george & clarine review

Our Arizona Visit

2011-02-04T07:41:00.004-07:00

On Thursday, 27 January, Clarine and I loaded into the car for a four-day long journey. Since the temperatures here had been above freezing very little for several weeks, we headed south. Our ultimate destination was Tacna, Arizona. Since the distance was a little far for old timers, we stopped the first night in Loughlin, Nevada. We arrived in Welton -next door to Tacna - about mid-afternoon on Friday the 28th. We stayed there in a motel the next two nights. When we drove into the motel to register, there was Diane's car and Diane already parked there. So we spent the rest of that day, Saturday, and part of Sunday - off and on - with Diane. She was the real reason we went south. The balmy temperatures were just a bonus. Diane and a friend were going to a meeting for Seminary teachers Friday evening, so the three of us plotted out our schedule for Saturday and Sunday including a delicious breakfast casserole for meals at Diane's Saturday and Sunday mornings and a grand terriyaki beef dinner (made from her recollection of how Carol prepared it way back when) at her place after church. On Saturday after our casual breakfast at Diane's, she guided us through the rest of the day as we explored the desert in her vicinity. On our bird (wild-life) search we even scared up a road-runner. Diane knows the Arizona desert in that area better than "the back of her hand." One place she took us was north a ways up the Colorado River tucked in among the installations of the Yuma Proving Grounds belonging to the US Army was Martinez Lake. Talk about a "snow bird" community that grew without plans - this would have to be it. There is no rhyme or reason to where "things" got placed, but mobile homes, trailers, shanties all are perched around this water that is probably fed by the Colorado River. Nothing is laid our on a grid as near as I could tell. But there were roadways winding amongst the installations, so that one could drive around in there. I could tell that Diane had been there, "done that" as she was quite expert in how to get there and knew about it. While on the subject of "snow birds," I should mention Quartzite, Arizona which we passed through going both north and south on our trip. The mobile homes and trailers belonging to "snow birds" go for miles in the desert at Quartzite. Its population grows many times over in the winter. At the start of this thing - "going to Quartzite for the winter," - the participants went to search in the desert for "gems" during the cold months. I saw some signs there advertising gem societies, so there must still be some vestiges of the gem thing. Any way after the Martinez Lake foray, Diane guided us into California across the Colorado River from Yuma - the Imperial Valley. Many winter crops are grown there, among which are date farms. We stopped at one and they had a store out front for tourists. We bought some dates (wonderful), dried prunes, candied mangoes, kiwis, ginger (hot, spicy), and some less exotic jellybeans, but still different because of the variety of flavors. Diane bought some of their divinity candy because Evelyn goes bonkers over good divinity. After this escapade we drove into Yuma to have dinner. Since we had some gift certificates for Red Lobster, Diane knew right where to go in Yuma to find the Red Lobster. We feasted gloriously. Diane has some art on exhibit in a gallery in Yuma. We went there to see it. We had to view it in the show window in front because late afternoon on Saturday it was closed. Well, it was a great day with Diane.

The photos are some pics we took with Diane at her abode. We spread the packages of candied fruits out on Diane's table and I took a picture. While eating our Sunday meal, Coyote tried to "schmooz" me for some of my dinner, so I took her picture. She has one green eye and one yellow eye. Even so, she takes a pretty fine picture.

After our good meal after church on Sunday we said our goodbyes to Diane and started the long journey back. We again split the trip in two legs, and stayed at Loughlin, Nevada on the way at the same casino/resort we stayed at on the way down to Tacna. It was a very nice room with a complimentary breakfast buffet for $22+ per night. I'm quite certain that the good room rates were subsidised by our hoped for gambling which did not materialize. In Welton we stayed at Microtel Inn and Suites which was not nearly so luxurious as the accomodations in Laughlin, but they cost $75+. Our Madame Gormin GPS helped us find addresses all during the trip. I feel very good that we decided to do this trip - short as it was. gwh

Clarine's Milestone

2010-12-23T12:39:00.002-07:00

Tuesday we loaded Clarine into the car and went to see her doctor. Getting her loaded into the car we were extra careful that she put no weight on her foot for that was the operating procedure ever after 5 November when her ankle was restructured. When we got to the doctor's office, the first thing that his assistant did was have us wheel her to a room where they took an X-ray. When the doctor came in to talk to Clarine, he went to a computer screen and keyed up her X-ray. Then he proceeded to tell us what we wanted to hear. While pointing out on the X-ray how close together the bones of her ankle were - no space between, he proceeded to tell us she could now put some weight on the foot - but don't go outside without the support boot. She even had license to go up and down the stairs. Well, that permission quite revolutionized our lives. When we got home, she went up the garage stairs with me walking up each stair beside her and she leaned on me each step she took, but she she did put some weight on her subject foot. She was hesitant at first after favoring the foot for seven or eight weeks. When night came, she walked up the stairs using the railing for support. That was the first night she didn't sleep in the hospital bed on the first floor since 5 November. (I thought it was nice not to be in that bed alone any more as well.) Yesterday - her first full day on the foot - she was in some discomfort by the time bed time rolled around. She arose this morning rejuvenated and ready to go again. She did some baking today and has been doing quite well I would say. She was told by the doctor to keep on wearing the electronic device that helps bones knit for another month - still three hours per day and to come back and see him in four weeks.

I am happy that we are finally in the down-hill side of this episode and things are taking on a rosier hue from our outlook. I think Clarine is possessed of a brighter outlook as well.

Cast is removed

2010-12-01T14:32:00.003-07:00

Yesterday, we wheeled Clarine out the door onto a makeshift ramp and down to her car. Her car is lower and easier for her to get into than mine. We went for an appointment to see her doctor, Dr. Rogers (her second appointment since the operation). After a cursory look he said he would have his assistant get a saw and cut the cast off. (I don't know how they keep from cutting the flesh, but he says the saw won't cut through gauze. They replaced the cast with a boot with steel braces along the side. In the picture the boot is apparent. The white device on the boot is the electronic gizmo that promotes hardening of the bone. We are happy to have one more step in the process done, although she is still not to put any weight on the foot just yet. At least now she can wash the injured limb. We are going to St. George on the 6th, return on the 10th, so that will make the trip a slight bit easier to be without the cast. She is a very non-complaining patient. We are getting by quite well. Dan says he is going to stop by and see us this Friday. It will be good to have his visit.

I went to the swimming pool today and I will be at the Humanitarian Center for two hours tomorrow. Clarine behaves herself while I am away and gets to where she can handle needs that crop up by running where she needs to go in her wheel chair. I get her necessities set up while I am here.

We got about a foot of snow in this latest granddaddy of a storm. Another is scheduled for tonight. I cleaned the entire driveway twice since Sunday. A neighbor cleaned it once also. gwh

Clarine - Update

2010-11-23T11:26:00.002-07:00

It has been two weeks and four days since Clarine had her ankle (foot) fixed. It seems like eons. There is still a long time to go until the three month recuperative period is over. I guess I am inherently impatient. Clarine handles it all better than I do. The pictures show her "biding her time." She is an excellent patient - extremely independent. I am mostly a "go fer" - go for this; go for that. She is a non-complainer. (I leave her on her own twice a week for temple service. She seems to manage well. I like having her go to the temple with me.) I think she is doing what the doctor told her to do to help recovery. If you look at the photos closely, you will see the electronic device strapped to her ankle. She wears it three hours a day to speed recovery of the bones. (Her bones were soft, so they put two four-inch screws into her ankle to hold the bones into the proper alignment.) That took so much time that the window on the tourniquet time ran out before they straightened her toes, so they stopped - leaving her toes bent under. Apparently this was the lesser of the two evils. Three hours was the length of the tourniquet window. If all goes well the blue cast can come off after the eight to ten week mark. This will be replaced with a boot, and some limited walking will be allowed. I'll bet a lot of dead skin will be evident after the cast is removed. I will update again anon.

We had a snow storm on Saturday that put much, much snow in the mountains. There was lots of moisture here. Thankfully it was not all snow. My neighbor (Jacobsen) stopped by and shoveled the piled up (by the wind) leaves into my flower bed. The snow stuck on the leaves but not on the driveway. Jalayne stopped by Saturday evening and we ate left overs. It was so nice of her to stop by. She insisted that she had to be back in Logan Sunday morning for her church duties. She made it back but stopped in Kaysville at Kim and Chris' when the storm got so heavy and continued to Logan Sunday morning.

We are going to be very low profile on Thanksgiving (probably for Christmas too). The Friday after Thanksgiving we expect to see Beth, Hanna, Carol, Keith, Lisa, Phil and family. I have even heard rumors that Phil may set up his assembly line for producing turkey tamales.

We are going to do one adventuresome thing in December. We have a week in a time share in St. George, December 5th through December 12th. We won't leave here until 7 December after the temple shift. We will return 10 December for the temple the next day. We plan to drive Clarine's car as it is lower and easier for Clarine to get into. Her wheelchair will fit into the trunk. There is an elevator at the timeshare. Our friends, the Allreds are joining us in St George where we will play games and eat - perhaps venture out a little if circumstances permit. This is the end of the report for this time. gwh

Sunset: 29 October 2010

2010-10-30T19:27:00.002-06:00

Last night was one of those evenings when we get marvelous, "drop-dead" gorgeous sunsets. I hadn't used my camera for a while, and the battery would not respond after three pics, so that is how many there are. I charged the batteries over night and I am able to down load the photos tonight. You can judge the photos for your self. I quite like them.

Thursday I went to the dermatologist for the treatment I get every six months. He used liquid nitrogen on my face, hands and the top of my head. He also removed two spots from my face and forehead with a scalpel to send them in for biopsy. I haven't received the results yet. Clarine is still preparing to have her ankle reconstructed on 5 November. We have a port-a-potty, wheel chair and walker all ready to use. We nixed the use of crutches, because they seemed to create an accident going somewhere to happen. Anyway Clarine has been practicing with these new implements and also how to get up and down the stairs on her knees and sliding on her butt, because her foot will be in a cast for six weeks and then for six more weeks she will have a special boot to wear. She has taken a leave of absence from the temple for three months. Today was my first day to go without her. It is certainly different.

Since Halloween falls on Sunday, Clarine is down stairs handing out the largess - cupcakes or twinkies and a can of soda. She is building a reputation that may be hard to maintain if "hard times" really set in.

I mowed the lawn for the last time this year on Friday. Then I winterized the mower. I don't know why as I think it is fully depreciated due to gas leaking out of the tank, and I will have to buy another. The paddle boats are out of the water, the cushions off the lounges and the sprinkling system has been shut off. I also refurbished the outdoor wood burner that I keep out on the dock. I installed a new gate on the ash accumulation area of the outdoor fire container to keep hot coals from falling out on the wooden pier. I fashioned the new gate out of an old license plate. I am pleased that my rehabilitation has progressed to the point where I can do some things that I wondered if I would ever be able to do them again. Any way after, lo, these eight months , I am beginning to see a little dexterity returning to these old limbs. (That is counting from the latter part of February when I took the spill and had to rehabilitate my knee.) gwh

More Pics from Kevin- Sara Jean Wedding

2010-09-26T13:22:00.002-06:00

Clarine and Pauline's brother, Dale Pauline and ??

Pauline and George (Ferris' brother)
Logan Temple bride and groom exit

Kevin and Sara Jean exiting temple

Icy Strait Point

2010-09-17T15:51:00.002-06:00

Three of these pictures were taken at Icy Strait Point: the totem; ship in the background; the cat dozing in the sun on the front porch of a house. The one is in Denali National Park with clouds covering Mt. McKinley; the other is Main Street of Skagway, Alaska. I have not shown any pictures of Juneau, Ketchikan, Seward in any of the three posts. When I get some 35mm rolls developed, there may be some worthy photos show up there. If not, this will likely be my last post on this cruise to Alaska. gwh

Alaska - Hubbard Glacier

2010-09-15T16:11:00.002-06:00

This Glacier is called the Hubbard Glacier. I don't know why but there is surely a good reason. It is one of the largest In the world. It is some 170 miles long, and has several different arms going up valleys that come down to its mouth. In some places its face is 200 feet above the sea. It moves down these valleys to the sea like a very slow stream. Just like in a stream some parts move faster than others. As a result, the slower parts accumulate more dirt and debris. As the result every few minutes part of the face falls into the sea - calving - filling the adjacent ocean with pieces of ice. If the pieces are large enough, seals get upon a flat spot and rest and enjoy the ride out to the open sea. Sea otters are sometimes seen playing among the pieces of ice. We had a stateroom with a balcony, so we did not have to vie for a place to stand as the ship maneuvered up closer to the glacier. To be fair the captain turned both sides of the ship to the glacier's front. My pictures were all taken from our balcony. We probably spent an hour at the face of the glacier watching it calve. The large ones would hit the water with a tremendous boom and splash. Glaciers are an interesting phenomenon. Clarine and Iare glad to have spent a little while of their long term existence watching some of their functions. There will be another posting about this trip later. gwh

Mt. McKinley

2010-09-12T15:06:00.002-06:00

Clarine and I returned from our trip to Alaska on 10 September 2010. We left on 31 August. We didn't actually board the ship until 3 September in Seward, Alaska. On 31 August we left Salt Lake around 2:00 PM on Frontier Airlines flying first to Denver. Leaving Denver about 6:00 PM we flew on Frontier to Anchorage, Alaska arriving at midnight in Salt Lake (10:00 PM in Anchorage). Anchorage is a much larger city now than it was about sixty years ago. (For the information of my children and grandchildren, that was where I met your mother and grandmother, Carol, who was in Anchorage teaching school. I was there in the army.) Clarine and I and the Solomons left a day earlier than the rest of the cruisers because we wanted to visit Denali National Park. Consequently, we rented a car at the airport in Anchorage and left the next morning for the park. We drove there in a little over four hours. As we drove the scenery around us was mountainous, rustic and beautiful. The highway bypasses Denali National Park - access to the park being on a side road from the north-south highway. Perhaps an hour from the park there was a view point for Mt. McKinley. My guess that it was some eighty miles away. There were quite a few clouds, but we could pick it out. When we got to the park, we checked in to our hotel to sleep and leave early the next morning for a bus tour of the park - about six hours. We saw lots of wild life - dall sheep, moose, bears, foxes, eagles - many of each. The tour ended at the last of the improved road with Mt. McKinley still some thirty miles in the distance. You have to be really be roughing it to go further. The "Tall One" as the Indians call it, is the Highest peak in North America at over 20,000 feet elevation from a base that is not a lot above sea level; it makes a very tall mountain. I have included a few photos that are representative of the park. Some of them show Mt. McKinley about thirty miles away. When one talks to people about visiting the park and seeing the mountain, the response is something like,"You'll be lucky if you can see it for the clouds." We were lucky; the day was crystal clear. In fact the entire trip seemed to be somewhat charmed. I will write further about the vacation in a subsequent posting. gwh

The Palmyra temple

2010-07-20T14:46:00.003-06:00

Another special thing about Palmyra is the Temple. It is my understanding that by the special request of President Hinckley the Sacred Grove is visible from the inside of the temple through the window that Clarine and I are standing in front of. I didn't take many photos at the sacred grove. I think I was awe struck. I included the picture I had shown before in my post on family of Amy, Sarah and me in the sacred grove. The place is absolutely sacred. If you read the words to the hymn, "Joseph Smith's First Prayer," you will find the sensations mentioned that are very tangible in the grove. Also included is a photo taken pre-pageant of our UNO game that we engaged in while we waited for the pageant to start. That photo may have been posted previously as well.

Tri-Cities, Washington

2010-07-07T11:23:00.003-06:00

We left early on the morning of 2 July with the intent to see my brother, Paul, after his accident. As you can see in the picture of him, Carol and Clarine, He looks quite good. It is a modern day miracle that he is doing so well after having an arm and a leg crushed. We saw a lot of Paul and Carol's family as well. Cynthia and Bonnie's families were very gracious to us. Kerry even brought his Harley by and took Diane and Evelyn for a spin. Paul got us all in his pick-up and showed us around. (He moved really well for what he has been through.) On Sunday, 4 July we met Pauline and Donnie and family at Donnie's ward, attended Sacrament meeting and then went to Holly and Ryan's beautiful home where we were served a marvelous lunch as part of their family reunion. Sheree and Reed with their families were not there.Kevin and his girl friend from Heber, Utah, were there. Unfortunately, I didn't remember to get the camera out while we were with Pauline's family. As we drove to meet Pauline at Donnie's ward, we stopped at the Columbia River Temple between Kennewick and Richland. It is a lovely place. We drove home on 5 July without incident. We experienced exceptionally cool temperatures in the 70's and 80's where normal this time of year is over 100 in the day time. Tomorrow we leave for Rochester, NY to be with Amy/Tom and family. Their first grandson, Adam Samuel Russell was born while we were in Washington to Sam and Merina Russell. They also had a daughter get engaged this week. Carol who lives in Logan, is going to marry Keith Blonquist of Logan in the Palmyra temple the first of September or thereabouts.

Not the best of times

2010-06-20T14:05:00.002-06:00

Not since I hurt my knee in February would I say that things have been really favorable for me physically. It was over three months before I got released from therapy for that injury. I did and still am receiving kindnesses to help me out. My strength and physical well being have not totally returned. (I am going up and down stairs in the temple - not totally gracefully - to be able to perform various roles in helping with endowments.) At the end of May I caught a cold eventually resulting in bronchitis and both of my ears being plugged. I think I only heard about 10 to 15 % of what was said in church today. After dragging the cold along for over two weeks, I went to the clinic last Monday and was given an antibiotic which I am to take for ten days. It was supposed to fix the bronchitis and the ear infection. After six days both ailments are still with me. As a result of the way things have happened since February, my quality of life has not been up to par from then until now. I haven't been as strong or as mobile since then. Thankfully, Diane, Dan and Chris have kept my lawn mowed. Phillip has been out and covered rain gutters and sprayed broad leaf plants in my lawn

Although not totally well, we went to Bear Lake at the end of May and stayed in a time share for six days. Dan and Deanna Allred came and spent four of those days with us. We did some visiting of things near by and had good association. I still ride my bike and do some things on my feet quite a lot, trying to get my old vigor and strength back. I know this: it is a rather slow journey.

We are planning to go to Washington to see my brother, Paul, as he recovers from his accident on the Fourth of July weekend. Later that week we are flying to Rochester, New York where we will stay with Amy (my daughter) and Tom Russell in Canandaigua. While there we plan on attending the Hill Cumorah Pageant. At the end of July we will attend the Friday portion of the Hansen reunion in Oak City, Utah. The first week in September we will be cruising in Alaska.

Our spring has been cold, wet and windy. I helped get some of the moisture back that we missed last winter.

We plan for Evelyn's arrival here on the 23rd of June. gwh

Bear Lake Timeshare

2010-06-06T17:24:00.004-06:00

A week ago Saturday we drove to Bear Lake after our temple shift was over. We stayed in a timeshare until Friday, then we came home to do our temple shift yesterday, Saturday. On Monday, Deanna and Dan Allred joined us and stayed until Friday also. We ate, visited, laughed, watched old videos and shot slingshots. I had a mean cough which hampered my style quite a lot. (I am somewhat improved, but I am still struggling.) Monday before Allreds arrived, Clarine and I drove to the Oxford cemetery and put some mums on various graves. We saw Dee and Nellie Boyce at the cemetery. The movies we saw were a couple of Doris Day oldies and the "Blind Side" which I liked quite a lot. I apparently over did the eating thing as I gained three pounds. Since I have finished my knee therapy, I am getting around without support, but not very fast. At the lake we are seeing many new goslings and ducklings. Diane arrived here for her summer vacation on Friday evening. She has lots of advice for her father, nevertheless it is good to have her here for the summer. Evelyn is going to arrive on 23 June. While we were at the temple yesterday, Phillip came and installed some leaf guards in the rain gutters above the garage. Diane says she is going to mow the lawn tomorrow while we are in the temple. I am happy for the help. gwh

The Ides of May

2010-05-16T13:27:00.003-06:00

Last night Justin, Ashley, the twin boys and the twin girls came by to see Grandma and Grandpa Great and they fixed a dinner for us. It was yummy. We visited lots, and the boys fed the fish and some ducks on bread. We even caught a couple of blue gill with a fishing rod and reel. The girls stayed in the house. It was just as well as this is the season that the gnats are out of control. I have included photos of these various activities.

I will now provide an update on my knee rehabilitation. It will be three months tomorrow since I injured it. I now go up and down stairs - up at about my usual gait - down more slowly and cautiously, but I am good enough that I think I would accept any of the ordinance worker assignments in the temple. I don't feel very stable out walking on the rough lawn. Dan came a week ago and mowed, edged, cleaned out the lake inlet, and helped Clarine hang some curtains she had cleaned. It was a good deed. Thank you so much, Dan. Clarine and I have rehung four screens that were torn up by wind and plant branches. So I am starting to do more things even out side. I have gotten a few plants from nurseries and we hope to plant them Monday. We are seeing geese families around the lake. Yesterday we saw our first two little ducklings. This morning Clarine and I saw a family with what looked like nine little ducklings. It is now after 15 May, and my father used to say that it was safe to plant tomatoes after 15 May because it would be very rare to have frost after that date. Tomorrow night we are going to the opera. This will be the second opera since I injured my knee. I remember how tenuous I felt trying to negotiate stairs and aisles and parking lots at that time of the previous opera. I hope to do considerably better this time, although I doubt that I will be totally comfortable doing all those moves. gwh

Two months and eight days

2010-04-25T17:00:00.002-06:00

That is how long it has been since my knee started its recovery process. I am still improving, receiving therapy and anxiously hoping for normality to return. I am able to do a little bit more all of the time. I hope I don't turn soft in the long awaited return to normalcy, because I notice that I avoid physical exertion more than formerly. I did do the route on the bicycle yesterday evening after we returned from our temple shift. A nice thing happened to me on Friday. Dan was in the area on business and phoned that he would like to come out for a little visit. I welcomed him gladly. He volunteered to cut my lawn which I overwhelmingly accepted, because I had walked on it and noticed how uneven it was and how it made my knee wobble, and it's growth was accelerating. I also mentioned that my rain gutters were stuffed with leaves. My ladder is a bit big and unwieldy, so I knew the gutters would continue to overflow until I got stronger. Actually Phil had agreed to come out and clean the gutters. Dan just got here before Phil did. So now my gutters flow freely once again.

The last few days I have spent some time thinking about our family's part for the D. G. Hatch reunion in Pasco, Washington on July 3 and 4. Dana has been doing yeoman service in pulling this together. Carol has been so helpful to assist her and get some of us moving. At last count, there were 21 of us going from me and my children's families. Margaret has also done yeoman work in scheduling the Henry Hansen reunion in Oak Creek Canyon. I have forwarded to my family members the notice on that event on July 30 and 31. Because of temple commitments on 31 July, Clarine and I will only get there for the activities on 30 July. gwh

Slow! Slow! Slow!

2010-04-18T14:31:00.002-06:00

I am still crippled, but not so much as I was. If I look back with perspective, I can see the progress that my knee is making. I even look a little bit more natural as I go up and down the stairs alternating my feet. My sore knee doesn't feel as warm to the touch as it did earlier on, and my toes and leg are not swollen as much. That almost sounds as if I am healed, but the speed with which I move betrays all allusions that I am that well off. I was well enough off so that I was able to spray dandelions in the lawn with weed killer and to spray some Round Up on the grass around the rocks and around the trees. As you can picture the lawn doesn't provide a very flat surface to walk on and it gives my knee a good work out. I have to be more cautious as well, as I do not want to go down again. There was another first on Wednesday of this week. Clarine and I went to the Tooele swimming pool for the first time in two months. I swam my usual five laps, carefully climbed out of the pool, and ambled over to the current pool. We did our five laps against the current - backwards, frontwards, sideways-left leading, sideways-right leading and finishing off going backwards again as the finale. So I am happy with the status. We also did shifts in the temple on Monday and Saturday. They were tiring but satisfying. After completing our shift yesterday, we drove to Plain City, Utah where they held a birthday-farewell party for Clarine's grandson, Jeremiah Davies, who is leaving to fill an army commitment in Afghanistan. He got his army commission as a Lieutenant from Weber State ROTC last year. I was quite tired after that day was ended.

Grotesque

2010-04-11T14:03:00.002-06:00

Grotesque is probably how someone would describe how I look going up and down stairs. There are parts in the endowment session of the temple that require participants to go up and down stairs. I am avoiding those particular assignments for the time being as I would be more of a distraction than I would be an instructor or teacher. However, on the positive side, I am now able to go up and down the stairs alternating which foot goes first. It just isn't very smooth yet. Yesterday, there was a first as in the evening, I decided to ride my bike around my usual route - about a mile and one half. Getting on and off the bike was worrying me so I stayed on the side of the road where there was a curb ready to put my right foot on in case I had to stop. I didn't have to stop until I got home. Then I pulled up to a "right-foot-curb" and dismounted, wheeled my bike across the street and stashed it in the garage. So that is progress. It is slow. It will be 2 months since I fell on the 17th of April. I am beginning to feel now that I will recover fully in time without any more invasive procedures. (I wondered a little for a while.)

Here is some breaking news. We have known for a while, but just hadn't chosen to say anything about it. On the 30th of August we are going to fly to Anchorage, Alaska, stay a a couple of nights there, drive to Mt. McKinley, return to Anchorage, and on 1 September, we will board a cruise ship in Seward, Alaska, and go to Vancouver, Canada with several intervening stops - Hubbard Glacier, Juneau, Skagway, Icy Straight Point, and Ketchikan. At our age, this may be our last cruise. Yet again, who knows? It is getting to be a very busy summer. At the end of May we will spend a week at Bear Lake. July 3, 4 we are going to attend a reunion for my father's off spring in Pasco, Washigton. We no sooner return from that and we fly to Rochester, New York to spend some time in the Hill Cumorah area with my daughter, Amy, and her husband, Tom Russell, who live in Canandaigua, New York. While there we plan to see the Hill Cumorah Pageant. After that, I guess we will build up our stamina to get ready for the cruise. Love, Dad/Grandpa/George

Easter - 2010

2010-04-04T16:22:00.002-06:00

We have just finished listening to LDS General Conference on this wonderful Easter Sunday. It wasn't necessarily the weather that made it wonderful, although it wasn't really bad even though we had an inch of new snow this morning. We have had some visitors for conference time for which we are grateful. Carol came to see us. She came with Keith Blonquist. Her car went to Provo with her room mate. Then Beth and Hanna took it over and they too joined us for a while - getting lost both coming and going. Keith and I went to the Priesthood session of conference together last evening. After breakfast this morning, Keith and Carol went to Coleville to visit his family. Carol's room mate will drive her car from Provo back to Logan. Lisa, Phil, Sheridan, Zack and Max arrived half way through the morning session had lunch, part of which they provided. They left part way through the afternoon session. They are going to attempt a trip to Leman's Cave in Great Basin National Park tomorrow.

My knee is still healing slowly. I can now go up the stairs , one foot after the other. Going down is some what less than that. We are planning to do our temple shift tomorrow, even though I will be a little slow.

Clarine's 77th birthday was 2 April. She got ever so many best wishes by phone and mail. Yesterday before Priesthood Conference, her daughter Karen had her children come for a birthday dinner. It was yummy. Lisa, Phil and family treated us to turkey dinner Friday night - yummy too. There may be other things to report, but this it for right now. Love, Dad/Grandpa/George.

29 March 2010

2010-03-29T18:34:00.002-06:00

Last Saturday and today, I somewhat laid my fears aside and went to the Salt Lake Temple and served my shift. I have to admit that the assignments were a little bit custom designed to facilitate my performing the duties assigned, but I was able to do more than I pictured I would be able to do. When I returned home today, I went to physical therapy one more time. Strength is returning - slowly - to my injured knee. Stairs still do not work for me, sad to say. Today I got so tired that I was a little shaky on my wobbly knee while walking to where the car was parked in the Conference Center. I hung onto Clarine's arm tightly and let her carry a little of my weight. It has been one month and twelve days since I damaged the knee. I don't need to return to see the orthopedic surgeon again unless things get more complicated, and if there is continuing progress. So far there is.

Phillip told me he got a new pickup truck. I hope it turns out to fill the roles he has in mind for it. I am happy to see spring moving ever closer with its warmer weather and newness of life.

One month - three days

2010-03-20T09:31:00.002-06:00

I have pretty much been out of circulation since 17 February. Places I have been since I clumsily tripped over the curb: the emergency room, University of Utah Health Care, orthopedic surgeon 3 times, Virg's and Kraver's - once each, church twice, physical therapy - twice. Clarine has walked me around the block three times - quite slowly I might add. She locks her arm around mine and when the knee suddenly becomes unstable, she keeps me up right. Thankfully that happens only about three times since we started walking. I am starting to feel the knee area getting stronger. Therapy and the exercises they give me to do are having some good effect. I still can't use the poor foot to lift me up the stairs yet, but I have gone up a single riser a time or two - not without discomfort I might add. Clarine went to do her temple shift today. (I think she thinks I am progressing enough to get by for about eight hours without her here.) I need to handle stairs better in order to go back to doing my temple shifts. I use my walker only rarely any more. I don't walk at a very rapid pace yet. when I was at the orthopedic surgeon's a week ago Thursday. I received a large shot of cortisone in the ailing knee. That made things feel pretty good for a couple of days, but it also really "wired" me. I don't really want anymore of that, so I hope he doesn't feel it would be helpful for me. I see him again next Thursday.

It is good to have weather improving. One can sort of tell that spring is just around the corner. The birds are starting to feel it too

"March Madness" is here. There is plenty of basketball on television. All of the teams I am rooting for but one, BYU, have been eliminated. I sort of get my kicks out of how the prognosticators "seed" the various teams to keep the "good" teams in the tournament as long as possible, and yet as always there are many upsets and near upsets. I don't think I have seen any games that were really "run-aways." I guess that says something about parity in basketball, not to mention college football in which parity is mounting, but in which they have an awfully poor system to try to determine which are really the best teams.

In a few days I will post another update on my "knee escapade." gwh

One month - three days

2010-03-20T09:29:00.000-06:00

Snow!!!!

2010-03-13T14:22:00.002-07:00

We haven't had measurable snow at Stansbury for an exceedingly long time.

So far today we have about four inches. Long live the snow fairy. We took the pictures through the screen. Even the screen on the windows shows up.

My knee is feeling a little stronger today. I even put the bad foot on the stairs and raised myself up a step - with a little pain I might say, but it is better than yesterday when I tried the same thing. So I think I am healing slowly. I say slowly because I want it to be immediately. I start my therapy next Wednesday with another session on Friday. There will likely be more after that. It is probably another week before we go back to the temple. Monday night there is an opera that we have tickets to see. I will just have to take it slowly in getting to and from my seat. gwh

Dr.'s Report

2010-03-11T14:32:00.002-07:00

At the doctor's office today, I found that the leg is progressing. The healing process is not really fast, but I can tell that it is getting stronger and less painful day by day. It still feels unstable, especially when trying to go up stairs. He says he can tell from the MRI that there were damages to the area around the knee. He says he is going to prescribe that I start therapy to see if that will give it the strength I need. He also said that there is another thing to do, and that was to fill it with steroid to see if that would hasten healing. If that isn't successful, he will go in and scope it, which he says would be an out-patient procedure, but it is invasive. I was given the steroid shot in the knee while I was at his office today. He says I can start trying to go up stairs using the bad leg. So when we got home, I tried going up the stairs out of the garage (3 of them). Clarine assisted me. I was not very successful, but I did test it. I now know that it is all right to try according to the doctor. I do not know when my therapy will begin yet. They are supposed to call me, so I can get started. I am concerned that my initial attempt for the ailing leg to lift me up a stair step was so traumatic. Maybe it will strengthen as I try more. gwh

Less cautious

2010-03-04T13:32:00.002-07:00

I have started to avoid my walker. I think that is a sign that my knee is strengthening and that my impatience is building. When I visit medical personnel, they ask me to pin point on a scale of one to ten what my pain level is. Today I think I would tell them that it is about a two. There is still one week to go before I can visit the Dr. to see if he is ready for me to start rehab. I still do not feel comfortable to put my left foot on the stairs and raise my body to the next step. It is right foot first, bring left leg up, then repeat the process all the way to the top. Coming down, it is left leg first, hang tight to the railing, lock left knee, descend one step, then repeat. Today is the first day that I have been left on my own for any period of time. I have strict instructions to not go near the stairs. My response was that I might, if it seemed the proper thing to do. Clarine's long time friend in her previous ward has died at the age of 90+. Clarine is giving a talk in the funeral. She predicts that I will be without supervision for about 3+ hours. I hope I do not betray the trust placed in me and end up somewhere on the floor when Clarine arrives home. I don't have much else to add at this time. gwh

leg update - 2/25/10

2010-02-25T16:17:00.002-07:00

There is good news and bad news. The bad news first. I can't walk for exercise or exert the subject limb until cleared for that type of activity. When that happens, they will send me to rehab to start strengthening the muscles and the sinews. That is possibly three weeks away. I can really be out of shape in that time. I go to see the doctor again in two weeks. I can only go up and down the stairs as I described in the earlier treatise. Exertion may cause the tendons to tear more; therefore I am to let them heal before exertion. They gave me a new smaller brace to wear to help hold the knee straight in the meantime as the knee heals.

The good news is that there will not need to be any invasive surgery to tie things back together if I do not do any more damage and the ligaments have a chance to heal. Hence the reason that I will be living quite quietly for a little while. Clarine and I are going to take a three week leave of absence from the temple. I am experiencing considerably less discomfort than I did last week.
gwh

Injury Report

2010-02-18T15:24:00.004-07:00

I have managed to make my way up the stairs very carefully - one step and then another. Having done that, I made my way to the computer, and will now let you know of my perilous condition. I think Clarine adequately detailed the particulars of the mishap. It is very painful to move my left foot in certain directions, like up and down. To me it feels like there is no connection between my knee other parts of my leg -depending on where I want to put my foot. That is why I feel that something more than a muscle strain is involved. I took care of the preliminaries for finding out today, because Clarine got me appointments for a general practitioner referral as well as for MRI, and a date with an orthopedic surgeon for a week from tomorrow. In the mean time, if everything heals, I will be okay without all of those appointments. But in case I really needed all those other appointments, it is all done, and we can go about getting things fixed. They prescribed a walker to help me get around. I also found a soft cast that has been around since I tore up my right knee. It is most beneficial in making my life more comfortable in my present status. It is significantly a reason that i am now able to handle stairs. Since I have now learned how to negotiate the stairs, I will sleep in my own bed tonight rather than on the couch and in the chair as I did last night. This accident happened right at a critical time for Clarine and me from a temple standpoint. We had just been authorized to learn the couple part and are scheduled to do our training this coming Monday. That may now have to be rescheduled. We got substitutes for our temple shift this Saturday. We aren't deciding about Monday quite yet. With EXTRA STRENGTH TYLENOL and the pieces of paraphernalia I have described, I am managing to handle each day sans my usual exercises. As more develops I will keep you informed. gwh

Blessing -Twin Girls

2010-02-07T18:26:00.003-07:00

I have six great grandchildren. Two of them were blessed today - Avri and McCall Hatch. The two boys are twins also - Taylor and Braxton. Their chapel was very full. It is located right at the foot of the Oquirh Mountain Temple - less than 2 blocks away. Justin's and Ashley's families helped fill it. After the blessings a very tasty luncheon was served. All of Justin's family were there except for Clark who is on a mission in Rome. Perhaps all of Ashley's family were there too. I just don't know all of them. Lisa, Phil, Sheridan, Zach, and Max were there too. It was a wonderful family time.

Early tomorrow morning Clarine and I go to our shift in the Salt Lake temple. We get up at 4:00 AM. Our shift ends by 1:00 PM. It is a spiritual, peaceful place to serve.

The ice is decaying rapidly on the lake. The last few days the temperatures have been in the forties. That is welcome after the cold winter we have had, but I think skating is over for this year.

Ashley and Justin's home is quite large and very nice - 3600 square feet. It is a town home with one common wall with the home to the west of them. Their home faces east toward the Oquirh Mountain Temple which can be seen from certain windows on the east side of their home. gwh

Visitors

2010-01-18T16:12:00.002-07:00

Today we had visitors. Carol Russell and her friend, Keith Blonquist, drove down from Logan. They picked up Hannah Russell at TRAX in Salt Lake City and came out and visited for a few hours. I took some pictures. Unfortunately the light behind the pictures was so powerful that the pictures turned out to be mostly silhouettes. They are still very nice pictures. We went to Jim's Family Restaurant for lunch. Carol, Keith, Hannah, and Clarine played Scrabble with "liberated" rules. I observed since I am a purist about this rules business. We had a marvelous time together. They are some more of our grand children that treat us so very nice. I am glad that they thought of us and came out to see us. Hannah and Carol were home in Victor, New York at Christmas time. gwh

Global Warming

2010-01-17T15:11:00.002-07:00

I hesitate to name this little note "Global Warming," because for some reason or another the term tends to polarize people's attitudes - especially politically. Never-the-less so far this winter we have not produced any data around here that would add any credence the "global warming" larder - nor did we last year. The year before that would have made a person wonder a little bit. There is no need for me to express my opinion because most of you already know my feelings. In my previous blog I sent pictures of the beautiful frost hanging from the trees and bushes. It has been that way ever since the beginning of November, 2009, off and on, with the temperatures often crowding down toward zero F. At the beginning of December, 2009, a neighbor told me the ice was eight inches thick. The neighbor got out his ATV and plowed off a skating rink. To make it smoother and perhaps firmer, he sprayed it with a hose. It hasn't been sprayed recently, but in the one picture included , a person can pick out the scraped rinks quite easily. I think the amount of use has dropped off since the novelty is long since gone, and most all of us are beginning to look forward to spring.
Changing the subject just a bit, yesterday was our last day serving in the Salt Lake Temple for a couple of weeks. The temple is closed for a winter break. It will be interesting to see what they have decided to modify or change in the decor. Some breaks is is hardly noticeable. Other times the changes are almost pronounced. To me they have always been for the better - either aesthetically or for efficiency. Both Clarine and I continue to feel well and hope for good health to continue.

Tomorrow evening we are going to attend the opera, Carmen. It will be an ongoing happening that has been going on for many years. I suppose that it goes back to when Carol was alive as we used to have seasons tickets then as well. When I was single, I think both Jalayne and Carol (granddaughters) attended an opera with me. If others have attended with me, forgive my not remembering. There is getting to be a bit of murkiness in my rememberer.

I felt I needed to put something in this blog space as it has been a while since I put anything there, and I know I have wondered about some others who started blogging and seemed abandon the practice - I know because I visit the sites regularly and nothing changes. Thank you to those who do blog quite regularly. I don't comment all of the time, but I do read them. gwh

Beauty for the Christmas Season

2009-12-20T09:06:00.002-07:00

After two nights of fog, the natural decorations for Christmas have formed. They may be dissolved by Christmas as I hear a change in the weather pattern is due on Tuesday. But we will take it as it comes. I hope that you enjoy these pictures.

Evelyn arrived here yesterday from Japan where she teaches school in the military dependents' system. On Monday Diane will arrive from her teaching endeavors in southwestern Arizona. It will add a lot to our Christmas to have them here. gwh

Lucherinis

2009-12-15T13:29:00.002-07:00

Can you spell Lucherini? Maybe I can't. Kim and Chris will let me know. Sunday they came for a visit with the boys, Elliott and Quinn. We had our evening meal with them. Jalayne was going to come too, but stomach distress and the weather dissuaded her. It was nice to have the visit.

I tried twice earlier to post this blog with some narrative, but both times the computer opted to make the decisions and it posted my blogs sans any narrative. (It's bad when computers start taking over.) Well, there isn't a lot of narrative here, but I want to put what I want in the blog, not what the computer wants. gwh

2009-12-15T13:03:00.000-07:00

Alex

2009-12-08T17:33:00.002-07:00

Today I remembered that at Thanksgiving time I had taken a picture of my grandson , Alex. He stayed with us Friday, Saturday and part of Sunday before he joined his friend for a ride back to Ephraim and Snow College. Alex is maturing into a young adult. He is making plans and decisions that will help establish him as a productive person. He is taking control of his life instead of just letting life happen. Thanks for the visit, Alex. gwh

Indian Summer

2009-11-03T18:50:00.002-07:00

Indian Summer came after all this year. It is a little late in the season to start, but yesterday and today were nice mild fall days. There is a nice full harvest moon the last two nights. Clarine and I went to the temple on the morning shift today substituting for another couple who will repay us on a Saturday some time. We finished about noon. The weather was so nice that we decided to take a sandwich and eat our lunch at the Great Salt Lake Marina. They have even started charging a fee to go into the marina. Taxes don't cover anything anymore, but they keep increasing. We enjoyed our sandwich and the view. At the temple today, Clarine saw Rodney Clark at the recommend desk. Tuesdays must be the days of his shift. I have included a couple of photos that depict the niceness of the weather. gwh

The End of an Era

2009-11-02T15:43:00.002-07:00

Yesterday was a significant date to me. It actually was the end of a seven year oddessy for me. The end of an era happened when I was released after seven years - more or less - teaching the Gospel Doctrine Class in Sunday School. I had actually gotten to where there was a weekly satisfaction to the process of preparing and teaching. I taught three of the manuals twice and the other one one time. Though many of the lessons were given the second time, I did not use the same notes the second time. I think that was likely because of a process that I call "maturation." Experience and changing times, I think, caused the Holy Spirit to prompt me to vary from what I presented the first time. Though the subject matter did not change, the emphasis did materialize differently in most lessons. I feel a little bit vacated with no lesson to prepare for next Sunday. Upon telling me of my pending release, the counselor in the Bishopric assured me that it "was just time," and that I had not been tendered a release for cause. Now a question sort of arises, "What do you assign an eighty-one year old high priest to do to keep him providing a useful gospel service with the limiting processes that are encroaching due to age?" Thankfully, I do a shift in the Salt Lake Temple twice a week Monday mornings and Saturday mid day. Clarine and I also do a two-hour stint in the Humanitarian Center at the Tooele Deseret Industries on Thursdays putting such things as school kits, hygiene kits, and quilts together for those around the world needing humanitarian support.

Yesterday there was a temple devotional held in the Salt Lake Temple (two different meetings so that everyone could have a chance to attend). It was an extraordinarily spiritual meeting. Clarine and I attended the one at 8:00 AM. Elder Dallin Oaks was the featured guest. President Uchdorf was present for the 11:00 AM meeting. By attending the earlier session Clarine and I were home for our meeting block, and I taught the Sunday School Class for the final time. There were well over 3,000 temple workers and their partners that were accommodated in the two meetings. gwh

Visitors

2009-10-19T16:35:00.002-06:00

We had visitors yesterday. Clarine did not come outside when I was taking pictures, so she is not shown in any of the poses. All of the rest of us are included in one photo or another. We ate pizza, soda, whipped cream and Jello, and sour dough biscuits. Some of your may not recognize the people by their photos, so I will name them. Beside Clarine and I, Jalayne Hatch, my granddaughter in the red shirt was there. The other visitors were the Lucherinis - Chris, Kim (my granddaughter) Elliott and Quinn. With that much information, a good detective could identify every one. One more clue - Quinn is the littlest and youngest. Hey gang, it was nice of you to come and see us. By the way in the fire pit you can see a fire is glowing. gwh

Pics - Wayne Morgan Funeral

2009-10-15T20:07:00.001-06:00

Fascination

2009-10-15T19:35:00.002-06:00

Last evening I was fascinated with the light, color (or lack thereof) and the actual beauty of the outdoors from my backyard during a thirty second interval. There was an ever so slight tint from the setting sun. One must look closely to discern the effects of the sunset. The lighting circumstances made some nice silhouettes. I found the pics enjoyable. I hope you do too. gwh

General Conference

2009-10-04T13:48:00.002-06:00

General Conference has been most wonderful. Those who have attended at our place are shown in the pictures. In addition to Clarine and I, it amounts to a trio of Russell girls -Hannah, Beth and Carol - a quintet of the Lisa and Phil Hatch family, Sheridan, Zack and Max included. It was nice to have family around. The speakers have been very uplifting as well. I think I am not able to adequately express the way that I am not the same as I was before conference started. It is a process that happens every six months that is among the most significant things that I experience at this stage of my life. It even brings a type of sweetness and happiness that is unsurpassed. I hope that each of you have feasted fully at this same wonderful "table." gwh

Indian Summer

2009-10-02T16:46:00.002-06:00

Today, 2 October 2009, Clarine and I decided to go for an easy, relaxing drive. I thought of several places - even to Mirror Lake in the Uintahs. Making "easy" the controlling word, we went to Brighton. It turned out to be a good choice, because we both enjoyed it a lot. Early Wednesday morning, a lot of moisture fell around this part of the state. There were some reports of more than a foot of snow in the mountains. I think we got more than one half inch of rain here at Stansbury Park. That was probably true of Brighten as there was still lots of snow today - especially in shady spots. We noticed that the leaves on the trees had hardly started to turn. Hence there was a lot of green contrast with the white of the snow. Today the skies were very blue which added to the colors and contrasts. I think it not too apt to title this blog, "Indian Summer," as most of the bright colors have not even shown yet. gwh

Wisteria

2009-09-29T12:43:00.002-06:00

Each of my companions from Carol to the present had something for wisteria vines - especially when they bloom in large clusters that hang down like an over productive grape vine. Consequently, I made several attempts to grow wisteria - quite unsuccessfully, may I add. I now have achieved partial success in great measure. That is, I have a vine that seemingly could take over anything. It appears one should be very careful around it because of tendrils that reach out in many directions - some a half inch in diameter. (Maybe a boa constrictor would be safer to have around. I'll ask Emily.) The two half inch-diameter tendrils ran along the ground in opposite directions and were about eight feet long when I discovered them and brought them upon to the porch and aimed them around a couple of columns. Now, here is my question for any and all of you "would be," "wanna be" horticulturists. I have had this robust vine for probably five years, WHY DOESN'T IT BLOOM? It appears to me that the vine could support thousands (maybe a slight exaggeration) of blooms. gwh

Bloody Nose

2009-09-08T17:38:00.002-06:00

You have already read the narrative. Here is a picture to go with it. gwh

Dear Family and Friends,
I hemmorhaged from the nose this morning, I was down on my hands and knees looking at a sprinkler head. Blood came out in copious amounts. After fifteen to twenty minutes I got it staunched and things cleaned up. Clarine was not here. I sat in my chair for about half an hour. It started bleeding again. While I was in the bathroom trying to stop it, Clarine came home. She insisted on an immediate visit to the emergency room. They stuffed a little gauze cylinder up my nose. It had a pump on the end hanging out of my nose and was connected to a balloon inside of the cylinder. The doctor pumped up the balloon. It hurt a lot. They had me sit in the emergency room for an hour to see if the blood was coming from higher up. There just seemed to be some seepage, so now I am home, very uncomfortable, wearing this cylinder and pump for two days. Then I go in for them to remove it. They said this treatment leaves less scarring than cauterizing the wound. It is certainly a less invasive and easier process for the doctor. I hurt and am quite uncomfortable. My nose is terribly out of shape with that balloon inflated, and it is quite unsightly with that pump taped to the side of my face. Love, Dad/Grandpa/George.

St. George

2009-09-06T19:27:00.002-06:00

Before I went to Ferris' funeral in Kennewick, Washington, Deanna and Dan Allred joined us at the timeshare in St. George. Clarine and I had to leave on Wednesday, so I could get to the funeral.

Dan and Deanna stayed on until Friday. We did get to do a few things in the short time we were there. Photos included with this blog show Deanna picking cotton at the Jacob Hamblin home; statuary around the St. George library that emphasizes reading with children; Deanna and the Tuacahn Theater; Dan, Deanna and I at the Tuacahn Theater; (Clarine took the picture); and Dan on the deck of the timeshare. With the funeral, timeshare and temple shifts it was quite a busy week. gwh

Ferris Funeral # 2

2009-09-06T18:38:00.002-06:00

Pictures include Carol, Paul, Bonnie and husband, (sorry about my memory); Blake?, Dan and Mike; Ferris' and Pauline's Bishop (Law); I and my brother, Paul - Dean with dark glasses in background; one picture is a rerun from #1, but I failed to identify Kevin and Holly who are on the front row with their mother. There are others to be identified but my eyes and memory are not that sharp. This will be all of the pictures I send on the funeral crowd. gwh

Ferris Funeral # 1

2009-09-06T17:54:00.002-06:00

Pictures show Patricia and Vic Wakefield (he's 93), the widow, Pauline and some family, another picture of family with Pauline just showing at the edge, Reed Hatch family, and one of Dave and Rhonda Drury, yours truly and Vic and Patricia Wakefield. These pictures were all taken at the cemetery in Richland. The day was a lovely day, even a little bit cool for that location. I was the dedicater of the grave and that afforded me this location where most of these pictures were taken. gwh

Trees by Diane

2009-08-01T20:41:00.003-06:00

Diane painted a large size Tree of Life which she presented to us and it hangs by our busy stairwell, so it gets seen many times a day. It seems she must have a special knack for trees as I like these two paintings of trees very much. Diane gave permission to put these on a blog, perhaps because I am so enamored with them. Enjoy!!!!! gwh

She came bearing gifts from Peru

2009-07-29T19:36:00.002-06:00

Here we are sporting our gifts from Peru made with alpaca wool. Evelyn was our benefactor. Now I need to wait for winter to come for the cap I got is quite warm. The caps have a name but I can't recall what it is. Anyway we all modeled them for you. Clarine got a scarf made from the same kind of wool. gwh

Family reunion - # 3

2009-07-29T16:03:00.002-06:00

At one of the view points in Bryce Canyon there were crows (ravens) that had become acclimated to people. Since they were being photogenic, I took some pictures. I don't know why this computer is underscoring everything I am writing, but there are so many users on this computer that I never know what I am going to get each time I get to the keyboard. I like how blue the sky is in Bryce Canyon on this day. gwh

Family Reunion - # 2

2009-07-28T20:50:00.002-06:00

Family reunion - # 1

2009-07-28T12:02:00.002-06:00

In spite of Alex breaking his leg in an ATV tip over, our family reunion from 22 July to 25 July at

Lydia's Canyon near Glendale, Utah was a real success. The accomodations were beyond expectation. (I have a difficult time understanding why it is called a "cabin" when it is so commodius, but all of that aside, it was a wonderful time of being together.) All six of my children attended. Most of my grand children were there and all of my great grand children were there. Mostly because their parents were there. Marie and Ken Hatch were our generous hosts. The leg-breaker, Alex, is their son. We did a lot of eating, talking, and visiting near by attractions - Coral Pink Sand Dunes, Bryce Canyon, and the Kanab Swimming Pool. As an added bit of excitement, a young rattle snake visited us while we were assembled one evening. Unfortunately for him he was dispatched by Caleb and a shovel. There will be more reunion blogs to follow. After Alex was taken to Phoenix, it was decided that he will be fitted with a hard cast and will be a handicapped person for about six weeks. He needs to get back to Ephraim and start his schooling with his scholarship. gwh

Davies Family Reunion - #3

2009-07-12T11:54:00.000-06:00

Davies Family Reunion - # 2

2009-07-12T11:48:00.000-06:00

Davies Family Reunion - #1

2009-07-12T11:41:00.000-06:00

Old Arthritic Cat

2009-07-12T11:03:00.004-06:00

Coyote is the "Old Arthritic Cat." She belongs to Diane Hatch. Diane and Coyote are visiting here from Tacna, Arizona this summer. Diane called Coyote old and arthritic not I. Summers are very hot in Tacna (down by Yuma). I think we spoil Coyote royally. She has been deaf all of her life. One of her eyes is green. The other is a beautiful blue. Outside our front door where she lies most of the time, she has a choice of three surfaces to lie on: a foot mat, cool cement, and a plush pad designed specifically for spoiled animals to lie on. Coyote exploits all three - changing from one to the other at will. I have even discovered her lying half on the mat and half on the cement. Food and water are generously placed near her on the front porch where chooses to be domiciled. As for Diane she is choosing to make me feel inadequate through her prowess in solving Sudoku and crossword puzzles. Diane is a High School art teacher who creates some very original pieces of art in her applied time. gwh

Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge (BRMBR)

2009-07-07T10:00:00.002-06:00

Clarine gets the credit for all of the pictures shown here. She thought she took a lot more and so did I, but I did not find them on the camera. Yesterday Clarine, Diane and I went to the MBR west of Brigham City. When we first arrived in Brigham City, we went to the Idle Isle Cafe for a very good lunch. (Maddox is closed on Mondays.) Then we got serious and drove to the refuge. We spent some time at the visitor's center, then drove out to the marshes around the Bear River as it makes its way into the Great Salt Lake. We saw plovers. pelicans, avocets, grebes, ibises, coots, ducks (a ruby duck with a pale blue bill was noteworthy), swallows, stilts, snowy egrets, herons, and who knows what I have forgotten. Strangely absent were any Canadian geese and there are so many of them around Stansbury Park. Upon returning from the MBR to Brigham City, we drove south of Willard to our favorite store on "The World Famous Fruit Way" - Pettingill's. We bought watermelon, raspberries, cherries, beets, and the like. It was another good day. gwh

Elevation > 9,000 feet

2009-07-03T15:12:00.002-06:00

Tuesday this week, Diane and I drove to Idaho Falls - the stated intent - to go fishing in Meadow Lake with son, Dan, and granddaughter, Julie. At the entrance to the lake the gate was closed since it was "too wet" (Forest Service determination) to open the camp ground. Dan and Julie walked 3/8 of a mile to reconnoiter. One picture shows them returning from the "scouting trip." They said, "Everything looked beautiful at the lake." And it did. There was still plenty of snow at that elevation. It was a marvelous scene all around us. Dan caught eleven trout; Julie got five, and I got one. Diane didn't fish. All of the fish got released but three which Dan cleaned out at Diane's request as she likes trout. Diane, Clarine and I will eat them this evening for supper. After fishing was well under way and after we had consumed much of our over abundant lunch supply, Dan walked back to where we had parked the car, met the ranger, and he decided to open the gate sooner than planned as things seemed pretty dry in the camp ground. Dan drove the car up to the lake, and we didn't have to walk out. Even more wonderful than the fishing was the visiting and companionship we enjoyed while fishing and at the home. Kim, Chris, Quinn, Elliott, and Jalayne arrived tor the Fourth of July weekend at Callie and Dan's home after we got back from fishing yesterday. Diane and I drove back to Stansbury Park this morning. While we were away, Craig Lingard, Clarine's son-in-law, was riding his bicycle in a heavy rain storm, and it slid out from under him and he broke a hip - requiring an operation and three pins to put it back together. Craig is a counselor in our Bishopric. Clarine has had another bout with pneumonia and is about recovered. She opted to do some family things while we were in Idaho Falls. Apparently we are having a very extended "monsoon" season this year. All of the rain has been welcome for us, but there have been occasions of heavy flooding in some spots in the Salt Lake area. gwh

post script

2009-06-25T12:35:00.002-06:00

This is a post script to my just issued blog. I would be unfair to portulaca If I didn't give it a little time in the "press." It has colorful beautiful blooms and blossoms from now until frost comes. It is drought resistant and reseeds itself in the pots where it is grown. The other picture here is a gerbena daisy growing under an iris plant. Gerbenas are fussy and like tender care. They are exceedingly beautiful. I took some pictures of my tomato plants, but they are nothing to look at even though they do sport some young green tomatoes. gwh

Lilies, wisteria and cosmos

2009-06-25T11:38:00.002-06:00

Lilies are blooming profusely right now. They must have liked all of the rain we have had. I have the most wonderful wisteria vine, but in five years it has never bloomed even though it is growing all over my front porch. The first cosmos of the season have bloomed. The nice thing about cosmos is that they bloom the rest of the growing season as well as showing a pretty face.

In addition to writing about the flowers, I want to add a few brief words about a couple of spectacular celebrations that took place in the last five days. Sunday, Father's Day, many of the family that live close or semi-close came to these premises and celebrated. I was the oldest father there. I am going to try to name all who were present. (I'm getting old, and if I can't remember every one please forgive me.) But here goes: Jalayne, Lisa, Phil, Sheridan, Zach, Max, Mike, Emily, Kim, Chris, Elliott, Quinn, Ashley, Justin, Taylor, Braxton, Carol, Beth, Diane, Clarine and George. Jalayne was a prime-mover and helped greatly to pull the occasion together. Phil did the honors at the grill and every one brought "stuff" to eat so we really celebrated with a feast.

Yesterday was Elliott's third birthday and many of us reassembled to the Lucherinni house in Kaysville. It was another wonderful feast with Chris at the grill. The rest of the people were people closely related to Elliott, and I am not going to try to name them as I will certainly get into trouble. There were parents, grandparents, great grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins present. Elliott seemed to have a great time with his family around him and all of the "loot" that he got. gwh

The sign of the last total deluge

2009-06-12T11:26:00.002-06:00

We have had much rain in the month of June to date. Yesterday afternoon as the sun began to peep through from the west, there was a lovely rainbow low in the sky in the east. Due to the location of the rainbow, my neighbors house as well as an anonymous bike rider got some exposure. There is one more pic from the Bear Lake trip that I am forwarding as well. It is of the Oxford Ward chapel. I only browsed once, but the program gave me two exposures of the same shot. (Oh well, it would be more difficult to adjust the blog than to forward a double picture.) When I was really young there was an older chapel on the site. This one was built new while I was still young. President Heber J. Grant came and dedicated it, and I got to shake his hand. Now the ward has been combined with one of the Clifton Wards. and this one is used as a barn.

We are getting a lot of temple time lately. I guess I am the one getting unusual time: the regular shift last Saturday and Monday (Clarine was to both of those), Diane and I went to the stake temple day on Tuesday. I am substituting for another ordinance worker today, Friday, and Clarine and I will be back on our regular shifts tomorrow and Monday. As you can tell I love the temple. gwh

Bear Lake - third and final BLOG

2009-06-02T12:29:00.002-06:00

Pictures with this blog include - a bed of irises at the Oxford cemetery - 3 pictures of humongous willow trees by the Arctic Circle in Soda Springs, Idaho - Dan Allred and George Hatch shooting wrist rockets on location at Hooper Spring in Soda Springs, Idaho. (I would have put a description by each photo, but I have learned from sad experience that when ever I do this, everything gets rearranged again when I post the blog.) gwh

Bear Lake - Paris, Idaho Tabernacle

2009-06-01T20:08:00.002-06:00

Wednesday, last week, Dan/Deanna Allred, Clarine and I got in Allred's new Accura SUV and we drove north out of Garden City. Some of the towns we visited were Bloomington, St. Charles, Paris, Ovid, Montpelier, Georgetown, Afton, Thane, Soda Springs and return. //the photos in this blog were all taken at the Paris, Idaho Tabernacle - an old beautiful building. It is well cared for and stake conferences, seminary graduations and the like are still held there. The tour guide gave us a brief recital on the organ. It was a good day, and the towns we visited were in Utah, Idaho and Wyoming. At Thane, Wyoming we visited the cheese plant and had an ice cream cone. (I had maple nut; I don't find that flavor too often.) At Hooper Spring in Soda Springs, Dan and I got out our sling shots and did some target practice at various things around that could not be damaged by our play. gwh (I will likely post one more blog regarding the week spent at Bear Lake.)

Bear Lake #1

2009-05-31T08:14:00.002-06:00

After our temple service on Saturday 23 May we drove to Bear Lake to stay in a WorldMark time share. We stopped in Logan to get flowers for the graves in Oxford. I am partial to mums as they are produced just for that purpose , are colorful and of great variety. We could not find a single store that had any mums left. Well that messed me up. So, my plan to place flowers on Sunday didn't materialize, but the rest of the Sunday plan worked really well. We left Bear Lake early Sunday morning, drove from Ovid over to Mink Creek, to Preston and on to the Clifton Second Ward. We met Dee and Nellie Boyce there (by arrangement), saw many others with Oxford ties, and afterward Dee and Nellie hosted us to a marvelous dinner. We had an appointment to meet Ferris and Pauline at the cemetery at 2:00 PM. The rain was coming down so hard that Dee and Nellie invited us back to their place to visit. We spent about 2 hours reminiscencing about wonderful Oxford things and experiences. After the rain we went back to the cemetery. It is a beautiful setting and the graves looked nice in spite of my lack of flowers. It was very good to see the Boyces as well as having a grand visit with Ferris and Pauline. Dan and Deanna Allred joined us at the time share on Monday and we got to spend the rest of the week until Friday with them. (More about that in the next post.) While on the subject of cemeteries I will say that the Allreds and we went to the Logan Temple on Wednesday morning and drove back to Oxford in the afternoon. I bought some red colored bedding plants to put on the graves in the absence of mums. The little red plants looked good with the dark head stones. I showed the Allreds around the Oxford area and the old stomping grounds before we headed back to Bear Lake via Preston, Mink Creek and Ovid. On our trip over the mountains we encountered many deer. (We lost count, and a big old moose sauntered across the highway in front of us too.) While in Oxford I took a picture of my Grandfather's and my Grandmother's old house which is still standing there in Oxford. It is included here. gwh

#4 (and last) Cruise Blog

2009-05-17T10:35:00.002-06:00

When the Panama City Temple first came into view (going east to west), I was so excited that I took whatever photos I could get even though there were better photos taken later, which I have already posted. There are three pics included here. Our ship nearly dwarfs everything in the port of Hualtulco, Mexico in one other picture. From a hilltop outside of Huatulco, some feeling for its nice setting is provided. gwh

Cruise Blog # 3

2009-05-15T12:48:00.002-06:00

Here are some more pics taken on our cruise through the Panama canal. Huatulco, Mexico has several coves with beautiful beaches. They look as if they would be very private once you got onto them. It appears to me that the easiest way to reach many of them is by boat. About mid transit of the Panama canal, there was a nice bridge connecting the two sides of the Canal. I took this picture from our balcony. (The overhanging deck shows.) From our balcony I also took a picture of the turbulent water as one of the locks was being emptied. There were a couple of evening meals on board ship where the dress code of the day was "formal." As a result for one of the meals I snapped pictures of Clarine and me. Those pictures are included. As I look through the remaining pictures, I see that there are likely enough of interest to make another post at a later time. As I think back over the trip, I am aware of many things I just did not get pictures of. gwh

Cruise Photos # 2

2009-05-07T16:35:00.002-06:00

Hualtuco, Mexico Panama City, Panama

Panama City, Panama

Rugged coast of Huatalco, Mexico (above)

Panama City, Panama -------------------->

I have labeled the photos appropriately. If the formatting of the blog site doesnot change things, they are correct before posting. gwh

Panama Canal Cruise

2009-05-06T20:15:00.004-06:00

Field Day

2009-04-13T16:22:00.004-06:00

Phillip, Sheridan, Zack and Max came out to the lake today. We fed ducks, flew kites, shot bean flippers, played with magnets, shot marbles, ate lunch and who knows what all else. Lisa is nursing a cold, so she did not venture out to these shores. I was taking pictures in all directions. Some were good; some not so good. It turns out I didn't find any good pictures with Sheridan in them. I didn't select good pictures in all of the cases. Suffice it to say that we had an excellent time, and enjoyed all of the things we did. "Come to the lake ; we will have a good time." gwh

Carol Russell - an unrhyming ode.

2009-04-06T20:54:00.003-06:00

Carol Russell has been here for a visit since Friday evening. She is such a good granddaughter. She is so kind and good to her grandpa. In two of these pics she and Clarine have modeled some sheriff deputy shirts that Clarine is modifying for the husband of the Relief Society President. In the other pic I actually got Carol to pose in front of a white door in hopes of displaying her fine features. She actually has accomplished much already in her relatively short life - graduated from BYU, served a mission in Brazil Curitiba Mission, and currently she is teaching science at a charter school in Logan to three middle school grades. Carol was our guest through the Saturday and Sunday sessions of General Conference. When prayers were said we all prayed; when the congregation sang, we sang; we said all of the "Amens." Carol took copius notes. Her family lives in Woodinville, Washington. She has two brother sibs and three sisters. Her oldest brother, Sam is marrying Merina from St. Petersberg, Russia on 16 April 2009 in the Seattle Temple. I can't remember how to spell or say Merina's last name. Carol is a candidate to be translated, but she associates with us mortals, so it likely will not happen as of yet. I think we will possibly be honored with Carol's presence for another two or three days as her school is on spring break this week. She helps clean up after meals, makes no demands or requests and is really fun to visit with. Clarine and I are so at ease around her. gwh

Spring???

2009-03-28T19:12:00.002-06:00

After returning from the temple shift today I noted that the weather had turned a little more mild. I put on my jacket not zipped clear to the throat. I went riding the bicycle without gloves no less. When I returned, I took the camera to the back yard and snapped the pussy willows and some forsythia. Nature does some wonderful things.

Tonight Clarine will not be here. She and her daughter are in Logan to support a grand daughter who had a friend killed in a car accident on the Grantsville Highway as it passes Stansbury Park. Clarine will return tomorrow evening. She got a substitute for the temple today. Even though Clarine was not with me, serving in the temple is a very pleasing and satisfying experience. I will miss the temple while we are on our cruise. I had to get substitutes to work for me on the Saturdays that I will not be there. Clarine and I are going to start serving on Monday mornings beginning May 4th in addition to our Saturday shift. The shift actually starts on Monday, 6 April. It will be the only temple shift on Monday in the entire church system of temples. Because of the cruise we are not starting until 4 May. gwh

Confused

2009-02-23T17:27:00.002-07:00

Last blog I displayed this "Christmas " cactus blooming. Eleven days later it is still blooming as if it were Christmas. Maybe it is a "George Washington's Birthday" cactus. We could state several other dates in the year when it blooms. Any way it is a joy. Yesterday, we had a house of happiness here with children, grandchildren and great grand children along with Clarine's sister - fifteen of us total. We would have gladly welcomed more, but there were reasons. We visited and talked and displayed our love and concern for one another. It was a happy time for me. Life is good.

Tonight, Clarine and I are going to the stage production, Beauty and the Beast, presented by Tooele High School. We saw it performed by Grantsville High School a couple of years ago. I don't remember it well enough to make a good comparison.

I heard from every one of my children, some grandchildren and friends yesterday, either by phone, internet or in person. I am now a solid eighty-one years old. I will never see eighty again.

Clarine and I went to the swimming pool in Tooele this morning. It will be closed for cleaning and repairs for three days, so we just went for a drive around the valley - Tooele to Grantsville and thence to I-80 and back to Stansbury Park. We drove more slowly than usual. There were times when I had to speed up to avoid causing problems, but it was a happy drive. gwh

Christmas Is Past

2009-02-12T18:51:00.002-07:00

A few weeks before Christmas in 2008 this Cactus bloomed. As Christmas came there were still a few spent blossoms hanging on. Today as this picture shows, it is blooming anew - probably only two months have elapsed between blooms. I am suspicious that there are two different plants in the pot, as I seemingly get a different shade of blossom from time to time. Never-the-less these are gorgeous full blooms. It makes me happier when it blooms. This plant is so copious and prolific with so little care. It is a blessing.

This passed week, one day, I got two notices from the Utah Tax Commission. They are asking questions about the years 2005, 2006. They told me to make some copies of my federal returns and mail them to them. I have done so. Now the ball is in their court once more. I am not optimistic that they won't want to adjust my returns. Taxes seem to get complex any more and it is busy work to fill out the forms. Today I preliminarily figured my Utah state tax for the year 2008. Utah is going to a "quasi" flat tax. The rate is now basically 5% instead of seven. They certainly calculated the change to favor the state as my taxes are roughly 50% higher than before, and they are more complicated to figure. (I might say I expected as much. I am not very enamored with politicians of any ilk.) By and large they are selfish, petty, unstatesman-like and always asking for some one to contribute to their "war chests." So much for the "sour grapes." gwh

A Plentiful Storm

2009-02-09T13:41:00.002-07:00

Last night and early today we had a plentiful rain storm that put snow in the mountains and water on the ice of the lake. Meanwhile the old rocker that I improved greatly sits sheltered on the front porch waiting for warmer weather so that someone can sit in it and bask in the nice temperate atmosphere. The water on the ice looks nice, but the strength of the ice is likely getting risky for a human to step upon.

I started my service in the Salt Lake Temple as an ordinance worker last Saturday. I was so happy that they were going to start me on a session with one of the lesser speaking parts. I think there was probably a little pride on the surface. Any way I started giving the part and it was going well, when I had a senior moment. I couldn't think of what was to be said next, and the person prompting me spoke so softly that I could not hear it. After a few attempts, I finally got what he was saying. It seemed like I stood dumb-founded for minutes. I suspect it was seconds, but it had the needed impact on me. I was quite humbled - a good antidote for pride. I served in other capacities without incident, and it was very nice to be able to serve in those ordinances once more.

I talked with Kenneth on the telephone yesterday. He didn't know that I was still teaching the gospel doctrine class in Sunday School. I updated him, so that he now knows that I have been teaching the class for over five years and still enjoy it a lot. Yesterday's class went quite well, and I probably built back a little pride. What I need to do is give the credit where it belongs and steer away from the destroying monster that pride is. I will get my camera out again one of these days and give you a post with some dialogue. gwh

Three Weeks

2009-02-03T19:34:00.002-07:00

The photo with the stitches under the left eye was taken on 12 January 2009. The other was taken this evening, 3 February 2009. The relatively large interval was occasioned by the lack of feed back on the pathology of the biopsy taken on the 12th. After three inquiries on various days I finally got a response today that the biopsy results were negative with respect to the tissue sample being cancerous. So that is good news. The scar is healing quite nicely too, don't you think? In 19 more days this ole' feller will top out at 81 years of age. I have to admit that I am slowing just a tad. When I was out running this morning, I passed some high school students waiting for the bus. One of them that I know said, "Out for your morning walk, huh?" I was a little insulted, but regained my composure and answered, "Yeah, but it is supposed to be a run."

Ground Hog Day was yesterday. It was very sunny here, so I'm hunkering down for six more weeks of winter. The lake is frozen quite hard now. The Canadian geese wander around on the ice waiting for a turn to get in the water at the few places that are warm and the water is not frozen but quite small in area.

All-in-all I am very blessed and happy. I wish the same for each of you. gwh.

Beauty is where you find it.

2009-01-21T12:06:00.002-07:00

The weather has provided temperature inversion the last few days causing heavy fog to form especially in the evenings. With the heavy moisture content in the air some beautiful hoar frost forms. After the fog burns off the frost mostly disappears and a new batch is formed the next night. Digital cameras make it quite simple to capture these wonderful effects.

The scar on my face from the plastic surgeon's removal of a growth under my left eye has not gone away yet. In fact there is a piece of a suture sticking out of the scar. I think I shall have to go to the medical center and have them take it off today. The sutures were supposed to dissolve after about a week. It has been ten days. The results of the biopsy will be available about next Monday.

Clarine and I are both doing quite well. We have been operating an air filter in the room where she is along with a humidifier, and that seems to facilitate her breathing much to our approval.

Stand by for the next post. It will happen when I get the feeling. gwh

What I Saw

2009-01-13T09:13:00.002-07:00

Here is a little bit of what I saw when I went for my walk this morning. I didn't do my jog (shuffle) because I didn't want to jar the wound under my eye that was intentionally made yesterday to remove a "growth." As you can tell, it was a lovely morning, ice on the lake, some snow around, and high, crystal visibility for miles around. So far everything is okay with the tissue removal. I do hope that the scar gets to be much prettier when it is healed. Otherwise why did a plastic surgeon have to do it? gwh

Before and After

2009-01-12T13:49:00.002-07:00

The before and after operation pictures are shown. In the after picture the sutures are apparent. I will get the results of the biopsy after the sutures have dissolved. It only took about twenty minutes for the whole process. The only hurt was when he injected the anesthetic under my eye. That smarted some. After healing I will send another blog on the issue. STAND BY FOR NEWS. gwh

2009

2009-01-11T11:40:00.002-07:00

A new year has begun. I haven't even written the incorrect year on any of my checks. (I haven't written that many for that matter.) For about two weeks over Christmas and New Years we had house guests. Clarine's grandson and his wife and two foster children stayed here at night. They greatly enjoyed the breakfasts that Clarine prepared for them. They are two girls (the foster children, 16 and 7, I think). The younger one wet the bed one night, and the older one used a child's hair brush in Kanab when they drove down there to visit relatives. The child had lice. Thankfully we didn't get infested. Maybe they hatched after they returned to North Carolina. Perhaps the precautions taken prevented an outbreak. Anyway after breakfasts they disappeared to his family or stores or activities and we would see them again at bed time. At our age we aren't a lot of fun for younger people. We get too tired. We still go to the temple to work on Saturdays. We have started swimming once a week at the Tooele pool. Lisa, Phil and family came out to see us the week following Christmas. Phil did some welcome updating on my computer. We are going to attend the open house of the Draper Temple this Thursday. The paper predicts that nearly one million people will attend during the time set aside before dedication for open house visitors.

I have included two photos with this posting. one was taken through the window pane on the sun porch. It displays a big black splotch that looks like it is on the snow on the lawn. Really it is on the window where a duck or goose bombed us as it pulled up to avoid a horrible accident. The other photo is me displaying many of the spot and blemish issues I have. It was intended to be that way to help me explain this circumstance. Tomorrow morning I go to see a Dr. Rodriquez -plastic surgeon. In the picture there may appear to be more serious stuff than what I am going to point out to you. What I point out to you probably isn't serious either. It doesn't hurt. It is just there and has been for some time - months. Whatever I put on it doesn't seem to change anything. I describe it as being cyst-like. It is the blemish about three quarters of an inch below my left eye. The regular dermatologist thought it should be handled by a plastic surgeon - even though he hadn't examined it. All this says that you will hear from me again after the disposition of this matter has been determined. gwh

The Old and The New

2008-12-22T17:42:00.002-07:00

Can you tell which is the old and which is the new? The new microwave is a little larger. The new range has a larger oven window. Both of the new are Whirlpool appliances. The old ones were General Electric. The old ones were surely depreciated. The new ones work very nicely. We are certainly very happy with them. The plumbing in the guest bathroom was the next thing to go. When Beth was here Saturday evening she tried to take a shower, but the plumbing failed and water started dripping on the table on the floor below. As I type this the man is still here. He had a large task to do. He estimated an $800 charge. I may get a little discount for being so old. He is in the finishing stages right now. I should have recognized that some water was leaking under the floor in that bathroom as the floor started to buckle and some tiles cracked loose. I re-grouted those, but still did not know that I had trouble until Beth's aborted shower. I hope I am through taking care of depreciation for a while. Merry Christmas. gwh

Depreciation

2008-12-15T17:15:00.000-07:00

Old

2008-12-04T21:40:00.002-07:00

A neighbor let us borrow this book. When he took it to the Church Historians Department, they told him there were only three copies in existence and this is one of them. I was pleased that he trusted us enough to let us have it for as long as it took both of us to read it (probably over a month). The title is Life of Joseph Smith by George Q. Cannon. It was published in 1888. As you can see it is very fragile. I didn't find out too many things that were new, but I felt differently about some of it because George Q. Cannon has a grand mastery of the English language and his descriptions and impressions were moving to me. From the picture you can tell that the book is barely holding together. We were very careful with it, and the pages were only turned twice - once by each of us. Clarine finished before I did. So we kept it another couple of weeks while I finished it. The descriptions and recording of the mob actions in Missouri and Illinois pointed out to me in a very vivid way how primitive and lawless much of our country was in those days. Right while I was reading it the elections took place with Proposition 8 catching much interest -especially in California. Some of the reaction of those disappointed in Prop. 8 caused me to think of how Missouri and Illinois treated the Latterday Saints - too a much lesser extent of course. But I guess we still haven't totally learned to live by the "rule of law." I thought that you might just like to know about this book experience. gwh

Tamales

2008-12-02T17:57:00.002-07:00

Clarine was anxious to know how Phillip made tamales. They worked out an agreeable time for today, and Phillip came with many of his fine cooking things as well as some Masa (corn meal paste), chili sauce, and some left over turkey. We put our left over turkey with his supply. Phil soon showed us how to take a corn husk, spread on some Masa, turkey and sauce and roll it up to be steamed for about 45 minutes. We made about fifty tamales in a couple of hours. We kept seventeen of them here and they are now freezing in the freezer compartment for later use. Each of us ate two of them for our lunch. They are good , substantial and provide variety to a meal. Kim was going to come too, but her schedule got too jammed up. It was an interesting exercise. gwh

Sunset - 1 December 2008

2008-12-01T17:31:00.002-07:00

As is usually the case in trying to get a picture of a bright sunset, by the time I got my camera, it had faded some, but it is still quite gorgeous, I think. I will take this time to say that we had about 30 guests for Thanksgiving. As you might expect with that many diners, many people ate with their plates in their laps. Clarine invited all of her family for four generations. There were many that were able to make it. Some held their own Thanksgivings or went to their spouses side of the family. I think Clarine was very happy the way it turned out. The next day Phil, Lisa and family brought Beth out and we grazed on leftovers. On Saturday and Sunday and today we have been eating the same thing as well. It does taste good still. Beth stayed the night and we drove her back to Lisa and Phil's Saturday morning before we went to the temple. They delivered her back to BYU as they went to Utah County to visit Lisa's folks.

The weather has been mild the last week or so. We had some rain on two days, but it didn't turn cold afterwords. We have turned on some Christmas lights. I went to Walmart and bought three more timers today. Some of our existing timers have become fully depreciated. Tonight the lights on two timers are glowing. There are two more timers to set - and a third one if we so desire. I have been reading your communications with interest - e-mail, blogs, and I had a nice phone call from Diane on Thanksgiving. We have geese and ducks on the lake - no ice yet. It hasn't been cold enough, but it does put frost on the lawn in the mornings. gwh

Poinsettia - promised blog

2008-11-23T18:40:00.002-07:00

Our guests arrived shortly after 4:00 PM today. Dinner was all ready as it had been in the slow cooker since 8:00 this morning. (Kim brought some wonderful tasting pumpkin bread.) We went out to the dock to feed the ducks, feed the fish, shoot wrist rockets and take some pictures after we ate dinner today. I tried to take a picture of Jalayne and Chris. I was going to put them in profile against a bright sky, but alas, a dark row of houses appears right where the profile of their faces should have been. Elliot gave me a wave that covered part of his face as I took his picture, AND the promised picture of the beautiful poinsettia mentioned in my previous blog is now included. gwh

Having spot and blemish

2008-11-23T14:59:00.002-07:00

This week Clarine and I visited the dermatologist. He abused the top of my head and the side of my face somewhat. He cut out three samples from her that were biopsied and found negative. They were on her back and a little risque to show in pictures. But we seem to have a good bill of health in these pre-cancerous matters.

With regard to my previous blog: I still haven't got my new mouse and keyboard, but Phil, Sheridan, Zach and Max came out on Friday. Among other things Phillip literally scraped some stuff off the ball in my mouse as well as swabbing the mechanisms inside with a que tip and alcohol. It worked. My mouse now moves as freely as ever. So eventually I will have three mouses. One was for my lap top, but Phil says I need Bluetooth in my lap top for it to work. So I have a very nice little laser mouse that I am not able to use. While they were here the children (us kids) went out on the dock and shot sling shots and fed the ducks. We shot many pieces of smooth glass far out into the lake.

We have been on the entertainment circuit the last two nights. Friday night we attended a musical that had been written for our stake to perform in lieu of the road shows this year. It was about Alma and Abinadi and was excellently done. Last night Clarine and I went to the tabernacle to witness a production by the orchestra and bells on temple square. It was professionally done and the presentation was beautiful to see and hear.

We expect Kim Chris and family and Jalayne to arrive momentarily for a visit. We will dine and visit and enjoy each other. Clarine's grandson, wife and two kids are staying a lot of the time for the next week as well.

Our Christmas cactus is blooming again. I have included a blurry picture of it. Two days ago Clarine bought a great, large poinsettia. I took a picture to show you it's beauty. Alas! my computer and camera are doing some conspiracy theory, because under today's date the picture I found was one from last fall which I think I already included in a blog. Oh, well enjoy it again! I am not going to go through all of the hassle to get another picture of the poinsettia and include it with this blog. I suspect there will be a time before the plant withers and dies that I will send you a picture. Anything else I was going to say has evaporated. Perhaps it can be reconstituted and forwarded at a later date. gwh

Mouse

2008-11-19T16:23:00.002-07:00

My mouse is not happy. It is not dead, but some times I would like to shoot it, as it is quite intermittent and jerky as I try to maneuver my icon. One can tell that I am desperate for blogging material when I have to pick on a crippled mouse. Anyway an ad from buy.com came in my e-mail and advertised a mouse and keyboard made by Phillips for $12.99 with free shipping. I made a management decision and ordered it yesterday. It should arrive soon. I don't need another keyboard, but for that price and the chance of eliminating my frustration with my mouse, I couldn't go wrong.

I have been doing things that are really quite routine, and we are leading quite a mundane life. We have gotten back into visiting the swimming pool that last two weeks. Things are all winterized and ready for the bad weather. Clarine got me to put up some Christmas lights yesterday, because the weather was nice and warm. There are still more to put up. Maybe tomorrow. I am not putting any power to them until at least after Thanksgiving. Even then I may be able to hold out for a little longer. The Canadian geese that are staying for the winter did not migrate with the larger groups that took off earlier in the fall. There are some ducks. I don't see the turtles any more. I wonder if they have hibernated in the mud. Perhaps my next blog will be really exciting. What else can I say but, "GO COUGARS!" gwh

Lava Hot Springs - Edition 2

2008-11-03T19:23:00.003-07:00

The ATTENTION sign says that the number of trout limit on Chesterfield Reservoir is 2. I stood by the sign designating the historic restoration of Chesterfield, Idaho. There were several old red brick homes, a red brick school and a red brick church that have been restored along with a mercantile shown in the previous blog. It is shaping up to be a very nice restoration project. Two more photos of the Soda Springs area are included. One is of Hooper Spring where oodles of naturally carbonated water comes forth in a very nice stream. We made some root beer with it, but it was a little flat. A picture of the geyser mentioned in Edition 1 is included. Now you can tell me who was closest in their estimate of the height of the geyser - Clarine, 100 feet; Dan, 35 feet; or George, 50 feet. I lost many photos of the restoration in the transfer process, as well as some other pics in the area. The bottom line is that it was an excellent week. We are now back in the usual mode of operation.

2008-11-03T19:05:00.000-07:00

Lava Hot Springs - Edition 1

2008-11-02T19:11:00.003-07:00

Karen Hill Restored Mercantile - Chesterfield, Idaho

The condo - Lava Hot Springs, Idaho

Dan's office - Pocatello, ID

Last week Clarine and I went to Lava Hot Springs for a visit of one week at a condo in Lava Hot Springs, Idaho. We did a lot of things. One day we drove to Pocatello to visit Dan at his place of work. His sister-in-law, Karen Hill also works in that office. Dan, Clarine and I went to lunch at the Sizzler. We had a fun visit before driving back to Lava Hot Springs. It is only a short 30 minute drive between the two cities. We drove to many cities (towns) in the southeastern part of Idaho during the course of the week - Soda Springs , Montpelier, Ovid, Paris, St. Charles, Garden City, Grace, Treasureton, Oxford, Clifton, Dayton, Preston, Bancroft, Chesterfield, Round Valley, and several other places that don't come to the top of my mind just now. Dan drove down to Lava and spent some time with us Thursday. Among the places we went besides Lava were the Dempsy Creek area, Soda Springs , Hooper Springs, and we tossed some bread to the fish in the Portneuf River. At Hooper Springs we shot sling shots at some steel charcoal grills. We saw the geyser erupt in Soda Springs. It spews for about ten minutes. Clarine says it goes a hundred feet high. Dan said 35 feet and my projection was that it goes about fifty feet. Someday perhaps we will read how high it goes. This is only the first edition of the trip summary. I have some more pictures for which I will include another blog.

We returned home on Friday, and I mowed my lawn and winterized (burned out the gasoline and changed the oil) in the lawn mower. That night was Halloween. Clarine had about a hundred young visitors to whom she gave out a can of soda and a Twinkie or a Hostess Cup Cake. I told her word would soon spread, and surely enough we ended up with only a few Twinkies. She gets a real delight out of having all of those young people come. Her brother-in-law works for Hostess and provides her with Twinkies and cupcakes. He says that all she needs to do to repay him is to make some of her good potato salad, and bring it with her on a visit. We went right back to our temple assignments the next day. When we got home that night, I drained the sprinkler system and got it ready for winter. My timing was about right as it turned cooler today and stormed. gwh

More big fish

2008-10-20T11:29:00.002-06:00

There were big fish just under the surface of the water again this morning. Alas! the water was so calm and the reflections so extreme that the images of the fish did not show well - or at all for that matter. But they were there just about in the center of the picture. Oh well, you will have to take my word for it. The picture is quite good any way, don't you think?

I will take this opportunity to tell you that we are going to see the opera, Madame Butterfly, this evening. It was composed by Giacomo Puccinni. It has beautiful music. The story is a little sordid and sad. This American naval officer comes to port in Japan, has a liaison with this beautiful geisha, "marries" her and leaves. She has a child. She gets word of his ship coming back to port, gets very excited, only to ultimately find that he has his American wife with him this time. Upon this discovery she stabs herself and seemingly sings forever before she dies. This all provides the background for some of the most wonderful music in all opera.

Yesterday was a great drain on me emotionally. Clarine and I picked up Jack Weber and Chris Headen and went to the temple worker devotional in the upper floor assembly room of the Salt Lake Temple. It holds about 2,000 people and every seat was used. A second session was held three hours later, so that all workers and their partners could get to a session. President Monson talked in the first meeting and President Erying spoke in the second. Emotionally I was overcome in that setting with all those people arrayed in their white clothing. I shed many tears, but stopped short of sobbing. The things I heard were grand - including the singing. It seemed that angels must have joined in, because the sound was so rich and full in that hall. I had a Sunday School class to teach when we got home, and I still had tender feelings. It is always good to have tears come over wonderful things.

We are leaving to spend a week at Lava Hot Springs this Friday. We are planning on Deanna and Dan Allred joining us for some of the time. We don't do anything risque, but we have lots of fun talking and associating. We play games, take in sights for miles around and generally do things that don't elevate our heart rates very much - just what the doctor would suggest for people of our genre. Dan and I both have wrist rockets now (more than one each), so we and our partners can shoot until we run out of things to use for ammunition. I bought a few bags of glass pebbles to make a handy supply.

Evelyn came on the 8th of October. She didn't run low on things to occupy her time. I think her main excuse for coming was to have the three-month followup with her eye doctor following her eye surgery. Everything seems fine in that regard. The Sunday that she was here Kim,Chris, Elliott, Quinn, and Jalayne came and visited. We had more good times. She flew back to Japan on the 14th.

I am enjoying our beautiful Indian Summer weather. Clarine and I got our annual flu shots last week. We both felt some symptoms. Clarine is still dealing with a sore throat. We are hoping for that to be gone soon. I am sorry the picture of the fish did not turn out, but everything can't always be just perfect. I feel that life is really quite good. gwh

BYU vs USU

2008-10-05T12:36:00.002-06:00

Friday, October 3, 2008, I drove with my son, Kenneth and his son, Alex, to Logan to attend the above referenced football game. My granddaughter, Jalayne, planned and coordinated it all. She and her parents hosted and treated. We tailgated and ate in the large parking area at the side of Jalayne's house. All of Callie and Dan's children (and spouses) and grandchildren were there. Clark brought some of his friends from BYU. That is the sum, total of us. I think there were sixteen of us. We had a good time associating. Callie and Dan needed to be neutral in their cheering as they have children that attend USU and Clark and they went to BYU. Ken, Alex and I could let it all hang out for BYU, but we were very controlled in our exuberance. The game was no blowout by any means even though BYU won 34 to 14 . Our tail gating repast was pizza, soda, cookies, baklava, chips and dip, jerky, and plenty of other stuff. It was a wonderful social occasion and my congratulations to Jalayne for setting up such a fine party. gwh

Samuel T. Russell and Marina Ivanovna Nikitieva

2008-10-03T11:53:00.002-06:00

May I be the first to openly announce that the above couple are planning wedding bells. The planning is not finalized enough so that I can give date or place. I think I am doing pretty well just to be the one that has permission to give the preliminary announcement. Sam is from Woodinville Washington and Marina is from St. Petersborg, Russia. They both served in the Russia, Novosibirsk Mission, so they sort of have two languages in common - English and Russian. They are in Salt Lake today to do a temple session. This evening they will be in Provo for their mission reunion. Tommorow is conference activities. It is thought that Marina can get a ticket for the Conference Center being from a foreign country. They will be here through conference as will Kenneth and Alex, Mike and Emily Jensen. Any others can come and camp out for conference too if they wish. gwh

Grass Eating Carp

2008-10-01T16:54:00.002-06:00

Cosmos - I saw some grass eating carp frequenting the vicinity of my dock. So I hastened to get my camera. Alas! when I got there there was nothing but bass, blue gills and regular carp. The targeted carp were very large - say 3 feet long and weighing 10-15 pounds. So, since I was primed to take pictures, I homed in on the Cosmos.

I found a perfect rose, so I clicked it too. In the fall the "red berry bush" gets fiery, so I shot it as well.

I saw some lovely geraniums, and I took their picture also. Well I guess that's it for taking pictures of grass eating carp. gwh

Mt. Olympus (Holladay) 12th Ward - 50th Celebration

2008-09-27T10:38:00.006-06:00

Last night Clarine and I went to the Mt. Olympus (Holladay) 12th Ward 50th Anniversary Celebration. There were many people there. Most of them I knew. Some newer ones I did not know. I took nineteen pictures which are quite representative of the people there. My children who lived there in the ward with us for many years will recognize most of the photos. To the rest of you who view this blog, just realize that you too will some day age as the rest of us are doing. Some notables that I did not get pictures of who were there were Jim Pingree, Elder Ballard (the first bishop), Byron Turner, and many others my family would recognize. These that I have included will give you a flavor. gwh

Paul Lowe

Robert and Helen Wells

Laura Monson

Re-creation of the "Loniches" roadshow in which Kenneth participated. (Randy Packer - far left, Matt Clark - center. I don't remeber the others.)

Jay and Eva Layton

Jean Lowe
Bob Monson
Nate and Bonnie Wade
Mary Jordan
Marjean Halvorsen

Arlene Packer
Jan and Norm Nelson
Norma Child and son Dave
Clayton Williams

Mary Farley

Pearl Angelos
Gus Angelos, Bill Farley
Bill Pratt
Marilyn Pratt
And there you have it. There were lots more pictures (untaken). It was a very nice event. gwh

High Uintahs

2008-09-26T12:11:00.002-06:00

Yesterday, Clarine and I decided to drive to the Uintahs to see leaves, picnic and fish. After we arrived in the summit area of the mountains, we went to several different lakes to see where we wanted to settle down for a few hours. At Pass Lake, one of my preferred fishing spots, it was too many people already in place in the spot I like. Pass Lake is easy to get to and there is a good spot for a folding chair right by the edge of the water, but it was occupied. So were several other lakes occupied. Mirror Lake was too, but it is larger, so we went back there to picnic and fish. I had to walk about a fourth of a mile carrying my chair and gear, but it was not difficult to find a place. Many fish were jumping. I caught five and released one little scrawny one because he was not severely hooked. None of the fish was very large but the other four were too badly hooked to save their lives. The arithmetic all worked out well as the limit on trout in Mirror Lake is four fish. Of those I kept and brought home two were rainbow and two were brook trout. It was fun to have that diversion. I bought my license on the Internet the day before. This is the only time I have used it this year. It is good for one year.

Before I started fishing, we sat at a picnic table and ate our lunch. It was just a little cool sitting there. The food tasted good in the great outdoors. There was a notice on the table advising us of what to do in case a bear showed up. That helps to keep your heart rate up and keeps you more alert. After lunch, Clarine opted to sit in the car and read while I trundled off down the lake to fish. I didn't take any pictures of the fish because I wasn't very proud of their size and besides that I left my camera in the car.

One of the things we wanted to do and were prompted to go by the idea, was to see the fall leaves. We weren't disappointed. The beauty was spectacular - especially the quaking aspen. There were entire mountain sides aglow with fall color but not close enough to result in good pictures. I did take a few snaps just to offer a taste of what was there, and they are included in this blog. We were on our way home in the evening when the light was reflecting off the leaves when I decided I should get the camera out and take a picture. I hadn't used the camera until then. I just got too occupied. gwh

HD_TV

2008-09-19T14:25:00.002-06:00

One day while on the Internet I discovered that I could order forty dollar coupons (two) from the feds to help off set their feelings of guilt because my TV was old and would not work after February without a digital converter. I had not intended to do anything until my TV quit working, but it became so simple to get the coupons, that I ordered them. They sat around my house for a month or longer. They expire after ninety days from the day of shipment. Mine expire in October sometime. So yesterday I went in and bought two RCA digital converters, and since I had them, I installed them today. I hadn't realized that they would revolutionize what I can get off the air with my makeshift antenna system, and such clarity I have not seen on my TV in current memory. The pictures were so clear that I used my camera to demonstrate to you that the pictures really are good. I am quite remorseful that I did not act much sooner, but I just told myself that it was one hoax being foisted on the little user by big marketing forces. I even discovered that several of the broadcast channels have sub-channels. For example KBYU, channel 11, has three programs going concurrently. I could watch a cooking program or President Hinckley or another General Authority. The pics I have included were from Channel 11.

So that little project has kept me occupied the last while. Things are really tending towards autumn - the geese are flocking; the temperatures are cooling; football is in full swing; and the leaves are ready to turn.

We have tickets next Monday to go see the Body World, at the U of U next Monday. It is supposedly an excellent display on how the body functions using plasticised cadavers that are arranged so one can see inside. What will be thought of next? gwh

Friday date

2008-09-14T15:29:00.002-06:00

Last Friday Clarine and I decided on a little date - something to change the routine. So we loaded into the van and drove to Brigham City by mutual agreement. Our plan was this: to drive to our favorite fruit stand -Pettingill's - on the "fruit way" south of Brigham City, and when we had finished shopping the fruit stand to go to Maddox's for lunch-dinner (4:00 PM). You can order from the lunch menu until five - about $3,00 cheaper on average. We both had the halibut $15.00. We had enough left over to provide dinner for us after the temple last night. At Pettingill's we bought watermelon, cauliflower, egg plant, raspberries, peaches, strawberries, and who knows what I have left out. We thought it was fun to shop at a place where things are pretty much direct from the field. We did buy grapes and pineapple too which was available at the stand. At least the pineapple was not grown locally. On the way to Brigham City we stopped at Mrs. Cavanaugh's for some of their confections.

Today was our Regional Conference. Seventy-six stakes were involved. Some of the stakes got to go to the Conference Center - not ours this time. The rest of the stakes all received the conference via satellite. It took the place of all of our stake conferences. President Monson presided and spoke; Elder Ballard talked too. President Hinckley's son from the Seventy conducted and gave a talk as did Sister Lant, the General Primary President. We went to our stake center for the proceedings. It was rebroadcast for the other half of the stake this afternoon. All of the talks were well prepared and presented. I wiped quite a few tears. Modern technology is helpful and wonderful.

The Bali duck has come back from other parts of the lake. I am happy nothing dire has happened to her. There have been a pair of turtles visible much of the summer. For a couple of weeks I haven't seen them. I wonder if they have hibernated in the mud this early.

For your amazement I have included some pictures of the produce we got in Brigham City. Mostly we got larger portions than shown. Our cosmos have bloomed much of the summer. I included a pic of them as they seem so bright and happy. gwh

Red Sky At Night

2008-09-06T18:56:00.002-06:00

Friday, 5 April 2008, Phil, Sheridan, Zach and Max came out for a visit. The kids and I had a grand time feeding stale bread to the ducks and fish. (The Bali duck, the one with the pom-pom did not show up. There have been reports of others seeing her however.) We also shot away a lot of ammunition in the sling shots. The kids are getting very good at getting some distance - shooting well out into the lake. After we tired of that, we fished for a while. Zach, Max and I all caught a blue gill. After that wore thin we all went in and had a breakfast for supper. We cooked corn on the cob, made omelets (with ham, cheese and salsa) and waffles, and finished off with watermelon. Everyone chose what he wanted to drink. It turned out to be a very fine meal. It was surely good to have those guys drop in for the afternoon. It was lots of fun.

What could be a better climax to a wonderful afternoon but to have lots of color in the sky and lake as the sun disappeared. I even got some pictures, but none of people - just the sky. gwh

Bali Duck

2008-08-24T17:32:00.002-06:00

Yesterday Sarah was feeding ducks. An unusual one showed up with a white pom-pom on its head - actually part of its feathers. (There was a brown duck there also with a smaller pom pom on its head.) Sarah came in the house and told us about the duck "with mental derangement." We were all mystified until, through Googling, Amy found the answer to the riddle under Bali duck. It is native to Bali. How it got here we do not know. I had not seen it until yesterday - yet it seemed right at home mingling with the other ducks. I could speculate that some one got it for Easter as a little pet. Now it has grown, so they let it go in the lake. It remains to be seen how it will handle cold weather. As a side note, Sarah wanted to use my pole and go fishing last night. So I accommodated her. She was having fun catching little blue gills just off the dock. About the time it was getting dusk, and it was about time to quit, she was fishing about five or six feet off the end of the dock, and something much stronger than a bluegill took her bobber way under. When she started to reel in and pull the pole up, I could see the large bass she had hooked. So I got the net to put under him and she said, "Oh! He got off!" She was shaken for a little while, but we decided that was a good way to end our evening's fishing for he had broken the line. Sarah said she saw a big fish with line in its mouth down on the dock today. End of fish story!

Hansen Reunion - 23 August 2008

2008-08-24T16:01:00.006-06:00

I snapped a lot of pictures. It turns out that I didn't get shots of many that were in attendance. Also it turns out that many of note were taken, and apparently many of note were not taken. If you were there and don't show up in the pictures, don't sweat it. I decided that I really missed a lot of people including some that I surely wanted. That's Murphy's Law for you - you miss a really wanted photo and end up taking a picture of some one's jeans.

From our family there were Amy, Carol, Beth, Sarah, Sheridan Hatch, Clarine and I. Carl and Margaret Van Leuven had the most representation. Anita Hill was there looking good as was her partner in kidney transplant success, Pam Alexander. Others of Lenore's family were Duane and Judy, Ralph and wife. Mary, Rick, Catherine, Jane, Nellie (and husband), from Louise's family (Pam was there - Leo's former spouse.) Christine, David, Kathy and Eric, Laura and George, Ron and Ellen, Jill and husband were there from the Dan Hansen's. (I never should have started mentioning names, because Carl and Margaret had a lot of family there, and there are others that I will forget to mention.) Any way Chris was there with his long time girl friend from Mexico. Kimball was the only one from his family that was able to be present. So quite a few people were there. A lot more were not. Please forgive me for not remembering and missing with so many pictures. (This is already getting too voluminous any way.) It was a grand chance to renew acquaintances and friendships. The next reunion, there will be some new faces and some old ones not to be seen again in this life.

Colonoscopy and picnic lunch

2008-08-21T15:36:00.004-06:00

I'm very immodest - two snaps of me and one of Clarine. There is another of her later.

This morning Clarine and I left early for the U of U Medical Center on Redwood Road. She was scheduled for a colonoscopy at 8:45 AM. It was 11:30 when they completed. It was usual - some high risk polyps, but nothing that was unexpected. So she is good to go for another year. I worked many of the puzzles in the Deseret News while her procedure was taking place. As we drove home without a cloud in the sky, we talked about the fact that we had not gone to the Great Salt Lake Marina for a picnic for quite a while. So we formulated our menu as we drove home: BLT, chips, watermelon, grapes, candy, soda and water. It didn't take us much time to put it together when we got home. We were soon on our way to the marina. Egads! They have started charging a fee to get in there. Oh well it is just $2, so we paid it and found out as we left that we're so old that it would only be one dollar for us. We didn't even use any of their facilities for heaven's sake - just a little parking space for the car. Yes we ate lunch in the car. It was nice. As you can see from the included pictures, it was pretty all around the marina today.

The five shots of the lake are to the north, northwest and northeast.