ANOTHER HAPPY DAY

CELEBRATING MY BIRTHDAY - AGAIN

It has been a very happy day - all day  - with so many Happy Birthdays coming from so many people.  More than in my whole life - all 73 years.
It was wonderful to be reminded of dear family and friends and how blessed I am to have these wonderful people in my life. 

Dick and I went to see the movie "War Horse" which was very good,  but rather sad
 for it is about war which is never a happy story, but it was also about love
 and loyalty,  courage and committment.

This evening we went out to eat Mexican food at 'Los Gringos Locos'
with Bonnie and Leo Lewiswho are our winter friends here in Arizona from Idaho.
 The food was good but very spicy hot
but the complimentary fried ice cream for my birthday was cool and tasty.
The big sombrero added to the celebration but was heavy and a bit much although fun.

Leo and Bonnie Lewis and the BD girl.

Afterwards we went back to our little home to visit and eat yummy chocolate cake that they had brought along with a card that said.....

It's amazing how we've stayed so YOUNG!

And for such a long, long time!

The cake had 27 candles on it that were the kind you can't blow out

so trying to get them to quit burning took as much effort as blowing out 73.

It was quite the bon fire. 

Birthdays are great!
The more you have the longer you live. 

A WEEK WITH DAVID'S FAMILY

DAVID BRAMWELL FAMILY

Nick, Emmi, David, Susan, Morgan, Taylor

We spent a wonderful week with these wonderful people.

This was our Christmas gift to ourselves and it was the best.

We were there to see our awesome missionary grandson, Taylor as he came home after two years of serving an honorable mission speaking Spanish in the Sacramento California Mission and to hear him speak in church which was inspiring and full of love and faith.  His manner is very GA.

We welcomed Nick home from Jerusalem where he has attended a semester at the BYU- Jerusalem Center.  He is still the same 'surfer kid' but with added knowledge, understanding, faith and intellect. It was amazing to hear him talk of the things he has learned and experienced and his great zeal for kowledge.

It was great to see Nick and Taylor greet each other after not seeing each other for four years.

A mother welcoming her son home after his being gone for a year.

Nick and his little sister, Emmi who has grown up a bit in a year.

It was fun to teach Chef Taylor how to make bread.

He took right to it and made beautiful bread everytime.

Morgan's 16th birthday party. 

Yummy food...

Gifts.....

Cake.

What a cute boy - but how did he get to be 16 already???

Emmi and her bird friend.

Bonnie makes herself right at home.

She likes being in the Bramwell home in North Carolina as much as we do. 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Katie Goll and I have the same birthday - over 50 years apart, but still on December 30 - and every year we talk about celebrating together, but we are usually gone and it doesn't happen.  This year it happened but a few days early to make it possible.  Monday, December 26th, the night before we were to leave for Arizona the Goll family invited us to a birthday party with pizza and cake.  I have had very few parties for my birthday in my life and this was a very special and fun one. 

Katie and Me

The Goll family are not only neighbors but the best of friends and like family to us.

Annette had surgery on her knee December 23 and it has been nice to spend time visiting with her these past few days and finding little ways to help them.

Annette and Steve are the nicest of the nice and so much fun.

Katie, Ted and Sam are great kids who are thoughtful, helpful and caring.

Ted made the cake and his girlfriend, Kim decorated it.

  I have other special people sharing my birthday -

My wonderful twin brother, Gary who has been in my life my whole life.

My dear friend, Laura who came into my life when I was 13

Katie who it has been so fun to watch blossom into a most lovely young woman.

Birthdays are nice to share.





CHRISTMAS THINGS

Christmas has come and gone for 2011 and it has been a very unusual holiday for us for it was minimal in every way as we have been all alone and were gone to David and Susan's for a week and then are leaving Tuesday to go to Arizona for three months.  Dick felt that we should not even bother putting up any decorations this year but I just couldn't do that..... 

WHY? 

Because whether we think so or not THINGS give meaning to Christmas.

HOW?

THINGS are symbols of thoughts, and feelings, memories and people, history and eternal truths.

Our memories can fade and THINGS can bring them back. 

 Nativity scenes are a visual reminder of the birth of the Son of God.  Jesus Christ. The Promised Messiah.  Our Savior and Redeemer. 

They are the first things I put out and the last to put away with some staying out all year.

I have Nativity sets of all shapes and sizes - cute, pretty, rustic, smooth and I like to have them all through the house as lovely reminders of this Holy birthday celebration.

These beautiful cross stitch pictures were made by Ranell

so are not only symbolic of Santa and gifts but of her.

Santa and GIFTS are an important part of Christmas which is not just for children as we learned this year with no gifts under the tree to open on Christmas morning.  No, we are not giftless for we have opened gifts earlier with Keith and then David's families and will have gifts later from Ranell's family but we bought something together and then decided to not do any gifts for each other.  There is something missing when you do not have the anticipation of someone opening a gift you are giving them or the surprise and joy of feeling loved by someone as you open a gift from them. 

Gifts connect us to people when they are given with love.

CHRISTMAS SPIDER

This little spider made out of beads was made over thirty years ago and hangs on our tree every year to remind us that there is beauty in simple things like a web made by a spider on a Christmas tree that looks like fine silver threads glowing in the candle light. Beauty does not have to cost a lot.

MARY LOU'S CRYSTAL

This crystal pendant was give to me over 40 years ago by a dear friend and although I have not seen her for years as I hang this on our tree every year I still remember the love I felt from this sweet sister when she gave it to me.  A simple thing but a symbol of the value of friendship and love.
 It is good to feel loved.

TATTED SNOWFLAKES

I wanted to learn how to tat thirty years or so ago and these were my first attempts.

These are symbols of desire, perseverance, accomplishment and satisfaction.

I still marvel that I really did make these without giving up and still enjoy knowing this skill.

CARDINAL BIRDS

I helped decorate the big Christmas tree in the Visitor's Center in Nauvoo when we were there on our mission and we did it all with the beautiful interesting things in nature using these cardinals for our color.  This began the use of birds on our tree.  Great memories come to mind of wonderful people, places and experiences when there are birds on our tree.

BIRD NEST

We have had this little bird nest on our tree for many years as part of a legend that great happiness and good fortune comes to anyone who chooses a tree with a bird's nest in its branches,

and that God knows even the sparrow when it falls. 

SINGING BIRD ORNAMENT

Grandpa Bramwell gave us this ornament fifty or so years ago that runs on batteries and chirps happily on and on and on.  We loved it but would turn it off just short of craziness. It always had a place on the tree as a very fond reminder of all the happy loving times we spent with dear Gramps and Grams.

SUSAN'S LITTLE LAMBS

One year Susan made dozens of little lambs -  cute and sweet but also a reminder of the Good Shepherd who knows his sheep who hear his voice and follow Him. 

Nearly every ornament that we hang on our tree is associated with someone or some time in our lives that is a good memory.  We have bears made by Stephanie and even one made of a bottle and tissue paper by Coree when she was in elementary school.  We keep these and cherish them - not because of their value as a THING, but because they are treasures of a person we love, or a thought and feeling that feels good.

Now do you understand why THINGS have a place and a part of Christmas?

  CHRISTMAS is about people as we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, The Son of God, who's work and glory is about people - you and me, His brothers and sisters. 

All that he has done and still does is for us to help us have a fullness of joy for all eternity.

As we love each other and give our gifts to bring happiness to each other

surely our Father in Heaven and His Son, Jesus Christ are pleased and even happy -

just as we are most happy when we see our children loving each other

and being happy together. 

NICK'S NATIVITY FROM JERUSALEM

This one is staying throughout the year as a symbol of the great gifts Christ gives to us.

 

GLORIOUS HAPPY TIME

The glorouis colors of fall are like the finale that nature gives us before she closes the curtains and shuts down for the winter.  This year it was predicted that it would not be as beautiful and wonderful as years past because of the hot dry summer - but she came through just as we were beginning to resign ourselves
to a colorless autumn. It was slow in coming
for the peak was supposed to be two weeks ago,
but then there was a surprise encore and the colors came.
Maybe not as much, but perhaps that makes it even more spectacular,
 for it is like seeing jewels here and there that stand out and sparkle against the drab.

 It is as if they might be saying - "See. You didn't think that I could do it, but how is this for beautiful".

I can't get enough of this color for it goes right to my happy place and makes me smile.

Today on my way home from town I decided to go out looking for beauty
and this is some of what I found.....

This little tree is in Gully Park and was quite alone in it's splendor.
Good job!!!

I drove up the mountain - or hill - behind our house and was amazed at all the hidden jewels I found there. It rained this morning so everything was clean and glistening
with just a little sun peaking through the clouds at times. Perfect.

I love the look of the dark wet bark of the trees and then the bright colors of the leaves.

 What artist designed this?

How about this for a beautiful pallett of greens, yellows and oranges?

Couldn't be prettier if we paid a fortune for it.

This is not only great color but also good design.

 I wish that I could paint a picture like this.

Even the soft subtle colors are fabulous with the dark trunks.

This collage of leaves is truly a work of art with wonderful shapes, color and design.

Who are these artists? I would like to meet them someday.

And then you add the taste of fall - PUMPKIN.
This is the best.    Pumpkin Pie Shake.

Is this all really going to end and leave us with a colorless winter?

I suppose that is why we decorate so much for the holidays.
So that we can have color
to fill our happy place.

(All of these pictures were taken with my iphone camera. Good enough?)

FRIENDS AND FLOWERS

IT HAS BEEN SAID THAT
"IF FRIENDS WERE LIKE FLOWERS I WOULD PICK YOU!"

That is how I feel about a very special friend in my life, Annette, who is also my neighbor
for she brightens my life in so many ways and is a comfort and a strength to me
as well as a great example of generous giving and serving.

This week she gave me flowers saying that she knew that I would love them...
and of course she knows me.

She is the special friend who hears the song in my heart
and sings it back to me when
I can't remember the song.




Pansies are the hope of spring when winter comes.
They bloom now and then wait patiently through the cold of winter
to grow and blossom with great beauty and abundance
when it is spring.

I needed this message of hope and so appreciate being reminded of this
for now I too, can wait patiently through the winter
and look forward to the joys and blessings that are coming.

Make hearts happy,
flowers grow.
Let the friends
around you know
The love you have
before they go.
Show it now.

I DON'T WANT TO.....

But I do! There are so many times that I think 'I DON'T WANT TO DO THIS!'
But then I do it.
Why?
It seems that most things I do it is because of duty, I am expected to, because I said I would (can't say no), I don't want to disappoint people or just because I love someone.

Are these good enough reasons?
Probably. Because if I didn't have these 'have to' reasons I would probably be a slug.

Many mornings I don't want to get up and then don't want to get dressed and then don't want to go anywhere or be with people -
but then I do get up, get dressed ( although I like staying in my pajamas as long as I can), and start on the tasks of the day - whether I want to or not.

Deadlines are good and keep me going from one thing to the next. There are just enough 'have to does' to make me keep moving .

This turned out to be a nice 'have to'. The 'Art Location' school where Dick and I teach had an art show to display the work of the students along with a progressive dinner with food provided by some of the local restaurants. It turned our nice and we especially enjoyed having Keith and Natalie join us.

These are some of the paintings by my students. It has been a good thing to be teaching art again for it makes me plan and think and even do some painting of my own - and get up and go every Tuesday morning.

We have very little social activity so this Chili Cook -off for the ward gave us a chance to mingle a bit with others. There are lots of good people to know,  but very few to be friends. We usually end up sitting with Kelly Smith for she needs a friend as much as we do.


This is the road where I walk in our neighborhood while listening to an inspiring talk.This is something I do because I know that it is good for me, but I don't like putting my hiking shoes on and getting out there to do it.  It does always end up being a good thing and I am glad I did it,  but still it is not something I want to do.    I have been grateful for some nice sunny days lately for I know that soon it will not be so nice to be out walking and then I will have to do something else.  There is that 'have to' again.

Can you believe this iris that is blooming like it is spring? The flowers are beginning to die with the frost that we have had several nights. The grass is already turning brown and soon we will be looking like the dead of the winter. I have done the last of the planting bulbs and cleaning out the flower beds, and again I didn't want to get out there with the wind blowing and a chill in the air, but if I didn't I would surely regret it in the spring. Regret hurts.

 I so appreciate the mums that give us the last color and beauty of summer.  They seem to just do their thing no matter what. 

We went to the Temple on Saturday which is an ALL DAY trip and although it was long and tiring it was a good thing to be with the Barnes family as they were sealed together for all time and eternity.
After starting the day very early and being gone all day when we got home I decorated this cake for a little 'linger longer' after church Sunday to celebrate with the Barnes family. This felt like another 'have to', but ended up being one of those 'glad I did it' things.

No matter that it is duty, or a must do, or a have to, or a I love you thing to do,  it always seems to bring a blessing or a feeling of joy and accomplishment..... so I am glad that life is not letting me just do what ever I feel like doing for surely I would end up being a slug.