Dear Kids,
Paul is turning 30 today! That’s crazy! That means that Dad and I don’t even have any kids in their 20's any more. I feel like the song in Fiddler on the Roof: "I don’t remember growing older–when did they?"
Aubrey is turning 8 tomorrow, and her baptism will be Saturday, February 7, at 11 am, in John’s stake center. He said it’s near the intersection of 1200 South and Hwy. 40 in Heber, but I can’t picture it. John said they will probably send out announcements, but if you need info, call him. I always look forward to baby blessings and baptisms, and with such a wonderful big family as ours, there are always plenty.
Dad and I are still moving ahead on our basement. We finished all the heat ducts, except for the boots on the end of them, which we special ordered from Home Depot. We haven’t had very good luck with HD’s special ordering lately. We’re still waiting for the trim pieces that they need to finish the installation of our cabinets. It’s been nearly a month. I dread calling them, because nobody knows anything.
My lungs have been a little worse lately, probably because we make too many trips to Salt Lake, and stay too long. So I was thinking about what I could do to improve things, and the idea came to me that it was time to end my involvement with the Harmen Center. It’s been nearly seven years since I walked in the door, asking if they had a chess club. And it’s been six years since I started my piano class there. I have loved my piano students, and the chess club people are like family, but we’ve had yet another death (4 in five years) and the only other lady besides me can’t come any more, because she’s had to stop driving. So if there’s ever a good time to quit, it would be now. There are fewer people to say goodbye to. Dad and I will still be doing the piano class at the Lighthouse Church, but it’s only an hour, so we won’t have to be in that wretched valley all day. I’m sure it will be a change for the better, but I’m sad to be moving on. As they say in the theater world, though, we’ve had a good run.
Hope you’re all doin’ great and lovin’ it! Mom
Sunday, January 18, 2015
Dear Kids,
Surprise! If you haven’t heard, Paul and Stefanie are expecting a little Ackerson around August 12. Paul called and told me in a very roundabout way; he asked me when the family reunion was going to be, and after I double-checked it on the calendar, he said they might not be able to make it because they were expecting a baby right about then. What a punk! I’d had a premonition, so I asked Paul about it just before Christmas, and he flat-out denied it! And then they announced it to her family on Christmas Day, with a little bag of baby things hidden behind the tree, and the video camera showing Lynette looking shocked, all that sort of thing. Paul said they would have told us on their way home, if they had come by the sledding party, etc. etc. Same old thing, the in-laws getting preferential treatment. But it’s the first grandchild for the Riebens, and #31 for us, so I guess it’s OK. Anyway, we’re very excited about their announcement, because every new baby is a wonderful gift from God, whether it’s number one or number thirty one.
A year ago I joined the Spanish Branch here, and I thought it would be a vacation, that I would be cozily watching everything from behind the organ, maybe learning a little more Spanish here and there. I didn’t think I would be thrown to the wolves. But after my year as Primary president, I’ve now been called to teach Relief Society (I think I mentioned that), and play the organ. Today, I’m giving a talk in Sacrament Meeting, playing the organ, playing the piano in Relief Society, playing for choir practice after church, and then going visiting teaching (in Spanish.) Next week I’ll be teaching my first Relief Society lesson. It’s all good. I don’t have time to regret bailing out on Francis Second Ward. And I’m making a lot of really good friends.
Our basement is now totally framed, we’ve made more progress on the heat ducts, and Dad has started nailing up electrical boxes. There’s no hurry, except that we’d like to have more room for guests, but it’s a very exciting project nevertheless. I commented to Dad that if we were still on Stillwater Way, with a house full of little kids, some of them would already be sleeping in the basement. Dad said we would already have installed a toilet in the unfinished bathroom. True. We ought to put it in right now, just for old times’ sake.
Lots of love, Mom
Surprise! If you haven’t heard, Paul and Stefanie are expecting a little Ackerson around August 12. Paul called and told me in a very roundabout way; he asked me when the family reunion was going to be, and after I double-checked it on the calendar, he said they might not be able to make it because they were expecting a baby right about then. What a punk! I’d had a premonition, so I asked Paul about it just before Christmas, and he flat-out denied it! And then they announced it to her family on Christmas Day, with a little bag of baby things hidden behind the tree, and the video camera showing Lynette looking shocked, all that sort of thing. Paul said they would have told us on their way home, if they had come by the sledding party, etc. etc. Same old thing, the in-laws getting preferential treatment. But it’s the first grandchild for the Riebens, and #31 for us, so I guess it’s OK. Anyway, we’re very excited about their announcement, because every new baby is a wonderful gift from God, whether it’s number one or number thirty one.
A year ago I joined the Spanish Branch here, and I thought it would be a vacation, that I would be cozily watching everything from behind the organ, maybe learning a little more Spanish here and there. I didn’t think I would be thrown to the wolves. But after my year as Primary president, I’ve now been called to teach Relief Society (I think I mentioned that), and play the organ. Today, I’m giving a talk in Sacrament Meeting, playing the organ, playing the piano in Relief Society, playing for choir practice after church, and then going visiting teaching (in Spanish.) Next week I’ll be teaching my first Relief Society lesson. It’s all good. I don’t have time to regret bailing out on Francis Second Ward. And I’m making a lot of really good friends.
Our basement is now totally framed, we’ve made more progress on the heat ducts, and Dad has started nailing up electrical boxes. There’s no hurry, except that we’d like to have more room for guests, but it’s a very exciting project nevertheless. I commented to Dad that if we were still on Stillwater Way, with a house full of little kids, some of them would already be sleeping in the basement. Dad said we would already have installed a toilet in the unfinished bathroom. True. We ought to put it in right now, just for old times’ sake.
Lots of love, Mom
Sunday, January 11, 2015
Dear Kids,
When you step into our house, you smell freshly-cut wood. That’s because Scott True has been framing our basement. In fact, he’s nearly done. He would have finished on Friday, but he ran out of wood. Which was a good thing. I realized we needed to cut into at least one of the heat trunks and run out a heat duct before he framed around it. So Dad and I got going on that yesterday morning. Like all projects, it grew. The one heat duct was so hard that I realized we’d better do all of them, while we could still get to them. It involved two trips to Home Depot, and many dollars (you know, HD stands for hundreds of dollars, or more likely, thousands) but by nighttime, we had finished all five lines coming out of the main trunk. That doesn’t mean they went all the way out to the end, but they’re out far enough that we can finish them pretty easily. I’m having all the heat vents on the outside walls, down at the floor, instead of how they’re usually done–close in, up on the ceiling. People have tried to convince me that the usual method is the best, but Dad and I slept in a basement bedroom for 25 years, and I know what works. It doesn’t cost that much more, and we’ve done the hard part already.
Meanwhile, our office cabinets are sitting, waiting for countertops, which can’t be done until our trim pieces arrive. In our big bathroom, the new vanity is sitting, with no sink or faucet. All our office stuff and computer gear is crammed into the play room, and it even covers the door to the toy closet. But I don’t care. What better way to get through January than with big projects?
What else is going on? Not much. Aubrey’s baptism will be coming up, and I’ll post the details when I get them. Otherwise, there isn’t much to look forward to. Except that, once more, a big snowstorm has been forecasted. It’s supposed to arrive tomorrow. Away with the brown dirt and rocks! Bring it on!
Hope you’re all doin’ great and lovin’ it! Mom
When you step into our house, you smell freshly-cut wood. That’s because Scott True has been framing our basement. In fact, he’s nearly done. He would have finished on Friday, but he ran out of wood. Which was a good thing. I realized we needed to cut into at least one of the heat trunks and run out a heat duct before he framed around it. So Dad and I got going on that yesterday morning. Like all projects, it grew. The one heat duct was so hard that I realized we’d better do all of them, while we could still get to them. It involved two trips to Home Depot, and many dollars (you know, HD stands for hundreds of dollars, or more likely, thousands) but by nighttime, we had finished all five lines coming out of the main trunk. That doesn’t mean they went all the way out to the end, but they’re out far enough that we can finish them pretty easily. I’m having all the heat vents on the outside walls, down at the floor, instead of how they’re usually done–close in, up on the ceiling. People have tried to convince me that the usual method is the best, but Dad and I slept in a basement bedroom for 25 years, and I know what works. It doesn’t cost that much more, and we’ve done the hard part already.
Meanwhile, our office cabinets are sitting, waiting for countertops, which can’t be done until our trim pieces arrive. In our big bathroom, the new vanity is sitting, with no sink or faucet. All our office stuff and computer gear is crammed into the play room, and it even covers the door to the toy closet. But I don’t care. What better way to get through January than with big projects?
What else is going on? Not much. Aubrey’s baptism will be coming up, and I’ll post the details when I get them. Otherwise, there isn’t much to look forward to. Except that, once more, a big snowstorm has been forecasted. It’s supposed to arrive tomorrow. Away with the brown dirt and rocks! Bring it on!
Hope you’re all doin’ great and lovin’ it! Mom
Sunday, January 4, 2015
Dear Kids,
Sorry we skipped out on the sledding party on New Year’s Day, but we were anxious to get back to our plumbing. Our office cabinets had been installed on Wednesday, but when the installer tried to put in the new bathroom vanity, he saw that one water line and the sink drain line were behind the drawers. That wasn’t going to work at all. He suggested that we get a plumber in to move the pipes, but thanks to what we learned from John the week before, I was pretty confident we could do it ourselves. The water line was no problem, thanks to the simplicity of pex (you can rent the crimping tool at Ace for just $5.00), but the sink drain was a little more complicated, since we had to run it through a 2x6, and there was an air vent attached to it. But between the two of us, we got it done. Another problem with our installation was that we were missing some trim pieces, which we had to go order from Home Depot, and pay for, and wait for. But in the meantime, we ran into Scott True at John’s house, and he’s ready to frame our basement! So there’s lots of excitement to keep the January doldrums at bay.
Like most of you, we had incredibly cold weather just before New Year’s. It was -15 here one night, which meant it would have been -20 at the cabin. I knew it was coming, thanks to weather.com, and I was worried about our cats, sleeping in the garage. I went online to Amazon and found a cat warming pad that’s pressure-sensitive; it only warms up when it feels the cat sitting on it. (Actually, it’s a 2-cat warmer, since it’s a long rectangle.) I ordered the pad, and for the first time ever, I paid for overnight shipping. It came the next day, and I set it up, but the cats didn’t seem grateful. They always think they ought to be inside the house. Still, they’re always curled up on the pad together now.
I have new callings in the Spanish branch, because some of our old people are gone, and new ones have been called. (I mean Caucasians–they do most of the heavy lifting.) One of the new ladies is going to take over as Primary president, and I’m going to be teaching Relief Society. I was also released as chorister and sustained as organist. I’m excited about both these callings! I like playing the organ better than leading music, because I’m not the greatest singer. And Primary was fun, but I’m glad to move on from that, too.
I hope you’re all enjoying the new year as much as we are! Love, Mom
Sunday, December 28, 2014
Dear Kids,
There never was such a Christmas! Dad and I have really enjoyed all the get-togethers and dinners and presents and food at everybody’s houses. We really enjoyed having Paul and Stefanie last weekend, and Sharon and Seth and their kids on Christmas Eve and part of Christmas Day. Santa found them here! It was fun having little kids around, opening presents. Adults simply don’t get that excited. Oh, but speaking of excitement, I’m really happy about the Willie Holdman picture! Thanks to all of you who went in on it! It will be perfect on the wall next to my piano. Right now it’s still at Donna’s house, because I haven’t wanted to bring it home in the bed of the truck, but as soon as we can get it here, I’m putting it up. That will inspire me to finish the rest of that room.
Now that the Christmas fun is over, I have my usual January urge to tear up the house and remodel something. (Remember the great remodel? As soon as the Christmas tree was down, Allen kicked out the wall.) So, Dad and I ordered cabinets for our office, and a new vanity for my side of the master bathroom. Our builder really skimped on our vanities, and each one is just a little too small for the spot that it’s in. So I ordered a really big one for my side of the master bathroom, and we’re moving all the rest of them down the line, ending up in the basement bathroom we haven’t built yet. Yesterday John helped us with the plumbing for the first vanity that we moved. He and Dad only had to make two trips to Ace Hardware, and they were done in record time. I hope the rest of the project goes as well. We’re also hoping to have the framing on our basement started pretty soon, but Scott True is still working on John’s basement, plus, he took a week off for Christmas. But of course there’s always plenty else to do.
Dad and I had a party with my brothers and sisters at Bonnie and Curt’s new house last night. The house is indescribably elegant. You just have to see it. The yard, which Donna designed, is covered with snow, but Bonnie is really proud of the way it turned out. We’ll have to go back in the spring and see it. The dinner was great. Most of my brothers and sisters were there, except Charley, who got sick on the way, and Jane and Mark, who skyped with us from a restaurant in Massachusetts. We ate a lot and talked a lot. There are new babies on the way! Some of the family think they can catch up with our number of grandchildren, but I don’t think it can happen. Let them try!
The new year is coming! Can it be as good as 2014? Lots of love, Mom
There never was such a Christmas! Dad and I have really enjoyed all the get-togethers and dinners and presents and food at everybody’s houses. We really enjoyed having Paul and Stefanie last weekend, and Sharon and Seth and their kids on Christmas Eve and part of Christmas Day. Santa found them here! It was fun having little kids around, opening presents. Adults simply don’t get that excited. Oh, but speaking of excitement, I’m really happy about the Willie Holdman picture! Thanks to all of you who went in on it! It will be perfect on the wall next to my piano. Right now it’s still at Donna’s house, because I haven’t wanted to bring it home in the bed of the truck, but as soon as we can get it here, I’m putting it up. That will inspire me to finish the rest of that room.
Now that the Christmas fun is over, I have my usual January urge to tear up the house and remodel something. (Remember the great remodel? As soon as the Christmas tree was down, Allen kicked out the wall.) So, Dad and I ordered cabinets for our office, and a new vanity for my side of the master bathroom. Our builder really skimped on our vanities, and each one is just a little too small for the spot that it’s in. So I ordered a really big one for my side of the master bathroom, and we’re moving all the rest of them down the line, ending up in the basement bathroom we haven’t built yet. Yesterday John helped us with the plumbing for the first vanity that we moved. He and Dad only had to make two trips to Ace Hardware, and they were done in record time. I hope the rest of the project goes as well. We’re also hoping to have the framing on our basement started pretty soon, but Scott True is still working on John’s basement, plus, he took a week off for Christmas. But of course there’s always plenty else to do.
Dad and I had a party with my brothers and sisters at Bonnie and Curt’s new house last night. The house is indescribably elegant. You just have to see it. The yard, which Donna designed, is covered with snow, but Bonnie is really proud of the way it turned out. We’ll have to go back in the spring and see it. The dinner was great. Most of my brothers and sisters were there, except Charley, who got sick on the way, and Jane and Mark, who skyped with us from a restaurant in Massachusetts. We ate a lot and talked a lot. There are new babies on the way! Some of the family think they can catch up with our number of grandchildren, but I don’t think it can happen. Let them try!
The new year is coming! Can it be as good as 2014? Lots of love, Mom
Sunday, December 14, 2014
Dear Kids,
Yesterday I drove down to Utah Valley to finish my Christmas shopping. I know there are hundreds of thousands of people in that valley, and at first I thought they were all at Walmart. Then it seemed like they were all at Cabelas. And then, when I got to Costco, there they all were again! I ran into John, just as I was looking for a present for Jacob. He got it for me. I ran into Laurie Jacobson, who works there! I ran into many hundreds of other people I didn’t know, but at least I finished my shopping! It’s a great relief.
Last night was our first performance of the Messiah, and I’m looking forward to doing it again tonight. For most of the practices I’ve been sitting next to a lady who knows every word and every note perfectly, and she was helping me get it right. Then, yesterday morning at the dress rehearsal, they started moving us around. Since I’m tall I ended up on the back row. (My good angel is short and ended up in front.) But since they put me in the center of the back row, I’m next to Tom now! That’s a big help, because the altos nearly always come in afer the tenors, and Tom is right on with the tenor part. He’s been sick, though, and he had a stash of cough drops in the leg pocket of his cargo pants, and he kept pulling them out. (Hey, Napoleon, gimme some of your tots!) But he was able to sing really well at the performance. The whole thing went pretty well. It would be nice if we had a better orchestra and better direction, but if it were a first-rate production, we would have had to try out, and I wouldn’t be in it. So it’s all good.
Tuesday morning I had the surgery for trigger finger on my right hand, 4th finger. I just had the middle finger done in February, so I knew what to expect. What I didn’t expect was violent nausea that afternoon, with chills, fever, and a murderous headache. I figured out later that I had probably come down with the flu at the same time. It wasn’t fun, but I’m better now.
Once more, here’s our Christmas schedule:
1. Monday, December 22, is the cousins’ gift party at Nora’s house.,
2. Wednesday, the 24th, Sharon and Seth will be hosting a Christmas Eve supper at our house. Afterwards we’ll hike Memorial Hill in Midway, and then have hot chocolate and cinnamon rolls at Donna’s house.
3. For Christmas Day, Dad and I don’t have a plan yet. Does anybody want to invite us to Christmas dinner? I’ll bring whatever you want. Or, does anybody want to come to our house for Christmas dinner?
4. Friday, December 26, will be the sledding party at the cabin. I’ll be making sloppy jo’s, and you can bring your Christmas leftovers.
Life is good! There’s a little snow on the ground now, and Christmas is coming.
Love, Mom
Yesterday I drove down to Utah Valley to finish my Christmas shopping. I know there are hundreds of thousands of people in that valley, and at first I thought they were all at Walmart. Then it seemed like they were all at Cabelas. And then, when I got to Costco, there they all were again! I ran into John, just as I was looking for a present for Jacob. He got it for me. I ran into Laurie Jacobson, who works there! I ran into many hundreds of other people I didn’t know, but at least I finished my shopping! It’s a great relief.
Last night was our first performance of the Messiah, and I’m looking forward to doing it again tonight. For most of the practices I’ve been sitting next to a lady who knows every word and every note perfectly, and she was helping me get it right. Then, yesterday morning at the dress rehearsal, they started moving us around. Since I’m tall I ended up on the back row. (My good angel is short and ended up in front.) But since they put me in the center of the back row, I’m next to Tom now! That’s a big help, because the altos nearly always come in afer the tenors, and Tom is right on with the tenor part. He’s been sick, though, and he had a stash of cough drops in the leg pocket of his cargo pants, and he kept pulling them out. (Hey, Napoleon, gimme some of your tots!) But he was able to sing really well at the performance. The whole thing went pretty well. It would be nice if we had a better orchestra and better direction, but if it were a first-rate production, we would have had to try out, and I wouldn’t be in it. So it’s all good.
Tuesday morning I had the surgery for trigger finger on my right hand, 4th finger. I just had the middle finger done in February, so I knew what to expect. What I didn’t expect was violent nausea that afternoon, with chills, fever, and a murderous headache. I figured out later that I had probably come down with the flu at the same time. It wasn’t fun, but I’m better now.
Once more, here’s our Christmas schedule:
1. Monday, December 22, is the cousins’ gift party at Nora’s house.,
2. Wednesday, the 24th, Sharon and Seth will be hosting a Christmas Eve supper at our house. Afterwards we’ll hike Memorial Hill in Midway, and then have hot chocolate and cinnamon rolls at Donna’s house.
3. For Christmas Day, Dad and I don’t have a plan yet. Does anybody want to invite us to Christmas dinner? I’ll bring whatever you want. Or, does anybody want to come to our house for Christmas dinner?
4. Friday, December 26, will be the sledding party at the cabin. I’ll be making sloppy jo’s, and you can bring your Christmas leftovers.
Life is good! There’s a little snow on the ground now, and Christmas is coming.
Love, Mom
Sunday, December 7, 2014
Dear Kids,
We really enjoyed Ali’s baptism yesterday, and the fun time afterwards at Tom and Kim’s house. We all admired the bedrooms Tom has finished in their basement. (Bentley moved into his the minute it was done!) Dad and I have been following Tom’s project for almost a year now, and I was totally inspired to finish our basement myself, every inch of it. But then I saw John’s basement, which has been finished in practically no time, with the help of paid experts. John brought his friend Scott True over to our house to look at our basement. Scott said he could frame it in two days. Not two years. Or 20. I was dumbfounded. I think we’ll hire him!
Meanwhile, we’ve been moving all the stuff out of our basement, back into our garage, where it started out a year ago. Bevan and Dad moved a lot of the heavy things on Monday, and then on Friday the missionaries came over and moved the rest, for a service project. I found even more things that we need to give away. First, we have all those snowboards and boots. Now that we live so far from Brighton, I don’t think we’ll ever be having those big snowboarding parties again. So I’m offering the boots and boards to all you kids, one of each per family, for the first go-around. (I’ll just keep the two boards and two pairs of boots that Dad and I might use, if we go again.) You’ll have to come to our house to pick them out. There are too many for us to take them on the road.
I asked Nora about the cousins’ gift exchange party, and she said they’ve moved it back to Monday, the 22nd. There just isn’t another day that works. Call her for details!
Sharon and Seth and their kids will be arriving a week from Wednesday. We’re very excited to see them!
The Messiah is coming up in just one week. I’ve worked really hard to learn the Amen chorus, although I still think Handel was nuts to write it. Sunday night there will be an after-party at Tom’s house, with hot chocolate. Thanks, Kim.
So, as you can see, life is good! Love, Mom
We really enjoyed Ali’s baptism yesterday, and the fun time afterwards at Tom and Kim’s house. We all admired the bedrooms Tom has finished in their basement. (Bentley moved into his the minute it was done!) Dad and I have been following Tom’s project for almost a year now, and I was totally inspired to finish our basement myself, every inch of it. But then I saw John’s basement, which has been finished in practically no time, with the help of paid experts. John brought his friend Scott True over to our house to look at our basement. Scott said he could frame it in two days. Not two years. Or 20. I was dumbfounded. I think we’ll hire him!
Meanwhile, we’ve been moving all the stuff out of our basement, back into our garage, where it started out a year ago. Bevan and Dad moved a lot of the heavy things on Monday, and then on Friday the missionaries came over and moved the rest, for a service project. I found even more things that we need to give away. First, we have all those snowboards and boots. Now that we live so far from Brighton, I don’t think we’ll ever be having those big snowboarding parties again. So I’m offering the boots and boards to all you kids, one of each per family, for the first go-around. (I’ll just keep the two boards and two pairs of boots that Dad and I might use, if we go again.) You’ll have to come to our house to pick them out. There are too many for us to take them on the road.
I asked Nora about the cousins’ gift exchange party, and she said they’ve moved it back to Monday, the 22nd. There just isn’t another day that works. Call her for details!
Sharon and Seth and their kids will be arriving a week from Wednesday. We’re very excited to see them!
The Messiah is coming up in just one week. I’ve worked really hard to learn the Amen chorus, although I still think Handel was nuts to write it. Sunday night there will be an after-party at Tom’s house, with hot chocolate. Thanks, Kim.
So, as you can see, life is good! Love, Mom
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