October 30th - Art Class & Lunch

The girls were here to finish their art project today.  They painted the trees and pumpkins and the paintings turned out really cute!

  

I painted a picture, too, just to show them what to do, but they both took that instruction and made it personal.  I like that their paintings are so unique.  Smart girls and good artists!

David's mother is visiting, so she was along when they got here.  She was anxious to see the "art room" so she got the grand tour of our bonus room.  She enjoyed seeing all the projects they have finished so far.  They went out to shop while we did art class.  They picked Brooks up from pre-school on their way back.

Since it was lunchtime by then, we all went up to Del Rio for lunch and had a fun time.  We love sitting on the patio, as the kids can move around without bothering people.  Ashby and Abby had brought some Barbie dolls from my house and they entertained themselves  - and could have continued to a long time, if it hadn't finally been time to leave.

Venett and I got to talking about family history (we are both ward consultants) and she is already registered for Roots Tech in Salt Lake in February.  She convinced me to come, too.  I already wanted to go, but she and Lisa persuaded me.  She already has a room booked, which we can share.  When I got home, I registered.  Now I will just have to come up with some money for an airline ticket!  I am really excited.

On my way back home, I had to make a library run to pick up a book that was one hold.  Today was the last day to pick it up, so I made it under the wire!  It was a copy of a book that is being read as part of an online genealogy book group.  Should be fun!

The rest of my day - what was left of it - was pretty lazy.  I was mostly at the computer working on my usual pile of stuff.  I still can't figure out how I can get rid of a pile and have a new one the very next day! 

 

October 29th - Family History Day

First full day home and I got to go to the Family History Center for half of it.  I can't complain about that!  We didn't have any patrons, but I spent the whole time reviewing and getting acquainted with the premium websites that are available there.  I will have to sound like an expert about it at the next Genealogy Study Group, so I figured I had better start learning!

At home, I managed to get three loads of laundry done.  Other than that, I was mostly at the computer.  I worked on my Sunday lesson, on my presentation for the stake class in November, and on a handout for the premium websites.  It kept me busy!

It is good to fill the first day back with things I really enjoy - lessens the feelings of "I wish I was still on vacation!"

October 28th - North Carolina Day 5 - Heading Home

We were supposed to check out by 10:00, so we just had cereal for breakfast and got packed up.  There wasn't really much to do, though, as we didn't have to do any cleaning.  Well, other than the dishes, of course, but there weren't many dirty ones anyway.  Packing the leftover food only took a few minutes.  Suitcases were easy to pack since almost everything was dirty anyway.  We didn't want to leave, but finally decided we just needed to go ahead and go. 

We went back to Franklin by a different route than we had used before, but it took just about the same amount of time.  This time we were on the highway, rather than the mountain road.  It was a little longer, but much faster. 

When we got back to our area, we stopped for lunch at Red Lobster - give of the last hurrah of our vacation.  Then we were home, unloaded, unpacked, etc.  Bill had some errands to run and I was at the computer.  I mostly planned the art classes for next month, as I had nothing planned after this week.

It is good to be home, but it is always sad when a vacation ends, especially one that has been so good.  We enjoyed the few days we were away so much and the weather was absolutely perfect.  What more could we ask!!  Well, maybe that it could have lasted another day or two???

October 27th - North Carolina Day 4 - Fontana Dam

We started our morning as usual - lazy!  Loving it!  After another good brunch that Bill cooked (omelets, grits and bacon), we relaxed a little and made plans for the day.

Our first trip was to drive down The Road to Nowhere to see where it went, which was....... nowhere!  Actually, we had already found out that it was originally to be a road to the lakeside, and in fact is called Lakeside Drive, but six miles out, after building a tunnel through the mountain, the whole project was stopped and never competed.  As a result, the road really goes no where, although we did enjoy seeing the tunnel.

From there, we headed back into Bryson City and stopped at the city museum and visitors center.  We picked up a map and got instructions on how to get to the dam.  We also toured the museum, which was interesting, as it told the story of the Swain County area.

We then headed out to the dam.  It was about a half hour drive, but the drive was beautiful.  Of course, wherever we drive around here, it is on a mountain road and is beautiful.  The Fontana Dam itself was also interesting.  It is the largest dam (by height) east of the Rockies.  We also went into the visitors center to get information about its history and met a couple that volunteer there - such nice people.

We had planned to stop and eat, but when it came right down to it, we decided to just go back to the cabin.  We had chili dogs instead.  Not too exciting, but certainly more relaxed sitting at the table looking out the window that sitting in a busy restaurant!

The rest of our evening was the usual relaxed, do nothing important, that we are getting used to!  I sat out on the deck and read for a long time, until it got too dark.  Bill sat out there after dark so he could look at the stars again.

This is our last night.  Tomorrow morning we have to pack up and be out of here.  We have had such a great time.  I wish we had a couple more days!!

October 26th - North Carolina Day 3 - Clingmans Dome

What a beautiful day!  Of course, we were lazy this morning, doing nothing of great interest.  We loved it, though!  No, we didn't make it to church.  We had even brought our clothes, but neither one of us wanted to move fast enough to make it!  Sometimes, we are bad..............

Bill fixed us bacon, eggs, and grits for brunch, which we didn't even eat until 11:30 or so.  Then we took off for an afternoon adventure.  We had decided to drive to Clingman's Dome, the highest mountain in the Great Smoky Mountains.  It is on the border of NC and Tennessee.  It was a little more than an hour's drive.  But, the drive itself was beautiful.  In fact, it was much like the Parkway itself, following the mountain ridge and opening to some beautiful views of the mountains and valleys.  With the fall colors, it is especially beautiful, although the colors are not as vibrant as they are sometimes.

You can drive almost to the top of the mountain, where they have parking, a store and then a trail up to the summit.  We had not expected it to be quite so busy - cars were parked way down the road and there was a line moving slowly through the parking lot.  Luck was with us, though, as a car pulled out and we were able to pull in to a parking space in the parking lot. 

The view was beautiful, but I did not hike to the summit.  It is a nice pathway, leading to a very unique observation tower, but I wasn't up to walking a half a mile up and then the same back.  I insisted that Bill go, though, as he has been wanting to take a walk.  While he was hiking, I checked out the store, bought a magnet, and then sat on a bench and enjoyed people watching.  Very entertaining, I must say!

Bill bought himself a tee-shirt when he got back that says he climbed to the top of Clingmans Dome.  Then we headed back.  The drive back was just as enjoyable.  Things look different going the other direction.  We had thought we would stop along the way for a late lunch/early dinner, but we didn't see anything that reached out at us and we decided there was plenty of food at the cabin.  When we finally got around to eating, we had soup and BLT's. 

We spent another quiet evening at the cabin.  I mostly read my book; Bill watched the Series.  He also sat out on the deck for a while, looking at the stars. 

Day 3 has been another success! 

October 25th - North Carolina Day 2 - Explore the mountains!

We had a very casual morning - didn't get dressed until who knows when.  It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed just relaxing and doing nothing of great importance.

By early afternoon, we decided it was time to get out, so we went for a nice, long ride in the car.  The first thing we wanted to do was to see where the road we are staying on ended up.  We discovered that Deep Gap Road is a big loop that starts and ends on Alarka Rd.  We went the other way on Alarka to see where it ended up, which was in the mountains at a dead-end.  Actually, we knew that road ended, but it was fun to drive it as it got narrower and then eventually became just a gravel road.  It was a beautiful drive, though.

After driving back down the mountain, we headed into Bryson City to get a feel for it.  We had only been to Bryson before when we had taken the train ride, which ends here.  So we had been in the downtown historic area, but that was all.  From Bryson, we stayed on the same road and went on up to Cherokee.  We have been there many times, but had never been on the road between the two.  It was another beautiful drive.  We may not make it to the Blue Ridge Parkway this time, but we are certainly getting plenty of beautiful mountain drives. 

We stopped at the grocery store to pick up butter - the main thing I forgot!  We got a couple of other things, as well - Bill can't go into a grocery store without "shopping around."  While we were out, we also stopped and had our lunch at a nice Mexican place in Bryson City. 

Back at the cabin, we fell back into lazy mode and enjoyed the evening.  We didn't do a big dinner, since we had eaten such a big (and late) lunch - just sandwich meat and cheese.

I have finished the book I was reading and have picked up a book from the cabin.  They have a shelf of books with a note to read all you want, take it if you don't finish, and feel free to leave any that you have read and don't want anymore.  I liked that.  I usually try to read what is in anyplace we stay, but it is not always quite so inviting.

Day 2 has been a wonderful, relaxing day.  We are looking forward too a few more days just the same - lazy, relaxed, do-nothing important!!!

October 24th - North Carolina Day 1 - Getting Here!

I was up and at 'em this morning, as I had to make my run to the grocery store.  Everything else was packed and ready, at least all of my stuff!  Bill paid the bills while I was out.  When I got back, it only took a few minutes to get the food into the bin or the cooler and I was ready to go!  10:00 was my goal and I made it with time to spare!

Bill, on the other hand, was moving a little slower.  We finally got packed and on our way, having to stop at the post office and the bank on our way.  Still - not too late.  The drive up was nice - it was a beautiful day.  We got stuck a few times with traffic, though.  The first time, we were up past Gainesville where I-985 has become a four lane highway.  There were police cars blocking the traffic both ways at an intersection.  We waited patiently, thinking maybe a funeral procession was coming or something.  It turned out to be a classic car parade that was passing by.  Bill enjoyed trying to figure out what all the cars were.  He said that was the best reason ever to get stopped in traffic!

Going through Clayton, it was a terrible mess - barely stop and go.  We eventually got to the source - a bad accident right in the intersection, involving at least three vehicles.  The third delay was as we were driving from Franklin to Bryson City.  It is a little two-lane mountain road, very winding.  We got in a line of traffic behind a tractor, who proceeded to drive for several miles before he finally turned off.  Welcome to the mountains!

We had hoped to be at the cabin around 2:00, but it turned out to be more like 2:45, with all our delays.  We are pleased with the place.  It is very clean and well stocked with paper products, etc.  It is a nice layout, with two bedrooms and two bathrooms.  The best feature is the deck off with a beautiful view!

We do not have cell phone service - I think it is the first time I have had my phone simply say "No Service."  But, there is wi-fi, so we have access to the computers and the other stuff on the iPhone. 

We got ourselves all moved in and stuff put away and then just enjoyed a quiet evening; a lot of it spent just looking out the window at the view and the sunset.  We fixed dinner here and Bill watched the World Series, while I read.

The first day is already a success!

October 23rd - Art Class - Way Too Much Fun!

Art class was today and the girls worked on their big pumpkin patch paintings.  They are very serious about what they are doing and it is so cute.  Today we finished all the background and got the barn painted.  Next week we will do the trees and pumpkins and it should be finished!

The rest of the day was busy, too.  I changed sheets and then did an additional five loads of laundry.  I got my suitcase packed.  I got the food planned and a shopping list made out.  Oops, I was too tired to actually go to the store, so that will have to be done first thing in the morning. 

October 22nd - Family History Day - What Else? It is Wednesday!

The steering committee for the Genealogy Study Group was standing at the door when I got to the Family History Center this morning.  We had scheduled a follow-up meeting to discuss a couple of things that needed more time.  We had a good meeting and were able to accomplish everything on our agenda.  We just met in the Center, since I was there alone today.  I had two patrons come in, as well, but they were both working on their own and did not require my help.  Then the sister missionaries came in with a sister who had just been baptized and had been called to work at the Center.  She thought she was supposed to work from 12 - 2, but I didn't know anything about it.  I spent a little time with her and got her going on FamilySearch so she could get some names to take to the temple to do baptisms for later this week.  She will come back tomorrow to meet with Brother Peoples. 

I went straight from the Center to visit teach.  My appointment was for 1:00, but I was just a little bit late.  My companion had called earlier that she couldn't make it because of some family issues, so I went on alone.  We had a great visit. 

When I finally got home, Bill was already home.  He had a light work day today.  I had some lunch and then worked on some computer things.  He had some errands and then went home teaching this evening.

We got a final confirmation for the cabin, so we will be going to NC on Friday, after all.  We are excited.  Hopefully, the place will be nice.  Pictures look good, but one never knows.  At least it is really up in the mountains!

Tomorrow will be a big day!

October 21st - Happy Birthday, Jason!

It is hard to imagine Jason at age 37, but that is how old he would be today.  Of course, he will always be 21 to us.  We didn't "do" anything, other than remember him.  Interestingly, one of my high school classmates lost a college age daughter in a car accident near that same time.  I didn't know until today that she lost her on October 21st, Jason's birthday.  We messaged a little about it today.

Other than running a couple of errands, I was home most of the day.  Yes, working on family history, mostly. 

Lisa and David wanted to go to the temple this evening, as the daughter of a friend was taking out her endowments prior to leaving on a mission.  I went over to their place around 5:00, so I could watch the kids.  We had a great time, but they were both so tired that they were in bed pretty early - Ashby by 7:30 and Brooks right after. 

Bad news today was that we found out there is a problem using the cabin this weekend, which we have been planning to do.  So when I got home, we looked for some alternatives that weren't too expense and found a possibility.  We should find out tomorrow if we get it.  Of course, everything is more expensive than free, but we are so looking forward to spending a long weekend in North Carolina that we decided that spending a few hundred extra was worth it.

October 20th - Family Home Evening - In Other Words "Let's Go Out for Dinner!"

I spent almost the whole day working on family history.  I had to clear up some things left from my Sunday class.  Then I worked some more on the Cantrell family that is such a mess on FamilySearch.  I made quite a bit of headway, but sometimes things just go so slowly!

I finally gave out mid-afternoon and took a nap.  It was supposed to be a short one, but ended up being a little longer than I had planned!  I guess I was tired.  I don't really like to nap, but I have been so sleepy lately, so I finally have given up.

Bill got home a little bit early and suggested that we go out for dinner for Family Home Evening.  We rarely do anything for FHE, so it was obviously just an excuse to go out.  We went to Longhorn's and had very good steaks.

October 19th - Back to Sunday Already - Best Day of the Week!

Today was another of those repeat days - pretty much the same as every other Sunday.  Then again, why would we change anything that works so well?

My class went well.  I had about 10 people and we spent the whole time online learning Family Tree person page.  It was part two of the lesson started last week.  I think they all learned something and they certainly had plenty of questions and comments.  That makes teaching even more fun.

At home, I got dinner cooking.  I had made a chicken Mexican rice casserole this morning, so it had to bake.  Because it was so cold, though, it took longer to get hot than I had anticipated.  I ended up putting it in the microwave to finish.  I should have thought of that in the first place.  We also had yellow squash and onions, along with some cucumbers.  I was actually pretty good.  I will need to actually buy some meat one of these days!

While we were waiting for the casserole to heat up, the kids were playing outside and wanted sheets put up on the fort so there was a roof and walls.  Ashby decided it was like a stage, so we had to watch her "show."  It was cute.  She is into pratfalls and trying to make us laugh.  After dinner, we had to go back out and watch another show in the dark.  She wanted the flashlight to be a spotlight.  Very funny!

Later, our home teacher came by for a nice visit.  We do enjoy him.

All in all, another "best day of the week."

October 18th - Cleaning Day

Bill was invited to have breakfast with David and the kids and then to help him finish up a job.  Of course, his primary purpose was to babysit the kids, since they were along on the job.  That left me alone at home, so I was able to really get a lot done.  I seemed to have more energy than usual, so I was able to do a pretty thorough cleaning in the house - better than usual, anyway.  Plus, there were some loads of laundry to finish up.  And, of course, I had to figure out dinner for Sunday.  I am out of meat, other than a couple of small items, so I had to either go to the store or get creative.  I chose creative!

In between cleaning chores, I worked on the computer.  I had to get ready for my Sunday lesson.  We will just be doing FamilySearch, but I needed to find a family that I could use as an example to make corrections, merge duplicates, etc.  Mission accomplished! I also managed to clear off quite a bit of the excess piles of things from the desk.  It looks much better now, although there is still one pile.  I will never get everything done!

Bill got home in the afternoon, took his nap, and then headed outside to work on the yard.  So between us, we got a lot of work done on the house today. 

October 17th - Lost in Family History

I haven't had a lot of serious family history time lately, but I managed to spend a good bit of today immersed in it.  I have a presentation to do in November, so that is what got me started.  And, as often happens, that just led from one thing to another!

I did take a break and run out to pick up a storage order that had come in.  The sister who handles the order really needed to have the stuff picked up so she could get her living room back!  It was just enough of a break before I got lost again in the family history.  It makes for a rather boring blog, but a great day!

I also actually cooked dinner this evening.  I know - we were all in shock!

October 16th - Relief Society Other Meeting - or Whatever We Are Supposed to Call It!

This is Thursday, so the highlight of the day was art class with Ashby and Abby.  We started to paint a "real" picture today.  We will be mixing many of our own colors (as follow up to last week's study of the color wheel) and we are painting it on a canvas panel.  It will probably take us three weeks to finish, but we got a really good start today.

This evening was our Relief Society monthly meeting.  (No one knows what to call it anymore!)  They had three teachers about being balanced: our bodies, our finances, and spiritually.  I taught the last, which was being balanced spiritually when we are so busy.  I wasn't sure what to do with that kind of a topic, but I pulled some things together and it actually turned out well.  There were not many there, but they all talked and shared.  I think it was a success.

October 15th - Familiy History Day

I had to be down to the FHC by 9:00 this morning, as we had a special speaker coming for the Genealogy Study Group and I needed to meet him early and get things set up for him.  He turned out to be a great speaker and I thoroughly enjoyed his presentation.  He was the first black man to be inducted into the Sons of the American Revolution in Georgia.  He shared his journey of finding out about his ancestors and was really interesting.  He has also written a book.  I bought a copy and am looking forward to reading it.  We were lucky to have him, as he speaks all over the country, but since he lives in this area, he didn't require any speaker's fee - just to sell his books.

After the meeting, the steering committee met, as usual, and we had a productive meeting.  We will meet again next week to try to make some changes that we hope will improve the group.

I was tired when I finally got home, so I rested while I ate some lunch and watched a movie - not particularly good, but it was relaxing.  Then it was back to the computer to start working on the presentation/class I have to teach in November.  I finally settled on the topic - it will be about the Person page of Family Tree and how to edit, add, find duplicates, and search for documents. 

October 14th - Rainy Day!

I had some errands that I needed to do today and when it was so rainy, I hoped I could just stay home.  Or maybe the rain would let up early enough for me to still get the errands done.  No luck for me today!  It kept raining and I finally had to run out in the rain.  Both errands had to be done today, no exceptions, so I just got wet!  I also got the errands done.

Other than that, my day was pretty quiet.  I had some things to work on and kept busy with those things and with the usual routine.  By evening, the sun actually peeked out.  If I had waited for the sun, I would not have been able to get those errands done.

Funny day - going out in the rain seemed to be the biggest moment of the whole day!

October 13th - What a To-Do List!

I make piles of things to be done on my desk and every once in a while I have to work on whatever I have piled up.  Well, that was my task today.  I had just done this not long ago and I don't know how I have managed to get such a pile so soon.  That was the bulk of my day!  Fortunately, I was able to get rid of several items.  What I really can't figure out, though, is how the pile can still be so big!  I suspect that I have gotten lazy and am not doing things when I should, rather just adding things to the pile.  I must address that - one of these days!  Ha!

October 12th - Sunday

Our Sunday was pretty much routine - which is a good thing!  My class went well.  I think they are starting to catch some of the vision of what family history should really be.  I had to play the piano for Primary during the last hour.

At home, the kids were outside playing in the back yard and having fun.  I love hearing them laugh and play out there.  Ashby wanted a roof on the fort, so David took an old sheet and put it up.  They really loved that.  I think it made the fort feel like a "real" fort.

We finished up dinner and enjoyed eating with the family.  The kids must have been hungry, too, as they both ate really well.  I think Brooks scooped up about three helpings of rigatoni - he does love pasta!

Later, we were entertained by Ashby and her ballroom dancing.  She is actually very good - graceful and all the right moves!

As usual, Sunday has been a great day - spiritual feasting, getting to teach family history, and then time with the family.  What could be better?

October 11th - Meet the Mormons

Our day centered around getting to the Meet the Mormons movie and then getting back so we could watch the kids while David and Lisa went to it.  We did the 12:15 show, so in the morning I got started on laundry and a few other things done.  Then we were off.

The movie was good and we enjoyed it.  I think it made #10 nationwide for the opening night, so that is great.  Of course, almost everyone who went was already a Mormon, but maybe it will stick around a few more showings and others will hear about it.

After the movie, we hurried home where the kids were waiting for us.  We had fun playing with them for the next couple of hours.  Well, actually, it was mostly Grandpa playing with them.  They love it when he is around to play, so I stayed in the background, finishing the laundry, etc.

When they picked up the kids, we had to turn around and leave right away to go to a dinner for the Family History Center people.  There were only eight of us there, but the dinner was very good - all home-cooked Italian by the Center director and he was quite proud of his accomplishment!

It has been a busy day, with no down time, but it was certainly not a boring day!

October 10th - Lunch AND Dinner Out!

I was doing my usual morning "stuff" when Lisa called and said that they had just dropped Ashby off at her home school group and Brooks wanted to come to Kids Up by Grandma's house.  I was invited to come, too.  So we spent the next couple of hours watching Brooks run, at full speed, from one thing to another.  He had so much fun and was not really ready to leave when it was time, although he was exhausted.  We went to Mexican for some lunch.  It turned out he slept in his car seat for about 45 minutes on the way home.  He really was exhausted!

Back home, I finished up my to do list and ended up taking a short nap myself.  Bill called on his way home and said that some friends, who have recently moved to Charleston, would be at the house around 6:30.  When they got here, we discussed whether to go to the Meet the Mormons movie this evening or not and decided that it was too late to catch the 7:00 movie and the 9:30 would be too late.  (We will go tomorrow during the day.)  Instead, we went up to Winder to Smokin' Jacks to have some BBQ.  Very good!  Best part, of course, was having the chance to get caught up with our friends.  We left the restaurant when they were trying to close, so we came back to the house and talked some more.  We all enjoyed the evening.

October 9th - Art Class Again!

My weeks seem to be a bit of a rut - fortunately a good rut!  So, today was Thursday and that meant art class for Ashby and Abby.  Our topic today was primary colors and we had fun doing two project:  a snail color wheel and rainbow hair.  Such fun!

 The Snail Color Wheels

 Abby's Rainbow Hair

Ashby's Rainbow Hair

Once they left, I did some of the usual routine that I hadn't gotten done earlier, including finishing several loads of laundry.  I was so tired that I finally gave up and took a rather long nap.  Bill was home when I woke up and we had leftovers for dinner.  

Art Class day is always a fun one!

October 8th - Family History Day

Today was Family History Center day, but we didn't have any patrons again.  It turned out OK, though, since I took my new computer and worked on learning more about it and Phyllis had a project that she really needed to finish (unrelated to family history), so we both accomplished something - even if it wasn't what we were there for!

In the afternoon, I took some time and worked on preparing for art class tomorrow.  I already had the plans, but I needed to make some examples of what we are going to do and make sure I had everything we needed.  That ended up taking quite a bit of time, which was time well-spent and fun, too!

The rest of my day was pretty low key.  I was very tired, but I have been trying not to nap, so I ended up watching a little TV - The Vikings again - and doing some things on the computer that didn't require deep thinking.

Bill had a job in Milledgeville today, so he didn't get home until 8:30ish - way too late, if you ask me. 

October 7th - New Laptop!

My day was not so lazy as yesterday.  For one thing, I felt better so I had more energy.  Plus, I had to have the car at the dealership by 8:30 for a recall on the ignition switch.  I went from there to Staples to buy a new laptop computer.  I have been using my little Acer notebook, which I have loved, but which has started showing signs of impending disaster.  I had a $100 off coupon at Staples, which meant the price was right in line with other places.  Plus, we have always had good costumer service from them.  Bottom line, I bought an HP with a touch screen.  It seems so big after using my little tiny one, but I think I will like it.  Well, that is, if I can ever learn how to use Windows 8!

I spent most of the rest of my day playing with it and trying to learn how to do the things I needed.  I was able to get the office software all loaded and then it took me a few hours to figure out how to access it on the screen.  Mission finally accomplished!  I still have a lot to add and to learn, but it is certainly a nice computer.

This evening, Bill had activity night at church, and I was pretty tired of the computer, so I watched the first episode of a new series - The Vikings.  I am not sure it is something I will really like, as it is quite violent, but my son had told me it was really good and I should watch it, so here goes.

October 6th - Totally Lazy Day!

I have been fighting a sore throat - thinking that if I ignore it, it will go away.  Well, today it is worse than it has been, so I have pretty much done nothing of great value all day.  I rested, watched the rest of The Tudors, worked on the computer some, etc.  Other than that, I didn't accomplish much of value!




PS - And I even forgot to post this - talk about lazy!

October 5th - The Rest of Conference Weekend

I spent the morning working on some things at the computer, primarily my RS class that is coming up, but a few other things, too.  I talked to Lisa and they planned to come over after the 1st session of conference and we would grill hamburgers and hot dogs for our dinner.

After watching the first session, Bill and I got dinner ready to go.  Lisa and family timed it perfectly, so we were able to finish up and get the burgers on the grill shortly after they got here.  We enjoyed our dinner - the kids were really excited for hot dogs! 

We had the second session on, but with the excitement of the kids running around, we didn't actually catch it all.  That is usually the case.  I know some people make the little ones sit and watch, too, but I have never felt that was necessary.  I don't want them to hate conference, so watching a little is fine with me.  It was an absolutely perfect day and they played out in the backyard for a long time.  It was fun hearing them laughing and playing out there.  That was the time when we got to see the most of conference.

At the end of conference, a special came on BYU-TV about the ballroom dance team traveling back to China and meeting with some dance instructors there who had come to BYU years ago to learn about ballroom dancing.  Ashby is in to ballroom dancing big time at the moment, so she was excited to see the dance segments.  After the show, she put on quite the performance for us.

It has been a great conference weekend and a wonderful Sabbath. 

October 4th - General Conference

I did my usual routine, getting the house straightened, some laundry done, dinner planned for tomorrow, etc.  I also spent some time on the computer and working on other projects, like art class and the RS presentation I have coming up. 

Then at noon, everything stopped so we could watch the first session of general conference.  I don't even need to say that it was really good - it always is.  During the break, I had some lunch and finished up some things, then watched the second session at 4:00.  Another break and then Bill went off to the chapel for the Priesthood session, which I watched at home.  All the talks were great and the music was beautiful.  My absolute favorite was the missionary choir from the MTC, which sang in the priesthood session.

So that has been my day - being fed spiritually!  (And getting a few other things done, as well.)

October 3rd - Homemade Soup Kind of Day

It was so dark, with rain and thunder, this morning that I actually put on a pot of soup.  It just felt like that kind of a day.  I just used a soup mix from my storage and added some extra potatoes, cheeses, and sour cream.  It was so tasty - and my house smelled good all day.

Other than that, I didn't do much.  You know, it was that kind of a day!  Well, I got the sheets laundered and put back on the bed, plus a few other odds and ends.  I tried working at the computer, but it was so slow that I finally ran disk clean and defrag, hoping to speed it up a little.  That took forever - since it was already so slow - so I watched a couple more episodes of The Tudors.

I think I was a little too lazy today.  My desk is a mess and I should probably have attacked that while the computer was working.  Oh, well.  Maybe tomorrow!

October 2nd - Art Class

I had time to get the routine things done and some laundry started before the girls showed up for art class.  Ashby brought her friend Abby again so they could finish what we started last week.  They had to repaint the foam, as it had flaked off.  I used gesso this time and switched to an acrylic paint.  I think it will work now.  While they repainted, we reviewed about Claude Monet.  Then they traced circles and ovals onto their tissue paper and cut out the lily pads.  They were glued to the pond (it was dry enough by then) and also made tiny pink flowers with tissue paper and glued those on, too.  Finally, they glued on the frogs they made with clay last week.  Abby also added some green bushes along one side of her pond.  They turned out really cute.

  

Cutting out the lily pads.

Gluing the frog onto a lily pad.

Ashby and Abby with their finished projects.

 Claude Monet's Lily Pond

Multi-media 3-D

And that was the highlight of my day!

October 1st - It's Wednesday, so It Must Be Family History Day!

My friend did not go with me to the Family History Center today and we had no other patrons come in.  That meant my co-worker and I spent the whole time talking (mostly family history stuff) and working on our own things.  I really need to take advantage of those kinds of days and work on learning more about some of the premium sites and other things that I don't know well, but it is just so tempting to work on my stuff!

The rest of my day was rather quiet - the usual computer time and more family history, preparing things, etc.  But, I also spent some time just resting as I was so tired this afternoon.  I watched a couple of episodes of The Tudors.  It is a great series, but I do get tired of the unnecessary nudity and have to forward through sections almost every time.  The story is so interesting, though.  I have finished the first two seasons and am ready to start the 3rd.

September 30th - Dinner Guests

There is a family that we have been trying to get together with to have dinner, but there are always so many scheduling conflicts that it never works.  So, we found a date several weeks ago and they came over for hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill.  We had to make it a little early - 5:00 - since both he and Bill had to be at activities at church tonight, but we managed to have a nice dinner first.  Mission accomplished!

That meant I had a few errands to get done today, including straightening the house a little better than usual and running out for some groceries.  It all came together very nicely.  Their little girls had fun playing in the toy room and outside in the playhouse. 

The rest of my day was spent as usual - family history, other projects, etc.  A very good day!