DOGS LIFE WITH GRAMMIE......

THIS IS MY "GRAND-DOG MARLEY".........Well, it isn't him but this looks exactly like him!  He is a real "care taker of" everyone and everything.   This is his poem.....

"DOGS BEDTIME PRAYER"

NOW I LAY ME DOWN TO SLEEP

THE KING-SIZED BED IS SOFT AND DEEP.

I SLEEP RIGHT IN THE CENTER GROOVE,

MY HUMAN BEINGS CAN HARDLY MOVE.

I'VE TRAPPED THEIR LEGS, THEY'RE TUCKED IN TIGHT

AND HERE IS WHERE I PASS THE NIGHT.

NO ONE DISTURBS ME OR DARES INTRUDE,

TIL MORNING COMES AND I WANT FOOD!

I SNEAK UP SLOWLY TO BEGIN,

AND NIBBLE ON MY HUMAN'S CHIN.

FOR MORNINGS HERE, IT'S TIME TO PLAY,

I ALWAYS SEEM TO GET MY WAY.

SO THANK YOU LORD, FOR GIVING ME,

THIS HUMAN PERSON THAT I SEE

THE ONE WHO HUGS ME AND HOLDS ME TIGHT

AND SHARES THEIR BED WITH ME ALL NIGHT.

AMEN......MARLEY

PS.....GRANDMA MAKES ME SLEEP IN THE HALL WITH IZZY WHEN YOUR GONE!

 

 

 

 

ALL GOOD THINGS COME TO AN END.......

Here is my sweet Brayden......in Disney Land with new mission call in hand.   Family and friends gathered around breathlessly.....where is Brayden going?  Well to a happy Mother's relief he is off to Spokane, WA in July.  Brayden would be a good missionary no matter where he was sent....Congratulation!  Well, last night Alex, Brayden and friend Greg arrived here at midnight after driving in from LA in Sherrie's little  new convertible......  (only one ticket on the way).......!  They were three very tired boys after a weekend of non-stop going in Disney Land.  It is so fun having them here.  We got up at 6;30 because Dad said, " get up and get home for church"?????  I am such a lucky GRAM.......

Enjoying SPLASH MOUNTAIN........Greg and Brayden,......... second row Alex and Sam.....third row Scottie and Kennedy!  Cute boys having fun......

 

HELP! I HATE CHANGE......

Yes, at this time in my life I really don't like change.......but the older I get the more things seem to change in my life!  Not that I was ever into pole dancing......but that to changes????  I don't find change scary.....just inconvenient......it can be exciting, rewarding and even fun! It seems we are biologically built to resist it and cling to our comfort zones.....it some times becomes a challenge for some of us.  There were so many things that I USE to do without thinking much about them......yard work, entertaining or flying through the house work.....not so much now.....I have to plan so much every day to get through it all.   But I am beginning to accept that I am not able to do as much as I use to....now it relieves a lot of stress and anxiety and opens the door to making a smart plan for change.  I have "to-do" lists all over the place......every transition has three phases;  an ending, a "neutral zone" that is in between time after one chapter ends and a new one is about to begins and a new beginning.  Experts in this recommend......breaking a change into 10% increments.....Make small goals each week....and before you know it, you'll have mastered a big change that once seemed over-whelming.   Very few people get through life without a few changes......and you will realize they have made you stronger in the end.......As traumatic as it was at the time ........my divorce after 30 years of marriage.......made me a new and exciting person and changed my life completely.  You just change your way of thinking on the positive like.....I KNOW HOUSE WORK NEVER KILLED ANYONE......BUT WHY TAKE A CHANCE!

Just talked to Karrie....Sherrie, Darren and Sam flew home today.......Brayden, Alex and Greg are driving Sherrie's new convertible home tonight....The cooks and Ken will fly home tomorrow night!  Disney Land was closed last night at 10:00 because a 5.1 earthquake!!!!!

WHAT YOUR BIRTHDAY TELLS ABOUT YOU.......

In all the Chinese signs of the year 1932.....I am a MONKEY which rings much more true---than the MOUSE definition I just saw on Face Book. " MONKEYS: They are very impatient and hyper!!!! (yes, when something needs done I want it done now.....and finished!  Which drives my kids crazy because they will help out if I WAIT!)....You want things to be done as quick as possible.....At heart, you are quite simple and love if you are the center of attention.....(Might explain why I loved cheerleading, being a stewardess, concierge......maybe it was just the uniform?)......That way you people are unique.  You would like to keep yourself safe from all the angles.  Shall your name be dragged or featured in any sort of a controversy you then go all panicky......(true).....Therefore, you take your precautions from the very beginning.  When you foresee anything wrong, your sixth sense is what saves you from falling in traps.....(I do have a sixth sense to warn me and have not always listened ......and paid for it).....Quite a money minded bunch you people are!....(Very much so in my case......not a big spender.) "      Don't know how they arrive at all the interesting information but intriguing.

Quiet weekend ahead tending dogs and the kids out of town.  "I KNOW HOUSE CLEANING CAN'T KILL YOU BUT I SAY.....WHY TAKE A CHANCE?" .......so just going to hang out this weekend.

ANOTHER MISSIONARY IN THE FAMILY......

JUST GOT A CALL FROM BRAYDEN......WHO JUST OPENED HIS MISSION  CALL......down in LA......AND TOLD ME HE WOULD BE OFF TO THE SPOKANE MISSION IN WASHINGTON STATE.  Of course I always cry at good news and I couldn't tell if he was excited or not, I was just happy it was not Russia or Ukraine or somewhere scary!   His brother went to Brazil and I worried a lot, his father went to Texas.....it's all good. I have spent quite a lot of time with Brayden lately......driving back and forth to Vernal and we talk about his dreams and ambitions!  He is so full of dreams and fun ambitions and inventions and setting up a Fun Land in Vernal......I know he can and will follow his dreams.  He wants to go to college and become an engineer......since he was little he is known for tearing things apart to see what made them work.  He will be working in an area of many engineers who work on or around Boeing and who are on Brayden's level of  thinking and interests.....God sent him there for a reason......this I believe and I know he will be a wonderful missionary! I will be very lonesome for him, but I am happy he feels he needs to give two years to the church. MY BLESSING ARE WITH YOU.....gram

GATHERING AROUND......

It really makes a Mom proud when all the girls support each others kids and are as proud of them as parents and grandparents are.  Last night was Andrea's last night to perform and off today for Cheer Competition in LA .......Sherrie and Alex were in town from Vernal and Pam came by after she got off work.....so fun to be with all three girls there with me.  It is so nice to have Alex home from his mission.  I had bridge at my house yesterday which is always very busy, then the kids came in from Vernal and we ordered pizza and then off to Brighton High to watch Annie perform.......very tired.  I got up at 4;00 this morning to get the group off to Disney Land where they will meet Darren and the other boys for a weekend together at Disney Land......and inherited Izzy and Marley for the weekend.   Very cold and rainy today......snow in the mountains.   Off to dinner with Pam.

AHHH....SIGNS OF SPRING!

 

You know how some pictures just tell it all....this one does it for me.  I went out and bought a bouquet of daffodils today for my bridge luncheon tomorrow.....they just add so much sunshine to the room,,,,,,,this little fox seems to know that Spring is just around the corner.  Today was 75 degrees in Salt Lake.....warmest day of the new year with a forecast of cold and snow the next two days ugh.

I try to think what really keeps me going.....I guess it is thinking positive and reading positive helpful hints to spur me on......such as ; "Be around the people you want to be like----because you will be like the people you are around."......."YOUR THOUGHTS ARE THE ARCHITECTS OF YOUR DESTINY".....You should always have big goals and never give up.   "Life is a one time offer....Use it well" and "You are far to smart to be the one thing standing in your way."  "CHANGE THE WAY YOU SEE THINGS, AND THE THINGS YOU SEE WILL CHANGE."......This really made me stop and think how we get locked in in our thought process and never step out of the box, maybe be to our advantage to take another look sometimes.  "EVERYONE YOU KNOW IS FIGHTING SOME KIND OF BATTLE......BE KIND".  This I know, after an afternoon of bridge and listening to every one's stories there isn't one person I'd

change places with.  "TIME HAS A WONDERFUL WAY OF SHOWING US WHAT REALLY MATTERS." YES.....time has softened the loss of my parents, the hurt from the divorce after 30 years, the growing up and moving on of the children......time is a wonderful blessing.  "AGE IS AN ISSUE OF MIND OVER MATTER.....IF YOU DON'T MIND...IT DON'T MATTER".....I don't mind getting older....everyone does....I just hope I can stay well and mentally alert.  "SOME TIMES WHEN YOU CLIMB THE LADDER OF SUCCESS YOU FIND IT IS LEANING AGAINST THE WRONG WALL"......To me being a success is having lots of friends and a family that loves you.....and your health!

HELPING OTHERS........

Elder M. Russell Ballard of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles has encouraged us to pray for opportunities to serve: "In your morning prayer each new day, ask Heavenly Father to guide you to recognize an opportunity to serve one of His precious children.  Then go throughout the day.....looking for someone to help."  I love this thought.....you can not do everything for everyone......but you can do one thing for someone.....and they can do one thing.....etc. etc .etc. I have been practicing this lately and find it very rewarding.  Taking a friend for a colonoscopy, picking up some one's paper for several days and smiling and saying thank you lots.

Yesterday after getting my income tax taken in......always stressful and a relief......I decided I needed a McDonald's McMuffin......so stopped by across the street.  I was happily munching away when this very elderly man with a cane came in and looked around ......I had my Ipad so didn't pay much attention..... soon I see him setting at a table near by reading a little book and having coffee.  Pretty soon I finished and started gathering things up to leave.....he motioned me over......was I leaving?   Yes......so he started gather up his things to move to my table.....so I got his cane and coat and sun glasses and helped him......it was nothing and I didn't have to do it.....but I think he appreciated it.......I DIDN'T KNOW I WAS AT HIS FAVORITE TABLE OR I WOULD HAVE MOVED WHEN HE CAME IN......he was very old!  As I age I know I take all the help I can get from other caring people.

Off to see the movie Son of God with my fun friend Shirley.  It's trying so hard to be Spring!

 

STEP FORWARD.....

II love this message......and I need to print it up for each of my grandchildren to read every day........You have to decide what you want and start working toward it with all your energy......it may take awhile and you should not get discouraged........IF YOU DO NOT GO AFTER WHAT YOU WANT YOU WILL NEVER HAVE IT.........How will you know what is available for you unless you ask......maybe you will get a few NOS, but eventually you will get at yes........IF YOU DO NOT ASK YOUR ANSWER WILL ALWAYS BE NO......And if you just dream of success or fame or being rich......... whatever you want if you do not step toward it you will never get it,...........  usually things are not just handed to you freely.......IF YOU DO NOT STEP FORWARD YOU WILL ALWAYS BE IN THE SAME PLACE........

When I was young I always wanted to travel.....in those days women didn't have much chance to do it.  Early on  I wanted to be a STEWARDESS.....I had to wait until I was 21, have two years or more of college and take two years of a foreign language, not wear glasses, not be overweight etc. etc. etc.  Well, I set my sights on that and felt qualified by the time I was 21.......I went to Denver and put my application for a stewardess in with every airline that flew into Denver.....United, American, Western, Frontier and Continental......I JUST WANTED TO BE A STEWARDESS........and just waited till one of them called me in to interview.  Frontier called, I was accepted and my dream came true.......I really feel this is good advice for everyone......."Ask and ye shall receive".......

YEAAAAA.......turned in my income tax today and got my drivers license yesterday so all set for a great weekend!

WEEK OF STRUGGLES.......

I feel like I am just hanging on this week.....I COULD NOT FIND MY SOCIAL SECURITY CARD ANYWHERE......and was heading in to renew my drivers license.  Where do your papers and treasures hide when you swear you know just where they are......Well anyway....... dug up a social security notice for this years payment with my SS number on it......which they accepted with a pile of other requirements to prove I am me and live where I say I do and not illegally here.  and my picture......well we won't go into that.......  But .......I got it and am good to go for five more years.....which will make me 87 and who knows by then??????

AND I have finally rounded up my medical payments, house taxes, donations etc., etc, etc......and go in in the morning to Mike.......... my income tax man and find out the bad news............ how much I owe Uncle Sam!!!! AND.....settle my prescription

dilemma with TRICARE......
Karrie and kids came over and cleaned my house this afternoon.....and now I can jump in and get ready for bridge at my house next week.  Have a Condo meeting tonight......maybe one more then retire!!!!!

A LITTLE RIGHT LIE.......

I think this is so true.......Unless you know how to program everything you think, feel and see into those magic cell phones or Ipads!!!!!  Which I don't........and let your fingers do the walking!  I still make lists and lists and lists to remind me what to do today.....this week.....or this month....However, at my age if I can't remember a name, place or thing......I can just kinda lie and say........"I am having a Senior Moment." I learned very young Honesty is the best policy.......except when it isn't!

Does the truth always set you free? ......Or can it be a huge, crazy-making pain?  If I want to lie a little to get along, am I betraying myself?  "I am sorry, I would really love to help you move......but, I am busy!"........"No, I can't help that day....I have a dentist appointment!"......... "Oh, I already contributed to that?".........are these kinda lies to get you out of doing something you really don't want to do?

Is it that lying is easier than honestly---that it has the magical power to spare feelings, preserve comfortable assumptions, and make us appear less flawed than we are.....But truth is like fresh, clear air, while lies are like smog that poisons our psyches and interactions. Your life is a sphere and as the lines move out from you .....your closet relationships...... the next ring out, followed by friends, acquaintances, strangers, and psychotic dictators.  In the realm nearest you, you want pure, healthy honest air.  Moving away from the center, the clarity of truth becomes less necessary.

Bottom line.....always tell yourself the truth. Dishonesty in this relationship is at best counterproductive, at worst catastrophic.  Denial.....as they say, ain't just a river in Egypt.......If you want your life to work, tell yourself the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth!

IF....your desperate to kill a relationship......lie!

Cold.....cloudy......busy.......day!

 

HAPPY ST PATRICT'S DAY......

Happy St. Patrict's Day........Couldn't find a green shirt to wear.....but Walmart was full of some very interesting green-ish people!  Just had to wish Maxine a Happy Day.....She is my hero.....I need a hat like hers.......and maybe an attitude?

 

Well lots of hugging going on since Alex got home from his mission......I love him so much.  Yesterday went to his Home Coming in Vernal and got two or three more hugs.  The whole family turned out for it.........Right in the middle of the church on the 5th row was Grandpa Bud and his girls friend (Darren's father)......on the end of the bench and down on the other end Darren's mother by his brother.....In the row behind.....on the end was grandpa Don (Sherrie's  dad) and in the middle her mother with the grandsons......I guess one big happy family even though no body lives together or speaks half the time.  Guess it is good that we have kids and grandkids that keep "the tie that binds".......Great family weekend and the Christensons really out-did themselves making us feel at home.

 

HAPPY 35th ANNIVERSARY PANNIERS......

Happy BIG 35th Anniversary to Pam and Rob......Oh yes, and Happy St Patricks Day too!......Rob is even wearing green here in Minnesota at Nicci's wedding run.  35 years ago today I was a mess......doing a wedding......all my family arriving for it.....and trying to get the family ready to leave for Europe in a day.

My little brother got drunk and was a night mare and never got invited to anymore of our weddings.  My sweet father was glad to leave and get back to his peace and quiet......But we all survived and it was a beautiful wedding at the McCune Mansion in Salt Lake..........and these two are doing great.  Just moved into a new home......got back from a fishing trip in Argentina and enjoying weekends at their "BARN".....cabin in Idaho.   The family is raised and out on their own and they love Bree their puppy.  HAPPY ANNIVERSARY AND MANY MORE.

LISTS AND MORE LISTS.......

Saturday.....and you realize the week ahead is packed......speaking of packed....I just finished packing to head out to Vernal with the Cooks to spend the night with Sherrie and go to Alex's Homecoming tomorrow......So weekend shot.  Next week......renew drivers license.....do income tax......figure out new prescription route......lunch and bridge......condo  meeting......Monday Pannier's 35th wedding anniversary!  Maybe auntie acid's list would be more fun than mine.......?????  All I can say is ....this too will pass.  Well, back to packing and waiting for William to pick up Bree......The panniers were off to a friend's cabin for the weekend.  Does any of my family ever stay home.....Is it my fault because they inherited my travel gene?  Happy weekend!

THE WABI-SABI WAY!........

 I love Aunty Acid and Maxine because......they tell it how it is......and that is what old  people do!

If you want a perfectly organized life.....live the Wabi-Sabi way,,,,,,I have written several blogs about Wabi-Sabi and know it can be a strong and comforting force in your life when you believe it.  Wabi-Sabi-----is the Japanese philosophy of accepting THAT since perfection doesn't' exist, we shouldn't seek it, but instead find pleasure in things as they ARE--is proven to ease anxiety and boost you!  Ready to escape the stress of modern life?  Just tap into a few wabi-sabi principles. FOCUS ON NATURE..... Example instead of creating a super complicated spring bouquet, wabi-sabi encourages you to make a simple arrangement with just a few flowers as you would find them in the field.  In other words, leave them as natural as possible.  It will help you feel more connected to nature!.......It alleviates stress by canceling the impulse to be perfect!

FOCUS ON FRIENDSHIP......Enjoy time with friends is a big aspect of Wabi-Sabi, in part because it reminds you that the best things in life are free!  The Japanese even have a phrase to describe  it ......ichigo ichie.......which

 translates as " for this time only", meaning that every encounter with the people you are closet to is unique and should be enjoyed to the fullest......

ALSO, try planning ahead.  just make a casual plan to get together with your closest pal once a month for an hour  over tea or coffee.  Research shows having just one friend you can confide in....... can extend your life as much as 10 years. ( Today I spent two hours in McDonalds with Patty Beltz talking about so many things and I feel it is better than any therapy I could pay for!)........my Wabi-Sabi!!!!

FOCUS ON YOURSELF.......Taking time for yourself and shutting out the din of the modern-day world.....from cellphones and computers is important.  Carve out a space of your own in a  corner where you can escape,,,...with books, candles, flowers etc.......Make it your place!!....And if you have a pet ......focus on them.

Simple things that cost nothing.......THIS IS WABI-SABI.

STILL EXCITED................

One happy grandmother .....me, mother....Sherrie and aunt.....Karrie...... to Alex as he got off that airplane on Saturday 8th, 2014........from two year mission in Brazil.  He looks so good, all grown up and now 21 years old.

HE IS HOME AND LOOKIN' GOOD!!  Sherrie's three cute and fun boys.  Kennedy.....Alex......Brayden.  Brayden will be turning in his mission papers Sunday 16th......Alex homecoming day....... and plans to leave in July.......Another sad day for Grammie.

Talked to all three of the girls today.....Sherrie is sick,......Pam is sick......and Scottie has strep throat.  Guess I won't be visiting them for a couple of days.....Had a really good winter so far.

 

SUCCESSFUL TRIPS.........

Well, got all my kids home yesterday from their trips to South America.  This is what Rob and Pam went to Argentina for......go fishing......and that is one of the specimens.   They had a very good time and I was happy they could see the great culture of that country.  They met fun people, ate interesting food, and saw some great scenery.......Pam rode horses a couple of days which was exciting for her......and they arrived home tired.

Are you a KINDA----SORTA.....ALMOST ......MOSTLY.....CLOSE ENOUGH......kind of person?  Are you never quit sure of what you want or where your going next......or do you really NOT care?  If you give someone a choice of food, evening out, what to wear.....9 our of 10 times you get and answer "I don't care".  Do you really not care or are you just afraid to speak up?

One man was so bad about "I don't care".....that when his wife asked him what he wanted for lunch and she got his usual answer......she was fed up.  So, she put a cold pancake between two pot holders and put the plate in front of him!  I don't know.....but after that I bet he had a choice.....ham, turkey, tuna or cheese maybe. 

DON 'T be a KINDA....SORTA ......MAYBE  person, take charge of your life and start making some good decisions.

IT'S SNOWING TODAY........

TRUST.............

NO, TRUST does not come with a refill!  Thus little sign says it all.  If some one earns back your trust........it will never be the same.  I have talked to other friends you have been through a divorce and their stories are the same as mine.  This is also true of the Church and Government officials.  How do you trust your President of the United States when he tells you one thing and does something else?  Or a close friend tells something you share with her that was in confidence.  I guess this is a lesson we should learn when we are young......but we don't...... as children we have no reason not to trust.....until.....until it happens to you!  I always trusted in people and had to learn the hard way done by some one I loved......You heal, but you don't jump back into the same situation again if you can help it.  You learn to move on one day at a time.

Been such a busy weekend......so glad to get our missionary Alex  and his parents home from Brazil. This morning I picked up the Panniers ......home from Argentina.  So much fun hearing all about their trips......so nice to not being  the one doing the traveling that far again.  Having been to Argentina and Brazil I can relate to what they tell me.  So tired just been sleeping the past two days.

IT'S A WONDERFUL WORLD........

LIFE.......I LOVE IT!  I guess you just have to live one day at a time and have faith you are doing God's will...........For the past week I have been with the Christenson boys......and I love them more every day.  They are kind and good and helpful and take very good care of their grammie!  Tomorrow their parents get home from Brazil with big brother Alex.  I have been in Vernal a week with them and my heart is so full of "thankfulness" for so many things.  Number one......I have made some new friends.........Mike and his wife who are Darren's barn foreman and his wife.  They have offered to take me to lunch, bring in lunch, take the boys and I to dinner and just a while ago they showed up on the front porch with a little rose plant and  card saying GOOD FRIEND........Well, that was just toooo much for me.  I thanked them, shut the door and couldn't stop crying.....their kindness just over whelmed me as I have done nothing for them.  They said because of me they had this nice family they work for and I was a really good grandmother.......You like to think so, but when these little old people with not much in their life take time out to be so kind......I JUST LOST IT!  So nice to know there are still such wonderful people somewhere in the world. They are very excited Alex is home after two years and have made a dozen signs and banners to put around the farm.  I will tie some yellow ribbons on the old oak tree!

Also.....all week as I sit at the table and work on the computer I have watched the cows and horses that live in the back pasture.  Well there are two mothers, two little black babies and two yearlings.  Well, the babies keep following the one mother so I thought she had twins.....no, they just like hanging together.  The one baby was sick and in a pen with it's mother a couple of days, but it romping around the pasture this morning.....I am happy for that.  And the horses are right in the back yard and fun to watch them.   The weather was so awesome this morning.....big rain last night and the eerie fog was over the lake and hill out back.....great view.....Another day another adventure.......

CHAPTER 32.....More Thailand

Moving on to CHANG RAI, THAILAND......Like I said unless you are a whiz with words it is so hard to explain what you have seen......so again some great pictures of me "being there ......doing that......At all the markets they sold many kinds of bugs, worms and flying things.  They gave you a paper plate piled high with them and people ate them like we do French fries????  They were very cheap......and yes, I tasted a worm but wasn't thrilled by it!

The homes in the small villages were strung out everywhere.  All bamboo and thatched roofs....open to the weather a lot.  If you got a peek inside a home it was sparse and humble with dirt floors and mats to sit on. The children worked hard to help the family eat.  They fished, hunted small animals and worked in the fields......they were usually the ones selling souvenirs. The older people seemed by in charge of the babies or small children.   In one village where there were hot pools of water, the children put several chicken eggs in a net on a pole and put it in the water and you could buy a hard boiled egg from them!  The children were very inventive.

This map show the GOLDEN TRIANGLE we got to on this trip where we spent a day in Burma (Myanmar) and we hopped into a long boat and went to a village for the afternoon in LAOS.  So close to Viet Nam......but I didn't get there just down the Meking Delta to Laos.  Yes, I can honestly say I saw more and learned more about our wonderful world on this trip than many of my others.......GO TO THAILAND!!

CHAPTER #32.......MORE THAILAND

CHANG RAI, THAILAND.......My dream of an adventure!!!!!!  We stayed in a beautiful hotel on the river bank where we caught a ride down past water buffalo's, little villages with lots of kids and dogs. To the Elephant village.  We played with the baby elephants feeding them sugar cane.....then a large group of us got aboard our elephants and took a long ride across the river and into the jungle......what a thrill!  When we got through with our ride the white oxen carts were there to take us back to the village.  We watched the elephant show and had lunch then boarded the bamboo rafts and floated three miles down the river to meet our bus.  What a morning and we were not through..........

I never dreamed I would meet these interesting people.......The Long Neck Tribe Karen of Baan Nam Peing Din.......We visited their village and they were all ......and more......than I had envisioned from their pictures in the National Geographic Magazine I read about them in.  They were friendly, let us take pictures and buy some souvenirs.  The many rings are started when they are young and do not stretch their necks longer but push their shoulders down......and I am not sure why the women do it.....maybe they think they look nice.   One of the older ladies we had our pictures with was in the National Geographic and on many post cards in the stores.  The cultures are so  different and the people......different and yet the same as us. The different tribes of hill people we visited are all very poor , but seem happy with their lives and hard workers.

CHAPTER #32....around the world

If I could go back and do one of the trips I have taken........It would be my last trip to THAILAND!  This was my fourth trip into BANGKOK.  Don and I had taken all the girls and I had been there leaving on tours a couple of times.  I never got tired of the beautiful temples and shopping and interesting people.  Bangkok is friendly, fun loving, exotic, tropical, cultural, and historic......all you could want in a vacation.  I had a "dry message" that I will never forget, saw fun culture shows and bought lots of good cheap junk.  I love the floating markets and feel one picture is worth a million words,.......unless your very talented. 

BANGKOK was just the beginning of this wonderful adventure for me.

 

YEA.....HE'S COMIN' HOME........

I may never understand how you can get a picture from Brazil on a cell phone .......if I live to be a hundred!  We spent most of yesterday trying to co-ordinate when Sherrie could get us and we were going to use my Ipad to FACETIME it!  That is Brayden was going to......I am an interested by-stander.......and haven't a clue what they are doing........anyway it wouldn't work, so he went to the phone.  Well finally late afternoon the first picture came through on Brayden's phone.....we could see them, but they could not see us at first.......so that is the first picture of a happy mom and her missionary.......Alex.  Alex looked and was very tired.  They had flown from his mission to RIO, took a train, a bus, a taxi and finally rented a car and they said they wore him out "translating" for them!  Today they were off to play tourist and see the IZ-something falls that are so famous.......a couple more days and we can all hug him.  The other picture is one Sherrie put of Facebook.  He looks great and you can tell how happy mom and dad are.......

Another beautiful day in Vernal......kids off to school......doing laundry......and going to get brave enough to drive down town and visit the new JOANS that opened yesterday......oh yes, and keep an eye on the cows and horses out back..

WHY I LOVE MY FACE BOOK.........

You have to believe there is that big world out there that is waiting to be explored........I really tried to do it all in my 82 years, but have slowed down and now I let the TV, Computer and Ipad explore it for me.......  OH YES......and google!............... In the comfort of my home.

Every day fun messages are emailed to me, that I can answer by a push of a button on the computer.  BUT, my favorite is my Face Book account.........  Day by day it changes with the new things my family, their families, cousins, aunts, nieces and nephews and friends are doing.  My cute niece Kristi Ramsey has a fun life in the Police Department.  Niece Tami Norton

referees balls games.  Cousin Freda Yeomans shares the yummiest recipes.  Even my cousin's (on the Goff side) daughter keeps me entertained by her very provocative life......even though I have never met Rose........she lets you know her moods.  My sweet niece Korina shares her interests in many things and keeps us posted on her two daughters and son.

I talk to my sister regularly on the phone but her four children and her 15 grandchildren are all posting pictures and their latest doings.  These things we could not cover in our phone calls. Then......there are my three granddaughters posting cute pictures of their animals, husbands for Tiffany and Nicci and fun cheer pictures of latest dates from the youngest one Annie. Up dates from my two missionaries and fun sport pictures from the younger ones.  These are all things that would keep their mother's very busy trying to keep "grammie" up to date!  Yes, thank you to the people that came out with the Face Book......it makes my day.
Now that the Winter Olympics in Russia are over it seems PUTIN wants to start a war over the Ukrane......that is all that is on the news and of course Obama doesn't know shit from shine-o-la......and we will probably just sit here an watch it happen.
Well, better start thinking about something for the boys dinner.

BACK IN VERNAL........

This looks like a very happy traveler in Buenos Aires.......,,This is my number one daughter Pam enjoying her vacation......As you know she and Rob are in Patagonia on a fishing trip, but having a few fun days in the sun just hanging out.   Did see that Rob had a good fishing day though.  Am I still traveling?????  YES, I am in Vernal, Utah for the week!!!!!  Drove down today with the Christenson boys while their folks are in Brazil.  No snow this trip and 64 degrees today.  Brayden got his cell phone screen repaired by a man who came and did it in my kitchen and so we watched the whole grizzly operation!......No, it was great I just keep learning something new every day, but don't plan on changing any cell phone screens in the near future.  Brayden on a date and they were getting dinner so Ken and I just did cereal and grilled cheese.  

Now what to do tomorrow is the next big question............I can always sit and watch the cows and horses grazing in the backyard pasture.  There are two little black baby calves that are fun to watch.

CHERRIOS AND FRUIT LOOPS?

The latest picture of my cute second granddaughter....Nicci Pannier Trovinger......She is with General Mills in MN and has been working in the cereal department these past few months and seems to be pretty good friends with the Cherrio character..... Mr. Lucky Charms.........she has been moved to the Green Giant Vegetable department now so I expect to see her hanging with the Jolly Green Giant next!!!
        Some times I feel like I'm a fruit loop in a world full of cherrios?.......but I know this is the TIME, the PLACE, the MOMENT, in which I am meant to be.  I try to believe the time I spend wasting is not wasted time? 
        SO, Dear Past;  Thank you for all the lessons.  Dear Future:  I am ready.......
        Lazy Sunday with the boys watching TV and tonight the Acadamy Awards are on.  Made a roast and invited Annie but she is busy.....watered Pam's plants and checked out a couple of movies for the boys.   Off to Vernal tomorrow.  Tiff picking up Pam's dog today.

KEEPING BUSY........

Gosh he is cute.......and all mine.  This is my third grandson, Brayden Chistenson.

Ken and Brayden are here for the weekend and are so fun to be with.  Brayden is eager to do chores for me and is so full of fun ideas about his life. He has such a good attitude about life....... He took Ken and I to breakfast this morning, then of to car racing with Ken and cute cousin Annie.  The boys and I went down to Fashion Place Mall to shop a little ......got them both a new shirt.  Off to the Spaghetti Factory for dinner with Annie.  We all have such a good time together. 

On Facebook this morning some pictures of the Panniers enjoying their vacation in Argentina.........Talked to Cooks in Las Vegas......rainy and cold the same as it is here.  Word that the Christenson's have hooked up with Alex and will be there for his release tomorrow.  Glad everyone is having a good vacation.

Patty and I spent 3 hours yesterday in McDonalds having coffee????.......or not, but we did get a lot of problems solved......or just didn't want to go home.