Month of Gratitude - Day 9

Grateful for Terrill grandkids - there are 23 now - and at this moment, there is not a current photo.

Back when there were 8 grandkids!

It's a never-ending quest to have a current photo, with all the grandkids, all with a pleasant expression and facing in the same direction!

We love these great kids - and count them among the most treasured blessings in our lives!

Month of Gratitude Day 8: We love that Noah!!

Oh, that cute Noah - we are go glad he is part of our family! He loves to perform - always has, probably always will!

He completes our family - and we are grateful he came to our home!

Month of Gratitude - Day 7

Oh that cute Hannah! She has always been one to not let stuff get in her way.  She learned to crawl in spite of casts for 6 months to correct her club feet. And she didn't let the crazy brace she had to wear at night interfere with sleeping!

She continues to learn and grow and explore and find new options - she is an inspiration - so grateful she is a member of our family!

Gratitude - Day 6

So grateful for Eliza - such a blessing in our lives.

I vividly recall when she got out of the house once - and walked to the middle of Hillcrest - she was about 18 months old! Someone brought her back to our house - we had not noticed she was gone - I think I thought she was in the back yard playing.

They knew where to bring her because she had a Medic Alert bracelet.  And she had a Medic Alert bracelet because I was in charge of the PTA Medic Alert bracelet sale at the kids' school!

(We had a foster son who was living with us - and not particularly adjusting well - and he had opened the front door!)

So grateful she survived all that!!

She makes our family better and brighter just by being who she is!!

Gratitude - day 5

There are 5 years between Harry and Phoebe - and those seemed like a long 5 years. The children kept asking for a brother or sister - and didn't understand why we weren't heeding their request.

One Family Home Evening, we talked about how much we wanted another child and suggested that we fast and pray about it. Bonny and Harry were young, but they wanted to do it. And so we had a special Fast Sunday and prayed specifically for a new baby - and lo and behold, the next month I got pregnant with Phoebe!

Bonny and Harry were not as surprised as we were - they had expected their prayers to be answered!

At one point before this action, Bonny had told several people in the ward that we were having a baby - I think in her young mind she thought that if she told that to people, I'd make sure it happened. When we told them we were indeed having a new baby, we told Bonny she could be the one to announce it at church.  Imagine her chagrin when no one believed her!

Phoebe - whose name means light - is indeed a light in our family!

Gratitude - days 3 and 4

Bonny and Harry - kids one and two - and just them until Phoebe came - and there were good times.

 

Mostly the Rock House years in Centerville come to mind - lots of adventures.

 

They were both small enough that many of the memories are vague for them - Harry and I try to keep them alive - but they were lovely, special years and we are grateful for them.

Gratitude - days one and two!

Grateful for loving parents and a houseful of siblings. Can't say I always appreciated my parents or my siblings - but I do now!

A blessing indeed!

 

Grateful that I went to BYU and found the man of my dreams - even if I didn't know it at the time!!

It's been a wonderful 52 years and looking forward to forever!

Halloween!

Halloween has a place in the Terrill annals - some years it has been more prominent than others though!

The year we moved to Monrovia, Bonny wanted to be Miss America, Harry wanted to be Luke Skywalker, and Phoebe just loved dressing up.

And it all came out pretty well!

 

And many years later, Star Wars was still on the list for preferred costumes - Henry as a young Luke is charming also - just like his Uncle Harry!

Wonder what this year will bring??

"Try to remember the kind of September . . ."

There is an old song - "Try to Remember" - that came to mind today. I thought about it being September 1st - and all that means - and used to mean.

It usually means back to school, end of summer.

 

54 years ago it meant staying home a semester from BYU to save up to go to France for a Study Abroad. Such a great time in my life. Lots of good memories.

Lots of birthdays - Helen and Eve share one.

 

Harry shares his day with about 8 other people we know! Must be a good day.

 

Ella shares a bday with our good friend Sue Cornwall! 

 

And Taylor's is the day before

Summer may be over, but it's still hot. But the days are shorter.

The focus changes even as the leaves do - albeit much more slowly in SoCal than they do elsewhere.

It's time to think about holidays - Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years.

"Try to remember the kind of September

When life was slow and oh so mellow.

Try to remember the kind of September

When grass was green and grain was yellow.

Try to remember the kind of September

When you were a tender and callow fellow.

Try to remember and if you remember

then follow

follow."

A little summertime reflection!

Found these funny "driving" photos - and have thought about how the grandchildren seem to grow up faster every year.

 

Then I recall that the years flew by with their moms and dads too!

 

Once I said, "The years seem to go by faster every year." And wise Ella said, "Well, maybe that's because there is more behind you than in front of you."

Now there is some food for thought!

Latest read -

I have been spending most of my reading hours on Deborah Crombie novels - and have barreled through 13 of the 14 - but need to save the last one for my plane ride to Virginia next month! (Since her next book does not debut until October!)

Got this from Phoebe when I was there recently - started it but got sidetracked. So I picked it up again and quite enjoyed it.

Somehow stories about people with personality disorders can get tedious at times - but this author was able to create a believable environment that only got tedious a time or two!

At first I thought it was about a young woman on the spectrum - and much of her behavior mimics spectrum behavior - but there is a deeper and more compelling story that emerges.

And I won't say any more in case you plan to read it.

It's a good read - and would work for an airplane ride too!

Reunion time!

We do a Clayton reunion every other year - and this is the year!

Every year I say I'm not going to be in charge the next time. And then I'm in charge the next time!

Fewer and fewer people come every year - and some key players will not be available this year.  So I put it out there on social media that maybe I would not do it.  And of course got lots of "Yes we are coming this year" kind of replies.

I guess we will see.

Reading, reading, always reading!

I have a penchant for series of books.  I loved the Hornblower series, the Poldark series, as a kid I loved the Little House on the Prairie books, as a teen I also had a penchant for trying to read every book one author had written - and I have read all of Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Sinclair Lewis, Edna Ferber, and John Grisham.

Upon reflection, some of these don't seem particularly literarily upscale - if you follow my drift. But I think the continuity appeals to me - it's like the people become real, the places seem to be someplace I can see in my mind's eye, and I like that the story doesn't end!

Right now I am absorbed in the Deborah Crombie murder mysteries - Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James - detectives extraordinaire - and very British.

Maybe it's because I've been traveling and good "airplane fiction" can be hard to find.

But if you love a good detective team, give these a try.

And I feel the same way about listening to Louis L'Amour novels when we take road trips!

Where did April go?

I have truly gotten behind in blogging - posting on two blogs can be a problem!

I have read some good books - which I neglected to post - and have been whiling away the hours with the compelling murder mystery.  I have actually never been a real murder mystery fan - and now I think I know why - they eat up too much time! They are interesting, compelling, and all-together too time-consuming.

But it's May - and I need to start devoting time to memorizing the DMV handbook so I can pass the written test this month!

And the Easter photo is a homage to April!!

"There is no frigate like a book . . ."

Since 2019 began, I have been reading a lot - and posting very little!  For one thing, I read the entire series of Inspector Gamache books by Louise Penny - all 14 of them! (actually I read the last 6 in 2019 - the first 8 in 2018) I will not review them separately, but I will say that they make a lovely list of books to have at your bedside! (Literally or figuratively!)  Everyone I have recommended them to has loved them - and I have discovered that many, many other people have discovered them without me! A big thank you to Phoebe for persisting in encouraging me to read them!

I picked up Under the Wide and Starry Sky at the Book Rack in the dollar bin.  The woman wrote Loving Frank, a fictionalized bio of Frank Lloyd Wright, and I thought this might be a good way to learn about Robert Louis Stevenson. And it was. But like Loving Frank, it is not great literature, and even drags in places.

 

One of my home/hospital students needs to read this, so I read it too. I didn't think I read it, but passages seemed very familiar - perhaps they have been quotes somewhere. 

It is a compelling piece of holocaust writing - but very spare. Seems like a good place to start - thus it seems appropriate for students.

 

Hannah recommended this - and it is excellent! I would like to see this book become compulsory reading for high school students - everyone needs to know the true story of slavery in America - and this book goes a long way towards achieving such a goal.

 

Found this in the dollar bin too - and thought that maybe short stories would be good for our book group to tackle - and these were enjoyable but not exceptional - and would need to be discussed as a body - thus it wouldn't be a shorter assignment.

There are a good example of female, Southern, regional fiction - in case you cared.

Also read The Word Is Murder by Anthony Horowitz - a pretty good murder mystery, but I am actually a little tired of murder mysteries. The author has written the screenplays for the BBC production Endeavor - which I love!

Also read Unshattered by Carole Decker - about a woman who contracts sepsis after an emergency c-section and loses her lower legs, her left hand and her vision! It is a good read.

So now I'm caught up. 

And I need to choose a book for book group for next month.

And where did January and February go??

Well, if I post nothing else this month - and it's highly likely that it might come to that - we will at least have noted the Ides of March! Originally done way back when - as in when we lived in Butterfield Arms in Salt Lake City in 1973!!

Ronnie Horton's birthday is the Ides of March - and so we decided to celebrate by re-enacting the assassination of Julius Caeser. 

And thus a tradition was born!

 

We used to have an Ides of March party every year - the guest list grew - and shrank - and grew again.

 

Some years it was an extended FHE activity.

 

And there are lots of stories to tell about how kids and grandkids reacted to the activity.  My favorite is the year Dawn came when she and Harry were just engaged.  After we finished, she said, "That was short - I thought it was much longer."

She had assumed we would be doing the whole play!! (We have long had an abridged version we use.) 

I was impressed that she had come willing to do the whole thing!!

 

Soon it got to be too much - for lots of reasons - and so we don't do it anymore.

But we love the memories!

marching forth

There are almost no Terrill birthdays in March - in fact, until Noah married Taylor, who brought along Keesa - for which we are grateful - there were none - but now we do have Keesa to celebrate.

 But we also have Pi Day - and except for the fact that I am committed to losing 20 pounds - mostly for health reasons - I really feel bad about baking a pie to celebrate.  Although for the last several months, when I have made a lemon meringue pie - actually the only kind I make - I have given it away - and contented myself with licking the pan. 

That may again suffice. 

When you retire, the pool of people who celebrate Pi Day shrinks considerably.

 

And the Terrills used to be famous for celebrating the Ides of March -  with a lavish dramatic production - here, here! But we no longer do that either. For lots of reasons - one of the major ones being that it got too big for our house - and I wasn't up for managing a larger venue.

So we content ourselves with fond memories and FB posts with old photos!

 

Not being a teacher usually means I don't think about celebrating St. Patrick's Day either - but I do send cards - of course. And I have a nephew with a birthday that day - and it's on a Sunday this year - so maybe I will wear green - I did buy a fun St. Patrick's day scarf - I can wear that.

 

Arrghh - Jury Duty occurs with maddening frequency - this is in Alhambra though - so maybe won't be too bad. I will let you know. And I do believe in participatory government - so I need to put my money where my mouth is!

 

I have not flown a kite in a gazillion years - perhaps it will be windy.  Perhaps we will think of doing it. Or perhaps not!

 

And it's good to look forward to Easter!

 

And General Conference.

Not too bad after all!

56 years ago at this time!

So, 56 years ago at this time, I was a recent high school grad who was working at Century Records Manufacturing in Saugus, CA.  It was a job - and actually an interesting.  I was the expediter at a plant that manufactured phonograph records. 

LA Unified used to graduate students each semester - and I was a January grad. I had been accepted at BYU, but not until September. In retrospect, I'm not sure why I didn't consider going up mid-year. Probably I couldn't afford to. I had a scholarship but needed housing and eating money.

Some time I ought to blog about my experiences at Century Records - before they had a name for it, I was the victim of sexual harassment - but I didn't even tell anyone - I assumed it was the way life was.

My education wasn't only at school!

Where did December go?

Somehow December came and went - with nary a post for birthdays or Christmas or wedding anniversaries. What is this world coming to?

I did have everyone here for the holidays.

I did read a number of Inspector Gamache novels.

I did celebrate said birthdsays, Christmas, and anniversaries.

And I kept up with the laundry and sanitizing the bathrooms daily when everyone was here.

And no one got sick.

We can hope for more in January.

And does anyone even read this blog?

November is over - almost!

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

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

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

So are we, actually!

What's in a name?

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

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

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

Kind of behind!

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

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

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

Grateful - yes!

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

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

But I do love an outing to the beach!

A little nature goes a long way!

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

A Terrill Treasure!

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

Gratitude - every day!

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

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

Another day of gratitude

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