BUSY WEEK....WHAT'S NEW??

Had a horrible nights sleep. My feet were bothering me so bad I had to get up and go downstairs. I read for several hours and then finally was able to doze off at 5am. Tony was up at 7:30 and ready to go to the gym but I chose to stay home and sleep a little longer. When I did get up, I did laundry, vacuumed the house, dusted and generally cleaned things up. It needed it. When Tony got home, he said we needed to go grocery shopping so I could make our ginger drink, we were totally out. AND I NEED IT!

So we went to Costco and Winco and then came home. I got busy making the drink because it takes me a couple of hours to get it done. I have to juice 6 oranges, 6 lemons, clean the ginger root and grind it all up in my food processor and strain it to get all the juice out of it, then mix in all the spice ingredients and..... believe me, it takes awhile!! BUT, so worth it! When I finished, I sat down to read my book and rest again. 

Tony finally finished his latest puzzle. It was a hard one and took him several weeks. However, he doesn't work on it constantly.  Just when he has time.  Deedra and the kids were driving over for Spring break and staying with Gramma.  We found out they arrived and then went to bed early (9)  I put Voltaren on my feet and then some socks and I slept like a baby!  It was GREAT! we went to the gym on Tuesday and it was wonderful to see my gym friends again. I sure enjoy Pat! She is hilarious! We ran to Walmart after leaving the gym and I picked up some yarn, cosmetics and some blueberries. Came home and made oatmeal with nuts, blueberries and honey. Mmmmmm, so good! 

I took a walk around the yard to see what's coming up and what needs to be done. My daffodils are finally starting to open.

My snowbound spiria is getting little buds and we won't trim it back till it has finished flowering. We learned that one the hard way. Tony used to trim it back in the spring and then it hardly budded at all. NOW, we wait and trim it when it's done flowering. I've decided to do the same thing this year with my Quintz bushes. I'll let them finish flowering and then take the pruners to them.

My flowering Cherry Tree when we 1st planted it.

To this!!  It was so windy Tuesday and it blew a lot of petals off. Looked like it snowed a bit! SO BEAUTIFUL!!  I did a little trimming on some of the stalks that were dead in my pots and I can see the new flowers starting to come up. I checked my peas and they are barely starting to pop through the soil. SO much yard work to do but it started to rain again in the afternoon.  So Guess it won't  happen today.  Tony wanted to go over and see Deedra and family after he got home from the Cpap place. He is still trying to get the right fit and make it as comfortable as possible.

We went over and Deedra and Mom were working on a puzzle. Tony worked on it with them and they invited me to join in, BUT, I am not a jigsaw puzzle person so they said we could play  GOLF, and they would work on it later. Thank you! Much more my speed. lol SO we played cards. Tony had a chiropractor appointment at 3:20 so he left and planned to come pick us up to go to the movie when he finished. we had made plans with the Poulson's again to go see THE CHOSEN and Lynn and Joyce as well. Deedra decided to wait.

Deedra pulling the pork roast apart for pulled pork sandwiches. We all had a sandwich and then Deedra and the kids decided to go to the park with Milo, their dog. Tony called and said he was on his way from his appointment and said for me and Mom to be on the front porch. We decided to start walking and we met him on Davis and then went to pick up Joyce. We met the Poulson's at the theater.

It was such a good show. We saw the 1st two episodes of Season five. Then we bought tickets for next Monday to see 3,4 and 5 episodes. We all absolutely love this production. I can't wait till Monday! lol  We filled up the popcorn after the show and brought it home to Deedra and the kids. Then we went home and got ready for bed. We finished our scripture study for the week so we started reading THE SAVIOR IN KIRKLAND. It is really good.  Then our prayers and off to sleep. Again, I had a hard time sleeping. Not my feet this time but my stomach was bothering me. Probably too much popcorn at the show. Again, I went downstairs to the couch and read till I was able to go to sleep. Sometime around 2am. I did get up at 7 and we got to the gym early!! I was able to walk with Pat the entire 4 miles. Usually, she has walked a mile before I ever get there. It was nice. We needed to get home in time for Tony to meet with Brother Adamson at 11. I had to put together a salad and get the pizza in the oven. I also cut up the lemon squares I made last night after the show. Yeti arrived just after Steve Adamson left, and the sister's shortly after that. We enjoyed a nice meal and then we had a great discussion with the 3 of them about the Sabbath day.

We made another appointment for lunch and a lesson, next Wednesday. Then we took Yeti back to his house so he can get picked up for work. He is going to try the Tongan Ward after General Conference this weekend. If he decides to continue there, he will have Elder's continue with his discussions and I'm not sure if we'll get him to our house anymore. Basically, because they would be working with members in the Tongan Ward. we'll have to wait and see how it all plays out. 

I hurriedly made a card and a purse for my friend Pat. It was her birthday today and I didn't find out about it till we walking this morning.. I won't see her till Monday but I got a purse made for her and put some earrings and an ornament inside. Made the card to match but forgot to take a picture and once it was in a licked envelope...  well, too late! lol  We didn't do too much the remainder of the day. Deedra was taking the kids to friends homes etc, so we just stayed home and rested & watched TV.

We went to the temple Friday morning. While waiting for Tony and the ladies to come out, I walked down to the entrance and got a picture of the flowers.The roses will soon be blooming and the trees lining the sidewalk are all in bloom.  It's beautiful!

We called Deedra and asked if she and the kids wanted to meet us at Chick Fil A. Jack was with a friend, Garrett didn't want to come but Deed's and the girls met us there. Joyce wasn't with us today because her kids were taking her to dinner and a play later.

The place was packed (as usual) and so we had to sit at the tall long table in the center. It was fun! We went home and changed and then went to Lynn's and played games with the family. 

Saturday/Sunday was General Conference. We chose to stay home and watch the morning session. It was wonderful. Made me anxious to hear the afternoon session. After it was over at noon, we went to the new dog park to meet up with the Butterfields and Ellie and Joe. They came to town to visit her parents and enjoy General Conference with them. 

Ellie and Joe are expecting their 1st baby. They are having a gender reveal next weekend. 

It was fun to see all the dogs. I'll bet there were 50 furries there with owners. We stayed for about 45 minutes and wore the dogs out by sending them for balls and Frisbees.

We then headed up to see Nate & Melissa's new home. Nate met us there and gave us the tour. It's not done yet, but soon will be. It has to be done by May for the Parade of Homes. They will move in June. We Joyce, Tony& me)  then went back home to watch the 2nd session of General Conference. Right after it finished, we went back to Lynn's. We made pizza, chips & dip, carrot stix and ice-cream bars. Then we played games and then Tony said he needed to go home for a while to get some temple baptism cards for Curtis & Deedra. I said I'd go home with him and get the stew put together that we were going to eat on Sunday before the kids took off for home. Tony finished before me so he said he would walk to his mom's and I could drive the car over when I finished. Soon after, I got a call from the Sister's and they said they needed a last minute couple to sit in on a discussion with Yeti.  I told them I'd call Tony and tell him to head to the church and I was almost finished and would be there soon. We made it to the church and had a good discussion. Then we all parted ways and we went to Lynn's and we all watched ESCAPE FROM GERMANY. Got home late so we went straight to bed. 

Sunday morning, we got up, ate a quick breakfast  and then Yeti came over to watch Conference with us.

He enjoyed it and we did also. We talked about 

THE LAMB OF GOD 

production that will be here next Saturday & Sunday evening.  Yeti wanted to know if we were going and we told him we have it on DVD. He can't go because he works nights. SO, we invited him over Friday afternoon to watch it here at our home.   We also made an  appointment for this Wednesday for lunch and another discussion with the sisters again.  He's golden! He was only able to watch the 1st session and then he left to take a nap and then go to work. We went to Lynn's. We ate the chicken stew and rolls and Joyce's lemon pie and the remainder of my raspberry poke cake. Then the kids got packed and ready to leave. Curtis's parents came over to say goodbye and gave Charlotte her birthday present. 

Gaya gave her a puzzle as well as an old blanket that Charlotte loved so much it fell apart. Deedra reminded me that I gave her the blanket when she was a baby. Gaya took it and saved what she could.....

and backed it with another print.  Charlotte was thrilled. She told me "I've loved this blanket all my life".  That melted my heart!

I got pictures of Lynn with the family

and one of us. Tammy and the boys showed up to say goodbye, then off they went.

We went back in and watched the last session of General Conference. 

President Nelson was the last speaker and announced 15 more new Temples, AND ONE IN CALDWELL IDAHO!! We all screamed with excitement! The Prophet said "the Lord is hastening His work"  and we are so excited to be a part of it by serving there.  We are preparing for the 2nd coming. It may not happen in my lifetime but it is getting close and we want to be ready. 

 Then said our goodbyes to Tammy and Lynn and came home so I could work on my lesson for next Sunday. 

It has been a whirlwind of a week!!

THURSDAY & FRIDAY & SATURDAY & SUNDAY

THURSDAY:

Got up this morning and went with Tony to his dermatology appointment. I brought my book, finished it and started on volume two while he was in his appointment.

Then we went to the gym and walked. When we got home, we ate a quick breakfast and Tony headed outside to spray weeds. They are growing like crazy. He then made an appointment to go to the Cpap place to see what they could do about the face mask cuz it bothers his nose. While he was gone, I got ready for our date with the Poulsons and read my book. Tony came home and just before we left to go pick up the Poulson's, the Bishop called and asked if we were going to be home. Tony told him we were leaving to go out with Kevin and Jan so he said "can we talk on the phone"  and asked if I was there as well. Tony put his phone on speaker and the Bishop told me I was going to be released on Sunday. I told him I was aware because Jenni was already sustained to be 1st counselor in the Stake Relief Society.  He confirmed I had been 1st counselor and I said I was. Then he said  "Sister Edge is being put in as the Relief Society President and we would like to call you to be 2nd counselor"   WHAT????   5 years wasn't enough.....he laughed and asked if I was OK with that ....I guess I'm still in Relief Society.....Just wonder for how long. 

We left to pick up the Poulson's and took off for the show. We went to SNOW WHITE. It was cute. A little different twist on the original story, but it was good.  Came home and got ready for bed.

FRIDAY:

Up at 7:30 and ready to head to the temple at 8:45.  We took Joyce's car today so I got to ride up front with Tony. Joyce always tells me I need to be by my husband whereas when we take Lynn's car, she sits up front. lol Before we left, I took a picture from  Joyce's house of our front yard. I love my flowering Cherry tree!!

I just wish the blossoms stayed longer!!   The grass is greening up nicely. I'll be cutting it for the 1st time next week.  We had a lovely day in the temple. We did an endowment each and then 2 hours of

sealings. and got some where around 80 ordinances completed.

It had rained a bit while we were in the temple and when we came out it had stopped and was sunny.  We are supposed to get more this evening and I hope we do. My plants need it. We went to Chick Fil A for lunch and are now home. We go to bed early tonight so I am going to read my book for a while. 

SATURDAY:

It was our turn to be Veil Coordinators so we had to be at the early morning prayer meeting at 5:30. Meaning we got up at 4am and left 45 minutes later. Lubov was on time (as she always is) and off we went. It was raining when we left.  It was a wonderful day. We love to work at the veil and it was great. After our shift, it was still raining! Lubov wanted to take us to dinner because Tony did the work for her nephew from baptism to sealing. She took us to Thailand Express and we enjoyed a wonderful meal. She chose a seafood dish and Tony and I both got Pad Thai. Delicious.

When we finished, we took her to Cold Stone Creamery. She is so cute. She took a live video of the place and sent it to her daughter in Spain. Evidently, she plans to retire this winter and move to Spain to be with her daughter and her family. She is the sweetest lady!!

I love my Sweet Russian Friend.

SUNDAY:

We went to choir practice at 9:30 but only got to practice for about 20 minutes. We moved into the chapel when the other ward was ready to use the Relief Society room and then the Young men and women needed to practice a song that they were going to sing in Sacrament meeting. I got a picture of a few of them before church started but when they actually sang, there were a lot more of them. It was a really nice number, and they all did a great job. It was our Ward Conference so I was released from Relief Society as well as Jenni, Carrie and Teri. Then I was put right back in as 2nd counselor with Debbie Edge as President, Shelly Hughes as 1st counselor and Mindy House as secretary. I was the only one who stayed in. Guess I'm still learning something. I'm really glad to be working with Shelly. She and I get along really well and if I have to continue, I'm glad she is there. Debbie and Mindy will be great too. Tony taught the Sunday School lesson as we combined the RS and the Priesthood. He did a great job. After church, I stayed to be set apart so Tony hurried and took Joyce and Lynn home and then came back and helped with us all getting set apart. Afterwards, we went home and I cooked rice and then we went over to Joyce's house and had beef stroganoff over rice and orange rolls and carrot sticks. Then we came to our house and watched the last disc in season 4 of The Chosen. We are going to the theater to watch Season 5 on Tuesday (well, part of it) and Lynn, Joyce and the Poulsons are going with us. Can't wait. 

When we walked back over to our house from Joyce's house, I noticed that my daffodils are starting to bloom. Well, ONE of them so far but there are more that will be opening soon.

I love my Flowering Cherry Tree!

It opens a little bit more every day.  It's a lot fuller than it was on Friday! The wind was blowing and some of the petals were coming off. Then it rained a bit more while we were watching The Chosen. We played GOLF for 18 rounds after the show and then the ladies went home. Tony and I watched a little NCIS and now were heading to bed. It's going to be a great week and

GENERAL CONFERENCE

is this coming weekend and that will be wonderful!!

SPRING HAS SPRUNG

We went to the gym on Monday morning. The sun was coming up and it was so bright.

But, beautiful!  We had a good workout. I am so proud of myself as I am able to walk 4 miles everyday at the gym before I do my weights. I'm gradually working my way up.

When we got home, I noticed my Peonies are coming up. In the ground and in the pots I have them planted in.

I'm hoping this one will have Big Red blooms this year. The 1st year I planted them, they didn't come up at all but at least a few sprouts are showing so finger's crossed! We ate some breakfast and then I  worked on a card with some new dies.

I only got one done before Lubov came over and I drove her to St Lukes for an appointment. She has been having some problems. It was pretty interesting as they had a screen pop up when she was checking in and a person translated everything in Russian so she could understand. Then a man came and went into the appointment with her and he translated in the room with the doctor. Amazing!!  I read my book when I got home and Tony went to his mother's to help her a bit. She has been very dizzy and using a walker to get around ever since we got back from Lewiston. I think she overdid it with her birthday week and all the visitors and then working in her yard with Diane before our trip to Lewiston.  Monday night, we went to bed. Tony has been sleeping really well since he got his Cpap. At 11:45 at night, I heard our garage door open partially and close again. I woke up Tony and told him and he just moaned something....then I heard it open again all the way. I got up and went downstairs and opened the door to the garage. The light was on (of course it goes on when the door opens) so I checked around a bit, turned off the light, closed the door and then went back to bed. HOWEVER, I couldn't sleep worth beans the rest of the night. Every creek  the house made, I would sit up and take notice. I imagined someone in the house and had thoughts of what they might do to us. It was awful!!

Tony got a super sleepscore on his fitbit and mine stunk!! 

Tuesday, we walked at the gym and then I came home and got ready to go to SILVER SISTERS. Joyce had a doctor appointment and her granddaughter took her to it. Lynn was still feeling out of it, so I went alone. Brother & Sister Leukenga were the guest speakers and they told about their mission to Russia. He ran the projector and she did most of the talking. Occasionally,  he would say a few things but he let her do most of it. It was so interesting!!

She showed us her 3 hats. One was a decorative hat that went with her dress. The one she is holding up was wool and she said it kept her ears warm when it was cold....but she had a big fur one that she said she wore when it was super cold. 38 degree's below a lot of the winter. Brrrr, that is cold!!

She had a table set up with a lot of the things they got while there. The dolls were handmade by people and they would sell them at little shops set up on the streets.

They were pretty cute!

She posed for me with her special hat after the program was over. She and her sister made the Russian Borscht soup, rye bread and then their was tossed salad and desserts. The desserts were made by the sisters in the ward who were hosting. There were desserts from Denmark, Argentina, Switzerland, Israel, Norway etc....can't even remember them all. It was a fun activity for sure! After, I got home, I did some laundry and then read my book.

Its the 1st one in the series I just got. This one I had in my book collection. #3, I got from Lynn. I found # 5 & #6 at the Deseret Industries and Debbie found me #2 and #4 at a 2nd hand book store in Bountiful. I'll have this one finished today and will be able to start on #2. They are so good! I love Gerald Lund books!

Today, (Wednesday) we got up and went to the gym. We walked 4 miles. I'm not as fast as Tony so he went down to do a few weights while I finished my last 3 laps. Then we had to get to the Lawn Mower shop to pick up our mower. Lynn's and Joyce's won't be done for a week or so. 

When we got home, I cleaned up and then made lunch. Yeti and the sisters were coming over for a discussion and lunch. Yeti got to our house and the sister's texted and said one of them hurt her back and they probably wouldn't make it over. So, we had a nice lunch with Yeti and afterwards I told him about my families conversion. Then we listened to President Nelson's 2024 conference talk. He is the nicest guy and full of questions. Tony took him home (he doesn't have a car yet) so he could get picked up for work.  Now, back to my book and then I need to get up to shower. Tony went to Lowes on his way home and picked up a new garage door opener. He had taken our old one apart and it was broken inside. Hence,  the opening at any little jolt. I will sleep a lot sounder now! lol

EXCITING and BUSY FEW DAYS!

Just got this news!!  I'm so happy for her.  It will be the 8th of August in Emmett. Another good reason to start KETO again. lol 

We went to the gym this morning and then came home and ate a quick breakfast. Then we went shopping for a few things. We leave tomorrow morning for Lewiston. Bridger is getting baptized on Saturday. We came home and packed and will be going over to Lynn's to see Diane before she leaves to go home. 

We took Joyce with us and played some games with Diane. One last Hurrah before she heads back to Utah.

Then before leaving, we took a picture with her.

ME......

Then, TONY.

After a couple of hours, we left for home and a good nights rest because we wanted to leave fairly early on Friday morning.

We picked up Mom around 9am and Diane was leaving shortly after we took off. The roads were great but we could see Snow and low hanging clouds in the mountains.

The closer we got to McCall, the snowier it got.  But still, the roads were good!!  Thank Heaven! The trip was uneventful. I wanted to stay in a motel, when we were planning the trip, but Tony (always the one to save money) asked Kim if we could stay with her. I follow her blog and I knew she had her Aunt staying with her but she said she could stay with her sister for the weekend. She is so accommodating but I still hated to put her out!!

When we got to Lewiston, we stopped at the Downtown Cafe for dinner, before we went to Kim's. We've eaten their once before and it is really good. Tony and Mom got a Steak grinder sandwich, which they really liked.

I got a French Dip and Mom caught us with our mouths full! lol After eating, we drove up to Kim's and unloaded our things. We visited with her for an hour and then we drove up to Stillman's and Kim went to her sisters house. She also had a cousin come to town and she wanted to go visit with her at her sister's house. (Another reason I wished we'd gotten a motel)....too late now!!

Curtis and Deedra and kids made it to Stillman's shortly after we got there.  Stillman had a house full as all of Michelle's family was there too.  Curtis and Deedra and family were in a hotel. Bridget and Jeremy and Brogan stayed in Stillman's 5th wheel. Donna (Michelle's mother)  and Jordan (Michelle's brother) and Stephanie and their four children stayed in Stillman's house.  

The kids were all downstairs playing video games as we all visited upstairs. We played some games with the adults .

Then Keaton came up to show us his helmet and sword.  It was metal and looked HEAVY!!  Pretty cool though.  After games, we 

 headed back to Kim's to get some sleep. It was raining as we drove back to Kim's and I was glad Tony was driving. That town is super confusing to me. lol We got to Kim's and she was laying on the couch. We told her we were going to bed and I started down the hall and stepped in something squishy. Her dog, Rosco, had gotten sick and threw up on the carpet runner she had going down the hall. She got up and cleaned it up and I cleaned off my shoe. Again, I felt bad as she was put out too. She let Lynn have her bedroom. She said she was going to sleep there as well, but she didn't. Anyway, we went to bed. Tony and I did not sleep well. The bed was too soft and it was a double (maybe a queen) but after sleeping in a King, it seemed so small.  Tony had his sleep apnea machine and he just couldn't get comfortable. I finally ended up taking his neck pillow and used it instead of the pillow on the bed and eventually got to sleep. We got up on Saturday morning and Kim made a FANTASTIC breakfast of sausage and eggs and toast. She had made several bottles of strawberry jam and sent it home with us. Some for us, Joyce & Lynn. She is such a great person and so stinkin funny!! After eating, she rode with us to Bridger's baptism.

Michelle took several pictures of him, and they turned out so good!

I got a picture of Bridger and his parents before the baptism. 

After getting pictures of everyone there, we went back to Kim's to change and she stayed home to babysit her granddaughter. We then drove to Stillman's and had lunch. Chicken salad sandwiches on Croissants, chips and carrot sticks. It was so good!!

We then all went to the High School to watch Jayden in the school play, "THE WIZARD OF OZ" Jaden played the coroner as well as some other parts with singing and dancing. He has a great voice and is an excellent dancer.  

I got a picture of him and Alice after the performance.

As well as a picture of Alice with "Dorothy". She did a great job as well! She went to prom with Jaden and  she was so sweet!  After the play, we went back to Stillman's to celebrate Bridger's 8th birthday. 

Stillman BBQed Brats and Burger's.  Kim had made a Big Frog Eye salad, and of course, chips and then CAKE & ICE-CREAM! He loves Spiderman and everything was that theme. The kids started with a Spiderman Pinata and it was STUFFED FULL! 

Then we came inside and Bridger blew out his candle and opened his gifts! He read EVERY card (and really well, I might add) and thanked everyone. It was sweet!

He got money from Kim, me, Donna and someone else (can't remember) but as he opened mine, it was adding up and he exclaimed,  "I'm getting RICH".....it was so cute!!  After the party was over, it was getting late and so we said our goodbyes and went back to Kim's and to bed. Tony slept poorly again and I actually did better than the previous night. Kim left for church shortly after we were up and we packed and took off for home. It was raining the entire trip. We drove to McCall and went to,  

"MY FATHER'S PLACE" for lunch. 

As we were leaving, a family of deer came trotting by the place.

Three on one side and the Big  Daddy on the other.

The snow on the roof's were deep!  Good for this summer's water!!

It was a good weekend but I am glad to be home.