Beware the Ides of March

Our annual Ides of March party was smaller than usual - mostly Terrills or Bolanders - but it was fun and tasty.

 

I didn't even get a sword shot - maybe I need to start assigning a cameraman!!

 

It was warm enough to eat outside - always nice.

 

We introduced Bill and Sandy White to our own March Madness - they seemed to have a good time too!

 

A Combe conflict meant only Jocelyn joined us.  Isn't that alliterative??

Noah says he thinks he's played just about every part - experience that may come in handy!!

I was there - not in any photos - you'll just have to take my word for it!!

The weekend movie and book review!!

So with Esme here for her Grandma's Birthday Weekend, some movie going was in order - and we chose Oz the Great and Powerful - a good choice.  The little china girl is a new fave character of mine!!

 

The reviews got it right - not a great film, but enjoyable and entertaining - a good film if you will.  Not too scary either - I think kids would not have nightmares from it - the girls and Noah gave it 2 or 3 thumbs up.  It's a film I'd put in my personal film library.

 

It's relationship to the Oz books is pretty close.  And James Franco is a fine Oz!

 

The flying monkey is a delightful addition to film lore too!  Give it a look-see soon!

 

Continuing on with my Sandra Dallas Read-A-Thon, just finished this one.  I think it's my fave so far - the main character keeps telling stories to a young woman in the town - and that's how you fill in the back story.  And there is character re-introduced from The Diary of Mattie Spencer - a nice touch.

A reason I'm behind in lots of things - busy reading instead!!  (and these have all been library books - I have not purchased any books this year - only on Kindle.)

A great read!!

As I've mentioned before, once I find an author I like - and can depend on - for example, Secret Life of Bees was great - but the second book was a bust, so that's not an author I can depend on - I often end up reading everything they've written - or at least a fair share of it!

Sandra Dallas is my new favorite author -and Prayers for Sale did not disappoint!!  It takes place during the depression, but includes a story line from the Civil War and the Colorado gold rush.

This was a story full of stories - as told by the protagonist Hennie Comfort - and they were the best stories.  And they served the very useful function of moving the story line along.

A skill indeed!

And a surprise ending!

The one that got away!! (thank goodness!)

Some girlfriends and I were visiting and one shared the very charming story of how her parents met.  And I thought, "I have no idea how my parents met!"  So I decided to ask - and I took notes too!  The above and below photos are of my dad with a girlfriend named Donna.  Apparently they were good friends - and my dad and her mom wanted it to be more than friendship.  

But Donna, in spite of her smiling demeanor, just saw my dad as a friend.  My mom said that all the women in the ward liked Dad - and kind of doted on him.  My mom said, "They all thought of him as this orphan who was so dutifully caring for his younger brothers."  (he wasn't an orphan - his dad was alive) And they thought he'd be good husband material too.

My mom said she met my dad at a dance at the Arlington Ward - which met in the Wilshire Ebell Theater!  She said they were in the same ward, so he knew who she was.  He asked her to dance and apparently liked what he found, because he started asking her out.  But it was kind of a gradual romance.  They dated for a year or more - and then were engaged for about 9 months.

In fact, at first she was not impressed with him.  And her dad thought he drove too fast.  (He had a '33 Ford.) But his perseverance paid off - and there are those of us who are certainly glad it worked out the way it did!!

Funny story - when my youngest sister Donna was born, she was number 11.  I guess my folks had run out of names, because my dad came home from the hospital and asked us for suggestions!  My best friend Marguerite had an older sister named Donna Jean, and I thought she was very cool and sophisticated - so I suggested Donna Jean!

It's the name they chose, and sometimes my mom would assert that my dad had named her after his old girlfriend.  But I always corrected her - I wanted credit for my choice!!

Time, time, always talking about time!!

15 years ago it was New Beginnings.  15 years!  Time almost seems irrelevant to me sometimes.  My counselors were Irene and Tricia - and my secretary was Erin.  We got along well.  We had a great time together.  We had some wonderful activities for the girls.  And we had a great bunch of girls.

I think being Young Women President is the hardest job in the church.  It's harder than being Relief Society president.  It's way harder than being a Nursery Leader or a Cub Scout Den Mother.  

It's hard because you have so many places you have to be - Sunday teaching, weeknight activities, Bishop's Youth firesides, Youth Conference, Girls' Camp, Standards Night, Ward Council, Presidency meetings.

But like a wise woman I know once said, "It's work worth doing."

But I'm sure glad my job now is Stake Cub Master and Ward Emergency Preparedness!!

Latest read -

Not sure why I've been reading so much lately - probably because there are a lot of other things I should be doing.  And during SSR, I have been reading books to my students.  Now I've got them reading to themselves, so I get a few minutes during the day to read - and then when the bell rings at the end of the day, I take another 15 - 20 minutes and read a bit more - kind of a reward for getting through the day!!

This book, The Orchard, caught my eye in Target - but with my new-found resolve to not buy any more physical books, I resisted - and so I got it on Kindle.  The quality of this book is very uneven.  It's called a memoir, but when you read about the life of the author, you can see that she's fictionalized part of it anyway.

It's a compelling story and told well - but at the end it's like she said let's hurry up and finish and it seems rushed.  Too bad - but I notice that lots of modern, current fiction has this same problem.  Not a bad read but I'm glad I don't have a physical copy of it to worry about!

 

Our book group enjoyed Persian Pickle Club so much, we decided to try another book by the same author.  We randomly picked this one - at least I did - I was skimming through lists on my iPad as we were discussing what to read next.  I think it was a good choice - I finished it Saturday - it wasn't so much a page-turner as a book you didn't want to put down - there is something about a pioneer diary that puts life into perspective!

I have a habit of "reading an author" when I find one I like.  I remember in high school checking out every Sinclair Lewis book the library had!!  Did it with Edna Ferber, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and others.  I still do it - in recent years I've gone on an Ann Patchet kick, tried most of the books Anne Tyler has written, and even scoped out C.S. Forester!

Maybe my newest fad is Sandra Dallas - I'm reading Prayers for Sale right now - I'll let you know how it goes!

What's up??

So, the famous skylight in our bedroom is coming to life!!

 

Which means we are living in a state of disarray!!

 

And sleeping in the guestroom.

 

But we're pretty sure it's going to be worth the hassle!

 

We will truly have a "room with a view!"

The things kids say -

I have often been prone to laryngitis - in fact, I have a whopping case of it at the moment.  And this was not a good week to be having a raspy voice.  I had to keep the folks singing at the Blue and Gold Banquet - we are having dinner with good friends tomorrow night - and I was observed today for my yearly teaching evaluation!!

But it reminded me of a time when she was little and Leslie discovered that my voice was indeed gone.  She asked me where it was!  I told her I had laryngitis - and she promptly hollered out, "Barbara has itis gitis!!"

So every time I lose my voice, I remember "itis gitis" and I smile!!

Go for the Blue and Gold!!

Once again it was Blue and Gold Banquet time!!  And no wonder they do it at our building - we have the outdoor basketball court - we live in SoCal so we can do this sort of thing in February!!  Seems like we do spend a lot of time "rounding up" everyone however!!

 

Miss Isla - always willing to pose for me!!

 

Porter - who led his first flag ceremony tonight - he is moving right along in his Cub Scout book!

 

The Stake Primary did the food - chilli dogs and lots of trimmings.

 

Harry and Dawn - supportive Scout parents - the kind we count on!

 

Arcadia Ward made these for their centerpieces - not sure what the names mean - but they were lovely and springlike!

Can I just say that I love my Cub Scout calling??  We sang songs while the boys were divided up into groups - and were given a basket of props - 10 minutes later they had to put on a skit - and they were pretty hilarious!!  I purposely didn't put in anything that looked even remotely like a weapon - but they still made weapons out of them - to foil the bad guys of course!!  

Good food, good singing, good entertainment - a great way to have a really good evening!!

Homecoming!!

Alice and Axel are here for a short visit.

 

Harry and Dawn came over to say hi!  (and enjoy some Clayton Chocolate Chip Cookies!)

 

Of course Mother and Donna joined in the fun.  It was a very nice evening!!

Our family is so large - one drawback is not being able to see everyone as much as you would like.  But we try to enjoy it when we do get to visit.

A read-a-thon of my own!!

 A long weekend invites some serious reading!!  We went to Mammoth Lakes over President's Day weekend, so I took a couple of cd's from my school library for us to listen to while we drove.  They were definitely adolescent fiction, but after a slow start, this one got gripping.  The reviews I read said that it wasn't great literature, but that it would probably capture the reluctant reader.  I agree - and it's been that way in my classroom.  One boy started this, raved about it, so now everyone is reading it.

 

Same was true for the above - a slow start, but then you got pulled in.  These two titles come from the intervention program I teach, so every so often, "Tanya" comes on and explains or asks questions - I thought this would annoy me, but it did not.  And I can see how students would find this helpful.  If you have a reluctant reader in your midst, give them both of these titles.  A group of boys read this together last year in my intervention class and they all talk about it still.

 

Alice and Eliza both said I'd look at my closet differently after I read this book - and they were right.  I think every woman ought to read this - "cheap" fashion has some pretty powerful, negative consequences for our economy - and the way we see ourselves.

 

I had read this about 10 years ago and then it was selected for my book group.  It's a lightweight read - sometimes funny, sometimes poignant, always entertaining.  There is apparently a movie - so I think I will hunt for it!

I need another long weekend already!!

"Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without!"

Unbeknownst to me, Harry had a stash of old ski wear from the late 80s in his storage.  I thought it had all been discarded eons ago. I should have taken a shot of the suitcase he brought it in - it was vintage too!

 

I should have gotten a shot of Bruce too - he was really into the sweaters - wore one to church on Sunday!!

 

In its day, these were very cool duds!!

 

These ladies can carry off the look, that's for sure!!

We had a great time on our weekend in Mammoth.  I don't ski - well, I did once and that was enough!!  But I had fun riding the gondola to Mammoth Village - walking, eating, Facebooking, shopping, crocheting and reading.  Got two books read.  The whole weekend was not spent skiing - we had fun exploring restaurants, playing games, watching movies, and church on Sunday.

A big thank you to Bonny and fam for hosting us in such fine style!!

Be Mine Valentine!!

Pretty sure I post this every year - probably because I don't have any other "Valentine pictures" to post.

This is February 1968.  I went to Woolworths and took my photo in the machine - then posted the strips on pink construction paper - very old school.

Harry and I do not make a very big deal out of Valentine's Day - I used to make cookies and get gifts for the children.  I still send cards to the grandkids.  And this year I went hog-wild and got heart shaped lollypops for my students.

They won't know what to do with themselves!!

Saturday Afternoon Matinee

Ara and I decided to "mix it up" for our Grandma's Birthday Weekend.  Our shopping for Ara's b-day gift was successful and swift, so we decided to take in a movie.  We both wanted to see Life of Pi.  We had both read the book, so that made it even more fun to talk about afterwards.

We both liked it.  In Ara's own words, "Every thing in the movie was from the book, but everything in the book was not in the movie."  They usually can't do that anyway, and we both felt they'd chosen wisely when they transferred the story to the big screen.

We topped off the day with a late lunch at Cafe Merengue and a visit to Grandma Terrill.  Harry's been working all day - we are going to turn in - we can tell him all about it on the ride to Malibu tomorrow.

A nice Saturday - Ara is a great companion!!

Like mother, like daughter!!

Bonny at 18 months or so.

 

Ara at 18 months or so.

Looking forward to my Grandma's Birthday Weekend with Ara!!

Aunt Audrey

This is a photo of my Aunt Audrey.  She was probably my favorite aunt.  I'm not sure why, but she was very kind, quiet, and soft-spoken.

She was married to my dad's brother Ted.  They had four children - Pattie, Peggy, Phyllis, and Jimmy.  Pat was my age, and when I ran into her at BYU, she wondered what I was doing hanging out with Harry Terrill - he'd been the home teaching companion to their family's home teacher - which they called a Ward Teacher back then.

In 1967, after Harry and I got engaged, I would often stay out here in the San Gabriel Valley instead of having Harry drive all the way back and forth - and his folks didn't have a spare room, so I stayed at Audrey's house.  She was a lovely hostess and always made me feel welcome.

Ted and Audrey were divorced at one point, and Ted actually died at a relatively young age, but Audrey never sounded bitter or unkind.  She seemed to take everything life had to offer her in stride.

My most vivid memory of Audrey is an odd one, but it has stayed with me over the years.  They were out at our house once for some kind of family meal.  Audrey was helping dry the dishes.  I was so intrigued with the way she flipped silverware from the towel in her hand  into the drawer as she dried it.  I kept trying to learn how to do it  myself - it took me a few years, but I eventually mastered the skill!!

I also recall going out to visit their family.  They lived in an upstairs apartment, with a landing.  And they had a back porch with a retractable clothesline.  I remember on the way home saying "Pattie and Peggy are so lucky.  They have stairs and a landing and a clothesline you can pull in."  And my mom saying, "Poor Audrey.  All those stairs and having to put up with Byron (my dad's younger brother)  coming over all the time and having to have her wash out there for all the neighbors to see."  Interesting what a difference perspective - and station in life - have on how we see things! 

Audrey died a few years ago.  Alice and I went to visit her one summer - she had moved to Utah to be near her daughters.  And the next summer my mom and I went to visit.  I'm glad I did.  She was just the same lovely person - it's wonderful when you can count on your favorite aunt!!

"A Social Quagmire!

While Phoebe was here, she was visiting with friends and commented that maybe her teacher friends got tired of hearing her go on about what's wrong with schools.

I said, well, I thought you were happy with your schools in Oregon.  And she said she mostly was - she was just not happy with the whole middle school concept - thinks it ought not to start until 7th grade.  I'm sure she thinks that way because Henry is in 6th grade.  (She mentioned the whole "social quagmire!!")

I recall Bonny going to middle school.  I was worried.  I myself had gone to a junior high - 7th, 8th, 9th and a three year high school, and so I thought 6th grade seemed young for leaving elementary.  Bonny was very apprehensive about going - I worried all day her first day there.  But when she breezed in that afternoon asking what was there to eat, I realized that I had been doing most of the worrying that day!!

Our kids all had different experiences in school.  Some better than others.  They appear to have survived them.  But it is a little scary these days.  

But then, I thought it was scary when I sent kids off to school.

And as a middle school teacher, I can tell you that teachers and administrators and counselors are very aware of the pitfalls - and work hard to smooth the path for everyone.

Do some fall through the cracks?  Undoubtedly.  Do we keep trying?  Definite yes.  Is there a good answer?  Probably.

We are working on it!!

Just keep supporting your child and your school and the teachers and administrators.

Thank heaven for little girls - especially my little granddaughters!!

Sweet little Agnes as a baby - wearing the dress her mother wore at her blessing - the one my Grandma Stevens made.

 

Sweet Agnes - a little older, but still my sweet girl!!

 

Sweet Agnes - with the bow and arrow set from Brave - her souvenir choice from her first-ever trip to Disneyland yesterday!!

Carrying on in the fine tradition of Terrill women everywhere!!  (You can change the name, but those Terrill women just don't go away!!)

Fun with Phoebe and Agnes

Phoebe and Agnes are enjoying a day at Disneyland.  We are waiting up for their report.  The day here was balmy and a bit overcast.  Not bad for February 1st!!

Maybe you got photo by phone - it looked like Agnes was in heaven!!

Stay tuned!