Scorching the World

Tanya wanted to spend the day at our house today. She said she would be here at 8am for breakfast and wanted to watch the BYU game at 10am. She would bring pumpkins for the kids to carve during the game. Good plan! But Tom signed up to clean the church again today at 8am. I rebelled and refused to go help, but stayed here to host. He got up early enough to prepare the potatoes so all I had to do was the eggs and pancakes. Easy peasy. Tanya dropped off the boys on her way to get a massage. I had Space Jam playing when they got here, and they watched the whole movie during and after breakfast. They brought Cannon’s best friend, McKay. He’s a great kid and a fun addition. I was worried that Tom didn’t make enough potatoes for another teenage boy, but we had plenty, even leftovers after Caeli joined us and ate some. When Tom got home, he had the boys help him with some yard work. In all honesty, they didn’t do much, and Tom was in a lot of pain for over-doing it. He doesn’t know how ...

I had a hard time sleeping last night, but with lots of prayer and faith, I managed to sleep a good portion of the night. But I was so sleepy all day. A nap never worked out, so I hoped I’d be able to go to sleep easier at night. I practiced and painted. I’m playing for Thanksgiving weekend, and for some reason those gratitude hymns are just too hard for me! I sure hope I can learn them in time. Every time I sit down and attempt to play I feel like I’m playing them for the first time. Caeli did laundry today, but had so much that she wasn’t able to finish, so I did 3 or 4 loads for her and put it all in her room. I forgot to say that as soon as her friend got out of school, Caeli went to spend the afternoon/ evening there. They are preparing for a Halloween party on Sunday. Later she called and said they had so much to do she just might spend the night. So that meant I didn’t have to be quiet. I practiced piano louder and turned the tv up louder, which was nice. I worked on my pa...

I hate how often I have to write that Tom left me again. Phil and Tami have so many things going on at the same time, that they just need an extra pair of hands to help. They sold one of their houses, so Phil needs to get everything out of the very large garage where he has been storing so much stuff for many years. I think they got all of it with 2 trucks making a few trips. Then he needed to get things done at the senior home. He’s trying to get it all permitted to be able to add more seniors. The downstairs apartment where Ryan used to live got seriously flooded with the big rainstorm last week, so I think they went there to assess what will need repaired. Right now it is just drying out. There is work that needs done there, and in the garage behind it so he can get it rented out. I think he will be working on that next week. Then he had an architect coming to discuss plans to renovate their new home. There was something they had to do in the Dublin house, too, but I don’t remem...

We had an appointment to give blood at 10:15 and arrived right on time. They open at 10, so I thought there would be no line and no waiting, but there were already plenty of other people in the waiting room who apparently thought the same thing. The actual time giving blood takes less than 10 minutes, but the whole process takes about an hour. We have to fill out the same questionnaire, answer the same questions, and wait to be hooked up then wait to be disconnected, then pause for snacks and water for 15 minutes. It never is a quick in and out procedure, but we are glad we can still do that to help people who need blood. I had a list of errands I wanted to do on the way home, but I felt so drained from giving blood that we skipped some. One thing I wanted to get was something to decorate our trunk for the trunk or treat on Saturday. We went to the Dollar Store because it was near where we were, but they had no Halloween decorations – only Christmas decorations! So we went to the 9...

Today was much like any other. We had a busy morning so we didn’t get to go walking, but we both got busy with our own things. In the afternoon, I got to chat with my sisters. I’m so grateful that both of them feel talking weekly is important enough to carve out 2 hours to spend together. For me, family connection is what is important in life, and I love talking to my sisters! While I was chatting, Tom left to go run an errand. I don’t know all that he had planned, but he took the Comet. He loves that car but it is still not completely fixed so he needs to drive it short distances to see if he can diagnose the problems. He stopped at the thrift store to drop off a bag of stuff I’ve accumulated. He didn’t turn the car off, but it died while he it was idling. He managed to get it started and get out of the donation line, but it stalled again in the parking lot so he called me to come pick him up. He called several tow companies. The basic price seems to be $195 for a local tow. T...

It rained really good last night. We got a little lake in front of the house. We love rain! Now my swimming pool is super full! We didn’t do much today. Because of the rain, Tom couldn’t work in the yard, so he lit a fire and we watched movies. Tom was gone for Caeli’s birthday, so he wanted to celebrate with her, so we took her to the movie in the evening. I was worried about leaving her dog her all alone. It was too cold to leave him outside, although if it had been me, I would have left him out with a blanket to cuddle in. She left him in her room. We took her to see Shang Chi. I sure didn’t mind seeing it again, and Tom said he enjoyed it more the 2 nd time – lots of things made more sense. The choreography in it is amazing. Caeli seemed to enjoy it. When we got home, her dog was so happy to see Caeli that he piddled several places in the house. He had also scratched and chewed the bottom of the door so much we will need to do some serious repairs or replace it. Caeli we...

While Tom was at his Bishopric/ward council, meetings I also went to the church a little early so I could practice on the organ. I’m playing on the third Sunday and need all the practice I can get on that organ. Church was good. I was thinking about the many stalwarts who have gone inactive since the quarantine and just don’t understand how they can bear to stay away. I thrive on Church meetings. I know I need to be there to hear the uplifting messages, take the Sacrament, and see friends. I love going to Church. We had some lunch and a good nap before time to leave for the stake choir practice My voice isn’t much of an addition for the choir, but it’s been so long since we’ve been able to join a choir that I can’t bear not to be part of it. That’s the thing about having to live without something. Two years ago after participating in the stake choir, I decided I wouldn’t join anymore because my voice is unpredictable and not lovely. But now, after not being able to sing at all for ...

Caeli went with Tanya and I don’t know who else to the Renaissance fair, so of course she had to leave her dog here. She gave us some basic instructions like that he could be in her room but that we would need to let him outside now and then. It got up to 72 degrees today, so Tom and I decided he would be fine outside. I hope she doesn’t find out and doesn’t get mad at us for it! He was lonely and tried to sneak into the house every time we opened a door, but really, he was fine. We did various boring things all day, then about 12:30 went out to lunch. We’ve decided our new favorite place to eat is Cheesecake Factory. Such good food!  Avocado egg rolls While we were there, we booked tickets to go see Shang Chi at 3:40pm. There was too much time in-between lunch and the movie, so we ended up going back home for 30 minutes. Good thing we live close to town! We were both surprised that we really liked the movie. The animations and fight scenes were amazing, it had good humor, good...

I t was so fun to wake up with Venna and Spencer here! They are so fun! Tom and I made fried spuds, sausage and eggs for breakfast and it almost all got eaten. We had thought it would be fun to go play tennis, but there really wasn’t time because we got such a late start, so it was nice to sit and talk about things. Spencer is on his way to Kotzebue, Alaska. He arranged with the hospital/clinic that he will fly up there on Sunday! Oh my goodness! So far away! It is on the very edge on the beach of a peninsula almost as far north and west as you can be in Alaska.  Kotzebue He is at a stage in his life where there are so many choices and, he is considering EVERYTHING. Then waits to see what will work out best. Ravenna is crocheting and trying new stitches, so it was fun to talk about that, and about her music. She is taking piano lessons online and loves it. We talked until noon, then they left. Spencer needed a place to store his car while he is in Alaska. He was going to leave ...

I woke up and suddenly remembered that today is Laurel Lawrence’s class. I hadn’t thought about it last night, so I was glad I remembered. Her class was part 1 of the House of Israel and the Abrahamic Covenant. It is good stuff that mostly I know, but Laurel always has a little bit extra that she found in her studies. Yesterday Spencer called to see if he could spend the night here today! What fun! Later I got a message from Ravenna that she was going to meet Spencer at grandma Barbara’s house to fix dinner for Barbara, Christian, and Spencer, then they would come here to spend the night! Double the fun! So on the way home from class, I stopped to get some things for breakfast tomorrow that I know Tom would want. As soon as I got home I shampooed my carpet to make sure there was no more dog poop residue in it. The water came out so dirty it is obviously time to shampoo all the carpets. It really needs done before the weather turns cold so I can leave windows open for the carpet t...

Tom left about 5:30am to head to the Bay Area again to help Phil. He loves being helpful, and Phil sure needs the help right now. He has way too many urgent projects and there is only so much 2 people can do. I was expecting Ravenna by 7am. She had told me the night before that she wanted to go visit Christian and grandma Barbara on her way to Torrance to see her family, and would be here to wait for Christian and Barbara to wake up. She wanted to play tennis. That sounded so fun! I was excited to have her come so I got up when Tom left so I could get ready. At 6am, I texted her to see if she was in Los Banos yet, to give myself an hour notice, but she said she overslept and also found out some of her siblings in Torrance had been sick. So she canceled her trip until they have a clear bill of health. Everyone is afraid of any illness because it could be covid. So sad. No Ravenna today. So I didn’t do much. The house was already clean and I had nowhere urgent to go. Caeli hung out...

Tom wants to go back to help Phil again this week, but decided to wait one more day. So he was home with me one more day. We’ve been trying to figure out how to get someone to fix our back door, and yesterday I went to Pacific Doors in Fresno. They gave me information on how to measure the door ourselves, or said we could take it in and they would take all the measurements. After talking to Tom about it, and with the simple sheet they gave me, we decided we could measure it. So we got that measured, scanned, and sent to them. We paid with credit card over the phone, so now our door is officially ordered. It should be in in a few weeks, then we just have to paint it, install the hardware, and hang it. So great! Then the next item of business was to tow Tom’s Comet to the repair place. I’m so glad we have one that Tom likes close by. I drove the truck, and Tom drove the Comet. It is very nerve-racking to tow a car. I have to start very slowly, and he has to stop us. There can’t be an...

Tom needed to go pick up his Comet from Phil because they don’t have any place to keep it until someone can finish fixing it. I had a scheduled lunch date with the stake RS presidency, so I wouldn’t be able to go until after 1pm, so he asked Caeli if she could go. She is always willing and cheerful to help out. They left about 9am. I got a whole lot done after they left. I got most of the house swept, mopped, and vacuumed, and the bathrooms and kitchen cleaned, and 2 or 3 loads of wash done, dried and put away. We have lunch together every time we need a meeting, which is way more fun than just a meeting. We met at a new hamburger place that some of them wanted to try out. The food was good, and we had a lot of fun chatting about so many things. Then we planned our upcoming stake leadership training. We decided to get cookies from Crumbl for a treat for the meeting, so we went over to the nearest location to talk to them about it. We bought a couple of cookies to try out. The cooki...

We haven’t had a busy Sunday in a long time – probably close to 1 ½ years! Tom’s ward council was canceled at the last minute, but I was scheduled to pay organ in Sacrament meeting, so I still wanted to go to the building early. Tom decided we might as well ride together, so he just hung around the church while I practiced. So nice that he would go with me. I played fine, which was a huge relief! I had been practicing one of the hymns for a month, and finally was able to play it right, or at least without noticeable errors. Sunday school was good except there was one guy who is recently reactivated, who dominated the lesson. He kept asking questions, that the whole class was happy to answer, then he would have another question, and on and on. It was questions like, how high can faith become? And if I have a lot of faith, is it possible God would lead me to a different Church? He pretty much hijacked the whole lesson, and the teacher kept thanking him for his questions and saying ...

Nothing makes Tom happier than going to a car show. Tanya heard about it and invited us. Tom has looked forward to it for weeks. We picked up Tanya and Cannon, and also took Caeli and her dog. He gets just as excited as the last hundred times every time he sees certain cars. He tells anyone who is with him all about it, its engine size, tire pressure, year, make, model, etc., etc., etc.   There was not a ton of cars, so it probably only took about an hour to look at all of them. What was funny was the quantity of them that we had personally owned at some time in our married life. Tanya had ordered food from a Hmong ward fundraiser, so we drove over to the Getty West building where she picked it up, then went to her house to eat it. It was good food! Purple sticky rice and spring rolls. Tom and I needed to pick up a couple of things on the way home. Tanya wanted to watch the BYU football game but kept bemoaning that nobody had invited them over to watch it, so I offered them w...

So nice to wake up with a husband by my side! We basically did stuff around the house. We went to our friend, Rosie Smith’s house to clean up her yard. That took about an hour; it wasn’t too hot, so it was nice to do a little yard work. Sadly, her yard is just dry weeds, so the best we could do was rake pine needles. If we spent a whole little bit of money and a whole lot of hours, we could make her yard look better, but then the house would still look like it really needs painted. I wish we could do more. I should have taken a before picture.     Later Rosie texted Tom and thanked him for being her yard fairy and cleaning it all  up. She was very grateful! We thought of going on a date to a movie at night, but I have 3 movies saved for Tom to watch, so we made our own popcorn and stayed in for the evening. Tanya came over in the early afternoon to drop off Kaden. She continues to have problems with Todd’s behavior. She has talked to his doctors and they added an...

I wanted to go to Laurel Lawrence’s class this morning so I planned to get up around 7. Sadly, even though I didn’t go to bed until close to midnight, I woke up before 6. Anyway, I picked up Sue Davis on the way because her husband went to the Senior games in Utah this whole week. We were two lonely widows. hahaha Laurel’s class was on temples and quite interesting. She always has good stuff. I’ll post my notes in my other blog. I helped some with Clean Queen today, helping Lilian get ready for the sale of her company again. Fortunately, it hasn’t been very long since the last buyer who backed out at the last minute, so we can use all the same reports for the new buyer. I sure hope this sale goes through! Caeli left early in the day to “go to the thrift store” and said she would be right back. She left me in charge of her dog. He spent the whole time wandering around looking for her. He was obviously so sad without her especially since I don’t play or cuddle with him. It was sad ...

I had a headache all night despite my best efforts to get rid of it. I got some sleep, but not of good quality. Oh well. I’m grateful that I don’t HAVE to go or do anything. I love being free to take a day off when I want or need. So I took it easy until about 7 (I woke up at 5) then forced myself to put up some decorations for Caeli. I cut a white garbage bag in strips and hung balloons from it, then attempted to hang it on her doorframe without waking her up. Of course, her dog heard my quietness and started barking. But she just shushed him and went back to sleep. Yay! I got all the decorations up and wrapped her gift, then laid down and tried to settle my stomach and head.  I got a few things done, but not much. Tanya brought her family over here to celebrate Caeli’s birthday. They brought all the food and desserts and gifts, so it was nice I didn’t have to do anything. Then Tanya had Kaden put all the dishes in the dishwasher, so I didn’t even have to clean up. It was nice to ...

I love to do projects while Tom is gone. It’s harder to do some things without his help, but sometimes it’s harder to get him to help me. He’s always so busy, and tries to talk me out of doing them. Tom left today to go help Phil for 3 days. Phil has some major project that need done and they all need done right now. They are moving to their new house, but it needs repairs first, and they need help moving. They have the rental the Ryan moved out of and they need to get it ready to rent again because they are losing money while it is vacant, and the house they are moving out of needs things done. Then there is also the Senior living home they bought that needs some things done to it. Major stuff. Phil hires crews, but there is a lot that he has to do and can sure use Tom’s help. So Tom left about 5:30 this morning. I would have gone with him now that I’m retired from Clean Queen, but there were things I needed to be here for this week. Of course I got up with he did. There was no ...

It was incredibly windy today. In the morning I sat and watched the pool where leaves were coming down like a rainstorm. Tom cleaned the pool twice then later I went out and cleaned it again. Each time the northeast corner where the wind blows it to was full of leaves. So many leaves. I sat and watched the huge trees in other people’s yards just being whipped around by the wind. Another large branch fell off our Eucalyptus in the front yard. No damage, but there is such a mess to clean up when the wind calms down. Tanya is keeping her boys home this week because they were getting behind on homework assignments. Kaden told me every day that his homework was done. It's hard on a kid to not be around his mother for a week. Todd is trying, but still has so many problems. Tanya is being blessed with the spirit to help her, but it is still a very hard situation.   I did the normal stuff - scripture study, practicing, laundry, computer stuff, etc. Tom did his normal stuff – yardwork...

I was scheduled to visit another ward with the Stake RS presidency. It was during our ward’s Sacrament meeting, so I missed Sacrament meeting completely. I guess I should have gone to their sacrament meeting, but I sure didn’t think of that until evening and realized I missed it completely. The Relief Society president in that ward (Woodward Park) is fairly new, but did an amazing job. She had decided that she had the right, as RS president, to assign herself to speak and could choose the topic whenever she wanted. So she assigned herself to speak the first Sunday after General Conference. Her talk was so good! She took President Nelson’s first talk where he told us to look for pure truth, true doctrine, and revelation (inspiration) in all the rest of the talks. So she mentioned some things she found in each of those and then asked everyone to get out their phones and find examples of each, in order. It was so inspiring, and the whole lesson was built on participation and discussion....