A Not So Productive Week...

 Steve's the one who got the flu first.  He started coughing last Sunday and by Monday he was achy, feverish and downright miserable.  I worked on Tuesday but when I came home Tuesday evening, I knew that I was going to miss bookclub but I was sure I would be ready to attend our big Realtor Awards' luncheon the next day.  Not so fast.  I was able to get myself cleaned up by noon but only to sit in the back corner and just go up front to receive my award.  We skipped the lunch part.  Steve had been so proud of my big accomplishment of selling over $10 million dollars in real estate during 2015.  I think he was disappointed that we couldn't enjoy the moment.  There were 45 platinum level award recipients out of about 6000.
After a short nap, I was out again with my client.  I had her drive a separate car so she wouldn't get too close.  We ended up writing an offer on a townhouse Wed. night.
Thursday, Steve was well enough that we picked up a couple of file cabinets from a fellow realtor and gave them to my brothers and Adam for their officers.  They were nice metal cabinets.  Thursday afternoon, we drove to CV as we both preferred to be sick in our Providence home.

 Look at the huge difference this week's weather made.  The grass looks terrible but it will recover.  The daffodils have started poking little green shoots through the ground.  Hooray!  There is hope for spring.

 I pretty much lounged around in my pjs for the next two days.  I did manage a couple of loads of laundry and the big banana experiment.  I saw a video which told how to restore spotted bananas to their state of freshness.  You place the banana in a bag of rice for an hour and then blow dry it on low for a few minutes.  It worked in the video but as you can see, it doesn't look too tempting for anything but banana bread or cookies which is what a usually do anyway.  Steve was entertained by this whole thing.

Besides a hacking cough which makes your muscles very sore, we have been extremely weak.  I haven't been throwing up, but my stomach has had a difficult time with food and liquids so my electrolytes were down.  Steve has been weak, achy and coughing but didn't really have trouble with his stomach.  I think that we are on the mend now.  So glad the worst is behind us.
Hilary brought over some wonderful homemade potato soup for supper.  It was the perfect meal.  Thanks, Hilary!

Getting Spring Fever Too Early!

 Maybe you can't tell the difference in the before and after pantry, but we sure can.  It has been bugging me for awhile so Friday night, I tackled the project.  It was during this clean up, that I was making appointments to show houses back in SL on Saturday afternoon.  My client needed to make a decision right away, so I planned to drive back down for a few hours.  Steve planned to stay in CV.

 That all changed Saturday morning when we got up to find 6" of new snow on the ground and it was still snowing.  Steve didn't want me to drive back through the storm so he blew off the snow and we packed up for the drive back to the city.  We had been so excited on Friday to see that a lot of snow had melted this past week.  There were patches of grass and dirt and some daffodils were pushing their stems up through the dirt.  We had spring fever!

 When we got through the canyon, we discovered only rain on the other side of the mountain.  The rest of the drive was bare and dry and it was a beautiful, sunny day in the SL area.  We worked hard all day and then drove back and arrived just in time for dinner.
Sunday, we had our usual church obligations and Steve held his scout board of review meeting.  The choir sang and I helped with our primary class.
After church, we tried to cook some of Jenna's favorite foods since her 13th birthday is in three days. We observed  her dish more than one helping of the homemade macaroni and cheese and I think she even ate some chicken and salad.  For sure, she ate the cookies and cream ice cream!  She is a big fan of ICE CREAM!

Congratulations, Jenna, on becoming a teenager.  We love you!

Out with the Old, In With the New...

 I try to find myself a box of chocolates the week after valentine's day.  I was busy the first couple of days so the picking was slim but I managed this little jewel for $2.50.  Thanks, sweetheart.
Steve went to NV for training with his dealership buddies this past week.  Before he left, he helped Mike C finish removing the old countertops from our Murray kitchen.  While he was gone, new granite counters were installed in the kitchen and the main bathroom.

 Tuesday turned out to be a beautiful day in many ways.  Because it was warm and sunny for a change, the workers were able to set up their cutting equipment in the driveway.  They worked hard all day long.  Mike C took this photo of me standing with the equipment.

 It took four men to carry in the piece that fit around the sink and over the dishwasher.  In the whole kitchen, there is only one seam and it is perfect.  They really did a nice job.

 We love the new kitchen and bathroom counters.  I always hated the old black sink with the paint stains.  We decided we might as well get this done since we would have to do it prior to selling some day.  Now we can enjoy it!  LOVE, LOVE IT!

So Excited!

After a lifetime of feeling guilty, two family history courses, lots of help from Hilary and Britton and a Rootstech boot camp last Saturday, I FINALLY found an ancestor who needs her temple ordinances done.  I was so excited yesterday when I thought I had found someone so I started texting Hilary about the next step to register the information and reserve the ordinances.  She was finally available to come over and help me this morning before church. We were able to add the information and sources and then reserve and print the ordinance cards.  I can't wait to share those temple blessings with Magdalena Gruner, an ancestor on my grandfather McMurray's side born in 1664.  She's been waiting a long time!

 At the request of the Bishop this morning. We hosted the missionaries for dinner tonight.  It was an interesting meal as I wanted to make sure there was plenty of food and I was trying out new recipes for a chicken cashew stir fry and an old fashioned southern jam cake.  We liked the cashew recipe but I doubt I will make the cake again.  I made it in the shape of a heart and that was probably the best thing about it. We started out with chips and fresh homemade salsa, a strange introduction to the Chinese main course.  I guess you could say we had an international meal.  The elders didn't complain though and I think they got full.  I'm sure it was a meal they won't have again.  Korinne took these photos of Jameson.  Britton did a wonderful job performing "Oh My Father" on the cello in sacrament meeting today.  Thanks, Britton.  Hope you all had a Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day And Other Good Things!

Last Sunday Korinne had a bandage on her forehead so of course Jameson needed one too.  Sometimes we get such a kick out of him.  He loves the Christmas book I bought this year about gloomy Mr. Toomey and so he asks me to keep getting it out.  Here Adam is reading a few pages from it.

I love this Jordan River Temple where I attend almost every week.  This is a photo I took a couple of years ago when the trees were blooming so beautifully in the spring.  Steve and I joined the busy throngs this week for a session.  Today, Sat. Feb. 13 is the last day it will be open prior to the beginning of  an extensive renovation.  We were part of this temple district when it was first announced and made a sacrificial donation for its construction.  I also remember the dedication back on November, 1981.  I will seriously miss my weekly visits to this temple during its remodeling for the next couple of years.
Thursday, I met with Maretta, Marlene and Mynon to celebrate our 67th birthdays.  We have celebrated with lunch for over 20 years.  We originally started out by having dinner with our husbands, but somewhere along the line we switched to lunches which proved to be better since two of our friends are now divorced. Maretta, Mynon and Marlene were born the same day, Feb. 7th but I was born 5 days earlier.  Back in the late 1980's we were all attending the same ward and that is when we realized our birthdays were so close.  It's so wonderful that we are all still valiant sisters in the gospel of Jesus Christ.  What a fun reunion we have! I feel so blessed when I meet with them for truly my cup runneth over with family blessings! You all make me so happy with your choices and your valiant lives.

Steve and I decided to celebrate Valentines by going to breakfast at a famous local eatery called Herm's.  Sorry that I remembered to take the picture after we had started eating.  After breakfast, we explored some of our favorite stores, Home Depot, Lowe's and Cal-Ranch.  I was looking for a bellows for my primary lesson tomorrow.  We checked on items for upcoming projects along the way.  We always enjoy planning and dreaming.
Valentine's Day back in 1969 was an important event in our courtship.  I splurged big time and bought Steve a navy blue sweater and gave it to him as a Valentine.  He had been preferred to a big girl's choice dance by another admiring suitor.  He said "no" to her and went with me.  I think it was because of the sweater or at least because I made such a big display of my affections.  I was careful with my dimes and nickels back then too.

A lot of snow melted this week in SL valley but our CV yard is still covered with about 2 feet of snow.  There is no global warming/climate change going on here.  IT IS STILL WINTER!

I love this photo of Xander waiting in the school lunch line with the big kids.   Libbie posted it on her Instagram this week.  Back in the day, Steve P loved wearing a shirt and tie and dressing up to assume authority roles with his classmates.

Hooray for Rootstech!

 This was my first year to attend Rootstech.  It is hard to type this name into your device because the autocorrect wants to change it to something else.  However, I will be persistent.  This family history conference is amazing and I am almost excited enough to want to try AGAIN to find family names.  I am definitely going to but I think that I will get an "expert" to sit down with me so that I can increase my chances for success.  It didn't happen today because my experts were busy baking cookies and watching the Superbowl.  Yay Broncos!

 I am also more committed than ever to continue blogging since this is family history work too.  Hopefully, all of our family members will also keep blogging.  Thanks for your efforts.

 At the conference, we were given the apostalic challenge to do our own family names each time we attend the temple to do ordinances and of course, we were encouraged to attend the temple often.  The temple I attend most often is the Jordan River Temple and it is closing after this next week for two years so I have been mourning that loss of convenience.  Now I will need to make a greater effort to find names and attend the temple but I know it will be worth it.  I can do hard things!

Next year's Rootstock is scheduled for February 8-11.  I plan to attend.  Thanks, Hilary, for getting me a ticket and inviting me along.  I loved the energy and commitment of all of those family historians and researchers.

Starting Early...

 The day after we returned from our cruise, we attended the Provo Center City Temple Open House.  We used to attend stake conference at the old tabernacle when we were newly married students at BYU.  The church has done a magnificent job rebuilding this structure into a beautiful, functional temple after it was mostly destroyed by fire a few years ago.

 I definitely started celebrating my birthday early this year.  It was still January when Cathy brought lunch to my house so we could celebrate my birthday while working on an offer for Steve and Greg to purchase a manufactured home in a senior community in Murray.  That turned into a roller coaster situation.  We finally made an offer on a different unit on Friday and closed it the next Monday.  I believe the Lord was helping us avoid additional grief and expense.

 Saturday morning Steve and I attended a concealed carry class which had been arranged by his boss. It was a very informative course.  I was glad that we hadn't yet purchased anything, as we need to go to a range and try a few models first.

 Saturday afternoon we drove through snow and arrived to find our driveway cleared after 18 inches had fallen the previous night.  Thanks, Adam.  It wasn't long before Steve was clearing it again.  I think that this photo was on Sunday morning.  We were able to return the favor for Adam as he left early for meetings.

 I intended to wait until the next Sunday to celebrate my birthday with Hilary's family since it was still January, but they had other plans.  They made yummy no-bake cookies and brought candles so we went ahead and celebrated anyway.  My birthday month just keeps getting longer and longer.  Hooray!

 On my actual birthday, Steve and I spent the day helping Steve K. move most of his stuff from UT county to his new home in Murray.  The three of us spent all day.  I felt like we did pretty well and only ended up with a few sore muscles.  Steve K. is amazingly strong for a small man.  I was quite proud of our accomplishment.

We were happy to be available to help.  I have plenty more days to celebrate.