Fifteen Pictures for the Fifteenth of June 2015

I always look forward to see what each person in our family is doing on this day of each month . . . 

Ty:  Took the girls to the post office to mail a package Afton had made for cousin Zeph.

Michelle: That's me. Stuck in the weight-induced crater,
at the bottom of the inflatable water slide, under a pile of children.

Afton: Having fun in my new Minnie Mouse swimsuit at a birthday party.
Mom said I couldn't stay on top of the slide forever so I had to choose the stairs or the slide.
I chose correctly.

Eliza: I like frosting.

Kathryn:  Sanctuary!

Joe: Even though Zeph was in bed when I got home from work, he heard me walk in the door.
We read books in bed.

Ande:  Eating animal crackers to tide me over until Joe gets home
from working late.

Zeph: splashing with the hose and searching for frogs and lizards.

Ezra: playing with my mermaid rattle and
enjoying rare alone time with mom.

Captain Levin fishing for salmon on the Copper River

Abe - no action shots of my boy from today.

Grace:  Abe teaching Henry to wrestle.

Henry:  Dad chasing me.

Calvin:  Traded a blackpowder gun I made for this WWII era jeep.
Item crossed off my bucket list.

Jane:  In Mississippi visiting Ty and Michelle.  We went downtown Columbus to see the old,
pre-Civil War homes.  The Confederates were able to keep the Union forces from destroying
the town.  We also went to the equally-as-old town cemetery.

Homemaking - Clean?

I hear about "clean eating" but I don't really know what it means.  The other day I made a smoothie with homemade Greek yogurt and strawberries and spinach freshly picked from the garden.  I don't know if that qualified as clean, but it was fresh and oh, so good. 

Sometimes I get arthritis in my mouth.  It hurts.  Badly.  Lesions line my tongue, and my jaws get tight and ache.  It shuts me up.  Homemade yogurt helps to clean up the sores so they heal faster, and the cool smoothie brings temporary relief.  Sounds clean to me.

Last night Calvin and I picked all of the cilantro and lavender.  

We pureed the cilantro with a little bit of grape seed oil and put it into ice cube trays to freeze.  It will nice to have.  

We laid the lavender out on newsprint in the garage to dry. It was a good lavender year.  I'll replace all the bundles in the house displayed in baskets and buckets with the fresh blooms and still have plenty lavender to share.  

While I'm not a fan of the smell of lavender, I do love it's colors and calming properties.  It's a clean, non-weedy, non-bugs plant, too, so the smell is growing on me the longer we grow it.    

Monday Memories - That Was Then, This is Now . .

That was then . . .

Back Row L-R:   Chris, Lynn, Lila, Tim
Middle Row L-R:  Davey, Mom, Dad, Marcia
Front Row L-R:  Lee, Rachel, me, Janet

This is now . . .

Left to Right

Me

Lee and his family live in Alaska.  He teaches several subjects in high school.  He loves to fish and bargain for fish -- he said he can trade two loaves of home made bread for 5 gallons of fresh shrimp during shrimping season.  Some of the things that I love and appreciate about Lee:  He is a strong, involved, and kind father and he is very innovative.

Lynn and her family live in Idaho.  She is an editor for an agricultural publication and a published author.  She loves to quilt and be a grandmother.  Some of the things that I love and appreciate about Lynn:  She is well-qualified in many areas, skilled at many things, dependable and loves to learn.

Chris and her family live in Idaho.  She and her husband own the local livestock sale as well as run several head of cattle on their ranch.  She loves to bake, garden, and hunt for arrowheads. Some of the things that I love about Chris:  She is generous, quick-witted and multi-talented and skilled.

Lila lives a few miles from us here in Washington.  She loves to paint, decorate, and read.  Some of the things that I love and appreciate about Lila:  She is wonderful in a crisis, very creative and fiercely loyal to her kids.

Marcia lives in Idaho. She is a professor at BYU-Idaho. She loves to solve problems, study the brain, and travel. Some of the things that I love and appreciate about Marcia:  She is a strong advocate for education and children, she is a think-tank and works hard at creating family memories.

Janet and her family live in Idaho. She is a nurse at the hospital. She loves to camp, and be involved in her boys' 4-H and riding club projects.  Some of the things that I love and appreciate about Janet: She is very organized and clean (her home is immaculate), and she is a kind and caring nurse.

Uncle Duane is my dad's brother. He is 90 years old. He was a professor at Utah State University for many years. He loves to tinker with projects, tell stories, laugh, and entertain. Some of the things that I love and appreciate about Uncle:  He is positive, doesn't complain and he loves his roots and family.

Aunt Pat is Uncle Duane's wife and she will soon be 90. She has always been a homemaker. She loves to visit, and used to entertain and cater meals and occasions for others. It was at Aunt Pat's that I first tasted funeral potatoes. Some of the things that I love and appreciate about Aunt Pat:  She is open and honest, laughs easily, proud of her heritage, and has shown a lot of concern for our family.

Davey, Tim and Rachel aren't pictured in the bottom picture, but here is a picture of Rachel's daughter, Jesse, who was there:

Rachel and her family live in Texas. Rachel loves history, reading, and has homeschooled all seven of their children.  Some of the things that I love and appreciate about Rachel:  She can make a game out of anything and is a master of creative play, she enjoys irony and she's always up for an adventure,