Decoration Day

Before Memorial Day there was Decoration Day. We try to honor the day and the people it was intended to honor. I admit however, that today was a little different

We spent a good portion of the day working around the house, Mom cleaning and me fixing things, trying to get ready for the visits this weekend.

This afternoon we drove out to the cemetery and visited graves, put flowers on a few, and took some pictures.

Dad's grave marker with our flowers on the left, probably Grandma's flowers
on the right, and the flag the cemetery puts our for veterans up in the corner.

Servicemen grave markers all lined up as if in formation.
I think this is one of he prettiest parts of the cemetery.

One of the wards in our stake is named Buttes Vista. It does not include the town of Sutter
in it's boundaries. But if you drive to Sutter, you can see this very pretty Buttes vista.

Another "Work Day"

Some of you may remember long before the days of Relief Society Enrichment meetings, and back before the days of Homemaking meetings - there were Relief Society Work Days.

Now we just call them "Relief Society" meetings. (Even though I almost caught our stake RS president reverting to the 'work day' nomenclature last Thursday.) This morning was one such day for our stake, and it was very well done with workshops, and presentations, and lunch. Grandma Hall (my mom) teamed up with Josephine (George) Powell to present on making the most of one's Golden Years.

After all that was done, Melody and I went home and had a REAL work day. She caulked around the trim and I hauled stepping stones out of the plot of ground formerly known as the garden. We each also did our weekly Saturday chores like mowing lawns, cleaning bathrooms, fixing stuff that is broken, and doing the washing.

* * * * *

I took time to ride my motorcycle out around the rice farms and wildlife refuges that dominate our surrounding landscape. I went with a good friend. It was windy and actually got a bit chilly. (This cold in the last half of May?!? What's up with that?) Summer may never come this year.

* * * * *

This evening I'll spend a few minutes preparing for a wedding I've been asked to perform next week. School is winding down - but there's no relief in sight. Fortunately, Pam and Rob and their family (and Kim) are coming out for a visit the following week. That will be fun.

Interesting Times

So I'm walking down the sidewalk this morning at school, on my way from the office to pick up my mail, back to my classroom. A little second grader comes over and starts walking next to me. (I've never seen him before) He starts talking and says:

"My grandpa is sick in the hospital, he has this thingy in his head. He was in jail, but when the police arrested him they took him to the hospital.

"But he escaped from the hospital, so now my Dad says he will have to go and try to find him.

"He wouldn't have escaped if he didn't have this thingy in his head.

"Oh yeah, the last thing he said to the hospital was, I'm going to see my grandson Caleb."

At that point I had reached my classroom door, so I told him good luck and I hoped they find his grandpa soon. (for more than one reason)

Some day this little guy may be a student of mine. I've certainly had others like him over the years. This is the world we live in.

Grant Speaks Out on Mothers Day

This was so funny, I had to post it. Pam called for Mothers Day and told us that when they called the primary children up in sacrament meeting to sing to the mothers, Pam turned to Grant and said: "Go on up to the big stand up in front so that you can sing." Grant looked at her, thought for a minute, then said: "Yeah, I do have few things I'd like to say."

So he marched up to the front with the rest of the kids, and after they were done singing he just stood there waiting (like he was ready to say his bit). Someone had to usher him off the podium and tell him it was time to go back and sit with his folks.

. . . .

When Grant was really young, I think Pam used to worry a bit about him not being very verbal - not speaking. She may now already regret that she worked so hard to get him to do so.

Now you know what I am for one...

The Swedish language has this interesting idiom for "now you know what kind of person I am" which, literally translated, becomes the string of words you see in the title. I always got a chuckle out if it when I heard one of our investigators or members say it.

So, now you know what kind of month this has been. The last post was four weeks ago, and it's not that things haven't happened (quite to the contrary), but I just haven't been able to get things updated.

Michelle, Trevor and Atticus were here this past weekend. We were so happy to have them, and it was a blast playing with Atticus. Even though Trevor was sick the whole time (thanks to a bug passed on by his son) he was great to have around. Michelle was her usual self - a great foible for my jabs, and a fun person to talk to.

Mom has some photos of Atticus, so maybe we can get them posted soon. Otherwise, who knows when the next update will be. I'll try to repent.