Dear Kids,

We had a heck of a snowstorm on Wednesday, a total blizzard.  It was the afternoon of our DUP (Daughters of the Utah Pioneers) meeting, and I wondered if it might be cancelled.  You know, old ladies don’t like to drive in snowstorms.  But I guess I was thinking of old ladies in Salt Lake.  Kamas Valley is totally different, I realized when I got there.  The room was full of ladies, and they had all driven to the meeting, or carpooled.  The oldest lady is 93, and some of the others are pushing that age.  I’m constantly amazed by this place.  And now I know how totally gutsy the old ladies are.

Scout has been banished to the outside, and he can only come in for a few minutes at a time, if Dad or I are supervising him.  That’s because he started doing bad things in one corner of the basement.  (Not to mention the basement bathroom.  I mentioned that one before.) Well, he had gotten too big for the enclosed litter box, so we got rid of it and let kitties out whenever they wanted to go.  But Scout found a better place, he thought, down in the big TV room.  I had wondered why it smelled so bad there.  I found evidence of his carelessness on the wall and the molding, and of course it was down in the carpet.  I cleaned up as best I could, but you can never really get rid of the smell, even though I spray the area almost every day with Febreze.  And now Scout is an outside fellow.  I know it’s dangerous for him, and I’ve always believed that cats have a right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, but now, for Scout,  it’s pursuit by predators.  Sorry, boy.

Don’t forget that next Sunday, the 25th, is Super Sunday at John’s house.  4 pm, be there or be square.  Bring whatever pot luck item you like.

Friday afternoon Dad helped Bevan, Donna, and John cut down the dead aspens in front of John’s house.  It helps, having a professional lumberjack in the family!  Dad said Bevan got the trees to fall exactly where he wanted them.  The neighbors probably wondered where John found his crew.  Dad had a great time helping out.  By Friday night all the limbs were in 2 pickup trucks ready for the dump.

Yesterday Dad and I had a great hike along the Jordanelle Perimeter Trail.  We only went out about a mile, to the first lookout, and back, and it was pretty brisk. (OK, it was cold!) But I wanted to test how my hip is doing, and it did fine.  Of course I used my trekking poles.  Next time we’ll go to the 2-mile mark.  I need to work up to 5 miles each way so Al and I can hike out to the point, like we did a few years ago.  Maybe some of you will want to come with us?

Everything is possible in this family!  I love you all!  Mom

 Dear Kids,

Hooray! Sterling’s mission papers are in!  We’re excited to see where he’ll be called.  Adelaide is working on hers already, I think, and I even heard that Jacob is doing his papers.  I’m so excited for our grandchildren to have that wonderful (and sometimes aggravating) mission experience.  I wouldn’t trade my mission for anything else I could have done, but I’d never want to go through it again, either.  If you want to get Bentley’s weekly letters on email, contact Kim.  They’re always interesting.

In two weeks (April 25) we’ll have another super Sunday event, at John’s house. (Not super spreader, probably, because even Vanessa has been vaccinated now.) Because of John’s meeting schedule, we’ll be getting together at 4 pm instead of 3.  So mark your calendars for the new time. It’ll be great fun!

Utah’s mask mandate ended at midnight Friday night, and  Summit county cancelled theirs too.  I hear most of Utah is out of bondage now.  But KSL.com, ever downbeat, had a long article about all the places that might still mandate masks.  I’ll probably burn mine, though.  I haven’t worn it much, but it needs to go.  Nobody ever proved that masks helped.  It was like trying to stop mosquitos with a chain link fence.  

We haven’t had any snow since last Monday night, and our cats are enjoying the warmer weather.  They’re rolling in dirt again.  Even Sonia, who acts so delicate, comes in covered with dirt and grasses and little twigs.  Dad bought himself a new vacuum cleaner, and he fills it up every week with cat debris.  They want to keep him busy.

My pen pal Chandra Graham Garcia, who’s John’s age, sent me some school pictures of her two kids.  They’re our honorary grandchildren.  She says they complained to her that you kids had better toys than they do, based on the pictures in The Ackerson Kids Grow Up.  What a surprise! Maybe kids always think someone else’s toys are better, but I never though you had all that much.  Anyway, now you’re being envied.  Thought I’d pass that along.

What a family!  I’m so grateful for all of you!  Mom

 Dear Kids,

I hope you’re all having a wonderful Easter Sunday.  I love this time of year, and I love Easter.  I’m so grateful for the resurrection of our Savior, and knowing that we will all be resurrected and live again after this earth life.  I think a lot about death, and it makes me all the more grateful.

I was glad so many of you could make it to the Easter picnic at Nora’s house yesterday.  It was especially nice to have Paul and Stefanie and Josh and Chloe there.  I can hardly believe Chloe is only 13 months old.  She acts like a little girl, not a baby.  She’s growing up way too fast!  Thanks to Nora for providing the ham dinner, and for all the good things the rest of you brought.  And thanks to Nora’s family for filling the Easter eggs and hiding them in the park.  It has definitely become our Easter park, and when we were leaving to go home, Nora said, “Same place, same time next year.”  It doesn’t seem that long ago that all of you were cute little kids and we went to the Easter park that Grandma Allen chose.  Time marches on.  

While we were sitting around at Nora’s house, we made plans for the next three Super Sunday spreader events.  We’ll be at John’s house on April 25, at Allen’s house on May 23, and at Donna’s on June 27.  That’s three wonderful Sunday afternoons coming up in three months!  I’m so glad we’ve started this, and for the opportunity to go to so many of your homes.  On all the other Sunday nights you’re all welcome to come to our house, of course.  

I went to lunch with my sisters last Thursday, and we chatted for a couple of hours.  I can’t even remember all the news.  Eliza has a boyfriend, and Morgan has a girlfriend.  I was happy to report to them that Julie is engaged.  Chad and his wife (dang, what’s her name!) Are having a baby boy and they’re naming him Kenobi because they’re Star Wars fans.  Austen has an online girlfriend named Madelina in Romania and they’re going to meet each other in Turkey.  Andy and Renae have moved into their new house in Orem. Ben and Monica have sold their castle house and bought some horse property so Monica can have horses.  Nancy is still suffering the effects of covid and has ongoing asthma.  By the way, I hope all of you are having the opportunity to be vaccinated.  I admit I was pretty nonchalant about it all, but I feel really free now that Dad and I have had our shots.  Utah’s mask mandate expires on Saturday (the 10th) and I plan to be mask free 4eva!

I love you all, and I’m glad to be matriarch of such a wonderful family.  Mom

Dear Kids,

I’ve changed my plan for conference Saturday next week, because it’s going to be Easter Saturday, too.  And because we’ve had so many fun Easter Egg hunts at the park across from Nora’s house, I asked her if she could host us that afternoon.  So here’s the plan: The fun will start about 3 pm, and we’ll have Easter treats.  Then we’ll have the Easter egg hunt, with Nora and Paige in charge.  Then, at 6 pm, all the guys can watch the Priesthood conference session in Nora’s basement, on that giant projection TV, and all the ladies and girls can chatter upstairs, and the little kids can play inside or out.  (The weather’s supposed to be a lot warmer this coming week.) What a plan!  Thanks, Nora, for volunteering your home.  Oh, yes, there will be more details forthcoming.  Nora will send out a text.

And of course we’re meeting at Tom’s this afternoon for the super spreader Sunday potluck.  Bring whatever you want and be there at 3.  We’ll have a wonderful time.  I’m always curious to see what everybody will bring.   One of these times we may end up with nothing but desserts.

No medical news this week! Hooray! Life is good.  

Wouldn’t you think two cats, working together, could take down one fly?  It was on the windowsill, and Scout whacked it with his paw and then bit it.  It ended up on the floor, where Sonia whacked it and bit it again, but it just kept crawling.  The cats looked at me like it was my turn, but I don’t have paws, and I didn’t want to bite it.  When I wouldn’t join the fun, they walked away to find something else to do.

I’ve been obsessed with finding new books, reading them, and writing book reviews for Goodreads.  I just uploaded my 700th review.  My goal is to reach 1,000, and then hopefully keep going.   I just had my piano tuned, too, and I’m hoping to become obsessed with playing it again.  With my surgeries and health challenges, I’ve gotten out of the groove, but I’m getting back in.  Oh, yes, and with the warmer weather coming, I’m hoping to start working in the yard again.  There’s so much fun ahead for me.  I hope you’re all enjoying springtime, too.

Love, Mom  

 Dear Kids,

“Spring has sprung, the grass is riz.  Wonder what that white stuff is.”  Yesterday was the first calendar day of spring, and we had a good four inches of snow.  It’s spring snow, though, and it will melt.  

We only have to look out our windows to see strange sights, but here’s something I’ve never seen before: a herd of horses chasing a herd of deer.  The local deer herd decided to hop the fence into the horse pasture behind us, where they start grazing.  The horses were at the other end of the field, but when they saw the deer they took off in a group together to chase them away.  The deer scattered in every direction, leaping the fence wherever they were, and one little fawn took off the wrong way up Hilltop road, and had to find his way back later.  I’m always amazed at our wildlife.  One night last week Scout showed up at our kitchen door with a raccoon.  Dad let Scout in, but not the raccoon, who probably wanted to check out the wonders of our house and maybe have some cat food.

Next Sunday, the 28th, will be our super Sunday potluck, and we’ll be at Tom’s house this time.  Bring whatever food you want and be there at 3.  Knowing Tom, he’ll probably smoke some kind of meat and it will be delicious.  Everything else will be delicious, too.  Be there or be square!

Medical news:  Jeanne got the results from her cancer biopsy and the report was very good–there was no spreading to the lymph nodes and she had clear margins. (That’s what you want–no cancer cells creeping out and away.)  I know the Lord has heard our prayers this time.  Other news:  Dad took the stitches out of my toe stub and it looks fine.  Well, it looks weird, but I could probably wear sandals and nobody would look down and count my toes.  I’m really glad I had it done, and I can wear real shoes now.  Here’s something that’s maybe not so good: I went for my first hike since my hip replacement, and my hip started hurting again.  It felt exactly like two years ago at Bear Lake, when a short hike there set off my troubles.  I hope nothing’s wrong, but if there is, I’m sure it can be fixed.

Conference weekend is coming up, and I’m planning to have the Saturday night soup and salad get-together at our house.  That will be April 3.  We’ll eat at 5 pm and then watch the broadcast at 6.  It will be wild and crazy like always, but I’m sure we’ll get some good out of it.

What a family!  I love you all!  Mom

 Dear Kids,

Hopefully you all remembered to get up an hour earlier this morning.  It’s weird to start daylight savings time while we still have snow on the ground, and more to come.  Oh, well, it’s springtime in the Rockies.

Dad and I had our second Covid vaccinations on Wednesday, and we both got sick.  We’d been home about three hours when I started throwing up, and that went on for the rest of the afternoon.  I threw up so violently that the bandaging on my foot got polluted, so I unwrapped it and threw the whole mess away.  How does my poor little toe look?  It’s just a stub now, but it won’t be all that noticeable, when the swelling goes down.  If I’m brave I can even wear sandals.  I’ll have John take out the stitches on Thursday, and my life will be back to normal again.  Oh, yeah, the grandkids can see my toe this afternoon if you come here.  Or next week.  I explained to Drew that my pinky toe had been cut off, and with very big eyes he said, “Forever?!”  Then he told McKay, “Grandma had her baby toe cutted off!”  McKay just shuddered.  You parents, please explain to your kids that they can’t go cutting off their toes.  They might think it’s a normal thing to do. 

Dad had flu-like symptoms from the Covid shot, but he didn’t throw up.  He mostly just slept for the next couple of days.  He’s got his energy back again, which is great, because there are so many things I ask him to do.  In fact, while he was sick I couldn’t ask him to pull me up the stairs.  I had to take care of myself.

Our ward is starting a 2-meeting schedule today, and not just on zoom.  We’ll have sacrament meeting the first hour and then a 20-minute Relief Society-Priesthood Meeting-Primary block.  I guess they’re just going to try us out to see if we can sit through two meetings in person again.  It’s going to be tough.  We’ll all hanker after the Sundays when we just had our short worship meetings at home.  I’m wondering if some people will never come back.

I hope you’ve marked your calendars for the super-spreader-Sunday at Tom’s house on the 28th, in two weeks.  It’ll be fun.

Lots of love, Mom

 Dear Kids,

My toe amputation went just fine.  They gave me an anesthetic that was supposed to make me drowsy, and it totally put me to sleep.  When I woke up it was all over.  They bandaged my foot really heavily, and it has to stay that way until I see Dr. Dickerson a week from Friday, so I have no idea what it looks like.  It doesn’t hurt very much, with the narco they gave me, plus the pain killers I usually take for my shingles pain.  So I’m in good shape.  If any of you want to come over tonight, feel free.  I’ll be upstairs in the recliner.

  Last Sunday, before the get-together at Nora’s, Dad and I went to Layton to celebrate Chloe’s first birthday with Paul’s family.  Curt and Lynette were there, too, and it was fun to see them again.  I can’t believe Chloe is one!  The Riebens say she looks like Paul.  She certianly has the big eyes!   Needless to say, she looked way cute in her pretty pink dress and accessories.  

And the Super Spreader event at Nora’s sure was fun!  I enjoyed seeing so many of you.  Our next big one will be at Tom and Kim’s on March 28 at 3 pm.  I saw Allen putting it into his phone calendar for the fourth Sunday of every month at 3, which is a great idea.  The more our phones can remind us of stuff, the better.  When there are five Sundays, we’ll still have it on the fourth.  Donna was even talking about hosting one at her house during the summer, when we can eat outside.  Allen, too.  So we’ve got a lot of fun times coming up.

Sharon’s older kids still aren’t in school, and when the junior high starts up later this month, just the kids are coming, not the teachers.  That’s a total disgrace!  The teachers are going to sit home and teach remotely, while the students sit in the classrooms with their laptops.  Montgomery County, Maryland, has about the laziest teachers (and the strongest teachers’ union) in the country.  I told Sharon they should move to the cabin and have their kids go to South Summit schools, which were barely closed at all.  I told her Seth could bring his white mice to the cabin to entertain our cats. She said he uses rhesus monkeys now, and I said those monkeys could really entertain the grandkids.  She said no, they’re really angry monkeys.  Life is tough for a research monkey, and their only joy in life is watching cartoons.  They pull their screens over and totally get into the cartoon characters.  At any rate, there’s no chance they’ll come to the cabin.  Sharon,  has her nursing program to consider, too.  By the way, Sharon can answer practically any medical question you might have.  I asked her what happened to amputated limbs, like my toe, and she said they probably put them in the bio waste.

Scout has taken up sleeping on my chest.  It would be OK, except he weighs about 40 pounds.  I might as well have asthma again!  Also, his grey fur flies into my nose and makes me sneeze.  I hate to push him away, but sometimes I have to, and he always looks really hurt.

Otherwise, life is grand.  I love you all!  Mom