Thanks #1b

This song has been my anthem for the past several months. I am so thankful that when life is confusing I can rely on Jesus. He knows all and brings me peace when I can't resolve the difficulties in my life. 

 

Thanks #1a

I am greatful for my very dirty patio door because this little greasy smile guy makes me giggle daily. He has been there for weeks. I think Quin made him because my boys are both too tall to have done it.

BYU - Who is that?

I found myself needing to login to the BYU computer system today. It has been so long since I've done anything with the school that I couldn't remember my credentials for logging in - not even my password reset question. Thank goodness for Darin in the IT department. He was able to help me figure it all out. 

Anyway, after logging in I saw this cute person staring out at me.......

There is so much I could say to this person, but I won't. All I can think is....what a ride it's been since this picture was taken.

Hives, but not the bee kind

On Tuesday night Luke broke out in a bunch of hives. I've never seen anything like it. We wonder if it was caused be a raisin cookie he ate at our wards trunk-or-treat night.

I took Luke and his friend and they had a marvelous time, but it wasn't so marvelous to end up looking like this.....

I am so thankful for a nearby walk-in clinic that I was able to take him to at 8am the next morning. The doctor was great and he was able to give us recommendations to clear them up. Luke seems to do better during the day, while nighttime is still a bit rough. Needless to say, Luke never wants to eat another raisin in his life. I'm still not convinced it was the raisin, but I'm doing what I can to make sure he doesn't have a repeat reaction this severe. 

Bug wing

 

When removing the plate off an electrical outlet on Saturday I found this delicate wing. I think it might be from a lacewing bug. I sometimes get them outside near my plum tree. I jumped at the chance to put it under our microscope. Isn't it beautiful! Heavenly Father is quite the amazing creator.

Oh deer

It happened again - our neighbor shot a deer during this years hunt. It's decomposing on the roof of his shed. FYI, yes, it smells terrible in my backyard.

My lovely pot of petunias

For Mother's Day, my neighbor took me to a local greenhouse and let me pick out my favorite hanging basket. I came home with this one.

It's the first time I've ever had a hanging basket. It started out a lot smaller, but it loved my front porch so much that I soon had to repot it. Another neighbor sent me a youtube video about how to make your petunias look great all summer/fall long. It's been super fun to take care of, and it's looked fabulous most of the time. I'm so thankful for kind neighbors who shower me with love and flowers.

2022 Garden Recap

I really wish I would have taken the time in past years to do a garden recap. Oh well, here is this years recap.

The biggest surprise this year was my Canterbury bells. Amy planted them in her house two or three years ago. She and I planted 1 tiny plant that was smaller than my fingernail. I thought it had died. Guess not. Apparently, this is a plant that takes 2 years to bloom. It was super pretty and I'm so glad I have it. I've let it do it's own thing to observe. It bloomed again a little bit in early September. Next year, I'll try to cut it back after blooming. I've been waiting for seed pods, but so far haven't see any yet. 

Here are the garden boxes this year. The one on the left is cucumber and corn. Honestly, it was a flop. I neglected the corn, so it ended up being ready to pick and I had to idea. That goes to show you how much we love corn. The cucumbers were SO slow to do anything. It was beyond frustrating.  By the time they were starting to do anything the powdery mildew was taking over. It was kinda fun to see the cucumbers growing up the corn. That's about all the good this box did for the year.

The next box was 2 beefsteak tomatoes and 2 cherry tomatoes. The cherry tomatoes quickly overtook the others ones. It was sad. I was able to get about 10 tomatoes from the beefsteak, but I actually gave them all away. Despite having the tomatoes on a drip line they still had split top. That made me mad. I hate where they split at the top. 

Cherry tomatoes were amazing. They are still happily producing. My favorite thing is going out to eat them. Funny story....when mowing the lawn I stop every time I'm nearby and chow down. It's the best. I also put cucumbers in this box. They seemed to do better and we got about 4 cucumbers out of them. 

On the end of the box on the right side I planted 1 spaghetti squash. Then, I pulled them up and over tomatoes cages to grow on the end of the garden area. It was SO amazing and it worked out pretty great until.....

....the powdery mildew took over. Seriously, it was so awful! I am kicking myself for not going to the store and getting chemicals to take care of it when it first started to be a problem. I think next year I'll have the foresight before it becomes a massive problem. Then again, I'm nervous to plant this type of seed because I don't want it to happen again. 

The flowers went crazy this year. The petunias were just so pretty once we hit August. I was also so surprised with the marigolds. I didn't plant any of them - they just reseeded themselves from the past few years. I love how much they filled in underneath my plum tree. 

My dear friend, Wendy gifted me these double ruffle purple petunias. They were adorable and so perfect for this spot out by the mailbox. They did surprisingly well for an area that doesn't get much water. 

I also got lots and lots of plums this year. I was surprised. The tree still struggles with aphid and iron problems. It's so hard to get on top of it. I always say it will better next year and it's not. Hahahah. I think I got six bowls of plums. Thankfully the food dehydrator still works and I cranked out 5 quart baggies full of prunes. 

This year I also learned how to divide my coral bells. They are such beautiful, delicate flowers. I would love to have the plants completely fill in this entire area. It might take a few years though.

One other important discovery this year was adjusting the reach of the sprinklers in the left area of this parking strip. I adjusted the ones that go right down the center to a 6' instead of an 8'. Instead of dead grass - this year it was finally green. Hurray!

BTW, Springville City came and took out the problem tree I had growing in this area. The roots were buckling the sidewalk. They also took out 5 sections of sidewalk and then put new cement back in. It looks really good. 

A little boast

During General Conference

At one moment, while watching General Conference, Peter mentioned that it would be so cool if you were in the choir. That way you could go back in time and watch your younger self sing during General Conference.

Well, I had the chance to sing during the General Young Women Meeting the Saturday before General Conference in March of 1996. It was an opportunity that I can't believe happened to me. We practiced for weeks and weeks. It was especially fun because my sister Amy, plus our two friends Sindy and Sariah, were all able to participate. 

I even managed to find myself on YouTube. Here is the proof. In the first video you can find me at 1:27. In the second video I am at 1:44. Hint....I am the one with the very long hair in the pink dress.

I have always known that we have a Latter-day Prophet, but being able to sing about him while he was so close gave me the most incredible spiritual confirmation of that truth. I will never be able to deny what I felt that day. My favorite General Authority is also Jeffery R. Holland. As we were getting ready to preform he gave us a "pep" talk in the assembly room underneath the tabernacle. He then took the time to shake each of our hands. It was such an incredible experience.