HOME AGAIN AND WORK TO DO

We got home Saturday night around 6 and went immediately to Costco for gas and we grabbed a hotdog and a drink. Tony and his mom got ice-cream. Then we took Lynn home and got her all unloaded. Then we repeated things at our house and I immediately started on laundry and emptying suitcases.  We had Stake Conference on Sunday and Tony and I had a 7am Leadership meeting so we went to bed and got some rest. It was hard getting up Sunday morning but the meeting was worth it. We then went to pick up Lynn and bring her to our house. We had waffles and sausages for breakfast and then we watched conference on zoom. After conference, Tony had a meeting at our house with his Presidency and so Lynn and I stayed in the back room and watched COME FOLLOW UP. When Tony finished, we went to Carol Ross's apartment to meet her daughter and play games. Carol was having shoulder surgery on Tuesday and she wanted us to meet her daughter Debbie. It was a nice evening and before leaving her place, Tony and Brother Barker gave Carol a priesthood blessing. 

I try and water my plants on Monday so I'm on a schedule and when I went to water my PEACE LILY that Pat gave me when Joyce died, I noticed it had a bloom on it. COOL!~

After the gym, I worked on a card while Tony was helping his mother with several things. It's not done but I wanted to try the die . Now I need to do some inking and it'll be complete. 

I got the lawn mowed on Monday because Tony had a chiropractor appointment and then had to take Lynn in for one as well. So Tuesday, we got out our owls and put them up.

Here's little Hedwig........

And here's BIG HEDWIG!

My white lilies are blooming and I love them.

BUT, I love the colored ones even more!

I should have a yellow one opening up soon but so far, the pink and orange are all that's opened. I sure enjoy flowers and I'm very pleased with our yard. Tony emptied one of the sheds today so he can start rebuilding the fence on the right side of the house. I'm cat tending for the Jarretts so have been going over to clean the litter box, feed her and of course pet her. She loves that!

It's been very windy today and a lot cooler than usual. I had an eye appointment to get a prescription for progressive glasses. I can see fine far away but still need glasses to read. I found out that I am starting to develop a problem on my lids and eyelashes. It had a big name but basically, it's a small mite that gets into the eye. She said it has nothing to do with hygiene and I have no idea how I got it. She has a special pharmacy in Spokane that makes an eye drop to kill the critters. I will have to put it in my eye two times a day for 6 weeks. I guess it stings but once they die, it should be fine. She said if we don't take care of it, they can make you lose your eye lashes eyc. 

I WANT THEM GONE FOR SURE!! 

NEW TEMPLES TO ATTEND

We drove out to Syracuse Temple on Friday morning. It's where the GREAT SALT LAKE  used to be. The lake is drying up and getting smaller and I guess it won't be returning because the Lord wouldn't have a temple built there if it would be a problem. 

There was a lot of housing there as well and schools, a Costco etc. Man, the Salt Lake area is growing!!

It was a beautiful temple (as they all are) and the grounds are gorgeous.

I loved the shape of this one and it reminded me of the Rome temple minus one steeple. lol We did an endowment session with Alivia, Diane and Mom Norton and the 2 of us. 

Cory came to pick up Alivia  and then we drove to the Linder temple at the other end of the valley. It's past the point of the mountain. It was beautiful as well. Jess joined us with this one and then we went to APPLEBEES and met with Colby and Cindy for dinner. Why I didn't get a picture is beyond me. OOPS!  We had a nice dinner and a good visit and then and then we said our good byes and Tony and I headed back to Debbie's house. We didn't stay up late as we were leaving for home on Saturday morning. 

We had mom Norton with us and were taking her home after being gone nearly 2 months.  We weren't able to go through the Pocatello temple while we were in Eastern Idaho a few weeks ago because it was closed for cleaning. So we decided to go home on Saturday by way of Pocatello and take advantage. So, we did. We'd gone through the open house with Mom and Joyce but we wanted to do an endowment there. We have now attended      temples. 

BUT WHOSE COUNTING! LOL

GOD IS GOOD!~

MORE UTAH TRIP

We love going shopping in downtown Salt Lake and we went to Deseret Book. When we visited Colby and Cindy on Monday night, Cindy showed me some wood puzzles that Colby had given her for Christmas. They were so pretty so when I saw them for sale in Deseret Book, I had to have one....

It was hard to choose which one I wanted.

SO, I chose two. The rose for me and the Sunflower for my friend Pat. Now, I'm anxious to see if they sell them in our Deseret Book here in Boise. I may get more. lol

I have always loved this picture of the Savior running to save a lost sheep.  It's a small 5x7 but it's perfect.

Then, Tony asked if I wanted the picture of the Savior by Kristen Yee. We loved her conference talk on how she painted this picture and then applied the finish before it was completely dry. The paint ran and she thought her painting was ruined. She called her mother and she gave her great advice which was: 

AND she created this painting. It is so good, it looks like a photograph. It's amazing. We looked at several and chose this one because we liked the frame the best. 

As we were getting to go into the Church Museum, I saw this man walking towards us and I knew immediately who he was. I said "Brother Brown,   from Jamaica?"  ..."YES",  I told him how much I loved his Conference talk on Testimony in 2024!  He was such a wonderful man. I asked if we could have a picture with him and he said "Of Course" and then he asked a young man who was doing some gardening if he would take our picture.  It made my day! After he left us, Tony said, "How do you do that?"  .......

It's a gift! lol  We went into the museum and went through the art exhibit and the others pertaining to church history.

We ended our visit the in the store and Tony got me this Tree of Life necklace. I LOVE IT! I've been wearing it non stop. So pretty!

GOD IS GOOD!~

OUR UTAH TRIP

We left for Utah around noon on Saturday.  We went to Boise and filled the car with gas at he Costco there. It was cheaper than Nampa. We had a tailwind all the way to Bountiful and got tremendous gas mileage. Tony was elated. We got to Debbie's between 5:30 & 6.

We played some games with Deb and Danae. Alivia came over in the late evening and she looks fabulous. She is losing weight and she looks amazing. Kudo's to her. Sunday, we went to church  with Deb and Danae. Man, their ward looks like our Stake Conference. Our ward is shrinking like crazy so it was something to be in a ward that size. We were envious. lol Around noon, we drove to Bluffdale . Diane had invited us all out to dinner. Alivia, Danae and Deb took their car and Tony and I drove out in ours. Deb was trying to avoid anyone who was sick because she was having hip surgery in a week. Jess had caught a cold on one of his trips and was on the tail end of it. Deb decided to eat out in her car and she and her girls left immediately after dinner. I took advantage to do the same. I was going to Heather's to spend the night and the following day with her. My poor baby is having a real struggle and I wanted to be with her. Jon had taken the kids swimming so after Tony said hello to Heather, he left and went back to Dianes. Heather and I visited until Jon and the kids came home briefly and then left for his sister's home to have the monthly family dinner. Heather and I continued to visit and she poured her heart out to me. Oh how I wish I could do more than just listen. My heart hurts for her. Once Jon and the kids got home, we all went to bed and Heather and I continued to visit in bed till around 2am. We finally drifted off and started our day on Monday early. I made pancakes for the kids and then we got busy cleaning house. We picked up clothes, did laundry, folded clothes, put them away, cleaned Mara's room and the loft. It took us all day but it was good to be busy. We went to the store and Heather got a few items to make dinner. I went out to check on the kids.

Mara was skating in the driveway.

She posed for me in the grass. 

Sawyer was in the backyard picking weeds so I helped him until Mara came out and told us to come in for dinner. Jon was home and thanked me for helping in the yard. We ate dinner and it was delicious. Heather can cook like no other. I wish I had her talent. 

Tony came to pick me up at 7PM. Jon had been out mowing the lawn  but finished and went for a walk.  I told Heather I wanted to get a picture of her and the kids on the front porch. Jon  came around the corner, so we waited till he got home and took a nice photo. Carol was coming to visit Heather on Tuesday or possibly Wednesday. I told her to stay in touch. I called her Tuesday and she said she had decided to drive to St. George with the kids and stay at her in-laws condo. She didn't want to be home on her anniversary.

Tuesday, we went to Temple Square. We had been able to get tickets to the Visitor Center's tour. We parked in the Nordstrom parking lot below City Creek Mall and walked over to Temple Square.  Part of the square are still sectioned off , as they are still working on the temple but soon it will be open for 6 months for the open house. There are new statues on display on the grounds.  

They were beautiful. The grounds are going to be so wonderful when it is all done. 

We went into the New  Visitor Center and the stature of 

THE LIVING CHRIST 

is now on display with the temple in the window view.

We saw another beautiful statue of the Savior before we took the elevator to the basement to start the tour.

There was also a model of the SLC Temple with a picture of the temple in the background of all the scaffolding around it when it was being strengthened, reinforced and upgraded. We started the tour, which was fantastic! I wished I'd known we could take pictures from the start but I didn't so I missed a picture of the entry to the temple. The church has made this tour with life size rooms of what it's like in a temple. Such a brilliant idea! 

There was a baptismal font on a smaller scale. BUT, it let people know what one looks like and the Sister missionaries explained why we do baptism for our dead ancestors.

They explained that all our font's in the temples are supported by 12 oxen, which symbolize the 12 tribes of Israel.

We went into an endowment room and the stained glass windows were beautiful. 

The sisters explained what we do in an endowment room and explained that the endowment is a gift from God 

We then went into a Celestial room. The furniture, lights, flowers, vases and windows were all gorgeous.

The chandelier was beautiful as they all are in the celestial rooms. 

It was such a wonderful tour and I am so glad that people can see what the inside of a temple looks like and what we do in them.

They also showed us a sealing room and explained how we can seal our ancestors to us through the sealing ordinance. 

After exiting the main part of the tour, there was a BIG model of the SLC Temple and it was cut away showing all the rooms inside. 

It was really cool but I had the hardest time getting in front of it as there were so many people looking at it.  SO there is a bit of a glare and it's hard to see the rooms clearly. But, it was a cool thing to do and we were so happy to have gotten tickets. While we were on the last leg of this visit, I got a call from the dermatologist saying that the spot on my nose that they took the biopsy on is clear!!   YAY!~

GOD IS GOOD!!

GETTING READY TO LEAVE

We went to the gym this morning at 7:30 so Tony could get the lawn mowed before my bone density and mammogram tests at noon.  

I like how Tony mows from side to side as opposed to me moving it front to back. lol I think this looks nicer.

The plants are looking nice too and since he fertilized the lawn, it's been luch and green.

The lilies are budding out and will soon be three beautiful colors.

This plant was starting to bud out pretty well and then this....

The flowers were so heavy, I had to tie them up together. All in all, the yard is looking pretty good this year. 

Tony worked on the sprinklers and got them working really well. He had to replace a valve in the sprinkler box and what a difference it made. Now, to pack and get ready to leave for Utah after our temple shift on Saturday. 

INTERESTING WEATHER

I've been wanting to mess with paper again AND I got a new die and embossing folder. 

SO, I tried a little something and although it's not wonderful, it's OK and I'll try something different next time.

It was slightly cooler this morning when we went to the gym. It felt nice. While we were walking,  we noticed a couple of balloons.

I didn't get a very good picture but could tell they were going down to land. Couldn't figure out where. I thought possibly 

LakeView Park. 

However, later on the news, it said one of them landed in a yard.  There were comments about it being off course.

BUT, the lady who flew it said she has been practicing the last few days and she landed precisely where she planned to. 

HER YARD!! Pretty cool!

When, we got home, I mopped floors, and cleaned house. Then, Tony and I left for my dermatology appointment. I was concerned for a spot on my arm but it was ok. However, the spot on my nose was a different matter. I had to have it numbed and he sliced a piece off. He said they will have to send it away and will contact me in a week.

Between my eyes getting cataracts taken off and now my nose getting sliced, I LOOK TERRIBLE!!

Getting old is not for the faint of heart.  A HUGE wind storm started up. We lost several chunks off the tree. Not big but made a mess in the yard. Then a fire started in the foothills in Boise. Wished we'd got rain from the storm but alas, we did not. 

Played with some more paper when I got home. I just plopped a sentiment on it to see what it would look like, but it's not what will be there when I finish with it. lol Well, time to relax.

POLDARK is calling my name. lol