Three Grandchildren...Three Weddings...

I cannot leave this year without talking about three amazing events that will change the lives of three of my grandchildren forever.  Three Weddings!

The first wedding that Dean and I were privileged to go to took place on April 19th in Gatlinburg, Tennessee!  It was a very long trip for us, but so worth it!  It was the wedding of my Grandson, Brendan Messex, to his beautiful bride, Railyn.  It took place on a mountaintop overlooking the beautiful Smoky Mountains.  What an amazingly beautiful day!

I shall forever count myself as blessed to have been there that day for Brendan's special day.  He has been a delightful spirit from the day he was born and I have felt a closeness with him that I cannot explain.  God bless you both as you go forward.  I love you!

The second wedding took place in Pine Valley Mountain, Utah on August 25th.  It was the marriage of Brendan's big sister, Elissa Newby, to Travis DelToro.  Another beautiful day, a spectacular setting and a gorgeous bride!  I came to this wedding alone (and then spent a week with my daughter, Heather, the mother of both of the Bride!)

Elissa will always hold a special place in my heart.  I was there the day she was born!  I watched as the medical team worked hard to save both her and her mother.  It was a day I fell to my knees in tears and praying for God's intervention.  Prayers were answered that day; and from that day forward, Heather, Elissa and I have had a special bond.  Go forward, dearhreart, and be happy.  God bless you both and always know that I love you.

The last wedding...the one that took place just before our move to Arizona...was held on a beautiful beach in San Clemente, CA on October 19th.  I flew (alone again) to Santa Ana, where my daughter Kim picked me up.  Her daughter, Kellie Messick, was to be married to Jordon Madison.  It was a hectic time in the beginning, as Kim was so busy doing just about everything herself, working herself nearly to a frazzle!  Kellie is her youngest daughter and the last of her children to get married.
It was a glorious day and after all of the hard work, turned out to be a beautiful, successful wedding.

Three separate journeys...three new lives begun.  And to think they are mine and Gerry's posterity!  I pray their futures together are as full and blessed as mine has been.  Love is a very beautiful blessing given to us by our Father in Heaven.  It is powerful, it is trying at times, and the blessings it brings into the lives of those who have the willingness to nurture it and let it bloom, have far more worth than diamonds or rubies or pearls.  God bless these children on their journeys.  I love you all!

Another Trip Around the Sun...

It is hard for me to imagine that yet another year has passed, one filled with so many changes in our lives.  The biggest change for us was our move to Arizona!

It is Christmas time and we are enjoying a wonderful visit from our son, Billy, who drove that gosh-awful distance in 17 1/2 hours (15 of which were "straight through!").  He is the joy of my life and I shall forever be grateful for him.

We also shared a visit from Dean's cousins from Phoenix, Carol and Charlie.  They couldn't stay long, so we didn't plan any real touring with them, just a wonderful lunch of homemade enchiladas, salad and Gingerbread Cookies.  We had a lovely visit.

Arizona is going to be our home for the rest of our lives and if the ending is as good as the beginning, it will be "A Wonderful Life!"  We have both settled into our respective churches...Dean into a little Presbyterian Church that is only about a mile and a half away from our house; and me, into my LDS Church which is a bit further north of town off Highway 89A.  Dean will be playing in the Bell Choir for Christmas and also playing his Flugelhorn for Christmas Eve.  He will play "O Holy Night," which he has already played for my church's Christmas Breakfast!  On Sunday, December16th, I gave my first talk at Sacrament Meeting.

Prescott and Prescott Valley have a boatload of Holiday activities to help "Make the Season Bright."  Among them are the Acker Night in downtown Prescott on December 7th, which is a fundraising activity to help support the Acker Music Park Association.  The money helps provide music programs for the local schools.  Every shop around the courthouse square opens their doors at night and hosts some form of musical talent on display!  We had a wonderful time at this activity.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints hosted their 7th Annual Community Christmas Concert and Nativity Display on December 9th.  For us, it was our 1st attendance and we were treated to the beauty of the various Nativity collections from all around the world and a wonderful Christmas Concert!  I love a good Christmas Concert and it was so nice to be in the audience, enjoying the talents, and not up there singing.  The Church also launched a "Light the World" campaign the beginning of December to bring awareness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to our Communities, neighborhoods, families and to ourselves.

Dean and I attended a lovely Installation of Officers meeting at his new Lodge, Aztlan Lodge 1 in Prescott.  He is delighted to have found a new lodge where he can become active again.  The luncheon was delightful.

With Billy here, we drove to the Prescott Inn to view a nice display of Gingerbread Houses from the community.  Some of them were quite creative and several ribbons were awarded.  After that, we drove through "TheValley of Lights," which is about a mile long display of lights for the Holiday Season.  There was the "Twelve Days of Christmas," Charlie Brown, various cowboy scenes, a Nativity and village, and many, many others, finishing up with Santa in his sleigh.  We drove through tunnels of lighted Poinsettias, Candy Canes and Snowflakes!  Well done, Prescott Valley!

On the 26th, the three of us attended a concert given by "Manheim Steamrollers!!"  We all enjoyed that amazing night of entertainment.  I love their iconic blend of musical treats and we were not disappointed.  It was fun to realize that only a few days earlier, this same event center was where we took Billy to enjoy an hour or so of ice skating!  He is very good, and he had a great time!  Now, at the concert, the ice is covered up with a floor and hundreds of chairs for the audience.   This is the modern day we live in!

We filled our eight days with Billy with as many activities as we could, and enjoyed a lot of family time at home, having deep discussions and playing games.  It was hard to say goodbye to Billy as he drove away on the 29th to face that long 17 hour drive back.  We will miss him.

I have filled this year-end blog with our new adventure, but as I count our blessings, they include many others from the first day of the year to the last.  We will miss Newport.  The coast of Oregon was our home for nearly 14 yers and the state of Oregon for 20!  We very nearly put down roots there, but I guess the ground is just too soggy.  We shall see what Arizona and its sand has to offer us for the rest of our lives.

We had a joyous Christmas, and now look forward to an interesting New Year -- 2019!

Who Would Have Thought? Part Three...

I had no idea when I began my project of writing the history of my dad's restaurant, Pickle Bill's, that I would have such a wonderful success with it.  I self-published, using a local Print Shop in Newport, Oregon and initially ordered 50 copies.  Those went quickly, so I ordered another 25.  I did not think they would all sell, but they did!  And so, I ordered another 25.  With each printing, the gracious printer gave me a few extras, so by the time I sold the very last one, I had shipped a total of 109 copies out the door.  I will not publish any more.

I write this, because I wanted to record in my Blog the fact that (1) I actually accomplished something that many, many people appreciated; and (2) I found my voice and the joy that writing something so special to my heart can bring.  I did this for my dad.  I dd it to keep his memory alive.  I did it to let people know what an exceptionally special man he was and what an amazing entrepreneur he was long before that word was even used as much as it is today.  Lastly, I did it for me, because I needed to feel good about something that I had written.  And I do!

And so, I put to bed the little publication that gave so many, including myself so much joy in the remembering.  I thank God for the gift of being able to string together a few words to make a sentence, a few sentences to make a paragraph, a few paragraphs to make a page, and a few pages to make a book.  Thank you, Daddy, for the material woven through my memories that I was able to spin into a tale.  I love you and I miss you very much.

Good night "Pickle Bill's!"  May you rest in your over 100 bookshelves, wherever they are, and not gather too much dust!

James Harvey Davenport, 1985

James Harvey Davenport, 1957

Author, Florene Davenport Henderson-Mickelson, 2013

An Unfortunate Space of Lost Time...Part Two

 I left this writing last time with Dean and I working toward our goal of retirement in Arizona.  2018 was a year of "waiting!"  We had to wait for Dean's investment money to kick in so we could have a down payment on a house; we had to wait till he finally decided to stop working for the part-time job he had at Mike's Pharmacy in Toledo, Oregon; and we had to wait until we were ready to make the move.  Meanwhile, we busied ourselves with packing, as though we were going to move, and other extra-curricular activities like music and Church.

In April, part of the retirement money started to trickle in.  That gave us a little hope.  In July, some more money came forth.  Finally, in September, the final installment came in and we felt uplifted somewhat and began moving forward.  Dean's job at the Pharmacy ended in July, not his decision, but Mike's.  So we were definitely in the "Retirement" mode!

We took a very long round-trip road trip to Prescott in September.  The best part of the trip was stopping to stay with family along the way.  We drove to Las Vegas and stayed with Heather and Rich before trekking onward to Prescott (4 1/2 hours from Vegas!).  We had a lovely visit with Heather and family.

Onward to Prescott where we stayed in a little motel in the center of town.  We would be there for a week, so we made ourselves at home and enjoyed the time spent there.  We met with our Realtor and he was gracious and took us around to visit 6 homes that he wanted to show us.  The first three were ok, but seemed to have one or two features that we just couldn't abide.  One, though it was a lovely home with a beautiful backyard, was on a 1/4 mile of dirt road full of ruts and holes and hills.  That part, we did not like.

The fourth home was perfect!  It was on a quiet street corner and had a 15 foot (+/-) tall Blue Spruce in the front and a flag pole!  There were so many features we really liked, such as tile floors throughout, except for the bedrooms which were faux wood floors.  It had beautiful living room and front bedroom windows with wood blinds.  The kitchen, though on the small side, had a nice pantry and a good sized dining area off to one side.  It was a 22 year old home, but we fell in love with it and made an offer.

We waited only one day to hear that our offer had been accepted.  We got busy signing a lot of paper work and then were in the process of waiting to see if our loan would be approved.  That would take a month or so.  We used the rest of our time in Prescott exploring the area some more.  The home we made the offer on was in Prescott Valley, a 20+ minute drive east of Prescott itself.  We chose to look at homes in Prescott Valley mostly because they were less expensive.  To live in Prescott proper, we would have had to pay $100,000 or more extra for an equivalent home.  It's all good, however, because they both enjoy the same sunshine and have that wonderful Arizona air!

At the end of our week, we headed back to Newport, via Las Vegas (stayed with Heather again) and  through Utah where we visited with Mark and the kids in St George for lunch. We had a lovely visit. Those kids are growing up so much.  We then headed north to Provo/Orem, where we stayed one night with Debi and Brian.  We got to see JerriAnne while there, as well.  Our next stop would be Boise, Idaho, where we would stay one night with our good friends, Kathy and Arlo Lien.  Kathy was one of the first friends we acquired while we lived in Crooked River Ranch in Oregon.  We had a wonderful stay and visit.

The next day, we drove nearly straight through to Bend and then on to Newport.  We had hoped to see Billy while in Bend, but he was out of town on a tour somewhere.  We were sad that we had missed him.

By the middle of October we learned that our loan had been approved!  We were now on full throttle ahead!  We finished packing, arranged for the moving van to pick up our household goods on the 27th, said our good-bye's to friends,  and said good-bye to Billy who drove to our house from California.  He then headed home to Bend.

And so it was that on the 27th day of October--with our little house emptied and cleaned from top to bottom--the Mickelson's began the long drive from Newport, Oregon to Prescott Valley, Arizona to begin a new chapter in our lives.

We loaded our car and started our journey down the road, this time by-passing family and driving through California instead.  We drove for 2 1/2 days, staying our nights in Fresno and Barstow, arriving in Prescott Valley on a Tuesday afternoon.  We met with our Realtor who had some more papers for us to sign.  The next morning, October 30, we met with the Loan Officers and signed another boat-load of papers and transferred our money to them for the down payment.  When we left the office, we felt relief.  Our search was over, our purchase was made, and we soon would be home-owners again!  Our home became a reality!  Scary and relieved at the same time.

We spent the remainder of that day shopping for furniture for our home!  We found a lovely used dining-room set and a chair and ottoman.  That would be all that we needed for awhile.  We also bought a dryer and a couple of rugs for the two bedrooms.  Dean did not want a rug in the living room or our bedroom.

There were a few things that had to be fixed which the home inspector found and we ordered those things done as soon as possible.  Those items would be at the sellers expense, not ours.  On October 31st, Halloween day, our moving van arrived and everything began to be unloaded either into our house or into the garage.   We filled the garage with a million boxes and our spacious house with what furniture we had.  The piano and harpsichord were the most important pieces for the Living room.  It only took them 2 1/2 hours to unload, where it had taken them 4 1/2 hours to load in Newport!  We were relieved to have all of our belongings fit into one house instead of a little house and a storage unit.  Whew!

We worked feverishly to get the "necessaries" put away, were delighted with the delivery of our purchases, and began to feel comfortable in our new home.

The rest of the story is all about settling in.  That will take quite a long time.  I can honestly say that we are happy to be here where I can look out of my window and see blue skies and sunshine every day.  I will miss my ocean view, but we enjoyed that for over a year and a half and I have many, many photos and memories.  We shall miss our son being so far away, but he has opted to make Oregon his home and he is not a child anymore.  He is a man and can certainly make his own decisions.  We will miss our friends, but they, too live on in our memories.  It is time now to turn the page and start that new chapter in our lives we have been planning for so long.  We both are looking forward to that adventure!

One last post-script:  It was an amazingly wonderful experience for us on Thanksgiving to have Heather, Rich and the kids and Lis and her new husband, Travis, here for Thanksgiving.  It was truly a wonderful Thanksgiving day.  So much to be thankful for!

An Unfortunate Space of Lost Time...Part One...

I have reviewed my last writing, and I find that I have left an unusually long period of time lapse.  Most of this quiet time was unfortunate, but there is a pretty good excuse for the most recent months.  My husband and I have experienced a huge change in our lives.  After thirteen (13) years of coastal living from Brookings, Oregon to Lincoln City to Newport, Oregon, we have uprooted and moved to an entirely different environment in the High Desert of the State of Arizona.  This desert clime is not foreign to either of us, however, as Dean spent most of his life in New Mexico and I spent a good deal of mine there and in Southern Utah.  So we are familiar with the desert.

This move began in the summer of 2017, when Dean had been challenged with an early retirement (not of his choosing) from Walmart Pharmacy.  He came to me with a question, "Where do you think we should spend the rest of our retirement years together?"  This question brought many answers, but no real solutions.  If I had my druthers, I would move back to my beloved Utah.  Dean was not too keen on that idea.  He thought moving to Washington State, closer to his father (who is 91 years old) would be a better idea.  I didn't feel that that would change the climate we had lived in on the coast very much.  Then, we thought of Southern California together.  We had spent some time in the Carlsbad area and fell in love with the climate and the beautiful beaches there.  However, we did not fall in love with the high population creating unreal traffic problems on the freeways; nor did we fall in love with the high cost of living there.  So #3 was ruled out.

We knew that we did not want to live anywhere in Oregon.  Too many bridges had been burned and we could not envision ourselves returning to any of the places we had already lived.  Then, one day I saw something on the internet that caught my eye. It was an invitation to visit Prescott, Arizona.  We had friends in the Newport area who had lived there and so we began asking them questions.  They loved the area and had raised their family there.  With that information, we formulated a plan to visit and see what Prescott (pronounced "Press-cut") was all about.

We scheduled a vacation to the area in late October, 2017.  We debated on whether to drive or fly and rent a car.  For this trip, we decided to fly and spend a few days with a Realtor, searching and getting acquainted with the area.  Les Fowler was the Realtor we found and he was most congenial and helpful in showing us many areas to think about whenever we were ready to make the move.  We both had a really good feeling about Prescott.  We were there on Halloween, and saw how the locals took their holidays seriously.  We enjoyed our Art Walk down "Whiskey Row," so named for all of the old saloons on the block dating back to the 1800's.  A hunger to learn more about the history of this place was piqued!

We both have friends and relatives who live in the Phoenix area and some of them came to visit us in our motel and spent some time in and around the area.  My granddaughter, Elissa, and her fiancee, Travis, came to spend a day.  We walked along the shores of Willow Lake and explored another lake in the woods.  It was all so beautiful.  We ate a delicious dinner at "El Gato Azul" restaurant in Prescott.  We shall have to visit this one again.

Dean's cousin, Charlie and his wife, Carol also came for a visit.  We explored another lake and hiked along its shores.  Next, came my Brother-in-Law, Hal.  We ate breakfast with him and spent the morning getting better acquainted.  He is doing quite well and though he misses my sister every day, his grief is less visible.  I love him and pray for him every day.

Finally, a dear friend of mine, whom I call "My Adopted Brother,: Burdell, came to spend time with us at our Motel.  He traveled a long distance to come see us and I am grateful.  I love my "little brother!"

Back home, in Newport, we found that we had a lot to think about and plans to make.  It would take a full year for Dean to get his finances in order and for us to pack, empty our storage unit, and prepare ourselves for this, our final move!

Part Two, to follow...

Who Would Have Thought?

PART ONE:
January, 2018 

I woke up this morning, and I thought, 'Wow!  I have nothing to write today.  I finished the manuscript for the cookbook and history of Pickle Bill's, and it is in the hands of a Printer.  Now what?'

It is always a sort-of let down, bitter-sweet feeling when you finish a project.  This particular one has taken me 3 plus years to complete.  It was a labor of love.  The desire to finish it was sparked recently by my sister's idea to make Pickle Bill's T-Shirts to sell to the family.  I thought, 'Why not get the book finished and they can go hand-in-hand?'

Sometime today or early next week, I should have the "prototype" printing of the book/cookbook and will go from there.  Stay tuned.


PART TWO:
February through May, 2018

In the end, I had 100 plus copies of my little book published and sold or gave to family members over 89 of them!  I never dreamed that I would have such success with this little offering of a little bit of History.

The comments that have come back are all very kind and I am so grateful that it was so well received.  I will share a few of them here.

      From a good friend from Samohi, who lives in Tennessee now...she writes: "...(Pickle Bill's) was our family's favorite when we went out to eat.  My brother always had a chili size.  He didn't know he could ask for a slice of cheese, so he always brought a slice of cheese in his pocket to put on top.  My favorite was the french dip....My parents...found your parent's (restaurant on St. George Blvd.) in St. George, Utah once while traveling.  They ordered a dozen french dip sandwiches to go, wrapped them and put them in ther freezer in the RV."

     From another friend since Girl Scouts: "My eyes lit up when I saw the picture of Pickle Bill's!  It was my favorite place to eat!  Such happy memories...."  "The Pickle Bill book came today!  And I'm getting a kick out of it!  Very fun!  I remember my folks saying that during WWII, during a blackout, the light on the pickle was left on once!  Maybe that was an urban legend....I'm so glad you put all those happy memories in a book!  Those were good times!  I enjoyed your style of writing and the pride you have in your family."

     Another High School acquaintance, who works on the Samohi Alumni Association Newsletter, asked for pictures and an update.  So I sent her some pictures and a story update to publish in the upcoming issue of the Alumni News.  I read the proof copy and it was quite a complementary story.  Thank you, Carol.

     There was also some interest in placing a copy in the Santa Monica History Museum. 
So, to my delight, I sent them a couple of copies.  I was really lifted up by that gesture.

     A very dear friend of mine from "the good old days," (she now lives in Florida), had many kind words to say.  I appreciate her confidence in me as a writer, since she is a many times over published artist and writer herself.  Her words were very generous.

     A new friend, a young man who moved to Santa Monica Monica in the 70's (long after I was gone) had good memories of Pickle Bill's, even though it was for a short time.  He was happy with the book and said he remembered my family, especially my youngest sister.  He said: "It was a sad day when they closed.  It then became Sweeney Todd's Pub.  It's now an office building for Santa Monica College."  He said he is looking forward to trying the recipes for an upcoming reunion picnic in August.

What a joy it has been to (1) walk down memory lane putting together all of these memories for the book, and (2) hearing from so many people that wanted and enjoyed the book.  There were old friends I hadn't heard from in years, new friends that I didn't even know, and family members all across the western half of the United States.  They all have their copy and I hope they are enjoying it as much as I enjoyed bringing it to life.  God bless you all!

Treading Water

I had a dream last night about myself and some other friends (or family members) and Heather (who was only 8 or 9 years old) swimming in a pool of water in a large cavern.  We had jumped in, with no thought of how we were going to get out.  And so, we either clung on to the very steep cliff wall or spent a very long time treading water. We had no life jackets, so we were there on our own energy.  Heather was the first to break away from the wall and went "upstream" and found she could touch the bottom.  I followed her, but the others stayed behind. 

A little further up, there was a deep crevice and Heather fell into it.  I was afraid she was going to drown, but she swam to the side where it was shallow...and then I woke up!

I have contemplated all day about the meaning of this dream.  And I started piecing it together with some of our recent experiences--financial, spiritual, and physical. We have recently experienced some severe setback with our financial future.  Dean lost his job and we were found ourselves learning how to live on two Social Security checks.  He did manage to acquire a part-time job with a local Independent Pharmacist, which helped to bring in a bit more each month.  All in all, we have been "treading water."  We didn't jump into this situation.  We were more or less pushed into it.

Through these experiences and the fact that our son has struggled through some trials of is own, our spiritual strength is waning.  Yes, we are "treading water" here, too.

When you have these kinds of stresses in your life, they play havoc on your physical health.  I battle depression, while Dean battles skin outbreaks and sciatic pain.  These are not the kinds of things that help us to battle the outcome of this situation.  It is a vicious circle and we tire while "treading water" 

Prayer and Faith are our "life jackets!"  The only recourse we have to avoid drowning in a pool of financial setbacks, low spiritual esteem, and physical ailments, is prayer.  Prayer is the key!  In my dream, my waking up was my salvation.  In our lives, waking up to what we need to do to fix our situation and move on to new experiences will be our salvation.

You may find yourselves in similar circumstances, though your experiences will be different.  I pray  your wake up signs will be forthcoming soon.  Don't just sit there and "tread water,"  Get busy and do something!  Pray and then Act.

Our Ever Changing Seashore...

 Dean and I have lived on the Oregon Coast for the past thirteen years.  Though we have not lived in the same city or the same house for that long, it has been a beautiful journey for us.  I grew up in Santa Monica, California...only a mile from the beach...and my love for the sand and the seashore live in my very soul.  Dean, on the other hand, grew up in the desert of New Mexico, then lived in the mountains of Taos and his soul is filled with the mountains.   Over these thirteen years, Dean has allowed the beauty here to soak into his soul and he, too has a great love for it.

When the weather permits, we like to take long, leisurely walks along the beach.  We don't always choose the same strip, but just let our "whims" take us wherever we want to go.  Three of our favorite strips in Newport are Beverly Beach, to the north; Agate Beach, about a mile and a half north; and Nye Beach, approximately a mile to the south.

Most of the time our walks are just on wet sand when the tide is out and we can walk for a mile and a half and see very few people.  But, for some reason, this year we have found some treasures in the layout of the beach and sand that Mother Nature has stirred up with sand, wind and crashing waves.    No two days are the same.

A couple of months ago, we were walking along the back side of Beverly Beach, close to the cliffs and found some interesting "carvings" in the cliff and in the sand.  It looked as though someone eons ago had "built some great wall" and then abandoned it.  There were also some perfectly round holes in the cliff face, approximately a foot plus in diameter.  What on earth carved these holes?

At the beginning of last fall, we went to walk on Agate Beach and found great mounds and "canyons" carved in the sand.  I swear, I felt like we were walking in the great Arabian Deserts I read about as a child in Arabian Nights!  It was spooky at times.  There were little mounds of sand, created by the waves that looked like the hardened sandstone I have seen in Zion National Park, carved there over the centuries by water!

A second visit, a few weeks later with JerriAnne and her friend Jossie, we visited Agate Beach again and it was nearly flat again.  There were a few mounds and left-over sand jetty's, but it was eerily different.  We had a lovely day walking and exploring.

Yesterday, Dean and I walked Nye Beach and found huge "rock" formations that we had not noticed before!  A visitor on top of one of the rocks said that "17 years ago he proposed to her on this rock and at that time there was an arch that connected it to the cliff to the east."  The arch is no loger there!

As I contemplate this collection of changes made by the mighty sea, I am in awe of its power.  A churning, ever moving wave crashing against the sand of the seashore does these crazy things and we are the ones who are privileged to view the beauty of Mother Nature.  And I ponder...if the great ocean is poweeful enough to create such beauty and change each and every day, think of the power of God as he shapes our very souls with crashing waves of adversity, the winds of change, the sunshine of His love.

Learning to appreciate all of these things, I am in awe and feel such a growing love and confidence in the love of my Heavenly Father.  He gave us these things to teach us about His love for us; to teach us about His power and Glory.

Today, I have even a greater connection to the seashore.  It has been my greatest joy to live here!

Swan Song...

I think I might have sung my last solo, duet, chorus participation, or any other performances.  Last Sunday, January 21, 2018, Dean and I sang a duet at church entitled "Come Unto Christ," accompanied by Laura Buckmaster.  It is such a beautiful song with words that are meaningful. 

I agonized over the melody at first, because I just couldn't get it into my head.  You see, I have to pretty much memorize everything I sing these days due to my poor vision. Once I got the melody into my head, I could pick it out on he piano.  I played it over and over again.

And then there are the words.  I had to blow the music up 115% and type the words in a huge, bold font so I could see hem in case I lost my place.  Next, I started memorizing the words and putting them to the melody.  Agonizing!

In the end, with a couple of rehearsals with the pianist, we were ready for our contribution to Sacrament meeting.  I don't think I have been this nervous since high school and all the performances I had to do then.  I missed a few words and phrases, but managed to "patch things up" and keep going.  Dean did a stellar job and I thank him for his wonderful talent.  I came away feeling defeated.  "I just can't do this anymore!"

I remember when singing was such a wonderful, fun experience for me!  From the sixth grade, when I tried out for the Christmas Program (yes, they had them back then!) and was told I had an "angel's voice" with a 2+ Octave range, to my first singing lead in "The King of Rio Rico" in the ninth grade, to the alternate lead in "The Mikado" in high school, to the lead in "Promised Valley" when I was a young mother in the Stockton, CA Stake.  Singing has forever been a part of my life.

I have sung in numerous choirs, choruses, trios, and quartets.  I have sung solos in church, on the stage, and in my heart!  I have sung with my mother, my sister, and friends.  I love those memories.

Last Sunday, I sang with Dean in church.  I believe I am getting too old to go through all of that learning and memorizing to do this any more.  And so, I believe that Sunday was my Swan Song, so to speak...my last public singing.  I will continue to sing to the Lord in my heart and let Him know how grateful I am for the gift he has given me.  It grieves me that I can no longer see the music to play the piano or read a new song, but I cannot stop the aging process, just "swim" with it.

My Cup Runneth Over...Section Two...

One of the primary reasons I visited the Provo/Orem area of Utah was to go to A Santa Monica Ward Reunion in Springville.  Oh, my, that was an awesome event.  Some of these folks I had not seen in over 50 or 60 years.  My how they have changed!  

I brought my daughter, JerriAnne and we met my brother, Darell and his wife, Joan and his daughter, Michele there.  We had a wonderful meal and reunion, although it has only been a couple of years since I saw them!  My "little brother," Burdell Moody-Jarvis also came to visit the reunion all the way from Gold Canyon, AZ.  How wonderful to see him again.  He is a part of my family and I do so enjoy visiting with him.

Here are some of thr people I did remember:  (although some of their names have escaped my aging memory!)

                                                       Duane Nichols and Marjorie

There was Nancy Mills (LeSuer) Richard Jex, Doug Chester, Alice Cole, and Duane (Gary) Nichols.  How wonderful to connect again after so many years!  A sad note:  Some weeks after the reunion, Duane Nichols passed away from a bad heart.  I was saddened by that news.

Visiting with the Grandchildren and Great-Grandchildren is always a joy!  Debi's little one's come to visit often and so we played in the back yard.  I love those little squeekers!

In this section, I will  also recall my trip from Debi's house in Orem, Utah to Heather's house in Las Vegas, Nevada.  I was going to rent a car for the trip, but Debi insisted that I fly...she didn't want me to get in an accident, I guess.  I will admit that my driving is kinda scary these days!

So, I boarded a plane in Salt Lake City and flew to Las Vegas, where Heather picked me up.  I had a wonderful stay with Heather and family.  I am ashamed that I didn't take very many pictures while I was there, but the ones I did are choice.

We did a lot of running around with and for the kids. It is always wonderful to be able to see what the kids, Parker and Hailey, are up to.  Parker is running Cross Country this year and has so much enthusiasm for the sport.  He is also an A-Number One Baseball player!  Hailey has tried out for the Volleyball team and she has a gift for the sport.  She made the team!

While I visited, Mark and his two children came to see us.  We did get a lot of photos of that visit.  Heather and Rich's new Puppy did some photo bombing!  (But I can't seem to find those photos

Another visitor came to see us while I was there!  It was my Granddaughter, Elissa!  She is such a sweet addition to this family!  We had a wonderful visit while we were all there together.  She had to share with me all of her plans for her upcoming wedding next August (2018).  I am so excited for her.

The major event that happened while I was at Heather's, was the Total Solar Eclipse on August 21st.  Unfortunately for me, it was pouring rain in Las Vegas, and no eclipse of any kind was visible!  I did get to get some good pictures from my husband's camera.  He was situated in Newport, Oregon and it passed right over him!

 

That event was pretty much the end of my trip to Utah and Nevada.  What an ending, eh?  I flew back to SLC and in a couple of days, boarded a plane home,  This trip was a memory that will last a long time.  It may be my last solo trip, as my traveling legs just aren't what they used to be.  Although, Dean and I still have some trips planned that I hope I can get up the strength for!

Until next time, bye-bye from a rambling traveler!