Friday, March 23, 2012

Dear Kids,
           I’m uploading from the Kamas Library again this week. I’m sitting at the same table I used last time, because it’s the only table here.
           Here’s some good news: Max Allen has his mission call and he’s going to the Nevada Las Vegas mission. He’ll be entering the MTC on May 16. Other news : Jamie and Andrea Quinn are expecting another baby, in September. There’s probably other baby news that I don’t know, but we see Jamie and Andrea almost every time we visit Grandpa Allen. They seem to be taking good care of him!
           I have yet another calling in the Francis II Ward: I’m going to be the Primary pianist now. I only served as Laurel advisor for three months, but I can’t say I’m unhappy about the change. I love Primary and I’ve missed it terribly. I’m definitely back in my comfort zone.
           Last Tuesday night Dad and I went to see Zorro, the Musical at Hale Center Theater, thanks to all of you who paid for our season tickets! It was really good. We were pleasantly surprised, because it hasn’t been performed in the USA up till now, and the reviews from London said it was “not a turkey,” like they expected. Anyway, we really liked it. There are still four more plays/musicals coming up, including Sound of Music, which Kara McGettigan will be trying out for. I hope she makes it!
           We had a great snowstorm last Sunday, with a foot of new snow at the cabin. Donna called me Monday morning to see if I could watch Anna at the cabin, because of the 17" of new powder at Deer Valley, and it was Bevan’s day off. Of course I was glad to tend Anna! At earlier times in my life I’ve thought babysitting was a little boring, but now it’s great to have another creature at the cabin with me, irregardless of age!
           Dad and I are leaving for our trip to Maryland on Friday, April 13, and we’ll be gone a week. We were hoping to fly to Wisconsin on our way, so we could visit Monica and Neil and Jackson, but it would have been terribly expensive (as Monica predicted.) At least we’ll see the three of them at our family reunion at Bear Lake this August.
           Life is good! I love you all! Mom

Saturday, March 17, 2012

Dear Kids,
           Today I’m uploading from John’s office. Dad is here for an eye exam, and I’m sitting around. John just came out of one of the exam rooms, and I tossed him half a sleeve of thin mint girl scout cookies. He made a perfect catch, and put them in his pocket. Dad and I had eaten most of the box on our way here, and we needed them out of our reach.
           Last week I wrote that I might be doing Sunday dinner on April 8th, but I should have looked at the calendar first. April 7th is Easter Saturday, and it’s also Ellie’s birthday and Ben’s baptism. Nora has volunteered to have the party at her house, after the baptism. We’ll celebrate the baptism and Ellie’s birthday and have the Easter egg hunt all at the same time. Nora pointed out that there will also be baptisms the first week of May (Ellie) and probably the first week in June (Sarah), so Dad and I will see lots of you then and I won’t be doing Sunday dinners at all until July. Maybe by then the cabin floor will be finished. But even though it’s a construction zone, the cabin still handled our Sunday dinner crowd just fine last week. We had 29 people, and there was plenty of room.
           At the cabin, we went from winter to spring overnight. Most of the snow melted, and there were several mini-lakes around our property. It was nice to see the grass again, and on my hikes up the hill, I haven’t had to wear snowshoes. Oh, wait. Here at John’s office, a lady just said, “Did you hear about that storm coming in? Are you ready for snow again?” So I guess we’ll have snow again. It’s OK with me.
           When we get done with Dad’s appointment here, we’re driving to Midway to pick up Donna and Anna, and then we’re going to tour the model homes at Valais, an upscale development at the north end of town. On Friday, I called the realtor and left him a message that we wanted to see the model homes, and when he called back, he sounded very excited. They don’t have any new homes under construction, and maybe he hasn’t had any calls for months. I told him we were going to relocate to Midway next year when my husband retires, so right now we were just checking things out. I’m pretty sure we won’t be able to afford one of their houses, but it will be fun to look.
           I hope you’re all doin’ great and lovin’ it! Mom

Friday, March 9, 2012

Dear Kids,
           Today I’m uploading from the Kamas library. It’s a lot quieter than the deli in Food Town, but there aren’t any free samples from the bakery, or other goodies that you can buy. It’s a lot quieter, though, and it’s warmer. The librarians are very nice, although they were surprised that I brought my own computer. I asked them if there was an access code for the internet, and they said I didn’t need one, which is true. Our chapel, however, is another matter. We’ve been waiting a long time for it to get wireless, because I like to check the weather forecast on Sundays, before Dad drives home. So we finally heard we were connected, but nobody wanted to tell us the password. (There was a rumor that all the 11-year-old scouts knew it, but I don’t know who’s 11 now.) I guess we were supposed to go to the bishop for the password, but I got it out of his wife in Sunday School. (I could see she was on line with her tablet.) In sacrament meeting, I was showing Dad how to get on line, and when his Nook connected, it blared out some ad. Serves me right.
           Well, it seems the library isn’t so quiet after all. A gigantic fluffy ginger-colored dog just walked by. He’s about as big as a pony. His lady friend said he’s a Great Pyrenees. I’d never heard of that breed. He stopped so I could pet him, and after a while my hands were covered with orange dog fur. He needs a gigantic furminator.
           A couple of days ago, while I was at home, I watched while Dad applied for Medicare online. Do we feel old or what? You’re supposed to apply three months before you turn 65, even if you don’t need it for a while. Dad’s still planning to retire at 66, because the social security and UTA retirement are both a little higher the longer you wait. Of course they would be way higher if you worked until you were 90, but you wouldn’t have time to collect much. You have to try and guess how long you’ll live. I think we’ll both live a very long time.
           I’m looking forward to seeing lots of you for Sunday dinner day-after-tomorrow. The next dinner after that would normally be conference weekend, but the cabin floor is still under construction, and the big TV is still in the Glacier bedroom. Dad and I might possibly spend that Sunday (April 1st) with one of you families in Heber Valley, because it would seem too odd to be all alone on conference Sunday. The next week after that will be the second Sunday in April, (the 8th) and I’ll probably be doing Sunday dinner then.
           All this talk about dinners has made me hungry. I’ll upload my letter now and then head for Food Town.
           Lots of love, Mom

Friday, March 2, 2012

Dear Kids,
           It’s finally winter here at the cabin, now that it’s March. I think the same thing happened last year. We’ve had eight or ten inches of snow in the last couple of days. Naturally, it hasn’t snowed much when Dad’s been here, because he can get out the snow blower any time and dig us out. I don’t use the snow blower because it kicks out bad carbon emissions, which seems to be causing most of my lung troubles right now. So I shovel. Yesterday I dug out part of the driveway, but I was really eager to go down to the mailbox and see if my cordless mouse had come yet. So I walked. Of course it wasn’t there. (Amazon’s 2-day delivery doesn’t work so well if they send something through the USPS.) Today I dug out more of the driveway, and then I got in the Sienna, revved it up, and blasted my way out. Down at the mailbox, I found a key in our box. It opened one of the big bins, and there was my package from Amazon! I also got a piece of junk mail from Orrin Hatch, and I thought it was really for me, because it was addressed to the Ackerson Family. Then I realized it must have been for Tom and Kim. I keep ordering stuff and having it sent here to the cabin, so I’ll eventually start getting junk mail. Isn’t that pathetic, that I want junk mail? You can see how quiet and boring my life is now.
           Allen had a great suggestion about where Dad and I should move: he mentioned that ridge between Draper and Alpine, by the hang gliding park. I looked it up on Google Earth, and it’s 6300 feet, 2,000 feet higher than our house in West Valley. How could there ever be smog up there? The houses are cheap, too, so Dad is very interested. (Obviously there are problems with living at the top of a mountain.) We should drive up there while it’s still winter, so we can see what the roads are like. (I think I can guess.) We’re still at least a year away from moving, though, and maybe my lungs will get better in the meantime.
           I’ll be cooking Sunday dinner here at the cabin on the 11th. (Our demolition is still going strong, but we’re learning how to work around it.) I’m making king ranch chicken, and we’ll eat at five pm. The sledding hill is in great shape now, and remember what Dave Michelson said: “If you don’t break a sweat, you aren’t breaking the Sabbath.”
           I know this is short notice, but there’s a bridal shower for Katie Brooke James tomorrow, the 3rd, at Laurie’s house, at 11 am. I’m not sure if I was supposed to tell you girls, or if you got e-mails or facebook messages. I got an invitation in the mail, but I think those only went to the aunties. You could call Laurie if you have any questions.
           Yay, I’m off to Kamas Food Town to upload my letter, and read news on the internet, and waste time on facebook. There are often samples from the bakery, and sometimes people I know walk by. (Last Saturday night when Dad and I were sitting in the deli, there were four people from our ward who stopped and talked to us.) Life is good!
           Love, Mom