I Never Promised You A Rose Garden

“I never promised you a rose garden” Kyla but I did promise you my file cabinet with all my files upon my demise.  Unfortunately, my files are obsolete so there are no files, no file cabinet and fortunately, no demise.  I spent the last few days going through all my files.  I was shocked at how little had meaning anymore and how many are so easily found on the web.  If it was personal it was saved.  The rest were tossed.  Easy come and easy go. Times have changed so much that things that were once so important and precious are now sitting in the bottom of my trash barrel.    I am not sure what to offer you in its place Kyla but I do have a beautiful rose garden starting to bloom.

Cock a doodle doo!!

For verification on how often and when a rooster should crow I turned to google search.  What led me to this odd inquiry were the number of rooster crows I hear each morning as I lay in bed.  Actually, not only lying in bed but waking me up some mornings.  I grew up a city gal, not a farm/rooster gal so I really am naive as to their regime. Here was my answer:

 “First and foremost, it’s important for us to point out that roosters will crow at all times and in response to a range of seemingly innocuous stimuli, like the sound of a car or someone walking into their coop. This is because the crow of a rooster serves several functions. Along with being used as a warning of sorts to let other roosters known the boundaries of its territory, the crow can be used to communicate with other birds and sometimes to celebrate getting lucky; roosters really aren’t picky when it comes to excuses for crowing.”

This morning I timed his crows.  Some were a few minutes apart, some were fifteen and they last a few hours.  I really do need to cut him some slack.  After all we live in Alaska where this morning’s sunrise was at 4:28 am.   The truth be known, I love to hear his crows!!

The Quote

Thoughts and inspiration mean more to me at different times of my life.  It is also like reading scriptures.  Never fail when I read a passage it is if it was chiseled out just for me.  I can be perplexed about a problem and talk it out with friends but it isn’t until my eyes hit the quote that I receive my answer and my comfort.  It is as if God drops the thoughts into the man and he sprinkles out the words here and there until we catch them at just the right time.   I love it when I hear someone display or relate a quote that they love by “some guy” named Hinckley.  Aaahh I say to myself.  That isn’t just any man.  Those words are from a prophet of God.  And you felt, what God wanted you to feel.  And I smile, because I can feel it too.

Suki Is Safe

1:30 am:  Devin calls to say he spots Suki outside.  I get out of bed and join he and Brooke in the search.  I called her name and they searched the woods but to no avail.

3:00 am:  I return to bed with the great news that she is alive but I worry all night.

8:30 am:  Head to Wasilla with friends for breakfast and to some garage sales.

11:00:  Return home early because I just feel like I need to continue my search.

12:00 pm:  I walk around the cabins and call for Suki.  I go back to our covered tent and call and listen.  From the back corner I hear her meow.  I move in closer and she sees me and comes to me.

For the remainder of the day Suki eats and needs to sit with me every fifteen minutes or so.  She is thin and scared.  Her voice is hoarse and she meows a lot.  She follows me everywhere I go.  I ended up sleeping on the couch with her tucked under my arm.    Suki, is my cat that I have had for nearly nine years, who has been gone for nine days and who must have nine lives.  She must have eaten shrews since one fresh one was right by where I found her.  With the construction of the cabin and the noise she must have been too scared to let herself be known.  Saturday was a perfect, quiet day for her to be found.  She is now on the road to recovery and intense emotional therapy for certain.   I keep reminding her that she survived the Alaskan wilderness and that is something to be proud of.

Man and Woman

Today the Supreme Court declared same-sex marriage legal in all fifty states.  Sad, sad, sad, day.  I believe that marriage is between a man and a woman and it is ordained of God.  I really don’t have too much more to say.  My heart hurts for the society that my grandchildren will be raised in.  I will continue to try and make our home our own “temple” where we can teach right from wrong and we can feel the spirit.  No one can take that away from us.

Coolest Thing

I am just so proud of our water tractor.  It is so obedient.  I put it on one end of the hose and it follows along all the way to the other end.  It swirls around a great amount of water on either side and is extremely hard working.  Little John does a full day’s work, with no complaints and no breaks.  I’m kind of proud of our workers across the way too.  The banging starts in the morning and ends later in the day.  They are up and around and work diligently and competently.  I do bedroom window checks to chart the progress and am amazed at how cabin two is coming together.  The mid afternoon silence means it is lunch and a Dr. Pepper break.

Home

“In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks.”  John Muir

I drove down to the store and on the short ride home my eyes were opened and I took a few gentle moments to photograph what I saw.  There is so much beauty within a mile of our home.  

Leave Your Mark

Had a cool thing happen tonight.  We went to visit a lady that I only vaguely knew.  I walked into her home which is on Big Lake and right away she said she knew who I was.  I asked her how and she said she didn’t really know me but my daughter’s name stayed on her fridge for years.  I looked puzzled.  She said she had “Micah Styers 892-7567” eye level knowing that any time Cassandra needed a ride to church that was the number to call.  Isn’t that what the church is all about.  We follow through with our assignments, we seek after those lambs that may be a little lost, we tender to the needy and we leave little seeds of hope, even if those seeds are on a fridge.  We had a very nice visit.

Hair

Not only is Hair the love/rock musical of the 1960’s but hair is also what Tank is all about.  I understand it is the summer and I know he is a big dog but he produces enough hair to buy a wheel and start spinning.  His hair production/loss is voluminous and very detrimental to my vacuum, washing machine and dryer.  Rhea has been forthright in brushing him and disposing of the Target bag of fluff immediately but the hair “leftovers” are frightening.  The blanket on the downstairs couch is on an every other day wash cycle intermittently with the dog blanket from his “room.”  My vacuum receives the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval for the number of dog hair dumps it does and still continues to work.   The proof is truly in the pictures.  Is it unreasonable to suggest Tank donate his hair somewhere?  Just asking.

Father’s Day

I couldn’t possibly be asked to speak again this year for Father’s Day, could I?  Well, there was a year in between so I suppose that will do.  The Bishop said to talk about my dad and to tell my stories.  That was an easy task since my Dad is all about so many things and I can surely tell the stories.  Everything just flows when there is much on your mind and in your heart but it is most important that the listener understands and feels your intentions.  There were kind words spoken to me when I was done but none even grasped the magnitude than one woman that I did not know. (although I know her Mom)  She came up to me and said,”  I know your Dad and when you were speaking I could relate to everything you said, you perfectly epitomized  the man that he is.”  Now I can breathe a sigh of relief for maybe three years.

This is Nicole next to me and her mother Patty.  Nicole was up visiting from Arizona.  Patty is in our ward.  What a great day to have Nicole and her daughter there.