treasures

I'm cleaning out my bedside drawers.
Found this little entry in a notebook written by Nicole in 1990.
Love her spelling.
click to enlarge the writing.
gost melt's there haert
Look what can happen in 20 years! She is a Master's student now.

What's that smell?

In the last 6 months or so I noticed a strong earthy smell when I turned on the water in my kitchen sink. I rinsed it well, ran baking soda vinegar and hot water down the disposal, read up on where the smell might originate. Nothing conclusive and I wasn't ready to accept it was some weird water standing in the pipes somewhere or some mildew growing in a hard to reach place. It didn't always smell, but was noticeable when I first ran the water. It was not the dishrags.

I finally figured it out. By mistake.

I was cleaning in and around my sink and scrubbing the rubber thing that sits inside the drain opening. It came out with the sponge into my hands! One look and I knew where the smell originated. Apparently our disposal is so powerful (YAY) that little bits of food and pulverized debris get tossed UP into the rubber thing instead of it all draining down through the blades of the disposal (BOO) and drain pipe.

So now I just have to regularly pull up the rubber sink drain thing (does it have a name?) that is supposed to stop a spoon or knife from entering the disposal, and scrub the gunk off!

Sorry no photos. Use your imagination.

heartaches

Yesterday I was so sad to learn of heartaches experienced by some sisters in my ward. Mostly involves decisions by their grown children to cut off all contact with the parents. This is hard for a family who was super involved in their children and grand children's lives. We talked of the difficultly to overcome hurt, pain, anger, and learn how to depend on the Lord for strength and forgiveness every day. It is a huge hurdle to let go of hurt feelings when loved ones turn against you .
Another sister told us of her recent brief visits with a daughter whose husband made her cut off all contact with the family for the past 6 years! Talk about heartache. She is so fearful of the husband cutting them off again. and these are her only grandchildren who live in state.

Then my neighbor told me of another friend whose 30+ son just committed suicide, and this jsut one year after the friend's daughter committed suicide because of a very emotionally abusive marriage. I can't fathom the heart and pain. How can she even get out of bed each day? All these stories I heard in the past two days painfully teaches me again that there is sadness, struggle, pain and heartache in so many people's lives. It's people we know and may not even suspect any hardship. I want to be the one to offer friendship, love, acceptance, and hope to all in my little part of the world. How we all need it!! How it hurts to feel judged, rejected, and not wanted. My heart aches with them now.

In a pinch

Tonight I wanted to use up some stuff in the fridge. So I made up a recipe as I pulled things out.
-Sauteed chopped onion in olive oil in large skillet.
-added 2 cups brown rice that I had cooked two days ago
-added 1 can diced tomatoes with basil and garlic, liquid drained
-large handful of spinach, torn
Heat all this till the spinach is wilted, then add:
-1/2 large cooked breaded chicken breast leftovoer from previous dinner, chopped

stir in, heat through and top with 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese. cover till the cheese melts.

Quite tasty for not knowing where I was going with all the things I pulled out of the fridge. But not photo worthy :(

Clyde liked it and I might make this again - very healthy and low fat! We added a mini cucumber and microwaved asparagus to round out the meal. Four veggies in one meal!

Good Vibes

Today I reported my good news in RS - that I had visited the triplets and had a great time; that the babies are happy, healthy and growing so well. One sister commented that I still had the "triplet glow" all around me. I'll take that as a compliment! It's kind of fun as I have noticed that others will come up to me and marvel about having triplet grand babies, or how much work it must be for the parents. I tell them how organized Emily is and how well the babies are sleeping now. Even strangers on the plane, the cab driver, people I work with across campus and others get all gushy and happy when they learn that I have been visiting the triplets. They talk about what a miracle it is, god's love, how great families are and how blessed KC and Emily are. I love it! It brings good vibes to me all the time for a good happy reason.
Thanks Emily and KC.

Good times for grandma

I just returned from a great time visiting KC, Emily and Alex, Bennett, and Ruby.
We enjoyed good weather some of the days I was there. Every moment with the babies was a joy and they are so fun and developing very unique personalities. My favorite was getting them up after naps or nighttime. Even though they may have been crying, they were so happy as soon as they joined us in the living room. I loved talking to them as Emily prepared their bottles. Such fun to tickle and hear them giggle.
Here are a few favs:

It is serious business to learn about the world - babies are hard at work.

Emily looks great and really happy to be at this doctor visit. Maybe because she had two helpers (Nicole and myself) to help hold and cart babies?

Look out world, Bennett will be on the move soon!

KC the dad and his ukulele time with the babies.

I loved feeding time!

I also stopped to see the cherry Blossoms in full bloom at the Tidal Basin on my way to the airport. Gorgeous!