Free at Last

I finally got out of the house. When I went to the store yesterday morning for groceries, the checker said, "I am so glad to be out of the house. I was stuck there for 7 days with my kids." Made me laugh,--maybe I should be glad that I was alone, but it might have been fun in the snow and giving the kids ideas of things to do that would occupy their minds and bodies.

The party at Katie's last night was fun. She's so great to host us all. We didn't all fit into the living room to do the white elephant gift exchange.--Extra spouses this year--our family is growing. We missed everyone who couldn't make it.

It's raining and washing all the snow down and away. It went down by half overnight and now half again. By tomorrow I think that all that will be left are the big piles the snow plows made in the parking lots.

Snowy Beauty

Yesterday it snowed all day, stopping overnight. We are expecting more snow today, and the kid in me wishes there were people here to go sledding down the hill with. It's too bad the roads are not good. I'd go pick up Heidi's girls who live 10 miles away and give them a fun day. I'm happy, not lonely or anything--everyone is a phone call, email or chat away. It's just like the snow is wasting, that's all! Hopefully they are sledding somewhere and enjoying the snow.

I remember when I was in 6th grade in Waukegan, Illinois that one night it snowed a lot and then it got icy. There was ice everywhere, but school was still in session. I lived about 8 blocks from the school and was a walker. So, we strapped on our ice skates and got to school that way. It was quick and no one would slip on the ice that way. My teacher drove a volkswagen bug and I remember it was so slippery he came around a corner near the school and his car slid for a bit. His name was Mr. Kuss, which we thought was funny, of course. He was a good teacher and I liked him.

Christmas is close now, and we can enjoy the beauty of the snow today.

Still snowing. It hasn't snowed like this, meaning all day, all night without stopping, in the whole time I've lived in Portland. That's almost 35 years. So here's the depth as of 10:00 this morning.

Celtic Thunder

I went with Nancy to see Celtic Thunder. Wow is all I can say. Five men with fantastic voices. Then there were the musicians--all so great and the drummers were so good, too. You should have a listen to them sometime. The song ,"Chrismas 1915" gives a whole other meaning to "sleep in heavenly peace". Spending time with Nancy is always the best, and we've changed a little since we were 18, though not that much.

The youngest member here, is now about 15 years old and almost up to the other guy's shoulders.

Snow Day

It's snowing! They cancelled our church meetings--when we get one inch of snow the whole city stops. That's because in the whole Portland area there are only 5 snowplows. Jerry and I are so enjoying our relaxing morning. He's on the phone right now with his 90 year old Aunt Jewell Swertfeger in California. He hasn't talked to her in about 5 years. He talked to his Mom and his Aunt Alice Swertfeger in Missouri. Those two are only 3 years away from 90. He's sweet to them.

All the kids here are hoping for no school tomorrow and they might get their wish--it's only getting colder over the next two days.

So we'll continue to enjoy our pretty, relaxing day. We'll stare at the pretty Christmas tree and watch the snowfall. Jerry was blasting TransSiberian Orchestra. His favorite is "The Wizards of Winter".

We have our Christmas tree in the family room this year. The grapefruit tree is getting so big we didn't want to move it at all--so now it gets to be a Christmas tree, too.

A Perfect Day

You know what's a perfect day? Taking your granddaughter to see a movie that she's been wanting to see for a long time. I took Kelli to see High School Musical 3. We had a good time. We got to enjoy a lot of singing and dancing on the big screen. I'm looking forward to taking all the grandkids to see Polar Express at the Omnimax next month.

Mr. and Mrs. Bishop

So, Nate is now the 29 year old bishop of the Des Moines, Washington ward outside of Seattle. What a great bishop he is going to be. Now they can really get to know everyone in the ward.

Cute Bees

It's almost that time, but this was a long time ago.

More Storage Pictures

Just one more picture.

The Storage Room

Once this is done, we can really get busy with our food storage and preparing for whatever lies ahead in this country or just in our life. Being prepared feels good.

September's Almost Over

It's Saturday morning and I slept in until 6:09 and it feels wonderful! Well, all we got to grow in the garden box was a big zucchinni plant and a huge tomato plant. Now we are reaping the benefits. Jerry also planted some green beans along the fence behind the garage, and another two zucchinni plants--one's up to my waist. I told him, "Next year, only one zucchinni plant." We've been sharing with everyone. They get that look on their face when we ask them if they would like some. We still have just one box out there, but he promises to build 3 more over the winter so we are ready for next spring.

The garage is all painted, finished now. We finished the sheetrock inside the storage room and now Jerry has been having fun making shelves. Won't be long until we can drag all the extra stuff out of the old barn and put it nicely and cleanly on the shelves.

Joy and Nate are coming this next weekend and I'm going to enjoy every minute of it. Do some baby squeezing, too.

By Other Artists

Here are a few by other artists, like Greg Olsen and Simon Dewey.

The New Testament

On Monday I begin teaching the New Testament to freshman seminary students. I know this is going to be a great year. There is so much to enjoy about the life of Christ, and the artwork is beautiful, too. Karl Bloch is one of my favorite. Here are a few of my favorite pictures of his.

Grandparent's-To-Be

What's better than becoming a parent? Becoming a grandparent, of course! Grant and Mindy are having a girl. She will be named Josie Jeanne Swertfeger, now that is just perfect, for sure. Now we can get little girl things for her and try to imagine what she might look like. Only 5 more months to find out.

A Perfect Wedding

Last Friday my niece, Jenna got married to her long-time friend and now love, Stephen Johnson. They got married in the Portland Oregon Temple. They are the sweetest couple. When I look and see my nieces and nephews, grandchildren--well the feeling is indescribable. Especially knowing how many of them have a testimony of the gospel and of Jesus Christ. I am still grateful to the missionaries that taught me the gospel, and for sisters and a brother who also took the time so many years ago to listen to the missionaries and learn for themselves that the gospel is true and that Jesus Christ 's church is on the earth and He leads it and us. We have so much to share in this life and our family means everything to me.

More Garden

Where oh where are the seedlings? It's been too hot for the seeds to germinate that I planted. This week it will be cooler, so we will see. The things I planted can also be a cold crop, so we may yet harvest in late September or in October.

Garden Progress and Girl's Camp

Here's the progress on our garden. Can you see it? If not, that's because we've been busy doing other things. Girl's Camp was fun and we think C.O.P.E is the best thing to be in charge of there. Jerry worked really hard as you can see from the picture. (Seriously, he did all the planning and prepared the things with some help from me. He did a great job. We felt like we were playing all week long.)

LDSWA

A friend has worked for at least two years on a website where LDS women can share, much the way people share on My Space and similar sites. She launched it today. That's what the post below is about. So visit the site if you're interested. I haven't done much with that page, but I'm looking forward to hearing from other LDS women.

I'm a Member of Our Ladies Room

View my page on Our Ladies Room

Visit to Joy

Had a great time helping Joy celebrate her birthday. See how cute Oliver is. He says "Ma, ma, ma".

Keeping Up With Kelli

Keeping up with Kelli, technologically speaking is not easy but it is fun. I figured out how to add music to this blog. I learned something new today, and that is good.

I know, now all I need is some good music.

Home at Last

Jerry got home yesterday from 5 days of helping cook for the Pioneer Trek. They cooked for about 250 people. He said his job was to keep the pots clean and filled, and then to stir all 15 of them when they were cooking so nothing burned. He looked exhausted. I think that was mainly because it had been so hot over in Hermiston and because the last night all the youth stayed up until midnight square dancing and then they didn't go to sleep. They talked quietly and things, but out of doors, everything carries. So, not much sleep for Jerry that night.

I am so glad to have him back at home.

Here's a picture of the beginning of our garden. Picture it with 3 more boxes in a square grid and gravel between and around them, covering the weed barrier.

It's Gardening Time

Today we are finally, after 13 years, making a garden here. We only have 2 1/4 acres to work with. After deliberating and planning together for quite some time, Jerry finally made a box out of materials and of a size that we had not planned on. It is great- made of old corrugated metal roofing we had lying around and some lumber we have had. Jerry was certain that there was no good soil to be found here. I suggested next to the barn, under the giant cherry tree, where leaves, grass clipping and vegetable peelings have been piled for the past 13 years. We also had chickens penned up in that yard for several years. He looked doubtful--so he used the tractor to get some dirt next to that area and it was good soil. It's a start!