November is over - almost!

This is a fave photo of mine - for many reasons - but as the end of November - the month of gratitude - winds down - I am aware that I have left many days un-noted.

That doesn't mean I'm not grateful.  But it does mean that I have been spending a lot of November days traveling with Harry - and getting ready for traveling and getting back from traveling - and for that I am grateful - grateful enough to fill a whole year's worth of posts!

Not sure of the date of this photo, but it's pretty old.

So are we, actually!

What's in a name?

When Harry W. was born, Harry, Dawn and family were living with us - while their house was being remodeled. 

They couldn't decide on a name - so we kept a running tally on the white board - it was a fun time!

Noah went without a name for 3 weeks after he was born.  Maybe if we'd had a whiteboard it would have happened sooner!

Kind of behind!

On our recent trip to Guatemala, I noted how many beautiful trees, flowers, bushes, and hedges there were. It is so lush and colorful - I could be happy in a place like that. Our son-in-law Bruce noted, "It's either 75 and sunny or 75 and raining there." 

I loved looking out each morning and seeing all the beautiful trees and flowers. I am grateful that such beauty exists - and that I can enjoy it.

(I used to grow calla lilies and amaryllis in our yard - somewhere along the way, they ceased to grow.  It could have more to do with my skills than anything else!)

Grateful - yes!

I am grateful for the beach.  It makes California the place everyone wants to be. 

That can be a problem - as we are seeing now with the fires.

But I do love an outing to the beach!

A little nature goes a long way!

I am go grateful for the bougainvillea that not only grows in our yard, but grows in the yards all around us. It always makes me smile!

A Terrill Treasure!

We are grateful that Harry chose Dawn for many reasons, but we are certainly grateful that she introduced us to Mimi Cakes!

Gratitude - every day!

53 years ago at this time, I was home  working to earn money to go on a Study Abroad program to Grenoble, France. It turned out to be a wonderful experience - well worth the time spent earning the money to go.

I am grateful for the encouragement and support I received so that I could go - and I'm grateful for the experience of going!

Another day of gratitude

Grateful for Harry's mission - and the impact it has had on all of our lives!

I love this photo. I love what it's like with a new baby in the house - I was third oldest of 12 and got to welcome lots of new babies. And as a grandma of 22, I have been on hand to welcome those new babies.

I am grateful that new babies have been such a big part of my life!

I am still thankful!

Grateful for Seminary - the early morning variety - and the great blessing it was for each of our children.

Gratitude - Day 7

Today is my dad's birthday - he would have been 102. On his birthday, he always said, "On the day I was born, Woodrow Wilson was elected President of the United States." 

I am so grateful that my dad could be counted on:  counted on to wear suspenders, counted on to honk the horn if you didn't get out of the house fast enough, counted on to tell you he couldn't carry a tune in a basket, counted on to help with posters for school assignments, counted on for rides to stake dances, counted on to be a great dad.

He was a blessing in my life.

More gratitude to express!

This is a photo of Harry's Aunt Dorothy. She was a delightful as her smile is!

 

The woman in the middle of this photo is my Aunt Dorothy - married to my mom's brother Steve.

I am grateful for Aunt Dorothys - everyone should have one!

Gratitude - Day 5

We have taken some road trips in our time - but they haven't been particularly legendary. And we have taken some camping trips - but not really a lot of them.

This particular trip was in my brother Bill's van. We had moved to California a couple of years before, but I'm not even sure where we went to camp - I remember little about the trip except the fact that Bonny wanted me to practice doing French braids - and so on that trip I did just that!

I am grateful for camping trips - and for knowing how to French braid!!

Grateful each day

I am not an animal person. I grew up with dogs, but they were outside animals and I knew little more than their names.

(The above shot is Cosmo.)

 

 (The above shot is Amado.)

Harry grew up with animals and loved them and is a great animal person. But a weekend tending my brother's German shepherd was enough to persuade him that cats would do!

I am grateful for the three

 (The cat in the background is Elizabeth.)

cats who were a part of ours and our children's lives. Amado was cared for by the missionaries Harry was teaching at the LTM, and when they left, we took over. It was a task to hide this kitten in the apartment we were renting - the apartment that didn't allow pets! Amado disappeared one day - and we ran an ad and he was returned! Then he disappeared again and we never saw him again. It was sad.

Our good friends the Swensons had too many cats - and offered to give us Elizabeth - and Bonny and Harry as young children enjoyed her immensely. But she contracted cat leukemia and died - in spite of our best efforts. We had  little funeral for her - and Harry talked about the resurrection. That night at family prayer, Bonny prayed that Elizabeth could be resurrected the next day! Harry commented that may he needed to clarify things for her!

What followed were several years of no cats - Bonny had a parakeet, Harry had a guinea pig and a snake. And we had fish.

Then Cosmo came into our lives - literally being dumped on our street.  Harry  promised he'd get his Eagle if I would let them keep him - and I took him up on his offer!

Cosmo grew old with us - and we loved him. But one day he disappeared. We sent out flyers. Turned out our neighbors knew him well - he hung out at their homes often. One neighbor called him Mr. Chang. One neighbor called him Sophomore - because he was smarter than their cat - whose name was Freshman!

We never found him or his remains. The common belief is that he was killed by a coyote. We did have a lovely memorial service for him - and sang "Cats" in his honor. 

And so the last many years has passed without a pet in our house. But we can enjoy other pets that belong to other people and other people are responsible for them.

But I do enjoy Lady Mary!

Day 3 - grateful for the charming Miss Rhoda!

Today is Rhoda's 5th birthday - and in addition to being grateful for her and grateful to be one of her grandmothers, I am generally grateful for 5 year olds. They are a lot of fun to be around.  They are pretty independent. They are good conversationalists. And they still like to be read to!

Always looking forward to time with Rhoda!

Day two of the Month of Gratitude

I am grateful to be a grandparent.  Here we are with our first - Ara Grace - born 21 years ago - and now we have 22 grandchildren and one more on the way.

It gets better all the time - these wonderful children are a joy and a blessing - perhaps I should do some individual posts about the aspects of grandparenting that bring me joy!

I always loved my grandparents - maybe that pre-disposed me to enjoy the job.

But enjoy it I do!

Month of Gratitude - or "I've got plenty to be thankful for!"

I post on FB, Instagram, the Terrill blog, and my own blog - and it seems like I ought to have enough things to be thankful for that I woudn't have to duplicate any! I guess we will see - keeping track is a task - I suppose I ought to be grateful that I can still keep track of things!

In the past year, the Clayton homestead was sold - and if you drove by, it would not look like this - this is from over 50 years ago. But even the modern version we were most familiar with is very changed. It has a handicap ramp installed on the front and one side, and the yard has been left to die and get full of weeds.

So I don't drive by - once was enough. But I do remember the house very well - I can close my eyes and be there. I can recall Sunday afternoons in the living room with the LA Times spread all around. I can recall coming home late from a babysitting job and tip-toeing down the hall. I can recall Sunday dinners in a very crowded dining room. I can recall Christmas mornings in the living room with tissue-paper covered chairs because our Santa didn't wrap gifts - he covered them with a layer of white tissue paper.

The memories go on and on - and I am grateful not only for good memories but for a place that was home for many, many years - all the remembering years of my youth and young adulthood and parenthood and later adulthood. Not everyone gets to call the same place home for over 60 years!

Grateful for home!

I'm reading when I ought to be doing lots of other things!!

Loaded this on my Kindle to take on our upcoming trip to Chile - and then just started reading to be sure it had gotten loaded all right - first mistake - because I just kept reading - until I finished it at the end of the day!!

A great novel - full of beautiful prose, exquisite description, powerful character development - and a blockbuster ending that will knock your socks off!

And the themes in the story seem to have been written for our time and place - even though the story starts in 1952! 

Also, I love that the main character was born in 1945 - just like me!

Bontober begins!

A few years ago, Bonny coined the term "Bontober" for her celebratory month - and the term has stuck! The Terrill family has a few birthdays in October - and Harry and I are going to Chile for two weeks, so I'm going to cover all the birthdays now - and maybe do some catch up posts in November!! 

 

Phoebe is on the 11th - and will be 41 - oh my, time flies when you are having fun - and this girl seems to always be having fun!!

 

Porter will be 14 on the 11th - and is Phoebe's Birthday Buddy!! Oh my, where did the time go??

 

Calvin is 14 also - on the 25th. Such a great kid - wish we could see him more often.

 

Ida wanted a day of her own, so she came on the 12th - and she will be 10!!

 

Deacon - the "baby" of the family - will be 5. Not a baby anymore!!

 

And October means we remember the short but meaningful life of Jonah Adam Terrill - 11 days of life, a lifetime of memories.

I have been reading a lot - not sure when I will blog about it though!!

Latest read

Found this on the shelf at the Friends of the Monrovia Library bookstore - same spot where I have found some other faves.  This started out better than it ended, but it was still a good read.

There are parallels to Herman Melville's Moby Dick - in fact, I surmise that the story was constructed as "the true story of Moby Dick." It is a conceit that works sometimes - and not other times.

I am thinking that some authors just don't know how to end a book. This ending drags on - a little too long.

Some important dates in August:

August 7th is Grandpa Stevens' birthday.  Loved that man - others say he was "cold" but I always found him warm and loving.

 

Can you believe it? August 14th 2018 means 20 years for these two!!

 

August 17th was 78 years for my mom and dad! I think it was a Happy Anniversary in Heaven!! 

 

 August 7th is also Hannah K's birthday.  Alice and I named our babies the same - without consulting each other!

 

Helen and Pop - 80 years on August 19th!

 

And of course, Lyn and David - born 19years apart on the 19th!

Playing catch up!

I do not blog very assiduously.  In fact, I'm not even sure anyone reads this blog.

But I like to note the books I've read and the movies I've seen in case someone is looking for ideas.  I know I like ideas!

So I'm just going to list all the movies and books I've not noted for the last while. And maybe you will find something you might like! (If you are reading this that is!)

Gilead, Home, and Lila - a trilogy by Marilynne Robinson - wonderful - all of them - beautifully written too. Top of the list for sure!

Accident of Birth by Jeffrey Archer - a book group pick - I would never have even found it by myself.  Requires a lot of "willing suspension" but would make a good airplane read!

The Girl Who Wrote in Silk by Kelli Estes - an entertaining read but the back and forth between the past and present got tedious for me. The story of the past could have stood alone.

Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate - another book group pick I thought I wouldn't like - but it was surprisingly gripping and engaging.  Based on true stories - which gives it weight - about illicit adoptions beginning in the 20's in Tennessee.

The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper by Phaedra Patrick.  This was entertaining but pretty formulaic.  Don't even remember why or how I came to choose it! 

Ahmet by Fiona Mozley - this is a keeper! Beautifully written and engaging and horrifying. You feel like you are in medieval times - but you're not!

Winter's Bone by Daniel Woodrell. Compelling - superbly written - absolutely horrifying at times! I chose it because the woman who directed Leave No Trace had done the movie version of this book.  And I'm pretty sure I don't want to see the movie.  But it's a wonderfully crafted novel.

The Things We Carried by Tim O'Brien - Eliza suggested this - and I suggest it to all of you! It's a novel - but full of truth. About Vietnam. Maybe you had to live through those years. But my granddaughter's 11th grade English class has to read it!

Doctors by Erich Segal - the book group pic for September - almost 700 pages - but it was a good read. A little predictable and the ending required more "willing suspension of disbelief" than I could muster, but I'm not sorry I took the time to read it.

While traveling this summer, our East Coast flight had free movies - so I indulged:

Good bye Christopher Robin - loved it!

Collateral Beauty - a wonderful film - how come I never heard of it??

One Fine Day - so much fun! I missed it in the 90s!

Gifted - well-done - and thought-provoking. 

Hopefully I can stay abreast now!!

I am so behind!!

Happy Birthday Hannah!! Hannah has the distinction of being the only Terrill baby who was not late!  In fact, she was two days early.  Most folks don't think much of that, but it was a washday miracle in our household!!

My friend called me the day before she was born - said they were leaving on vacation and to call her in Utah if the baby came.  I blithely told her I'd still be pregnant when she got back! Since the previous 4 kids had been 11, 11, 11, and 13 days late, I added ten days to the due date - giving a September date to everyone. So when she came on August 20th, people were pretty sure I didn't know how to count - especially since Hannah was also the biggest baby I'd had - 9 lbs. 3 oz.

Hannah is her own person - I'd never had a climber - and here was a climber.  She'd take either kind of binky. She dropped off to sleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.  In spite of Dr. Brown splints and casts on both legs for club feet, she crawled and walked with ease. And when she got older, she got tired of waiting for me.  Once when she had a science project to work on, she said, "Can I use anything I can find in the garage?" rather than wait for me to take her to Michael's or Home Depot! She was and continues to be very resourceful.

We are happy to have Hannah in our family - I could write a book!

Maybe I should!

Worth a look-see!

There doesn't seem to much to choose from in the movie kingdom these days - but the Mr. Rogers documentary is definitely worth your time and money!

Can I just say I love Mr. Rogers?  And hope you do too!

 

Read a review in the New Yorker about this film - and the review was so compelling, I felt I had to see the film - and it was a great film!

The film has no sex, violence, or even profanity - and yet it is compelling and moving and intensely emotional.

Won't spoil it with details - but you do want to see it!

Way behind these days!

Have been reading a lot actually - and putting reviews on FB and IG, but have neglected this blog - perhaps no one cares!! But I have been picking up books at odd places - this was at the Book Rack - a used book source locally that I enjoy - and this one leaped out at me  - I was sure I had read the author before, but her list of previous works does not ring any bells!

This is a pretty good story - and is thought-provoking too. About two women whose paths cross - deals with childbirth too - always a fascinating subject!!

Most of the folks I know would enjoy it I think.

 

Alice said that Hester said this was the best book she'd ever read - and Alice had a mile high stack already,  so she suggested I take a stab at it.
 

It is a great read - WW II, the Jews, the Holocaust - but it starts in 1919 - and the main protagonist is a dwarf named Trudy - so a WW II story that is not like the others.

Maybe not the best book I've ever read - but a very good one.

It does start slow though!

 

Good, the way Anne Tyler is usually good - but not quite up to par.

Usually her stories "ring true" - but this one seemed almost "not quite believable."

If you are a fan, give it a read.

 

On my Tuesday morning walk, I discovered a large box of books someone had put on the curb for people to go through and take.  Most of them were not books I would be the least bit interested in - lots of "popular" stuff that usually doesn't appeal to me.

But this looked interesting - and I felt like with a box full of free books, surely there was one I would want!! (I did take some of the "popular" ones for my Little Free Library though!)

Apparently this was turned into a series of stories with most of the same characters. Not sure I want to read the others, but this story was fairly well written with some intriguing characters.

Lightweight - when you need lightweight stuff!

Double meaning!

This was the first novel Marilynne Robinson wrote - it was in consideration for the Pulitzer prize - which she later won for Gilead.

It is a vague, meandering kind of story, but when it ends, all the loose ends seem to come together.  Some found it slow and tedious - at least people I know. According to what I have read, it was reacted to favorably by fans and critics alike when it was first published.

Loss and compensation are the themes - housekeeping in the physical and spiritual sense is the focus. It reminds me a lot of the writing by Louise Erdich - and she meanders a lot too.

It is a lovely read.

Saturday Night at the Movies

Finally saw this film - and recommend it highly!  I can see why Gary Oldman won the Oscar for Best Actor - he really absorbed the persona of Winston Churchill - and delivered.

I think that since we saw the film about Dunkirk, this film seemed even more relevant.

There are so many "war stories" to be told - and they usually deliver!

Hmm - guess I have been busy!

Love this photo of my Grandma Agnes Clayton, sitting on her porch, reading the newspaper.  I feel like I would have lots in common with her - always stopping to read!

Have been reading a lot lately - but haven't been posting about it on the old blog though!!

Saw Wonderstruck - the deaf girl in the film is the same deaf girl who starred in A Quiet Place.  A funky kind of film - but once I figured out what was going on, I liked it. Bought the book too - but haven't read it yet.

Also saw RBG - excellent!! Ruth is my new hero(ine!) What a woman - see the film - and I'm looking for a good bio of her too.

Read Accident of Birth for book group.  A good read - but it had some gaping flaws - I have pretty much very critical of "escape fiction" but this would be good for a flight read!

The Girl Who Wrote in Silk by Kelli Estes - about the horrific treatment of the Chinese in America at the turn of the century - especially in the Northwest. It was a back and forth story - and I enjoyed the historical story better than the current one - kept skipping ahead. Sometimes the device of going back and forth between centuries can be tedious - why not just write the historical tale??

Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate - another back and forth tale about the Tennessee Children's Home Society and Georgia Tann and her horrific reign there.  The fact that it's based on truth adds to the grimness. It was a good story, but once again I preferred the historical story.

Read the Gilead trilogy (Home and Lila) by Marilynne Robinson - Gilead won the Pulitzer - deservedly so! Beautiful prose - a thoughtful, provocative storyline too. 

How did I not hear about these books before??

Need to choose next month's book group choice - will keep you posted.

What is entertaining me these days!

There's a used book store in Arcadia, The Book Rack, that I really enjoy.  Saw this there, and the proprietor recommended it.  So I rented it from them - they have bestsellers for rent too - the ones you can't find in the library!

It was a good read - I like to get my history from historical novels - the keep my interest better!

It's a well-told story - and since I'm also reading Ron Chernow's Hamilton - lots of the details came alive.

I did not know James Monroe was such a jerk!  Leslie said she thought we might not like a lot of the founding fathers if they were alive now.  

That's an interesting thought!!

 

Never thought I'd be recommending a "horror" movie - but I would argue that it's not really horror - scary in parts and deeply disturbing - but not horror.

Well made, superbly acted, skillfully filmed, a visual feast at times - you might want to check it out - it doesn't really have a "happy" ending - but it does have a "good" ending!

But the "Previews of Coming Attractions" - now they were horror - horrible indeed!  Who watches those films anyway??

Latest Grisham!

I'm not sure how much longer I will read Grisham novels - they seem to get more unbelievable all the time - I can only suspend my disbelief for so long you know!

They are certainly a quick read anyway!  Perfect airplane fiction.

I am also disturbed by the gratuitous sleaze he keeps adding - he didn't used to - and it isn't really essential.

And I rented it at the Book Rack yesterday - and returned it today!  

Record read time anyway!

A compelling read

I heard the author interviewed on NPR, and it sounded pretty compelling. So of course I got the book.

And it was very compelling.

Especially after I discovered that a number of people - siblings and neighbors - went online claiming it was false and misleading.

I think it's mostly true. And I do think that a memoir written by the youngest child in a family of 7 children would have elements that other family members might believe are false - but memory is a tricky concept.  I will recall experiences and my siblings will say that they have no memory to support my memory. We all don't recall all things the same way.

It's the story of a young Mormon girl raised in Idaho by a bipolar survivalist father who has brainwashed his whole family - well, mostly his whole family.  Sounds pretty interesting, yes??

So read it - and decide for yourself!

You never know what you will find at The Friends of the Library!

I periodically go to the Friends of the Library bookstore - I try not to buy books, since I'm more interested in freeing up space on my bookshelves.  But they have a great selection of greeting cards that are only $1 each.  And I like to get cheap kids books for Frankie - who loves his basket of books. And I have found some gems!

I saw this on in the bargain basket - and since every book I have read by Karen Hesse has been wonderful - I got it.

Wasn't sorry either. 

 

It's about a nuclear meltdown at a power plant in New England. There are devastating consequences. 

 

Our heroine lives on a sheep farm.  There are some lovely parallels drawn to shepherds and sheep raising.

 

It's a good read - and a quick one - this is after all adolescent fiction!!