. We were close as cousins growing up and spent a lot of time at their house in Orem or vice versa. Elaine and Lorraine are twins and they're about seven months older than I am. I remember when I was young I used to feel so sorry for them having to live in Orem because Orem didn't have a "downtown." There was no place you could go and say that you were "downtown." All they had in Orem was big long State Street with stores and businesses on each side. (That fact hasn't changed much today.) I thought that was so weird and I felt sorry for them, because when I was young I used to love to go to downtown Provo. I remember once when I was probably about 6 or 7 my mom let me take some money I had earned and walk downtown by myself with some friends and go to a store and buy something I chose with the money I earned. Anyway, I got off the subject. But funerals have a way of causing you to relive past days. So it was good to see everyone last night and good, also, today to go to the funeral. I saw more people from my past. Uncle Myron and Aunt Doris were there. Uncle Myron Adair is my mom's step-brother and Lyle's brother. When I was young we also saw a lot of Uncle Myron and Aunt Doris and their children. Their daughter, Vickie, was also my age. I haven't seen Myron and Doris for a long time, so it was good to see them, too. Uncle Myron gave a really nice family prayer. It was good to be there and to hear such a nice prayer. Then I got to see Uncle Gary and Aunt Beverly Adair. Gary is mom and Lyle and Myron's half brother. I have probably seen more of Gary and Beverly in my older years than any of my other aunts and uncles, but we haven't seen them for a long time it seems. Uncle Gary is 72 years old! That's the same age my dad was when he passed away 20 years ago. Gary seems older, but still not as old as Dad was when he passed away. THEN, I saw Uncle Neldon Adair. He was there with his son, James. Neldon is the younger brother of Gary, and half-brother to all the other siblings. He was also my favorite uncle growing up. But he got caught up in polygamy a long time ago and has been alienated from the family for many years. Probably the last time I saw him was at my dad's funeral 20 years ago. So Neldon walked in for the family prayer and stood right by me and I didn't even know who he was. Then Beverly told me that was Neldon! Gary, Bev and I had a chance to greet him before the sevice started, and he was happy to see us, although he couldn't actually "see" us because he is blind. But we were unable to find him after the service, so we didn't see him again. But at least we saw him for a few minutes. The funeral itself was very nice and I learned a lot about Uncle George that I hadn't known before. I always knew he was a hard worker, but I never realized how hard he had worked and the number of jobs he had worked at in order to make a living for his family. When Leslie gave his talk, he said once when they were complaining about the food they were having to eat, that his dad reminded them of how he had had to go hungry some times as a little boy. Then Leslie said, "But you've never had to go hungry since you had us." And that was right, because he had provided a good life for his family and he worked hard at it. His son-in-law, John Chestnut, Lorraine's husband, said that he was there along with the rest of the family when George died and that George was at peace and ready to go, knowing he had lived a good life. So it was nice to be there and to see all the aunts and uncles and cousins and to remember Uncle George and past times growing up.

Yesterday I said that Steven and I were going to Cracker Barrel to have that baked chicken and apple dish (at least I was), but when we got there they were out of it! So I ended up having meatloaf and Steven had roast beef. It was pretty good, but I was looking forward to that chicken and apple dish. We ended up not going to the T's afterall, because when we called, they weren't home.

Then today after the funeral I went to Dave and Tamera's for the bridal shower for Michael's fiancee, Sarah. She sure seemed a little grouchy or moody or something and didn't seem to be enjoying the festivities at all. Let's hope she was just having a bad day.

I'm glad Tiffany had fun in Springfield today and that things are "moving along" for her and Greg. She leaves for South Carolina two weeks from today.

Well, I'll turn my watch back one hour since we go off daylight savings time tonight, and head to bed. Adios.

Another Nice Fall Day

I'm going to keep track of these nice fall days so that when it turns cold we'll remember that we did have some nice days before winter set in. It was cool enough for a jacket over at the track, but a nice day for walking. I wonder how long it will last. I'm waiting for Dad to come home. He was stopping by the MTC on his way home, but he thought he'd be here by 5:30. (It's 5:35 right now.) As soon as he gets home we're going to go to Berg Mortuary in Provo for Uncle George's viewing. Grandma called me on Tuesday, I think it was, and told me he had passed away. He's been sick for awhile I guess. So his viewing is tonight and the funeral is tomorrow at 11:00. Dad and I thought we'd go by the mortuary and visit with Aunt Lyle and the cousins and then go over to Springville. I've been wanting to try that baked apple chicken dish that they have at Cracker Barrel for fall. I hope they still have it. So we'll go to Cracker Barrel and then over to the T's for a visit before heading to AF. In addition to Uncle George's funeral tomorrow is a bridal shower at Aunt Tamera's for Cousin Michael's fiance, Sarah, at 2:30. I think I'll plan to go to that. I just remembered, I haven't told Lindy anything about it, so I must give her a call. Well, I just heard Dad pull in, so I guess we'll head out. I hope everyone's having a good day!

It's November!

Today the Halloween decorations are coming down and the Thanksgiving decorations are going up. We MUST enjoy these nice days of fall before Thanksgiving without giving into all the festivities leading up to Christmas. (Starting December 1 is fine with me.) The fall wreath is on the door and little pilgrims placed strategically around. Thanksgiving will be here before we know it. Dad, Rich and I are surely looking forward to our trip to South Carolina on the 19th and our visit with Joel, Sarah and Eliza, as well as with Tiffany who will be flying there from Illinois on the 17th. We'll miss all the Barretts, but we're sure they'll have a nice time with Grandpa and Grandma Barrett for Thanksgiving dinner.

It has been another lovely fall day in Orem. I got my hair done today and went to Curves and walking at the track inbetween spurts of Thanksgiving decorating and laundry. It's nice when Steven can be home in the evening as he is tonight. (That's when he gets his ironing done!)