What else can happen??

Hannah posted on Facebook that this was "the week from Hell" for some of us Terrills.  It has been a week of events we could have lived without!

In retrospect, some of the events are more unsettling than others, some have a more lasting impact on our lives than others, and some might just be annoying when you examine them closely.  But put them all together, and it's just more than we really wanted to deal with!

For me it started on Friday when my mom had a little spell and had to be hospitalized for a few hours.  Harry was leaving that day for Boston, I had funeral for a good friend to attend, and of course, there's always school and other commitments!  I made arrangements to go out to my mom's to support Mom and Donna, and spent Saturday and Sunday there.  (Mom is doing fine - age can bring some little blips to our daily lives, and she pretty much takes them in stride.)

Monday I was busy teaching and managing my classes when a note came to report to the principal's office.  I thought maybe I'd made some huge error!  Instead, my principal said, "There's been a bomb explosion at the finish line.  You can use my office and my phone for as long as you need to."  Just then my phone rang - it was Harry!!  (Wanting me to contact Eliza as to where to meet him!)

In retrospect, I never had the time to "worry" about Harry since I heard from him right away.  But thinking back on what "might have been" has been nerve-wracking enough!  I heard from Eliza right away too, so I knew she and her family were okay, but the "what might have been" was at play here too.  It was good to visit with her that night and know that she was safely out of the city!

Harry got home safely, but promptly became "under the weather" with coughing and sore throat.  A planned night out Friday was cancelled, and we ended up sitting in front of the TV Friday night to watch the conclusion to the capture of the Boston suspect.  We were both feeling bad that Eliza's birthday had once again been co-opted by terrorist activity!

Then  I came home from Mom's today to encounter a sky full of smoke and flame!! 

The Monrovia brush fire is "close" to us - we are in its path anyway.  We weren't sure what we should do first.  We found out sources to tell us what was really going on, and we listened to the water-dropping planes go back and forth across our house.  We finally decided to be ready to leave - I started going through shelves and boxes and setting aside "the things money can't buy" to quote Esme!  Harry wanted to run our things down to his shop, but then we found out that the police wouldn't let us back in if we left.

So we sit here, waiting, with boxes packed, paintings leaning against walls with blankets to cushion their ride, and clothes and supplies for a few days at the ready.

As the ward Emergency Preparedness person, I write monthly newsletter articles about being prepared!!  It's easy to make the lists and give the instructions.  It is quite another thing to look at all your "stuff" and try to decide what should go with you!!

I am now truly committed to getting my "stuff" in order!  I want to be able to quickly know and get hold of just what is truly important - just what it is that "money can't buy!!'

And I hope next week is way better than this week!!  

(I should do another post of all the blessings of last week though, shouldn't I??)

A Happy Friday!

6th period the attendance office manager came to my room with a bouquet of flowers.  She said they were for me.  I said, "I wonder who it's from?"  So Mrs. Bautista said, "Well, open the card so I know who it's from!"  The students seemed intrigued too.

I read the card out loud, "Dear Mom, Thanks for having me.  Love, Eliza"

What a sweet gesture!!  Made my day.  And Mrs. Bautista was impressed - as were my students.

You know what they say, "Say it with flowers!"

 

 

Reading, reading and more reading!!

Just finished this one - Ivan Doig is my new fave author.  This story begins in Scotland in 1889 - and ends in Montana in the 1920s.  The story is full of twists and turns and lots of historical events.  The picture it paints of a friendship gone bad is tragic indeed.  The scope is far-reaching, but the story is small and intimate.  Some have compared Ivan Doig to Wallace Stegner and William Faulkner.  The comparisons are somewhat apt.

But I'm a little frustrated.  This title is actually number two in his Montana Trilogy - number one is English Creek.    I made a resolution this year to not buy any more books.  Only Kindle and the library.

Number one is not on Kindle.  Not on iBooks.  Not at the used book store.  Not at the library.

I will solve the problem - never fear!!

Labor of Love

My Grandma Stevens was a knitter and a crocheter.  I remember getting cable-knit cardigans from her that kept us warm all winter!!  She also crocheted a lovely blessing dress for Bonny when she was born - we treasure it still.  Phoebe wore it for her blessing - as did Agnes and Bonny's girls.

Years later, my mom came across the dress that Grandma had crocheted for me to be blessed in.  It looked pretty hammered - ripped, stained, and unraveling in places.  I was not to be thwarted, however, and made it a project to resurrect the dress!!  And resurrect it I did, as you can see from the photo below, of Eliza wearing the dress.  Hannah also wore it, as did Ida and others.

A few years ago, actually maybe 20, my mom gave me an old bedspread that Grandma had crocheted in the early 40's or late 30's.  It was ripped and stained also.  I remembered it being on my grandparents' bed and was pretty sure it was salvageable.  But I just put it away instead of getting right to work on it.

Recently I came across it again - and this time I got right to work.  The top photo shows me working on it Saturday night.  I have found a cleaners I trust, and I am taking it there tomorrow to get it cleaned.  I was at my mom's, and I would spread it out on the floor so we could spot the errors - as I did the big ones, the little ones sometimes got away from us!  It was fun to talk about Grandma Stevens and all the other projects she'd worked on over her many years as a wonderful needle woman.

Too bad I didn't get interested in crocheting myself until it was too late to have Grandma teach me anything about it.  I would have loved to discuss patterns and techniques with her.

But at least I learned to crochet!!

I probably post this every year at General Conference time - but it's not like I have an album full of General Conference photos!  (This was 1963 - my first time ever at Temple Square for conference!)

Anyway, I always enjoy Conference - and this year was no exception.  I sit and sometimes doze off.  Some years I stand and get all my tablecloths and cloth napkins ironed, but I wasn't feeling that energetic this time!!

I tried to keep my hands busy crocheting so I'd be less inclined to nod off  - and it worked pretty well.  (And I completed one pot holder too!)

I usually have to re-read the talks - or re-listen to them - it's a lot to take in all at once.  I loved seeing women give opening and closing prayers.  I loved hearing the Tab Choir - but did not like their pink dresses.  I wonder who their fashion consultant is?  (Is saying that blasphemous??)

Top marks to Elder Holland - I can't quote lines from his talk - but the feeling it gave me is still with me - so I will go look up and memorize the lines!!  (I still remember vividly Elder Bruce R. McConkie, in 1985, saying that even when he saw the Savior - and he knew it would be soon - he would not know it anymore than he did right now that he was the Christ - and the Savior of mankind.)

And President Monson!  Has there ever been a prophet who was quite as expressive as Thomas S??

Thanks be to God for Prophets - and General Conference!!

A little Spring Break read-a-thon!!

I managed to read three pretty good novels during my spring break.  Having two 5 hour flights helped!!

This one is my book group pick - and it is quite good.  I had never heard of the book or the author, but I like his style!!  And the plotline was pretty lively - and there was a nice twist at the end.  Give it a go - I think I will check out some of his other books.  An overarching theme is education - but it's not pedantic at all.

In addition to True Sisters, my spring break picks included one more Sandra Dallas novel.  This one was a little more "pat" - predictable.  But it was a great airplane read - and when you have a 5 hour flight to kill - a great airplane read is what you need!  Although it took place in 1933, it felt much more "current" - maybe things were like that in the 30s, but that kind of kept it a little out of sync for me.

I think I have one more to read - and then I will have read all ten of her novels!!  I like her style, so I may try out one of her non-fiction books too.

Another book to check off the list!!

My flight to DC was delayed by over an hour - and I had gotten there and hour and a half early anyway - so I was totally able to finish a book!!  The book in question was True Sisters by Sandra Dallas - number 8 of her 10 novels that it looks like I will finish - and it was a good read - compelling enough to keep me awake on a red-eye flight!!

The story is a novelization of the experiences of several women on the ill-fated Martin Handcart journey to the Salt Lake Valley.  I'm not sure how I feel about some elements in the story.  It was somewhat harsh in its condemnations of the actions of some of the men leading the trek.  The auther is not LDS, but she is not unsympatetic, and her issue is not with the gospel but with the men overseeing the journey.

There is one wife who is not LDS, and she is opposed to going, but she goes anyway.  She holds her self aloof from the other women at first, but she comes to appreciate their love and concern for her and her family.  One of the themes is the inherent sisterhood of women - regardless of religious beliefs - or non-beliefs.

If anyone else has read it, I'd love to get your response.

More Sunday night at the movies!!

I remember as a kid loving the old copies of the Saturday Evening Post that we'd get from my Grandma Stevens.  Apparently this movie was taken from a story in the magazine.  I used to read the stories, but I must have skipped the westerns.

Well, I probably could have skipped this movie too.  Some old westerns are true gems - and others - except for the chance to gaze once more into the handsome face of the tortured Montgomery Clift - like this one - are best left in the archives.

We need to find a new category to pursue.  Maybe Fred Astaire dancing movies!!  At least you could hum along!!

What's a Saturday for, if not to read??

When I read the last Jacqueline Winspear Maisie Dobbs novel, I said, "Well, these are getting a little too boring for my taste.  Maybe I won't read the next one."  Then Amazon sent me a chance to pre-order.  So I did - but on Kindle - I'm keeping to my resolve not to buy any "books" this year - there are far too many taking over our lives already.

And Spring Break started yesterday.  And the library has no more Sandra Dallas novels for me to read - guess I will have to go hunting - so I started Maisie Dobbs - and spent today reading it!!

There is something to be said for a lazy Saturday spent reading.  And it's all good.

The story was compelling - at least I wanted to find out "who done it!"

So I did.  Maybe the fact that the story involves Indian immigrants to London and the whispers of war that are starting to swirl around made it more compelling this time.  But the weaknesses remain - stilted dialogue, excessive description that does not advance the story and isn't especially poetic or literary, and rather predictable plot lines - except for the criminals.

But I bet I read the next one too!

Just finished -

So, I just finished my 7th Sandra Dallas novel - and found out it was her first! Mighty auspicious start, I must say.  The reviews said it best - the strength is not in the story - the plot lines are old and hackneyed - but in the characters, the dialogue, and recreation of a time past.

It is quite different from her other books.  I have noticed that some of them - those that deal with the boom-town Gold Rush days of Colorado - seem very similar in tone and depiction.  The others just seem to be a little life unto themselves.  I like both kinds!!

She has 10 novels and 7 non-fiction works.  So I still have more to read.  But I'm taking a little detour with my book group pick and the new latest Maisie Dobbs!

But you just might enjoy reading about Buster Midnight and the Unholy Three!

Marching along on the reading front!

Can you tell that I'm reading instead of doing other chores??  Just finished the latest on my Sandra Dallas list.  This story is set in 1942 - and involves a Japanese internment camp in Colorado.  The information is based on historical facts, but it's a novel - in fact, the library has it in the Young Adult Fiction section.  Not sure why - maybe because the narrator is a 13 year old girl.

Reading about this time period is enlightening.  According to data, generally speaking the camps were not hotbeds of dissent, and the surrounding towns seemed to get along fine with the internees.  But this was not true of the Colorado camp, and no one seems especially sure why this was.

The story is well-told, and the suspense is actually suspenseful!!  You might like it. Let me know if you do.

If you enjoy getting your history from novels - like I do - you might also enjoy Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet and Bat 6.

Is there a theme here??

H. and I have a new hobby - watching old westerns!  I was about ready to give it up though - until last night when we watched High Noon.  I had forgotten what a fine film it was - so tense, so finely drawn, so gripping - and I even knew how it ended - but that didn't diminish the suspense.

There's a lot of history too - lots of drama from the McCarthy era spilled over into the making and marketing of this film.  At least time has turned that response around and the world does indeed know what a gem this is.

I am moving right along with my Sandra Dallas list of books that I love to read!!  Most of them take place in the Colorado Gold Rush West - so it goes right along with the movie theme!!  The Chili Queen is a pretty good "whodunit" too - and I love how she weaves characters and events from other stories into the ones I am reading - better than a sequel because you never know when an old face will pop up!!  This one had a "surprise" ending - and even though I read the last page first, I still couldn't figure it out until I'd read the last sentence!!  That takes some skill!

I remember seeing Shane as a teen - and liking it a lot.  Not sure why now - it does have a good story line - and some "high drama" too.  But it seems so dated.  Whereas High Noon - a film that is of the same vintage - seemed as current as ever.  

Not sure what our next flick will be - I voting for Red River - because it has Montgomery Clift - a heart throb from my era!!

And Harry is working late tonight - so I guess I will go back to my next Sandra Dallas novel, Tallgrass.  So far, it's pretty good.

Another great Sandra Dallas read!!

I am well into my Sandra Dallas read-a-thon - Persian Pickle Club, Whiter Than Snow, Prayers For Sale, Diary of Mattie Spencer - and now Alice's Tulips!! 

I will say this - so far none have disappointed.  A couple of them have been "slow starters" and I was wondering if the bloom was off the rose.  But the author has come through every time.

This one is an epistolary novel - a tricky format because sometimes you want more than the letters can reveal.  But in this case, there are enough details to get you through the process.

As a veteran letter-writer however, I'm not sure anyone could really write such detailed letters - especially a mid-west farmer's wife!!

But we don't call it "the willing suspension of disbelief" for nothing!!

 

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!"