Time of Celebrating Family

Dan and family are heading home now after 4 whirlwind days of visiting, talking, feasting, shopping and interacting which included an engagement, eating out at Hu Hot, shopping at the mall, several movies, aborted trip to Disneyland by Dan and Heather as I-15 freeway was closed between here and LA! Also check out the drone photos of Sunriver by James with his Christmas toy. Our next get together will probably be for the wedding in April!

On to more LIGHT

Was blessed to see my two youngest grandchildren and their parents from Utah Valley yesterday on the Solstice. It's been 6 months between visits and of course they have grown lots. Rory is almost 10 and Eddie will be 8 next April. They are taller. On their way to a surprise vacation in California, we met them for lunch in St. George. Sure miss them all and interacting more with their family but that's what happens when you live over 200 miles away especially in wintertime.

Playing a new game I gave Rory for her upcoming birthday Dec. 28th

This month is rushing by with so many activities

Think there were 3 parties last week Daughters of Utah Pioneers, then a Relief Society Leadership pot luck, a day at DUP Museum as a docent volunteer, Branch Christmas party, attending a Messiah concert, and then giving a talk on Sunday at church made for lots of activity. Also finally got our Christmas tree up in our crowded living room...So it's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas. Sending and receiving Christmas cards is fun to get a hold of family and loved ones. What's your life like during this busy season of celebrating the birth of our Savior?

Our little tree lights up a living room corner

Messiah Concert brings to mind the importance of the season

Attending Church keeps our Savior in remembrance all year.

Hope what having faith brings to our lives

Happy BIRTHDAY #37 to my youngest son JEFFREY

Born on a cold wintery day in Provo, Utah was my fourth son. Now he has a family of his own to raise and support. I HONOR him today and the MAN he has become. Successfully GRADUATING from High School, UVU and Graduate work with an MBA, completed a MISSION to Hiroshima JAPAN, married Rachel and is raising a FAMILY with two children-Rory and Eddie, and meeting all life's CHALLENGES with courage and faith. Happy Birthday! You are LOVED!

My Aunt Ethel was at PEARL HARBOR

We were part of history in Hawaii by Ethel Nielson

On Oct 11, 1941 the boys (sons Albert and Bill) and I sailed for Hawaii on the USS Lurline from San Francisco to join my husband who was working for Morrisson and Kanootson in Hawaii... It was a great experience being on a big ocean liner and going First Class.  Sonny (my husband) met our ship a couple of hours before we landed. When he came to our state room, his arms were filled with beautiful leis and we were happy to all be together again as a family. 

We were still living in Honolulu when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on Dec 7, 1941. What an experience! It was a Sunday morning and Sonny was working graveyard and not at home. We heard sounds like loud thunder and soon after this Sonny came home. He had seen from the top of the hill where he worked the Japanese planes bombing Pearl Harbor. At first some of the workers thought it was a practice bombing raid, but then there were real explosions and fire. Prayer was the first thing we thought of. Sonny had us all lay on the floor in the bedroom and hold hands while he said a prayer for our protection. Then we packed some diapers and canned milk and headed to Red Hill, the only underground tunnel on the island that was to store fuel tanks for the armed forces. We were served lunch there in the mess hall and stayed there till things calmed down and then went home.

When we went to get some groceries, the cupboards of the stores were bare as everyone was buying up all the food to store. A house nearby us was hit with shrapnel. We were told not to wear blue, because that is the color the Japanese were wearing and they would be looking for any Japanese that might have landed. That night Sonny took us next door, before he left for work in the dark. 

There were three families from Hickum Field sleeping there. The only available space for us was on the kitchen floor, so that is where we stayed for the night. Trenches were dug in the park and on school grounds, etc for protection. We built a trench in our yard for an air raid shelter and one day soon we had to use it. I was cooking lunch, when the air raid alarm sounded, so we took our food with us and jumped into the trench. We stayed until the all clear signal was given. Across the street from us some people were killed from shrapnel. It was a time of fear and panic. 

Later, we went in together with our neighbors and built a large better air raid shelter with food, water, medicine, clothing and flashlights. etc. We kept gas masks with us at all times and charcoal and soda on a cloth handy in the kitchen for the children's nose and mouth in case the Japanese dropped poisonous gas. Our homes had to be blacked out at night. We put thick black paper over the windows and had to turn out the lights whenever the door was open. You would get a ticket for black out violations if your car lights weren’t masked painted black with a little round hole of blue in the middle. You had to have a special pass 

to be out at night. We had several air raids after that, but no more bombings. 

Albert’s third birthday was the day after the bombing. We had several air raids after that but no more bombings. Everyone wore an ID bracelet in case of bombing deaths. It was scary when we had an air raid, not knowing what was going to happen. One day we had left the boys with our landlady and went to the movie show and there was an air raid. We rushed home after the all clear signal and found all well with the boys and our landlady who was babysitting them. 

  

In May of 1942 Albert, Bill and I were evacuated in a convoy of 14 ships. We had to carry our life jackets with us all the time. Only at night we took them off and placed them at the bottom of our bed. We had to know which lifeboat we were assigned to and how to get there whenever we had an an alarm. It was a five day trip from Hawaii to San Francisco but we took 14 days because we zigzagged our course home. We arrived at San Francisco in June. After staying to visit with Norman and Gladys for a day or so, we boarded a train and went to Los Angeles to see Les and Esther. Then on to Utah where we stayed until Sonny was able to come home. 

Let the CELEBRATIONS Begin...

The first party in December was our Dixie Poets annual Christmas potluck. We had 12 poets attend this year and enjoyed the food, poetry and friendships we've built among our group as we try to find our voice through poetry.

Happy Birthday 102 years old...my mom

She's been gone 12 years now. Taken from us by a brain tumor when she was 89. Time passes quickly and she is missed by her family still here working through life's challenges. I wonder how she spends her time over there. I can see her watching over her grandchildren lovingly because that's what I picture grandmothers who have left us wanting to do. And they would make the best guardian angels ever...someday we'll meet again and catch up on each other's lives and our family's lives.

Evelyn grew up in a now ghost town of Silver City Utah, married my dad
then 3 years later I was born, and 8 years later my dad died in an airplane
accident leaving mom to find work to support our family.

So excited when the twins came into our lives making us both grandmas

Quiet THANKSGIVING at Grandma's House

Because of extreme road conditions this year we didn't make our trek north to celebrate Thanksgiving with family in Utah Valley. Instead we stayed home and have a quiet DINNER in warm St. George while the rain locally and snows on the roads made travel conditions extremely dangerous. Seems the older we get, the less we want to risk our lives traveling anywhere. That's why we live in Southern Utah-no snow only rarely and then usually gone in a day. It was a perfectly peaceful day though quiet.

My ever helpful hubby whether cooking or cleaning he's there!

Just learning how to take selfies, not sure I like the closeups!

We bought a large chicken cause we didn't need a turkey.

Cooked in a bag with poultry seasoning and butter and it was tender and juicy 

Forgot how much work it was for all the sides!

Never made green bean casserole before-it was so so!

Dressing and chicken gravy was a cinch with mixes

Mrs. Rhodes rolls and cranberries with orange juice were good.

Lots to LEARN with the new IPHONE

Everyday there's something new to figure out...how to connect with the printer, how to manage emails, messages and phoning. Like going back to college classes, but with no instructor. Decided to signup for a basics class at MacPlus store. Amazing what my little phone can do with photos which I've barely tried. Will try to attach some of my feeble efforts.  I'm liking my new IPHONE7! Still trying to sync it with my laptop and desk top computer and my iPad!

Sunshine returns after our two days of rain 

Our neighbor's great decor-that's a Southwestern quilted hanging!

From Texas, I love their decor-Bublik

Great BBQ meal with smoked beef, cornbread, etc.

Where Has Lin Been?

It's a LONG STORY, my trip into trying to buy an Iphone7. Several years ago my son Daniel gave me an Iphone6 that wasn't being used in his family when Emilee left for her mission. I had been wanting to TRY using a SMART PHONE as my old dumb phone-an android didn't work at times and I could only do phoning and texting but HAD no internet access. BUT guess what my preferred carrier VERIZON didn't support that particular year of Apple Phone. BELIEVE IT OR NOT! So I returned the phone reluctantly.

Then just recently I was called to be our RELIEF SOCIETY SECRETARY. Well, it was now necessary to have a SMART PHONE to do my assigned work in keeping track of 182 women that are in our group. THIS SHOULD BE EASY-RIGHT? Wrong-it took me 2 weeks to get my old cell phone number released from Century Link which is our land line because I had BUNDLED them to save $. The bills were unbundled immediately BUT they said it would take 2-4 days before I could set up a new phone with my old phone number with VERIZON which was confirmed by them.

So after 3-4 trips to the VERIZON store and numerous chat calls online and quite a few tears of frustration I finally got my Iphone7. BUT GUESS WHAT-I had no idea how to set it up. VERIZON helped a little to get me going but no lessons or tutoring. Being a MAC USER, I thought I can do this myself. Trying to intuit it didn't work too well and I'm still struggling. Just setting up my INTERNET EMAILS was a real intellectual and emotional CHALLENGE. But that's now done.

Others in my COMMUNITY helped with their advice and efforts and I can now do TEXTING or MESSAGES, EMAILS and some CALLS. But I need to put in my phone numbers from my now defunct DUMB PHONE. I now understand why many GRANDPARENTS avoid technology.

Another Relief Society HUMANITARIAN Activity

Our monthly activity was busy busy with making humanitarian kits for newborn, women, hygiene and winter kits for those less fortunate. We had 55 sisters attending and we kept them busy then enjoyed pumpkin pies for refreshments.

NOVEMBER-Gratitude Month

How can we be halfway through this month of November already...time is flying even the daylight hours are disappearing. Leaves are turning colors some of them, but most got frozen and are just falling off the trees green. I don't like cold, but it's easier to handle than extreme heat if you have a furnace and warm clothing which I have both of. Which brings me to the QUESTION I'd like to ask: What are three things you are most grateful for? Here's mine.

1. Having the opportunity to have a physical body, time on earth, family and friends surrounding me.
2. Understanding why I'm here-to learn and to grow by the experiences both positive and negative.
3. Believing there is a purpose to life and a higher power who loves and watches over us.