Scorching the World

Nothing unusual in the morning – we went to Church, which was the Primary program. It was really good, but I was surprised that the chorister used huge posters for every single song. The kids didn't seem to know any of the songs. On the 4th Sunday, we had Sunday School instead of Relief Society/ Priesthood, so today, the 5th Sunday, we had Relief Society. Again I refrained from telling the that they are doing it wrong, but it was a good RS, and afterwards we went to tithing “declaration” with the Bishop. He is a great Bishop. He’s so young, and yet as soon as he was called, he seemed to already know how to do everything the right way. Their oldest child is maybe 10, so he’s pretty young to be a Bishop, but we love him. I have been feeling sad, like I could just sit down and cry at any minute, and after we declared our tithing, he asked how our family is doing. Tom had to do the talking because the tears just came, and he expressed his love and offered to do anything he can for us...

I woke up thinking I actually didn’t have to go anywhere today and didn’t have to get dressed or put on make-up. Then gradually reality sunk in and I remembered that this evening is our ward Halloween party. I spent much of the day working on handouts and a powerpoint for our Leadership Training on Thursday. it is a little more complicated because I have to put everything in English and Spanish, but it was fun. Then about 2pm, I started getting ready for the Ward Halloween party.   I had decided to decorate our trunk with a scripture theme instead of a spooky theme. I chose D&C 38:30, if ye are prepared ye shall not fear. I filled the trunk with food storage items and printed out the words on neon papers. I was glad Tom had the idea to take a flashlight, because by the time we were doing the trunk or treat, it was too dark to see what was in the trunk. Most people had some sort of things that lit up. One trunk had a giant tv with a movie going. I think that was the most pop...

Tom left for work early, and I got up. He got home in plenty of time for us to get to the temple on time. I feel like I say exactly the same things every Wednesday and Friday. At the temple we started with a small group, but people kept trickling in until we were able to get all the jobs done! People are amazing and I’m so grateful for so many happy, faithful people who are willing to take time out of their days to serve. On the way home I had to stop at Tammy Parker’s house to pick up file folders or our Leadership Training meeting next Thursday. I wanted them to be not-boring. At home I did a lot of researching on Pinterest to find a way to make them pretty. They were plain manila folders. I had wanted to give the sisters clipboards, but they were just too expensive. So how do you make manila folders not-boring? Eventually I found that I could just glue on some pretty paper I had. I didn’t have enough of any paper, so there is a big variety of designs, then I printed the Reli...

Today is Nina’s birthday. She goes by Nico now, and we don’t say “she”. we say “they”. I really hate that option and protest every time I have to use it or hear someone else use it! But we love our Nina and wish we could have wished her happy birthday in person. Or maybe I should say, We love our Nico and wish we could have wished them happy birthday in person. We did talk to her on the phone in the evening. She sounded pretty good despite all that is going on in their family. Tom ran some errands and had to go south to work for a few hours, but mostly worked a lot on his computer. I left early for Laurel Lawrence’s class, which was on Hosea. Very interesting! Afterwards, we had planned a presidency meeting at Sue Davis’ house. We talked for a couple of hours and got our Stake Leadership Training planned out for next week. I had a ton of things I needed to do when I got home all related to that, plus plenty of Clean Queen. I always fear that with Clean Queen I have forgotten to do so...

Tom left for work early and I did all the same stuff I always do. He got back about noon. Caeli had said she needed to come over and sew something for her costume for the Renaissance fair in November. She told Tom she would be here in the morning, but didn’t show up until close to 3pm. While waiting for her to come sew, I cleaned the sewing area. I finished my pajamas!!! Finally! And put away the patterns and fabric. So nice to have a project cleaned up! Then Tanya texted to say she would be here around 5 to watch tv until time to go to her massage in Madera. She didn’t know Caeli was here and Caeli didn’t know Tanya was coming. That was fun! So Tom stayed and kept Caeli company in the office, and I took a slight nap while keeping Tanya company in the family room. Fun to have them both here! After Tanya left, Tom started craving popcorn, or thought it would be a good snack to feed Caeli. Our popcorn popper died a couple of months ago, so he made it in a normal pan on the stove and ...

Tom and I went to serve in the temple first thing this morning. We have to leave by 8:30, and sometimes it is tricky getting Clean Queen all set up while dressing and getting ready, but miraculously it has worked out every time for the past several weeks while my boss has been out of town. I was especially worried without him as backup while I’m in the temple. So – MIRACLES! I have too many projects started and in progress right now. I don’t like to put things away each day if I’m returning to them tomorrow, so all of them are out in the open, mostly in the office. I don’t know how Tom can stand it. I’m making new pajamas from the tricot that Anne brought me from Utah. That should have been pretty easy and quick, but I have had to unpick different parts over and over to try to get them to look good. It turned from a one-day project to more than a week with the fabric all over the floor and sewing machine. I’m trying to scan pictures and other things that I found while cleaning out ...

We got to the church at 9am so that I could warm up on the organ for a while. The clock in the chapel needs a new battery, so I kept thinking everyone was incredibly late for church. I just kept playing until finally the Bishopric started the meeting. It was a good Sacrament meeting, and Sunday School was pretty good. Tom and I both thought that since it was the 4 th Sunday, it should have been Priesthood and Relief Society, but we didn’t tell anybody they were doing it wrong. Tom made lunch while I did something else, then we were watching Come Follow Me when I decided to make some cookies. We thought we would probably have Knudsens and Christian here for dinner, so I figured cookies never go to waste. The stake choir has finally started up for the Christmas program, and we were excited to go and see what music Ginger Duran had chosen. It was a good rehearsal; we have absolutely beautiful music and I can’t wait to learn it! Before we left, I put a frozen casserole (that we got ...

I skipped going with Tom to clean the church so I could focus on doing our finances. I haven’t been able to do them at all this week because the laptop was visiting Geek Squad. As I finally sat down to do it, I realized that GS had taken out my USB plug for my mouse. I had to wait to 10am to call them, and all I could do was set up yet another appointment to see if they had it. I struggled with my new computer/with quicken to get it set up with the correct accounts and balances, but after Tom got home from cleaning the church, he wanted to go to his ministering brother’s house to help clean up some of the back yard. He was told he could have fire wood that was laying all around in messy piles, so Tom enlisted my help to go put logs in the truck. I tried to encourage him to find someone younger to help him, but he said it wouldn’t take long. It involved a lot of bending over and straightening up again, something my back isn’t happy about, but we worked together and got it done in a li...

Tom worked in the morning but got home in plenty of time to go to the temple together. He even had time to make some lunch for us first. We had a very large group to help in the temple today. We actually had enough that when one man arrived half hour late, Tom told him we didn’t need him so he didn’t need to change clothes! That’s a first! But even with so many, it took an hour. No matter how many or few, it takes an hour. I had set an appointment with Best Buy Geek Squad to pick up my laptop with its new battery. It had been there since Monday! I lived without my computer for 5 days! Anyway, we ran an errand on the way so we wouldn’t be too early but still got there half hour early. As usual we stood in line for quite a while, then got checked in, then sat for a while. Eventually they gave me back my laptop and we were happily headed home. I had a ton of messages and emails to take care of when we got home. I was almost finished with that when Tom suggested we go see a movie! ...

 A busy day 10/20 I had three different things I had to go to Fresno for today and there was no way to combine any of them. It started with Laurel Lawrence’s class on Daniel and the three Hebrew friends. It was really good as always. I’ve been trying to connect with Renee for a few days, and she called texted back just as I was leaving Laurel’s class. We talked on the phone (over my radio speakers) until I got home, then we chatted on Facetime for a couple of hours. It was wonderful to talk to my best friend! As soon as we hung up, I realized I needed to be in Fresno to pick up my computer in 17 minutes! The battery died on my laptop, so I took it in on Monday. They told me they don’t sell batteries and that I would need to order one on Amazon. They gave me all the information to make sure I ordered the right one. Then they kept my computer to do a total tune up on it. As soon as I got home I ordered the battery, which was to be delivered on Wednesday so I set up a return...

I’m never sure when we get up whether my day will be crazy or calm. It all depends on the Clean Queen work flow. But ever since the new owner took over, it has been SO MUCH more calm. The workers have no drama, scheduling appointments is totally streamlined, tracking hours is so much easier, and I don’t get a whole bunch of texts and messages all day long that need taken care of immediately. So I worked off and on, and when I wasn’t working, I was sewing. I was able to go to the temple to clean and only got one message while there. So nice. Actually, it’s more than just nice. It’s a miracle. We can’t ignore the miracles in our lives! In the evening, at Jeopardy time, Tom wanted my help to create some documents for his work, and send them as attachments. It was fairly complicated, so it took a couple of hours, which he promises to pay back. We watched Jeopardy, which this week is a special new thing called Second Chance Jeopardy – contestants who almost won but didn’t. So they are s...

It’s amazing that if I don’t write what I did at the end of the day, by the next morning I can hardly remember. And it was just yesterday! Getting old is an adventure every day! I bought beautiful spice containers when we first moved here. I love an organized spice cabinet, and I hate that all the labels on spices don’t match. Every time I open the cupboard, it hits me in the face with clutter. This has always been a thing for me. So anyway, I bought these fairly expensive containers at Bed, Bath, and Beyond and Walmart. Sadly nobody had enough of one to have them all match, so there were three that didn’t match. There were two problems with these containers that I discovered over the years. 1. They have metal lids that don’t like acidic spices! 2. The labels rub off. 3. Stuff gets caught under the twisty lid so it doesn’t turn unless you clean it regularly. Yes, I know I can’t count. Day before yesterday, I was cleaning out the spice cabinet AGAIN, and when I emptied a peppe...

Tom didn’t expect me to go with him to clean the temple this morning because it was a Deep Clean day. They had arranged for a large group of people to be there besides our regular group so they could do things that are scheduled only twice/year. They did things like open ceiling air vent covers to clean them out, vacuum on top of lockers, wipe all baseboard edges with cleaning solution and a cloth, etc. He said it was a little crazy with people trying to sweep and mop with ladders all over the place and people almost working on top of each other, but they got a lot done. I’m sure they could have used my help, but he was there 5 hours, and I sure didn’t think I should be away from Clean Queen that long. I was glad I didn’t go because there were things that came up – no emergencies, but it is always better to handle things as they happen. At home by myself I got things done – computer work, practicing, and I even cleaned out/organized my spice cabinet. After he got home, he went with...

Last night Tom talked to Phil to see how he was. I didn’t want to listen, but it was upsetting enough to him that he was very worried about Tami. We texted her and decided to go see her today. We left right after Sacrament meeting. We went fasting. We met Tami, Nico, and Mila at “the barn” which is the place where Nico and Mila both work, teaching riding and doing other things. Mila had to stay to keep working, but Nico went with us and Tami to go have some dinner. Tami chose a Mexican restaurant that was very nearby. We ate outside because Nico had their newest puppy that they got from Cai. So cute. It hid in Nico’s arms the whole time; clearly it was too young to leave at home alone. It is also mostly blind, and they think it’s deaf. But it is cute! We talked with them for a couple of hours. We didn’t get into anything heavy but had nice conversations. We feel so bad for what they are going through. This would be hard for anyone but harder for them because of what they have a...

Tom signed us up to clean the church building again today. I hadn’t planned to go but decided that if we were out and about that early, I could go get lab work done at Kaiser afterwards. Tom likes to be sure EVERYTHING has been done before we leave. There were 3 other families/couples there cleaning, but we stayed until everything was done. While cleaning, we found two different places outside where homeless people were stashing stuff and leaving messes. I don’t feel very charitable when I just want to throw it all away and hope they never come back. By the time we finished, I no longer wanted to go to Kaiser. It was past 9am by then, and on a Saturday, I knew that meant long lines. I’ll do it some other day. As soon as we got home, I handled some CQ stuff that came up while we were away, then started cleaning our house. I swept, mopped, and vacuumed. Tom cleaned the outside of our big front windows. He has been meaning to do that for several weeks, and it sure looks better! So n...

I can’t believe another week is almost over. Days go too fast; weeks go to fast; months go too fast! I would really prefer to slow things down! Tom left for work early. This time I was already awake and got up to see him off. He thought that was nice! I did a lot of clean queen, but in-between calls and texts, I managed to scan a whole lot of pictures and send them to people.   I got about half of the stack done. It is fun to see those old pictures. We were young once! There are a bunch I need to post on family search, so it is an ongoing project that will probably take all next week. And it all started with trying to clean up and organize my closet! Tom didn’t think he would get off work in time to go to the temple, but he did. We had a really good crew show up, so lots of work got done. There is just one guy who comes faithfully with that ward who is SO SLOW. After everyone else had finished their jobs, changed clothes, and left, he was still vacuuming the first of his area...

We managed to make it to Laurel Lawrence’s class this morning and boy, were we glad we went. She covered so many interesting things! I can’t wait to write about them in my other blog. I got Clean Queen taken care of, so there were only occasional messages to follow up on. So I turned my focus to my finances. I needed to get quicken on the new computer. I got Quicken on, but needed to set it up with our banks, which I did, fairly easily and it downloaded all my transactions. But nothing was put in categories, and it covered many years’ worth of transactions. So I got a flash drive and copied my Quicken file and uploaded it into the quicken on the new computer, which caused duplicate transactions for the last decades! Needless to say, I spent almost all-day cleaning that up. Today was Caeli’s birthday, so I texted her first thing this morning and Tom was in contact with her to see what she had planned. We found out they were going out to dinner, so Tom invited ourselves to join them....

I had a lot of Clean Queen going on so I was surprised when Tom almost insisted I go help in the temple at noon. I was worried about not being available if there was an emergency, but Tom said to serve and have faith. I sure didn’t want to argue about faith, so I went.  We had a good group show up – 2 wards and we got everything done in record time! When I checked my phone at the end, there were a lot of messages, but nothing that couldn’t wait for me to finish in the temple. Blessings and miracles! In the late afternoon, Tom went to mow the lawn and clean up the back yard at Trina’s Madera rental where Christian lives. We had gone there a couple of days ago when we were in Madera for the massage and Tom saw there was a lot of very tall grass. He doesn’t want it to return to the forest of weeds that they had to clean up last time. While he was gone, I cleaned the kitchen, mopped the floor, practiced the piano, and did a few loads of laundry. I’m so grateful for the blessings ...

Tom left for work early and I did my Clean Queen thing. But the big news is that I finished my closet! Well, the closet is mostly clean, but I have to deal with all the treasures I found that need scanned and sent somewhere. That wlll take a while and has to count as part of the closet cleaning project. But my closet is clean and I got rid of all the leftover stuff. I also rehung the sheers I have on the doors that had started to come off.   Happiness is a clean and pretty closet.   The highlight was chatting with my sisters. I had the complication of a zoom meeting for Clean Queen. It was for a company who will hopefully send us referrals for cleanings. It was fast and short. I'm sure I won't remember all the things they covered but they are supposed to send a copy of the training for later use. As soon as it ended, my sisters and I got on our own zoom. It's so fun to talk to each other! I always save a list of things I think about during the week, and so does Anne. Carm...

I hadn’t planned on attempting to help clean in the temple with Tom while Jeramey, the boss of Clean Queen, is on vacation. It’s too hard to be away from the computer if there is an emergency. But after Tami dropped the bomb that she and Phil are divorcing, I really felt that I needed to be in the temple, even if it was just to clean. When it was time to leave, I checked that everyone was ok, and went. It felt so good to be inside the temple again. We’ve had 2 weeks off while the temple was getting repairs, etc., so we’ve missed it. And there was a LOT of work to do. The workers who had been in the temple for 2 weeks had left lots of messes, so this cleaning was needed. We had a fairly good group show up, so we did manage to get all the important things done. It looked much better when we left! We had a couple of errands to run on the way home, but I didn’t feel like I could be away from my computer that much longer, so we went home and I worked the rest of the afternoon. In ...

It was a nice Sunday. I was visiting the Spanish ward which is at the same time as our ward, so Tom decided to go with me and we attended their Sacrament also.  We couldn’t believe how that ward has dwindled! I think there were only 3 or 4 sisters in RS besides the missionaries, the RS presidency, and our presidency. They asked us to lead the music and play the piano. They were very glad to have more sisters there. They were still doing some things that I’ve tried to tell the president we don’t do anymore, like having an opening and closing hymn, opening and closing prayer, the YW presidency came in with their 1 young woman for opening exercises and we all stood and said the YW theme, etc. So we had a little meeting with the presidency afterwards to tell them those things and tell them we love them and support them. That worked out well. I thought I had another meeting in the afternoon, but that one isn’t until next week, so Tom and I had time for a good nap. We were very gla...

We had scheduled to help clean the Church this morning, and planned to go get Tom’s Prague watercolor painting framed after that. But last night our darling little 6-year-old neighbor came over to give us a hand-written and colored in crayon invitation and a “ticket” for their recital this morning at 9am. The ticket was on a piece of paper that had been torn off. So cute! We definitely could not miss this! There are 2 kids, maybe 6 and 8 or so. The girl was going to play the piano, and the boy was going to sing – The Muffin Man. They had also invited our neighbors who are about our age. I think the 4 of us are like grandparents for the kids.  Their whole family is so cute. We love them. But first we needed to clean the church. We went early in case we could start a little earlier than 8am, but the leaders didn’t show up until 10 minutes late. We warned them that we had to leave by 8:30 but that we would help get it as good as we could in 20 minutes. So we cleaned the chapel, va...

Tom left for work early, but this time I didn’t get up. For some reason as soon as I woke up a headache hit me. It didn’t hurt during the night at all, so it was strange that it attacked me when my eyes opened. I got up and began working Clean Queen, but my eyes didn’t want to be open. I pushed as long as I could, and in-between things, I would lie down and close my eyes. I was also very cold, so a while later I dressed warmer and went back to bed. I had the phone with me in case of emergency. I was still cold, so a while later I added a blanket and took a pain pill. That felt great and I enjoyed it quite a while until there was a Clean Queen emergency. I was beginning to feel better, so I got up, had a small breakfast, and kept working. I didn’t make the bed because I fully intended to go back to bed any minute. But I felt better and better, so I went back to cleaning the closet. I made significant progress and declared half of the closet done. There is still more I COULD do, but ...