It's already JUNE

You know, I've worked for 6 weeks now and I'm still loving it. I like the computer work, the meeting the people work, the challenges and laughs. We have a fun-loving office. I have a back office that is usually a quieter area and people forget I'm there until I surface for a break.

Our ward started dinner groups this spring. It was our turn to host it. The menu consisted of Herbed Chicken Francois, Oat bran rolls, brown rice (that I put in 3x the right amount of salt, so rinsed it off, put it back in the pan and it was okay), green salad w/ mandarin oranges, corn, broccoli and peas w/ carrots. Dessert was a yummy éclair style cake with chocolate curls on top. Everything went together well. The salad was just perfect with the chicken.

Kent had the day off and it was fun having him drop ME off to work and leave him a Honey-Do list. Which he DID NOT do but DID clean the house which was even better! The Honey-Do list can wait another week as it's waited for 6 months already... One of the best surprises was a vase full of flowers on the dining room table when I got home. He picked me up from work and on the way to the grocery store we stopped at a roadside van for some fresh frozen (caught 3 days ago, frozen, bagged and sealed on the boat--how do they do all that and catch their catch???) Since the shrimp and scallops were frozen and needed to go into the freezer, Dad dropped me off at home and then went on to the grocery store. I suggested it would be nice to get some cheap flowers if he saw some. With a sheepish grin he replied that he already had gotten some while at Wal-mart and they were on the table...but they needed some help. What a wonderful surprise! (And all the help they needed was just to be cut down as they were to tall for dining and then they filled in the vase nicely.)

My "garden" is doing nicely. The pots are high enough off the ground (on a porch deck) that the rabbit is leaving them alone. You see, I've got lettuce so I know he'd find it if it were on his level. The only plant that seems to be eaten is the catnip... And Scratch isn't acting mellow so I'm not sure who (or what) is stealing my catnip. But some animal is getting mellow.

Kent went to Idaho a couple of weeks back to work on the farm's fence with Vern, Brian and David. He came back tired out and leaving a list of things that needed to be done around the house.
Katie and Brian went to work and man did they work! They sanded and sealed the trailer, scraped pillars, cleaned and cleaned, weeded, mowed, trimmed, weed wacked, sorted storage and Noway boxes, found the trampoline and set it up (and it seems to be in good working, usable shape, YES!), and cleaned the garage. I think Dan helped with the garage cleaning too as he's in the picture. (He just missed getting to Idaho in time to work on the fences...)

Brian built some wonderful shelves in the garage and stocked them with all our "stuff". Most of the 'free' wall space now has built in shelving. He
sent some pictures and it looks great! (I thought I figured out how to do it... but do you see them? Okay, found them and cut and pasted them about where I wanted them but how do I get them to line up in a row? Hey, somehow they just did...)

There are a couple of more corners that he could still put some shelves up on but he "didn't want to encourage me to save more" what was the word he used? Knickknacks? Memories?
Keepsakes? Antiques? Stuff? Junk? (Getting closer to the word...) Garbage... Garbage? Yah, I think garbage might have been the word he used... Does this look like garbage to you?

Remember in The Field of Dreams "if you build it, they will come" line? Well, the corollary for me and Brian is "If I build more shelves for Mom, she will fill them...and then I will have to move them umpteen times just to have to sort through the garbage and take to the dump...so let's not build them and say we did!" Someday, someone will appreciate my "garbage". At least one or two or my grandkids are enjoying a few of my books... And one day you guys will enjoy some of my other 'good' stuff (furniture, jewelery, china, silver)...when I'm dead!

On the drama side of life this week:

• the basement window was not put in properly and the rains came...and the library room flooded... And Brian and Katie (and David and Tyler???) had to move boxes again, dry things out, and mop up water.
• David has a cyst that needs to be checked out. He had an ultrasound done but no word yet on whether it is something to really worry about. (It is fine.)
  
• And our Aaron (Dan and Christina's 2 year old son) was diagnosed as autistic. It wasn't a surprise but is still overwhelming. He did seem to be in his own little world but is pleasant and seems happy. I worry about the detour in life this is going to give his family.

It seems that 'bad' things usually come in THREES so hopefully these three will be it for the rest of the year!

Well, enough for this month of wandering thoughts. Love you guys!
Mom