On the Road and Hair

I felt like I was on the road most of the day today. I really wasn't, but it seemed that way. I started off the morning at Erin's house. She had one visiting teaching appointment, so I stayed with Ellie and Hattie while she was gone. Ellie was so fun. She wanted me to read to her, so we read many books. Hattie tried taking a nap, but after about 15 minutes of her crying, I went in and she said something that I didn't understand, except for her last word, "Up!" So I got her up. She said she wanted to sit on the couch and read books with me and Ellie. She lasted for about two books, then she was up and wanting to play, so we did. They had a great time doing somersaults on the sofa. (Don't tell Erin!) It was funny to watch them because both of them got a lot of static electricity in their hair from the leather couch and their hair was totally standing on end! I should have taken a picture, but of course, I didn't.
My next stop was Vistancia to drop off papers and pick up another stack. It's always fun for me to go into Brian's classroom and watch him interact with his students. It's obvious how much the kids like him.
I had a hair appointment across town today, so that was another traveling journey. It took me almost an hour to go from the school to my hair appointment. Today was cut and color. I like the color, but for the first day or two, until it's washed out a little, it's a little shocking to me when I look in the mirror!
Then I came home, picked up Mark and we headed back in Erin's direction. I had to pick up PETE containers (for food storage) near her house and I needed to drop off her Tvala soap order. We've found the BEST place to order soaps/lotions/balms. If you're interested, the site is www.tvalahandmade.com. It's a friend of ours that makes everything herself. And can I just say....her products are the absolute best! I love the handmade soaps...they smell so fresh and clean and they don't have any foreign substances (chemicals)...just very moisturizing oils and emollients. Last time I ordered her whipped shea butter and it's so nice to use (especially at bedtime) because she doesn't use any alcohols that dry your skin like most lotions do. This time I tried her lotion and so far, so good. And I also love her lip balms. Very tasty and very soothing for dry skin. You might want to give it a try.
And I have a friend, Susan, who was wanting an update on my "required" list of things to do. One of them was making my own laundry soap. I got the recipe from Kamille, and I must say, it's very nice smelling, inexpensive and seems to do the job well. I'll share with you:
Grate one bar of Fels Naptha soap (about 2 cups)
1 cup Arm & Hammer Washing Soda (different than baking soda---It's hard to find, but I found it at Bashas'.)
1 cup 20 Mule-Team Borax
1/4 cup Oxy Clean
I made a triple batch and put it in a small plastic bucket I had on hand. You only use 1 Tbsp. for a light/small load or 2 Tbsp. for a dirtier/large load.
This week I've felt like a pioneer woman...between using handmade soaps and lotions, canning beef, making my own laundry soap and bread baking.

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Today is my mom's birthday. She would have been 83 years old. I miss you, Mom.

Lesson and Start of the Week

Sunday was my lesson. It went well, I thought. I had to delete about three pages of what I'd prepared, but that was okay. We had a good discussion going, and I'd rather have that than just go over what they can read from the book. A discussion is difficult (impossible) when you're reading at home on your own! Now I'm on to the next lesson....Valiant in the Cause of Christ. Should be good...I teach on Easter Sunday!
Aunt Lorna passed away on Sunday and her kids had a short graveside service for her. It's amazing to me that they both died just a week apart. They couldn't bear to be separated for even that short amount of time.
Last night Mark picked up some round steak from Safeway. It was a smokin' deal...usually $5.50/lb. on sale for $1.47/lb. So tonight I canned beef. It is so simple to do. It's a wonder I/others don't do it more often. But I'm resolved to get better and keep on top of my canning/food storage. Erin is prompting me to come up with my 3-month menu, list all of the necessary ingredients and get it stored. I'm starting with 3 months and will work up to a year. I think we have a pretty good start. I just need to get it organized and tallied.
Deb asked me to post some more pictures from the 10th Ward Reunion, so Deb, this is for you.

10th Ward Reunion....Glory Days!

Today was the much anticipated 10th Ward Reunion. It was SO much fun!!! It was held at the Mesa Institute and it was for the kids I grew up with in the old Phoenix 10th Ward. It's really hard to explain to people who didn't live in 10th Ward what our relationships were like. We did everything together. There was a 5+ year span of youth who were best friends. If you had a group gather anywhere, there would easily be 30 or more in attendance. We dated each other, socialized with each other, did roadshows and dance festivals together, played sports together, worshipped together and supported one another during those difficult teen years. It was the best. And tonight, it was almost like we were just in mutual together last week and we just picked up where we left off. We had a reunion about 15 years ago, but I'm sure there were people there tonight that I haven't seen since before Mark and I got married. What a wonderful evening! Some of our parents even attended. It was fun to catch up with everyone and we look forward to our next reunion in fouro years! I'm grateful that Hal worked so hard to put together a DVD of pictures from our teen years. What fun that will be to watch and to show our kids and grandkids. Thanks, Hal!

One Wedding and Two Funerals

I'll start with the funerals. On Thursday we went to Uncle Beans' and Aunt Lorna's funerals....and she's still here! She's still not responding/eating/drinking, and their kids feel like she'll be passing this week. So they decided to hold a memorial service for both of their parents and when Aunt Lorna does pass, they will hold a graveside service for her. It was good, as funerals go. The kids in the family all participated in various ways. Roseanne lead the music and kept everyone in line! The grandchildren and great-grandchildren sang two songs. They were very good. The six boys were the pall bearers...Jim, Clint, Tom, Andy, Jeff and Wil. And the casket was simply beautiful. I don't know who made it, but it was made with great skill and lots of tender loving care.
The best part of the day was seeing my cousins. There were lots of them there and it was good to reconnect with them. Why is it that oftentimes it take a funeral to get people together?? Whatever....it was good to see everyone. We left at 3:30 am, picked up Deb in Gilbert and it felt like we traveled all day long. We went to Animas/Cotton City, NM for the funeral then to Virden, NM for the burial. We traveled the southern route through Tucson going and we came home through Safford and Globe. It was a beautiful day, but very windy at the cemetery. We got home about 9:30 pm.

My favorite picture of the day we just happened on. It's of the M&M Hog Farm sign. It's on the side of the road in Cotton City and points you down Hog Farm Road, where the whole big operation used to be.


I took a picture of Grandpa and Grandma Mortensen's headstone while I was in Virden. This is the new one Uncle Beans had put there.

This is a picture of (from left to right) Aunt Dovetta, Jay's daughter, Jay Mortensen, Uncle Hal and Dad. Uncle Hal is the last of Mom's brothers who is still living. Her sister, Flora, (not at the funeral) is her only sister...and is still living.

Then this morning we went to the Mesa Temple to see Jodi marry her sweetheart, Phil Call. They are such a cute couple. After the wedding, we went to his parents' home for a luncheon. Yum! That's where the reception will be next Friday evening.
Mark worked a wedding reception for a family in our stake. It must be close to spring break and everyone wants to get married before so they can take their honeymoon during spring break.
Needless to say, this week has had both ends of the emotional spectrum. But it was all good and ended on a happy note.

Aunt Lorna

I hijacked another picture from my cousin,Tom's, blog. He's Uncle Beans' and Aunt Lorna's third son. He sent me an e-mail this afternoon to let me know that Aunt Lorna is dying of a broken heart. She wasn't feeling well on Monday night and so they took her to the hospital. They ran tests and found nothing physically wrong with her. But Tom said that she's not responsive and the family feels like she is dying and will only be a short time until she passes. So tomorrow, there will now be a memorial service for both of their parents, Uncle Beans and Aunt Lorna. And when Aunt Lorna does pass, they will then have a graveside service. I have only the best memories of Aunt Lorna. I remember when I was a very little girl, she went to the trouble of making me (and Deb) homemade panties. They were make of plisse cotton and were very soft and well made. They always had a bit of lace on them. I'm sure we didn't appreciate them like we should have, but I sure do now. I would never have the patience to make anyone's panties, but she did because she loved us. She always made the tastiest meals. One vivid memory I have is of her metal milk pitcher. They had it FOREVER. It is probably still sitting on the shelf in her home. They had cows and their milk was always fresh and she made sure it was nice and cold before serving it....from the old metal pitcher. Another memory I have is that the family would always kneel together before their meals for family prayer. They always had a big farm-style wooden table and chairs. She was such a gentle, kind person. She always had a kind word to say and I will never forget her little laugh and soft voice. I'm sure her children and grandchildren are struggling right now losing both parents so close together, but one thing Tom said that is so true is that they were a shining example of a true love story. They've been married for 65 years. They were perfect for each other. I'll miss them both.

Uncle Beans

That probably sounds like an odd name to most people, but not to those who knew him. His real name is Marcel Mortensen, but all my life, we called him Uncle Beans. The story was something to the effect that when he was a kid on a camping trip, he stepped in the kettle of beans that had been set on the ground, and his comment at the time was, "Just call me Beans!" Anyway....he's one of my mom's older brothers. He's married to Aunt Lorna and together they have seven children, six boys and one girl. They used to live in Tolleson when I was young and we used to get together and play games/have dinner/or whatever about once a week. We loved having them close by. They moved to Animas, NM, where Uncle Beans and a cousin owned a hog farm. And man, was that a STINKY place. He used to kid us and say, "That's just the smell of money!" They succesfully ran than business for many years until the government put too many fingers in the pot and caused them to close up shop. They also have a cabin in Alpine, which we were able to visit quite often years ago. We would usually go there for the long Thanksgiving weekend. We stayed in the cabin and cut our own Christmas trees for many years. What fond memories that brings to me. Uncle Beans passed away last night. We'll miss him and his funny sense of humor and goodness to all. There are now only two (of seven)of my mom's siblings still living. He will be buried in Virden, NM, their childhood home. By the way, I hijacked the picture from my cousin, Tom's, blog.