Tending Roses

This Monday, President's Day, I read a book entitled "Tending Roses". It was Tamra Koch's book club choice. I loved it! It is a sweet story of a grandmother who is aging and a granddaughter who has come to take care of her. During the granddaughter's stay, the grandmother leaves stories of her life lying around where the granddaughter can read them. Here are some of the gems of wisdom from the book. I highly recommend it!

"I wish I had not spent my hours worrying over another nickel for the carousel, but instead running barefoot through the fields of bonnets."

"My father used to say 'The man who buys what he does not need will often need what he cannot buy.'"

"I close my eyes and listen to their laughter [her children], and think that the best times of my life, the times that passed by me the most quickly, were the times when the roses grew wild."

"But is life a success when it doesn't include time for after-school talks, and curling up to read books on winter nights, and weaving daisy chains in the summer?"

"It takes time to turn a heart, and it cannot be done with hard words."

"Everything doesn't have to work itself out today."

"Sometimes we cannot raise our chins and see eye to eye, so we must bow our heads and have faith in one another."

"The same road always leads to the same place. If we get on it expecting to go somewhere different, we'll be disappointed."

"But God planted this tree here. It would do no good for it to wither because this soil is too hard and this place too common. If we are to bloom at all, we must bloom where we have been planted."

"I wished it were that simple for Ben and me- just read a map and suddenly we would know where we were meant to end up and how to get there. But growing up is never that easy, no matter what age you are."

"Sometimes life moves so fast, the road splits in an instant, and you only have a heartbeat to decide which way to turn."

"Steel arms and hydraulics have replaced the strong arms of men and one man can do the work that once required neighbors to come together. Where once we needed one another, now we need no one... Perhaps the Lord did not wish our harvest to be easy. Perhaps hard work was a gift to gather us together...the volume of crops brought in is not the only measure of a harvest."

"People shouldn't throw away useful things just because they need a little extra care."

"All of us were there in that old trunk, frozen in time."

"How many hours and tears I could have saved if I had not been ruled by pride....Bread, like a good life, can only be created by honest measure, patience, warmth and time."

"But now I think, while I was fretting over missing those wonderful big things, I let a lot of good little things pass by me unappreciated...That's the problem with people. We'll starve to death looking over the fence when we're knee knee-deep in grass where we are."

"We must realize they are going on the only road they can see."

"I understood that all of us have that place inside that wants to be part of something, that needs the comfort and companionship of loved ones. Within each of us, there is an empty room, and when we open the door, light flows in. The wider we open it, and the longer we leave it open, the brighter our souls become."

"The prayers of our hearts had been answered, even if we had not known what to pray for."

"The secret to a happy life is not getting what you want. It is in learning to want what you get."

Houston

Houston was wonderful! Mary had her apartment meticulously clean with folded towels in the bathroom that were color coordinated (black for Dan and salmon colored for me) with a chocolate on top for each of us. Her walk-in closet was full of neatly hung clothes sorted not only by kind, but also by color!!

We spent most of our time following Mary around during her day, attending music history class and opera rehearsal. The opera is called Street Scene and was interesting to watch. The story was rather depressing, but the singing was wonderful and there was a great dance number in it. Of course, Mary's orchestra was wonderful as well. We attended a student recital, an orchestra performance, and visited the Metropolitan Museum's visiting impressionist art collection. It was fabulous and we were impressed with the orchestras as well.

Mary was wonderful on her concert. She played even better than she looked and she looked great!! The only disappointment was that there weren't more people there to hear her. She has a DVD of the performance if anyone wants to see it. Afterwards we had refreshments and a nice visit with Mary's teacher and her two children.

We ate a lot of good food...pizza, Tai, sandwiches, pitas, and Mexican. Mary made brownies, and other goodies for us. We met Mandy's boyfriend, John and visited the ward where Mary goes to church. There are a lot of nice young people there.

Mary has a great set up in her apartment. She has her own bedroom and bath and dad helped her buy a table with drawers in it for her printer after we tried to print the programs with the printer on the floor and found it didn't work very well. We also fixed up her car while we were there. We found a great garage to take it to. The man replaced the axles, changed the oil and put dye and freon in the air conditioning all in two hours on short notice. His helper drove us to the mall to shop while we waited. Wow, what service!!...and the price was reasonable as well.

The traffic in Houston is terrible. I pray that Mary will be safe in her travels!! Many streets are one way and there are many roundabouts. Mary was fine, but Mom was a wreck.

We went for a Sunday drive around some of the rich neighborhoods and saw some plantation type houses. The gardens and houses were beautiful.

Fabulous Class!!

I love Robert Norman. Ever since Jared introduced us to him at Education Week, Dan and I have been going to his CES classes. Although I don't always agree with what he says and sometimes I don't like the way he says things, there is seldom a time that I leave without having learned something new, having been reminded of something, or feeling inspired to be better. This week was no exception. I had gone to the temple Wednesday and was wondering about what the meaning of the clothes might be. I had resolved to do some reading about the Jewish temple to see if I could get some insights. Thursday Norman talked about some of the things I had been thinking of!! I was so excited!! When you get home, if you are interested, I will share what I learned with you.

The Oak Ridge Boys

Last night we went to a fun concert at the Conference Center featuring the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, Orchestra at Temple Square, The Oak Ridge Boys, The U. S. Army Herald Trumpets, and Expressions of Silence (Montana School for Deaf and Blind Children). The program was produced in conjunction with the MENC (Music Educators National Convention) and will be broadcast on television this summer. Over 92,000 dollars was raised by this group for Feed the Children and the theme centered around the Spirit of America. It is well worth seeing. You can find out when the program will air by visiting www.feedthechildren.org/choir or by calling 1-800-960-1264.
The Oak Ridge Boys veered from the official program to sing "Elvira" and everyone, including the choir, were clapping and singing along. The only bad part was trying to get to the concert. It was almost impossible to get up the street with the traffic!!

Goodbye Shade, Privacy

Today David and Dan spent the day removing the rest of the fallen tree. The shade is gone and so is our privacy from our neighbors. It was our best tree. The backyard looks barren without it, but on the bright side, we do get a lot more sun. I think there is a life lesson here. If we had pruned the heavy branches that were leaning so far outward, the tree might have been better able to withstand the weight of the snow and we might have enjoyed its' shade for many more years.
The same is true in our own lives. We all need pruning to produce good fruit and to grow and flourish. This has been a "wisdom-gram" from Mom.
P. S. Dad also cut down several of our aspen trees and some other dead trees while he was at it. Love you all. See you soon.

Zimerman

Last night, David, Dan and I traveled to Logan to have dinner with John and to hear Krystian Zimerman, a concert pianist whom John has extolled as currently "the best in the world".
It was exquisite!! I have never heard a pianist play so beautifully!! Every note was a musical experience in and of itself. There were no boring places in the hour and half that he played. His silences were as musical as his notes. He evoked emotions with each nuance. I could have listened for several more hours and that is saying something for someone who loves country more than classical! It was like being in heaven.
We had seats on the third row and could watch his fingers. He seemed to be an expert in the techniques that Gary has been teaching John.
The acoustic hall was wonderful as well. Every sound could be heard clearly and distinctly in the 450 capacity room. What a treat!! Well worth the four hours of traveling and the midnight return time. I wouldn't have missed it for anything!
Zimerman brings his own piano...a Steinway...quite a feat! He almost cancelled last week, because the authorities damaged the piano thinking that such a large crate might be carrying a terrorist! Needless to say, he was pretty upset about that!
What an amazing thing...to have this calibre of pianist come to Logan, Utah when the only other place he played was Carnegie Hall and one other major place. Dennis is to be thanked for recruiting him. Hopefully, he will come back some time!
Speaking of wonderful pianists, Gary praised John for his progress this year. He thinks John is one of his best and that is saying a lot coming from Gary Amano! We were very pleased. One sad note: Ralph is leaving to go to Weber State....less work, more money....so he can spend more time with his growing family. John says they have 17 new freshman coming in and one less faculty member with Ralph leaving. That will make next year very difficult on everyone!
Wish all of you could have been there!!

Farewell to Our Tree

Yesterday I opened the blind to find that our big tree in the back yard behind our picture window had split in half. I don't know whether the weight of the snow brought it down or not, but it is sad to see it go. We will miss it. Fortunately it fell BETWEEN the fence and the porch.

Only in Utah

It is April. At least I think it is. It could be December. You just never know. Thursday I left Sandy to take David to a violin lesson. It was raining. By the time I got to Watsatch Blvd, I was in thick slush and sleet and by the time I arrived at Debbie's, I was in several feet of snow. Debbie wondered why I had come in such a storm.
Yesterday was Easter. It was 70 degrees and beautiful. Monday I woke up to a blizzard. By the time I got out of the gym, my car was buried in 5" of snow. It seemed like sevearl feet to me, but the news said otherwise. Last night the temperature was 32 degrees....and so I ask you, is it April or December?

On Needing Each Other

Dad is in South Carolina this week. I find I really do not like being alone. I don't function well. Although I sometimes get several projects done that I otherwise might not do, I don't think I would like living alone over a long period of time.
Sunday I bore my testimony in church. I haven't done that for a long time and only did it because I felt my testimony was getting weaker for not sharing it. I had several people come up afterwards to let me know they appreciated me...that hasn't happened for a long time either. I think we really need people to let us know they care about us. Visits, phone calls, invitations to do things...all of those things that say"I need you", "I love you", "I would really miss you if you weren't here".

Cute

Yesterday I went to a shower for my daughter-in-law, Stacey. We played a game where you had to not say the word "cute". Everyone started out with one link of a chain. If you heard someone say "cute" you could take their link and add it to yours. If someone heard you say the word "cute", they could take your link. The winner was the one who ended up with the longest chain. I can't believe how many times I and others said the word "cute" even when we knew we weren't supposed to!! What does that say about our vocabulary or lack thereof??

Move In, Move Out

I love my children! They are wonderful!
I am in an interesting time of my life, when my children come and go. Melissa, after having been to college and serving a mission in Russia, moved in and has been living here for quite some time, but recently moved out. I enjoyed having her here. I still see quite a bit of her since she teaches violin lessons in our home. As soon as Melissa moved out, Katie moved in and I am loving having her here! She brings a lot of fun to our home. In July she will be moving out to go to Germany for a few weeks. Emily, Mary, and John will be moving in for the summer. They have been away to college. And so it goes, move ins and move outs. I am enjoying both sides of my life. The calmer one where I have more time to myself to devote to whatever I want and the one where I have more of my children around me. I like relating to them as adults and hopefully, as friends. I also love my married children, who I wish I could see more often, and my grandchildren! I am hoping they ALL come for Christmas this year! I miss them!
Thus it is, the seasons of life, but how grateful I am to know that families are forever and no matter whether they are "in" or "out" we will always be a family who are concerned for one another.

For Emily

This blog entry is for Emily, who said it had been a long time since I blogged. True. Partly it was because I wasn't sure anyone was reading or commenting, so thanks Emily for your comment!
I recently finished reading John Adams, a fabulous book that I highly recommend. After reading that book, I decided to read another by the same author. This one was entitled 1776. Another great book I highly recommend reading! In this book, it mentioned several weather conditions which miraculously aided the colonists in their battle. I cite an example:
There was a place called Dorchester Heights which had a particularly good strategic position which no one had assumed. Washington decided to occupy it secretly in one night. "As critical and dangerous as any part of the operation, would be the crossing of the low-lying causeway of the Dorchester peninsula, which stood in plain view of the British lines at the Boston Neck, less than a mile away. To conceal all movement over the causeway, an extended barrier of hay bales was to be thrown up....Monday, March4, ...General Thomas and 2,000 men started across the Dorchester cuaseway, moving rapidly and silently, shielded from view by the long barrier of hay bales...while the continued roar of cannon served to engage the attention and divert the enemy...Progress up the steep, smooth slopes was extremely difficult, yet numbers of ox teams and wagons made three and four trips. The night was unseasonably mild- indeed, perfectly beautiful with a full moon - ideal conditions for the work, as if the hand of the Almighty were directing things, which the Reverand William Gordon, like many others, felt certain it was. 'A finer night for working could not have been taken out of the whole 365', he wrote. 'It was hazy below the Heights so that our people could not be seen, though it was a bright moonlight night above on the hills.' ... At daybreak, the British commanders looking up at the Heights could scarcely believe their eyes. The hoped-for, all-important surprise was total."
When the British found themselves in this position, they decided to attack by taking their ships over to Castle Island. "It was about noon when the first of the British troop transports pushed off for Castle Island [March 5] and proceeded down the harbor with increasing difficulty against strong headwinds. For by early afternoon, what had been an abnormally warm, pleasant day had changed dramatically. The wind had turned southeasterly, blowing 'pretty fresh'. Then, as foreseen in no one's calculations, the elements took over. By nightfall, a storm raged, with hail mixed with snow and sleet. By midnight, 'the wind blew almost a hurricane.' ...The American lieutenant Isaac Bangs, who was among those freezing at their posts on the high ground of Dorchester, called it the worst storm 'that ever I was exposed to.' Clearly there would be no British assault that night. The morning after, the winds continued to blow with a fury. The snow and sleet had changed to driving rain. General Heath concluded that 'kind heaven' had stepped in to intervene. As so it seemed to many on both sides, when, that morning, Howe called off the attack and gave orders to evacuate Boston."
What is amazing to me in reading these books is, not only how the weather seemed to play a part, but also how incredible the stories are of the men who took part in these events. I believe that God called men of great capacity to aid in bringing about the formation of this great nation, including some that we don't usually think about such as Knox, who retrieved the guns from Fort Ticonderoga, which is nothing short of a miracle...but that is a story for another day.