Quotes of the Week

 Christ redeems, and His Atonement is real.
--Dallin H. Oaks

I plead with you to do with determination the simple things that will move you forward spiritually. Start with remembering Him. You will remember what you know and what you love. The Savior gave us the scriptures, paid for by prophets at a price we cannot measure, so that we could know Him. Lose yourself in them. Decide now to read more, and more effectively than you have ever done before.

I promise you that you will feel the influence of the Holy Ghost touch your heart as you search the scriptures with new purpose and as you pray earnestly. From that, you will have the  assurance that God lives, that He answers prayers, that Jesus is the living Christ, and that He loves you.
--Henry B. Eyring

Whether you feel like a hero or not, you are one! You are the hero of your own life's story! Do not be discouraged. Do not give up. The future is bright! Someday you will look back on the person you are now with kindness and compassion, and you will know then that the steps you took today molded you into the wonderful person you have yet to become.
--Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Cleaning Blinds; Nephrologist; Thanksgiving Dinner with Ben's Family

One day I got very ambitious. I carried the ladder in from the garage, pulled out the vacuum and dust cloths and spent hours vacuuming the draperies, dusting the blinds, and cleaning the windows and the windowsills.

...and that was just the main floor windows... UGH!!! Lots more to go!!

I recruited Glen in my spring fall cleaning project. The cobweb cleaning required some ingenuity: tall husband, long lightbulb changer pole and a dust cloth draped over the end of it.

My cleaning project caused great grief to Glen when I kept knocking off the wooden valances, thereby causing the plastic brackets to break. With no extra brackets anywhere to be found, Glen used more ingenuity to attach a different kind of valance bracket to make it work. 

BONUS: the newly-rigged valances matched exactly the other valances in correct placement. That was a worry for which I found myself very relieved when I saw the finished re-hung valances.

One of the several valances I knocked off was the small one above the sink. This was another one that I was so happy it hung exactly even with the other valance after using the different kind of plastic holders.

It had taken me so long to wash every single slat of the longer kitchen window blinds as I was perched up on the cabinet bending over or kneeling to try and get the job done. 

I was NOT looking forward to doing the small one because there isn't a good place to stand or kneel. Once the valance fell off, I decided to just pull the whole thing out and work on it at the cabinet. That was a good idea!!

Another good idea was to use baby wipes to wipe down each slat instead of a rag with soapy water. The baby wipes did so much better getting the greasy grime off than anything else. And boy did I feel accomplished after I got those disgusting slats clean and white once again!!!!

For some reason it never occurred to me to clean the blinds in the office until days later. I picked the day Glen went to the dentist and would be gone for a couple of hours to shimmy myself under the desk and work on getting those blinds cleaned.

I thought I would want to wait for spring to clean the ultra-filthy blinds in the garage. But, one afternoon the weather had warmed up enough for me to work comfortably out there. 

Using the wet wipes and enjoying listening to an audiobook to make the chore more bearable--I finally was able to take a step back to admire the once-again-white blinds.

I spent a day cleaning all the blinds and windows on the upper level. I removed the cushions and lifted up the window seats in Sarah's old room to see if anything had been put in there. As I was pulling out some blankets to take to the laundry room, something caught my eye.

Sarah's son Carson had written his name (very big) on the inside wall of the window seat. It wasn't on the outer wall, so it wasn't visible at first glance. I had to get inside to take this photo.

He not only wrote his name (big) once, but (big) twice. This made me laugh so much because we have found Sarah's signature on various hidden spots in this house as well. Like mother--like son!!!!!

Carson's friend got in on the signature action as well. His name didn't take up nearly the space Carson's name(s) did.

I had a telemedicine visit with my cardiologist. 

Having a virtual doctor visit as opposed to an in-office visit has its perks. I like having Glen be able to talk to the doctor with me. A drawback is when Dr. Freedman wants to adjust my pacemaker and then I end up needing to go into his clinic inside the University of Utah Hospital anyway.

This adjustment has helped me be able to breathe a little better when I go up the stairs or walk up a hill.

I am still deciding if I like how it feels when I am not exerting. I have been doing a lot of that annoying thing of needing to fill my lungs frequently instead of my lungs just doing it themselves. 

But, I also have not been noticing it as much as time goes on, so maybe my body is getting adjusted to the adjustment. Let's hope!!

Dr. Freedman does not want to take any chances with my recent "stage 3 kidney disease" diagnosis and referred me to a nephrologist. Yet another specialist!!! 

That doctor's office told me I needed to go get more specialized blood testing done before my appointment with him, so off to the Farmington U of U Health Center I went. Thankfully, my blood got drawn with just one stick. HURRAH!!!!

I had a telemedicine appointment to meet Dr. Al-Rabadi, the nephrologist. He said he is not worried at all about my kidneys and wanted to reassure me. Just to be sure, he is having me get an ultrasound and more blood work to be done right before my next appointment with him in several months. That was good news!!!!

I get so excited these days when the doorbell rings because we get so few visitors. Usually  it turns out to be a package delivery. This time--it was Joe Cowley, our ministering brother, bringing us a Thanksgiving treat.

Joe and Kim are so good to us. They were getting their deliveries made early as they were planning to spend the Thanksgiving week vacationing in Newport Beach, California. 

We are jealous. Since we have now fallen in love with Southern California after living there for 3 years, we look forward to one day when we can go there again--on vacation.

COVID-19 is running rampant in the state of Utah. As if we haven't been separated enough already from our families for the past many months, the governor clamped down again on us the two weeks before Thanksgiving.

When we saw turkeys at Costco, I thought we better buy one to get ready for the holiday. I debated whether to get a large turkey or not. Were we going to have any family here or not because of Covid?? It was a debate. But I was sure both Ben and Rebecca would be joining us that day.

After I bought the big thing, I felt like I had contraband inside our home and that we were breaking the law.

I thought there would be some way we could get together on that special family day of the year. This gave me an idea of how we could all be safe together.

Thankfully the governor eased up a little, but still urged everyone to be as safe as possible on Thanksgiving.

During the renewed Covid scare and the continued uncertainty of this pandemic and everything else going on in the world, it was a welcome reprieve to hear a message from our prophet the week before Thanksgiving.

I enjoyed seeing President Nelson's daughter Sylvia's response (sibber5) to this message from her father. I also enjoyed her post a week later of them watching his message. It's fun to think of someone we know being the daughter of the prophet. 

President Nelson gave an invitation for the next 7 days for all of us to flood social media with daily posts of what we are thankful for. 

It was such an inspired invitation and has really helped boost everyone's morale with positive posts of gratitude.

We did our Costco shopping on Monday and dropped off the things we had bought for Rebecca. Bonus for us was when we got to see Brooke who was home from school in quarantine. 

Good thing she didn't get Covid from whatever classmate had it. She is very excited to go back to school next week after her 2 weeks' absence.

Rebecca kept telling me all along that their family was not going to come to our Thanksgiving dinner because they did not want to risk getting us sick. They also had a frozen turkey in their freezer that needed to be eaten. 

I was sad they weren't going to be here because I thought it would be way more fun for Ben and Haley to have them here.

But, the holiday cooking must go on whether for 2 people or more. I bought a small turkey and I now sigh each time I look in the freezer and see the large turkey just mocking the fact we couldn't all get together this Thanksgiving.

Rebecca asked if I would share two pieces of our pumpkin pie with them--one piece for Dallas and another piece for a woman they know who is in quarantine by herself and was craving a piece of pumpkin pie.

Rebecca made a special request that I include sugar in this year's pies. One year, many years ago, I made the mistake of not putting in the magic ingredient of sugar. Apparently when that ingredient is left out, NO ONE wants a piece of pie!! 

I got all the ingredients laid out so I would not forget anything.

Meanwhile, creative Brooke was helping her mom decorate their apple pie to look like a masterpiece!!!

I spent the day before Thanksgiving making the pies and sweet potato casserole. Glen took care of cooking the turkey, carrots, mashed potatoes and gravy on Thanksgiving Day. Doesn't that look like the perfectly baked turkey????

Our Thanksgiving guests arrived. Kade is always nervous at the very beginning because he thinks his parents are going to leave him. See him eyeing me warily???

It didn't take him long to warm up to us as he almost instantly went into the kitchen and started taking out the popcorn-making supplies. 

We had Ben's family sit at one end of our kitchen table and we sat at the other end to try and "social distance" from each other. It continues to make me crazy that we can't be loving and close with our family members.

Kade consented to eating some potatoes before he went back to the popcorn cupboard. 

I must say the teeny preemie baby has sure put on some pounds since we saw him last.

We're so thankful he is a healthy little (getting bigger all the time) guy!!!

Later in the day, after Ben's family had gone home, Rebecca's family arrived to drop off some salad and a piece of apple pie and to collect the pumpkin pie they had requested.

It was so nice having the Goldens here again--if only for a few minutes and wearing masks the whole time (except for popping a piece of candy in their mouths now and again). 

It was a quiet Thanksgiving compared to many other years. But it was a good Thanksgiving as we have been thinking so much lately about how very much we have to be thankful for. 

We were hoping all our friends and family members were having a lovely Thanksgiving Day wherever they were holding their individual feasts. 

Prayers and thoughts of gratitude all day long for our dear loved ones and the many blessings we all enjoy each and every day.

Quotes of the Week

 "Be grateful"

--Gordon B. Hinckley

"We can choose to be grateful no matter what."
--Dieter F. Uchtdorf

"Sincerely giving thanks...unlocks the doors of heaven and helps us feel God's love."
--Thomas S. Monson

We are so grateful for the sacrifices young people and seniors make to serve missions.  The Lord is pleased with their efforts.
--Quentin L. Cook

Happy Birthday to Nani and Me!! Trump/Biden Presidential Election, COVID-19 Continues

The fall weather has been so beautiful for my morning walks. We had a really cold spell, but then it had warmed up and that made me a happy girl to get out of the house once again and enjoy nature.

I got to enjoy a little bit warmer morning walks because of the time change. Although it makes the night seem so much longer, it sure makes the mornings sunny and bright.

With the changing of the month, that means a change of decorations from Halloween to Thanksgiving.

Jan and Bill Evans invited a few couples to their home for a Monday night Mandarin Restaurant take-out dinner. Their front porch was all decked out for the fall season.

Jan really knows how to set a beautiful table!!

We have such dear friends!!!! Diane and Grant Stewart; Jan and Bill Evans; Lane and LaVona Lewis; Jane and Dennis Crandall. Jane has recently had hip replacement surgery. She was walking gingerly, but it was good to see her functioning well.

Look what we see under the table... Yes, Glen is still recovering from his foot surgery. He does really well getting around in the house wearing regular shoes. As soon as he goes outside, he puts on his surgical boot to avoid any mishaps where he could re-injure that foot and ankle. 

He continues to be so appreciative of the under-desk elliptical that Abe sent to us. It is really helping to strengthen his ankle and provides the physical therapy he needs at this time.

After listening to all the debates, the biased news reporting, watching the rioting and looting and everything else that has been so negative, I was looking forward to the Trump/Biden presidential election coming to an end!!!

My birthday frequently falls on election day. I have come to realize having it fall on the day after election day when the ballots are still being counted and there is not a clear winner yet announced is not my idea of the perfect birthday.

BUT...despite all the political stuff being up in the air, I did manage to have a wonderful birthday. I found the beautiful candle and birthday card on our porch which Diane Stewart had left there first thing in the morning. 

As I was coming home from my walk, Bill and Jan Evans arrived giving me their rendition of the "Happy Birthday To You" song. Loved it!! The neighbors probably did, too!!

Carol Pope, my ministering sister, dropped off a Nothing Bundt Cake treat for me from her and Tiffany Foutz.

Phyllis Stock dropped by this birthday treat.

The Relief Society presidency gave me a keychain.

I received birthday love notes, cards, texts, phone calls, Facebook messages and more.

Newland, Wynne and Magnus sent a video birthday greeting. Magnus listened intently while Newland and Wynne said, "Happy Birthday, Grandma Thomas. We love you!" 

Then Magnus chimed in at the very end with his little echo "I love you!" and then did a shy little pleased-with-himself smile. So cute!!

My sweetheart had already treated me to an Olive Garden birthday dinner. YUM!!! We had leftovers which always makes me happy as it means I don't have to cook yet another meal. A girl could ask for no better gift on her birthday!!

I got some birthday photos of Kade (with Haley's mom) and baby Levi. It was so fun seeing them outside enjoying the warm fall weather. 

A few days later we saw some more photos of Levi showing how he's growing.

This next two photos are of Levi and then Kade, both one-month-old and both wearing the same outfit.

Here's the loving big brother Kade peeking in at his little baby brother Levi. 

Nani and I have birthdays one week apart and we have a yearly tradition to do a combined birthday dinner at Texas Roadhouse in the week between our birthdays. Well, this year we did it the day after my birthday, but the Texas Roadhouse rolls were worth the wait!!!! YUM!!!

I asked for more rolls to take home with us and the wish was granted. YIPPEE!! Leftovers again!! 

Wait a minute!!!!!! At the shout of YIPPEE, it just now occurred to me that we neglected to get the rousing birthday YEE HAW!!! greeting. We should have gotten a double YEE HAW!!!

Now I am feeling like we both got cheated!

One day I opened up the door and found a bouquet of flowers which an anonymous donor had left there.

Imagine my surprise and glee when I got to arrange the flowers beautifully in a vase (which I love to do) and then have been enjoying looking at them ever since. I never did find out who left them.

Well, the political mess continues... Joe Biden appears to have gotten the most votes, but President Trump is demanding recounting. It has been a contentious race, that's for sure.

So many of the American people are so polarized one way or the other. I like former First Lady Barbara Bush's feelings on the subject. 

Sarah is our running maniac. She got herself all signed up to run another half marathon. She did all the training for the race--even running 12 miles one of her training days. I was thinking to myself that she should have gone ahead and run another 1.10 miles that day and she would be done with it!!

Just a few days before the race, she got notification that the race had been cancelled due to Covid. She was so distraught because she'd been training and felt very ready for the race.

Her family decided to go to St. George anyway and she ran her own race. Gotta give the girl credit for that self-motivated gumption!!

Sunday morning I tuned into our Relief Society zoom meeting. The lesson was given by Julie Tucker, who is new to the ward. Zoom meetings are always awkward for getting class participation, but she did a great job and it was a nice way for me to get to know her a little better (without even talking to her personally).

Glen hadn't been feeling too well over the weekend, so we watched our Springwood Ward's sacrament meeting on YouTube and then Glen blessed and passed the sacrament to us after the meeting ended. 

By watching the videoed version of church, I was able to see that when I am taking my turn at the organ, I am also on camera. YIKES!! There were such excellent, spiritual talks given by the new Primary presidency and I was so glad we hadn't missed it.

When we woke up that Sunday morning and saw all the freshly-fallen snow, it made us happy we were already planning to stay home from church so we didn't have to go out in it with Glen's boot.

Not only can we tell the deer have been in our yard by their footprints in the snow, but we see the spots where they lie down in the yard where they melt the snow and we can see the circles of grass.

Grant so kindly walked over after church, got the snow blower and cleared our driveway before taking it over to clear his driveway. I am calling him my SNOW ANGEL this winter!!!

Here's little snow bunny Levi.

Ben showed Kade the finer points of sliding down a snowy hill in a blue plastic saucer. 

We were very sad when Amanda sent a text informing us Maggie was in the hospital and then what her diagnosis turned out to be. 

Veterans Day was a good reminder for all of us as Americans to come together, be more patriotic and remember all the people who have fought so hard for us to enjoy our freedom. 

The Covid cases are getting out of control here in Utah and so the Governor has issued an executive order for everyone to be super careful again. 

It gets so frustrating! We all just wish this pandemic would go away. 

In our Come Follow Me studies, we have been reading about the Jaredites who were directed by the Lord to cross the great waters in barges to get to the promised land. They were in those boats for just under a year. Just image how uncomfortable, awful and scary that experience would have been for them!!! 

Sarah shared about how their family watched a video about the Jaredites and the barges. The next evening Sarah had each of her four boys tell one thing about the Brother of Jared, going youngest to oldest. Each child needed to add onto the story that the younger sibling left out.

She told them how it's one of her favorite stories in the Book of Mormon and how you have to figure out your problems; and then even when you do get an answer, that doesn't mean it's going to be easy. 

They still had to have storms in the water once they were in their boats and it wasn't just an easy ride for them.

Then Carson piped up and said "But the storms got them to where they needed to be."

Sarah said they had not even talked about that with the family. Carson had just completely observed that on his own accord. She was so proud of him because she felt like that was such a deep thing for him to pull from that story. 

I really like this Instagram post helping to put this Covid lifestyle we are going through into perspective.