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!

On becoming a grandmother

16 years ago today, Harry and I became grandparents for the first time.  I recall how Harry announced in church that Sunday that it would be okay to call me Grandma - that I would be happy to answer to that name now!!

I was working at Wildrose School, and we'd had many calls from Bonny and Bruce as Ara took her time coming!!  It was so great to look up and see Harry heading towards me - I knew he finally had the news we'd been waiting for!!

Bonny and Bruce had not found out the gender, so that was exciting to hear.  And Ara went a few days without a name.  Of course, that's almost a Terrill tradition!!

I went and spent a few days with Bonny, Bruce, and Ara.  They had only been in their new home for a couple of months, so it was fun to discover a new place.  The weather was beautiful as only California Januarys can be, and Ara had some jaundice, so we enjoyed some infant "sunbathing!!"

All of our grandchildren are unique, wonderful children.  But the first grandchild enjoys a special place in the line up - and Ara certainly fills that place with grace and beauty!

"Crowning Glory!!"

I can nearly always find something wrong with my hair.  For one thing, my "natural curl and wave" seems to often thwart my best efforts at style.  Just look at the above jr. high photo, and you'll see what I mean.  My hair still curls and waves like that today!!

I am always trying something different with my hair - I am never content.  Well, for a few years in the early 70's, I wore my hair long and straight - having it long kind of weighed down some of the wave and curl.  I mostly pulled it back into a ponytail anyway.

But when Bonny got married, she suggested that I go to stylist - which I did - and I've been fooling around with my hair ever since!!  I have tried long, short, very short, spiral permed, short and straightened, highlighted, "going gray" - you name it.

I am never happy.  I'm always thinking something will occur to me and it will look way better.  Just to frustrate me I am sure, my hair will sometimes look GREAT on a Saturday when I'm not going anywhere and I'm not going to see anyone!

Currently I'm in a "growing it out" mode.  For a few weeks it was really awful.  If I'd had a hat to wear, I think I would have worn it.  Lately it's not so bad - I even like it some days.

So imagine my surprise when the two women sitting behind me in church - at my mom's ward - caught me afterwards and said, "You have such beautiful hair.  You carry off the "going gray" so beautifully.  If they could bottle that, they'd make a fortune."

I was truly taken aback.  Not because I can't handle a compliment, but because I have truly been unhappy with my hair most of the time.  I thought about it and it came to me what I have always known to be true, and that is that we are usually way too critical of ourselves.  Others see us in a much "softer" light and judge us much less harshly than we do ourselves.  (Although I bet they judge themselves harshly too!!)

Now if someone will just tell me how skinny I am, I may have a vastly improved self-image to contend with!!

Saying good bye to a friend

Dad and I attended the funeral service for Lynn Ipsen on Friday.  Long ago Dad was his home teacher, and later he performed the wedding ceremony for Lynn and Bonnie.  About 11 or 12 years ago, Dad, Harry, Dawn, Hannah, Noah, and I went to the Sierras and rented a cabin for the weekend.  We hiked and fished and played Scrabble as I remember.  That's when I got ink in my mouth!!

On our way home, we stopped to see the Ipsens in Bishop and had lunch with them.  Another connection you can make is that Lynn's family owned Ferraros Juices, that used to have a building on Magnolia.

Before his death, he had requested that everyone promise to not cry at his funeral and to have a great time together.  It was a very upbeat service, and those in attendance seemed to take comfort from the remarks that many shared.

It was a nice way to say good-bye.

How many degrees of separation??

When I bought the LA Master Chorale Messiah Sing Along tickets last year, there was a discount offered for buying tickets for 3 different performances.  I chose the the Brahms German Requiem - little knowing that it came with the West Coast premiere of Peter Lieberson's The World in Flower, a cantata for chorus, mezzo and baritone soloists, and orchestra.

It is a stunning musical performance - the soloists were both Irish, and Harry and I wondered if it gave them some kind of edge!!  (Peter Lieberson died last year at age 64 - truly a loss for the world of music.)

To add to our viewing and listening pleasure, we received a complimentary upgrade in seating - and ended up on the 5th row of the orchestra section.  A treat indeed!

The Brahms was lovely too - just more familiar - some parts are very familiar to me and I loved hearing it again.  The Chorale was outstanding - wonderful choirs are such a joy to listen to!  Grant Gershon, the conductor, is a masterful performer - he has great gusto and enthusiasm - it was delightful to sit so close and see the looks on his face and to hear him singing along with the Chorale!

All of this led to the re-telling of a story to me by Harry - one that I'd better write down before I forget it again.  The story involves Joseph Rosenstock - shown above.  He was a well-known conductor.  One year he was a guest conductor for the Utah Symphony Orchestra and loved Salt Lake City so much, he lived there for awhile after he retired from performing.

Enter our good friend Ronnie Horton - shown here in a goofy photo that is the only good photo I have of him!  Stories about Ronnie abound in our household, but we will not go into those now.  What we will go into is the story he told Harry.  

When Rosenstock was in Salt Lake, Ronnie was able to take lessons in conducting from him.  During one of these lessons they were working on a Brahms piece,  and Rosenstock told Ronnie about an experience he had in Vienna as a young, struggling music student.

He lived in Vienna and one day his mailman found out that he was a musician.  The mailman was older, but he told Rosenstock that when he was a young mailman in Vienna, he had delivered mail to an elderly Johannes Brahms!

So I guess any of you Terrills who ever shook Ronnie's hand can say that you shook the hand that shook the hand that shook the hand that shook the hand of Johannes Brahms!  (I think I have that right - one shook for Ronnie, one for Rosenstock, one for the mailman - you get my drift.)

 

Assuming that the old mailman shook Brahms hand of course!

The Happiest Place on Earth!!

This was a few years ago - for instance, Phoebe and David only have 2 kids in this shot.  But I'm not good with years.  It was the year that we were in charge of the Terrill reunion - and we thought, "Hey, everyone comes to SoCal to go to Disneyland, so let's have the reunion there."

Not a bad premise I suppose.  But no one but us came.  It's tough not to have a good time at Disneyland, especially when you have most of your family with you - not sure where Harry and Dawn were - so it's not like we were all grumpy about it.

But I'm pretty sure this was the last time I was at Disneyland.

Seems like I'm just about the only person I know who doesn't get excited about going to Disneyland.  The older I get, the less inclined I am to enjoy spending large sums of money to go spend the day walking around an amusement park - since I'm not a fan of rides at amusement parks.

But I am totally aware of the joy it brings to others - and I'm happy to support the achievement of that joy.  I have been known to babysit the babies while the others went.  And I've loaned out my car.

Just by way of explaining the above photo!!

Funny the things you remember!

It's funny how a photograph - even one that's not especially clear, focused, or well-composed - can evoke such a string of memories.

This is Phoebe in 1978 - the year before we moved back to California.  We still lived in the Cook Apartments in Centerville.  Shortly after this we moved to our duplex on Main Street and then finally to our new house - only to move out of our house after less than 6 months there!!

Don't you love her Saltwater Sandals??  This was in the hall of our apartment.  Phoebe would walk around picking things up and basically hiding them.  One time Harry F's hardwood handled Fuller Brush hairbrush went missing.  He loved it and was disturbed that it was lost.  I got smart and rifled through the wastebaskets - sure enough, Phoebe had dropped it into one of them.  After we found it the first time, she continued to drop it into other wastebaskets.  If we didn't close the bathroom door, she'd drop it into the toilet!

This little green dress had been a baby gift from a good friend Susan - who only had boys and claimed she didn't know how to shop for frilly clothes!!

The Cook Apartments always make me think about Emergency, the T. V. show - we watched it every day!!

Long ago and far away - but the memories are easily retrieved - thank goodness!

Happy Birthday Hester!!

I'm pretty sure I post this photo every year on Hester's birthday.  So you wouldn't want me to stop now, would you??

 

And we can't do a Kerksiek post without this precious photo!!  Gotta love the hair here!!

 

And I didn't have all night to find a more recent photo of Hester - so here she is with Ida as a newborn.

Hester has always been part of the Terrill family life it seems - and we are so glad for that.  She's a wonderful daughter, sister, aunt, wife, mother, niece, granddaughter and friend.

Happy day to you - and all year through!!

Upcoming events

I can't believe that it's been two years already!!  Axel comes home next month!  Where has the time gone?

I am pretty sure it's gone by at the rate of 60 minutes per hour, 24 hours per day, but it still seems fast.

The exciting thing is, Axel and Alice are coming to LA to visit my mom - and anyone else who wants to visit them I am sure.

I'm excited for them to come.  I remember another much-longer ago time when Alice, Dale and family - before Axel was born - before Hester, Hannah and Maddy were born too for that matter - came to LA in February.

It rained every day. Started the day they came, ended the day they left.

That could happen again.  But it won't matter.

Over the years we've learned what's important in a visit.

It's the visit!!