Vive la France!!

48 years ago I was enjoying a semester abroad in Grenoble, France.  When I read the journal I kept, much of it sounds like a life someone else lead - I don't recognize the names, places, or events.  Other items are a fresh as yesterday.  Someone told me that as you acquire more and more memories, your brain puts a lot of them into storage because you aren't dwelling on them or using them.

Seeing this student visa, however, reminded me vividly of one day in the student union, I was trying to do something, register for a class I think.  I was not having much success - my grasp of French was not superb - when someone told me to get in the "foreign student" line!!  

I totally recall thinking, "But I'm not a foreign student!"

Your viewpoint really depends on where you are looking - and where you are looking from!

Here's to the Irish in all of us!!

Mrs. Hoopes always has a Limerick contest on St. Patrick's Day - and she asks me to help judge.  She provides cream soda and peanuts, so it's worth going to!!

I always try to whip up a few limericks to wow the kiddos - so here's today's effort:

There was a young lassie from Nod

Who always presented as odd.

She tried everything,

From low end to bling,

But most of her efforts were flawed.

And in honor of the continuing frustration of many students who don't like to meet their AR goals - and who rail at the requirement:

Teachers all have grades to score,

And time is up for any more.

If AR's short,

Then you are "morte,"

But you knew this before.

Top 'o the evenin' to ye!

Beware!!

The Ides of March has been celebrated, Terrill-style, for a lot of years now.  This shot is from a 1995 celebration that included Mandy and Erin McGlone!!

It all started when our friend Ronnie Horton, whose birthday was March 15th, suggested we have a Caesar celebration one year for his birthday.  One thing led to another, and Harry ended up abridging Shakespeare's play.  The rest, as they say, is history!!

We are not having it this year though.  Too much going on, too many conflicts.

But I'm thinking of serving Caesar salad - if, indeed, anyone is here for dinner!

The "Terrill Tilt" appears to be a family phenomenon!!

Even mastered by non-Terrill family members here and abroad!! 

Women friends are the best!!

When I posted a photo of Tina,Val, and Sue Graham, my girls all responded with things like "I babysat for all of them," and "Love these women," and "80's and Monrovia East Ward!"  (This occasion today was a surprise 60th birthday party for Sue Graham - her girls pulled it off beautifully!!)

When I first moved into the Monrovia East Ward - we had been sliced off from the Monrovia Ward - I found out about a monthly birthday tradition that I participated in for many years - a very fun, lovely tradition.  

Every month we met to celebrate that month's birthdays.  We often ended up at Tina's house - her backyard backed up to the playground of Mayflower School, so it was close to where a lot of our kids were.

We each brought food.  I don't even remember if we sang Happy Birthday or not.  Sometimes there were gifts, sometimes not.  Sometimes a non-member friend came along.  Sometimes we turned them into baby showers if a baby shower was needed.  Always there was lots of love and friendship.

It was a special time in my life.  I will always have good memories of it!!

Friends are the best - value them, treasure them, keep them close.

And remember their birthdays!

Friendship!!

The Nebekers are good friends - and old friends - and we treasure our association with them.

 

Harry, Ry, and Jim Heder were college roommates - the other two men are Ry's brothers.  A wonderful comradeship.

From the first time I met Ry - at his missionary farewell that Harry asked me to attend while he was on his mission - until now, it has only been a pleasure to associate with him and his family.

Today is Ry's birthday.  Ry is quite ill, and our prayers continue daily for him and for his family.  But we want to remember the good times and the many wonderful memories we share.

Happy day to you Ry!!

Need to remember to do this one!!

When we were in DC at the reception after Rhoda's blessing, this graham cracker "row house" was on the front desk of the building where we were gathered.  I felt I had to take a photo, because it looks very simple.  It's actually a cardboard box with graham crackers "glued" on with frosting.  Wafers anchor the windows, as well as candy canes.  

Part of its charm is that it looks like the row houses in DC, but I'm not going to let that detail deter me!!

Another stairway!! (Besides the Stairway of the Stars!)

I read about "Secret Stairs" in the LA Times a few weeks ago - ordered the book and got excited to try one of the walks out.  So Harry and I headed to Echo Park this a.m.  We were not disappointed either.  Above is a beautiful old Ukranian Orthodox church we came across!  We also had a birdseye view of Dodger Stadium, and a magnificent view of LA!

 

There were varied and beautiful trees, World War I memorial plaques, a "memory" grove dedicated to the fallen, the ruins of an old house - all that was left were the front stairs! - and a shaded sidewalk hidden behind storefronts where several old houses stood.  And there were 5 sets of stairs.  Next time I'll remember to get shots of the stairs!!

 

After, we had lunch at Lot 1 Cafe - and it was good.  I'm excited for our next adventure.  The author rates them on a scale of 1 to 5 - this one was a 2.  Next time I'm branching out and going for 2.5!!

A little light reading!

 Alice left this at Eliza's - said she'd read it on the plane, thought someone might want to read it.  It was good airplane fiction.  A somewhat schmaltzy story, but well written, good character development, intrigue, suspense, and a lot of regional color.  And a look into the past - the early 5o's and the polio scare.  When you want some escape lit, this is the story for you!!

 

I have enjoyed the other books by this author - The Glass Castle and Half Broke Horses - so I was sure I'd enjoy this one.  I did - but I almost think it should be categorized as adolescent fiction.  It's a well-written story with some suspense and lots of regional color and flair.  The ending is a little "pat" in some ways, but there are some nice images and symbolism that save it from being too predictable.

Now I'm reading Dear Life, a collection of short stories by Alice Munro, Nobel Prize winner for literature last year.  So far they seem well-written, and very regional - she is Canadian - but I don't know much about Canada.  

Will do an update when I finish.

Happy reading to you too!!

The Blessing Dresses

When Bonny was born, my mother gave me a blessing dress that my Grandma Stevens had crocheted for her.  Bonny wore it for her blessing.  Unfortunately, there are no photos of Bonny wearing it.  She was a colicky baby who also spit up a lot.  I distinctly remember dressing her in the dress many times, propping her on a pillow on the couch, and getting set to take a photo.  Every time she spit up voluminous amounts.  So I said, "I will wash the dress and try again."  Apparently I gave up though!!

Phoebe wore the dress too - and there are also no photos of her wearing it.

When Eliza was born, my mom found a dress that she said had been my blessing dress - and probably Alice's and Mary's too, but she was not sure.  The dress was in terrible shape - yellowed, stained, ripped - but I was not to be thwarted!  I washed it in a solution of soap, water, and 2 teaspoons of bleach!!  And it came clean as a whistle!  I mended the tears and got new ribbon to thread through the sleeves and hem.  I was pretty excited.

Above is a shot of Eliza holding baby Ida wearing the blessing dress.

 

And here is Eliza wearing it.  I bought the little shoes for her to wear with it.  My grandmother had crocheted booties that Bonny wore, but I went with pink to match the ribbons in the dress.

 

Hannah wore the dress too - and the satin slippers.

 

And sweet little Rhoda wore it all yesterday!!

 

Phoebe wore Bonny's blessing dress - and this photo was taken on the day she was blessed - but for some reason, I changed her into a different dress for this photo.  Maybe I was afraid it would get ripped or stained.  It was a delicate, lacy dress. 

Agnes wore Bonny's blessing dress too - and the blanket my grandmother crocheted is her background here.  All of our children were wrapped in it for the blessing - boys and girls.  Some of the grandkids have been wrapped in it too I think.  Phoebe chose the pink slip for Agnes.

 

Eve wore the blessing dress too - the one that I had worn - you can mostly tell by the ribbon on the sleeves!

 

Here's Ara in the dress and the booties - and the yellow slip, rather than the pink slip.  I haven't kept track of the slips as much, but pretty much my dress goes with the pink slip and Bonny's dress goes with the yellow slip.  I know Bonny's other girls wore it too - but I don't have photos - maybe Bonny does and she will send them to me!!

The are both beautiful dresses - and when I wash and fix them as they need repair, I think of my Grandma Stevens.  And I think she would be really pleased!!

Men and Babies

There is a photo of Harry holding Hannah on her blessing day.  It was well after church, and she doesn't have the blessing dress on, but it has always been one of my favorite photos.  I wanted to do a "duplicate" shot of Harry holding Rhoda on her blessing day, but it didn't quite happen - at least I didn't duplicate the pose.  But while I was scrolling through my photos looking for that shot,  I kept coming across other great photos of men and babies - and it seemed like a nice touch for a blog post - especially after our lovely weekend in DC for Rhoda's blessing.

The above is shot of Harry with Bonny - in the Portia Apartments in SLC in 1970.

 

This is a shot of my dad holding my brother Lyn - in 1943.

 

 This is my Grandpa Clayton with my Uncle Paul - in 1915 or 16.

 

This is Harry with a very newborn Eliza.

 

And this is Harry with Esme - at Clocker's Corners it looks like - a few years ago for sure!!

 

A favorite photo of mine of Grandpa Terrill with Hannah - in 1986 - when she had casts on her legs for the foot problems she had as a baby.

 

And here is my dad and Harry holding Phoebe - in 1979.

 

My Uncle Harry holding his son Mark in 1947 I think.

 

A new grandpa!!  Harry with Ara in 1997!

 

My Grandpa Clayton holding Bonny - a 3 generation shot in 1970.  Not sure why we didn't put my dad in the photo - that would have been nice!

 

Harry with holding Bonny and Harry in 1972.

 

Harry holding Noah in 1987.

 

Harry and Theo posing with their matching faux hawks in 2007.

 

 The favorite photo of mine - it's a favorite of both of them, but it really captures how Harry looked then.  In 1985, on Hannah's blessing day.

And the closest  I could get to a duplicate - and maybe a new fave photo??

Men and babies - they go together so well!!

A quick read - entertaining too!

Leslie suggested this one - so I put it on my Kindle.  It's not great art, but it is a compelling read - would be perfect for a long plane ride - I should have saved it for the upcoming trip.

It's a British novel - set in current times.  About a wealthy playboy who is injured and becomes a quadraplegic.  And the young waitress who becomes his caregiver.

Lots of drama - some exploration of mental health issues and family dynamics.

You might enjoy it.

A controversy

This book was chosen by my book group for January.  I read it last week and thought it was pretty amazing.  The introduction says that it is a fictional account of a real experience - that the fictionalization was designed to protect the privacy of the people she claims to have journeyed with.

So after hyping it up to several people - "You really need to read this" kind of hype - I did some research and found that there is a definite belief that it is a fraud!  There were also some very critical reviews that the book was poorly written.  On that score, I'm not sure I agree.  It wasn't great art, but it was pretty clear and easy to follow.  

On the other score, that it's a fraud and that the author made it all up, the jury is actually out, although the author did apologize to a group of Aboriginal elders who traveled to the U.S. with the help of the Australian government to prevent the book from being made into a movie.

I read 3 or 4 online reviews that were very critical, basically accusing her of insulting all Aboriginal people.  But I also read a couple of reviews that pointed out that the book is now marked as fiction, and therefore the accusation of fraud is moot.  

I was fascinated by the story - it's a quick read and I was eager to get to the end "to see what happened."  And she made a lot of good points of a philosophical nature that I found compelling.  But it is much like that story of a few years ago about the man who claimed to be a drug abuser who told a fantastic tale - he went on Oprah and she touted the book as a great story - I've even forgotten the title.  He wrote it as if it was a true story.  Turns out it was fiction. 

I'm not sure why people make up stories, pass them off as true, and then wonder why readers are upset when the truth comes out.  Why don't they just call it fiction in the first place?

But that's probably fodder for another story!!

Read this story if you want to - it does have some interesting twists and turns.  And frankly, if she did make it up, she's got a pretty vivid imagination!

A new nightly fave on the Terrill forefront!

Hannah introduced me to this show when I was there for Rhoda's birth.  Turns out Harry had seen it and had tried to interest me in it!!  Sometimes I'm slow to get on board!!

But now we love it.  We are on Season 7 - apparently there is a Season 8 too.  It's about England and the war and a detective and his delightful driver - the actress is named Honeysuckle Weeks.  How could you not love a show with someone in it named Honeysuckle??  She does a great job too.

The stories are well done and pretty compelling.  I'm usually wrong about "who done it" but still enjoy the chase!!

It's a BBC production - of course!!

Give it a look-see!