Made with love

Homemade fun:

The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me! My choice. For you. This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:

1. I make no guarantees that you will like what I make! But you probably will . . .I'm just saying.
2. What I create will be just for you.
3. It'll be done this year. That gives me a good 10 1/2 months to get it done!
4. It will be a surprise.

The catch is that you must repost this on your blog and offer the same to the first 5 people who do the same on your blog. The first 5 people to do so, and leave a comment telling me they did, win a FAB-U-LOUS homemade gift by me! Oh, and be sure to post a picture of what you win when you get it!

(I promise I'm not going to make anyone a bologne sandwich - just always like to post a picture when I blog!)

A Day of Love

This is usually my standard Valentine Post Photo of Choice!! For those who are new to Terrill postings, you may not have seen it. I went to one of those photo booths at a dime store in Provo in 1968 - our first Valentine's Day as a married couple - and made this for Harry.
I thought I was pretty clever at the time. And somehow, we still have this very Valentine in our box of mementos.

And Eliza posted about wearing pink or red on the day of love, so when I saw this photo, I thought, well, everyone is wearing pink or red anyway!

But what impressed me about this year is the fact that I seem to have neglected to do just about everything I usually do to celebrate this day!!

I did not make sugar cookies - which I don't always do - sometimes I opt for Pumpkin Chocolate Chip cookies just because they are easier. But I didn't make them either. I did buy some heart shaped candles to give to special people - but they are still sitting wrapped in my office!

Years ago I gave Valentine gifts to the children - they'd be at their place at the breakfast table - but I actually haven't done that for many, many years.

I have two Valentine tee-shirts and 3 pair of Valentine earrings - but I only remembered to wear one pair of the earrings yesterday.

I usually play Valentine Bingo with my students - using pink and red M and M's for markers - but I didn't do that (and that would have been yesterday the 13th, but yesterday the 13th was Valentine's Day at Clifton Middle School!) I did feel bad about it and went to edHelper.com and printed off a packet of Valentine Analogies (X:kiss::O:____) for extra credit, but that didn't really capture everyone's fancy - although some enjoyed it!

Harry and I have given up gifts for most special occasions except birthdays - and it hasn't spoiled our relationship at all! In fact, I find that we are more random about gift-giving - and it even seems to be more meaningful that way. (But he is out getting the new dishwasher today - holidays help us get things for the house!!)

I neglected to send Valentine socks to my daughters and daughter-in-law. I'm pretty sure that's because with my aching knees I've turned all the shopping over to Harry - and he certainly wasn't on the lookout for socks!

But I did send Valentines to the grandkids.

And I did get myself a bouquet a tulips and they are lovely!

And I'm wearing the one pair of Valentine socks I do have!

What teachers do - sometimes!!

Marcie and I are fond of organizing potlucks at school. I used to talk about doing it all the time, but it never seemed to happen. One time Marcie and I were discussing it and she just grabbed a sheet of paper and made a sign up sheet - and it happened!

Now they are pretty regular and are looked forward to and enjoyed. Today was perfect, because our theme was "comfort food" and we had meatloaf, scalloped potatoes, fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, chocolate chip cookies, lasagne, enchiladas - fortunately I brought some orange slices and grapes or it would have been pretty starchy!! But good!

One teacher commented, "I feel like my mother just fed me!" (That's the idea of "comfort food" actually!) And the hallway smelled wonderful - the kids couldn't figure it out!

Marcie and I bring tablecloths - she did centerpieces by going around campus and snipping off roses - and I wear an apron - it sort of makes it official, if you follow my drift!

These folks are easily impressed - but we enjoy it - it builds a sense of community - and you just can't beat "breaking bread together." (I was going to wow them and have fresh bread baking in the oven - but the weary bones just couldn't swing it! Maybe next time!!)

Kyle suggested I snap him rubbing his full tummy!!

Some late night thoughts

Here I am with my good friend Pam!

This week marks the one year anniversary of the death of her son Jack. It seems like only yesterday that I got the sad news. And yet so much has transpired since then - in fact, Pam and Jerry are now on a mission in Salt Lake City.

Hannah and Robbie have gotten married, Harry went to Boston without me, we went to Oregon for Hood to Coast, I've acquired a lovely new granddaughter, all the kids have been here for Christmas, I finally got a decent classroom - which I love!!, and we just completed a wonderful women's conference.

Last year, we had just completed one when Jack died. And last year, starting with the death of my good friend Janice, about a dozen people whose lives have intersected with mine in meaningful ways died.

It was hard because it seemed so unrelenting. There has been a pause - a significant one. And I am grateful. I am reminded of my friend Carolyn, whose oldest daughter died in childbirth a few years ago. Then her granddaughter was accidentally run over by a truck driven by her husband. She was the Relief Society President, and her counselor's husband died - as did her secretary's husband. And a dear friend of hers moved into our ward - newly - and happily remarried - and she was diagnosed with cancer and died within weeks.

She told me that one day she prayed and said, "Heavenly Father, STOP, ENOUGH!"

And she said, "It stopped. I couldn't deal with anymore. The Lord does answer prayers."

Mine experience was not so dramatic, but it has caused me much thought and reflection this past year.

And I miss seeing Pam.

More from the daily "Need To Know" at Clifton Middle School

I'm becoming fond of the quotes these days.

Latest fave:

"Making a mistake is just another way of doing things."

Katherine Graham

I like the sentiment here - not just learning from your mistakes, but feeling that you didn't really do too badly!

What say today -

Here are two quotes about change,

"Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself."

Count Leo Tolstoy

and

"Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the one we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek."

Barack Obama

Food for thought.

Now and Then

Here's a shot from Monday's festivities at Terrill Manor. Notice the older Ogilvie girls with Ara and Ella on the front row.

Here they are a couple of years ago - maybe 3??

Changes are so dramatic at this stage - I notice how much my current 8th graders have changed since they were 6th graders.

Three of these young ladies are now middle school students - and Ella is not far behind.

They have so much ahead of them - but they are not thinking of that. They are in the here and now - as they should be.

It's just for old grannies like me to muse upon the passing of time - and what it bodes for all of us.

I just want them to enjoy the here and now - and then they will have happy memories to look back on !

Errata

So, this is why you shouldn't post late at night!

I thought I was posting to this blog - and when it didn't show this a.m., I was perplexed.

Until I discovered that I'd posted my late night thoughts to this blog.

Hmm - what other mistakes did I make last night - better check my lunch carefully before I eat it today!!

Happy Birthday Madge!!

Phoebe and the other Young Women in the ward liked to call their leaders by what they thought were pretty hilarious nicknames. For example, Bonnie Kinch was Bonch and Margaret was Madge. (I think they called Pam Pam-ella. It was all about exaggeration.)

This is an older photo - maybe from 1998 or maybe even 1997. I think it was New Beginnings or maybe it was Young Women in Excellence.

It was the only photo of Madge I could quickly get my hands on. It is flattering anyway!

I met Margaret when Michelle was a baby - and it's been a wonderful friendship - for me anyway! I can remember calling her on late evenings - both of our husbands were off working usually - and we'd chat while we worked - I often ironed while I talked to her. Margaret has a keen mind and is very insightful - she has blessed my life with her wisdom.

Happy Day to a good friend!!

Same place - what a difference a decade or so makes!

Ara as a toddler in 1998 - in the wooden bowl - which all Terrill children and grandchildren want to sit in.

Hannah in the same bowl - 12 years earlier!

And Ara will be twelve in less than two weeks.

It could boggle my mind if I let it!

Grandkids!

This is an old photo - from 1998 - the year we rented a place in Laguna at Christmas time.

This weekend, we have Bruce and Bonny's girls here - and frankly, Ella is a big help with Annika - where do the years go?

When you first have grandkids, you love doing the new baby thing all over again - reliving the sights, the sounds, the smells.

Then you love watching them grow - tonight I recommended a book to Ara - and she started reading it! Whoa, where indeed do the years go?

But it does keep getting better and better!

"Here, Kitty, Kitty . . "

We all know Hannah's love for all things feline.

So when I came upon these two quotes today, I couldn't resist:

"What greater gift than the love of a cat?"
Charles Dickens

and

"The smallest feline is a masterpiece."
Leonardo Da Vinci

I don't necessarily love all cats. But I did indeed love Cosmo - and I miss him still.

No regrets!!

My m.o. for blogging is often, "Let's look through the photos and see what inspires me."

This is Douglas Street in Salt Lake City in 1970 - in January or February.

We lived there. And I walked to work in this kind of weather. (It's about 3 blocks from the U of U, where I worked and Harry attended school.)

I have been reading posts complaining about inclement and cold weather.

We've been at 80+ for the last week. One day when I left work at 5 p.m. it was 78 degrees!!

It's supposed to be 82 tomorrow. But it is cooling down - it will only be 71 next Friday!!

I wasn't keen on moving back to SoCal when we came in 1979. But after one winter here I was heard to say, "Okay, we'll stay until the kids are grown."

Amend that to say "We'll stay. Period."

As Leslie is wont to say, "You can take the girl out of the sunshine, but you can't take the sunshine out of the girl!!"

(I'm not really trying to make you snow bunnies feel bad - but we get so much bad press for our fires, earthquakes and riots, it's good to have something to crow about!)

"When the family gets together. . "

My sister-in-law on the Clayton side called and wanted to know if there was a family reunion this year. Somehow, the reunions on both sides of the family have devolved onto my shoulders.

I'm wondering if I'm up to it. The Clayton one is pretty simple - just mail out flyers and go early to claim a spot at Huntington State Beach. Well, there is a bit more - we have to buy food and collect money, but it's mostly just work the week before - once the flyers have been mailed anyway.

The Terrill one is more complex - since the number of people who will come is directly related to where we have it. And Grandma says she's really not up to travel anymore.

It's definitely going to be a decision Harry and I will have to make. We don't have a summer break at the temple anymore - the closing dates are May and November instead of August and December - like they have been for a hundred years!!

I keep reading about all these fantastic family reunions that take place in glamorous locations - it's kind of like the perfect grandchildren photos I always see!!

Hmm - something more to stress about - seems like an oxymoron doesn't it??

Fred and Joan in LA

Joan and Fred are here from Memphis. Since I forgot to take a picture of them tonight, this will just have to do!!This is their wedding day in 1968. My, don't we all look young!

Hooray for blogging!

I was looking for a photo of Leslie and went to the photos from Joey and Mercy's wedding. I came across this shot of Sean and Keli at the wedding luncheon.

I remember Keli coming up to me and saying, "Hi Aunt Barbara - how great to see you." And I remember thinking - "Thank heavens for blogs, so that I know that this is Keli - and the baby she is carrying is Greta." Without blogging, I would have struggled to remember which bride of which of one of my brother's sons was this! (Sean was not with her - if Sean had been with her, I would have known it was Sean - I knew him as a baby, so I usually recognize him - he also looks like a Clayton - and that helps!!)

Those who criticize blogs obviously know all of their relatives and see them all the time.

I am not so fortunate - and so I have loved getting to know far- flung family better via blogging.

And I thought this was a sweet shot of this happy pair. (Karl always tells me I need to use pictures, and not just words.)

Agnes Marietta Busath Clayton

Friday the 9th was my Grandma Clayton's birthday. I had meant to post on time, but didn't.

So I will post late.

My grandmother died when my father was 17. But he always talked about her. Every Mother's Day when he talked about her, he always got very emotional. She must have been a big influence in his life, because she was always very close and real to him. I enjoyed hearing about her, since her name is my middle name - I would ask my father's cousins about her, and they told me stories about her. She sounds like a lovely person.

When my dad died, it was just before Harry and Dawn's wedding. Dad had been quite ill, and Mom had not gone many places. So I asked her if she wanted to go with us to El Paso - we were driving.

She said, "If they told your dad he could come back, he would say no. He is finally reunited with his mother, and he has been waiting for that for a long time. So I might as well go with you."

I look forward to meeting her.

Sunday in the city

It's Sunday, and I have a presidency meeting tonight - we are getting things in gear for the Women's Conference on January 31st!!

I work with some wonderful women - and they have taught me a great lesson.

I never was president of anything - except Granada Hills High School eons ago - until I was called as Young Women's President back in 1996. It seemed a bit daunting, but I remember Phoebe going with me to Sav-on and we bought bags full of stuff that she said would work with the values, etc. (I did end up using most of the stuff - but must confess that a lot of it got used for Relief Society instead!)

Somehow feeling that I had stuff ready made the task less daunting. I plunged into it - and ended up having Hannah and Eliza in my fold, and Harry was the bishop and we just brought Noah along so it seemed like a big family activity.

I had good counselors and other personnel, but I made the grave error of doing way too much of it myself. I had lots of reasons - some of my counselors had conflicts and couldn't do certain things, sometimes I waited too long and felt bad about asking anyone else, sometimes I wanted it done my way and just did it.

Even though I loved the girls and loved the assignment, I have always been sorry that I didn't delegate more and didn't involve the girls themselves more in the planning and implementation.

The good news: in retrospect I have learned how important it is to let go and let others do things their way. And so I have delegated. And it has been a good experience.

I haven't especially gotten out of having to do things, but I have been able to do more things that were maybe more important for me to do, while others did the jobs that were important for them to do.

So now we are planning our big event of the year - I will let you know how it goes!!

We're not here today

Harry and I are at the temple this weekend. We go 2 weekends a month. We stay at the temple apartments.

It's actually pretty pleasant. The apartments are not fancy, but they are adequate. Sometimes you even have a TV. But we always bring our computer and watch movies on it.

And when the lights are out and you open up the curtains, the damp ocean air drifts in and you can pretend you are anywhere.

The photo above is 1973 I think - I loved that dress - thought it was very fetching - it was in the dress-up bag for years.

And if you look closely, you can see the handbag I crocheted - I have some hidden skills you didn't know about!

What to say on the 3rd day??

I found this doll that Harry is holding. I don't remember much about it - like where it came from. I believe it was a gift someone made for him.

This is why it's important to write things down - you never think you will forget something, but you will.

I remember as a young woman asking my mother about her bridal shower. She said she couldn't remember any details. I was aghast.

Ask me about my bridal shower. I can only remember that I wore a black wool sheath dress that I thought was the height of fashion - but I only know that because Joy sent me a picture a few years ago!

They also made a goofy scrapbook for me - which I still have - but I have no memory of the making of it.

And I know that Moyne and MarDel spearheaded a group gift of a bonnet style hair dryer - something most of you have never seen but I really wanted one - and was delighted to get it.

So write stuff down - I guess our brains get so full of the stuff we are dealing with now, so the other stuff just gets pushed back more and more - kind of like the shoes on the floor of my closet.

Although I have re-read the journal I kept in France - and it's all there in my handwriting - but some of those memories just aren't there anymore!

Maybe we should just enjoy the present - and record the past in case anyone ask questions!

Second post in a row

I got an email from my cousin Phyllis today.
She was younger than me and I don't have a lot of memories from when we were children.

But in our adult years, she has been the best about staying in touch. I had lost touch with her, but she found me on Facebook - and so we've been corresponding.

Her mother died early last year - and I sent her some photos I taken of Aunt Audrey when we visited her a couple of years ago. She said that the last time she'd seen her mother she hadn't look very well, so she was glad to see a picture of her in relatively good health.


And then she shared her feelings about my mom and dad and how supportive they'd always been of her mom, especially after Uncle Ted, my dad's brother, left the family. She said they'd gone to her civil wedding, encouraged her to go to the temple in a year, and then had been there when she did go a year later.

She also said that my parents, my uncle and my grandparents had "drawn Audrey and her family into the protection of the family circle" after Ted left. Not especially excluding Ted, but making sure that Audrey didn't feel abandoned. And she said that had been very meaningful to her mom.

I guess I sometimes just see my parents - and my mother is the surviving one - as where they are right now and not as being so involved in others' lives. But it puts a whole new perspective on things for me. My mom and dad were probably a lot like how we are now - helping others, being involved in peoples' lives, visiting, calling, staying in touch.

I remember when Grandmother Taylor died - Helen said her greatest sorrow was that those saying goodbye to her didn't really know her as she had been - they only knew how she had been in her declining years.

I look around at the older people I know (older than me anyway!!) and wonder just what they were like. Some of them I have known for 30 years and I can see the changes and I know how they were - and all of them aren't able to do as much anymore.

It's pretty important to try to see people for just who they are and have been - and to understand and value the "whole package."

That's what I want people to do for me!

Daily thoughts

In the spirit of not making resolutions, I was going to resolve to post daily.

I think such a resolution will go the way of my resolutions in the past to write daily in a journal.

About the only things I do daily are pray, eat, sleep, work, and floss my teeth (sometimes I don't get in my scripture reading!!)

And I read the blogs - but not always daily - we go away sometimes where there are no computers.

Actually, there are a number of things I do daily - but they are not fodder for a blog - they are the mundane processes of life.

Our office manager posts a "quotable quote" every school day - and so I started printing them up and posting them for my students to see - but I looked the other day and the same one had been up for quite a few days.

I wonder why it's so hard to do things daily? Even writing in a journal weekly or monthly would be a lot more journal writing than I have collected! But I haven't even done that.

If I had written dates on the backs of photos as soon as I had picked them up - back in the day when you had to take your photos in to be developed - I would not have hundreds of photos waiting to be put in order somewhere. (Are any of you wondering when the anniversary posts will resume? I am!)

If every week I tackled one chore - think of all I would get done. I make plans like that all the time.

They are usually only plans though - not much implementation.

But I'm pretty busy - I don't fritter away much time - except when I check the blogs - that's probably frittering!!

At the end of each day, I can put together a pretty credible list of accomplishments. So why do I feel like nothing got done?

And the photo at the top of the page? My college convocation in 1968. Graduating from college was not on any list I ever wrote up.

But it got done!

New Year's Resolutions

This photo has little to do with the post - but I always think I need a photo - Karl says I do - but it does represent the busyness and chaos and good times we've been having these past two weeks!

I generally don't make New Year's resolutions. Maybe I used to - but I don't remember - either if I did or what I resolved.

What I used to always do was go and get a new calendar or notebook and "get organized." And this morning as I was putting stuff in my purse for church, I realized with horror that I didn't even have a current personal calendar!

Life is just happening and I'm losing track or momentum or something!!

Or maybe it's been a very full and busy and wonderful holiday season and I've missed the boat - for the moment anyway. I have some returns to make and some packages to mail, so after school tomorrow, I will go return and mail and stop at Office Depot for a new calendar.

I guess a number of the December and January birthdays are going to be remembered late. A number of other things might be late too - but I will at least have the "to do" list in a safe place. And no one will be surprised to get a late Christmas card from me.

I do remember that my mail-in traffic school is due January 16th. And the bills are due by the 11th. And the first ward conference is January 25th. And the Women's Conference is January 31st - and that's Ara's b-day too. And the Bolander girls are coming Martin Luther King weekend. And we work at the temple this weekend. And Joan and Fred are coming to stay until their place in Loma Linda is available. And I have a Presidency meeting next Sunday. And I have an appointment with the podiatrist on Wednesday. And my new glasses are ready to pick up. And the shirts are ready for pickup at the cleaners on Thursday. And Leslie and Sam are coming at the end of the month.

Hey, why do I need a calendar??

"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas . . "

I keep saying this hoping it will get me moving. The older I get, the less fun stuff there is to do for Christmas. Well, that's not fair to put it that way, but we've streamlined gift-giving so there isn't a lot of shopping - not that I love shopping - but I do love lists!

(Me, Leslie, Alice in 1964 I would guess)

And with no one around to be excited about opening the boxes on the advent calendar, I haven't even put it up for the last two years.

And I have to push and prod Dad to get a tree - and get it up so I can decorate it - but I guess I've always had to push and prod him.

Believe it or not, when I'm here in the house alone, I forget to put the carols on. I do have the Harry Connick CD in the car stereo - that helps. With other people around, someone remembers to put them on.

I did watch "Holiday Inn" and "It's a Wonderful Life" last week - that helped - but it didn't last long enough!

And "What Not To Wear" has intimidated me out of wearing my Christmas attire. Although I am going to wear my sweater with the angels on it - the black one. And my holly/berry earrings from many years ago.

Maybe I'll even wear my Liz Clairborne tee shirts too. It's certainly hot enough!

Mostly I'm waiting for Christmas Eve and making potato soup and cooking up batches of pumpkin bread and jam to give to the neighbors.

And going to the Sing-A-Long Messiah next week.

And enjoying having everyone here - then it will feel like Christmas!!

Something to think about

"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them."

John F. Kennedy, U.S. President 1960-63

Good Friends, Good Food, Good Times

Some of you will recognize some of these women - and all the Terrill kids will recognize at least 2 of them - not counting me!

Michele Yoffe gets together with Nancy Locklair, Dalene Johnson and Adele Cornils once a month - the initials of their first names spell DAMN! So they call it their "DAMN get together!" That is somewhat clever.

Michele and I and Anna May and Sandee Gray are all born in 1945 - so we call ourselves "The Girls of '45" and we get together when we can find a time we can all be there!!

It was getting ridiculous, so Michele said why didn't we join her other group - I'm not going to get caught up in the jokes we could make here - and so we did. And I invited Karan to come along, Sandee invited Buffy, and I'm not sure how Sharon Socha figured into the mix, but she's a great addition to any group!

When Dalene forwarded the picture to me, I thought about how I used to eat lunch with or teach with all of these women. I miss the ones who are no longer there - only Buffy, Sandee, Anna May and I are still at Clifton.

And I thought about how each one of them had had an influence on my life or my teaching techniques or my perceptions of the world.

"Make new friends but keep the old. One is silver, but the other is gold."

A little cheesy but true!

I love my girlfriends!

"Paying your dues!"

(This photo - of the youth in our ward preparing lunches for the homeless - has nothing to do with the following post - but Karl says you need pictures to attract readers - it's kind of like fundraising - maybe in reverse??)

I started to make a comment on Phoebe's blog about her fund-raising woes.

It got too long - decided I had too much to say.

First off, if they would fund education like they are supposed to, we wouldn't need to fundraise. The government has mandated lots of programs - and then has not fully-funded all of them - Special Education in particular.

(Let me also note that you may think your district is spending money that you think should go somewhere else, but categorical funds can only be spent on what they are designated for. So CompEd computers in the classroom can only be used by CompEd students, and so on. Here in the middle of the budget crisis in California, we had
$80,000 we had to spend on new technology. So we have new computers and smart boards and everyone thinks we are spendthrifts - but we would have lost the money if we hadn't spent it by September of this year.)

Everyone gets annoyed with SPED - but people need to get annoyed with their legislators - IDEA - the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act - was passed in 1975. It's a good law, and at the time, the government guaranteed to fund 40% of it - and since then, they have never funded more than 17%! So the difference comes from the General Fund - which impacts schools very directly - and thus fundraising came to the forefront.

Then it "caught on" as a business idea and the bake sales were taken over by "Magazine Mary" and the like, and I find that less than appealing.

I don't remember any fundraising from my school days. They did have PTA when I was a kid - but I'm pretty sure my mom never joined. And those women mostly worked around the school, sponsoring things like polio vaccination drives and the like - they did do a yearly carnival too - which I loved.

I was amazed in Utah to discover that PTA was the happening place to be - I mean, the people running for PTA President had posters and everything - because more than one person wanted the job!! (Around here they beg, cajole and threaten - this year they have a couple of co-presidents, which is working out well.)

I join now because they come and ask the staff to join - and they have a drawing - and I won a gift card to Target - that's the way to motivate teachers!

And I remember when Phoebe left MHS, they handed her a bill for something - that she had to pay or she couldn't graduate!! I think it was Leadership dues or something ridiculous.

So Dad said, "Okay, we'll send them an itemized invoice for all the weeks they used the truck to haul their stuff to the recycling place, drive it around the track for Homecoming, and take kids to set up for the Jr. Prom!"

So I understand Phoebe's frustration.

But I will tell you, since many of the PTA moms and dads are parents of my students, the PTA at our site provides lots of perks that just wouldn't happen otherwise. Actually in one of the fundraisers, there was a lunch bag I really wanted, so I asked a girl at church if she was doing the fundraiser and I bought it from her. She was pretty excited. If you sell 5 items, you get some sort of prize that middle school kids find desirable - I think you miss class for a pizza party or something.

But I pretty much was the fundraiser Scrooge and never bought anything - except the year I was in charge of the Medic-Alerts bracelet sale - I ended up being very glad I'd bought one for everyone because Bernie left the door open one day and Eliza toddled out to the middle of Hillcrest - and was found and returned to us because of the bracelet!!

Towards the end of my school years with kids, I started just mailing in a check - saying I'd be happy to give $25 but wasn't going to let my kids do fundraisers. Now that is a fundraiser in itself!

Our district is in dire straights - they may close a school and lay off 47 teachers if the state education budget gets cut anymore. One of the solutions is to ask each family to give $100 - if every family did, they'd have $50,000 - which could keep one teacher on! Bonny's district does this, but I think it supports extras - and they ask for more than $100!

When it comes to Scouts - Boy and Girl - I sort of have a different policy. If the young person contacts me, I will buy something. If their parents contact me, I tell them to have the kid call or talk to me - sometimes they do, sometimes they don't - either way I think they get annoyed with me, but that's too bad.

I remember one year Harry and Damond canvassed the neighborhood selling Scout-O-Rama tickets - and no one, except the Allsops - who at the time were less-active - bought one. They were like 50 cents! I was more than annoyed, because several kids on our street went to private school - and if you think public schools have lots of fund-raisers, try going to a private school - they must have them weekly or something! - and I had bought something from each one of them!! That was when I decided not to buy from them anymore - and I explained why the next time they came around. But then we moved to Primrose, and that took care of that!

In closing let me say that I still buy stuff from my grandkids!! Some fundraisers email me - that was very convenient - some sent a form in the mail that my granddaughter had filled out - that was easy too. And sometimes they just show me the catalogs. Anyway they do it, I will buy something from the grandkids for their school, team or Scout group.

And if they start their own business, I could probably find something I wanted there too!

"I'm Linda Mason." "Oh, Linda Mason."

It may not be "Holiday Inn" here, but we are getting ready to make the holidays happen for the Terrill clan coming to celebrate!!

Actually, it was finally a cool, breezy fall day around here, so Dad and I took a hike up Monrovia Canyon on Friday afternoon. Which led us to the cabin where we have celebrated in the past - and will celebrate again.

Do you love our neon trim??

We've actually come up with some good ideas for things to do, etc. But feel free to share any ideas or suggestions - we want this to be fun for everyone!

This is the view looking down when you are hiking. And the "skyscape" was me trying to be artsy. The sky was overcast and really very lovely - sunset was approaching so there was a hint of color diffusing the whole sky.

We had a fine time - and are looking forward to having a fine time with all of you.

And we went home to a great meal - and 3 trick or treaters!!

(At around 8:30 I could hear some rowdy kids down near Hillcrest. So I raced around turning out lights and we dove under the covers to hide from them. Dad said we should just give them the rest of the candy, but I told him I'm saving it to use in the classroom for rewards and the like. Besides, it was fun to listen to them castigating their buddy who had led them up the street. Maybe they were novices and thought they were on Gold Hill!!)

Halloween Musings

It certainly doesn't feel like Halloween around here. For one thing, it's way too hot. For another thing, I barely got the decorations out of the shop and put them up. Also, for the 2nd or 3rd year in a row, we have not carved pumpkins here at 428. And finally, no one is pestering me to make a costume or go shopping to hunt for costume fixings. (Actually no one has asked me to do that for many years - but I just thought of it.)

But this has always been one of my favorite Halloween photos - and it encompasses all of the above - it was chilly that long ago Sunday evening, the decorations were plentiful and had been up since October 1st, the pumpkins were carved, and even though I didn't have to do much sewing that year, we did get white makeup for the occasion.

For the uninformed, Halloween was on a Sunday that year . I really don't remember all the other Halloween Sundays, but Dad was the Bishop and we decided that we shouldn't go trick or treating on Sunday. But we would serve trick or treaters who came to our door.

And Eliza, Hannah and Noah seemed to have a better time than they did when they did the trick or treating themselves. They tried to be scary and entertaining and really put on a good show.

It's a great memory - one I treasure.

Where have all the falling leaves gone?

Wishing I could be wearing tights and long sleeved turtle necks!!

I was walking to school today, as I am wont to do most days, and I was thinking about how it was mighty warm for October 28th! Actually, it is often warm all through October and into November, but we always say things like, "Whoa, it's so hot - where is fall??"

But it was 80 degrees at 10 a.m. - and 98 degrees at 3:10 when school got out. And it was only 95 at 5 when I started walking home!! (I have figured out a shady route home - as long as I go around 5 - before that it's still pretty toasty and not too shady.)

But I digress - as I am also wont to do - and need to get back to the topic at hand.

Namely, why we don't like warm autumn days - and what the fashion industry could do about it!

It occurred to me that what we don't like is the fact that we have to keep on wearing our warm weather clothes - good heavens, we've probably been wearing them since April and we are mighty tired of them!

But you can't really go get a new wardrobe - because it's all sweaters and layers and wool and the like. That's a real treat on a 98 degree day! Even boots are too sweaty.

So someone needs to design a California Fall Line of Fashion Essentials - and then we could at least wear some different warm weather clothes.

If you think about this, you will undoubtedly agree with me - the hot weather is a fact of life in SoCal - and we don't totally hate it - the rest of the world is watching us frolic at the beach at Thanksgiving and Christmas. And when Dad and I got married in LA in December, it was so nice after leaving a blizzard in Provo! In fact, Dad said, "Tell me again why we are going back to the ice and snow!!"

But we do want to make a wardrobe change - and someone needs to facilitate that change.

Where is Madison Avenue when you need it??

(The photos are top - Bonny in 1976 and me with my roommates Marlene, Joy, Marcia - I'm at the end in the background in 1963 - the most "fallish" photos I could find.)

Time Capsules!!

Dad went with me to the shop - I've been looking for my Halloween stuff - and we found some of it - better late than never I guess!

But we found an old wallet of Phoebe's I think - since the photos in it were of her friends - and this was in there too!!

I think it's from 1983 or 4.

My, we were young weren't we??

Hanging out in the 'hood!!

The neighborhood where Eliza and Matt live is lovely. Maybe I'm just a Westerner who is impressed by all the trees!! But it was a lovely time to be there - the leaves are turning and the chilly breezes brought showers of brightly colored leaves cascading around us - for our viewing pleasure!!

Theo and I took quite a few walks to the various parks and playgrounds that seem to be in abundance there. There was a John Deere tractor of some sort that seems to be a permanent fixture in one of the parking lots - so I'd let Theo climb up - it really made him happy.

Even fake steering wheels give him lots of pleasure.

I liked this sign in one of the play areas!

I was thinking that kids do understand how to put first things first!! Or maybe the grown ups who designed the park understood! Or both.

Granny Babs and Grandpa Bob

When I see photos like this - of one of my lovely daughters - I am reminded of the years and their swift passing.

When you are visiting the family and helping after the birth of a new baby, you see so much that reminds you of the years gone by. A look, a turn of a phrase, a story, habits and patterns that are so familiar. (Hester said, "You cook like my mom.")

You play "Tom Thumper, Bill Munker. . . " with a darling grandson and remember doing it with his mom!

You never forget the wonderful newborn smell and the feel of a flannel receiving blanket.

Even the tears bring back memories of nights and days with your own crying children. And you are sorry you were ever impatient. (That memory enables me to be much more patient with my grandchildren, so I guess it has served a good purpose!)

I'm not sure where Harry picked up the Grandpa Bob moniker. My nephew Joey used to call my mom and dad "Bob and Mary" - probably because he heard them call each other that while they lived next door to them many years ago. And then others started calling them Grandpa Bob and Grandma Mary. But that may have nothing to do with his current role as Grandpa Bob when the grandkids come to the house.

I mention it because the only way this would be better - being here to welcome lovely Ida to the world - would be if Harry was here - to play Grandpa Bob for Theo.

looking back through time

So, while we wait for names, here are some newborn shots of Eliza - so maybe the new Miss Selander will turn out to look a bit like her Momma!

Actually Eliza looked different than all our other kids - she had less hair for one thing. And she seemed to have more Terrill or Porter in her than Clayton or Stevens.

This was the day she came home from the hospital - the other shots were taken right after her birth - which was drug-free also. Not especially by choice - they didn't offer anything - and I guess I didn't think to ask!

I do remember that Dad and I didn't agree on a name - I wanted Eliza and he wanted Anna Magdalena. So I said to the nurse - on the delivery table - which was actually a delivery chair the hospital had just acquired and Dr. Stebbins was pretty excited to be trying it out - "Don't you think she looks like an Eliza, and not an Anna Magdalena?" And the nurse wisely said, "Oh, Anna Magdalena is too big for this little girl!" (Eliza was 7 lbs. 12 oz.)

I wanted Eliza Roxy - but Dad thought that was "too cute" or something - so we agreed on Marie - although Eliza has used Eliza Roxy a time or two!

We are excited to give Miss Selander a name - but until then we are just excited to meet her!!

". . .I'm going there someday!"

I showed the photo to some friends at school and she was pretty impressed that we have such a great group to call family and friends.

She was especially impressed by my mom and Harry's mom - couldn't believe they were as old as they are - and looked so chipper!!

Let's hope it's hereditary!!

"Thank heaven for little girls!!"

Don't you just hear Maurice Chevalier singing those words when you read them??

This may become a personal fave of mine - hope Diane doesn't mind a granddaughter pic that has 6 little visitors in it!! We are happy to have Chloe on board for our granddaughter photo op!

And if Eliza has a girl, then this one will be outdated too, so I figured I'd post it now!

People I Love!

After spending a weekend with Hannah and Robbie, and a Grandma's Sleepover with Eve, I was reminded that we have great kids and wonderful grandkids - and we are truly blessed.

I showed some of the wedding pics at the staff meeting. Comments fit one of three categories: "They are all blond!" or "They all look like you!" or "You are so lucky!"

I try not to forget how blessed we really are. And since this photo will soon be out of date, I thought I would post it now!!