Gratitude Journal - blog style - post number 12!

I am grateful for Hannah Rebekah - Harry has had to be persuaded with each daughter to allow a middle name - he said, "Okay, we can do Rebekah - but only if we spell it with an 'ah' at the end!"  That was easy!!

 

Hannah has always been pretty mellow and laid back - at least she was as a baby and child - she can get tense but you can usually talk her out of it!!  Slept like a dream even with her awkward casts and Dr. Brown splints!

 

And she is crafty and creative and resourceful.  I will never forget her science project - and her query "Can I use anything I can find in the garage?" And she just keeps going - we love seeing what she comes up with!

And her Halloween costumes this year were over the top cute!!

 

There were "dos Hannahs" growing up - and she handled it fine.  She's always been surrounded by friends and family - everyone seems to love Hannah - and we do too!!

 

With Hannah comes Robbie - and boy, Howdy, were we happy to welcome him into the family circle!!  They complement each other perfectly.

 

And with Hannah and Robbie comes the lovely Miss Rhoda - and we do love her - looking forward to the holidays and having the Hamills here with us!

Lucky number 5 - that was our Hannah - so grateful for the wonderful daughter that she is!!

Gratitude Journal - blog style - post number 11!

  

I am so grateful for Eliza, another waited for,  longed for baby!!  How happy we were to find out that another child was coming to our home!! 

I was the only mom in the hospital when she was born - so we got lots of special attention - what a great way to start out your life!

 

 Phoebe too was pleased to have a new baby sister!!

And there was no chance for Eliza to be a "later only!" with the addition of Hannah and Noah.

 

Eliza is bright and personable and empathetic and understanding and so kind!!  She also writes extremely well - and she's a wonderful teacher!  (and musician and mom and I could go on and on!!)

 

With Eliza comes Matt - and we are so grateful for him too!  A wonderful husband and father - not to mention son-in-law par excellence!

 

Another quartet of charming children rounds out their happy home - we love them all - and love to visit - and love their visits here!!

Gratiude Journal - blog style - post number 10!

I am so grateful for Phoebe.  We had two lovely children, but really wanted more.  In fact, Bonny would tell people in the ward that I was pregnant - hoping I'd make good on her story!  So we made it a matter of fasting and prayer - and Phoebe was the answer to our prayers!  Her name - Phoebe Elizabeth - means light, and gift of God. Seems fitting!

 

She was a delightful little girl - charmed everyone she met!  And you'll notice as a woman of fashion - Phoebe was ahead of her time - notice the Saltwater sandals!!

 

Parties and Phoebe just go together - it's as if the party can't start until she is there!  We love that about her - and love her visits - and visiting her!  She is the queen of "visitor's baskets!!"

 

She is the one who gets the tan to beat all tans!!  Our beautiful Phebes!!

 

And you can't have Phoebe without David - we had never met him when Phoebe informed us that he was the one - but we didn't doubt her judgement - and she was right!  David is an essential member of our family - we would not be complete without him!

 

And with Phoebe and David, you have the wonderful quartet of kids that round out their family - so grateful for each one of them - and grateful that we get to visit them for Thanksgiving!!

Gratitude Journal - blog style - post number 9!

Not sure why this is the youngest  photo of Harry with me that I could find!!  I don't have lots of photos of my kids with me when they were little - I guess I was the photographer - and they didn't do selfies then!!

But today I am thankful for Harry and the wonderful son that he is and always has been.  He was my little buddy for many years - Phoebe wasn't born until he was 5 - and after Bonny started school, we had lots of great times.  He was always well-behaved and loved to use his imagination.

 

 And of course, when you are thankful for Harry, you are thankful for Dawn - so glad she came into our lives.  We often are heard to remark that the best thing that ever happened to Harry was Dawn!!  I recall the day he rushed into the house - he'd been doing laundry at our place - and grabbed what were still probably damp pants out of the dryer, put them on and rushed out of the house.  Found out later that Dawn had called him and asked if he could help her move something with his truck - he didn't let that request even get a minute old before he was responding!!

So glad he recognized a jewel when he saw one!

And the package deal is these wonderful kids - and of course, our sweet baby Jonah.

 

So grateful for our number two child and number one son - Harry Francis!!

Gratitude journal - blog style - post number 8!

I am grateful for Bonny Brae!! The girl who made me a mother!!  And continues to bring joy into our lives!! Couldn't ask for a better first child - and she does take her job seriously!!

 

And being grateful for Bonny means being grateful for Bruce - so glad he came into our lives!! He's a wonderful husband, father, son-in-law and friend!!

 

And naturally, Bonny and Bruce leads to gratitude for the bevy of beautiful Bolander girls they have produced!! Love them one and all - what a blessing they are in our lives!!

I could fill a month of gratitude posts with reasons why Bonny, Bruce, and family are such a gift to our family!!

Book number 56 - check!

I think I went 3 or 4 weeks without reading a novel!!  I read magazines and newspapers - but didn't have anything that was "begging" to be read - nor did I have an airplane flight scheduled - I always have a book or two for those!

I've gone through phases of not buying physical books - went a year - but certainly bought a lot for the old Kindle account!!  You say, try the library - but you sort of have to know what you are looking for there.  There's too many just to browse!

So I thought of a couple of fave authors of mine and thought I'd see what there was.  The trouble was, I'd find a book, read the description, and then think I'd already read it!!  I do keep track of the books I have read - they are in various book journals I have started and discarded.  The librarian suggested I gather them up and digitize their info.  Not a bad idea - I will add it to my list of "worthy projects to consider!!"

There was a featured book on the end of one  row, a novel by Lisa See.  I have only read Snow Flower and the Secret Fan I think.  But some of the other dust jackets seemed to ring a bell.  The above did not seem too familiar, so I gave it a try.

It's a pretty good "summer read" if you follow my drift.  Novels about Chinese history, written by American born Chinese women, are often well-written and full of description and history.  There is a sameness to them, however, but it's not a huge detraction.

This was about the period of time in China before World War II - once the sisters get to the U.S., the story goes through to the 1950s. I especially enjoyed the descriptions and stories about Chinatown and Olvera Street.  LA history has a definite pull.

The stories about FBI investigations and the McCarthy era purges were a little disheartening.  It ended kind of up in the air - turns out there's a sequel - and I just started that!!

It's good for passing the time - but I'm still looking for a great read to capture my attention!!

And on to book number 57!

Perhaps I should have made this a gratitude post - because I am grateful that I'm a reader.

Gratitude journal - blog style - post number 7!

Lest you think I'm grateful for the "Wall of Fame" that hung for many years in my folks' living room, let me say that this post is doing double duty today.  I am grateful for my wonderful parents - they didn't have much, but they were ambitious, hard-working, and diligent - and sometimes that's better than having a lot!!

But today is also my dad's 99th birthday!!  So Happy Birthday Dad!!  He was a good dad.  He doted on his daughters - sometimes to the consternation of his sons.  He wouldn't let me get my driver's license until I was 17, but he'd drive me anywhere I wanted to go - and wait for me to be done to give me a ride home!

Before they had the internet and copy machines, he could do the lettering on a poster like nobody else.  And he'd happily do it for you.  

He could make the best book covers out of paper bags - and they never came off!!  He made wonderful hats out of newspapers too!

He built cradles for my girls and their dolls.  He'd share his candy bars when you came to visit his shop.  

And he never spoke about his mom without being emotional - a characteristic that made him the man he was!

So grateful to still have my mom in my life.  I try to visit her once a week - and it's always a treat.  She's still a great conversationalist - even if I do have to yell!

Good parents - a blessing and a gift indeed!

Gratitude Journal - blog style - post number 6!

I am so grateful that somehow I managed to go away to college.  I wanted to leave home, but life wasn't like it is now, and it wasn't automatic that you left.  I thought I wanted to go to UCSB, because lots of kids from my high school went there. But my mom said I couldn't go there.  The funny thing is, I totally paid my own way to college - not sure why I didn't realize that if I wanted to go somewhere else, I could just take myself there!

My brother Lyn went to the Y at the urging of another young man in our ward.  He and this young man mailed me a BYU application and I filled it out and sent it in.  I got back a scholarship application and sent that in too - and got a full tuition scholarship!  

Even funnier is that the summer before I went to BYU, I wanted my good friend Joy to go with me - so I got her an application and bugged until she sent it in - and she got in - in July!  And we got housing too!

Times have changed indeed! 

Going away, meeting new people, finding myself - all good things that might not have happened if I'd stayed home.

So grateful for the college years and the stamp they have left on my life!

Gratitude Journal - blog style - posts number 4 and 5!!

Should probably have reversed the order on these - I am grateful for Harry and the wonderful husband, father, and grandfather that he is!!

And grateful for our wonderful children!!

Gratitude Journal - blog style - post number 3!

I love aprons - and I am grateful that they exist so I can love them!  The above is a photo I cut out of the LA Times - this is a scene from a play that was running - and I LOVE this apron.  Have dreams of replicating it - but don't hold your breath!

I love making these aprons and giving them to friends and family and selling them at boutiques and even making new ones for myself!

So grateful for aprons!!

Gratitude Journal - blog style - post number 2!

Grateful for the wonderful woman whose name I carry - Agnes Marietta Busath Clayton - my paternal grandmother.  She died when my father was 17, but he spoke of her always, so I honestly thought I knew her.

One of the greatest impressions I had was the memory of Mother's Days and how he would always become emotional when he spoke of his mother.  And in later years, as I heard other stories about her, especially from my Uncle Byron, I could see that she was a vital part of each of her boys - she had 4 - lives.

One story Uncle Byron told me was about Ted, whose face was severely cut when he was a little boy.  It took many stitches and there were scars.  Byron said that each night his mother would come in and place Ted's head in her lap - he was 6 or 7 - and she would massage the scars with oil. She did this for over a year he said.  

I can just envision this sweet young mother tenderly caring for her small son - and I look forward to meeting her one day!

In the meantime, I am grateful that she is my grandmother!

Gratitude Journal - blog style - post number 1!

 Everyone seems to have jumped on the "month of gratitude" theme - and it's a pretty good theme to jump on!  But I think I will do it blog style - the more immediate social media venues are pretty crowded with them - and my blog is not crowded with anything!!

The above is a photo of me with my college roommate and high school buddy and dear friend Joy!!  I am so grateful for my friends!  The older I get, the more important they become!

These two dear friends live far away now - and I miss them!!  They were there for me many times - and they are just lots of fun to be around.  I miss them!

 

These are my college roommates - we don't see each other often, but when we do, we feel as if time has stood still and we are right back where we started - just look a little older!!

Friendship - the gift that keeps on giving!!

What I'm reading and watching!

Harry and I had a little spate of going to the show there for a few weeks - well, two movies isn't really a "spate" but for us maybe it is!

Anyway, Harry wanted to see Bridge of Spies, so off we went.  As you can see, it had Tom Hanks - and a cameo performance by Alan Alda, always a treat to see him - although he didn't crack any jokes!

It was a well-done film - the LA Times and the New Yorker agreed with us too!  That doesn't happen often!  It was pretty tense, well-acted, and had a lot of "feel good" moments too.

I'd say give it a look-see and tell me what you think!

Somehow the new Grisham novel got by me without any fanfare - I usually order it weeks ahead of time.  Saw a full page ad in the Times for the day it came out - and ordered it on Kindle.  

It's actually kind of a disconnected string of stories - they come together - except for the first one - it seems very random in fact - at the end.  Although it's vintage Grisham, it's not his best work.

It did keep me up late finishing it however!

Note:  Re-reading the blog for errors, I noted that I had reviewed the novel The Martian - upon checking, I had not - I only reviewed the movie.  The novel started slow for me - and actually ended slow until I started skipping all the scientific stuff!!  But it was a good read - didn't detract from the movie either - actually enhanced it for me.

So now I'm looking for book number 56!

What's entertaining these days!

I read The Martian a few weeks back, and reviewed it here too.  I'd heard there was a movie and had mixed feelings about seeing it.  But Harry wanted to see it, so we went last night.  It is a very entertaining movie - that is, it does what movies are supposed to do:  take you on an adventure to a different place!!

Matt Damon does a very credible job of portraying a man trapped on Mars, and the supporting cast seem well-chosen.  Much of the novel is left out, but movies and books are supposed to be different.  I'm not sure I'd tackle the book now that I've seen the movie, but I am glad I read it before.  There is much more detail in the book - not all of it entertaining but very informative.  And as I read, I kept imagining what it would look like on the silver screen.

Read it, see it.  Let me know what you think!

We visited the Grand Canyon last week - and had a wonderful time.  I was really taken with all the history and architecture there, so I got this book.  It is well-written and full of facts and figures that gave real life to what we saw.

Mary Colter designed a number of the buildings that still stand at the South Rim.  She was rare for her time - a working female architect who influenced an area and an era.  She also designed the lunchroom at Union Station in Los Angeles - that will be my next stop I think!!

A great long weekend!!

We are usually in a time constraint when we go to St. George for the marathon, but this time we weren't!  So we stopped to see my Uncle Peter in Mesquite - at the Virgin Valley Heritage Museum where he works!!  It was great to see him in his "natural habitat!!"

 

It was great to have Bonny and Team Bolander join us this year.  She and Harry ran/walked together.  It was a long haul, but she made it!!  (It was her first and Harry's 23rd marathon!)  It was about 10 degrees cooler than had been at first predicted, so we were all grateful!

 

Ara came down from Provo - so great to see her - and Bruce brought his bike so he could shadow the race for a bit - then he and Ara just followed along with the car.  I manned the finish line - and actually had enough time to listen to the first session of conference!!

 

So sad to leave everyone - didn't realize how much I missed Ara Grace!!

 

  

After watching the first session of conference, we left St. George for the Grand Canyon, South Rim.  We were able to listen to most of the second session except for patches where the signal went out - so we just pulled over and listened until it was over.

I had only ever been to the North Rim - and the South Rim is way better!  It was magnificent!!  We got caught in some rain, found shelter in a visitor's center, then headed back out.  We were rewarded for our diligence with an exquisite rainbow - that slowly morphed into a double rainbow!!  I'm pretty sure I've never before looked down at a rainbow!!  It was pretty spectacular.

 

The rain and the clouds and mists only added to the beauty.

Learned a lot about a female architect - one of the pioneers in her gender - who designed many of the buildings at the South Rim - Mary Elizabeth Jane Colter - this building was called The Lookout!!  Wonder why??  We saw lots and I bought two books - so watch for more than you ever wanted to know about the Grand Canyon in upcoming posts!!

We drove home about mid-morning on Tuesday - lots of rain by then - but a nice drive home - listening to Louis L'Amour's The Ferguson Rifle.  I am sold on driving with a Louis L'Amour novel - a little hackneyed but the plot's are compelling!!

Today we celebrated Deacon's second birthday with cake and candles - and he was one happy boy.  I'm not sure he has "birthday" figured out, but he was up for celebrating.

I also went out to Mom's to visit with Alice and also take her to the Flyaway.  I was sorry that her trip coincided mostly with our trip away - she is off to Korea for six months - I will miss her!!  But we are good correspondents!!