December 1st is Ann's Special Day!

This is a picture taken on another special day - Ann is wearing the Hawaiian shirt and necklace that was necessary for her and Paul's trip of celebration to Hawaii.  Birthday?  Anniversary?  I didn't date the picture.  This picture says it all about Ann - She has a great sense of humor, wit, and complete compassion for those around her and beyond.  We are so blessed to have her as "little" sister - a term long-ago outgrown.  When you need health advice, supplement advice, sewing advice, baking or cooking advice, parenting advice, etc., etc., etc., where else can you turn.  The quartet of the Blood sisters is very powerful - and it's important to remember that.  Happy, happy birthday, Ann.  I do know that the reason you kept chickens is that your mother hen instinct is so strong, that none will go wanting.

Visiting the Exclusive Orem Back-yard Chicken Farm

 If only someone would tell me how to get these pictures in the proper order for my story, I would appreciate it.  Anyway, this is one of the more exotic chickens in Ann's flock - does she lay eggs?speckled eggs?

 The problem with chickens is that they have to be fed and water supplied.  We know about milkmaids - is there such a thing as chicken maids?  If so, see below.  Chicken-keeper with a smile!  That's Ann!

 And, here is the famous chicken coop that Paul built - complete with canvas wrap so that the snow will stay away from the chickens.  This repaves the infamous blue tarp that was Ann's nemeses last winter.

Note at the back of the coop on for far right side, the laying boxes that jut out from the coop - Gathering eggs is simple - lift the lid and there are the eggs.  What cooperative hens!  
It was fun to see how well this whole system works, but it has taken quite a bit of effort for those fabulous eggs.

In the Meantime, While Dwight is Cogitating .....

Ann did come to see me last Tuesday, and I took several pictures of her just to prove that she was here, BUT, my photographic skills let me down, because, as you can see if you enlarge this picture, it is blurry beyond repair.  Drat it.  Now, she has to come back.  Anyway, we spent a very busy few hours, solving sewing problems, going through stuff, including sorting seashells, etc., and talking a great deal with a little lunch in between.  I think she made it - and life may be a little bit back to normal by now.  And just to alert Judy, who goes to Value Village daily, Ann is on the hunt for lace in any form, even perhaps curtains?  Or, maybe someone else has some?????
Now, Dwight has had a lot of time to think about things, so he can give us his weekly update, right?

Four of Six Siblings

Pictures are still waiting to be sorted into their proper places, but that job has been put on the back burner while I do other things, like harvest zucchini logs.  These pictures represent a time in the fall of 2000 when Dwight, Velna, Ann, and Louise all came to Preston together.  One of the things that we did was to get out Mother's old photograph album and Dwight scanned those pictures and others as fast as he could make his scanner go.  We did take time to pose on the front porch.  The top picture is a winner, but Ann has the most winning smile in the bottom picture - Louise was looking at something else, and I was dreaming or something.  Anyway, I remember this as a very nice time - just missing Judy and Steve.

Challenges

As I have been writing on "my story", there have been many obstacles to overcome.  At least The Cat has decided to stretch out between the keyboard and monitor and no longer on the keyboard.
Happy Monday!

A PS to Elizabeth's Post

There is one photo missing in Elizabeth's post about our visit to Preston, and here it is.  The Ott Light is still adding some dimension to the photo, but the smiles are indicative of a very good day.  

Fun Stuff In The Mail

About the first of the week I received a large brown envelope from Dwight.  I was somewhat apprehensive as I pondered what could be inside.  It wasn't my birthday and I hadn't asked him for any photos, but I did know their move north from St. George was either to take place soon or had already taken place, so was he just cleaning out his office and getting rid of stuff or what?

To my surprise, when I opened the envelope, therein was a magazine titled Mother Earth News Wiser Living Series.  Beneath that title is the subtitle(I guess that is what you call it) "Guide to Growing Your Own Food" with 5 Keys to a Weed-Free Garden as a featured article.  I was so excited because this just seemed like such a thoughtful thing to do.  I carefully read the different articles and did learn some new stuff to add to the old stuff I had forgotten about.

Now, here comes the kicker.  I don't mean to attribute anything untowards (that is a Downton Abbey word, I am sure) to Mother Earth News, but I think they have a centerfold photo in this magazine.  When I hit page 54-55 there it was.  The title of that article is "Backyard Chickens For The Best Eggs Ever".   The photo is of a very contented looking mother hen with baby chicks running around her.  (I would have copied it and posted it here, but was concerned about copyright issues and I didn't want to wait to receive a written ok to use their photo.)  In my mind it suddenly became more obvious why Dwight sent this very informative magazine to me.  The first sentence in this article written by Cheryl Long states:  "The minute you crack open a homegrown egg from a hen that's been able to eat grass, seeds and bugs,you'll never settle for pale, tasteless factory-farm eggs again."  She is so right.

So, I am now thinking, in spite of Dwight's class in college about the economics of raising a few healthy, happy chickens, there is a longing on his part to come down and sit on the back porch and listen to "chicken talk" and enjoy the world of real eggs.  We must get together sometime soon!

Graduation

I suppose there should be a photo to go with this, but - oh, well.

Today is a monumental day.  No more wheelchair, no more knee scooter, no more crutches, just a walker to rescue me and to help build up the strength in my left leg.  Today I fixed lunch, and have dinner in the slow cooker.  Paul isn't quite sure how to handle the situation, but I suspect he will quickly, and thankfully, readjust to the world of just being a professor, chicken handler, egg gatherer, garden preparer, lawn mower and major bill payer.  I am so thankful for him.

I just want to tell all of you thank you for keeping such good tabs on me.  Most days have included a phone call from someone wanting to know how I "really am".  There has been lots of laughter, wonderful sharing of Pickles and gramma elbows, discussions about genealogy, and weather forecasts between here, New York, Olympia and Preston, just to name a few topics that have been covered.  I suspect Dwight is anxiously waiting for me to go to Costco and let him know what he can't do without.  However, I probably won't bother him because he doesn't seem to be responding real well these days. There have been phone calls from each one of you that have meant so much to me.  Then there was a bouquet of beautiful flowers that came from the "Blood Family", for which I am so appreciative.  They have long since departed, but they were beautiful and did lift my spirits on a somewhat gray day.  Please forgive me for not posting a photo - just know they were perfect.

 I hope Steve and Mary Lynn's Vietnam photos have been well received this weekend, that Dwight and Velna will soon come north, that Louise can keep up her cheerful spirits, that Elizabeth can continue going through her stuff and finding treasures she didn't even know she had and that Judy can get our genealogy all straightened out.

Conference has been wonderful - I want to be a better me.  May your Sabbath be a wonderful one.
Love to all,
Ann

Voice From the Past

This is the second time today I've posted this - the first time was a real mess, and I finally figured out what to do about it.  I can't remember if I posted the gist of this letter before, but if not, it truly is a gem. Dorothy and I spent the weekend going through boxes of letters, and she is going to scan them for the family, but this one I kept - it is such a gem.  When I was a senior in the spring of 1953, I was in the senior class play, staying all week with Kells, and going home on the weekends for six weeks.  Ann kept me in the family loop by sending me little messages via Audrey Baxter, also a senior, who rode the school bus.  This letter is a real gem, and deserves to be immortalized.  It wouldn't mean much to those who did not know our family, but it is definitely meaningful in all aspects to us.

What To Do With Buckets of Tomatoes

As I was talking with Dwight (per Judy's instructions), he wanted to know what I was doing. Making tomato soup to put in bottles, says I.  And what is the recipe for said soup, asks big brother.  Finding it a tricky task to relate said recipe over the phone, I promised to post it on Penrose Mornings within the hour.  Who knows if I have made that deadline, but just in case it is still wanted, here it is:
(This beats the store bought stuff by miles, no nasty additives, is low salt, and ever so good.)
Home Canned Tomato Soup
1 peck ripe tomatoes  - how much is a peck of tomatoes,you ask?  According to someone who is supposed to know these things, it is about 8 quarts.  In my world it is a large kettle full of juice - very precise measurement.
4 onions sliced
12 sprigs parsley
2 bay leaves
1 tsp peppercorns
1 tsp celery seed
1 tsp whole cloves
2 Tablespoons salt (I cut this in half and then let people salt it according to their taste)
1 Tablespoons sugar

I put my tomatoes through the Victorio juicer, so get them to the juice stage any way you want to. Put peppercorns, celery seed, whole cloves in a tea ball, or tie in a cheese cloth bag.  Put juice in kettle, add parsley, bay leaves, onions,  salt and sugar and tea ball.  Let simmer until it is at the consistency you want.  Strain out the onions, parsley, bay leaves, and remove the tea ball.  Reheat to boiling point after straining.  Pour into sterilized jars, seal, process in boiling water bath 40 minutes for quarts.

Ann Posing for the Camera

Here is a familiar and much loved photo of Ann.  She was my number one model, along with Steve, since they would usually cheerfully do my bidding.  We need more stories, memories, reminiscences, etc. from every one as we go through these photos to help tell our family story.  Soon I will run out of photos and you can all go back to chickens and such.

Quote for the Day

Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be cumbered with your old nonsense.

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

A Thought for This Thursday

On the post dated January 21, 2012, there is a comment from our first cousin once removed(David Wasden/Tom Wasden/ Anonymous), that might give all of us an incentive to keep going. Check it out! To any family who is checking in, please let us know you are there. It is nice to hear from anyone interested and to make family connections.

Sometimes, what we have written has reminded me of a wonderful TV series called Lark Rise to Candleford. There is a conversation in the very last episode (it had a three year run on PBS/KUED and I can still find it in reruns, or just buy the DVD. You won't be sorry.) when Laura is writing for the newspaper, but Daniel has to tell her that what she has written isn't very good. He is struggling to tell her that she needs to write about something she is really familiar with, and then goes on to tell her to write about the life in Candleford and Lark Rise because one day it will have all changed. That is true about our lives in Penrose. Our memories of long ago make so many connections to how we live our lives today. So, I'm just saying, there are still things to share, whether it is today things, or a memory of something from another day.

A Fun Journey

Today is a good day and kind of a sad day, because I finished copying over all of Penrose Mornings, including the comments and the photos. It has been so much fun to read through all of the birthday wishes, the goofy comments, the memories that have been written, and all of the treasures that have been shared. I think we have done an amazing job of putting together a record of something that is very important, not only to us, but to our posterity. In a way, I am sad to see this project come to an end (that is just my copying, Penrose Morning still has work to do)because as I copied everything over, I felt as though I was spending just a little time with each one of you, as well as our parents and grandparents, along with some very special people who we have yet to know.
The file that contains all of the records totals 2.4GB. There are a few extra photos in that file, and I am just including them so you can do with them as you wish. Steve has sent me a USB drive and I will burn a copy of Penrose Mornings for him onto that. Would any of you like a copy? I can burn it to a disc (I have plenty) or if you would rather have it on a USB drive, just send me one.
Now it is time to go get Grandpa Wasden's missionary journals copied. I am told it is always good to have a project, so this must all be good.

Christmas Posies

With all of the fun Christmas stories, I am hesitant to interject this post, but thought it might be appreciated. Who can resist a beautiful flower, especially this time of year.

Happy Birthday, Ann!

You couldn't scare anyone if you tried.  Not even your sweet little face would keep the birds out of the strawberries.

Please have a very happy day.   And I am so glad that you are my sister.

Who could resist loving this little girl?