Dogs

This is our granddoggy Mac. He is a cute doggy and we love having him over to visit now and then. He loves to find treasures on the kitchen floor. I am not really a doggy person. I grew up with dogs but my memories are of them begging for food when we were trying to have a nice BBQ or of the nasty piles of doo doo.

Dog people really do not understand we non-dog people. I'm talking about the hard core dog people like the lady with the dog who jumped and ran around me while I was running on the trail. She asked, "Do you have food on you?" Yes I have a steak in my pocket!!! Geez I'm running at 6:00 a.m. I don't carry snacks... I wanted to say, "Put your mut on a leash before I break my neck tripping over it." These dog people don't get it - humans come before dogs. Then there's the lady who kept calling - Zeke, Zeke as her mini-horse put it dirty paws on my chest - nice control lady!

Let's all be reasonable and keep dogs as pets on leashes when other humans are around - I'm not talking about Mac - he's very well behaved and Jim and Liz have trained him well.

Unfinished

A few weeks ago my quilt group helped me start Steven's mission quilt. I took it off the frame and put it on a hoop so I could finish it up before he leaves on November 5th. This morning Steven came to me with a sad face saying, "Mom, there are cobwebs on my quilt..." The story of my life is unfinished projects. This is Steven's quilt.

Here is a wedding quilt I started for Liz - they celebrate their 4th anniversary next April...

My friend Maria and I got together every Thursday for a few years. She finished every project we started - me - not so much. Here's one of my favorites that I always wish were finished when a patriotic holiday rolls around. Maria has moved away but whenever I talk to her she asks if I've finished any projects...I have to tell her sadly, no.

Here's a little graveyard of unfinishedness. The frames I want to fill with pictures and arrange on the wall - yet another quilt and the cute "home" hanger. There are many more - probably some of you reading this are waiting patiently for something I've started for you...sorry.

Perhaps this is a weakness I can work on. Hopefully future posts will show projects completed. I really want to do it - I just have a short attention span. So many projects....so little time....

school spirit

It was green and gold spirit day - Johnny thought spiking his hair showed school spirit. Thankfully the school colors are also A's colors.

Don't you love those cute freckles?

Women's Broadcast

One of my favorite meetings of the year is tomorrow night. The women's broadcast of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I invite everyone to join the 4 million+ women of the church as we listen to the leaders of our women's organization, the relief society, teach and encourage us. We'll also hear from a prophet of God. With the turmoil in the world we love to hear the words of the Lord to his children - all are welcome!

If you're interested you can join us at a church building or watch it online. Click here for more information.

99 cent store

I sing the praises of the vegetable section at the 99 cent store, if you live here it's the one by TJMaxx. All this for $9.00!! The brocoflower and mushrooms would have cost that at Safeway (a slight exaggeration...).

Every Thursday Johnny and I head down there to pick up our veggies and fruit. This saves us all kinds of money and keeps lots of fruits and vegetables close at hand. I just love a healthy bargain! The avocados are especially fun - I tried them last week thinking that they're so small it would probably be a waste but the pit is tiny with tons of yummy avocado.
So don't be a snob - check your local 99 cent store and fill your life with fruits and vegetables!

family search

I'm so excited! When Jody (Liz's mom) was here she told me about helping with indexing census records. I have wanted to do it since they first asked us to help but never jumped in. Jody gave me courage to try and I'm ashamed I've waited this long! It's so easy and fun - It's a much better use of my time than TV. I'm committed to do one page a day which takes only about 15 minutes. It really connects you with the past and is so fun. You should give it a try. Go to familysearch.org and click on the little icon that says "index records" on the left side under the family search logo and sign up.

I'm getting the genealogy bug. All my life I heard my great grandmother, grandmother and mother talk about genealogy. I saw tons of pictures and pedigree charts. When I was in the temple the other day I realized - I'm the next in line to keep things going. With the current technology I can do things my crazy for genealogy ancestors could not even imagine. I think this means I'm getting old, I say embrace the season you're in!!

Apple Brown Betty Part 2

My blogging skills are lacking - scroll down to find part 1. The topping is 1 cup brown sugar, 1 cup flour and 1/2 c butter (1 cube). Mix this mixture together - I use my fingers so I can lick them...

Crumble mixture on top of apples.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to 1 hour until the apples are tender when you poke them with a fork.

Top with ice cream and enjoy!

This is my moms recipe. I remember as a kid that we'd eat the topping off the leftovers - we never have leftovers at the Hopkins... Thank you little apple tree for growing such yummy apples.

Apple Brown Betty Part 1

Sunday is treat day. One of my favorite treats when the air gets crisp and the leaves start to fall is Apple Brown Betty. Disclaimer: This is not a Weight Watcher recipe. This is my moms recipe and it is easy and delicious. This is our sad little granny smith apple tree. It was so heavy with apples that some branches snapped off and others bent the trunk. I hope we can stake it up and save it.

I picked about 10 apples from the tree - of course you can buy some if you don't have a tree. Don't they look great with some leaves still attached?

I like to use this slicer/corer and then peel and slice the apples. I have one of those handy peeler, slicer, corer contraptions but I didn't want to drag it out.

Put the apples in a baking dish - as many as you like, sliced however you like them. Mix 3/4 cup sugar with 1 tsp. cinnamon and toss with the apples until all apples are coated, sugar will start to melt.

For some reason Picasa will only download 4 pictures at a time so stay tuned for part 2!

A Perfect Day

When Jim and Liz were married 3 years ago Jim told Liz no crafting or quilting. I guess he'd had his fill with me all his life. But I got a darling pattern and kit when I went to Utah and since they usually include enough fabric for two I asked Liz if she wanted to make one with me. Here we are cutting and sewing, talking and singing along with the blaring radio. It was a perfect day!

When Liz told Jim she was making a little quilt craft he asked, "You know how to sew?" It's great when you're always discovering new things about your spouse.

Thanks for a fun day Liz - too bad you have to back to work. Sorry Jim, you can't keep a quilter down - I have to pass along my love of all things fabric! We will finish this project by the first day of December - it's a darling count down to Christmas thingy - of course I'll blog all about it.

my timer

I love my timer...I can get so much done in 15 minutes. I find that I dread little household chores, imagining that it will take forever to get them done. Amazingly when I turn on my little timer and get to work on an area I usually have time to spare.

Since Homemaking is my number one job and I'm my own boss it's easy to give myself frequent vacations. With my timer I give myself 5 minute breaks every now and then - it's like my reward for a job well done! I really want to be Suzy homemaker but I'm so easily distracted...in fact I lost my last timer so I couldn't organize myself. The one clipped to my pants in the photo is my new one and voila! I'm back on track! (Dave - if you're reading this, thanks for always overlooking my distracted homemaking style - I plan to iron as many shirts as I can in 15 minutes - love ya!) - oops the timer beeps - my break is over - here I come bathroom!

my primary class

Here is my primary class the Valiant 12's

A couple of the kids were concerned about having their names on the internet so they will remain annonymous - we have lots of fun studying the scriptures.

Just in case you wanted to know - the chalk tray makes a great tripod for the camera and Sam taught me how to use the delay on the camera! These are great kids.

mammogram

Got mine yesterday - have you had one lately? If not, do it! The technician lady was very happy with how flat I could be smooshed without screaming out! Really it wasn't bad at all - it's one of those important things that is easy to put off. It only took a few minutes and now it's off my to do list.

pumpkins

Here's my front porch bench. It needs some work but I wanted blog my homegrown pumpkins. I love them! These pumpkins tell a story that started way back in March with a few seeds. They have lines where the snails slimed across them, dirt from the backyard and healed placed where the racoons scratched at them. If you look closely at the picture you can see the footballs behind the bench - that's one of my favorite parts of this picture. My porch isn't perfect, it won't be featured in any women's magazine, but it makes me happy!

I got this fun sign at Taipan Trading in Sandy - the security scanning guy at the airport didn't get it - he looked at me and asked, "Pumpkins?" I guess he couldn't understand why anyone would carry a piece of wood that said pumpkins on a plane - he must be single...

Here's another little spot that makes me happy. I like this photo because you can barely see the dust on the counter and the spider webs behind the blinds.

I want little gatherings of things that make me happy all over the house. I think thoughts of the holidays light my creative fire - love it!

Sept 11

Seven years ago I was driving home after teaching seminary and heard the reports of the attack. I rushed home and was glued to the TV for the rest of the morning. I remember weeping when I heard the newscaster say, "Let's all pray..." I was so upset that now everyone seemed to be turning to the Lord. I realized that it takes a tragedy to make it socially acceptable to talk about prayer, to talk about God. It didn't take long for everyone to get back to "normal". Today I remember that we need to pray in good times and in bad.

Wedding pictures

Several friends have asked where the wedding pictures are. Here are some from my camera - they are not great but they give you the general idea. When the professional photos come in I'll post them.
The happy parents

The beautiful cake.

Because it was dark these are especially grainy but it shows how utterly happy these two are.

The night was cold but Doug and Cate didn't seem to notice.

They're enjoying wedded bliss.

Surprise

I made a quick trip to Utah last weekend for a surprise anniversary, birthday, all around celebration for my friend Lisa. Unfortunately I didn't get a picture of Lisa....I thought I recorded the surprise moments but alas my photography skills are woefully lacking. Here are a few moments I tried to capture.
Steve (Lisa's sweet husband) arranged the whole thing and kept it a secret.

 

He arranged for 2 of Lisa's friends and his brother who were in their wedding party to come in from CA. Lisa was so surprised and shocked to see them all standing there.
A beautiful buffet.

 

The beautiful and handsome children!

 

It was a fun celebration of a great life. I'll post an old picture of Lisa just for the record.

Home

I'm so happy that we've lived in the same town for 25 years. I was reminded of this last night watching Jim and Matt play softball with their childhood friends. Jim, Mike and Travis have been friends forever. Below is their senior ball picture.

 

They're not willing to pose for a picture these days but now they're grown wonderful men.

 

Matt and Justin have been pals since they were born.

 

Here they are last night - being slightly goofy.

 

I've loved watching these boys grow into men and I'm so happy that they have settled near home - you're settled right Jim and Liz? At least for now it does a mother's heart good to enjoy watching lifelong friends on the softball field.

Happy Birthdy Steven