April 25th - Saturday Morning

I should be cleaning the house, but......any excuse in the storm, right? 

This has been a busy week.  I had a patron at the Family History Center on Wednesday who needed help, so I spent about 3 hours with him.  He comes every week and usually works on his own, but he had questions today.  We found some answers, but also found  more questions!  I do love helping people with their family history.

Thursday was art class.  In addition to Ashby and her friend Abby, they brought a third friend, Bronson.  The three of them were so cute.  We talked about Georgia O'Keefe and then painted a picture of a close up of a flower.  They all did so well.  Apparently, Bronson enjoyed it, according to his mother, so the three of them will probably be back next week.  That will be Abby's last day, as she is moving.

I had a fun texting convo with my roommates yesterday.  It is fun to connect with them spontaneously over silly things.  We are hoping for a September reunion.  Then we can really catch up!

Well, I guess I should get back to real life.  The house is all straightened, so the rest of the cleaning shouldn't take long.  I have quite a to-do list to work on, so I should be busy all day.

April 17th - Been Missing for a While!

The last blog I posted was on March 8th.  I went in to write my next day's blog and I just didn't feel like doing it anymore.  So I just stopped!  It has been over a month and I am still not much interested in writing anymore.  How funny is that?

Anyway, I may write on occasion, but I am not going to be keeping a daily blog for the foreseeable future.

I can fill in the last month and a half by saying - "Things as usual!"  Art class continues each week and we keep having more fun.  For the rest of the year, there will be three artists in the class.  I work at the Family History Center every Wednesday and have a couple of patrons who come every week now.  It is certainly more fun when there are people who want help.  The Genealogy Study Group continues to meet monthly and I am still doing presentations and working closely with the group - and loving it, I might add.

The kids still come over most Sundays for dinner and to spend time together.  Ashby and Brooks continue to grow and get smarter every day!  And cuter, if I do say so myself.  I still love the job of grandmother.

So, I guess, I don't have much new news to talk about.  We went to the Aurora Theatre last night to a play - "The Explorer's Club" - very funny and well-done.  We are buying the house from Billy and hope to be able to close on that by mid-May.  The appraiser came by yesterday.

Well, we will see when I am prompted to write again!

March 8th - Another Beautiful Sunday!

As usual, church services were wonderful this morning.  The talks in Sacrament Meeting were all really good - about parenting.  My class went well.  They are getting so excited about what they are learning that it makes it fun to teach! 

Back home, I got the pork chops with tomatoes ready for the oven, as well as everything else planned so it could be cooked at the right time.  Bill baked a frozen fruit pie, so the house really smelled good!  I worked on family history a bit and then decided I was tired and wanted to take a nap.  I do love Sunday afternoon naps!  And I had a nice one. 

After the nap, I worked a little more on family history, then got dinner actually cooking.  Lisa and family arrived a little after 5:00 and we finished up dinner.  Everyone seemed to like it - of course, when spaghetti is on the menu, the kids are always happy!

It was a warm sunny day, so the kids and Toby were outside as much as they could be.  They love being out in the yard when the weather allows it.

I had to leave by 6:00 to go to a family history consultants meeting, so I ate and ran and left the clean up to everyone else.  I had to present the class at 7:00, after the consultants meeting.  Brother Peoples had asked me just this week to talk about Roots Tech 2015.  We just had two people from the community who showed up.  I think it went well and I was able to talk about some of the new things that were introduced, as well as about some of the classes I took.  They now all know where to go to get the videos and the syllabus materials that are available on the website.

The kids were gone by the time I got home, of course.  I don't like having Sunday meetings, but it was still a great Sunday.  It is always fun to see the grandkids and I enjoyed their standing in the front yard waving as I left.  Makes my heart feel good!

March 7th - Beautiful Saturday!

It was so nice to have a warm and sunny day after all the rain we have had the last few weeks.  Here is hoping it lasts for a few days this time!

I got an extra burst of energy and cleaned a little deeper than usual.  At least the kitchen and the hall bathroom have gotten a thorough do over.  Everything else is pretty much cleaned, but not quite so well!  Bill managed to get some time in the yard, which has been looking awful.  He got the area where the tree was taken out cleaned up and smoothed out.  Plus, he got the yard cleaned up.  There was a lot more than just brown grass in the yard and it looks so much better!

We had a train table that had been given to us a couple weeks ago.  I had saved it for a friend, so today we ran that over to her house.  Then we made a stop at the library to pick up some more books on CD. 

I worked for a while on a presentation I have to do about Roots Tech.  We have a family history consultant meeting tomorrow and the director just called a couple of days ago to ask me to do the class on Roots Tech.  It didn't give me much time to prepare, but it should be OK.

Time changes tonight - seems early - but it will be nice to have it stay light later in the day.  Now, if we can just get up in time for church in the morning!

March 6th - Visiting Teaching

We only had contact visits with two of our sisters last month, so we decided to start out right this month and visited them both today.  Both visits were fun.  It feels so good to do visiting teaching at the beginning of the month.  We have an appointment with our other sister next week, so we are on a roll!

After our visiting, we went out for lunch at Del Rio.  My companion is moving the end of April to Illinois, so we will not be companions anymore.  We have become really good friends, too, and for a long time she went with me to the Family History Center each week.  She has been babysitting her great-grandson while the parents are in school, so we haven't gotten together as much.  It seemed like a good idea to take advantage of the chance today. 

March 5th - Art Class

I had not expected to have art class today since Lisa was supposed to teach Joy school.  However, with everyone being sick, another mother traded with her.  So, she called and said could they come on over and do it after all.  I already had it planned, so it worked out fine.  We did a multi-media self-portrait.  We sketched the head and shoulders, cut it out, glued to a background paper, and then decorated it with a variety of materials, including oil pastels, pipe cleaners, button, decorative paper, flowers, puff balls, google eyes, and who knows what else.  Ashby's really turned out cute, although she had a bit of a rough start since it was hard to draw a large circle with ears and have it look right.  She kept trying, though, and finally got it almost perfect.  Lots of fun.

The rest of my day was pretty ordinary - laundry, straightening around the house, working on family history, etc.

March 4th - Busy Day at the Family History Center

Opps - I seem to have missed two days on the blog.  Not sure how I did that.  I guess I just got side-tracked, thought I had done it, and didn't bother to check.  Oh, well.  I didn't do anything worth worrying about anyway!   Well, other than doing a genealogy merit badge workshop for the 11 year old scouts.  What fun that was!

Today was my day to work at the Family History Center.  It turned out to be a busy day.  There were three people who came in, all needing help.  I love it when we are busy.  And I especially love it when they all get excited about what they find!  I didn't leave until almost 1:00, in fact. 

Back home, I had lunch, did a few odds and ends and rested a little (because I was so tired!)  It has been a good day.  I again have a great big "to do" pile on the desk and need to get busy again.  I still haven't figured out how a pile can accumulate so fast!

March 1st - In like a Lion, so hoping for out like a lamb!

We are getting just a bit tired of all the rain.  Another day of it today and it looks like most of the week, too.  Enough, already!  We need some spring!

We had the grandkids spending the night and they were both so good.  They both slept all night without getting up.  Then everyone was awake and up around 7 or so.  We got some bagels for breakfast, got to play a few minutes, then got ready for church.  They were both good during church.  They had taken some books to read and some paper and pencils to draw.  Brooks started getting a little antsy by the end.  He has developed another runny nose and his cheeks were bright red.  He didn't feel like he had a fever, so hoping he is not coming down with something else. 

We decided we would just go home after Sunday School.  They were both not really wanting to go to Primary, as they didn't know anyone.  So, they just stayed in my Family History class with Bill.  I think they were drawing the whole time.  My class went well and we had fun learning some more things about FamilySearch. 

When we got home, we were all hungry, and Ashby wanted French toast, so that is what we had for lunch.  Well, Brooks chose left over mac & cheese from yesterday.  The rest of us had the French toast.  Then the kids played together the rest of the afternoon.  They were so cute.  They had the horses and the legos again and they were totally immersed in their play. 

I got dinner preps done, too.  We had grilled filet mignon, baked potatoes, fresh broccoli, cantaloupe, and biscuits.  Followed by an angel food cake for Lisa's birthday.  Bill insisted we put 39 candles on it, so we had quite a flame going!  The kids loved it.

David was still not feeling all that well, but he made it over, too.  He ate a little bit, but a lot of it was just too heavy when recovering from a stomach bug.  Brooks was more than happy to offer to eat Daddy's piece of cake (just the frosting, of course), since he wasn't feeling well.  How generous the child is!

They didn't stay too late, since the kids were tired and David was, too.  It was a fun day, though.  Once they left, it felt overly quiet around here.  It will probably take us a few days to recuperate!  Love those grandkids!!!

February 28th - Grandkids, Circus, and Birthday Celebrations for Lisa

This has been a busy Saturday.  Good thing I had a slow day yesterday!  We met Lisa and kids at the Gwinnett Arena for the Ringling Brothers Barnum & Bailey circus.  We had gone last year and it was so much fun, so that is what Lisa chose for her birthday this year.  It was a good circus, but the best part was how excited Ashby and Brooks were.  They both just bounced in their seats almost the whole time, with shouting and clapping and all the rest.

After the circus, they came home with us to spend the night.  The original plan was to allow Lisa and David to go out to a nice dinner for her birthday and then to have a quiet evening.  The unplanned part was David getting the same stomach virus that the rest of them had already had.  That was why David did not make it to the circus.  We still kept the kids, so at least they had a quiet house for him to be able to rest.  Lisa just took advantage of the quiet time for herself.

The kids were still so excited about the circus that they played circus for hours after we got home.  It was really cute.  They went to bed a little late, but both slept all night without waking, so that was good.  Brooks slept in the guest bed and Ashby slept with us.  She just likes to cuddle.  Plus, she had a little bit of homesickness.  It reminded me of when Lisa was small and we would have to go pick her up in the middle of the night from sleepovers.  At least Ashby made it through.

What a great day - but we are both exhausted! 

February 27th - Just a Friday

I didn't do much of interest today.  Well, I was busy all day, but it wasn't all that interesting to retell.  I have a lot of days like that.  Mostly I worked on my presentation and got the first draft of the outline done.  I have a pretty good idea of what I want to include and how it will be organized and getting it down on paper makes it easier to finish up the details.  I was also able to begin to outline the power point presentation, although I didn't get anything done on creating it.  I also decided that I needed a case study to prove that my points are valid, so I focused on someone that I will research using my points to get an example of how it works.  That means I will be doing some research over the next several days - yea!  I love doing the research.

I did rest for a while and watched the Downton Abbey episode from this week.  I think there is only one more week left. 

Looking back, it sounds like another lazy day - and maybe it was!  But, I am happy with what I accomplished.  Another couple of weeks and I may actually have the presentation pretty much finished.  Well, considering that I keep changing things - probably not, but maybe it will be close!

February 26th - Art Class

I tackled the laundry this morning - 4 loads plus the sheets.  It took a good hunk of the day getting it all done, folded and put away.  Ashby was supposed to come for art class this morning, but I didn't hear from them, so I just figured they had a conflict.  I was busy with the laundry and working on family history, so I didn't think too much about.  Around noon, Lisa called and said they had forgotten!  There had been no Joy School today, so their routine was interrupted and they had just forgotten.  Since they had not other plans, they came on over and we had class in the afternoon.

Brooks wanted to come up, too, so Lisa came to help with him.  We read a couple of books about Pablo Picasso and how he started painting like everyone else.  He was very good and eventually made a lot of money, but he was bored painting the same picture over and over.  So, he started painting how he wanted to paint and he didn't care that people thought his art was "ugly."  It was another good lesson about how we need to do art to make ourselves happy and not others.

Then we made a picture that copied Picasso's painting of hands holding flowers.  We just traced our hands, using oil pastels, and drew circles for the centers of the flowers.  Then we used water colors to paint the flowers and the petals and the stems.  They turned out really cute. 

Brooks even traced his hand and tried painting with the water colors.  It wasn't as easy as the acrylics had been, but he gave it a good try.  Then he decided he wanted to play with the clay, so Lisa helped him make a dinosaur while Ashby finished painting her picture.

After they left, I rested a little.  I am trying to finish up this book about researching female ancestors and I am just about there.  Other than that, the rest of my day was pretty much like always!

February 25th - Family History Day

So, schools closed today, because it is supposed to snow later.  Some reports say by 10:00, others say by 2:00.  Just to be safe, they closed the schools.  Yes, a silly decision, especially considering that they were only half day anyway because of conferences.  We close the Family History Center for weather based on the school closing.  But, I had scheduled some things, so I went on in anyway.

I am glad I did.  There was a small group from the Study Group that are working on writing their family stories, so they set up in the FHC to discuss what they were doing.  One of the ladies who came wanted to actually do some personal research, so we went to get her set up with a FamilySearch account.  We just couldn't get it to work and finally I contacted the help desk.  They called and talked to her.  It took forever, and she had to passed up the chain.  They eventually figured out that it was a system glitch and hopefully they have it fixed.  At least, she and I weren't nutty!

There was also one other woman who came in to look at a microfilm.  So the place was absolutely buzzing!  I wish it was always like that.  My co-worker didn't come in, since we were technically closed, but I am sure glad I did!

I also got a message from one of the young women in the ward.  She said she enjoyed my talk on Sunday and they were going to the temple on Saturday.  She wondered if I had any names that needed to be baptized.  When I got home, I looked and I have two that could be printed, but that is all.  There are probably others that I could prepare quickly, so I will see if I can work in a little time tomorrow or Friday.

She also said that she would be available if I wanted any housecleaning done.  She and her friend have cleaned the house a few times.  She is trying to earn money for girls camp and other summer activities.  Naturally, I told her she could come anytime and clean my house!

The rest of my afternoon was rather quiet.  I had some odds and ends to take care of.  Bill got home early, since it had finally started snowing and they shut the job site down.  We both ended up taking naps.  Such energy with the senior crowd!  The snow didn't amount to much and it never got quite cold enough to freeze on the streets. 

February 24th - Lazy Day!

I didn't have anything important planned for today, so other than the normal routine, I was rather lazy.  I did some family history stuff, though.  I had a couple of people who had needed help and I got that done.  I also worked a little on my next presentation.

When he left, Bill asked what I planned to do all day.  I told him that it seemed like the kind of day where I should just curl up in the chair and read.  When he got home, I was in the chair.  He asked if I had accomplished by goal for the day.  I had to say, "Yes."  What I read was a book about finding female ancestors, which is the topic of my next presentation.  I did do some other things besides sit and read, but that was definitely the best part of my day!

February 23rd - Meeting with the Lawyer

First thing this morning, we had a meeting with an attorney to get this contract for buying the house from Billy.  We just pulled a name from the hat, but we liked him and feel comfortable.  We will also have him handle the closing.  He should get the contract to us later in the week and we will get the signatures and then get it sent on to the mortgage company. 

Bill went off to do a little work once we got back home.  I had some errands to do, as well - gas for the car, a few groceries including refreshments for this evening, picking up prescriptions, etc.  Once that was all done, I was able to do a few family history things.  I had a ward member with a question that I needed to spend a little time on.  I also had something from someone in the community, who couldn't view the copies of some death certificates.  I got those downloaded and sent to her, as well.  There were a couple of other little things. 

This evening was Empty Nesters Family Home Evening and we had a great evening.  There were 21 people there, which is a great turnout.  We did poetry - everyone was supposed to bring a poem to share.  One of the men writes poetry, so we especially enjoyed hearing several of his poems, which were extremely well done!  It was a fun evening.

February 22nd - Happy Birthday, David!

I had to give a talk at church this morning.  It went pretty well, except for the sound system going down and there being no microphone at all.  I can talk pretty loud, so even the people in the back could hear me.  My topic was family history stories, so I got to tell stories, which even the teenagers liked.

My lesson went well, too.  Next week we will only do FamilySearch, with no other lesson. 

It is David's birthday today and he had chosen to have tacos for his birthday dinner.  When we got home, we got the meat prepared and the other things planned.  Then there was time to get a little nap before the kids got here.  We loved the tacos.  Lisa brought cupcakes for his birthday cake, and the kids were so excited to sing to Daddy.

Between naps and the kids coming, our home teacher stopped by and we had a good visit with him. 

So, it has been another wonderful Sunday!

February 21st - Wicked

Lisa and David got theater tickets for Christmas from David's brother.  They had four tickets, but Brooks wasn't interested in going, so they asked Grandpa to babysit with him and I got to go in his place.  We left early so we could have some lunch first.  We went to a pizza place that does Chicago style deep dish, but the service was a mess.  All that saved them was that the pizza was incredibly good!  They did discount the bill from $46 to $20 to make up for our having to wait so long.  Good deal for me, since I paid for it.

Then we went to the Fox for the show Wicked.  I had never seen the show, although I had heard much of the music before.  I enjoyed it very much.  Ashby was so enthralled that there were times when I enjoyed her as much as I enjoyed the show.  She does get into this musical theater stuff!

When we got back home, they stayed for dinner.  We ordered some Chinese which turned out to be just right.  It was a nice evening.  In fact, the whole day turned out great.

I did manage to finally get my talk written up in the morning, but I didn't have much time to really go over it.  I went through it once to make sure the time was OK.  Other than that, I will just hope it works!

February 20th - Doctor Visit

I had to get my prescription renewal exam this morning.  It ended up taking longer than normal, because of an emergency that kept the doctor busy.  Even so, it is nice to hear that all looks well.  He was pleased that I had lost over 30 pounds.  So, everything is staying just the same.

When I got home, I had to fix some dinner for the missionaries.  I made a meat loaf, baked potatoes, frozen peas, and homemade (frozen) bread.  One of the elders is sick with flu and Bill had to go to the Blue & Gold banquet, so he just dropped the meal off on his way.

The rest of my day was a little of this and a little of that.  I have again fallen behind on my to do list and I am going to have to get myself organized again.

February 19th - Visiting with the Sister Missionaries

I had a message from Lisa this morning that she had gotten the stomach flu now, so they would not make it over for art class this afternoon.  She wanted to know if I could come get the kids so she could rest.  Then she texted back and said that David was planning to get home early, so I didn't need to come for them.  So, that quick, my day did a different turn.  I spent time working on my talk and on my presentation.  For the talk, I got more clearly focused on just what I wanted to include.  Tomorrow I will have to actually write it out so I can see the length and what I need to delete or add.  For the presentation, I read some more in another book about finding female ancestors.  I also spent some "thinking" time.  I think I have a pretty good outline in my mind.  Now to get that down on paper, too, so I can then begin working on the power point part.

I took some time this afternoon and just collapsed.  I didn't go to sleep, but I cuddled up in the chair and watched a little TV.  I never used to watch anything, but I sure have been lately.  It is better than actually napping, as I relax some and can get re-energized.

Later in the afternoon, the sister missionaries came by and we went on a visit.  The son in the family is really into family history, so that is why they invited me.  We had a great visit and chatted up a storm about family history.  The family set up an appointment for next week to come back and talk about Joseph Smith.  They were a black family and I really enjoyed spending some time with them.

This evening, Bill got in from work, showered, and took off again for some home teaching.  I worked on a few things while he was gone and was back in the chair when he got home.  He though I was "still" there, but I assured him I was just there "again."  I guess he is starting to think that I do nothing but sit in the big chair and veg. 

February 18th - Family History Presentation

I was up and on my way this morning.  It is the 3rd Wednesday, which is always Genealogy Study Group and Family History Center.  Today I was also the main presenter.  My topic was timelines.  It is the same presentation I will do for the Family History Fair in May, so it was a bit of a practice run.  I am glad to say it went really well! 

When I finally got home, I fixed some lunch, watched a little Genealogy Roadshow while eating, and did a few other odds and ends around the place.  I was so tired by late afternoon that I actually went into the bed and took a nap.  I didn't wake up until around 6:00, so that was probably not the smartest thing I have ever done!

I even cooked some dinner when Bill got home from work.  This evening, I had a few computer things I worked on.  I have a huge list of things to do again.  Many of them are follow up to today's meeting, plus I have to finish my talk for Sunday and start working more seriously on my other presentation for May.  I do get myself busy; thank goodness, I love it!

February 17 - Ice Storm!

We spent a good bit of the night without power.  It was on when we went to sleep, but sometime during the night it went off.  I always know right away when we lose power, because my CPAP machine stops.  But, with no power, the clocks also stopped so I have no idea what time it was.  And I didn't care enough to get up and find out!

When we finally got up, there was still no power.  It was starting to get a bit chilly, so I just put sweats on over my PJ's.  As it turned out, the ice was pretty bad on things, but not so much on the roads, so they were clear by 9:00 or so.  Bill called his scheduled job to make sure they had power and then went off to work as usual, just a little late.

There was still no internet and I finally called later in the day.  There was a major outage in our area and they said it would be fixed by around 10:00 this evening.  That didn't happen, though, as it was still out when I went to bed.

At least the power came back on by around 10:00 this morning.  I can cook without power with the gas stove.  I just have to use a match to light the burners.  The heater, though, doesn't work without electricity.  Bill made sure there was plenty of firewood so I could do a fire if it got too cold.  But, it came on quick enough that I was OK.

Of course, I couldn't do anything on the computer.  I did a few other odds and ends and then just sat in the big chair and watched some HGTV and fell asleep.  I didn't sleep well after the power went out, because I didn't have the CPAP machine.  That means I keep waking up and never get into the good sleep.  I just made up for it in the afternoon!

This was one of those ice storms that didn't do a lot of real damage.  There are lots of tree branches down and some complete trees and, of course, power lines.  One friend had a tree go down that brushed the corner of their house, but did not break through the ceiling or wall.  It stayed cold all day, so the ice did not melt.  It was actually quite pretty.  The trees look like they are coated in crystal or glass and when the sun peeks out, they glimmer and shine.  But it never warmed up enough to melt any of it.  We will see what tomorrow brings!

February 16 - No Internet!

NOTE:  I am posting this a day late, because we had no internet service from Monday evening until Wednesday.   How awful to be without internet!  Who would have thought we could become so tied to it!


My biggest accomplishment today was getting the laundry all done.  I also got my unpacking done.  And I was able to get caught up on the computer stuff - at least until the internet went out in the afternoon.  Fortunately, we had power, so I could work on my power point presentation for Wednesday's meeting.  I think I have that about as ready as I can get it.

It gets remarkable difficult to know what to do when there is no internet.  I couldn't even watch my TV shows, since they stream from the wi-fi.  Fortunately, it was late enough in the day that I managed to fill my time.  I even cooked a real dinner.  Bill probably wishes the internet would go out more often!

In the evening, our power went out.  It is freezing rain and trees and lines are going down all over.  We rarely lose power, because the lines are buried, but somewhere further up the trunk line must have had wires come down.  So, we had candles all over the place.  I climbed in bed to read my kindle, which has a battery light attached to it.  But after a couple of hours, it all came back on.  It will be interesting to see what things look like in the morning.

February 15th - RootsTech 2015

Yes, I have missed several days.  Between getting ready to go and then being at the conference, I found myself not having enough energy to even take a few minutes to write the blog.

Monday and Tuesday were very busy.  Monday was errand day and I was out doing a lot of running around, picking up what I needed and making sure everything was ready for me to go.  Tuesday was laundry and packing. 

Wednesday, we left around 7:15 to head to the airport.  I got there in plenty of time and took off around 10:30.  Bill drove on down to Florida.  He spent the rest of the week with his sister Martha.

Vanett met me at the airport and we went to the hotel, got checked in and all.  We met up with Joyce there.  We walked across the street and got registered for the conference.  Then we walked over to City Creek to get some lunch.  We ate at Blue Lemon and it was really good.  It was fun to see Joyce and to get a chance to get caught up in person.  Eventually, we walked on over to the Joseph Smith Memorial Building, where Joyce was to meet John.  We enjoyed sitting in the lobby and talking for a little more.  When Joyce and John had to leave, Vanett and I walked through Temple Square on our way back to the Marriott.  It was remarkably warm - in the 60's all week.  It was colder in Georgia and even Florida!

We then relaxed in the motel for a while, going over all the stuff for RootsTech and making final selections on the classes we planned to take.  Then we went down to the hotel restaurant for a late snack - some appetizer type things that filled us up!

Thursday was the first day of the conference, starting with keynote speakers and then classes.  It was a fun day.  The day ended with a concert with Alex Boye and the One Voice Children's Choir.  We had had a very nice catered type lunch as part of one of our classes, so we only wanted a light dinner.  We ended up walking back to the Blue Lemon and having some avocado and spinach dip, which was so delicious!  Then more planning in the hotel for the next day's classes, as well as reviewing everything we learned on Thursday.

Friday was pretty much a repeat of Thursday, with different speakers.  Laura Bush was the main speaker and I really enjoyed her talk about how important the family is.  The speaker before her was Josh Taylor, who is one of the hosts on the TV shows, "Who Do You Think You Are?" and "Genealogy Roadshow."  We had another lunch class, but we still went out for dinner with some friends of Vanett.  We ate at the garden restaurant at the top of the JS Building.  Very enjoyable evening.

Saturday was the last day.  The keynote speakers were A J Jacobs, an author and promoter of the Worldwide Family Reunion in June.  The main speaker was Donnie Osmond, and again, I enjoyed his stories about family history and some of his ancestors.  He even sang a little.  Then we went to classes the rest of the day.  Saturday afternoon was Family Discovery Day, so the number of attendees went from around 8,000 to 20,000.  We attended the closing address of Elder Quenton L. Cooke, which was fun.  He had his family with him.  Then the closing entertainment was the cast of Studio C and David Archuleta.  With that the conference was finished.  We walked over to City Creek again and had a big, expensive dinner at the Brazilian steakhouse.  Oh, so good! 

Sunday it was up early to head to the airport and fly back home.  Bill picked me up.  It is good to be back home.  I had a wonderful time at the conference and I learned a lot.  I am hoping that I can bring some of that excitement back to my calling and share it with others.  The counselor in the bishopric called later and asked me to speak at church next Sunday.  So, I guess I will have a chance to share more about family history, since that is my topic! 

February 8th - Another Great Sunday!

We were at church this morning, as usual.  And, as usual, the meetings were good.  It is always such an uplifting morning.  My class went well, too.  This is a big group and they like to talk, but they are very focused and excited to learn to do family history.  That makes it a lot of fun!

I had prepared a big crockpot dinner, with pork roast, potatoes, carrots, onions, butternut squash, and apples last night.  So, this morning I just had to put it on to cook all day.  By the time we got home from church, the house was smelling mighty good.  It was hard to have to wait until the end of the day to eat it!  In the meantime, a little lunch snack tided us both over.

We both took short naps, although I never did fall asleep.  I read a little and just lay there relaxing the rest of the time.  My mind was going a thousand miles an hour, so I couldn't quite relax enough!  The rest of the afternoon, I worked at the computer.

When the kids got here, we were ready to have dinner right away.  Then Lisa and I went next door.  Monica called earlier to say they were getting rid of a bunch of stuff and there was a lot of Montessori school materials that she thought Lisa might like.  She was right!  She had a number of things that Lisa had hoped to buy.  Monica refused to take anything for them, although Lisa would have been thrilled to pay.  She was so excited!  She and David had just been talking the day before about getting some of the things that she had wanted, but had put off buying.  We do have nice neighbors!

It was such a beautiful day that the kids wanted to play outside, so that is where they were until it got dark.  I love to see them having so much fun.  Ashby was in the playhouse most of the time, cooking I guess.  Brooks wanted to run and Toby loved chasing him all over. 

So, again we have had a wonderful Sabbath day, filled with all the things that really matter!

February 7th - Saturday, But I Got to Babysit Brooks!

My normal Saturday - laundry, cleaning, etc. - turned much better when Lisa called and said that Brooks did not want to go to the theater to hear the storyteller telling folktales.  He suggested that they could drop him off at Grandma's house while they went.  I was more than delighted.  We had a great time.

It was such a beautiful day that we were outside for a while.  Toby came along, too, and loved chasing Brooks around on the lawn.  Eventually, we went back in the house and Brooks played with Grandpa's quadcopter.  He was quite proud of how he could make it fly.  Then he went back to the legos that he had gotten earlier and started to build dinosaurs.  Very creative young man!

When the play was over, they picked Brooks up so I had to go back to work.  Oh, well.  What a great break while it lasted!

I did get laundry finished, house straightened, and some work done on my family history class presentation.  I am pretty close to done with it, but I keep thinking of new ways to tweak it!  I really need to put it aside and get more work done on the other presentation or I will find myself in trouble!

February 6th - Friday??? Not Sure What I did!!!

This seems to be one of those "lost" days.  I was busy most of the day, but I am not sure that I accomplished anything!  I did a little cleaning, a little family history, some other computer things, watched a little TV, read some, and who knows what else!

I did have a salesman stop at the door and he actually sold me some meat.  I usually just close the door, but this time I was surprisingly interested.  Now I have a freezer filled with beef and pork and the price for so much was good.  I was at the point of needing to do some serious meat shopping, so maybe it was my laziness that took over and I just let someone deliver it to my house!  Whatever, it looks like god meat and I am glad to have it.

Bill was late at work again, so I had another quiet evening.  I watched a little TV and then was back at the computer.  I do believe my life is going from routine to downright boring!  I am looking forward to RootsTech this coming week.  That will certainly liven up my life!  Then I will be ready for more boring.  LOL!

February 5th - Art Class

Ashby and I had a good time in art class this morning.  We read a book about Clementine Hunter, a black folk art painter from the New Orleans area.  Then we took a board and painted a base coat on it.  Next time, we will finish painting a picture.  The rest of our time was spent working with clay.  She does love clay!

Not long after she and Lisa left, the sister missionaries came by.  They had asked me to go with them to an appointment with a lady in our neighborhood, but she had just called to cancel.  They had also wanted help with FamilySearch, so we spent maybe an hour doing that.  I love helping anyone with family history, so I had a great time.

The rest of my day was rather quiet - other than the four loads of laundry, I guess.  I plugged away at my projects and rested a little in front of the TV.  Bill worked late, so it was a pretty quiet evening for me. 

February 4th - Family History Wednesday

I got to the church a little bit early, because I knew there was a lot going on today.  The consultant who works another shift had let us know that she was going in early for a couple of reasons, so to not be concerned that someone was already there.  As it turned out, the missionaries had a conference, so there were lots of people in the building. 

One of the men from the Study Group was also there with a few others to train them in doing their biographies.  They mostly wanted help in how to do things in Word.  I set them up in the room next to the FHC. 

Then we had a man come in to get some help.  His wife was there practicing the organ, so he came to ask his questions.  We were able to answer those and get him going on some things that he needed help with.  So, the place was hopping today!

When I finally got home, I had a late lunch and then relaxed a little, before spending some time on the computer with various projects.

Billy called this evening and we worked out the beginning of our buying the house from him.  It looks like it will be OK, since we have been pre-approved and his selling price is fair.  We will see what happens next.

February 3rd - Power Point Day

My main accomplishment today was getting pretty close to finished on my first power point presentation.  As I look back through it, I see a couple of more things to tweak a little, but it is pretty much done.  Now to start on the second presentation!

In between, Venett and I texted quite a bit, working out our first day in SLC.  I talked to Joyce, too, to co-ordinate getting together.  I think we have a tentative plan worked out.  I also checked the weather forecast and it looks like it will be quite mild - in the 50's - while we are there.  That is like Atlanta weather!  I hope it holds.

I worked a little on art class, too, so I think we are set for that on Thursday.  This week we are looking at the folk artist Clementine Hunter and will paint a picture of her vase of flowers on a piece of wood.  Should be fun.

I also pampered myself a little by watching Downton Abbey and Genealogy Roadshow during my breaks.  Ah, my kind of a day!

February 2nd - Ground Hog Day!

And it does seem like a repeat - another rainy Monday!  Fortunately, the sun came out before the day was over, so it turned out OK.

Bill had another spot removed from his face this morning, so he didn't work.  They managed to get all the cancer tissue with the first try, so he was home pretty early.  While he was gone, I got the usual morning routine done, including changing the sheets, etc.  So, when he got home, he was hungry and we went out for an early lunch to Steak 'n Shake.  Then we stopped at the library on the way home, as we both had books waiting to be picked up.  His were the Apocrypha for seminary.  Mine were about some artists for art class.

The rest of the afternoon was pretty lazy.  I worked on my presentation and I think I have the Power Point finished, although I think I may tweak a couple of things that don't look quite as good as I would like.  I even managed to get in another short nap.

I do like lazy days, but I really should have gotten a bit more done.  Well, there is always tomorrow!

By the way, even though the main groundhog in Pennsylvania predicted a long winter, Beauregard Lee, the ground hog in Atlanta, predicted an early spring.  Here's hoping he is right!  I already have daffodils getting ready to bloom!

January 31st - Les Miserables

After a rather ordinary Saturday, Lisa and I got together to go out to dinner and then to the play Les Miserables at our local theater.  We ate at the Oyster Bar in downtown Lawrenceville.  We both got fried shrimp and it was very good!

Then we walked across the street to the Aurora Theater.  I had heard they had done a fabulous job when they did the play last year, so we were both looking forward to it.  We had seen it years ago at the Fox when our friend Candi played Epinene.  She had gotten us orchestra seats and I figured there wasn't any production that would rival the national touring company.

Imagine my surprise when this production did indeed rival it!  The stage is much smaller, so the sets were not quite as massive, but they were well done and everything flowed so well.  The biggest surprise was the quality of the music.  There were several of the performers who were most definitely Broadway quality.  We were both overwhelmed!

What a great evening we had - fun mother-daughter time and a fabulous production to enjoy!

January 30th - Visiting Teaching - Not Quite the Last Day of the Month!

This has been a crazy month for our visiting teaching, but the month is running out, so today we managed to get it done.  Well, I ended up going alone, since my companion called and she is really sick with a bad cold.  With all the stuff going around, she didn't want to spread hers as well.  Since there wasn't enough month left to postpone, I had to do it.

I met one of our sisters at Chic Filet for lunch.  We were there over an hour and had a great visit.  Then I visited a second one at her home.  She has just started back on family history and is taking my Sunday class and she could hardly wait to show me what she had found.  We had planned to visit our third sister earlier, but she called and said that a friend had died and the funeral was this morning.  Fortunately, we have both been in contact with her several times during the month, so she will just be an "other" contact this time.

By the time I got home, I needed a short rest and then I finished up my house chores and spent some time at the computer.  I didn't get any of the to-do piles lowered, however.  \

Bill had an activity with the priest's quorum this evening, so I snuggled up with some popcorn and watched a little Netflix before getting into bed to read. 

January 29th - Art Class

We didn't have art class last week, because of a conflict with Brooks' Joy School.  Today they had a field trip, but Lisa planned to bring Ashby over after the field trip.  For some reason, he did not want to stay at the fire station, so they made it a little earlier than planned.  Either way was fine with me!

We finished our sketch from last time by coloring it in.  Ashby chose to use markers and colored pencils and did a very nice job.  By the time she finished, she had created a whole story about what was happening.  I got a kick out of her telling me how some day she would be a famous artist and make lots of money.  I tried to offer a little reality without bursting her dream.  I think I may have created a monster here!  More power to her, though.  I love her confidence.  Here is the picture of the finished project:

They stayed and had some mac and cheese for lunch and watched some Disney Jr, until it was time to go home for Lisa's piano lessons.  I did enjoy my time with them here.

In between, I managed to get the laundry done and some other things.  I didn't get as much done on my projects as I had hoped, but piece by piece, I keep working!

Bad news for the day was that we had a washer repairman come out to look at the washer, which has been making a considerable amount of noise on the spin cycle.  It turns out that the tub needs to be replaced.  This style washer has a double tub with ball bearings and the bearings have gone bad.  Replacement will be $500 - so it will be just as cheap to just buy a new washer.  We will just keep using this one until it doesn't work, I guess.  So far, it is still working fine, except for the noise!

January 28th - Wednesday, Family History Day, of Course!

We didn't have any patrons at the family history center this morning, but we both kept ourselves busy - between a little of our own work and just plain chatting!  We did a call in that Phyllis answered, so she was with that patron for quite a while.  We enjoyed the morning, but it is always more fun when we have a patron who actually comes in!

I had enough time to come home and have some lunch and then I headed out to the home of one of the ward members who needed some help.  I have helped her before, but she needed to go over it again.  I think she got a better handle on it this time.  She has one line that we have worked on a lot; I even worked on it myself at home.  It is a complete mystery.  We tried again today, but just can't seem to figure it out.  I will probably try to take some time on my own again.  At least, she has plenty of other things that we found that she can work on.  Plus, I really encouraged her to enter the stories she remembers about her parents and grandparents.  She is the only one left who has those memories and if she doesn't record them, they will be lost.

By the time I got home, for the second time, I was pretty tired.  That meant a little rest time for me.  I didn't nap, but I did relax!  I finally found enough energy to do a few things around the house and then to do a little more on my own computer.  Unfortunately, I didn't get anything done from the to-do piles.  Maybe tomorrow!

January 27th - Just a Tuesday!

This has not been a particularly exciting day to write about - just a routine, stay-at-home, clean up the house, work on the computer kind of day.  I managed to finish another item from the to-do piles, which actually cleared out a pile.  Too bad it wasn't my only pile!  I also spent some time texting with Venett about RootsTech.  We are both getting excited!

Some days just consist of living, I guess.  I was busy all day - well, except for that little rest in the afternoon - but there isn't much to retell!

January 26th - Lunch with the Kiddos!

I was enjoying my Monday morning - plugging my way through the to-do pile.  Then I was saved by a phone call from Lisa asking if I wanted to meet for lunch at Chili's.  I mean, like, I didn't have to think about that one!

I ran the errand that I had planned to do today on my way to meet them.  We had a fun lunch.  She had coupon that gives a free kids meal with an adult entree, so the kids meals were free.  Their favorite at Chili's is mac and cheese and french fries.  Really nutritious, ha!  Lisa and I got the 2 for $20 meal of fajitas, which meant we also got chips and salsa for an appetizer.  We both chose the pork and it was delicious!  I could only eat half of it, though, so Bill got to have his own fajita for dinner using my leftover.

I had planned to bring the kids over to the house for a little bit, so Lisa could do some shopping, but they both decided they wanted to go with her, so I came on back alone.  I think they were hoping they could talk her into getting a toy at Target, even though she had emphasized that there would be now toys! 

It was a rainy, dreary day so after another couple of hours at the computer, I was tired.  I nestled into the big chair, turned on Netflix, and then fell asleep for a bit.  I did watch Downton Abbey first, though.  I fell asleep during Grantchester.

Later, I finished up another of my to-do projects, so that actually removed a pile from my desk.  Hooray! I may actually see the top of my desk again before the month is over - or not! 

January 25th - Ward Conference

It seemed strange to head off to church this morning without my bag and computer.  Since it was ward conference, there were no regular classes so that meant no family history class to teach.  It was still a great day.  The bishop's talk in sacrament meeting was especially good.  It could easily have been a general conference talk and we both enjoyed it a lot.  The youth sang the "Sisters in Zion/Armies of Helaman" song and did a wonderful job.  I noticed more than one damp eye in the congregation.  The stake president was the final speaker, also good.

The Sunday School block was all adults and focused on family history.  At least, if I couldn't teach my class, they talked about the right subject.  It was actually pretty well done.  The Relief Society block had the brand new Stake RS presidency speak.  They were just called a week ago, so this was their first "public appearance." 

Once we got home, I got the stuff all ready for dinner:  steaks and chicken each marinating in different sauces, potatoes ready to bake, fresh green beans snapped and simmering, a frozen dutch apple pie in the oven. 

Then I sat at the computer and did some things from my to-do pile.  I was thrilled to wipe out a couple of things.  I just wish that the pile would actually look smaller when I do a few things!

When the kids got here, we grilled the steak and chicken and had dinner.  Everyone seemed to like it, as they all ate well.  Then the kids played while we chatted for a while.  Finally, after cleaning up, Bill got out the quadcoptor he got this week and they all played with it.  Brooks got the first turn and it was wild.  Good thing it is pretty tough, because it sure did some wild crashes.  Everyone else took a turn flying it, too, and Lisa won as the most in control.  We really got a lot of laughs out of the whole thing, until the battery finally ran out.  Fun family memories.

So, we can chalk up another wonderful Sunday!

January 24th - Saturday

This has been pretty much a usual Saturday:  a little straightening, a couple of loads of laundry, the usual.  The new Cutco knives we bought arrived yesterday, so I needed to rinse them and get them set up.  I haven't used a knife block in a long time and I really don't have room on the counter, so it meant all sorts of rearranging.  It is still a work in progress, as I am still not happy with it.  I will keep fiddling until I figure it out.

Bill had an estimate this morning, but was home the rest of the day.  When he is home, we tend to be a little lazier than usual.  Considering how lazy I usually am, that means I do almost nothing!  Actually, I did quite a lot at the computer.  I added more slides to my presentation, now that I have learned how to put in pictures and other files.  It is coming together very nicely.  I also figured out how to make a file page public, so I can have sample timelines that the attendees can get to online and just download.  I have been working on that task for a while, too, and today I figured it out, using Google Drive.  So proud of myself!  All that is left is to fine tune the presentation and power point and then prepare some more samples to upload.  Oh, and I also need to prepare a handout.  I am getting there!

Bill got bored by afternoon, so he ran out to do a couple of errands, including the grocery shopping.  That meant I had some things to put away when he got back. 

And that was about the extent of my day.  Another busy day, but hardly worth retelling.

January 23rd - Rainy Friday, But a Success!

This rain started last night and it is one dreary day.  I thought about just staying in bed all day, but I didn't.  In fact, I got some soup going in the crock pot - a creamy cheesy potato soup.  I also stripped the sheets and got those washed.  Other than a few other routine things around the house, I spent the rest of the day at the computer.  Big surprise!

I am determined to figure out how to do this power point thing, so I searched for tutorials.  I have looked at some before, but this time I ran across a really basic set of videos, obviously meant for someone who knows nothing - and, boy, do I qualify!  They were really good, so I spent a couple of hours watching and taking some notes.  What I had figured out so far was correct, but they added lots of other details.  The big success was that I learned how to add the pictures and charts that I have been struggling with.  Now my presentation is starting to look right.  I have a few more things to add, but now I know how.  Hoorah! 

I spent the rest of my late afternoon and early evening watching some TV and eating my soup.  Yummy!  Bill didn't get home until quite late, so I just watched things from Netflix and relaxed and listened to the rain.  What a dreary - and successful! - day.

January 22nd - Lunch with some of the girls

I had planned on a stay-at-home day today, working on my power point presentation.  Instead, I had a message from my visiting teacher asking if I wanted to join her and some others for lunch at Del Rio.  Well, of course!

She picked me up around 12:30 and we met up with 4 other sisters from the ward.  It was kind of a visiting teaching meeting, since a couple of different VT routes were represented.  It was a lot of fun.  Of course, I was the oldest - that isn't too hard in this ward.  Even so, it is amazing how we can be such a spread of ages and still have so much in common.  It is one of the many blessings of having church friends.

I spent the rest of the afternoon trying to figure out my power point.  I am getting a little discouraged.  I have made the slides that I create from scratch, but I can't seem to get an image, like a picture or a chart, to load in properly.  I can get a link to load, but then I would have to click the link to get the picture.  So, more work to do.  Windows 8 is adding considerably to the problem.  But I will overcome!

Bill went home teaching this evening, so I had some popcorn and watched a little TV to relax.  It has been a good day.

January 21st - Genealogy Study Group

Today I had to get up and going, as I needed to be to the church by around 9:00 to get things set up for the Genealogy Study Group meeting.  A few other members started arriving early as well, so it didn't take too much to get everything set up.  My biggest responsibility is always the projector and screen and getting the computer hooked up.  All worked well today.

The presentations were all really good, too.  We had 28 in attendance, which is great.  Afterwards, we had the steering committee meeting and have things planned up through the next three months.  I will do the main presentation in February on timelines, which is the presentation I have been working on for the May Family History Fair.  I will also do a book report in May, I think it is.  I do keep busy with that group, but I love it.

By the time I got everything put away, and spent a few minutes trying to help a little in the family history center, it was mid-afternoon when I got home.  I fixed some lunch and rested a little.  Then I had the rest of my daily chores to finish up.  It sure is easier to do those in the morning! 

It was a great day, though, as it always is when we have the genealogy group meeting.

January 20th - Nothing New Today

Today was just another day of doing just the usual stuff.  I managed to complete the one project and get the last part emailed off.  I have one other email to answer, so I started working on that.  It isn't as involved, so hopefully I will get it ready soon.  The rest of what I did was just a little of this and a little of that.  Nothing exciting enough to write about!

January 19th - Another Stay at Home Monday!

I spent most of my day working on family history projects.  I got one part finished and emailed off, so I did accomplish something of value.  I also checked out my project piles to make sure there wasn't something pressing that needed to get done right away.  I have three piles!  That is ridiculous.  Hopefully tomorrow I can finish the last part of the project I worked on today and get that emailed off, too.  Then I can cross that one completely off the list!

I also had one of my ward members call to get some family history help.  She has just started in my Sunday class and was trying to figure out some things that we haven't talked about yet.  We spent a while working through her questions and managed to get them all answered.  Success!

During my lunch break, I watched the latest Downton Abbey episode.  Then later, when I had finally worn myself out, I rested and watched another show.  No nap today, but I did enjoy the rest!

We were supposed to go out to dinner with a ward family and then do some family history for their Family Home Evening.  However, that was called off at the last minute, as their 14 year old daughter was having pains and they were on their way to ER with probably appendicitis.  She is having surgery in the morning.

That meant we just spent a quiet evening at home.  I worked a little more on family history things and then headed in to read for a couple of hours. 

January 18th - New Family History Class Started Today

I was excited that my new class that started today was so well attended.  There were about 15 there!  Two of them were visitors, but hopefully the rest will stick with it.  We will see.  Some of them had come in to the end of the previous class, so they were just continuing.  One of them had taken the class previously and was coming again, with his wife this time.  I was also excited that a sister I visit teach and her husband came.  They have been trying to get back into activity and have had struggles, so it is exciting for them to have a reason to come.  I am looking forward to the class!

When we got home from church, I put dinner together.  We are having chicken Parmesan, spaghetti, fresh broccoli, and garlic bread.  Once it was all ready to put in the oven later, I ate a quick snack, did a few things on the computer, and then was able to take a Sunday afternoon nap!  I love morning church!

When I woke up, it was time to put the chicken in the oven.  At 5:00, I got everything else going and just shortly after, the kids all arrived.  Everyone loved the dinner and we sat around the table for quite a while, just chatting and enjoying ourselves.

Eventually, after cleaning up, we moved into the living room and enjoyed some grand entertainment from Ashby and Brooks.  They were in a running mood tonight, so they played chase, running around and around the loop (living room, to sunroom, to dining room, to kitchen, back to living room.)  Toby even chased them a little, but he seemed to like to chew on a little Elmo stuffed doll more.

It was a wonderful day - just the kind of Sundays I love:  great church meetings, getting to teach family history, fixing a good dinner, taking a nap, and having fun with the kids.  Perfect!

January 17th - More grandkids Today

I got started on my usual Saturday routine, including getting the last couple of loads of laundry going.  Then, David and Brooks came over to help take down the tree in the front yard.  As a result, my routine Saturday became anything but!

The tree had to come down because the roots are causing problems in the plumbing.  David has taken trees down before, so he came over to make sure it all happened right.  It did, although they had a little scare when they thought it was starting to fall the wrong direction.  Fortunately, it then fell as it was supposed to and all turned out well.  Getting the tree down and all cut up and the front yard cleaned up again took most of the afternoon.

Brooks had hoped that Grandma had bought him something that he saw on You Tube.  I had told him I would not buy it, but he seemed to think that if he got it on his Christmas list, then it would appear somewhere.  He was very disappointed, but he will learn that you don't always get everything you want right when you want it.  We fixed a late breakfast for David and us, since none of us had eaten, and when Brooks got some bacon, his mood turned around.  The magic of bacon!  The rest of the day, he was his happy, busy self.

Mid-afternoon, Lisa and Ashby came over and we all enjoyed sitting outside, watching Daddy and Grandpa doing all that hard work.  It was such a beautiful day!  Once the clean-up was done, the kids got rides in the wheelbarrow, which they loved.  Ashby wants to go faster and faster.  Brooks wants to go slow and no hills.  Such different personalities!

Then Brooks announced that he wanted to be a paleontologist when he grew up and took a hammer and started hunting for dinosaur bones in the yard.  He was so intense and kept announcing what he was finding - a twig, a leaf, a root were all various fossils.

We ordered pizza for dinner and came back in when it started to cool off.  After we ate, Lisa and Brooks headed back home, since she had some things that needed to be done.  Ashby and David hung around a while longer, talking and watching TV.  Ashby actually fell asleep for a while.

What a fun day it was!

January 16th - Grandkids Day!

I was just getting finished with my shower, having been up for a while and doing some odds and ends, when Lisa called.  Home school group, which usually meets on Friday mornings, had to be cancelled, because of sickness.  Lisa had decided to take the kids up to the children's museum in Gainesville, as they have annual passes and the kids love it.  She was calling me to invite me to go with them.  I gladly accepted the invitation.

On the way up to Gainesville, we stopped at Chic Filet and bought lunches, which we took with us.  The kids ate part of theirs in the car and finished when we got there.  After eating lunch, the kids were crazy to visit each of the rooms and play.  Their favorites included the soda shop, where they both cooked all sorts of food for us.  We loved the old juke box, which we kept loaded (fortunately, it is free!).  They then went different directions, so I was with Ashby.  Over the next couple of hours, we hit the TV studio, the dentist, the vet, the Broadway stage, the bank, and the play room.  Probably some others, too.  Part of the time, we caught up with Brooks at some of the places.  They had a ball!

When I finally got home, it was mid-afternoon.  I had a few things that I hadn't gotten done yet, then I rested a bit.  About 6:00, I headed back over to Lisa's to babysit with the kids while Lisa and David went out.  We had more fun; lots of laughter and running were involved.  The were both in bed and sleeping by around 9:00 and then I just relaxed for the rest of my time.

It has been a fun "grandkids" day!  I didn't get my to do list done, but who cares.  It will still be there tomorrow!

January 15 - Relief Society "Other" Meeting

Let's see - another rainy day, another lazy day!  Well, not really.  Today was art class, so we had a fun morning.  We worked on drawing animals.  After practicing a bit on the white board, Ashby drew a dog and a cat on paper.  Next week we will paint the picture.  She loves to draw and did a really good job.

The rest of the day was pretty routine - 4 loads of laundry took the bulk of that time.  I also had some computer things to work on for Bill, which also took a while.

This evening was RS meeting.  They can't seem to agree on a name for the mid-week, monthly meeting, so they are calling it the "other" meeting.  Anyway, the subject this evening was food storage and some related topics.  They asked me to talk about menu planning, which I did.  I thought it was kind of ironic that they asked me, since I don't plan menus anymore - I hardly even cook!  But, I did have the experience to share from when the kids were young.  I think it was well received.  Even though there were only 12 of us, there was some good discussion.

January 14th - Still raining, but a better day!

Today was Family History Center day, so I had to get out and I very much enjoyed the morning.  We had a couple of sisters and a daughter come in to tour the center.  They are taking an online genealogy class from BYU-I Pathways and that was one of their assignments.  It doesn't take long to tour the center itself, but once we got on the computer to show them what is available, we were all excited.  One of them has only started and doesn't have a lot, so we went into her Family Search account and were able to find some sources and a bunch of things.  They had to be somewhere else, but she kept saying, "Let's look for this one more thing!"  It is so fun when someone gets so excited.

Bill didn't have a job today, so he was home when I got back home.  He had paid bills and done some other things during the morning.  We took advantage of the day and went to the Mexican restaurant for a late lunch.  Yummy!  Of course, that meant no dinner, since one big meal a day is it for me.

When we got back, we watched a little TV - well, I watched while he napped!  Then it was back to the office to do some more odds and ends.  I am getting irritated with how my piles of things to do just keep getting higher in spite of my working on them.  I think it is time for a redo on my system!

January 13th - Yes, another rainy day!

So today is Tuesday - and it is still raining.  I hate it when normal Georgia winter weather happens!  I ended up staying in all day - again.

I did work quite a while on my power point, trying to figure out how to do some things.  I figured out the slides where I just enter text days ago, but I am still trying to figure out how to add a pdf image, etc.  It is sure a good thing that I don't have to have this ready until May!

I am really not sure what else I did all day - just a little of this and a little of that, I guess.  I was busy all day, but who knows what I was up to.  I am beginning to be concerned about this senility thing!!

January 12th - What! Not Another Rainy Monday!

Yes, another rainy Monday.  It must be winter in Georgia - or something.  At least it wasn't so cold; in the 40's this morning, instead of 20's.

But, I do get sluggish and lazy on rainy days.  And I was pretty much true to form today.  I watched some TV - the newest episode of Downton Abbey; later the last of the Blue Blood episodes.  In between, I washed sheets and remade the bed and worked on family history.  What else?  I worked on my power point today and figured out a couple more things. 

So, lazy and not terribly productive, but I did cook a big pot of beans using the last of the ham.  They were the perfect end to a rainy day!

January 11th - Good Sunday

As usual, my Sunday was a wonderful day.  I really like being back on the morning schedule, so we can get up and ready and go on to church first thing.  It really does make the whole day a little better. 

Today was the last class in my family history course.  Next week, we start over.  Several of the class members started late, so they will continue on.  We did a brief evaluation of the course, including discussing whether we accomplished the original goals.  Then we spent the rest of the time answering questions.

I had a family history consultants meeting to attend this evening, so we had dinner ready to eat right at 5:00 when the kids got here.  I had baked some pork ribs, baked potatoes, and a mixed veggie.  Very yummy!  They also wanted to do a birthday cake for grandma, but Bill forgot to go out and buy one, so I had to make my own birthday cake.  It was a spice cake with penuche frosting and I don't mind telling you it was mighty good!  We didn't have any birthday candles, so I just used a regular candle (the smallest one I could find) and had that in the middle of the cake.  When I asked Brooks if that looked like 68 candles, he said it did, so I guess it worked.  He loves blowing out candles, so he was my helper, with Ashby on the other side, blowing, too.

My meeting tonight was good.  We had a half hour meeting for the consultants and then a class for any who wanted to stay and for the public.  We had two men from the study group who came for that part.  I was the instructor, talking about finding and linking sources to Family Tree.  I thought it went pretty well. 

By the time I got home, the kids had gone.  Bill said they had a great time.  Ashby and Brooks love to run around the house and they had brought Toby and he loved chasing them.  It must have been quite the sight!  I hate missing Sunday time with them, but sometimes the calling has to come first.

January 10th - Happy Birthday - to Me!

So, today I turned 68.  I have trying to figure out why 68 suddenly sounds so much older than 67.  I guess it is because I am now closer to 70 than 65.  Whatever!  At least I don't feel any older.

Most of the day was pretty much a standard Saturday.  I had several loads of laundry and a few other odds and ends, but I admit that I didn't bother really doing any serious cleaning.  After all, it is my birthday!  Bill was gone part of the day doing some errands, so I was either working on laundry or doing things on the computer.

In the afternoon, I decided I was really tired, so I took a nice nap.  Well, I read in bed for a bit before I fell asleep.  That really made me feel like I was pampering myself.

We met Lisa and family at Knni House at 5:00 to have dinner.  Japanese steakhouses are always fun and the kids were really excited, too.  And, as always, it was delicious.  We had a good chef so he made it fun, too.  A few days ago, Ashby had said we should have fried rice for my birthday dinner so that is why we ended up there.  And the fried rice was excellent - along with the shrimp, chicken, and filet mignon.

It has been a great birthday.  I like low key and today was just about right.  I got email cards and messages, texts, and FaceBook messages galore.  I talked to my dad and brother on the phone.  It is always nice to be remembered!

January 9th - Babysitting!

After a pretty normal and routine Friday, we went over to babysit the kids so Lisa and David could have a date night.  We had a lot of fun with them and the puppy.  If the puppy is awake then Ashby is playing with him.  Brooks likes him OK, but doesn't want the puppy anywhere near his dinosaurs!

They were both really good and went to bed when it was time without any problems.  Brooks had to read two books before bed and he chose two books about dinosaurs.  He likes the books that tell the :truth" about dinosaurs, not any of those silly made up stories about dinosaurs doing things like playing sports.  The kid knows everything - it is absolutely amazing.  He was even explaining about the different periods and which things were still alive and which became extinct.  It was a lot of fun being taught by a 4-year-old!

Ashby, on the other hand, just wanted to cuddle when she went to bed.  So, I just lay beside her on the bed and we talked a little.  She also said her prayer and thanked Heavenly Father for the puppy.  Then she explained that she is remembering to thank Him for the puppy every time she says a prayer.  So sweet!

January 8th - Art Class Starts Again!

Today's big event was art class with Ashby.  We haven't had any classes since the beginning of December, so it was fun to get back to it.  We made a snowman picture, working on perspective and using both oil pastels and tempera paint.  It turned out really cute.

They brought the new puppy with them, so I got to cuddle with Toby.  He is so cute.  Ashby is totally in love with him.  She enjoyed doing the art project, but she was anxious to get back down to puppy once she finished.  Often she will do some free time art, but not today.  Toby won out!

The rest of my day was the usual - a couple of loads of laundry, working on family history - the normal routine. 

January 7th - Family History Day - Glad to be back to normal!

After being closed for the holidays, I was glad that the Family History Center was open today and I got to go to work.  We didn't have any patrons, but I worked on my own things and then got to chatting with my co-worker.  It was fun to be in that rut.

Back home, I worked on my family history some more.  I am trying to finish up the second part of the project I finished earlier.  I didn't get it finished, though.  Everything always takes longer than expected.

In between all the family history, I took a little rest and watched a little TV.  But, for the most part, I had myself glued to the computer.  I think I am obsessed!  But, I love it anyway.

January 6th - One Project Completed!

Today was my day to actually work on my pile of projects.  It took me most of the day, but I managed to complete one thing and get it emailed to the person wanting it.  Of course, there are some more things to do for the same person, but at least I got the one part done.  I had told him it would be a couple of days and it took me a couple of weeks!  Oh, well.

I also got a call from the body shop to let us know that the car was finished and we could pick it up anytime.  Bill got home early enough that we were able run over and get it.  They did a really good job on the repair, so we are happy.  The rental was a nice one, but it is still nice to have our own car back.

January 5th - Trying to Get Organized

My day started on a bright note.  Lisa had a dentist appointment at 8:00.  She had a crown break off on New Year's Eve and needed to have it looked at to help decide what to do next.  David needed to get on to work, so I went over to stay with the kids for a while.  They were just getting up and having breakfast, so we just sat at the counter while they ate and watched Netflix.  They get to watch for a few minutes in the mornings.  Brooks has discovered a new show where robots turn into dinosaurs, or some such things, and he loves it.  So funny!  I was only there for an hour or so and then headed back home.

The house had gotten a bit messy, especially the kitchen, after the weekend, so that is what I had to tackle today.  Everything is now straightened up and the kitchen counters are cleaned off.  Looks much better!  My next project was trying to organize my desk again.  I have so many projects going on that I have piles everywhere!  I cleaned out my cubbies and went through my piles, so at least it all looks better.  I am hoping tomorrow to have the time to actually work on some of the things and to get them out of here.  We will see!

I also took the ham bone and left-over ham pieces and let them simmer for several hours.  I now have enough ham to make some scalloped potatoes and ham for dinner, plus a pot of broth and ham pieces to make beans or something.  It made my house smell good all day!

January 4th - Adjusting to a New Sunday Schedule

Our church meeting time switched to 9:00 today.  I much prefer the morning time, so no complaints on my part.  Most of the youth and quite a few adults like sleeping in and having church in the afternoon.  Not me.  The biggest challenge is to make sure everything is ready before Sunday morning - no more time to put the finishing touches on a lesson, etc.

And it worked great today.  We were up, left on time, got to church so I had time to get the TV out for my class, and were getting seated for the meeting to start.  That was when the counselor in the bishopric sat down beside me and said, "It appears we don't have an organist this morning."  My reply, "You still don't."  But I told I would be happy to play the piano and he almost did cartwheels down the aisle!  So, last minute, no practice, hoping the hymns are easy one, there I am sitting up front at the piano like I own the place.  Fortune was with me and all went well.

The rest of the meetings were good.  I bore my testimony since I was up front anyway.  My class went well.  We are just at a question and answer point, so talk about whatever they want to know.  I logged in to one of the students Family Tree and we were able to work through some problems she was having.  We didn't everything done, but everyone was really into what we did and were excited to see things working right.

When we got home, I put together a casserole with left-over ham.  It turned out really good - noodles, broccoli, ham, cheese sauce.  But, since the kids are now on the afternoon church schedule, we knew they wouldn't make it over before about 5:00.  That meant that since dinner was put together, I had time to take a nap!  The best reason of all for having morning church!

We eventually had dinner and the kids really like the noodles.  It was not a fancy dinner, but we had that a couple of days ago and it was tasty.  Then we hung around for a while, being entertained by Ashby and Brooks and just chatting.  They finally had to leave around 8:00 because of bedtime.

It has been a wonderful 1st Sunday of the new year. 

January 3rd - Busy Saturday

I had laundry - five loads - to tackle today, so that took a good chunk out of the day.  I also got all the Christmas decorations down.  Well, the nutcrackers are still up on the dividing wall, but they can stay a while. 

In the afternoon, we had a wedding reception to attend.  It was nice and we enjoyed the socializing.  From there, we were back home.  The rest of the day was pretty quiet.  Just the way I like it!

January 2nd - Back to the Rut?

It doesn't take long for the new year to be just like the old one!  That is not bad - just not new anymore.  Today I did sheets, straightened the house after all the celebrating yesterday, worked on the art class project, plus the usual computer and family history things.  I was even on the phone for a while with a ward member who needed some help. When I got tired, I curled up in the big chair for a while and watched a TV show. 

Sounds pretty routine!  I am sure glad I love my life!

January 1st - First Day of 2015! Hoping the rest of the days of this year are just as good.

I hope that the first day of the year will set the tone for the whole year ahead, as we had a great one. 

The kids came over around noon.  We had already gotten dinner going - ham in the oven, potato salad made, collards and black eyed peas cooking, and rolls rising.  Ashby and Brooks were so excited to open the presents.  We had waited on our gifts with them since they were in Colorado for Christmas.  They get so excited about each gift and it took quite a while to open everything.  They started with their stockings and there weren't interested in opening anything else until they had played a bit with those things.  I think they were happy with their gifts.  I think the favorite for Ashby was Pinkie Pie, a My Little Pony she loves.  Brooks liked the Play Dough cake maker best, but the dragon was a close second!

Once all the presents were opened, we got dinner on the table and had a great time eating together.  The children didn't take long, though, before they were back playing with their toys.  It is fun to see them so happy.  We all then enjoyed sitting around with the TV football game on in the background and chatting and watching the kids.  That casual time is usually the best time.

A little later, we gathered around the table again.  This time we indulged in chocolate fondue.  That was a huge hit!  With all of us!  Of course, all that sugar created an overflow of energy, so the kids ended the day with running round and round, playing with their dad.

They finally gathered up all the goodies and headed back home, but by then it was after 8:00.  Both kids were so tired, they could hardly keep their eyes open.  They had changed into pajamas and I wouldn't be surprised if they were asleep by the time they got home.

Today was a wonderful way to start a new year.  I don't make resolutions as such, but I have some thoughts about how I want this year to go.  Here's hoping that the rest of the year is as wonderful as day one!

December 31st - New Year's Eve!

I had a bunch of things to get done today - like some laundry, getting potatoes and eggs cooked for potato salad, the rest of the gifts wrapped, etc.  I also rested in between with some family history stuff.  I am trying to help one of the members who has a snag in FamilySearch that we can't figure out.  Hoping the help center will discover what the problem is. 

Late afternoon, we headed over to Lisa's, picking up some pizza and wings on the way.  We had a great time.  The kids were really wound up, so they were very entertaining.  We had our pizza dinner and sat and chatted for a bit, while the kids rode their bikes around and around the living room.  When it got dark, we set off some fireworks on the street in front of the house.  Most of us stayed in the house and watched from the front window.  They both squealed with each one! 

Then the kids blew out candles on a cake to say happy birthday to the new year.  Around 9:00, we did the count down and cheered for new year in.  After all, it was midnight somewhere!  And then we had a dance show.  Both Brooks and Ashby love to dance, although their styles are quite different - LOL!  David dances with them and swings them around, does spins, lifts, etc.  The entertainment lasted for a long time!  Very fun.  Lisa had gotten some sparkling grape juices, so we ended with toasting in the new year.

Eventually, the kids were getting so tired, but refused to slow down, so Bill and I decided it was time to head on home, so they would go to bed.  We had a really fun evening - doing nothing special, but spending it with family.  They can turn anything into a party and we did party this evening!