The Governale Gang

Glimpses and Thankfuls 02-08 Jan 2012

2012-01-08T08:37:00.000-05:00

Monday 02 Jan 2012

Well, the weekend was as wonderful as I had hoped. All of the children and grandchildren and even their friends were around. We had fresh Maine lobster for the New Year’s Eve celebration and tons of spaghetti on Sunday with lots of cake and ice cream. We sang around the piano, they played laser tag, we talked and laughed and just enjoyed each other’s company. Mike and Sarah are in the air on their way back to Ft. Campbell. Sofie's family will visit one more time tonight before heading north to drive home through Montreal. I guess we will be having Eliza and her husband and three children moving in until spring – so our house will not be quiet for a few months. I think I can handle that.

This morning I am so tired but happy. I am thankful for lots of kids and grandkids in the house yesterday and for the noisiness of people enjoying each other's company. I am thankful for Marge for taking family pictures and sorry that Eliza's family couldn't be there but thankful for Photoshop as we will try to Photoshop them in. I am thankful to have been sitting in Relief Society surrounded by my daughter and two daughters-in-law and to feel their love and hear their beautiful voices. I am thankful for John and the many pounds of spaghetti he cooked to feed us all. I am thankful for the 19 people crammed into my house when we opened presents and celebrated the birthdays, anniversary, and late Christmas. I am thankful for an adorable little girl who kept climbing on my lap to talk to me and to kiss and hug me. I am thankful for the time around the piano, with Sofie playing and all who wanted to singing. Les Miserable and the hymns from the hymnbook have never sounded so good. I told John that it is worth it to have that big piano taking up so much space in our house just for the once or twice a year when Sofie is home and can play it. I am thankful for the Arabic song that Sarah sang to us and even thankful that Dante was so touched by it that he burst into uncontrollable sobs. I am thankful for Netflix which brings preschool shows into our home with a few clicks. I am thankful for the quiet when everyone went home and that John and I were able to read the 1st chapter of the Book of Mormon, memorize the synopsis of 1 Nephi 1 and have a prayer and watch an episode of Castle together. I am thankful that Mike and Sarah are at the airport and wish them a safe flight home. I am thankful to be able to see Sofie and family one more time tonight before they head back to Michigan. I am thankful that when the house was so hot that we were all suffocating yesterday and we thought that it was because there were so many people in it and it was relatively mild out, that someone thought to check the thermostat and discovered that someone had turned it up to 90. I am thankful for the first Monday of 2012. Bring it on!

Tuesday 03 Jan 2012

The holidays are over and now back to the routine. There is comfort in routine. School starts again today and vacation is over. It is very cold today, about 18 degrees, but there is no snow on the ground. It doesn’t seem like January, just a cold sunny day.

I am thankful to have taught seminary today and hopefully will get back into the routine quickly. I am thankful that Kaleb washed the kitchen cupboard doors and mopped the floors yesterday. I am thankful to be warm and hope that our oil will last the week. I am thankful for scripture study yesterday and that Kaleb and Dante joined us. I am thankful to have taken a few minutes and changed my blog background. I am thankful that Sofie and Dave stopped in for last minute hugs before going back home. I am thankful that Mike and Sarah made it safely back home. I am thankful to be so blessed.

Wednesday 04 Jan 2012

It is pretty cold in Maine today, 3 degrees right now. It is suppose to be in the 20s – I guess that will feel warm by comparison. My early morning class went well this morning and I just had a peanut butter sandwich for breakfast (fast and easy to fix and I can eat it while I type). Yesterday Eliza and I watched an episode of Bones. Life is not very exciting right now – that is OK.

I am thankful for warm. I am thankful that my husband is driving the girls to school. I thankful for delicious soup made by Eliza for supper last night. I am thankful for scripture study with my husband last night. I am thankful for the 1st chapter of Joshua and the counsel by the Lord to be strong and of a good courage. I am thankful for the song "I'm Trying to Be Like Jesus" sung by David Archuleta. I am thankful for sleep and the way it rejuvenates me. I am thankful for a comfortable chair and a warm army blanket. I am thankful that I got to cross several things off my list yesterday. I am thankful that the car started this morning.

Thursday 05 Jan 2012

My treatment was cancelled yesterday because a piece of equipment needed repair. Even though I will need to make up the day, like a snow day, I really enjoyed a day off in the middle of the week. I am giving up my sewing room temporarily so that my grandsons can have a bedroom and I started packing it up yesterday. Today I will try to rearrange the office so that I can move my sewing machine and things in there. It is suppose to hit 30 degrees today – that is a nice thought.

I am thankful that they had some equipment problems yesterday and cancelled my treatment - I know, I know, that is very shortsighted, just like a school kid because that treatment will be tacked on at the end.. But it was exactly what I needed yesterday- to stay home. I am thankful for cheeseburgers for supper (again, just like a kid). Cheeseburgers always taste amazing. I am thankful to have been able to work a couple of hours packing in the sewing room getting ready to convert that room into a bedroom for the three grandsons. Today I hope to be able to rearrange my office to become an office/sewing room. I am thankful for mornings -when I feel the very best of the whole day- even though I can feel some deep-rooted fatigue even when I just get up. It is as if the tiredness is deep down inside me and can't be touched, even by hours of sleep. And now, when I yawn it seems that I cannot yawn deep enough or often enough to release that tired feeling. Very strange. I am thankful to be teaching a seminary lesson on part of the book of Joshua in the Old Testament. We will focus on some of the miracles in that book (parting the Jordan River and bringing down the walls of Jericho by shouting) and then relate that to the miracles that God can perform in our own lives (such as helping us to change bad habits or giving us strength to resist temptations). I hope that I can be a good enough facilitator that the Spirit can witness to us all of the truthfulness of these things. Enjoy your day and remember to be thankful.

Friday 06 Jan 2012

I came home from treatment yesterday to find Danny and Jamie here visiting. That was a nice treat. I did manage to work, do some laundry, clean up the kitchen, and make a sizable dent in the reorganization of the office before retiring to LaLa Land.

Well, it is Friday. Thankful! All three girls came to seminary. Thankful! Tacos for supper. Thankful! Progress in organization of office. Thankful! Oil delivery today. Thankful! Husband got his I-pod Touch. Thankful! Keith Carson weather report this morning. Thankful! Still hopeful. Thankful!

Saturday 07 Jan 2012

I am always so worn out by Friday night. I did manage to work on the reorganizing the office into an office/sewing room project for a couple of hours in the afternoon. Then I am a little ashamed to admit that I watched two episodes of Bones and finished a great miniseries called The Shiralee. This morning I am plagued with feeling of “Of all the words of mice and men, the saddest are, "It might have been.” (Kurt Vonnegut) But I will try to put yesterday behind me and all thoughts of what I might have done instead of watching 3 ½ hours of TV, and try for more productivity today.

I am thankful this morning for two days ahead of me with no treatment. I am thankful for the hope that I might finish getting the sewing room moved into my office. I am thankful that John and Eliza and finished watching "The Shiralee" last night and for the recommendation by a good friend to go see "We Bought A Zoo". Maybe we can work that in this week. I am thankful that the oil man came at 10 o'clock yesterday morning. We are usually a late afternoon delivery. While waiting to hand him the check I was thinking how wonderful it was that he came early because we we praying that our oil would last until we could get more and then, I thought, duh!, I WAS PRAYING that our oil would last until we could get more!! I am thankful that Heavenly Father answers prayers even when I sometimes don't recognize it as an answer.

Sunday 08 Jan 2012

I am thankful for all the planning and work that went into the Relief Society Meeting yesterday morning and especially for the class on chair yoga by Amy Lilly. The breakfast was wonderful (who can resist lemon poppy seed muffins and a fruit salad?) and all classes were uplifting. I am thankful for the hours I was able to spend in the office rearranging and for Kaleb's help. I am thankful for my husband who always remembers to try rebooting whenever we are having electronics troubles because I never remember to. I am thankful for a BLT for supper and for an episode of Bones with Eliza last night. I am thankful for another week posted on the blog even though I still have several more to be caught up. I am thankful for some wonderful photos that Sofie posted yesterday, mostly of their vacation here. I am thankful for tweaked perspective. I am thankful that Joe and Dvorah had another successful 'gig' with their Laser Tag business. I am thankful for the message from President Monson in the January message of the Ensign. It was exactly what I needed to hear yesterday.

Glimpses and Thankfuls 26 Dec-01 Jan 2012

2012-01-08T08:10:00.001-05:00

Monday 26 Dec 2012

Words are inadequate to express how wonderful the weekend was. I was totally amazed at 8:30 on Saturday night to realize that everything was finished and wrapped and ready for our Christmas the next day. I am pretty sure that this is a record for me. We are having another Christmas and two birthdays celebration next Sunday when all of my children and grandchildren will be home. I am not all ready for that yet…but close. The meeting at church was powerful, the food that my sister fixed was delicious, gifts were opened and enjoyed by all. It was an amazing time.

There is so much to be thankful for today. The program at church yesterday was so powerful. I am thankful for all who took part in it and especially for my husband who sang one of my favorite songs (The Greatest Gift) so beautifully. I am especially thankful because I know that he didn't want to do it. It was the perfect ending to the program. An interesting note: he didn't want to do it so much, that he had started writing an original song to perform instead. A number of days ago he started looking for a missing steno pad and he literally tore the house apart but couldn't find it. He found it at church yesterday. The song he had started writing was in that steno pad and he couldn't remember enough of what he had written to finish it. This is such a testimony to me of how important it was for that particular song to be sung at the closing of the program. I am also thankful for the wonderful brunch that my sister prepared for us. When we arrived after church it was ready to eat: blueberry pancakes, strawberries, melon, blueberries, grapes, a sausage breakfast casserole, fruit filled danish, and orange juice. It was delicious. I am wondering if I could hire her to have lunch ready every Sunday when we get home from church. :) I am thankful for the calm and quiet unwrapping of the tree - we had no little kids there. Actually it was the first time in 31 years when there was no little ones and the wonderful frenzy of tearing open presents. I love that frenzy - but it also was nice to have a different experience. I am thankful for thoughtful gifts and that everyone seemed to like what we got them. I am thankful to watch Allyson open my gifts- she is always so appreciative. I am thankful to have been able to Skype with Sofie and family and talk on the phone with Mike. I am thankful for my wonderful children and the nicest gift that I could have received. I had asked them last year to take the time to write down memories for me. This year I asked again, and Joe formed a Facebook group called Mom's Christmas present and they had done just that. One would post a memory and then the others would comment on it and that would lead to other memories. Yesterday, Joe took my laptop and made me a member of the group so I could see what they had written. I can't tell you how much fun it is to read it and how much I appreciate it. I hope we will keep it open and keep adding to it. I read a few aloud yesterday and that started an impromptu sharing of other memories including some from my sister and me. Joe caught all of these memories on video. I am happy.

From Sofie:We all fell asleep last night on the floor to you reading us books on DVD-- the third time around! Thanks for the wonderful gift. The kids were transfixed! We love you!

Jackie Governale ‎:) So happy to have made the kids happy. :)

Tuesday 27 Dec 2012

Yesterday was treatment #3, 30 to go, but who’s counting? We got a gift certificate to eat at 99 Restaurant from Allyson and we went yesterday afternoon. The food was delicious and the atmosphere was nice; we enjoyed ourselves. I had chicken tenders and sirloin tips and French fries. Yum. Other than work over 7 hours and do some laundry, that was all I did.

I am thankful today for my son Joseph who was born in Clarksville, Tennessee 29 years ago at 22:22 tonight. (10:22 PM). He has brought much joy, laughter, and pride into my life. I was watching Joe and Dvorah at church Sunday and realized that when they are little you do not think that they will ever grow up and even if you know it, you do not realize what it means. I never realized that there was a huge bonus waiting for me when my children got married; that there would be other amazing children to welcome into the family and to grow to love as much as my own. I am thankful for Dvorah, Sarah, Mike Tifts, and Dave. I am thankful for how much they love my children and how much joy and happiness they bring into their lives. I am thankful to have Kaleb and Dante back - I miss them when they are away at their Dad's.

I want all to know that Mike and Sarah miscarried on Christmas Eve. It is a very sad time for them and for us all. They are coming to visit us this weekend and we hope to fill their hearts with as much love and happiness as we can. Your prayers will be appreciated.

Wednesday 28 Dec 2012

So far, the most trying part of my treatments is the two hours right in the middle of the day that I have to go and get them. I suppose if that turns out to be the only bad thing then I will be very fortunate – so I will try not to complain. I put food into the crockpot yesterday morning; what a good decisions that turned out to be! I am not my best at suppertime and even thinking of anything to fix is such a chore. I had Kaleb help me declutter my office a bit yesterday. We made a little progress. All of my kids will be here this weekend, so I really need to get to the bathrooms and the kitchen floor very soon. Wish me luck!

Well, I am thankful that I got up in time to pull the numbers for my daily report at work before the site was down for scheduled maintenance. I am thankful that I don't have to drive any further than Lewiston for my daily radiation treatments. I am thankful for the quiet house at this time of the day. I am thankful for the anticipation of seeing my kids this weekend - it help to keep me working hard to get my hours in so that I can take some time off to be with them. Sometimes it is hard to fight the almost overwhelming urge to just give up and do nothing. I will not live that way for longer than a few minutes a day. It is a scary thought - that of crumbling under life's pressures. I will be strong. I will have faith. I will forget about myself and get back to work! How does that song go, "I am Woman!" I guess a more fitting song for me is "I am a Child of God!" Yes!
Sandy Cox Bailey Jackie you are an amazing,talented,skilled, loving, spiritual, awesome, beautiful child of God, and invincible woman! Everyone who has the joy of experiencing you loves you! Me too!

Thursday 29 Dec 2012

I was able to work 6.5 hours before I had to leave for my treatment at 1:30. I managed to do some laundry before I went too. When I got back at about 3:45 –I resisted the urge to crash and framed some pictures and wrapped them for our second Christmas on Sunday when all of the kids will be here and we will also be celebrating two birthdays and a one year wedding anniversary. This anniversary is for Mike and Sarah: she miscarried on Christmas Eve- so we are hoping to give them as much love, and empathy, and distraction as we can. Eliza cooked pizza for supper- never any complaints there! I taught a ten minute math lesson to my grandsons on how to add a column of numbers in your head by looking for tens. That was fun. I have been trying to do that more often as I crunch numbers – it is good for my brain.

I am thankful that Mike and Sarah are flying in today and that Sofie and Dave and kids are arriving for the weekend. We will have a 'second' Christmas this Sunday - and also celebrate Joe and Mike's birthday as well as Mike and Sarah's 1st anniversary. That will probably be enough celebrating for one day! :) I am thankful for the Community Concepts Rides Reimbursement Program which will help with gas for all of these trips to Lewiston. I am thankful to have listened to a Mormon Channel discussion with Janice Kapp Perry and to hear her share some insights into her remarkable gift of writing music. I am not happy to have seen a mouse in the basement yesterday while I was doing laundry. I am thankful that when Eliza set a trap for it that she caught a mole and that John took it to work and let it go far away from here. I am still not happy about the mouse. :( I think we had better check and see if there is some obvious way that they are getting in. I am thankful that Eliza made delicious pizza for supper and that I finished the last gift for Mike and that I took a few minutes to teach Kaleb how to look for 10s when adding a column of numbers in his head. I am thankful that life goes on although most of the time it moves too fast for me!

Friday 30 Dec 2012

The days seems to slipping into a pattern: work all morning, go to my treatment in the afternoon, try to get something productive done in the evening. I am expecting to see some of my kids today – Mike and Sarah arrived late last night. I am not quite sure when Sofie and Dave will arrive –they left for Montreal on Wednesday. Maybe today, maybe tomorrow. Whenever they come- it will be great to spend some time with them.

It is Friday and I don't think I have ever been more thankful for that. (No treatments over the weekend!) I am thankful for leftover soup that I put into the crock pot before I left yesterday with the addition of 'Better Than Bouillon" and leftover penne pasta. It was hot and delicious and we enjoyed it while watching an episode of "Castle". I am thankful that Mike and Sarah made it to Maine safely and hope to see them today. I am thankful that I am ahead in my hours for work and will be able to enjoy my family over the weekend without stressing about hours. I am thankful each time our cars starts and shifts into the proper gear. I am thankful that I still have two days to finalize my New Year's Goals - I haven't even started them on paper - but my head is full of them.

Saturday 31 Dec 2012

There was snow on the trip to my treatment and back yesterday but all went well. When I got home, there was a note on the table from Sofie and a turkey pot pie on the counter. They were next door visiting with my Mom and my sister. It was so good to see them. Mike and Sarah and Dvorah arrived a couple of hours later and with the addition of Eliza and Kaleb and Dante – it was loud and crazy and wonderful! Tomorrow we will have all five children, all four spouses, one girlfriend, and 4 grandchildren here. Time to get a family picture – because you never know when that will happen again – although we are thinking of renting someplace next summer for a reunion. There is nothing quite like hugs and conversations from grown-up kids and ‘I love you, Gramma” from little grandchildren. I am so blessed.

I am so thankful for safe travel to Lewiston and back yesterday and for safe travel for my kids. I am thankful to come home to find a note on the table from Sofie and a turkey pot pie for supper on the counter. I am thankful to spend the evening with John, Eliza and her boys, Mike and Sarah, Sofie and Dave and their kids, and Dvorah. It was loud and wild and crazy and confusing, but I loved just sitting around the table and talking and laughing and being a part of their lives. I am thankful for the s'more quesadillas that Mike and John made. I am thankful that I will see them again tonight and at church tomorrow and that all of them, including Joe and Danny and Jamie and Mike Tufts will join us on Sunday to celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, and Christmas. What fun! I am truly a blessed woman.

Sunday 01 Jan 2012

It is January 1st of 2012. Why is it that the new year seems so magical? I know that I am thankful to put the old behind and get excited about the hope of what the new year will bring. I have learned over the years to not save this wonderful feeling for only one day a year. I review my life every Sunday and try to have a new start weekly - actually, most of the time, daily. I am thankful that John and I read the New Testament in 2011; and the Old Testament in 2010..... and, wait for it....we will be reading my favorite book of scriptures - The Book of Mormon - in 2012. Yay! I am thankful to have been surrounded by all of my kids last night. I am thankful to be seeing them all again today. I am thankful for an very interesting 2011 - many health trials - two biopsies, a hysteroscopy and D&C, two cancers, two surgeries, one completed round of radiation, and a second round of radiation in progress. I am thankful for the priesthood blessings I have had and all of the good news that has come out of these trials and for an opportunity to increase my faith. I am thankful for the responsibilities that I have had in the church this past year - seminary teacher, counselor in the Stake Relief Society, and ward organist. I am looking forward to 2012. Remember to have joy in the journey and to be of good cheer!

Glimpses and Thankfuls 19-25 Dec 2011

2012-01-08T07:23:00.000-05:00

Monday 19 Dec 2011

It was a very busy weekend. Trying to finish up some Christmas gifts and working and church and lo! and behold – it is Monday again. It is very cold outside, but it doesn’t look as though we will have snow for Christmas.

Good morning. Today I am thankful to have been able to attend church yesterday. I am thankful to have been able to sing Christmas hymns, especially 'Angels We Have Heard On High'....such a beautiful and uplifting hymn. I am thankful that Brother Cropper was there visiting. He truly is a wonderful man with a wonderful smile and a small chat with him lifted me up. I am thankful that Darcy Rodriguez was able to play the piano accompaniment for the singing in Relief Society - good accompaniment really brings the spirit into a meeting. I am thankful for the five tiny little girls who were lined up on the couch at church and had their picture taken. Our ward seemed to go quite a long time with not many small children around - now we have these five baby girls as well as many young boys and girls. We will have a powerful youth program in a few years. I am thankful for John's famous spaghetti for lunch and a long chat with my mother and sister. I am thankful for a shared experience watching 'Mrs. Miracle' with Eliza and her boys. Thank you Linda Young for recommending it. I am thankful for the many hours John is putting in to help get a Christmas present ready to send to Michigan. I am thankful for a job to go to and thankful that I only have to go a few feet to get there. I am hopeful that today just might be the day that we see Danny again.

Tuesday 20 Dec 2011

The gifts are finished and in the mail for Sofie and her family. That is a relief and crossed off my list. The Christmas program music is finalized and sent out; that also is a relief and crossed off my list. Trying to figure out where to get Trader Joe’s Powerberries for my two daughters-in-law. I just might have to drive to Portland to Trader Joe’s to get them. Scrapbook pages are finished and ordered. Still thinking of the best gift for Eliza and Danny. Christmas is approaching fast. Our kids are in school through Thursday, but I am ready for vacation right now.

This morning I am thankful that we finished up and mailed out the Zane's Christmas packages yesterday. Late, I know, but they are on their way. I am thankful that the Christmas program is finalized for church for next Sunday and thankful for all those who are sharing their musical talents that day. I am thankful for the book of Numbers in the Old Testament. I know that I have said that before, but I am still thankful. There are incredible stories to read and lessons to learn in those pages. I am thankful for the TV series "No Ordinary Family" which Eliza, Kaleb, and I are enjoying watching together. I am thankful for baby steps taken in decluttering our living room last night and thankful for Kaleb for being so willing to help without complaint. I am thankful for the Christmas cards hanging on the door that bring a warm and festive feeling into my home. I am thankful for the oatmeal that John cooked for breakfast and for the brown sugar that sweetens it and for a glass of cold milk. I am thankful for tacos for supper last night with lots of tomatoes and lettuce and that the last Christmas present that I ordered has arrived.

Wednesday 21 Dec 2011

Yesterday was pretty uneventful. I worked over 6 hours and cooked frozen French bread pizza for supper. We watched the next to the last episode of No Ordinary Family. Kaleb helped me unclutter another small area in the dining room. I taught a pretty amazing lesson this morning.

This morning I am thankful for a great seminary class and my beautiful students. I am thankful for eggs on toast for breakfast made for me by my wonderful husband. I am thankful for the promise of a quiet day to work. I am thankful that Danny evidently made it safely to Maine as his girlfriend commented on a fun laser tag experience on Monday. I am thankful to have skyped in with Joe this morning. It is always fun to talk with him. I am thankful that I do not have to go anywhere today. I am thankful.

Thursday 22 Dec 2011

We had a great visit yesterday from Danny and his girlfriend Jamie. He had dropped out of high school and surprised us with his GED. We are very proud of him. He has a desire to go to college to study computer sciences and is investigating how he can make that happen. He also cooked us homemade pasta that was delicious. This is a boy who would rather starve than put his own toast in the toaster. It was a day of surprises!

Today I am thankful for the winter solstice and that the days are going to start getting a little bit longer every day. I am thankful that Dan and his girlfriend Jamie came to visit yesterday afternoon. I am thankful for the great visit, that Dan made us some fabulous homemade pasta, and that he got his GED while he was in Michigan with Dave and Sofie. I am thankful that he is determined to go to college to study computer sciences and wish him well as he makes a decision about how to do that. I am thankful that Eliza helped me make a dent in the living room clutter. I am thankful for the marvelously delicious supper that Eliza cooked last night; green beans, mashed potato, and a meatloaf to die for! I am thankful for the many ways that my Heavenly Father has blessed my life - the most important one being that He sent His son to live on earth, to teach us the way back home to live with Him, and to suffer for our sins so that we can be forgiven and be good enough to get there.

Danny making a fashion statement.

Friday 23 Dec 2011

Yesterday was emotionally tiring, nothing major, just a series of unfortunate events and a tired me. It was one of those days where you feel like you are running as fast as you can, but you are getting nowhere. Today is going to be better.

Yesterday on my way back from my first radiation treatment I was pretty sure that I wouldn't be able to find anything to be thankful for this morning. One of the kids had a very bad attitude yesterday morning and I ended up crying in the bathroom once they went to school. Starting off your day crying is never a great thing. I am behind on hours for work, we ran out of oil and didn't have enough money to get more than 50 gallons delivered today and we wouldn't get enough money next week to both pay the house payment and get more oil, the camera wasn't working in the radiation room and so I ended being in there on my back for a very long time, and on and on and on. But I should have more faith - I am disappointed that I didn't. I am thankful that we are getting some unexpected money in the next few days. We lost our wireless internet last night and I really need it to work today and I couldn't even connect with our wired internet - but I am thankful that we figured it out - at least temporarily. I am thankful that John ran out last night while supper was cooking to get something I needed to finish a present and that he was willing to drill some holes for me and he brought back some orange flavored chocolate. Mmmmmm...chocolate. I am thankful that Kaleb emptied the dishwasher without complaint, and that supper was delicious, and that Eliza and I watched an episode of Bones. I am again amazed that Heavenly Father loves me so much and knows my frustrations and my heart and steps in when I can no longer help myself. I am thankful for HOPE - that I can somehow get in enough hours today and tomorrow, that I can think of what to get for a few people for Christmas, that i can manage to finish some Christmas ideas , that I can clean the bathrooms and do the dishes, and that radiation will go quickly and smoothly today. And I am thankful for all of you, whose strength and encouragement and good comments keep me going.

Granny Saurus You are an inspiration to me. Hearing (feeling) your stresses in this comment has given me more encouragement than all the good stuff...It means there's hope for me! :-) I'll look harder for the good stuff. This morning I'm thankful for the snowy picture out my little window!
Janice Record I use to cry too Jackie. It just makes everyone try harder. Once I even exploded at one student. I'm so sorry I did that. But most of the time it was the most wonderful job/calling that I ever had. Keep up the good work. You have a lot on your plate and you're entitled to fall apart for a minute now and then. It's the law !!! You're awesome. Love you
Jackie Governale Thank you Eris. Saying (writing) these things out loud helps me to put them into perspective. It strengthens the thread that I sometimes am hanging by into a cord and sometimes into a rope. I am thankful for the beautiful snow also. Hope that it clears up before I have to drive in it. I like it a lot more when I can just watch it fall.
Jackie Governale Thank you Janice. The kid I was referring to was one of the grandkids. So far my seminary 'kids' have been wonderful. Emily's daily hugs and 'love yous' are uplifting and make my day.
Beth Davis You give us all strength Jackie
Lucille Colby Ray you"re an insperation to everyone who knows you. god bless!
Rebecca DuBeau Jackie you are truely amazing!!
Jackie Governale Thanks everyone. I am not that amazing. Just a girl trying to live the life she was given to live. Isn't that what we all do?
Betsy Stevens Plummer no u are an inspiration!!1 I love you Jackie!!!
Patti Caton You are one of the most faithful women I know and I am so blessed to know you. I wish you a wonderful Christmas Jackie and to all of your family! Every day I am amazed at how much Jesus loves each and everyone of us! Love ya!
Miriam Thompson God loves us all have a good Christmas and a Happy New Year you are in our prayers
Sarah Danielle Governale Jackie, I hope I can find a path that leads me to become as Christ-like as you are. Everytime I read your thankful posts, I feel a bit shamed to be as insolent as I am at times. You are an inspiration.

Saturday 24 Dec 2011

This is Christmas EVE! How time flies. Yesterday was busy as will today be. I keep telling myself that if I work hard and long today, then I can truly enjoy tomorrow with my sister and her family, my mother, and Danny and Joe and Dvorah. I just got word yesterday that my Sofie and her family will be coming for New Years. Mike and Sarah are also coming for New Years…. So all of my kids and grandkids will be here next weekend. That is something to look forward to!

It is the day before Christmas and I am thankful to have a whole day that I can stay home - I have to work and still have some things to do to be ready for tomorrow. I am thankful that John fixed the internet - that is such a blessing in my life. I am thankful for clear roads when I drove to Lewiston yesterday. I am thankful to John for picking up my photos at Walgreens yesterday. I am thankful for a chance to talk to Sofie for a few minutes before leaving for my treatment yesterday - that girl always cheers me up. I am thankful to have slept in until 6:30 this morning. That is a rare treat! I am thankful to Carol Gagnon for a delicious supper yesterday- she had given us a number of freezer meals for those days that supper seemed too hard. We had mac and cheese and chicken with rice. Thank you Carol. I am thankful for my Savior who was willing to come into this world as a little baby so many years ago. I remember having my little babies, and can only imagine how magical that night was and how happy Mary was and how much in love she was with her sweet baby boy. Merry Christmas!

Sunday 25 Dec 2011

I am always thankful when it is 4AM or earlier when I get up in the night to use the bathroom. Then I feel like I'm lazy because I get to go back to bed. I am thankful that, by some amazing miracle, everything that I needed to finish for today's celebration was finished by 8:30 last night. I am thankful for a wonderful home teacher who stopped by yesterday afternoon with a card and a gift card to Hannaford. I am thankful for a quiet evening last night and a lovely dinner of chicken breasts stuffed with broccoli and cheese, and roasted potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, and broccoli. I am thankful to have been able to watch a movie with John yesterday. I am thankful for another two hours before I need to shower for church. I am thankful to be spending time with family later on. I am thankful to be taking time out of my day to attend church and to worship that little baby who grew into the man who sacrificed his life for me.

The early morning view from my easy chair. Priceless!

Glimpses and Thankfuls 12-18 Dec 2011

2012-01-07T21:58:00.000-05:00

Monday, 12 Dec 2011

When I set up my Bi-Weekly Scoring Summary this morning for the new pay period, which I use to track my daily hours, I realized that the current pay period ends on Christmas Day. How could it possibly be only two weeks away? The weekend flew by and I only inched toward accomplishing some projects that I had hoped to completely finish. Oh, dear.

Yesterday on the ride home from Winthrop I listened to a conversation with a woman who told about a time when she was 16 and her family (mother, father, a sister, and three brothers) was returning to Colorado from a vacation in California. They were in a sturdy car that was hauling a sturdy camper. As they pulled out of a small store they started to cross a railroad track when they notice a freight train barreling down the tracks at them. The father tried to shift into reverse and the car stalled and the train hit them broadside into the front passenger side of the car where her mother was sitting. The train dragged them about 100 yards. When it was over, the vehicles were demolished, the mother had a broken neck, the father had a mild concussion, and none of the children were hurt at all. As I listened to this incredible story, I thought how Heavenly Father's hand had to be in this miracle. This thought brought me back 32 years to when John and I were first married and had bought our first, actually our only, brand new car- a Datsun we named Ruthie. I was driving us to work and hit a patch of black ice on the little hill on the abattoir bridge in Oxford. The car fishtailed into the guard rail to the right and then shot across the road. This was the morning rush hour and there was a steady line of traffic. Our little car hit the rear tire of a big dump truck and bounced off and was stopped by the guard rail. Over the guard rail was a steep embankment. A few seconds later and we might have hit a car or the guard rail, or the body of the dump truck full force, maybe even breaking through and plummeting down the embankment - rolling over and over. Ruthie was demolished, John was unhurt, and I had a hairline fracture in my left foot, which was crushed when the car impacted with the tire. Coincidence? I think not. I am thankful for a loving Heavenly Father who orchestrated that crash in such a miraculous manner that I could live and tell you about it so many years later!

Tuesday 13 Dec 2011

Nothing spectacular happened yesterday; mostly just work, housework, teaching my class, and watching an episode of Lie To Me. I did get my quilt almost all layered; it is hard to do that all by yourself on a table that is not quite big enough. I need to finish getting it pinned together today and start quilting it so I can finish it tomorrow and get in the mail. Then I can turn my attention to some of the less time consuming Christmas projects.

Today I am grateful for everything. I am especially thankful for the feelings of inadequacy I have had lately and realizations of some specific areas that I need to improve in. Ah, humility - how bittersweet.

Wednesday 14 Dec 2011

Yesterday was a great day! I did get the quilt all quilted and the edges basted and today I will bind it. Hurray! That was the highlight of my day. Today is my middle son’s 27^th birthday. I can vividly remember the details of his birth, in a German Frauenklinik – a woman’s hospital, and the doctor asking what we were going to name him. We asked the doctor his name, it was Wolfgang, and we looked at each other and slowly shook our heads no. We decided on Michael John, Michael after my baby brother who died at 21 days and John after my husband. Mike is now married, in the Army, and expecting his first child. Happy tears.

This morning I am thankful to be a mother. I was 30 when I had my first child and had pretty much resigned myself to the fact that I would never get married and never have children. Now, I am the mother of five wonderful children and the grandmother to four with one on the way. Twenty-seven years ago this morning I gave birth to my third child, second son, Michael Governale, in Neckargartach, Germany. He has brought so much joy into my life and I am very proud of the man he has become. He was so amazingly cute as a little boy that we could hardly stand it. He is still pretty darn cute! Love you Mike!

Michael John Governale

Jackie, Eliza and baby Mike

Michael John Governale

Thursday 15 Dec 2011

Hooray!!! The quilt is finished and, in spite of some imperfections, is quite pleasing. I think my grandson and granddaughter will love it. It has 99 pieces of fabric each depicting a different picture (a tiger, a toy soldier, a Power Ranger, Santa, a dinosaur, etc.). The fabric that accents it has multiple animals on a black background. The backing is a brown fabric with zebra on it. It is an I Spy quilt, meaning that someone can say, “I spy a green lizard” and then everyone can look for it. It was so much fun to make.

This morning I am thankful that Mike and Sarah are expecting a baby. Hooray! I am thankful for my friend Patti Caton who called me last night to tell me some very kind and uplifting things. Those comments made my day. Thank you Patti. I am thankful that my quilt is done and, despite some crookedness, is quite pleasing. I will post pictures after Christmas. I am thankful to have a greater understanding of the events in the book of Numbers in the Old Testament. I am very engrossed in the Old Testament for the first time and wonder why I never took the time before this to study it and try to understand it. I am also thankful to have discovered oven roasted garlic veggies. Peppers, potatoes, carrots, and sweet potatoes..... so satisfying and delicious. I also made homemade chicken nuggets for supper. Yum! I am thankful that Eliza and boys are doing the Twelve Days of Christmas. It brings back some fun memories of when my kids were young and we did this every year. We did it one year in Germany .... Eliza, Joe, Mike as a babe in arms, John and I. We went up the stairs, through the attic laundry drying space, and down the stairs to the apartment of a German family. We must have sounded like a herd of elephants for eleven nights in a row- but they did act surprised on the 12th day when we knocked on their door, sang "We Wish You a Merry Christmas", and handed them their gift. They invited us in and we had a pleasant visit. The next day they left us a tray of fruit and German Christmas ornaments. My life is so different now, and I am so thankful for wonderful memories of Christmases well celebrated.

Friday 16 Dec 2011

I took the night off and went to make Christmas tags at a friend’s house. It was relaxing and fun to chat and the tags are, of course, adorable! My daughter made pizza for supper and it was delicious. I am so happy that it is Friday –I hope to be able to catch up on some things tomorrow. Today I have an appointment with radiation therapy for my mapping. I hope the treatments start next week.

This morning I am thankful for my good friend Nancy. I went to her house last night to make some very beautiful Christmas tags. We had a wonderful time and it was great to be able to chat for a couple of hours. Nancy and I usually get together a couple of times each month, one for card making at her house and one to sew baby hats to give to Stephens Memorial Hospital. It has been awhile as I have been having surgeries, recovering from surgeries, and having doctor's appointments and treatments. I am thankful for Walgreen's 50% off photos this week and will pick up mine today. I am thankful that I have a doctor's appointment today to 'map' out my radiation treatments which I hope will start next week. I am also thankful for my husband who has been driving the girls to school each morning after seminary. I am thankful for the bright sun peeking up over the trees and for the blue skies and for the fluffy white and gray clouds. I am thankful to feel hopeful right now - and will try to keep that feeling for most if not all of the day!

Saturday 17 Dec 2011

I start radiation treatments next week. I do not look forward to them, but I am really happy to get the process started. We went to a Christmas dinner at church last night – good food and good company.

This morning I am thankful for the Christmas dinner and sing at church last night. There was so much good food and it was well-attended. I am thankful for experiencing yet another interesting medical procedure; I had a cat scan where I was measured and tattooed for my radiation, which will begin next week. I am thankful for the little bit of white that covers the ground this morning, a dusting really but it is Christmasy looking out the window. I am thankful for my husband who is making oatmeal for breakfast. I am thankful for today and tomorrow (the weekend) to try to get some projects done. I am thankful for Lindt truffles...............oh my! I am thankful for the wonderful Mommies of little children that we have in the Oxford ward right now. It is so fun to watch Darcy Rodriquez. Shannon Smith, Amy Lilly, Patricia Atwater, and Michelle Cooper not only relate to each other, but to their husbands, and their children as they are raising them to be strong and righteous young men and women. Thank you wonderful mommies. You are my heros!

Sunday 18 Dec 2011

It is Sunday morning again. I am not sure how that happens. Today I am thankful that I met my goal of evaluating 12 tasks yesterday - it was hard but I did it. I am thankful that I finished my four scrapbook pages and when I went to order them, they were $1.25 per page instead of $1.99 per page. It seems that Heavenly Father never gets too busy or forgets to look out for me. I wonder how He does it. I am thankful that John went grocery shopping for me yesterday, that we got to watch an episode of 'The Closer" together when the house was quiet, and that I was able to get in six hours of work. I am thankful for all of the Christmas cards that I have received and today will stick them to the living room closet door where I can see them often. And always, I am thankful for the hope that a whole day stretching in front of me brings and the challenge to try to fill it wisely. Happy Sunday!

Here are the scrapbooking I made for my mother this year.

Glimpses and Thankfuls 05-11 Dec 2011

2012-01-02T18:30:00.001-05:00

Monday, 05 Dec 2011

The weekend flew by! Evaluating some tasks, doing some laundry and housework, working on photo Christmas cards, catching up on my family blog, eating cheeseburgers (my favorite!) and spaghetti, attending church, talking and SKYPING with family…..and zip! It is another week!

It is Monday morning, not always a cause for celebration. As I ponder my thankfuls to see if there is anything to be thankful for this Monday morning, I realize that I am thankful for the Christmas Devotional last night and how beautiful the decorations were. The Christmas trees decorated with red were breathtaking! I am thankful to have sort of caught up on my blog, to have truly fasted, to have read scriptures with my husband last night and to have had family prayers. I am thankful to have been able to watch Sofie and family 'live' on SKYPE and to see them all do their impression of Uncle Danny. I am thankful to have talked to Mike on the phone and to have all the names properly distributed for our Christmas gift exchange. I am thankful that Sofie says they are downsizing Christmas and doing their shopping on Craig's List because that I how I am feeling about the hoopla this year also. I am thankful for whoever invented the CrockPot, thankful that I have one, and thankful that it has all of the makings of a beef stew in it right now. I will be more thankful for this after lunch when we begin to smell it, and even more thankful at suppertime when it only has to be dished out and eaten. I am thankful for the delicious lunch we had yesterday - our traditional Sunday lunch of spaghetti made by John and a green salad and thankful that Kaleb and Dante each ate some salad. I am thankful that Sofie is such a great mom - I enjoy watching her with her kids as much as I enjoy watching them. She shared that they had a casserole for the lunch and her kids picked out the vegetables and ate them and Sarah asked for more carrots and lima beans, please? I am thankful to understand a teeny bit more about the covenants that the children of Israel made with the Lord. And although it makes me sad and tired that we we are behind the deadlines at work, I am thankful that there is plenty of work again this week. I guess there is plenty to be thankful for-even on a Monday.

Tuesday, 06 Dec 2011

I finished all of the envelopes for my Christmas cards; just stuffing and addressing are left. I also cut out the makings of an I Spy quilt for my grandson. The beef stew was so satisfying last night.

I am thankful for fabric. So many beautiful colors and designs and yes, still some that make me catch my breath and make my heart race. I cut out a quilt last night and am thankful for the chance to look at some of my fabric again. I am thankful for the fabric, lace, ribbon, and other crafty things that people have given me over the years and for the many wonderful things that have been created with them. I am thankful for the sisters who have joined with me over the years to make and donate items to humanitarian aid. We have made countless school bags, wheelchair bags for local nursing homes, bassinet quilts for Stephens Memorial hospital, rice bags for the hospital in Bridgton, cool ties for soldiers in Afghanistan, scripture bags for primary children in Tonga, wall hangings, baby quilts, and no sun baby hats for newborns at Stephens Memorial. I am thankful for the good feeling that giving to others brings into my life. I am thankful for my sewing machine - a Pfaff that I bought second-hand in Germany over 25 years ago. I am thankful for a long list of things that I still want to make someday and that assures me that I will never be bored as long as I can still see, think, and use my hands. So I am also thankful that I can still see, think, and use my hands.

MitziJo Allred I LOVE YOU, JACKIE!! WHAT A JOY YOU ARE TO THE WORLD AROUND YOU, WHAT AN INSPIRATION TO OTHERS!!
Carole Bleau Knowles I am thankful for you.
ToniAnne Tillotson DeSantis Please, a picture of the fabrics now? and a picture of the finished quilt? What is your pattern? and if no picture, what are your colors! Thankful to know you .
Susan Vezina Pike Jackie, you are so pure and sweet and wonderful. You will certainly be blessed. You ALWAYS make me smile.

Wednesday, 07 Dec 2011

My photo cards just need to have stamps and they are ready to mail. Hooray! They are predicting a little snow this evening. I’m OK with that. Eliza and I watched an episode of No Ordinary Family last night. A little laundry, some dishes, preparing and teaching a lesson, helping Dan with the FAFSA…. That’s about it!

It is Wednesday and I am thankful to have just finished another inspiring (to me, anyway) seminary lesson. I am thankful for the love the Lord has for us, even when we are stupid or lazy. I am thankful that Danny is thinking about going to college at my university. Actually the 'at my university part' is a bonus thankful. I am thankful that my Christmas cards are all done, in the envelopes, and addressed and are just awaiting stamps. I am thankful that Sofie said that she got her fun- loving attitude with her kids from me, because I don't feel very fun-loving these days and it is hard to remember ever being that way....although there was that one time that we made bows and arrows out of sticks that we gathered in the yard and shot cut marshmallows at the fridge hoping to make them stick after we had a family home evening on Nephi's Broken Bow. :) I am thankful for the episode of NCIS where Bob Newhart starred as a doctor who had retired from NCIS years ago and who is suffering from beginning Alzheimers and who came back to visit hoping to be able to remember his former life. They made him a slide show of photos of the people he worked with and of people grateful for his help. So that makes me thankful for photographs that help us remember the good, and bad, and funny times. I am starting on my slide show right now :) and Eliza says I should be careful to label everything....This is my mother Jeanette Snow....This is my daughter Sofie Zane. One thing that was very sad about that episode was seeing Bob Newhart look so old.

Christine Doyle Which university is that? It's online right?
Jackie Governale Yes, Western Governors University.
Sandy Cox Bailey Oh Jackie, I love you! You have the sweetest kindest happiest heart of anyone! Thank you for bringing good thoughts this morning.
Christine Doyle Wow! I checked out their website, and it looks like a very impressive university. I have never heard of it. What do you teach?
Connie Demers Staples thank you Jackie!!
Dorian Bannister It is important to label all photos - for you never know when memory will be lost, as in my 30 yo son.
Sofrona Zane You are super fun loving-- and also super loving! ♥
Jackie Governale Oh, Sandy Cox Bailey, I love you too! You are a very big part of who I am, your loving and encouraging mentoring. I always remember you with admiration and gratitude and always a little hope that someday I can be wonderful like you.
Jackie Governale ‎Christine Doyle, I work in the Teacher's College. :)
Sandy Cox Bailey Ha ha You dear lady I am so thankful you have lost some memories of the Tennessee Mountains!! Bless you for remembering good things!!! :-)
Jackie Governale ‎Sandy Cox Bailey I am pretty certain that there were no things that were not good. At least not involving the Bailey family. BTW, our middle son and his wife are stationed at Ft Campbell and have bought a house in Cadiz, KY. I might even get down there again one of these days. I wonder if I could ever find the old house?, if it is even still there!

Thursday, 08 Dec 2011

I was able to take the time to iron my fabric for the I Spy quilt yesterday amid the confusion of grandkids. Hopefully I can start to sew it together today. We watched the first of a two-part Australian miniseries called Shirilee last night. I had two new students start today in my early morning class. I am pleased. I think they will change the dynamics of the class for the good. We didn’t get the snow they predicted overnight and it is sunny and bright and cold this morning.

It is Thursday morning and I am thankful to have two more seminary students. Jessica Fleck and Courtney Fleck will be joining Emily Record each morning very early at my house. I am thankful that the lesson today seemed to go OK even though I overslept and was a bit disorganized. I am thankful whenever any of my kids make a posting on Facebook - it makes me feel close to them. I am thankful that the sun is shining even though the prediction was that we would wake up with a few inches of snow. I am thankful to have choices for breakfast. What will it be? eggs on toast? peanut butter toast? oatmeal? cold cereal? I am thankful that the two air conditioners and the boxes of canning jars were carried down to the basement. Our living room looks bigger. I am thankful that my brain still thinks, and remembers (most of the time). I am thankful for the book of Mensa puzzles that I have been working through over the last two years and for logic puzzles and jigsaw puzzles. I get so much enjoyment out of doing them. I am thankful to have been dragged kicking and screaming into the world of technology and for the difference that it makes in my life on a daily basis. When I was a teenager I never even imagined that I could have all of the information in the world at my fingertips in the comfort of my own home. Back then we had to actually go to the library to do research and copy the information down by hand and then take it home and write it up into a report. Then we had to type it up using an "old fashioned' typewriter that wouldn't erase mistakes unless you used typeover correction tape. Even with the correction tape the report would look messy if you made too many mistakes and you would have to do it again. And it was pretty time consuming to add graphics to your report, they had to be photocopied and then cut and pasted (the old fashioned way with scissors and glue) into the right places in the report. I am thankful that I live in this day with all of its wonderful conveniences.

Friday, 09 Dec 2011

I amazed myself yesterday by piecing together my I Spy quilt in just two hours. I was so excited that it went together so quickly and also that it is so beautiful. I hope today to layer the quilt, to quilt it tomorrow and to bind it on Monday. I have a doctor's appointment today and hopefully will find out what will happen next and when.

I am thankful for Day 2 of 3 seminary students at my table. I could get used to this. I am thankful that I was able to put my quilt top together in about 2 hours yesterday afternoon and I am thankful for how much I love it. It is definitely not for those whose heart cannot take such wild beating from the amazing rush of its beauty! I am thankful for the opportunity to go to the doctor this afternoon and hopefully find out what I am doing and when. I am thankful to have my Christmas cards all finished and ready to be mailed today. I am thankful for my family and friends. I am thankful to have insurance, to have food, to have a car, to have a testimony of the reality of Jesus Christ, to have hope, to have things to be thankful for, and to have facebook to record my gratitude.

Saturday, 10 Dec 2011

My doctor’s appointment was well worth the wait yesterday (he was 45 minutes late) as I found out that I will not need chemotherapy after all. That is a great relief to me! They will make the call on Monday to set up the radiation treatments. I added the border to my quilt yesterday and am hoping to layer and quilt it today. I am traveling to church tomorrow and with 2 meetings after, it will be a long, but fulfilling, day. So, it is really almost Monday again – a discouraging thought for 6:30 Saturday morning!

This morning I am thankful for my visit to the doctor yesterday. Even though I had to wait 45 minutes to see him, the news was a relief. I do not need chemotherapy!! I am thankful for that and also thankful that my radiation will start soon. Maybe in a couple of months I will have a bit more energy. I sure hope so. Although this sounds vain, I am thankful to be keeping my hair. And I am thankful for my hair - I actually love the color, I know that probably sounds strange. I am thankful that I got to watch Mr. Popper's Penguins with Kaleb and Dante and Eliza last night. And I am thankful that Jim Carrey was relatively clean in this speech and actions. I am thankful that John's reading of his last year's Christmas story at the Norway library went well. I am thankful for his writing talent and how it has blessed our lives over the year. I am thankful that if am diligent and get my work done this morning, I might have time today to layer and possibly quilt my quilt. I am thankful.

Sunday, 11 Dec 2011

This is Sunday morning and I am thankful that all I have to do is turn a little dial to warm up the house. I am thankful to be going to Winthrop for their ward conference today and that I will be able to meet with their RS presidency after and then attend a Stake RS presidency meeting after that. I am thankful for the two episodes of 'The Mentalist' that we watched yesterday. Simon Baker plays an interesting character who seems to really enjoy people and he has a wonderful smile. I am thankful for my FM broadcaster that means that I can listen to MP3s of talks and lessons over my car radio from my jump drive on my trip today. I am thankful for a very quiet house all day yesterday that calmed my spirit. I am thankful for a chocolate chip ice cream cone before bed last night. I am thankful to be able to take a bag of fabric to Cheryl today to be made into small table quilts for Women's Conference. I am thankful that I was able to work on some digital scrapbook pages last night, and to do three loads of laundry, and to have found quilt batting in my 'stash', and to have the dishes done, and to have folded the clothes and matched up all the socks, and for the two pictures frames that I need for a project that John got for free, and for another day to be alive.

Thankfuls

2011-12-04T18:06:00.001-05:00

09 November 2011

This morning I am thankful for the three bags of cheddar popcorn that I got in the mail from Sofie and Dave yesterday. It was a great surprise. Yummy. I am thankful for an opportunity to vote yesterday. I am thankful for the prospect of two new seminary students in a couple of weeks. I am thankful for the show "How's It Made" that I watched with Dante and Kaleb last night. I am thankful for the pink sky with dark trees silhouetted against it as the sun is thinking about rising this morning. I am thankful for homemade corn chowder and biscuits for supper last night and for a clothes washer, dryer, and a dishwasher that makes daily work easier. I am thankful that I do not have to go out of the house today and that I am getting a new laptop from work next week.

10 November 2011

Today I am thankful for Photoshop Elements and the wonderful things I can do to photos with it. I am thankful that Kaleb and Dante are just as happy to watch Mythbusters and How It's Made as the animated shows that I get so tired of hearing. I am thankful for the talent that Eliza has for painting fingernails and decorating cakes and using Photoshop and hope for her that she can figure out how to make money using her talents. I am thankful for Kaleb who is great at emptying the dishwasher and filling my water glass. Mostly I am always thankful for the promise of a new day to live and the hope that I can live it well.

11 November 2011

Today I am thankful for 60% off sales and a warm and cozy house when the rain is pelting down. I am thankful for JoAnn's Fabric and wish I either had lots of money to spend there or more willpower when I visit. I am thankful for the new perspective I get whenever I leave my house and then come back. I am thankful that I still want to do everything as the opposite (not wanting to do anything) would be an unthinkable and unsatisfying way to live.

I am thankful for my husband who served 10 years in the US Army and fought in Desert Storm and my son Mike and his wife Sarah who are currently serving in the army. I am thankful for the many soldiers who have sacrificed their time, their families, their health, and their lives to provide us with freedom and the world with safe places where the missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints can go and share the gospel of Jesus Christ with those who want to hear.

12 November 2011
This morning I am thankful to be a morning person. I love it when the house is quiet and I feel the whole day spread out in front of me like an empty page just waiting to be filled. I am thankful for my limited computer skills and for my resident computer guru who is always willing to fill in my gaps of knowledge. I love it best when I can just say 'please make this work' and he does. I am thankful that Sofie has such a wonderful husband who is a great provider and who loves her above everything else except the Lord. I am thankful for Hannaford's yearly get $1 back on every four Hannaford items sale - We now have 64 pounds of pasta, many cans of corn, green beans, and tomato soup as well as 40 pounds of flour and 20 pounds of sugar plus more - and we saved $27! And I am thankful again for my husband who is willing to go and do the grocery shopping. And I am very thankful to find out that the little rectangular button on the far right of the bottom bar of my computer brings me to the desktop. How many times has I minimized all of the open windows to see the desktop! Too many!
13 November 2011
This morning I am thankful for this morning....I love mornings! I am thankful for the little ways that Heavenly Father lets me help others. I am thankful to have SKYPED with Sofie and family yesterday and to see Sarah dancing in her Strawberry Shortcake wig and Andrew dancing in his Bob the Builder hat. I am thankful to have SKYPED with Mike and Sarah yesterday and to catch up on their lives. I am thankful to have finished four out of six reports for work - I just ran out of steam to finish the other two. Oh well, Monday morning! I am thankful for the decision to downsize Christmas and to spend even less money than we usually do. (We'll see how successful I am at that!) I am thankful for the plan to rid our house of everybody's stuff except the stuff we love and need. (Again - whether this happens or not remains to be seen.) I am thankful for to do lists and goals to keep me on track.
14 November 2011
This Monday morning I am thankful for some important tasks that need to be finished at work. They give me focus and a sense of importance. I am thankful for some important things that I accomplished yesterday in spite of not feeling very well. I am thankful that John cooked his delicious spaghetti for lunch yesterday and served it to me along with some orange juice that was very cold and tasted amazing. I am thankful to have outlined the things that I need to do in the next 6 weeks until Christmas. Wish me luck.:) I am thankful that John and I sang a hymn together and read 3 chapters from Hebrews yesterday. Paul give a great discourse on faith. I am thankful for my faith and hope that it gets stronger.
15 November 2011
Today I am thankful for Butterfingers. Cheryl Allen mentioned them in a post yesterday and it reminded me of one of my birthdays when my children and my husband each gave me a king size Butterfingers, my favorite candy bar. I am thankful for my husband who is so organized that when I asked him if he had a magnifying glass I could borrow for seminary - he not only said yes, but walked into his office and immediately returned with it. I am thankful for the chance to go swimming yesterday even though I grumbled about having to gather things and drive up there. I am thankful for Kaleb and Dante, who emptied the dishwasher, took the recycling and laundry downstairs, carried bags of fabric to the sewing room, and did several other 'gopher' type chores for me last night. I am also thankful for the ability to teach and to see the light go on in someone's eyes. I helped Kaleb with a paper on fractions last night and felt inspired to model the way to solve them for a few examples, and then gradually pulled back until he was excited and racing to solve them before I could. I also had a similar experience in seminary this morning rewording something until I could see the light of understanding in Emily's eyes. The Savior must have loved His teaching job! I know I love to teach.
16 November 2011
Today I am thankful for the CES faculty meeting that I 'attended' last night by phone. Although I had to leave before it was over - I still was inspired and the lesson this morning was pretty wonderful because of it. I am thankful for the knowledge that even though there are paths that I have to walk alone that no one else really can help with - I will have the company and strength of my Savior. If only I can be worthy of and remember to be truly thankful for that great privilege. I am thankful that I can work and earn money in the warmth of my home without all of the 'office drama' that sometimes accompanies a job. I am thankful for white chocolate cookies that Eliza baked yesterday and the delicious supper that she cooked for us last night. I am also thankful to see Danny sitting at Sofie's kitchen table when they SKYPED last night and for seeing Sofie and Sarah laughing so hard at 'jokes' that Sarah was making up. I love my family! I love who my kids are growing up to be. They are truly fine people and I feel privileged to know and love them.
17 November 2011
Today I am thankful that my new work laptop is scheduled to arrive later today. I am thankful for a wonderful swim yesterday and a chance to help Sue out at the Family History Center. I am thankful to have come home to a delicious supper made by Eliza -BBQ roasted pork, roasted vegetables, and leftover pasta and broccoli in cheese sauce. I am thankful that NCIS arrived in the mail from Netflix and that we watched two episodes. I am thankful that Eliza is willing to go to cardmaking for me this morning and make my cards. (What a geek I am- happy to have found someone willing to go and have fun for me!)
18 November 2011
Today I am thankful for my new work laptop and hopeful that I will be smart enough to figure out how to use it. I am thankful for the very cute gingerbread men soaps that Eliza made and the three adorable Christmas cards that she made for me at card making. I am thankful for Cheryl Allen who sent me a king size Butterfinger candy bar - my favorite- and for the very cute teddy bear padded envelope that it came in. That made me smile out loud. I am thankful for Jean Record and Erna Martin who drove me to my Stake leadership meeting last night and who were so very patient and listened to me talk nonstop. Sometimes you just need to talk! I am thankful for the sisters at the meeting who are so focused on the gospel and such inspiring examples of goodness and dedication. They have lifted my spirits. I am thankful for Emily Record and Michaela Centamore who are so adorable and come into my life each school morning to lift my spirits and make be feel useful and young. I am so very blessed!
19 November 2011
Today I am thankful for the KFC bowl that we had for supper last night -mashed potato, chicken, gravy, cheese, bacon- it was delicious and filling. I am thankful to have gone shopping at Sav-A-Lot. I am thankful for my new oncologist -Dr. Benton. I like him. I am thankful for our delicious water and that we can use as much as we want by just turning a handle. I am thankful for my workout in the pool yesterday. I went from 12 lengths on Wednesday to 20 yesterday, plus the other exercises that I do. I saw a video last night of a women in Guatemala washing clothes in big outside tubs and hanging them on the line. Sometimes I inwardly groan because I have to walk down the basement stairs to use the washer and dryer. I am trying to be more thankful for the things that I take for granted and to rethink what I think I need to be happy.
20 November 2011
This morning I am thankful that I had time yesterday to work on my Christmas cards.I am thankful to Jean Record for lending me the corner punch that I needed. I am thankful for the continual flow of ideas and inspiration that seems to come to me, although I do admit that sometimes I just want to turn it off and try to catch up with what I already realize and want to do. In order to get ideas I usually just have to sit in the room- for example while in my office last night sitting at my desk, it occurred to me that if I put another desk behind my twirley chair, I could twirl around and have a place where I could keep some of my card making stuff out - my cricut, paper cutter, laminator, etc. I will give that some more thought. I am thankful for the sky this morning before the sun comes up- the contrast between the light and the dark is quite striking. I am thankful to get to travel to Topsham for their ward conference today. It will be inspiring and it will be fun to see friends. I am thankful for my husband who doesn't seem to mind being dropped off at church very early as I am on my way to a ward conference and then finding a ride home. I am thankful for my friend Eris who wants to come with me to keep me company on the ride even though she will have to hang around after meetings for about three hours while I am in two meetings. I am thankful for Eliza heating up some canned spinach for supper last night and for feeling obligated to eat it because she was making her boys eat some - because I discovered that it wasn't that bad!
21 November 2011
This morning I am thankful for the pictures of the current apostles who smile at me during seminary each morning. They seem to say, "You are amazing to get up so early to provide instruction to your seminary students. We are proud of you." It is almost as if we share a secret about the marvelous blessings that come from trying to be obedient to the Lord.That may sound silly but it does give me courage and strength and makes me feel good. I am thankful for a wonderful day yesterday attending the Topsham Stake conference. Eris was great company down and back and the conference was uplifting and the meetings after were productive. I am thankful for the the possibility of some free time to work on some projects tonight if I actually follow my schedule of work and swimming. I am thankful for Molly Kenning's story this morning of missing hearing her missionary son playing the piano on Sunday afternoons and then receiving an anonymous email containing an attachment of him playing a hymn on the piano and his companion singing along. I am thankful whenever I can type an entire sentence without making a mistake. I am thankful for the holiday pay that I will receive for Thursday and Friday and for the hope that if I follow my work schedule that those 8 hours might be extra cash. I am thankful to have had scripture study with Kaleb and Dante and Eliza last night. And as always, I am thankful for an entire day stretched out in front of me holding a myriad of possibilities. Have a happy day!
22 November 2011
Today I am thankful for my swim yesterday and even though I pulled a muscle, it does not seem to hurt much. I am thankful for a chance to watch Kaleb and Dante last night and that they played so well together creating characters out of dominoes and having a battle. I am thankful that Eliza seems to be enjoying her birthday present - a cake decorating class at the high school. She certainly is making some beautiful flowers out of royal icing. I am thankful for the promise of a few more 'warmish' days after the snow storm Wednesday. Maybe I can get the outside of my windows washed after all. I am thankful that I do not have to go anywhere today.
23 November 2011
This morning I am thankful for the falling snow and also thankful that I do not have to go anywhere today and also thankful that I can work from home where it is warm and cozy. I am thankful for leftover pizza for breakfast - it always tastes better than the night before - perhaps because I feel like a little kid sneaking a snack. I am thankful for an excellent Seminary faculty meeting last night (by phone) and much learned about the Old Testament. I am thankful for so many friends and for feeling loved.
24 November 2011
Happy Thanksgiving to all! Today I am thankful for the shining sun and for a chance to work for a few hours this morning and for holiday pay for today and tomorrow. I am thankful for the opportunity to spend some time with my mother, my sister Anita and her husband, her daughter Allyson, and my son Joe. I am thankful that I can SKYPE with far-away kids later today. I am thankful for the delicious food we will be eating in a few hours and for my warm house and the snow on the ground. I am thankful that Kaleb and Dante helped me in the food storage room and that the Christmas program is almost finished and that John was able to pick up a game last night. I am thankful for running water, electricity, toilets, showers, my stove, my microwave, my dishwasher, our TV and Roku box, Netflix, my sewing machine, the internet, my computers, my cricut, my stampin' up supplies, my embossing and die cutting machines, paper, pencils, markers, tape, my printer, my scanner, my photos, my blog, Facebook, and on and on and on, and for all of the good people in my life and for the gospel of Jesus Christ! Have a wonderful day!
25 November 2011
This morning i am thankful for a wonderful dinner yesterday with family and a long chat with Sofie's family and Danny through SKYPE. I am thankful that I could actually see, and not just hear about, Andrew and Sarah grabbing handfuls of biscuit dough, flattening it in their hands, sticking in half a hot dog, and rolling it up to make a pig in a blanket. I also saw the pan flip and all the little piggies fall on the chair, and Andrew with flour on his face chewing on a big bite of an uncooked one. It really was a happy little scene. I am thankful that Danny will be home for about a month at Christmas time and that he wants to go through his things that he has left here and consolidate. I am thankful that Eliza and her family had a good Thanksgiving with Mike's family. I am thankful for a paying job that allows me to work an hour here and an hour there, whenever I have the time. I am thankful to have finished compiling the Christmas program for church and hope that some people will volunteer to provide special music. I am thankful for my husband who has already agreed to put together a Priesthood choir and also to personally sing one of my favorite songs for the program. I am thankful that Joe and Dvorah's laser tag business is off to a great start and hope that it will continue to grow.
26 November 2011
This morning I am thankful for the gift of Powerberries that came in the mail yesterday and for the smell of turkey in the oven. I am thankful to have the budget reworked, at least on paper, and hope that it works in real life. I am thankful for the Australian mini series called Rain Shadow that we have been watching and the glimpse that it gives into another culture and for how easy my life is compared to theirs. I am thankful that I didn't really understand what a combat engineer did and what Sapper Leader training was all about when John was involved in it. I am thankful for the Hospital thrift shop and the wonderful boots and socks and other things that Eliza got there yesterday.
27 November 2011
This morning I am thankful to get to go to church. I am thankful for hot water to take my shower and toast with peanut butter and a glass of milk for breakfast. I am thankful for clean clothes to wear and a possibility that I can play prelude music on the organ. I am thankful for a Sunday afternoon at home that is peaceful and when I can spend some time on my Sunday to do list - preparing seminary, doing family history, working on photos, setting goals for next week, doing some Relief Society planning, maybe doing some indexing. I am thankful for my friends that I will see at church and for the love and concern that I feel from and for them. I am thankful for the gospel of Jesus Christ in my life and how I have changed over the years because of it and how I hope to keep on changing until I am a better, closer to perfect person. I am thankful that at least three of my five children will be at church today also as I am convinced that their lives will be more productive, more happy, and more successful if they too make a commitment to love and live the gospel.
28 November 2011
This morning I am thankful for a wonderful church experience yesterday. I am thankful for Brad Paine and his daughters Brianna and Ashley who sang a moving rendition of The Army of Helaman. Brad even sang a beautiful solo. I am thankful for Juli Dubuc who spoke so wonderfully on compassion. The information was uplifting and inspiring and well-delivered. I am thankful for Ryan Paine who has prepared to serve a mission and will be leaving soon and for his many friends who came to wish him well. I am thankful for my own son Joe who willingly served a mission in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and for the strength that it was to him and to me. I am thankful for my husband who is patiently trying to help me understand more about the Old Testament so that I can be a more effective teacher. I am thankful for a phone call from my cousin Susan last night just checking up on me. I am thankful for my husband getting up very early and loading the dishwasher and emptying the trash so the house could look a little better for seminary. I am thankful to have my grandsons around. I am thankful for another day to live- can't wait to find out how it will be filled.
29 November 2011
This morning I am thankful for all of the stay-at-home jobs that I had had over the years. I am thankful for sewing for craft fairs and for all of the people who bought my dolls and purses and neckties and other items. I am thankful for the chance to babysit in Oklahoma and to be a bookkeeper for Sue and Joe Nichols. I am thankful to Carol Gagnon for telling me about Cape Shore and for the 10+ years that I worked there sewing little pillows and stuffing them with balsam, packaging gift wrap and note cards and memo pads, packaging fragranced vermiculite to add to the vacuum cleaner and other odd and interesting jobs. I am thankful for my favorite job with them - souveniring, or writing the name of the vacation place (Kennebunkport, Maine or Key West, Florida) on souvenirs. I would do hundreds of them a week and it was actually fun and paid quite well. I am thankful for my stay-at-home job now where I am a faculty member at an online university. I am thankful for the chance to teach in the gifted math program for SAD 17 where I could work with students much smarter than I am and I could flit in and out of different school without having to get caught up in 'office drama'. I am thankful for a few times of working for the Dairy Council traveling all over Maine and NH putting their signage in grocery stores. That was very interesting. I am thankful for all that I have had a chance to experience in this life, even the recent surgeries and radiation treatments. All joking aside, I have enjoyed learning a bit about how hospitals work and what it is like to be hooked up to machines and wake up from being under anesthesia. It is amazing what is available to help people to get better and ultimately to live longer. Of course, the real reason why working at home was important for me is that I wanted to be home with my children - I hope that made a positive difference in their lives. Looking back, I have no regrets in that respect.
30 November 2011
Another day to be thankful. I am thankful that our 1991 car passed inspection on Monday. I am thankful to have had the missionaries over to eat supper last night and for the excellent meal that Eliza fixed. They always bring a sweet spirit into our home. I am thankful that the kitchen counters are visible this morning. I am thankful for the Ensign that arrived yesterday and can't wait to read it. I am thankful for the shredded turkey sandwich for lunch yesterday - it was delicious. I am thankful for my fabric and that I have enough to donate for the table quilts for Women's Conference. I am thankful for the theme we have chosen for Women's Conference and for the wonderful women that I work with in the Stake RS Presidency. They are amazing and inspire me continually. I am thankful for good friends over the years and for at least one friend in every place I have lived that I know was hand picked for me by my Heavenly Father to strengthen me, teach me, love me, and bring me closer to being the kind of person that I want to be. Today I am especially thankful for Kathy Miller - I feel so privileged to have her for a friend- and even though our friendship has been long distance for many years, she lifts me continually as she goes about living her life, serving the Lord, and loving her family. Have a wonderful day, my friends.
01 December 2011
It is Thursday morning and I am thankful for the sun that is just about to rise. I am thankful to have had the furnace cleaned yesterday. I am thankful that things are looking a bit more hopeful for Eliza and Mike to have a home to live in. I am thankful for a turkey salad sandwich with a glass of milk for breakfast. (Isn't is great to be grown-up?) I am thankful for the Australian mini-series that we just finished called Rain Shadow. I am thankful to have crossed three things off my to do list already this morning. I am always thankful for the hope that accompanies each morning which is so appreciated after the discouragement that often accompanies night. Of course that last statement is profound when you consider that Jesus Christ said that He is the light of the world. I know that He is the light in my life that gives me hope and encouragement. :)
02 December 2011
One of my favorite TV shows is Castle. He is a murder mystery writer who helps the police solve crimes. Every show, while they are discussing the possible solution, he breaks into his writer voice and talks through a possible scenario as though he is writing a book. I have discovered that I am doing the same thing -with my thankfuls. For example, when I got up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom I thought, I am so thankful when I get up to use the bathroom and it is 3am not 4:30. I am thankful for the gallon refill jug of liquid soap that JJ gave me. I am thankful for a nice, warm, light bathroom down the hall and not the two holer in the shed that we used at my grandmother's house for so long. This scenario takes place in my life throughout the day. So this morning I am thankful that I am noticing the things that I am thankful for more often. I am thankful for the wonderful Relief Society meeting that I attended last night and for all the work that went into preparing it. I am thankful that John couldn't get Amy's laptop to work and had to come home and get mine. He arrived about 10 minutes after Eliza and the boys had left to find the door wide open. So we lost 10 minutes of heat and not 2 1/2 hours of heat. I am thankful when the spirit can use me to teach and uplift someone else even when I am not aware it is happening. I am thankful for something that I thought last night while we were watching the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and orchestra perform the Hallelujah Chorus. I will need to ponder it more to see what it means- it might be profound and cause some painful realizations and stretching and growing on my part. I am thankful that it is Friday.
03 December 2011
It is Saturday morning, the sun is shining in the window, I have had a delicious breakfast, the house is warm, and the grandsons are playing quietly together on the floor. Those are enough blessings for any one person to have in one day. But I have many more. I am thankful that Eliza sold her first soaps in her new soap making business and that she made homemade pizza last night for supper. Pizza smells so good while it is cooking and then tastes so good while you are eating it. It is a double blessing. I am thankful to have crossed some things off my to do list this week. I am tempted to cheat some days. The day before yesterday I told my husband that I had unclogged the sink and it wasn't even on my list. I was going to add it just so I could cross it off - but I didn't.
04 December 2011
I am thankful for the beautiful sky this morning and that sometimes I can type correctly without looking at the keyboard. I am thankful that Marge and Eris stopped by last night and Eris brought me an uplifting gift. I am thankful that all of my photo Christmas cards are finished and almost all of the envelopes. I am thankful that I slept about 7 1/2 hours last night and didn't wake up until 4:30 am. I am thankful that Eliza made us cheeseburgers for lunch-I love cheeseburgers! I am thankful that it is Sunday and that I don't have to work for WGU today. I am thankful to be able to make out a new to do list for this new week coming up, even if so many of the things on it are the same as last week. I am thankful that it is Fast Sunday and for the first time in a long time I have truly fasted for 24 hours - or at least it will be 24 hours by the time we eat lunch. I am thankful that life is really all about taking one step forward at a time, trying to make good choices, to be kind and compassionate, and to smile - and that I am still walking and taking those steps.

Glimpses 28 Nov-3 Dec 2011

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Monday 28 Nov, 2011

The long weekend is over and now there are only four weeks until Christmas. I was able to go through our clothes and get them more organized, pack up some canning jars for storage in the basement, and work in the back room of the basement for awhile. Doing some of those extra projects always makes me feel as though I have accomplished something. Yesterday was a restful day and one full of inspiration from my church meetings. The week spreads out ahead of me – can’t wait to see what will happen this week!

Tuesday 29 Nov, 2011

I was able to spend some time in the back room in the basement again yesterday. One of these days that room will be finished and I will be so very happy. Eliza had her last cake decorating class last night and she decorated a two layer cake with basket weaving and a shell border. It was very pretty. My husband finished writing his Christmas story for the local newspaper and I helped make some items that will be used as illustrations. And the best thing that happened yesterday was my husband took our 1991 car to get it inspected and they inspected it as is! What a relief and a definite blessing!

Movie quote of the week:

"I see dead people."

This quote is from The Sixth Sense - one of those movies that totally surprised me at the end! Shock!

Wednesday 30 Nov, 2011

I took a break from working yesterday afternoon to give some attention to my photo Christmas cards. If I am not careful – I won’t have them done in time to send them before Christmas. The paper is now all cut for the envelopes and the Christmas stockings to decorate the front are now stamped, colored, and cut out. All I have left is to make the envelopes, put the cards together, write a greeting and address, stamp, and mail them. Wow, that sounds like a lot! We had the missionaries over for supper last night and Eliza cooked a great meal. We watched another episode of Rain Shadow. Only two more left and that miniseries will be over.

Thursday 01 Dec, 2011

Wednesday zipped by in an ordinary way. We got our furnace cleaned and watched a little TV and worked a lot. I dozed in the chair in the evening and woke up about an hour later to a splitting headache and fragments of a dream where I was trying to catch a bus in a foreign city – in Germany, I think. I do not sleep restfully when it is too hot, when the lights are on, when there is noise, and when the TV is on. When will I ever learn?

Friday 02 Dec, 2011

Thursday night I was able to attend a Relief Society Meeting that included good food, a program, and good music. It was wonderful to get out and enjoy myself.

Saturday 03 Dec, 2011

It’s the weekend! Hooray! I finished making all of the envelopes for my photo Christmas cards yesterday. I am one step closer to getting them in the mail. I did laundry, dishes, and packaged some chicken that was on sale to put in the freezer. We watched an episode of Foyle’s War and read scriptures, and I taught my early morning class on the Ten Commandments, and that was just about it. Thankfully Eliza cooked us pizza for supper.

Glimpses 21-26 November 2011

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Monday 21 November, 2011

My weekend was a good one. I took some time Saturday and started cutting materials for my homemade Christmas cards. Eliza, Kaleb, Dante and I watched a pretty lame (I thought) movie Saturday that the boys really loved and laughed at. It was called C.H.O.M.P.S. It was typical of the old Disney movies – pretty tame for this generation of kids so I was very happy that they enjoyed it so much. I was gone most of yesterday attending church in Topsham. After their ward conference, We meet with their RS Presidency, then had lunch, then had a Stake RS Presidency meeting. I didn't get home until 5 o'clock! This week is looking very promising.

Tuesday 22 November, 2011

I pulled a muscle swimming (running) in the pool yesterday, but it seems to be OK. I finished cutting the photos for my Christmas cards last night and inserted them into the little paper frames that I made. Now to find something cute to stamp that will fit in the space and then put them all together. My sister tells me that there is nothing that I can bring for Thanksgiving dinner – I usually bring the mashed potato, homemade rolls, and apple and pumpkin pies. I can’t decide if I am relieved or disappointed. We are expecting some rain/mixed/snow tomorrow. I say –‘Bring it on!”

Movie quote of the week:
"You're gonna need a bigger boat."

This quote is from Jaws, a movie that truly spooked me when I first saw it in the theater to the point that I was in a panic of fright walking up to my third story apartment. My mind told me that here is no chance of a big shark attacking me in a city apartment - but my emotions told me differently. Yeah, I can laugh now ... in broad daylight.

Wednesday 23 November, 2011

We are in the middle of a nor’easter this morning. They are predicting 8-12 inches of snow for my location. We live in the foothills of some small mountains (yes, you Westerner’s would call them hills – come to think of it my area is call the Oxford Hills so I guess we call them hills too) and so are always in the band of potentially heavy snow. The mountains to the north of us are excellent ski mountains – so they always welcome the snow. No school today, it was scheduled to be an early release day anyway. I don’t think I crossed one thing off my to do list yesterday. I will have to start adding laundry, dishes and other routine chores just so I can cross something off at the end of the day.

Thursday 24 November, 2011

We did get around 10 inches of snow yesterday. So, we will have a white Thanksgiving (and we also had a white Halloween!). I employed Kaleb and Dante yesterday in the basement in our food storage room. We boxed up almost of all of our #10 cans of food and labeled the boxes and dumped some very old canned peaches. I discovered that a few of our cans of dry milk are beginning to rust, so I will repackage those. They also helped me with some laundry and various other ‘carrying’ chores. I also did the budget (I really dislike that chore!) and have the Christmas program at church almost completed. Reflecting back, it was a good day.

Friday 25 November, 2011

Thanksgiving is a great tradition and I am happy that I was able to spend it with some of my family. My sister cooked turkey and all of our traditional Thanksgiving foods – mashed potato, squash, peas, onions, sweet potatoes, cranberry sauce, gravy, and rolls. Pumpkin pie, lemon meringue pie, and apple pie for dessert. There is great comfort in tradition. Because my sister did all of the cooking, I was able to work for 6 hours yesterday and help out with some evaluations. We SKYPED with Sofie and Danny who is visiting right her right now. My husband and I watched two episodes of an Australian show called Rain Shadow, about a couple of veterinarians in an area of Australia experiencing a long time drought. Then I finished the Christmas program for church, emailed out a request for volunteers to provide some special music, updated my email list of Relief Society 2nd Counselors in the Stake and emailed out the notes from a recent meeting. It is never enough, but I was content as I drifted off to sleep.

Saturday 26 November, 2011

Another fairly quiet day around here. Kaleb and Dante are off with their dad for the weekend. I was able to work a few hours yesterday, do some housework, cook a turkey and take care of it, redo the budget yet again, watch a little TV, and …. I guess that was it. A turkey sandwich with mayo on 12 grain bread was my reward, Yum! I think I could eat that every day for at least a week before I wondered if there was any other food in the house.

Glimpses 14-19 November 2011

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Monday, 14 November 2011

This was a busy weekend for me. I worked about seven hours on Saturday and tried to do some housework. Many small projects were completed and I got to SKYPE with Mike and Sarah, and Sofie and David and kids. I found out that Mike and Sarah are expecting a baby... I am very happy for that - this will be their first. Danny is now in Michigan visiting Sofie. My husband cooked his delicious spaghetti for lunch yesterday, I got caught up on some paperwork, and we watched a couple of episodes of Criminal Minds.

Tuesday, 15 November 2011

I went swimming yesterday afternoon and it was relaxing and refreshing. I have such a hard time making myself leave the house. My to-do list is so long and it takes so much time to go out and do something. But I am happy that I went to the pool. We watched Kaleb and Dante while Eliza went to her cake decorating class - they helped do some housework and I really appreciate that. I was able to help Kaleb with a math paper on fractions. My husband watched Mythbusters with them while I attended a WGU ETT team meeting. It was a good day, all in all.

Movie quote of the week:
Keziah: No thanks, I'm a fruitarian.
This is from Notting Hill and this scene makes us laugh every time we see it.

Wednesday, 16 November 2011

Yesterday was a pretty crazy day - one of those days when I was busy all day and didn't seem to accomplish that much. I got to attend a faculty meeting by phone for my early morning class that I teach. I attended over half when Sofie SKYPED and they were so loud playing hide and seek over the computer with my two grandsons who were here that I finally gave up and got off the phone. It was fun to visit with them. I tried to read and prepare my class for this morning after everyone left and was so tired that I fell asleep with open books in my lap. I kept waking up just a little but not enough to actually get up and go to bed until after 11. Then I woke up at 4 and couldn't get back to sleep. :(

Thursday, 17 November 2011

Yesterday was another busy day. I taught my early morning class, worked for WGU, helped a friend at the Family History Center, and went swimming. When I got home about suppertime last night my daughter had fixed a delicious supper and we watched a couple of episodes of NCIS.Actually I did not see the ending of the second episode - I fell asleep. I am working on a presentation that I am giving tonight at a leadership meeting for Relief Society and will need to spend another couple of hours today firming it up.

Friday, 18 November, 2011

My leadership meeting presentation went very well last night. The only drawback was not getting home until 10:30. So 5AM came fast this morning and I am dragging a bit. So far I love my new laptop – it is a Lenovo ThinkPad and I am working on getting it set up the way I like it for work. Eliza made some very cute gingerbread men soaps yesterday. She is very talented. I couldn’t take the time out to go to cardmaking yesterday so I sent her in my place and she made me three very cute Christmas cards.

Saturday, 19 November, 2011

Working, swimming, doctors’ appointments – such is my life these days. There was still time to eat a KFC bowl, watch two episodes of NCIS, and send some important emails. I am hoping today to clean the kitchen – there is not any available counter space- we are piled high with dishes.

Thankfuls

2011-11-13T15:59:00.000-05:00

03 November 2011

I am thankful to be able to look out the window and see trees and sky and sunshine. I even saw a squirrel running down a tree in the front yard. I am thankful for the fog that blocked the sun from my eyes until it had moved behind the tree a little. I am thankful for a job where I can make pretty decent money from my easy chair. I am thankful for oatmeal; so fast and easy and inexpensive to fix and so yummy to eat and for the brown sugar that made it so sweet. I am thankful for the internet that allows me to be uplifted by so many good friends on a daily basis. I am thankful to be alive and kicking.

04 November 2011

Today I am thankful for early morning seminary. It is a wonderful way to start off each school morning. I am thankful for the chocolate covered peanut that I dropped under my desk last week that helped to save me from sure death from a 'gotta have chocolate' attack yesterday. I am thankful for the piano that Sue and Bion gave us years ago and the many wonderful hours of playing it myself and listening to Sofie play. There is nothing quite so wonderful as doing housework during a live concert. I am also thankful for the many hours that our family, including our children's spouses, have gathered around for a sing fest of hymns and show tunes. I am thankful for the music from 'Les Miserables" and "Phantom of the Opera", and "Wicked' and many other amazing songs written by many talented songwriters. I am thankful for my resident songwriter, my husband, who writes original music for the scripture mastery scriptures each year, making them a delight to memorize. What are you thankful for today?

05 November 2011

Today I am thankful for the opportunity to go out to a Relief Society meeting. Truthfully I am rebelling about going out-but I am thankful that I committed myself to do something because I will be thankful once I get there. I am thankful to Kaleb who stayed overnight and helped me clean the pantry and the bookshelf in the kitchen last night. I am thankful that I have worked one hour for WGU, changed and washed the towels on our leaking furnace, put a load of laundry in the dryer, and loaded and ran the dishwasher already this morning for I am pretty sure I will be exhausted by the time I get home. I am thankful that there was leftover pizza in the fridge for breakfast and that Eliza stayed long enough last night to cook us pizza for supper. I am thankful that the discomfort and redness that I have from the surgery is not an infection but normal healing and thankful that our car got me to Scarborough and back yesterday to find that out. I am thankful to have SKYPED with Mike and Sarah last night and that they both look amazing and happy, and thankful that Mike will NOT be deploying at the end of the month. I am thankful that Sofie and family get to visit Chicago this weekend and hope they have a wonderfully fun time. I am thankful that we cam set the clocks back one hour tonight as that always feels like a snow day for me-like I cheated time.

06 November 2011

This morning I am thankful for the TV show Castle. I love Detective Kate Beckett and her relationship with Richard Castle. And I love his relationship with his daughter and his mother. I am also thankful that I went to the Relief Society meeting yesterday - it was good to visit. I am thankful that Jen came and got her stuff from our shed- now we can fill it with our stuff. I am thankful for free photos at Walgreens and that we have a Walgreens right in town, I am thankful that it is Sunday and I can go to church to worship my Savior Jesus Christ, for whom I am the most thankful. I love Him and the strength and courage He gives me on a daily basis.

07 November 2011

Today I am thankful for SKYPE and for Michaela who came to seminary class that way. I am always thankful for Jean and Emily who come so consistently every day. I am thankful for the midwives who refused to kill the little Hebrew boy babies so that Moses could live and for the Pharoah's daughter who had compassion on a little baby floating in the river and brought him into her life to be her son even though her father must have disapproved. I am thankful for the sun which comes up an hour earlier now. I am thankful for the chocolate chip pancakes that Eliza made us and for the tuna on lettuce sandwich which tasted delicious yesterday. I am thankful that I have finally decided on Christmas presents for all and hope I feel well enough to make them. I am thankful for a new day and another chance to make better choices. I am thankful for my membership in The Church of Jesus-Christ of Latter-day Saints. I am thankful for a very long list of things to do - I don't think I will be bored for a long time! :) I am thankful for the quote: "I am not afraid of the storm as I am learning to sail my ship'. Actually I am a little bit afraid of the storms in my life but I want to learn to sail my ship so I am trying to face them with courage and optimism. I like to hear what you are thankful for?

08 November 2011

Today I am thankful for the chance to teach seminary. I know that I say that almost every day but every day I learn something new. Today it was studying about when the Lord called Moses to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt. Moses felt pretty apprehensive about that calling, he didn't feel as though he could do it. What is really neat is reading what the Lord said to him about how he would help him. So I am so thankful that the Lord helps me in so many ways to fulfill the callings that I have.
I am also thankful for the Chinese food that John brought home for lunch yesterday. And for the opportunity to have Kaleb and Dante here until Wednesday. They are good kids. I am thankful for the nap I took yesterday although I am not thankful for the time that it took out of my day. I am thankful to see the pictures of Sofie's trip to Chicago although some of them looked very scary. I am thankful to now be covered by Maine Care (hooray) because my medical bills before Maine Care are $40K - and I have many more bills to come!

Glimpses 20 October-12 November 2011

2011-11-13T11:46:00.000-05:00

Thursday 20 October 2011

The surgery went well yesterday and I was home in my easy chair eating Subway and watching an episode of The Mentalist at 2PM. So far this morning I am feeling well, although I think that a nap or two will be needed. I did sleep my usual 6 hours last night, but have been up since 3:30AM. Pain killers are such a great invention –but I haven’t needed one yet today – I will hold off until I do. I did clean out my personal email account, did some price comparisons on bulk food, and wrote and posted two blog posts yesterday and felt very accomplished! (ah, the joy of small things!) I got a very positive and touching email from an old friend that has made me cry (in a good way!) three times already. I guess that is a good indication of where my emotions are when I am tired.

Friday 21 October 2011

No pain pills yesterday….Hooray! I actually had a pretty productive day. I worked about 5 hours, did three loads of laundry, emptied, filled and ran the dishwasher, washed up all the big dishes, and made a delicious broccoli cheese vegetable soup. Needless to say – I am feeling fine after the surgery. I had four friends visit, Marge brought me a book to read, The Einstein Syndrome –Bright Children Who Talk Late, and Missy brought me flowers. John and I watched an episode of The Mentalist and I watched the last half of a Murder, She Wrote that I fell asleep during a few days before. Life is good!

Saturday 22 October 2011

Have you ever experienced pulling an all-nighter and being amazed at how well you felt the next day, only to crash the day after? That is exactly what happened to me. The day after the surgery, I felt great! Yesterday I had a bit of a crash. I was very tired from about noon on – hardly moved at all. Eliza and Caleb and Kaleb and Dante were here after school for supper and showers and we watched a couple episodes of The Cosby Show, Father Knows Best, and one episode of How It’s Made-this episode showed how jeans were made, very interesting! I guess with the right tools – anything can be easier.

Monday 24 October 2011

I guess my life is pretty boring at times. I notice it mostly when I try to make it sound interesting for this daily email. John and I watched a little Netflix over the weekend. I did some laundry, changed my blog background, attended church and played the organ, scanned some photos, corrected the home study assignments of one of my students, skyped with Sofie and her family, worked through a small pile of paper, and napped a few times. My sister bought me two new turbans and so I have three turbans and several knitted hats- rather a nice collection for that morning when I wake up with no hair. Holly brought us a lasagna that we ate for lunch yesterday – it was so delicious! Thank you Holly.

Tuesday 25 October 2011

Movie Quote of the Week

Queen Clarisse Renaldi: Goodbye, trolley people!
From Princess Diaries - I love Anne Hathaway in this movie! Maybe (hopefully) the little girl in me has never grown up.

Eliza, Kaleb, and Dante showed up around 9 AM and spent the day. I knew they would be spending the entire day as I was watching them while their mother went to a cake decorating class in the evening. Around noon, I could see that it was going to be a long day – so I had my youngest grandson deliver a note to my husband that said, “Dear Grandpa, would you like to go to the movies with me at 1:05? Love, Gramma”. We escaped and went to see “Real Steel”, which I found to be heartwarming and very entertaining. And it broke up the day for me. I survived it! Other than going to the movies and washing, drying, and folding two loads of fabric – I worked for WGU and that was my Monday.

Wednesday 26 October 2011

Another doctor’s appointment yesterday – this time with good news. The breast cancer has not spread. Hooray! Now waiting to hear about the chemotherapy schedule. Eliza, Kaleb and Dante visited for awhile and she made a delicious breakfast pizza, and I got to help a little with 6^th grade fractions. We watched a couple of episodes of The Closer, I sorted some photos, and I did dishes and ‘found’ half of my kitchen counter. Maybe I will find the rest today!

Thursday 27 October 2011

Yesterday, besides work, I tackled another pile of paper and continued washing and drying and folding the fabric. We watched another episode of The Closer and I read another chapter to my husband in The Undaunted. We are 82% of the way through the book. My husband continued with his experiments making a wood gasifier stove. There is no school today and tomorrow because of Parent-Teacher Conferences so I expect I will see the grandkids at some point today. I am going to go to card making this morning. That will be fun!

Friday 28 October 2011

I went to my card making class yesterday morning and made three pretty wonderful cards. It was fun! Eliza, Kaleb and Dante were around most of the day and spent the night, so I have seen enough Spectacular Spiderman and The Angry Beavers to last me for a long while. :) I dug out my cricut last night and cut out some pieces to make a pumpkin card. I hope to take the time to get them together and in the mail today. Eliza and I watched an episode of Murder, She Wrote last night and I read another chapter to my husband in The Undaunted. And…..it snowed yesterday!! But, thankfully it did not accumulate. However, they are making noises about a Northeaster Saturday night into Sunday – we will see how that plays out.

Here are the cards from the last couple of months. The pumpkin card I made on my own.

Saturday 29 October 2011

Eliza and boys spent the day yesterday – that makes for a very busy (noisy) day. I did manage to work almost 8 hours, but it is hard for my brain to function well with noise and confusion about. I remember the day when I could listen to music, watch TV, and study at the same time- those days are long gone! I did finally give up and finished making the cards I cut out the day before and then cut out another batch. I helped to put away groceries and washed up some dishes and fell asleep watching Murder, She Wrote.

Monday 31 October 2011

The weekend was fairly productive, thank goodness. We did get a Nor’easter with 8-10 inches of snow over night Saturday – but no high winds or power outages for our family. Eliza and boys spent the night Saturday night as they have no power or heat in their place, so our house was busy. Church was cancelled on Sunday morning, making Sunday a long day to fill. We watched The Canterville Ghost with Dante. Eliza fed us pancakes for breakfast and spaghetti for lunch. I scanned and labeled many photos, watched a couple of episodes of The Closer with my husband, skyped with Joe and Dvorah, and slept through part of several episodes of Murder. She Wrote.

Tuesday 01 Nov 2011

Movie Quote of the Week

Faye: You mean actually make a record? A record record record?

From That Thing You Do – Yes, we do say this often in the Governale household.

We still have snow on the ground – I was certain that it would just all melt away. Maybe today. After a week and a half I am teaching my early morning class again. Five o’clock came very early on Monday, it was better today. I found the energy to cook supper last night – roasted potatoes and carrots and BBQ pork. It was delicious. I watched a documentary on armwrestling with my husband last night. Who knew?

Wednesday 02 Nov 2011

Tuesday was a sunny day, but we still have snow on the ground! Maybe it is here to stay. I spent some time in the basement yesterday cleaning; it actually was gratifying to look back at the end of the day and see what I had done. I read another chapter in The Undaunted to my husband, got a start on planning a Christmas program for church, did some laundry, and caught up on some emails. Joe and Dvorah are starting a traveling laser tag business. They had their first gig Friday night and posted pictures last night. It certainly looked like everyone was having a great time! Aren't they cute?

Thursday 03 Nov 2011

Yesterday was one of those days when I must have been much more tired than I knew. I settled into my chair around noon for lunch and an episode of Castle with my husband. When it was over, I did not move and napped on and off for a few hours. I did manage to fix supper and work on scanning and labeling photos for awhile. Oh well, today is another day and another shot at productivity!

Friday 04 Nov 2011

I worked over 8 hours yesterday for WGU. In my world that does not leave much time for anything else. I taught my early morning class, watched an episode of Castle and read scriptures with my husband, sent out an important email, and crashed around 9pm.

Saturday 05 Nov 2011

Friday I had to make an unplanned run to the doctor’s. Everything is OK but that is three hours I will never get back. Eliza cooked us pepperoni pizza for supper and then left Kaleb here for the night. He worked for me (for pay) and we accomplished quite a bit. We cleaned out and organized the pantry and a bookshelf in the kitchen. I worked until 9PM folding fabric while he watched a Lego DVD. Now it is Saturday morning and I am gone for the morning to a Women’s meeting at church.

Monday 07 Nov 2011

It was a pretty great weekend. I did enjoy the Women’s meeting at church on Saturday morning and I got some cleaning and organizing done. Sofie and her family spent the weekend in Chicago and had a great time. They ate Chicago popcorn (a caramel and cheddar mix) and deep dish Chicago pizza. They walked the streets and went to the top of the Sears Tower. I ordered the prints for my Christmas cards. Each year I take old family photos and make them into Christmas cards to share the wealth of wonderful photos that I have collected. This year my father’s side of the family is getting a wedding photo of his grandparents and my mother’s side of the family is getting a photo of her grandfather’s brother.

Here are some Chicago pictures!

Tuesday 08 Nov 2011

Movie quote of the week:

Iggy: "...because as we all know, money can't buy knives. This is from the movie Surf Ninjas, an absolute favorite when my kids were a bit younger. It stars Ernie Reyes, Jr. who was the little boy on Sidekicks and his father Ernie Reyes, Sr. We use this quote often when we are together. A funny, entertaining movie with a great rendition of Barbara Ann.

Wednesday 09 Nov 2011

Yesterday I went out to vote. Kaleb and Dante spent the night again last night and we watched a couple of episodes of How It’s Made and one episode of MythBusters. I put a corn chowder in the crock pot in the morning and it was delicious with biscuits for supper. We will be having it again today. I love it when supper is already planned by breakfast. I got a box containing three large bags of cheddar popcorn from Sofie – I love popcorn. A year ago for my birthday Joe and Dvorah gave me seven bags of flavored popcorn – that was a fun gift! The weather has been in the 50’s and sunny since last Saturday – nice.

Thursday 10 Nov 2011

I worked 8 hours yesterday, did a little laundry and dishes, and worked in Photoshop editing a few photos. My husband worked in the yard in the afternoon and then we watched an episode of Criminal Minds while eating leftover corn chowder. And that was my day!

Friday 11 Nov 2011

I finished one of the scrapbook pages that I am giving my mother for Christmas. Last year I started a photo scrapbook and gave it to her for Christmas with copies to my sister and niece. I added two pages for her birthday and will add a few more this Christmas. The page I have finished already is a page of baby faces of my sister and me, our children, and my grandchildren. I love the way it came out. I had a doctor’s appointment in Lewiston and took advantage of that to go to Joann’s Fabric. That is a very dangerous place for me to visit but I came out of it relatively unscathed ($40). When the cashier asked if there was anything else she could help me with, I just asked her to get me out of there FAST!

Saturday 12 Nov 2011

Veteran’s day was quiet around our house. My resident Vet worked around the house and then did a Bruins game at the radio station last night. We watched the movie Thor – he had been wanting to see it ever since it came out in the theater. I worked for WGU for 7 hours, then designed my photo Christmas card and talked on the phone to Mike and then Sofie. I had a ‘conversation’ with my three year old granddaughter. She was shouting “I love you Gramma!” over and over again and shouting other pieces of information. Every now and then she would hand the phone to her mother and say that I was not there. Come to find out, she was holding the phone in front of her face not near her ear so she couldn’t hear me shouting back.

Pagers, IVs, and Johnnies

2011-10-19T20:40:00.000-04:00

Today was the day for my lumpectomy and biopsy of the sentinel lymph node. I had to smear some numbing cream on my breast before leaving for the hospital at 5:30AM and cover it with an occlusive dressing (plastic wrap). This is because Dr Greaterex wanted to trace the drainage of the breast to and through the lymph node system so she could find the sentinel or first lymph node. She wanted to biopsy it to see if there was any evidence of cancer cells- if not, then the cancer has not spread. Before going to the day surgery center in Scarborough, I was sent to the radiology department and they injected 4 doses of radioactive isotopes which could be tracked during surgery. The numbing cream was to make this more comfortable. All I can say is I am really thankful for the numbing cream because each of the four injections really hurt and burned. When I came out of that treatment, John said that it didn't take long. I said that it does not take very long to inflict pain.

Then we checked in at the surgery center - a very nice facility. They gave me a pager, just as they did at MMC for my hysterectomy. When they were ready for me - the pager went off. I was prepped and got visits from the pre op nurse, the anesthesiologist, the nurse anesthetist, the surgical nurse, and the surgeon. Dr. Greaterex asked if I was prepared and I asked her how she was doing as she had already performed one surgery and I was planning to sleep through the whole thing. She said that she wasn't planning to sleep and I told her that there were a lot of people praying that she wouldn't. I was wheeled into the operating room, transferred to the operating table, and evidently put right to sleep because the next thing I knew I was waking up in recovery. I felt great upon awaking. Within an hour I was dressed, had eaten a muffin and consumed a can of gingerale and two glasses of water, had my first painkiller tablet, gone to the bathroom, and walked to the car. We stopped at Subway on the way home for BLT subs and at Walgreen for my hydrocodone prescription and then came home, ate, and watched an episode of The Mentalist. My surgery was at 9:20AM and I was sitting in my chair at home at 2PM.

We are still praying for good results from the pathology report. I will find that out next Tuesday when I meet with Dr. Greaterex again.

A cool side effect of the isotope - blue urine. :)

Glimpses 10-19 October 2011

2011-10-19T20:09:00.000-04:00

Monday 10 October 2011

We had summer weather over the weekend with sunny skies and temperatures into the 70s. They are predicting sun and temps in the 60s for the next three days. It is good weather for the leaf peepers. I took some time on Saturday to sort through some photos and pull out a pile to be scanned. I also worked in my sewing room and put away all the lace I pulled out for the rainbow dress as well as sorting and putting away three bags of previously washed and dried fabric. I finished up indexing the batches of Maine vital records for the week. Sunday was also productive. I went to church, scanned the photos and started retouching them, posted two family blog posts, talked to my Sofie for an hour, and worked on my to do list.

Tuesday 11 October 2011

I spent some time retouching old photos last night. No matter what mood I am in, my photos bring a smile to my face. Sometimes I stare into the eyes and wonder what they were thinking, what their life was like, if they are proud of me or at least happy to have me as part of the family. Sometimes you can see the gleam in a child’s eye and know that they would have kept life interesting. I am trying to identify my father in the pile of unlabeled pictures. Someday they will all be identified, labeled, and sorted. Such fun!

Wednesday 12 October 2011

I was gone from the house for 7 1/2 hours yesterday for various treatments and doctor’s appointments. It was a long day and I relaxed last night by watching two episodes of Father Knows Best. I really enjoyed them. I wish Netflix would get The Donna Reed Show and put Leave It to Beaver back on streaming too. Very low key, good family shows. Joe and Dvorah attended their first foster parenting meeting last night. I can't wait to hear how it went.

Thursday 13 October 2011

Wednesday was a wonderfully quiet day. I did work quite a bit for WGU, did some laundry and housework, taught seminary, and indexed a batch of names from the Maine Vital statistics. I watched a couple of episodes of Father Knows Best – I am really enjoying these blasts from my past!

Friday 14 October 2011

Yesterday was a great day. My husband bought me a Zip’eMate personal die cutter for $1 at the local thrift shop. My mother bought me an embossing machine for my birthday a year ago and a friend gave me a Cricut cutting machine for Christmas a couple of years ago. I now have the technology!!! I got a call from MaineCare saying that all of my future medical expenses will be covered 100% by them. My husband brought and cooked me French Bread Pizza for lunch. I lead a very blessed life and I am thankful for it!

Saturday 15 October 2011

I do believe the sun is going to peek over the hill any moment now! You can tell when fall is really here by the arrival of the ladybugs on the windows trying to get inside to winter. I worked for about 8.5 hours yesterday which doesn’t leave a whole lot of time for anything else. I did index two batches of names from the Maine Vital Records, prepare and teach a lesson, and begin to prepare for a meeting that I have on Sunday. I watched one episode of Father Knows Best and dozed through an episode of Murder, She Wrote. All in all, I am OK with that.

Monday 17 October 2011

Weekends are wonderful! I did work a lot on Saturday but also spent some time in my sewing room organizing things. I spent the night with my Mom and we had a nice visit and watched a little TV- a couple of game shows that I had never heard of before: Lingo and Chain Reaction. Sunday I attended church in Saco and then had two meetings after. I didn’t get home until 5pm (I left at 7am) so I was a bit tired, but very happy.

Tuesday 18 October 2011

My husband and I went out to dinner last night at Dan and Michelle Cooper's house. It was so much fun! Soft tacos and blueberry pie and chocolate cake for dessert. We played a little trivia game about General Conference– boys against the girls. The girls won. (no comment) I worked 8 hours for WGU, ran the dishwasher, and we watched an episode of Lie To Me.

Wednesday 19 October 2011

Tuesday was my last day of teaching Seminary for a week.I cancelled Wednesday because of my surgery and Thursday too to recover. Emily doesn't have a ride for Friday through Wednesday and then there is no school on Thursday and Friday. Emily will make up these days by doing home study. I worked and worked and finally finished a calibration project for WGU that I have been doing. Hooray! We watched an episode of The Mentalist and then I mostly just did nothing. Oh, I did clean the pink bathroom! I am off for surgery this morning, and if all goes well I will be home by late afternoon.

Hat Fashions

2011-10-17T16:52:00.000-04:00

Here is a preview:

It is not a pretty sight, but I think it is as good as it is gonna get. Thank you for the turban, Sofie. I love it!

Glimpses

2011-10-09T15:17:00.000-04:00

Monday 26 September 2011

We had good weather this weekend; not what was predicted at all. That was a pleasant surprise. Saturday was pretty uneventful, although I did go to a Relief Society Meeting in the evening. We went out visiting some sisters and came back to the chapel to watch the General Relief Society Broadcast. They couldn't get the satellite to work, so I went home without seeing it. Sunday I attended church in Cornish and Eris went with me. It was a beautiful drive as usual and they fed us with a linger longer after meetings and before our meeting with their RS Presidency. The new members of the our stake RS presidency were set apart by President Thomas. My blessing was very interesting and very long. I wish that I could remember it better - but he did bless me in missionary work and temple work and with health and strength. Also, he said that they commended me for my service.

Tuesday 27 September 2011

Movie quote of the week:

From "That Thing You Do"

Lenny: Where was I? Oh yeah, playing songs on my guitar.

Our family discovered this movie several years after it came out and it is one of our all time favorites. My husband and I grew up in the 60s so we love this music, most of which was written by Tom Hanks. We also quote Lenny (Steve Zahn) often. What a funny guy!

I am glad that Monday is over. I think I tired myself out over the weekend and it seemed a very long day. I did snap and cook green beans for supper – they have proven to be our favorite veggie this summer. I watched the General RS Broadcast and that was amazingly uplifting. Seminary went well. Eris brought over some items leftover at the summer camp where she works. We got 10 lbs of hotdogs, five bottles of Tabasco sauce, 2 boxes of Kosher salt, 5 gallons of cooking oil, and a box each of mayonnaise and ketchup individual serving packets. Not a bad haul.

Wednesday 28 September 2011

Eliza and family and the missionaries from church came over for supper last night. We had pizza and chips and soda, a longtime Governale Friday night tradition. Now, what to fix for Friday? It was fun to have company. I am trying to wash and dry all of my cotton fabric and get it on shelves in my sewing room. I did three loads yesterday – washing and drying is easy – it is the folding that takes a very long time. It will be so wonderful to see all the colors, all the choices, and imagine the possibilities when this project is done. Sometimes I will open the sewing room door just to gaze at the fabric already on the shelves. Have I mentioned that I love fabric! Sometimes a piece will make my heart skip a beat and cause me to say “Awwwww”. (You know that universal sound that women make whenever they see a little baby!)

Thursday 29 September 2011

Yesterday was uneventful. Today will be interesting. Most of you know that I had surgery in July. It was because I had uterine cancer. They think they got it all, but I will be having radiation therapy and chemotherapy over the next few months. I have my first radiation treatment today. From what they tell me, I definitely will be tired and I definitely will lose all my hair (Ah, the blessings of working remotely!) I was also warned about chemobrain – oh, dear! There is no way to predict how my body will react to the treatments so all I can say is that I will work as regularly as I can and be as optimistic and cheerful as possible.

Friday 30 September 2011

It rained very hard yesterday on the way down and back from my appointment. The worst part of the radiation treatment was having to lay flat on my back for about a half hour, the best part was that they cranked up Billy Joel music for me to listen to. They insert the tube and then x-ray me to make sure it is in the right place, then a guy comes in with a radiation detector and waved it over me to make sure than I am not coming into the treatment with any radiation in me. Then they transfer me to a stretcher and roll me to the radiation room. They hook up the machine, crank up the music, lower the lights and all leave the room. Once it is over the same guy comes in and checks me for radiation again. Once it was clear, then the others come in. One down, two to go!

I shopped at WalMart on the way home, ate supper, had devotional with my husband and read a couple of chapters to him. I was very tired, fell asleep too early and was up at 3am finishing up some cards to mail out to my visiting teaching sisters.

Saturday 01 October 2011

Well, if one cancer wasn’t enough – they have discovered that I also have breast cancer. Still waiting to see what will be done about that. Looks like the rest of this year will not be listed in my journal as one of my favorite times. :) Friday was a pretty good day. I mostly tried to catch up on some hours for WGU. My husband and I watched the last half of Jane Eyre and the first half of an episode of Rough Diamond. Talk about disjointed! Seminary went well. I indexed two batches of Maine Vital Records before bed. And now it is Saturday.

Monday 03 October 2011

It was a great weekend for me. I watched 8 hours of uplifting and motivating talks during General Conference, got to do some extra preparation for seminary, and finished indexing two batches of Maine Vital Records. I also chose the photos that I will use for Christmas cards this year. I always choose an old family photo, great-great grandparents, etc., to use on the front of the cards I send to family. This will be the seventh year I have done that and everyone seems to enjoy them. It is one way of sharing some of the great old photos I have collected over the years. I got a phone call from my three-year-old granddaughter Sarah last night saying the words that every ‘hip’ grandmother wants to hear, “Gramma, I want to Skype!”

Tuesday 04 October 2011

Movie quote of the week:

Maria Portokalos: Nicko! Don't play with the food! When I was your age, we didn't have food!

From My Big Fat Greek Wedding -another favorite movie.

Monday was just Monday. Rhoby called and we talked for over an hour. It was fun to catch up with her. My husband and I watched a very strange Danish movie last night with English subtitles called The Trollhunter. My sons had watched it. All I can say is, “That’s two hours of my life that I will never get back”. We had a yummy supper; oven fried garlic potatoes, popcorn fish, and broccoli.

Wednesday 05 October 2011

It was a great Tuesday for me. Things were pretty calm around here, we had good food, watched an episode of The Guardian, taught and prepared seminary, and worked for 6 hours. Sounds pretty boring as I write it down. I did skype with Joe this morning – that was a nice start to the day.

Thursday 06 October 2011

I put the binding on 13 baby hats yesterday while Nancy sewed together 5 hats and then my husband took them to the hospital. That was a good 3 hours work! I tried calling Danny on SKYPE a couple of times throughout the day and finally late in the afternoon I caught him. We talked for over an hour and then Mike came home from work and we got to talk with him for a while also. It is so great to catch up with your kids. Mike in is the army and will be deployed soon, probably to Iraq. Eliza cooked us American chop suey for supper and it was delicious and we ate it while we watched the 1954 version of Dial M For Murder. Alfred Hitchcock is amazing!

Friday 07 October 2011

Yesterday was my second radiation treatment. I felt totally drained by the time I got home, but perked up a bit after a few hours. Lucky for me, (or lucky for them!) Eliza and John left me some chop suey – I thought about it all the way home and would have been pretty disappointed if it was all gone. Other than working and teaching and preparing a lesson – that was my day!

Saturday 08 October 2011

I guess Friday was pretty uneventful as I am having a difficult time thinking what I did outside of WGU. Ah yes, a couple of batches of indexing Maine Vital Records, an episode of NCIS with my husband, and one episode of Numb3rs and two of Murder, She Wrote with Eliza. (That was way too much TV!) Eliza cooked pizza for supper and John went grocery shopping for me. Well, maybe I can accomplish more today. :)

Sarah's Rainbow dress and a Sunday walk

2011-10-09T14:33:00.000-04:00

Here is a picture of the rainbow dress that I made for Sarah. It was so much fun to make it and she loves it!

The following pictures were taking during a Sunday walk in Michigan. Love these people!

The next pictures are just random Andrew pictures. Cute! :)

Glimpses 4-24 Sep 2011

2011-09-25T07:03:00.002-04:00

Monday 5 September 2011

We had some very muggy weather this weekend. They are predicting more mugginess today with thundershowers, and indeed it is thundering and lightning right now. I have only one tier and buttons and the rainbow dress is finished and I am in hopes of mailing it tomorrow. I have a love-hate relationship with this dress. One day I hate the way it looks, the next day I think it is beautiful. I am pretty sure that Sarah is going to love it, though. We skyped with Sofie and family until freeze-pop was spilled on their computer and they needed to get off and clean it up.

Tuesday 6 September 2011

I finished the rainbow dress. Hooray! I also actually cooked supper last night. And washed the dishes and cleaned the counters. I’m on a roll! My husband and I watched the first episode of The Guardian which stars a younger version of The Mentalist. We enjoyed it. We are so excited to see that the next season of Castle will be available later on in the month. I attempted to read another chapter in The Undaunted to my husband, but he fell asleep during it.

Wednesday 7 September 2011

Tuesday was a productive day for me. After working, I did attack the budget and though I do think it won the battle at least some progress was made, and I am hoping to ultimately win the war. A couple of important phone calls were completed and I recorded myself reading three books for my grandchildren, and I fixed supper again and cleaned up after.

Thursday 8 September 2011

I taught a good seminary class yesterday. Nancy and I made 11 baby hats while listening to good music and talking up a storm. Eliza and the boys came to visit for a while and I got to teach an impromptu lesson to the two oldest on the difference between a debit and a credit card, interest, and a good way to budget their allowance. Those teaching moments - precious! Mu husband and I watched a 1939 movie, Stagecoach, with a very young and handsome John Wayne (always think of you Danny when I think of John Wayne!) and an even younger Andy Devine. I did not recognize Andy Devine until he spoke - I recognized his voice right away (Friar Tuck in Robin Hood) but no matter how hard I looked - I could not see Andy Devine in that face!

Friday 9 September 2011

Yesterday I got back from my doctor's appointment just before noon. I am such a morning person! It is hard to work efficiently and productively in the afternoon. I did index a couple of batches of names from the Maine Vital Records and that made me feel so accomplished!

Saturday 10 September 2011

It finally stopped raining! Yesterday was sunny and cool and we are in for dry days through the middle of next week. Eliza and Mike were able to close on their land yesterday; maybe they can now get a loan for their house and get started before the snow flies. My sister brought us fresh corn from their garden for supper last night and it was delicious along with my homemade pizza. Kaleb had supper with us and spent the night. We worked for one hour in the basement; this morning we will do several. I really appreciate his help! My husband and I watched the first episode of Foyle’s War with Michael Kitchen. It was good.

Monday 12 September 2011

John, Kaleb and I spent a few hours in the basement over the weekend, sorting and hauling out. We celebrated Eliza’s birthday yesterday. She requested a jello poke cake so I made her one with raspberry jello. John and I paid for a cake decorating class for her at the local adult education. She was happy with that. Mike called on Saturday at noon and wanted us to go right down to the book store and buy a book for him. His favorite high school teacher, Tom Harvey, had written a book and was having a book signing. John was gone with our car, but Eliza was here and she jumped in her car and went right down. Mr. Harvey talked and talked about how much he enjoyed Mike, Joe, and Sofie in his classes. He wanted to be caught up on what they were doing.

Tuesday 13 September 2011

I went swimming yesterday for the first time since surgery. It felt so very good. I am waiting to hear Sarah's reaction to her rainbow dress. The package has arrived but the mailbox key will not work. My husband is busy cleaning up the yard yesterday and today – and I am planning on getting in a lot of hours for WGU today.

Wednesday 14 September 2011

Tuesday was sunny and a bit humid. They are predicting patchy frost inland on Friday and Saturday night. Two of my grandsons and two friends were at my house for homework time yesterday. 6^th grade math! I love math and miss teaching it in the gifted and talented program. They were working on factor trees, such fun! Math is so logical. (I also love to do logic puzzles) I tried to get them to understand that if they knew their multiplication facts, factor trees are a cinch. Whatever happened to rote memorization of math facts? Math is too hard when you do not know the basic facts.

Thursday 15 September 2011

I went swimming again yesterday. The room was like a sauna – so very hot, but I loved my swim. Eliza and boys went and picked me 6 bags of drop apples for free. Today I need to start processing them. I probably will dry them, although maybe some applesauce or apple crisp will be made. My lesson went well in the morning and I indexed one batch of Maine Vital Records. I also enjoyed one and a half episodes of Family Ties (I finished an episode that I fell asleep during the night before).

Friday 16 September 2011

Kaleb spent the day here yesterday with his mother as he did not feel well enough to go to school. I found a great game on coolmath.com for him to practice his multiplication facts. Not only was it fun, but it focused on being fast and it kept his attention for quite a long time. It is called Math Lines xFactor. It is based on a popular arcade game but I don’t know the name of it. It might be called Zuma?

Saturday 17 September 2011

I put a soup into the crock pot yesterday morning. I love it when I do that and supper is just ready to eat without any fuss. I also made an apple crisp from some of our apples. It was delicious – especially since Eliza had taught me to leave the flour out of the topping. (I may have some for breakfast- it is great being an adult!) I put the binding on 6 baby hats while listening to a great talk and watched the last episodes of Family Ties. I taught seminary and it went well. Sofie called and I got to talk to Sarah, “Thank you for the dress Gramma. I love it. It is so beautiful!”. She was hugging it in the car and told her mother “I have a secret. I love my dress. “ I also got to talk to my Andrew, something about “dinosaur chicken nuggets”. I think I am finally recovered from my surgery. Just in time for the next trial.

Monday 19 September 2011

It was a great weekend for me. I finished recording reading aloud books for my grandchildren. Now the ball is in my husband’s court to somehow get the videos on a DVD with a menu. Guy stuff! I attended a wonderfully uplifting Saturday session of Stake Conference and the Sunday session. Just before the Sunday morning meeting began, Sister Smith, the Stake Relief Society President, asked me if President Quin had talked to me. I said, "No. Was he suppose to?" Evidently he was suppose to, because I was released as Stake RS Secretary and called to be 2nd Counselor in the Stake Relief Society during the meeting. We had a new stake presidency called - Jeff Thomas as President, Alan Barker as 1st counselor, and Bryce Cropper as 2nd counselor. Three great men! Visiting with friends after the meeting was wonderful! I do like to visit! John was very patient, he just went to the car until I was finished. John and I went to Joe and Dvorah's house for lunch after. It was good to catch up on their life and just to be with them. They are good kids. I got up early on Sunday and finished up my batches of indexing records from the Maine Vital Records. Yes, it was a good weekend!

Tuesday 20 September 2011

Yesterday was one of those crazy days where you just keep going until you drop. I did go swimming which is always wonderfully relaxing. Lots of work, an episode of The Guardian with my husband, teaching seminary, and grabbing popcorn chicken at KFC (wishing I hadn’t remembered how good they are!) pretty well filled my day. In seminary this morning we talked about keeping a journal and a book of remembrance and I got to share some of the family history digital scrapbook pages I made for my mother. I was actually pretty impressed with them -I had forgotten just how great they look!

Wednesday 21 September 2011

I felt pretty drained yesterday – I even took a nap around lunch time –something that I rarely do. I worked my way through the revision of our budget and labeled it The Ugly Monster Budget – maybe that will bring a little humor into my life on budget day –certainly the budget itself will not. I wrote in my journal last night, something I haven’t done for over a year, and indexed a batch of records from the Maine Vital Records. I watched an episode of Murder She Wrote, prepared seminary and then went to bed! Today is Dante’s 9^th birthday. He and his mother and brother are here taking showers and getting haircuts because it is picture day at school. They are still camping on their land and showers are not available there yet.

Thursday 22 September 2011

Yesterday was pretty crazy. I worked almost 8 hours and still managed to take care of some business for Relief Society, load and run the dishwasher, read to my husband, cook a pretty wonderful dinner (roasted vegetables and chicken) and to help Kaleb with his math homework.

Friday 23 September 2011

Another long day is over and I am none the worse for wear. Mornings are such a wonderful creation! My husband and I took time to watch an episode of The Guardian together. Our dates are not very exciting, but they are pretty regular. My husband made a pretty good supper – a concoction of my latest leftover soup mixed with a can of Campbell’s Chunky Chicken Corn Chowder. It was pretty tasty and the Ritz crackers were an elegant addition. More indexing was completed on the Maine Vital Records.

Saturday 24 September 2011

I worked steady from 5 AM (getting ready to teach my class) until 8PM yesterday with only one break for an episode of Castle with my husband. I would like to say that I am all caught up in everything, but that would be a lie. Thankfully, I have another whole day ahead of me to continue to make a dent in my to-do list. Wish me luck.

62 Things to Do Before I'm 62 UPDATE

2011-09-24T14:57:00.000-04:00

62 things to do before I'm 62

1. Attend the temple 12 times

2. Index 2600 names (352 done)

3. Finish writing my book

4. Lose 100 pounds

5. Walk 5 miles

6. Organize the food storage area

7. Organize the craft area in the basement (only 5 more buckets to sort)

8. Organize Eliza's room in the basement

9. Pay off three credit cards

10. Get a new furnace

11. Memorize all 25 OT scripture mastery (Memorized 2)

12. Visit teach 100% each month (cards sent in August)

13. Type all genealogy into RootsMagic

14. Type all genealogy into FamilySearch

15. All family documents scanned and sorted into kids.

16. All photos scanned

17. 300 baby hats to the hospital (10)

18. 12 baby quilts for Casey Family Services

19. 50 little girl's dresses to Humanitarian Aid

20. 50 doll dresses to Humanitarian Aid

21. 20 burrito babies to Humanitarian Aid

22. Give money to someone twice ($200 for tires)

23. Learn to play 50 hymns from the regular hymnbook

24. Sewing room finished

25. My office finished (Closet is done!)

26. 5x7 photo border in the living room

27. scrapbooking organized, including stamps (stamps organized)

28. New glasses

29. Dentist

30. RS stats usable (Done and passed to new secretary)

31. Good communication with 2ns counselors 2x per month

32. Visit Lou Samson -photo shoot

33. Visit Rita - photo shoot

34. Visit _________ Paradis - photo shoot

35. Wedding album

36. Graduation album

37. Baby album

38. Eliza's album

39. Denim quilt - Black and white

40. Sew Sarah 4 dresses (Rainbow dress done)

41. File folder games finished for Sarah

42. Kaleb earn Faith in God

43. Tutor Kaleb in Math

44. Start Advertiser project

45. SIP out of here

46. Marge stuff finished and returned

47. New baseboard in pink bathroom

48. Ceiling fans installed

49. Pack up Dan and Mike's books (Dan's books packed and downstairs)

50. Interview Mom, Cora, and Marie

51. Personal cardmaking monthly (made pretty feet cards in August)

52. Try quilling

53. My personal history

54. Do 6 jigsaw puzzles

55. Fix serger

56. Use knitting machine

57. Knit/crochet 12 projects

58. Sew me a purse/ seminary bag/ and church bag

59. Denim couch and chair cover

60. Kitchen floor tiles

61. Dance (Does dancing in the pool count? one time)

62. Flower and veggie gardens

Glimpses 15 Aug-03 Sep 2011

2011-09-04T14:10:00.002-04:00

Monday 15 Aug 2011

I hope you each had a good weekend. I drove about an hour and half to Augusta for their ward conference yesterday. It was a great meeting. President Quinn was not able to be there as there was a little 3 day old baby girl who needed her heart repaired and it would not wait until Monday. He was, of course, schedule to speak and he sent a copy of his talk for President Miele to read for him. President Miele said that this has happened two times before and so now he was going to give one of the best three talks he have ever given. He is so funny and so humble. I love him.

I have a broadcaster in my car so that I can listen to MP3s over the radio. Three hours is a lot of listening – but I like it because it keeps me alert. I always worry about falling asleep while I am driving, especially long distances. I listened to four talks/discussions.

Tuesday 16 Aug 2011

Yesterday we had much cooler weather and rain. I even covered up with a blanket last night. It was certainly good sleeping weather! I am trying to come up with a better way to organize my rubber stamps so that I know what I have and where they are. Last night I photographed about half of them. I am hoping to make a catalog that I can browse whenever I am in the cardmaking mood. I have cut out a tiered dress for my granddaughter from rainbow fabrics. My husband found a new show to watch last night: Top Shot – where 16 top marksmen are brought together to compete Survivor-style.

Wednesday 17 Aug 2011

Yesterday was another cool, rainy day. My husband went out shopping and brought home fresh green beans, so we had them with cordon bleu for supper. Very delicious. My son who is in the army (Mike) and on a training exercise somewhere on the east coast called and chatted for awhile. He sounds good and was happy to be in the east. I indexed 25 names for family history last night – Vermont vital statistics. Today is our 32^nd anniversary.

Thursday 18 Aug 2011

Yesterday, for our anniversary, we went to the library. I wanted to get some good books to read aloud to my littlest grandchildren. I want to video tape my reading and then send it to them in Michigan. I waited to go to the library when my husband could come with me and carry my books. Then we did the lunch buffet at Pizza Hut and to the movies to see the last Harry Potter. The advantage of eating before the movie is that we don’t spend our weekly income on popcorn. :) It was a fun and full day and I was very tired when I got home. I did index another 25 names from the Vermont vital records – but that was just about it.

Friday 19 Aug 2011

I drove my daughter Eliza out to her land last night so that she could feed her dogs and chickens. She spent the night at our house as her husband and kids were away for the night. My Michigan daughter (Sofie) called and we had a pleasant chat. I told her daughter Sarah (age 3) that I was going to make her a rainbow dress. The last time they went to the mailbox and there was a package there, she asked if it was her rainbow dress. I do have it cut out but guess I had better get busy sewing it! My husband watched a marathon of the show Top Shot last night.

Saturday 20 Aug 2011

Monday 22 Aug 2011

We had a muggy and hot weekend and had to run the air conditioner just for the drier air. Saturday was a quiet day. Sunday, after church, I got to teach a sample lesson to a couple of teenagers at the Seminary Kickoff Fireside. This is the class that I teach at my house each school day morning at 6AM. I haven’t taught anything for a few months and it was fun! Then a cookout at my sister’s house for my mother’s side of the family. Then home to a houseful of kids in my living room. My daughter, her husband, her friend and their combined 7 children. My living room is very small and there was no room to sit or walk. Once the thundershowers stopped, they all left and the house was quiet again!

Tuesday 23 Aug 2011

Yesterday I watched four of my grandchildren all afternoon and then they and their parents stayed until 8:30 PM. I had to send my husband on a ‘kid’ food run. I finished photographing all of my rubber stamps and have started cropping and organizing the photos. I can’t wait to have them all organized so that I can see better what I have and make some wonderful cards. I am experimenting with the best way to record me reading aloud to Sofie's children. I want to make a DVD for them.

Wednesday 24 Aug 2011

I was gone all afternoon to an appointment yesterday and when I got home I had a houseful again – my daughter and five kids. The plus side was that dinner was ready and waiting. I got started sewing a ‘rainbow’ dress for my granddaughter. I hope to work on it some today also.

Thursday 25 Aug 2011

Wednesday was just ….. Wednesday. After WGU, I worked on my stamp catalog and watched 2 episodes of NCIS with my husband. I talked to my Mom on the phone and did three loads of laundry. I studied a bit last night in the Old Testament class that I will be teaching starting next week. That was about it!

Friday 26 Aug 2011

I went to my monthly card making class yesterday morning and made two very beautiful cards. We were suppose to make three but I was the only one who came and the instructor (my baby hat making friend Nancy) and I talked so much we ran out of time. Hubby and I watched one more episode of NCIS. I got out my Cricut and started cutting out some cards. I left it out on the table so I can cut more today. :) Can’t wait.

Saturday 27 Aug 2011

Sofie and Dave and Joe and Dvorah are planning a trip to Disney and Universal Studios in Florida next month. They have invited their nephew, my 11 year old grandson Kaleb to go along. I am paying him to work for me so he can earn some money for the trip. Last night we cleaned and organized for about three hours. He spent the night and we will go at it again this morning. He will do all of this work for $10, so it is a great arrangement for both of us. We are preparing for Irene –she is suppose to hit with heavy rains starting Saturday night and then the winds will arrive by Sunday night.

Monday 29 Aug 2011

Saturday was a busy day. Kaleb was working for me in the morning, we accomplished much and I am grateful. We prepared for Irene: gas in the car, food in the cupboard, batteries and flashlights, computers and phone charged, buckets filled with water, etc. Fortunately we did not need to use any of it – though the rain and winds were fierce at times. Sunday was a very long day – I think we were all waiting for the worse to happen. Again, I am so thankful it did not – although many friends in towns around us lost power and many people in New England suffered great damage as a result of flooding and downed trees. We must have been in a bubble.

Tuesday 30 Aug 2011

Well, the sun is shining brightly in my neck of the woods. School was suppose to start yesterday but was cancelled then and cancelled today. There are three school buildings in the district that are still without power and many roads are unsafe for busses. We will find out tonight whether school is on for tomorrow. I told my grandsons Sunday night as they were cheering about no school that this is a bad sign – to use up one snow day (now 2) before school even begins.

Wednesday 31 Aug 2011

There are still two schools in our school district without power and several closed roads, but today is the first day of school for my grandsons. Fourth, sixth, and seventh grades. I hope they have a good day. Eliza is starting an exercise program called Insanity. Sofie will also be doing it and they are supporting each other through Facebook. I made four cards yesterday afternoon to put in the mail for the sisters I visit teach, then traveled to Topsham for a seminary faculty meeting. I dropped my husband off at work on my way and he walked home (about 3 miles) at midnight.

Thursday 01 Sep 2011

Today was the first Seminary lesson. So far I only have one student, Emily Record, so her grandmother is also staying and being a part of the class. This would not work for everyone but is a great solution for Emily. We had a good lesson, all went well. I am out of the habit of being up at 5AM though. The first day of school went well for all grandsons yesterday. We lost our internet for a couple of hours yesterday afternoon. It is scary how quiet and empty the house seemed. I read aloud to my husband – that was enjoyable.

Friday 02 Sep 2011

Here it is, Friday again. If anyone knows how to slow down the whizzing by of time – I would be grateful. Yesterday I taught a lesson, worked many hours, watched an episode of Criminal Minds with my husband, prepared my lesson, did housework, and sewed a little on the rainbow dress that I am making for my granddaughter.

Saturday 03 Sep 2011

My daughter’s few week old kitty is dying of feline leukemia, so yesterday was a very sad day. I sewed another tier on the rainbow dress, ate Chinese, taught my Old Testament lesson, and watched another episode of Criminal Minds.

The marathon

2011-08-21T17:39:00.003-04:00

Dave and I ran our first marathon yesterday. I will tell you how awesome it was.

I chose the Old Farts Fallsburg Marathon was the closest, cheapest marathon not on a Sunday, not because I had read the description of the race, which might have been good thing to do.

When the race started, Dave and I were at the back of the pack. Our plan was to take it really easy the first half (13.1 miles), and then slowly put the speed on the second half. The farthest we had run before was 18 miles. We needed to run 8.2 miles past that. Our triathlon short pockets were stuffed performance nutrition (goo, gells and gummies!) We were ready.

We followed the road and under an old covered bridge. A sign on the bridge read, "$5 fine for riding or driving on this bridge faster than a walk." I figure the fine was probably part of our registration fee.

First 5 or 6 miles were really enjoyable. We were running on a winding trail, following a while chalk line through the dirt. There were lots of gentle ups and downs. It was really beautiful.

The race was mostly trail. Of the 26 miles, I think I can safely say less than 5 were on the road. The second trail section was much harder than the first. I can't remember the last time my heart beat that fast! The turns got sharper, the obstacles more frequent, and the hills steep. We had to stop about every 10 feet to maneuver something in the trail path. We were constantly stepping over fallen logs (sometimes climbing over and under them). There were lots of streams and trenches that crossed the trail, up to 5 feet wide. We had to either jump over them or climb down onto the slippery rocks to get across. The trail was rarely any wider than one person, so we went single file.

Dave would usually run the downhills and then jog until I caught up with him. After one down hill I guessed he had kept running because I didn't catch up with him. 5 minutes later he came running full speed after me. He got lost when he was running away from a huge bee and missed a turn. He found himself running in the wrong direction on a further part of the course! There, he picked up a giant stick and hit the bee to the ground. Seriously!

He must have made the bee’s family pretty mad, because later on, there was another one! It was the size of my whole thumb. Dave tried out running it, but quickly got fed up and grabbed another stick. I could hear him swinging it close to my head. He even hit himself in the back when the bee landed on him. It was right out of a cartoon! I saw him hit it with my own eyes and we weren’t bothered by them for the rest of the race.
.
Miles 7-10 had to have been the hardest. We were now going up and down some very steep hills. One in particular had a sign that read, "Little 'Chuck' Norris" with a subtitle "Bet you...have to walk! Ha ha ha!" I did walk. On the other side of little chuck was a sign that read, "Geronimo!" The hills were so steep they tied ropes along the trees for you to hold. And I did.

About this time I was thinking I couldn’t do 16 more miles of this!

By the time we got to the half, the clock said 3:20! We were not impressed with this time. We were hoping for more like 2:20.

Our spirits were lifted when we realized the second half course was new. We had been dreading the 13 mile obstacle course from the first. That being said, it was about this time that Dave and I were grateful we ran 18 miles up Payson Canyon and back when we were in Utah for Wendy's wedding. It just kept going up, and up, and up, and up. Then ground evened out.

It wasn't until about 18 that another obstacle came our way. It must be "Big Chuck" though it didn't have a sign labeling it such. It was steeper and longer than the first Chuck, and entirely made of sand. I barely made it up.

The bugs came out around this time. Dave constantly had a cloud of mosquitoes around him, no matter how fast he ran. They always seem to prefer his blood. It went on so long he almost lost it.

The weather had been a beautiful, overcast 70 degrees, but we knew it was supposed to rain sometime that day. It was getting darker. I felt like I was a kid again I knew I should get home before it got dark. The only problem was that it was only 1 or 2!

We saw a big smiley face spray painted beside a trail marker. Up ahead was, not one, but a series of ankle-deep mud pits! We found ways around most of them, by going off trail mostly. The last mud pit was actually a deep, muddy pool. The arrows, instead of leading around them, pointed straight through them. It made us smile.

By mile 20 we were back on the road again, and it was very dark. The wind picked up and it began to rain. Lightening and thunder was so close and loud. The rain collected on the road so that we were basically running in a little river. There were a couple wind gusts that almost knocked me over-- they had to be at least 50 mph.

Those 2.5 miles were long and treacherous. We ran up four long hills before we came to a water station by the turn in for the trail. The gentlemen said they were told to ask if we wanted a ride to the finish. We said no. With four miles to go and already soaking wet, we were determined to finish.

The last stretch of trail was the same we ran for miles 9-13. The ground was soft and wet now, and sank down under our feet. I remember everything just hurting so badly! I felt like I had enough energy, I was just in too much pain to move. But somehow we convinced our bodies to keep running. Dave’s knee started hurting, and he grunted for most of the last three miles though he didn’t stop to rest.

Seeing the 26 mile marker was such a happy moment.

We walked up the last hill and then sprinted the last tenth of the mile!

This race got pretty good reviews for the swag. Usually you get a tshirt, but this time we got an additional sweatshirt, towel, medal and I got an award for finishing 9th in women’s! Our official time was 6:48:06. This is kind of disappointing—we were hoping to finish under 5 hours, but apparently this race is known for setting personal worst records. The good news is, the next marathon will definitely be a personal best. Who wants to run it with us!?

Disclaimer: David will probably never run over a 5 k again in his life.

Get Well

2011-08-14T19:28:00.000-04:00

Here are the cards and flowers that I received after my surgery. Thank you everyone!

The following four pictures are of the flowers that my supervisor at work sent me. She lives in Washington state. Thank you Anne. And thank you Eliza for photographing them. I love flowers!

Cardmaking July 2011

2011-08-14T17:43:00.000-04:00

This is a very quick card that I made.

I used an embossing folder and then scribbled on it with marker and stamped the word 'heartfelt".

I like it.

I was not able to go to cardmaking class in July, but because I am a member of the club - I still got the cards. Nancy made these for me.

This is my favorite. I don't have that oval punch that the petals were made from - I will figure out how to do that on the Cricut. I love brown eyed susans. Thank you Nancy!

My birthday #61

2011-08-14T17:35:00.000-04:00

My birthday was on a Sunday this year and I was up bright and early making my birthday list of 62 things to do before I turn 62. I wish I had started this game when I was 20!

A very colorful lap board from Joe and Dvorah. I love it!

A matching footstool with storage space also from Joe and Dvorah.

Flowers also from Joe and Dvorah.

Eliza made me a pink lemonade pie that was so delicious. It was made with pink lemonade concentrate and cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk in a graham cracker crust topped with whipped cream and then frozen. John gave me a 250 gig external drive and a case for it. Now I have plenty of room for my pictures and digital scrap booking. He also gave me the promise that we would write music to each of the Old Testament scripture mastery scriptures. It is so much easier to memorize them when they are set to music. Sofie and Mike called and Danny wished me a Happy Birthday on Facebook. Mom gave me money. I got 40 Happy Birthday messages on Facebook. It was a good day!

62 things to do before I'm 62

1. Attend the temple 12 times

2. Index 2600 names

3. Finish writing my book

4. Lose 100 pounds

5. Walk 5 miles

6. Organize the food storage area

7. Organize the craft area in the basement

8. Organize Eliza's room in the basement

9. Pay off three credit cards

10. Get a new furnace

11. Memorize all 25 OT scripture mastery

12. Visit teach 100% each month

13. Type all genealogy into RootsMagic

14. Type all genealogy into FamilySearch

15. All family documents scanned and sorted into kids.

16. All photos scanned

17. 300 baby hats to the hospital

18. 12 baby quilts for Casey Family Services

19. 50 little girl's dresses to Humanitarian Aid

20. 50 doll dresses to Humanitarian Aid

21. 20 burrito babies to Humanitarian Aid

22. Give money to someone twice

23. Learn to play 50 hymns from the regular hymnbook

24. Sewing room finished

25. My office finished

26. 5x7 photo border in the living room

27. scrapbooking organized, including stamps

28. New glasses

29. Dentist

30. RS stats usable

31. Good communication with secretaries 2x per month

32. Visit Lou Samson -photo shoot

33. Visit Rita - photo shoot

34. Visit _________ Paradis - photo shoot

35. Wedding album

36. Graduation album

37. Baby album

38. Eliza's album

39. Denim quilt - Black and white

40. Sew Sarah 4 dresses

41. File folder games finished for Sarah

42. Kaleb earn Faith in God

43. Tutor Kaleb in Math

44. Start Advertiser project

45. SIP out of here

46. Marge stuff finished and returned

47. New baseboard in pink bathroom

48. Ceiling fans installed

49. Pack up Dan and Mike's books

50. Interview Mom, Cora, and Marie

51. Personal cardmaking monthly

52. Try quilling

53. My personal history

54. Do 6 jigsaw puzzles

55. Fix serger

56. Use knitting machine

57. Knit/crochet 12 projects

58. Sew me a purse/ seminary bag/ and church bag

59. Denim couch and chair cover

60. Kitchen floor tiles

61. Dance

62. Flower and veggie gardens

WHEW! I am tired and that was just typing the list. :)

Glimpses 2-13 August 2011

2011-08-14T16:57:00.000-04:00

Tuesday 2 Aug 2011
The blackberries are beginning to ripen. Eliza has picked a few times. I am having them for breakfast –they are so good! I went to the basement two times yesterday to do three loads of laundry and then sorted the recycling and returnables while I was down there. I loaded and ran the dishwasher also. Not much, but more than the last couple of weeks. For supper we ate the rest of those fresh green beans from last week and a chicken egg roll. I watched an episode of Bones and two of Family Ties until my eyes were too droopy to stay open last night.I updated the family blog.

Wednesday 03 Aug 2011
Yesterday was a pretty uneventful day, as days go. I guess I should be thankful for that. It was Dvorah's birthday. She turned 30 – sometimes a hard birthday to have, but she seems too much in love and too busy to let that concern her. My husband cleaned everything out of the hall. It had been perfectly clear until my youngest son brought home three boxes of books for us to store while he is living in Kentucky. After that, in only two weeks, a bunch of stuff got put there. Anyway, it is all empty now!

Thursday 04 Aug 2011
I ventured out yesterday morning to sew baby hats for the hospital. Three hours turned out to be a long stretch to sew – but I did it. My friend and I sewed 13 hats that I now will need to bind – along with the 20 or more leftovers from last month that I haven’t bound yet. I was too tired to do any housework when I got home, so did WGU work from my easy chair. I did do the dishes at 10PM.

Friday 05 Aug 2011
I think I overdid it yesterday. Some housework, WGU work, and then going out last night for a meeting at church really wiped me out. I am so thankful that I am not going out of the house again until Sunday! My husband did bring home Chinese for lunch and we watched an episode of Ellery Queen while we ate; that was relaxing. My daughter taught a wonderful class on using Adobe Photoshop at the meeting last night. I learned several new things! Now if I can ever find the energy to try them out.

Saturday 06 Aug 2011
All the days except for Sunday seem to blend into one big, fuzzy, lump. Hopefully I will recover from that soon. We have had some rainy days this past week. The blackberries are ripening fast and I am hoping Eliza will pick today. I can’t manage that just yet. Sofie called from Columbus yesterday morning, Dave is doing a training for work and they are enjoying the weekend sightseeing. They were planning Indian caves for the afternoon.

Monday 08 Aug 2011
We had Lilly and Owen overnight on Friday with Mike and Eliza. On Saturday they all ‘moved’ to their land to camp for a few weeks. Sunday was a great day – I was able to go to church and play the prelude music on the organ – that is always so soothing to me. When we got home the ‘campers’ were there to pack up some stuff and they had lunch made for us. After they left- the house was quiet and I got a lot of things done. John and I started watching a new series, Commander in Chief, about a woman vice-president who becomes President of the United States. We have enjoyed the two episodes we have watched.

Tuesday 09 Aug 2011
My husband brought home Chinese sweet and sour chicken and pork fired rice one day last week for lunch. I had a little piece of fried batter shaped exactly like a brontosaurus. There were no kids in the house to see it, but I did take a picture to show them. Ah, the little things in life.

Maybe you had to be there?

Wednesday 10 Aug 2011
I managed to think like a cook yesterday and put pork, potatoes, carrots, onions, and sweet potatoes into the crock pot yesterday morning when I had a little more energy. It tasted good and John did not have to figure out what to feed us before he went to work last night. Eliza and family came up and cooked pasta for themselves and gathered some more stuff to take back with them on their land. They drove to New York on Monday to pick up Caleb and some animals. They drove to NY with two children and one dog. They came home with three children, two dogs, 5 chickens, and a rooster. I am glad I

Thursday 11 Aug 2011
Yesterday was pretty uneventful. Lots of work – for money and for peace of mind (laundry, etc.). I did get to read aloud to my husband and that was wonderful. It was a pleasantly cool day with on and off showers. We watched the first episode of a detective show from 1951 Craig Kennedy – Criminologist. I am not saying that it was lame, but we did put it right back in the envelope to mail back to Netflix without watching the other 8 episodes.

Friday 12 Aug 2011
Yesterday was a long day. I worked in the morning, then John and I drove to Scarborough for a doctor’s appointment. He says that I am healing very well and can swim again. The pathology report was not excellent. There is still some cancer in the cervix, so I will need some radiation or chemotherapy or both. I will find out more next week. We were able to surprise Dvorah with a birthday package at her work. John took it up and sang Happy Birthday to her. Then we drove to Topsham for me to attend RS Presidency meeting and Stake Council. John ate his favorite meal at Wendy’s- baked potato and chili- and visited Target while he waited for me. Then we drove over an hour again to get home at 10:30pm. Then bed for me!

Saturday 13 Aug 2011
Eliza and I planned and attended a baby shower for a young mother at church last night. It went so well. There were a dozen people there, plenty of good food, and we totally surprised her! We played two games; one where we named children from TV shows (I was very bad at this one – even though I was familiar with the show I just couldn’t think of all the names – can you name all of the children on The Cosby Show and The Brady Bunch?) and another where we got the first line of a nursery rhyme and had to finish it. This one was pretty hilarious. Eliza would read the first line and the rest of us would recite in unison the rest of it. Many of us were over 50 – a video camera would have been priceless! Another exhausting day - but I was smiling when I got home.

Traveling Zanes

2011-08-09T21:40:00.000-04:00

It is very hard to keep up with the Zanes lately. Dave's job gives them the opportunity to travel around while he conducts some trainings. They came home last Christmas for Mike's wedding, then again in February and May because Dave had some meetings in Montreal, which incredibly is only five hours away from here. They went to Indianapolis for a weekend. In July they went to Utah to attend Dave's sister's wedding.

Andrew and Sarah all dressed up for Wendy's wedding.

Yeah, he is adorable.

Two princesses.

There has to be a story behind this one!

They visited Kennecott Copper Mines while in Utah.

And went to a fun water park!

The weekend after Utah they drove to Kentucky to spend the weekend with Mike and Dan at Mike's new house. It was the weekend of Andrew's second birthday.

Balloons!

Opening Presents

No cake for Andrew. Blueberry pie!

Sarah playing the drum set that Dan and Mike got Andrew.

Andrew and Uncle Dan

Sarah and Uncle Dan

Andrew and Uncle Mike

Those Governale kids!

Dan, Sofie and Mike

Andrew in Utah.

This last weekend they spent in Columbus. Dave's brother Tom and family met them there on Saturday for some fun.

At the zoo in Columbus!

Glimpses 22 July-01 August 2011

2011-08-01T20:32:00.000-04:00

Friday 22 July 2011

The sun is shining brightly already and the prediction is for another day in the high nineties with high humidity. Yesterday was pretty uneventful. Work, naps, eating, watching TV. I did catch up on the family blog and index one batch of names from the Maine Vital Statistics.

Saturday 23 July 2011

The weather looks rainy this morning and the highs are ‘only’ suppose to be in the low 90’s. We have a ‘cold’ front arriving tonight with temps in the 60’s. That will feel so good to us. I am recovering well, my husband is fixing me delicious food, no pain, still tired. He is on his way out grocery shopping this morning – such a good man- and I can’t wait for my raspberry Danish treat. Yum!

Monday 25 Jul 2011

The weekend and the heat wave are over. My son and his wife came to visit yesterday and made us tacos to eat. I really appreciate their company and the good food. I am trying to work in the office today instead of my easy chair – we will see how that goes.I lasted about two hours. You would think that sitting is sitting - but somehow sitting in my easy chair with my feet up is much less tiring than sitting in my office chair. I missed church yesterday which always makes for a long Sunday. I have surfed the internet enough the last few days to last me for a very long time. I am aiming for a little productivity today.

Tuesday 26 Jul 2011

We have had a string of about 14 burglaries on Ashton Road and the Country Club Road in the past couple of weeks. Mostly breaking into cars. I never thought that there could be crime in my neighborhood. (How naïve) We are now locking our car at night and we bought three new doorknobs and had Mike install them so that we could lock all the doors. By the way, Joe, we have a key for you to replace the one on your keychain. I forgot to give it to you when you were here. I watched way too many episodes of Family Ties and Bones yesterday. Sigh.

Wednesday 27 Jul 2011

Yesterday was another pretty uneventful day. I worked on trying to set up a financial plan on Excel, a program that I am just learning how to use. I did get some basics done, now I will have to visit HELP a lot to figure out how to make it do what I want it to. Sofie called early yesterday. I always love hearing from her. The last time she called she said Sarah and Andrew had turned the clothes basket upside down, sprinkled milk from their sippy cups on it, and were ‘cooking’ pancakes (crackers) for breakfast. They kept saying, “Be careful, don’t touch, it’s hot!” That makes me happy.

Thursday 28 Jul 2011

I unloaded and loaded the dishwasher and put an already prepared meal into the oven yesterday. Thank you Carol Gagnon for the delicious meal. Progress.

Friday 29 Jul 2011

Thursday was a pleasant day. John and I watched the penultimate (next to the last) episode of A Touch of Frost. I am sorry to see us at the end of that series; we have enjoyed it. Remember Shall We Dance? With Richard Gere and Jennifer Lopaz? That was based on a Japanese film of the same title. We watched it the other night, with subtitles, and enjoyed it very much.

Saturday 30 Jul 2011

John brought home fresh green beans from the store yesterday. I snapped them while watching the last episode of A Touch of Frost with him. They were so delicious. I can’t wait to heat up the leftovers today. I made six very quick cards yesterday – I needed to mail four of them out – that was fun. I also did a logic puzzle. I love logic puzzles but hadn’t done them for a long time. When I tried one a few weeks ago, I couldn’t solve it! I had to erase the grid four times before I got it right. That scared me a little. So now I try to work one a few times a week to exercise my poor brain. I solved the one yesterday in 18 minutes – the fastest it had been solved by someone else was 183 seconds. Oh, well – At least I solved it the first time and without any help. There is a glimmer of hope, after all.

Monday 01 Aug 2011

Yesterday was my birthday and it was an enjoyable one. All of the kids visited or called or skyped. Eliza made me a pink lemonade pie and a brownie –yummy! The pink lemonade pie was cream cheese, sweetened condensed milk and pink lemonade concentrate (the kind you buy frozen) topped with whipped cream and frozen, I got up and showered and discovered that my usual Sunday clothes were at the bottom of the dirty clothes hamper. I found another dress to wear but it needed ironing. The ironing board was at a awkward angle and covered with stuff. I cleared the stuff off it and had the pointy end of the board facing me. It took way to long to iron the dress and the iron was so heavy. I drove to church, got out of the car, walked all the long way into the chapel, sat at the organ and started to play prelude music. A few minutes later John brought me the program and I said, "I'm exhausted!" He said, "Already?"

I felt OK the rest of church, just tired. The Mission president and his wife spoke - President and Sister Wilke. Their talks were excellent. Well worth going for. Carol Gagnon is the new Gospel Doctrine and the class was excellent. She really has a gift for teaching. I told John that my hospital discharge papers said that I couldn't move the piano for 8 weeks, so he moved it so I could play for Relief Society. After church I was sitting in the cultural hall taking with Sister Wilke about growing up in the 60s when I was serenaded by President Wilke, the two missionaries and Brother Knowles. That meant so much to me.

I got 39 birthday messages on Facebook and my sister visited and brought a card with money (hurray!) from my mother. Joe and Dvorah came up and John cooked his wonderful spaghetti. We ate and I opened my presents: a beautiful footstool with storage inside from Joe and Dvorah and a matching lapboard. John gave me a case for my external hard drive. Actually it was his hard drive that he was just letting me borrow - and when I said that he took it and erased his stuff from it and now it is my hard drive. He also gave me the promise of writing music to all of the Old Testament scripture mastery scriptures. He does such a marvelous job and it is so easy to memorize them when they are set to music. What a great gift!

Mike is on a training exercise but he took about 2 minutes to call and wish me a Happy birthday, I skyped with Sofie and family for a very long time, and Danny actually wished me a Happy Birthday on Facebook!!!

I was pretty tired at the end of the day – but happy.

Andrew's Birthday Card

2011-07-27T12:00:00.003-04:00

This morning Andrew opened his birthday card from Nana. It had puppies on it and included six dollars cash. Andrew immediately grabbed the money and yelled, "Chuck E Cheese! Chuck E Cheese!"

Sarah, who was watching in the background said, "I wish I could get an e-mail"(speaking of the letter).

Andrew put the card and money back in the envelope, shoved the whole bundle into the VCR and said matter-of-fact-ly, "It's in the mailbox now."

Health issues

2011-07-21T19:07:00.000-04:00

It has been a bumpy ride for me the last few months. I am not at all sure that a smooth ride is ahead, but I am so thankful to be alive today and to have such a wonderful family and many good friends.

I found a breast lump late in March so a trip to Dr Hardy was in order. I have no insurance and haven't had for a couple of years, so finding this lump was such a trial financially, say nothing of healthwise. A mammogram, ultrasound, and biopsy were the next steps. The biopsy came back negative. That is good news, but I will need another mammogram in September.

I found a program that would pay for much of the medical payments for breast and cervical cancer detection. So, a pap smear was next. That came back negative, but an ultrasound showed that the lining of the uterus was thickened. Blood tests, chest x-rays, an EKG and then day surgery - a D&C and hysteroscopy by Dr. Hardy. Unfortunately, cancer cell were found.

Next, a consult with a gynecological oncologist in Portland and a hysterectomy was performed this past Tuesday. The surgery went well and I am recovering well and we are just waiting to see what the pathology report is before we know what the next step is.

I have had three blessings, one for each procedure and I can testify that the Lord has been with me every step of the way. Whatever the outcome, I am sure that He will still be with me and I intend to live life to the fullest every day.

The medical bills are beginning to roll in - not a pretty sight. But, somehow we will manage to make it through those also.

Thanks to all for prayers and expressions of love.

Life is good.

Glimpses Jul 11-Jul 21 2011

2011-07-21T18:53:00.000-04:00

Monday 11 Jul 2011

The weekend literally flew by! Now it is Monday again. It seems that I did not accomplish anything, probably I need to think harder about that. I do remember sorting, working, cleaning. Danny, Joe and Dvorah visited yesterday. Danny is moving to Kentucky to live with his brother for awhile, so he brought up some stuff for us to store for him and came to say goodbye. He is taking a train from Portland, Maine to Clarksville Tennessee. On my calendar for the 12^th I wrote, “Danny –last train to Clarksville”. I showed it to him and he didn’t get it. Sigh. Way to make your mother feel OLD, Danny!

Tuesday 12 July, 2011

I'm not afraid of storms, for I'm learning to sail my ship.

Aeschylus

I love the above quote! I believe I need to put this where I can see it every day. I did swim yesterday morning. I love to swim and my body loves the way every part of it can move so well in the water. When the kids and grandkids went out yesterday morning, John and I came out of our offices to our quiet house and I read a chapter of The Undaunted, we sang a hymn and read scriptures and prayed together, then watched an episode of Cheyenne – a western from 1955 with Clint Walker. A very young James Garner was also in the episode.

Wednesday 13 Jul 2011

We have had a couple of days in the high 80s and low 90s with high humidity. Very uncomfortable for us Mainiacs. Eliza cooked apfel pfannkuchen (an oven pancake –minus the apples) for breakfast yesterday morning and I had mine with a little syrup and a lot of blueberries. Yum! I am definitely not a video kind of girl, but last night I sat in my chair with Dante and Kaleb on either side of me and we play a very fun game from coolmath.com. We took turns trying to beat each level and there was so much cooperation and getting along. It was probably the best time I have had in a very long time! I thoroughly enjoyed it. I even laughed out loud.

Thursday 14 Jul 2011

I spent some time redoing the budget and a debt elimination plan. Not very much fun, but necessary. I also read aloud the last four chapters of the last book in the Chronicles of Narnia to the grandsons. That C S Lewis is an amazing author. We all were impressed with the ending. Reading all seven books aloud was a wonderful journey for me. I was able to index three more batches of names from the Maine vital records. Love it!

Friday 15 Jul 2011

I worked almost ten hours yesterday! That must be why I am having a problem trying to think of what I did yesterday. I did have morning devotional with my husband and read him a couple of chapters in The Undaunted. My baby (20 year old son) finally accepted me as his friend on Facebook, after about 3 years of nagging. Who says nagging doesn’t work? An episode of Criminal Minds finished me for the day.

Saturday 16 Jul 2011

My husband and I went out to eat last night. We went to the Oxford Ward High Priest Social at the Silver Spur. The food was so good. I had chicken and John had steak. There was also roasted vegetables, potato salad, macaroni salad and rolls and ice cream with chocolate sauce. It was very enjoyable. I shopped at WalMart in the afternoon for birthday gifts for Andrew. He will be two on Friday. I don’t always come away pleased from a WalMart excursion but this time I found just want I wanted to get him and at a reasonable price; alphabet blocks, a sticker book, and a wooden animal puzzle.

Monday 18 Jul 2011

We had some brutally hot (for us) weather this weekend…. in the 90s with high humidity. I am thankful for my air conditioner. Kaleb and Dante are off to their dad’s for a month so the house will be quiet. John went to see the new Harry Potter movie and liked it, although he thought it was exhausting. I visited the Auburn Ward for church yesterday. It was a beautiful and reflective drive and I was able to see many friends. We were having trouble with seeing Netflix over the TV yesterday – it is scary how sad that made me feel.

Tuesday 19 Jul 2011

The sure signs of summer are here; heat, humidity, and road construction. Add a half hour to anyplace you want to go – even a simple trip to town. I have been working my way through the seasons of Family Ties. I love that show! We got an email today that our Netflix troubles were their fault. I wrapped presents and got a package ready and mailed to my little grandson who will be two on Friday. Their family is actually planning to drive to Kentucky to visit two of my sons for the weekend, so they will celebrate his birthday there and SKYPE the party. I am looking forward to that!

Thursday 21 Jul 2011

The last couple of days were a little different, as I had some surgery late Tuesday afternoon. The surgery went well and I am recovering well. After one night in the hospital, I was home around noon yesterday and will now spend some time recovering. I will continue to work as much as I can, and probably nap a lot. One neat thing about the hospital – they had room service. From 7AM-6PM you can call and order whatever you want to eat and they bring it to you. That was very cool, I only got a toast and muffin for breakfast… but if I had been there longer….ah the possibilities!

Pictures of Jackie and Anita (and Ronnie)

2011-07-10T15:56:00.001-04:00

I was working on some family pictures last night and just loved finding these pictures of my sister and me when we were young. Hope you enjoy them. My cousin Ronnie is in some of them.

Glimpses Jul 4-10, 2011

2011-07-10T15:47:00.000-04:00

I was indexing Maine Vital records today and found this cause of death for an 81 year old man: "incontinence of urine due to old age". I wonder if he peed to death? I know, I know, NOT funny! Today is Sarah Governale's birthday. She is 25 and a long way away from her husband and family. I hope she manages to have a good day anyway.

Monday the 4th of July, 2011
Our weekend was alternately cool, hot and humid, and rainy. I spent some productive hours on Saturday binding baby hats, organizing in the office, and organizing in the sewing room. Early Sunday morning before church I indexed two batches of family history names and updated our family blog. That was a good choice as the house was so noisy after church and until bedtime that I could not concentrate. Sofie and family skyped, Mike and Danny called. I am so thankful that they keep in touch with their parents. I am blessed.

Tuesday the 5th of July, 2011
Swimming, work, good food, a barking dog, the noise of fireworks, laundry, dishes, a chapter in Narnia, trying unsuccessfully to solve a logic puzzle…. That is what my 4^th of July consisted of.

Wednesday the 6th of July, 2011
We celebrated the 7^th birthday of my Eliza’s stepson Owen yesterday. Working on the budget and WGU pretty well took up the rest of the day. I went swimming and them to church to sew baby hats. Nancy and I had a great time as usual and got 13 hats sewed and ready for the binding.

Thursday the 7th of July, 2011

Word of the Week: · enfant terrible

\ahn-fahn-teh-REE-bluh\

· DEFINITION noun

1 a : a child whose inopportune remarks cause embarrassment b : a person known for shocking remarks or outrageous behavior

2 : a usually young and successful person who is strikingly unorthodox, innovative, or avant-garde

Dante fits that definition of enfant terrible. He is always brutally honest, from poking someone (sometimes a stranger in the grocery store) in the stomach and either saying ‘You’re fat!” or “Is there a baby in there?” to throwing his arms around a complete stranger and saying, “You’re beautiful!” Yesterday the swimming was so wonderful! Then 3 hours of sewing baby hats and talking up a storm with my friend Nancy. We tried a new show last night, The Mentalist. The pilot was OK. I read aloud from The Undaunted and from Narnia. We had a pretty fierce thunder shower right around supper time. Bed was looked forward to and enjoyed.

Friday the 8th of July, 2011

More sorting in the basement, a couple of episodes of The Mentalist, reading aloud to my husband, work, trying out our Pump ‘n Seal to take the air out of marshmallows with faces drawn on them, buying a juicer for $2.50 and making celery, carrot, and watermelon juice, cleaning all veggies out of the fridge and making a big salad…… Such were the goings on at the Governale house yesterday.

Saturday the 9th of July, 2011

Yesterday I was gone from the office and the house most of the day. It is nice for that to happen once in a while to tweak my perspective of life. Today is the Norway Arts Festival which is a big annual event in my town. The sidewalks of Main Street are lined with artists selling framed and unframed paintings and photographs. This afternoon is Poets on the Porch, an annual event (ten years this year!) where local poets read their poems ‘on the porch’. John will be reading and also will be helping set up and record the event. This morning is the annual Triathlon. We live less a mile from the lake (Lake Penneseewassee – isn’t that a great name? Those with less courage and adventure just call it Norway Lake) where the swim takes place and the run goes up the hill right by our house. Dante loves to stand at the bottom of the driveway and say, “Hi, my name’s Dante. What’s yours? You are running fast” to all the runners. Mostly they just ignore him but some will smile and once in awhile one will pant out their name. This morning all the kids went out on the lawn and counted the runners. They counted 110 before giving up.

Five Thnigs I Did Today

2011-07-06T21:59:00.000-04:00

Five things I did today.

1. Swimming for one hour: 32 lengths plus exercises

2. Sewed 7 baby hats

3. WGU

4. Read aloud 2 chapters The Last Battle

5. Read aloud one chapter The Undaunted

Glimpses 22 June-02 July 2011

2011-07-03T07:32:00.000-04:00

Here is what I got John for Father's Day. It is a mouse pad.

Wednesday, 22 June 1011
Tuesday there was much more cutting and dragging and stacking of small trees and brush. The yard is looking much more open. I forgot to mention that last week my son-in-law Mike and some friends brought an 8x10 shed and placed it in the back corner of the yard. That will prove so helpful to store lawnmowers, bikes, etc. – which now are stored in the basement. We also had a couple of trucks come a couple of weeks ago to haul off our broken TV, dryer, and other large items. Progress!

Thursday, 23 June 2011
I went swimming for the first time this year. I love the water and was able to exercise for 45 minutes. Today….ouch! I babysat the two boys last night. We read two more chapters in The Silver Chair, and watched Ponyo, a Miyazaki movie that was quite good. After evaluating brain-based learning tasks yesterday, I got out What Your 4^th Grader Should Know and attempted to increase prior knowledge in my grandsons and give them some hooks to hang their future experiences on. We learned about longitude and latitude.

Friday, 24 June 2011
We spent the better part of rainy yesterday burning brush. There is still much more to do, but we got a nice start. Last night Eliza and I went to a cardmaking class. We watched the 1^st episode of Medium when we returned. That is a show that I could never watch when I am alone in the house. It spooks me out!

Here are two of the cards we made. I designed the

flag card myself. We made one more card - a ship,

but I don't see the picture of it right now.

I will post it when I find it.

The flip flop and pretty feet cards I made with my cricut machine. I made three of the pretty feet cards and when Sofie was visiting I showed her one of them that I was going to give her for her birthday. She thought it was adorable (which it is!) and showed it to Sarah. Sarah said, "Is it for me?" Sofie said, "No, Gramma made it for me for my birthday." Sarah actually got mad and wouldn't even look at it again. So, I sent her one in Sofie's birthday package and included a set of tiny nail decals to go on her fingernails and toenails when they are painted. This is a picture of her when she opened them:

Do you think she loved them?

These two mosaic cards are my creation also.

I used pictures that Eliza took in the yard last summer.

I love these pictures and I love how the cards turned out!

Saturday, 25 June 2011
It has rained every day in Maine since Wednesday and it is suppose to rain again today. It has made good burning brush weather –if you don’t mind working in the rain to do it. We had Pizza Hut takeout and ice cream with chocolate sauce for supper last night to reward those little boys who spent hours in the rain dragging trees to the fire. I spent another three hours in the basement sorting fabric – believe it or not, I am down to only 12 buckets/boxes left to sort. Trust me, I will NOT be buying any fabric to celebrate! Once I am done, we can expand the walls of our food storage room and get that organized. Baby steps. I am looking forward to the sun, they say we might see some tomorrow.

Monday, 27 June 2011

I am down to only four buckets in the fabric area in the basement! I can’t wait to be done with that and on to something new. Yesterday I spent about four hours scanning over 200 pictures and documents for a friend. I ran out of steam before I finished – so I have about an hour left. We talked to Sofie for her birthday yesterday; she is now 25 and very happy.

Tuesday, 28 June 2011

I spent hours yesterday afternoon and evening organizing my photos on my computer. It is a big job, especially if I don’t take the time to do it as I upload them. This morning I was swimming at a friend’s pool at 6:30. I meant to be there at 6 but I overslept and then was moving very slowly. It was a wonderful way to start the day!

Wednesday, 29 June 2011

It turns out that swimming yesterday morning was the highlight of my day. I did finish scanning the photos and documents for my friend. That was a good thing. BLT’s for supper. Yum!

Thursday, 30 June 2011

A friend has started a page of Facebook of our town Norway, Maine 1950-1970. There have been almost 2000 pictures posted since last October when the page was created. I grew up in this town and it is so much fun to reminisce about the ‘good old days’. Last night I gathered and posted 14 pictures to the page. I love pictures. Another swim this morning. Beautiful and satisfying.

These are cabins that used to sit on the hill next to my grandmother's house. They would have been on the corner on the left as you turned from the Lake Road onto the Harrison Road. They were owned by my father's aunt, his mother's sister Molly Wood Smith and her husband Jack Smith.

This shows my father as her looked in 1955. He is the second from the left in the front row.

A handsome man!

This is my father's father, Alfred Snow, holding a 22 lb fish he caught on a fishing trip to Canada.

This building used to sit where Snow's Marina sits today. (Or the marina that used to be Snow's) It is a lunchroom that was run by my father's mother. (Rena Wood Snow)

This is a picture of a country store owned and operated by Jack and Molly Smith (of the cabins above). It used to sit at the bottom of the hill on the left as you turned onto the Harrison Road.

This picture is Aunt Anita on a softball team in the 70's.

She is the 3rd from the left in the back row.

Friday, 01 Jul, 2011

It is hard to believe that it is already July. Someone has set the movement of my clock on fast forward! Wednesday Dante was wanting to go the library ‘right now’. As he badgered his mother to move faster he said “Hurry up Mom, my clock is ticking!” How funny! Yesterday was a pretty uneventful day. Swimming, work, two episodes of The Closer and more picture organization. I did make some pretty amazing pinto beans using some ‘unknown’ meat from the freezer that was given us. I have more of the meat left that I will smother in BBQ sauce and simmer in the crock pot today. Free mystery food – gotta love it!

Saturday, 02 Jul 2011

Eliza had ‘backwards’ day yesterday with her kids. So, we had dessert (brownies) as soon as we got up – then pizza for breakfast. More pizza for lunch and pancakes for supper. I worked so many hours yesterday and then spent the night at my Mom’s.

Glimpses 28 May-21 June 2011

2011-06-21T20:24:00.000-04:00

Saturday, 28 May 2011

Joe and Dvorah came to visit yesterday. It was wild and noisy, but very fun! I love to watch them with the grandchildren. I watched ‘Tangled’ for the first time with my princess granddaughter and then it was on again last night for the other kids. My son bought Pizza Hut pizza for lunch and my daughter made homemade pizza for supper. It was a fun day.

Monday, 30 May 2011

We had thundershowers during the night and possibly will have more this morning before turning sunny and hot. Reading aloud, sorting, regular housework and seminary graduation in Topsham were the highlights of the weekend.

Tuesday, 31 May 2011

I really had a wonderful weekend. All of my kids and grandkids except Mike and Sarah were able to visit. There was trampoline jumping, water balloons and nerf gun wars, sparklers and amazing food. And one of the great things for me was that the kids planned and carried out the entire day of fun and food by themselves. Life is definitely good! Joe and Dvorah, you put on an amazingly fun day!

Wednesday, 1 June 2011

Tuesday was a day of recovery from all the fun over the weekend. I finished reading The Voyage of the Dawn Treader to the grandsons. We watched an episode of A Touch of Frost, our favorite British detective show. And we had a family meeting where we discussed the 10,000 hour project – the theory that those who spend more time (10,000 hours) practicing something will become among the best in the world in that thing. The challenge is to try it out. I have chosen playing the piano/organ. Check back in 10,000 hours

Thursday, 2 June 2011

I enjoyed an outing with my husband yesterday. He had an eye appointment in Togus at the Veteran's Hospital. He is getting a third pair of glasses for computer use. He dropped me off at the Maine State Archives in Augusta where I took 22 digital pictures of birth, death and marriage records from the microfilm at the archives. Honestly, I could have spent several more hours there - the time went so fast! Then we ate lunch at Wendy’s. Last evening I uploaded the images and entered the information into my computer database. Such fun!

Friday, 3 June 2011

Yesterday was one of those days that seemed all work and no play. I am battling a cold and after working 8 hours and grocery shopping, two episodes of The Andy Griffith Show and two episodes of Family Ties and two chapters read aloud to my husband totally did me in. :)

Saturday, 4 June 2011

John and I were off early this morning to church to use the dry pack canner and to can 28 #10 cans of black beans, pinto beans, oats, and macaroni. My husband stuck around for a few hours to help other people can their food. This was also exchange table day and there was a lot of stuff. I did find two princess glasses for Sarah to drink out of and some clothes that might fit Andrew. I love the exchange table, although it is a lot of work.

Monday, 6 June 2011

Our weekend was sunny. HS graduation was Saturday; it is always nice when it isn’t raining for graduation as it is then held outside and anyone can attend. The big news in town is that they moved ‘The Gingerbread House”, a very large historical building, from one location to another on Main Street. That was a huge operation and it will take time to get used to seeing it in its new location. A couple of hundred people 'camped' out for several days just to be on hand to see the actual move!

Tuesday, 7 June 2011

Our family started the 10,000 hour project yesterday. I practiced the piano for one hour…..only 9,999 to go! There are only 6 more days of school counting today. I worked through about half of a mountain of laundry along with WGU work yesterday.

Wednesday, 8 June 2011

I had some appointments outside of the house yesterday morning; it seems that I always play catch up the rest of the day when that happens. I did start reading The Silver Chair, the 6^th book in the Chronicles of Narnia to the grandsons last night. I did some family history research on my husband’s side of the family on the internet and that was fun!

Thursday, 9 June 2011

Nancy Andreadakis and Patricia Atwater and I sewed sixteen baby hats for the local hospital yesterday.Patricia is a young mother originally from Bolivia. Her husband just got a job at Stephens Memorial Hospital as a physical therapist. She has two boys age 6 and under, is pregnant with a little girl due in August, and she likes to sew. I think we are kindred spirits! I went two hours early and did some research on ancestry.com. That is always so much fun! Yesterday was very hot and humid. That kind of weather always sucks the life right out of me. I guess we may have to give in and put the air conditioner in.

Saturday, 11 June, 2011
I think we are due for some rain today. I am spending the night last night and tonight with my mother (next door) while my sister and her husband go camping. Lots of TV. We did put the air conditioner in on Thursday, it was 102 with 60% humidity, very uncomfortable!

Monday, 13 June 2011

I spent much of the weekend with my mother. Had two sleepovers! Yesterday I traveled to Gardiner for their ward conference. It rained coming and going which adds to the fatigue of driving. We will probably get rain again today and we have had cooler temperatures ever since the very hot and humid day last Thursday.

Tuesday, 14 Jun2 2011
Monday was gloomy and today is gloomy too. Today is the last day of school. I did a mound of laundry and dishes from the weekend, not quite caught up – perhaps today. Read to my grandsons from The Silver Chair about a marshwiggle named Puddleglum. Dante was jumping on the trampoline and singing. He ran in the door and said, “I need a piece of paper and a pencil”. He wrote for awhile and then performed the song that he had just written, complete with three verses and a chorus, about jumping on the trampoline. It was quite impressive. I mentioned that he might grow up to be a songwriter like Grampa and he said, “No, I have only one song.”

Wednesday, 15 June 2011
There is no rain predicted until tomorrow afternoon and the temperature is to be in the 70s today. This is first day of summer vacation for the grandsons. A little bit of cooking, family history, laundry, dishes and an episode of Hawaii Five-0 that I slept through, rounded out my yesterday.

Thursday, 16 June 2011
The blackberries are blossoming outside my window. It looks as if we will get an amazing harvest this year. It was sunny and warm all day yesterday; a wonderful change from wet and gloomy. Two loads of wash were flapping in the breeze all day – very satisfying. American chop suey for supper – so easy, so quick, so good! And the promise of a movie with my husband later today!

Friday, 17 June 2011
I was able to sort fabric in the basement for a couple of hours yesterday. I wish I could say that I am almost finished…..but, I have a lot of fabric. My husband and I went to see the movie Super 8 yesterday. It was interesting, though probably geared to the younger set. I watched the first ten minutes of Criminal Minds before falling asleep.

Saturday, 18 June 2011

I spent over three hours sorting in the basement yesterday. It felt great to have such a large block of time.I estimated that I had about thirty boxes and buckets of fabric. Now, after I have sorted and purged about half of what is stored in that area, I just counted about thirty more. How does that happen? At least when I am finished, I will know what I have. I am sorting into cottons, corduroys, flannels, denim, school bag fabric, and other (which includes fabric that I might use to sew me clothes, or for curtains, or a number of really fun pieces that will delight my little princess). I have had John take about eight 30 gallon trash bags of clothes and fabric to the thrift shop and have filled about three of those trash bags with trash.

I was able to start binding the baby hats and made my famous homemade pizza for supper. We also watched A Wrinkle in Time with the boys.

Monday, 20 June 2011

We had a very intense thundershower on Saturday with high winds, horizontal rain, and hail. Our deck was white with hailstones and littered with leaves when it was over. A tree fell on the north side missing the house by 2 feet. And as soon as the sun came out, there was a rainbow that ended in our driveway. I remember the times that the kids and I would jump in the car and go chasing rainbows to find the pot of gold at the end. There was no pot of gold at the end of this one, though. Sunday was full of visits, phone calls and SKYPE for Father’s Day. Eliza cooked a special meal for her dad (and the rest of us!). I am a little sad to see Sunday end, as it means work again. It was a nice break.

Tuesday, 21 June 2011
I am enjoying summer vacation. My son-in-law is cutting up some trees that have crowded in on us over the years and opening up our yard a bit. Then he is planning on cutting our hill back some and grading it so that our driveway doesn’t wash out each time it rains. Hooray!

Thank you Sofie

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It certainly is great to have Sofie post on the blog. It would be wonderful if other members of the family would post. Hint! Hint!

Home school with Andrew

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I've been doing school lessons most days with the kids. We do counting and addition and subtraction with cheerios, sing songs (we sing the 'hello' song from primary every morning), learn about music, what our bodies do, and basically anything that seems interesting at the time.

We've gone through most of the alphabet, though not usually in order because I take letter requests from the kids. Recently we skipped quite a few letters to T. I take some legal sized drawing paper (from Grandma) and draw pictures of things that begin with the letter of the day, along with the letter itself. T, for some reason, was especially exciting to Andrew: Tiger, Turtle, Train, Tomato. Later that day we actually saw a turtle in our back yard on the way back from the pool. It was pretty exciting.

Anyway, we always take time in our lesson to go over the sounds. We go "Buh, buh, buh, Book!" or in this case, "Tuh, tuh, tuh, Tiger!"

Since then, we've been hearing this from Andrew: "Tuh, tuh, tuh, Animal."

And, "Tuh, tuh, tuh, Purple."

And, "Tuh, tuh, tuh, Car."

Apparently we made an impression.

The kids since we got home

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Andrew, "Grandma. Grandma fun! I looooooooooove grandma!"

Mom, "Front feet, back feet; Red feet, Black feet"
Sarah, "Black is Joe's favorite color!"

Glimpses May 23-May 27 2011

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Monday 23 May 2011
I was able to get a lot accomplished this weekend. I even took a few hours on Saturday afternoon to cut enough card pieces for 20 cards using my Cricut. That is always fun. I scanned some family memorabilia yesterday using our new scanner, and read aloud in both books to John and the grandsons. I also indexed 100 names for the family history indexing project from the 1930 census of Missouri and skyped with Sofie, Sarah and Buddy from Michigan.

Tuesday 24 May 2011

Yesterday was a non-stop day. Seven and a half hours of work, laundry, dishes, reading aloud, paying bills, assembling cards and getting them ready to mail, and finally an episode of Num3ers before bed. No wonder my head aches.

Wednesday 25 May 2011

The sun is shining today for the first time in about two weeks and it is pleasantly warm. It will be hard to sit at the computer all day. Yesterday Eliza cooked some yummy meals and I spent some time sorting fabric in the basement and organizing in the sewing room. Another chapter in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader and a late night episode of Numb3rs rounded out the day.

Thursday 26 May 2011

Sofie, Sarah and Buddy arrived last night to visit through the weekend.Dave dropped them off and then headed backup to Montreal for work meetings. So we have ten people in the house now; 5 adults and 5 children (12, 11, 8, 3, 1 and the 8 year old has autism). Switch to maintenance mode!

Friday 27 May 2011

I love to have my family around, but I do get pretty tired by nighttime. Eliza, Sofie and Sarah were giving each other manicures and pedicures during my work meeting last night. Watermelon toenails, pink and green. Right now I am listening to Sofie singing and playing the piano in the background. She is so talented musically – takes after her Dad. Joe and Dvorah cane to visit. What a wild afternoon. Sarah and Buddy love them and the feeling is mutual.

Lots of laughs! And sheer delight!

Glimpses April 25-May 21 2011

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25 April 2011

We had some snow showers on Saturday, but Sunday was warmer. John and I went to my sister’s house for Easter dinner with them and my Mom. Baked ham, asparagus, baby peas, mashed potato, biscuits, and strawberry shortcake for dessert. Yum! The food was delicious and it was good to visit and to see their new kitchen. They have just finished a big kitchen remodeling project. It is huge and beautiful. We read the last chapter of our No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency book. I really enjoyed that time reading. My son Joe called last night and we chatted for quite a long time. He is graduating from the University of Southern Maine in May. This is an exciting time for him and his wife and they contemplate what will happen next in their lives.

26 April 2011

It is raining this morning. I guess yesterday was rather a blah day, I can’t think of anything to report. Oh yes, I did bind five baby hats. Teaching my early morning class, work, starting the program for the Women’s Conference and studying for my lesson today took up most of the rest of the day. My husband and I did watch an episode of “The Last Detective”.

27 April 2011

Yesterday was busy. I worked in the morning, then drove a little over an hour to a two and a half hour meeting in Topsham . When I was about fifteen minutes from home, I had to pull over and dial up a phone seminary faculty meeting. I listened on the way home and until 8:30 last night. On the way to Topsham I listened to an interview with the 5 Browns, five brothers and sisters who play classical piano together on tours. It was pretty inspiring; these kids started learning the piano around age 3 and all attended Julliard School of Music together.

28 Apr 2011

I made an amazing discovery yesterday. I had my heart set on a BLT for lunch, but when I went to make it there was no lettuce left. I substituted baby spinach and it was delicious. There was no noticeable taste difference. I watched Kaleb and Dante right after school while Eliza went to an appointment. Homework time. And I talked to Mike on the phone for a few minutes. He is attending Airborne School in Georgia, his last jump is today and he will graduate tomorrow. Then he flies to Monterey, CA on Saturday to attend his wife’s graduation from Arabic language school.

29 April 2011

Yesterday John and I went to the movies. We saw ‘Source Code” with Jake Gyllenhaal and Michelle Monaghan. It was entertaining, but one of those movies that is hard to wrap your brain around. Eliza spent the night at the hospital with a friend and the boys had “sleepover at Gramma’s” again. I read the first two chapters of “Prince Caspian” to them.

30 April 2011

Another weekend and the last day of another month. Time seems to be moving very fast. I did a little sewing (binding baby hats) yesterday as well as sorting some of my fabric stash onto shelves. I love fabric! I made pizza for supper and Eliza and Kaleb and Dante came and helped us eat it. We introduced Kaleb to the early Cosby Show and he liked it. John and I started reading a new book aloud (on his new Kindle!); The Undaunted by Gerald Lund. I have read it before and this is the first time my husband has expressed an interest in one of his books- so I am very happy to read it to him.

02 May 2011

Happy belated May Day! I have a few flowers blooming in my garden. Happy little yellow faces were smiling at me when I came home from church yesterday. I did a lot of reading aloud over the weekend. I finally tackled two projects that have been bugging me for weeks-the bookshelf in the kitchen and a desk in the dining room. I organized the squares for a baby quilt and finished binding the baby hats and my husband delivered them to the hospital. We arrived at church very early yesterday and I was able to play prelude music on the organ for about forty-five minutes. Very soothing.

03 May 2011

I did enjoy the sun yesterday and my clothes flapping on the line. They are saying no more sun for the rest of the week. I read aloud a couple of more chapters in Prince Caspian and The Undaunted. I had Kaleb help me clean out a corner cupboard and everything is still sitting on my counter because I can’t decide what I want to keep in that space. I ate too much, didn’t exercise, and there was way too much Invader Zim playing in the background last night…none of that makes for a great morning.

04 May 2011

It is a rainy day in Maine. Got to sample the food for our Women’s Conference – a club wrap and homemade éclairs and hand dipped buttercream filled chocolates. Yum!

05 May 2011

We are looking at cool and damp in Maine. I introduced my Kaleb to MacGyver last night….good times. Happy Cinco de Mayo to you!

06 May 2011

Kaleb, Dante and I watched “The Sorcerer’s Apprentice” with Nicolas Cage and Alfred Molina last night. It was so much better than the ‘cartoon’ shows that he likes. I am not a great fan of Alfred Molina, but love the movie “Enchanted April” that he was in.

07 May 2011

Kaleb is celebrating his 11^th birthday at our house today with some friends. Eliza made him an amazing Indiana Jones cake. I will probably hang low in the office while the party is going on.

09 May 2011

It was a great Mother’s Day weekend for me. All of my children either visited or called or skyped. I love to feel connected to their lives.

10 May 2011

This is the final week before our women’s conference on Saturday. The program is almost finished and ready to go to the printer. I read aloud more chapters in The Undaunted and Prince Caspian yesterday. Life is full.

11 May 2011

Yesterday seemed to be one of those days when I did not get a chance to breathe until I was ready to sleep at 10:30pm. Busy. Busy. Busy. But I am always thankful to not have to worry about being bored.

12 May 2011

My daughter, her husband, and their three children have temporarily moved in with us. That certainly changes the atmosphere around here! I have been battling cold symptoms that leave me pretty dragged out by evening. We have turned some attention to getting the gardens ready to plant. That makes me happy.

13 May 2011

The women’s conference that has been in preparation for so long happens tomorrow. I am looking forward to a day of classes and good food with people that I love. I am printing and folding 275 programs today, and then I think all is ready on my part.

14 May 2011

Yesterday was my mother’s 81^st birthday. We went up to help her celebrate. I gave her a scrapbook of family history pictures for Christmas and I added two more page for her birthday. It is the weekend!

16 May 2011

The long awaited and much prepared for Women’s Conference was wonderful. The glitches were small and easily fixed, the classes were amazing, it was well-attended and the food was delicious. It was definitely worth the hours of planning and preparation. My son Joe graduated from college Saturday and we attended a party in his honor Saturday night. He wanted ‘Magic Cards’ for a gift – definitely not what we expected to be giving him as he graduated from college. We took an old US History text and cut a pocket in the pages and put the magic cards in there, so that we could give the illusion that we were giving him something a little more intellectual.

17 May 2011

We got a new flatbed scanner yesterday. I can’t wait to try it out later in the day. I read two chapters in The Undaunted to my husband. I was able to do a little Family History work as well as have my Kaleb help me do some organizing in the food storage area of the basement. More sorting in my office rounded out the day and helped me feel accomplished at bed time.

18 May 2011

The Northeast is experiencing a very gloomy week with rain and drizzle and no sunshine. My husband and I set up our new scanner and I was able to do some scanning. It works great! Kaleb had a homework paper that required two people (his mother and grandfather) to be timed while balancing on one foot with their eyes closed without hopping or spinning. It proved to be very hard for the adults but much easier for the children. I could imagine that with more of my children at home, this would have become a full blown competition.

19 May 2011

It is still raining. When the sun finally shines, the grass will grow by leaps and bounds! I started book five of the Narnia Chronicles: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader with the grandsons last night. I also read to my husband from The Undaunted. This morning is my card making class.

20 May 2011

Yesterday I made three very beautiful cards and enjoyed a couple of hours with some good friends.I got a fun facebook message from my granddaughter Sarah. It said that they were coming to visit over Memorial Day. Hooray! And my Mike and his wife are waiting for inspections to be done so they can sign papers for their first house (in Cadiz, Kentucky)!

21 May 2011

I have free slave labor living with me (three grandsons) and a list of Saturday chores I wanted accomplished. All finished! Yesterday I worked for 7 hours, did the budget (not fun) and cooked cardboard (frozen) pizza for supper. We did watch a Father Cadfael mystery. Oh, and I read a couple more chapters of The Undaunted to my husband and taught my early morning scripture class. Well, maybe the day was productive after all.