president's day weekend

time to start the taxes! i'm not quite sure why i traditionally start taxes on this weekend. perhaps it is the patriotic thing to do. nah. maybe it's cause there's not much else to do on a dark and dreary three day weekend in the middle of february. then again, i just might feel the need to start them now because it give me 2 months to procrastinate while somehow feeling a bit better because i at least started. this year really should not be hard due to the fact of the very slow economy and lack of income. ( i don't have to be as creative with my write offs ... . :) ... just kidding! ) on the other hand i have three people to do taxes for, so...maybe that's why i put if off more and more. sigh . . . guess i better go find where i put the turbo tax i bought. hmmm.

it was a dark and stormy night ....

and the wind blew .....

in contemplating the writing of this post i realize how many quotes, songs, poems, stories, etc are based upon the wind. "the wayward wind", "dust in the wind", "wind beneath my wings", "wind in the willows", "winds of war", "the wind walker", and of course "gone with the wind". and that is exactly what happened to two of our large pine trees out back. they went with the wind! saddness.
i suppose it was the fact that we had warmer weather last week. all the snow melted and the hard frozen ground was mushy and soft. add to that 63 mph winds coming out of the canyon and the poor shallow rooted giant trees didn't stand a chance. one fell completely over onto halliday's driveway. luckily the boat has been stored for the winter! the other was leaning heavily to the left and had to come down as well. linda bailey first called with the sad news, as she noticed the fallen timber while dropping amanda off from school, and was planning on sending kirt and mckay over to help clean it up. (note: kirt just had knee replacement surgery!). fortunately reedo and gary humphries came to the rescue. chain saw in hand they played "paul bunyan" chopped the trees up, loaded them into the back of the truck and hauled them off to the dump. what good guys they are!

this is what is left of the stump of the first tree.

it took several "dump" trips to take it all. unfortunately i didn't get pictures of the lumberjacks. but they were cute. they look a little like this, minus "babe the blue ox".

i now have a very bare, open space and am feeling a bit exposed. thankfully spring is just around the corner. i shall now surf the web and go on "outings" with mom in search of the perfect "hedge" type replacement tree or shrubs. perhaps concentrating on a plant that will have a deeper root system. hmmm.. the need for deep roots....now that's provides enough contemplation for a blog post all its own.

in the sun he melted ....

small


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once there was a snowman tall tall tall

it had been snowing most of the morning. by 11:oo am the ground was covered with several inches. i had been doing laundry and cleaning the "laoffice". (that's my laundry room - office for those who need translation). i stepped outside to place the now unused phone books into the recycle bin and said to myself, "this is perfect snowman making snow"! upon coming back into the house i decided i needed a break and called my sister ann marie in california. laying on the couch, with my feet wrapped in a blanket to get warm, having gone outside barefoot of course, i asked ann marie how her day was going. before she had time to answer i heard a small knock on the side door. i looked and saw no one. "hmmm. i wonder who knocked?" the knock came again. this time i saw a small head appear at the bottom of the window. "parker?" i quickly opened the door and parker, dressed in full snow gear somewhat urgently said, "gummy needs you." i looked around for cori and didn't see her. "where is gummy, buddy?" "she's at her house. but she needs you" he said. by this time i was getting a bit concerned. why hadn't cori just called me. my home phone wasn't busy, because i was talking to ann marie on the cell phone. i told ann marie, "it's parker. he says cori needs me. i wonder if she's ok? she didn't call." i decided to press parker for more information. "parker, is gummy ok? where is she exactly?" i pictured cori laying on the kitchen floor in some allergic trance or something. a bit impatient now he said, "she's at her house. we need help ... making a snowman." at this point i gave a big sigh of relief, told ann marie that everything was ok, but that i needed to go because cori and parker needed help making a snowman. after giving parker a pat on his head, i told him to go back down and tell gummy i was coming and then went to put on some snow clothes of my own. by the time i arrived, cori had already completed the bottom third of the man. this was going to be one big snowman! it had snowed more than i thought because this very large ball was sitting in her yard and very little of the surrounding snow was missing. she had started at the bottom of the driveway and decided to push the gigantic ball up hill!!!! her arms are a bit sore tonight to say the least! together we rolled the middle section right next to the bottom ball. hmmm. how were we going to get it up on top of that other ball? parker said he could help. we tried lifting. it didn't budge. parker stepped back and looked at me a bit discouraged. i suggested that maybe gummy and i try to lift it. he agreed. unfortunately, the ball still did not budge. cori said " let's build a ramp or find something to roll it up on." we decided to look for something rather than build a ramp. we ended up using a "mixer" stand from her performing equipment. even with a ramp we could not move the ball. "hey" i said "there's caleb, shoveling my walk and driveway" (a wonderful act of service the horne boys do for this decrepit old lady), "let's get him to help". we call out to caleb, telling him we need help and he cheerfully comes down to join us. with his added strength we or should i say he, almost effortlessly rolls the belly ball into place. parker cheers. we then make a head, which is small enough for me to lift on myself. gummy lifts parker up to place the "carrot" nose in place. we plug in the eyes, mouth and pipe. wrap a red scarf, because red is best of course, around his rather fat neck and place a red and white stripped hat upon his head. gummy finds great tree limps for his arms and voila!

parker is sure everyone will think he is made of vanilla ice cream. great way to spend the morning! thanks parker and cori. (and, don't you think parker looks a bit like paddington bear?)

p.s. there is a sign as you go out our side door, "fat snowmen last longer!"

God will take care of you.

this "youtube" makes me smile. having a down day? just watch. i guarantee you will smile.

thngs that make you go hmmmmm

talk about reality tv.

when we were young, my sisters cori and ann marie, along with our best pal gary sujeta sat on his mom's bed, eating apples and watched hitchcock's scary movie "the birds". (they had a color tv, we did not.) if i remember black birds and seagulls fell out of the sky appearing to be dead, only then they seemed to come back to life and pluck out peoples eyes and peck at their heads. very scary indeed. and didn't something like this happen on the tv series "flashforward"? too bad it was canceled before we found out why things were happening? or maybe the show was too close to reality and that's why it was canceled. hmmmm

i don't know about anyone else but i'm not feeling, or maybe i'm just hoping cause i'm not ready, like it is the end of the world even though birds are dropping from the sky and fish are floating belly up. ( ewwwww! ) guess i should be glad i'm not a red winged blackbird!

hallelujah

while i was blog stalking i found this link on my friend charmain's post. it made me smile and wish i had been there. here is to enjoying the season and remembering to offer up a few hallelujahs ourselves!

thanksgiving evening

thanksgiving evening and yes many were gathered together, pouring through the paper on the living room floor. grownups were scouring the advertisements of retailers such as home depot, office max, best buy, target and walmart in high demand. the children were most interested in toys r us, walmart, and kmart. ash would call out, "if anyone sees ......, let me know". lyndie would follow with "oh, i need one of these!". nate and jor were talking "shelves" at lowes and i was looking hard for a good buy on a micro sd card. (ended up buying online for the cheapest price - saving me many cold hours of waiting in the early morn.) timo, sophie, and parker were excited about the toy ads and anna and little libby who really didn't care particularly about the ads caught the fever anyway and requested to look at some of the paper as well. abi, who just turned 1, would on the other hand quietly sneak into the room, look around to see if anyone was watching and then bend down, grab a piece of paper and run out of the room. tickled pink that the adults would all cry out "abi, no...i need that ad!" as she ran faster away from our grasps. parker was looking at one particular ad and jumping up from the floor, pointed a toy out to me and emphatically said, "i do not want this!"


whoa buddy, thank goodness! "ok" i said. "i won't buy that for you." he nodded his head, content that he would not receive this creature, at least not from me.

from the family room music could be heard as johnny pretended to be cori and play and sing the songs she would have played if not for her poor stitched up finger. (she cut it half way through the nail early tuesday am...like 2 am, as she was trimming the ends of the roses she received at the end of her incredible concert with the utah voices choir. but that's another post!) gram was singing along. pie after pie was being consumed by all others. we had 10 pies in all, which cori expertly made even with a very sore stitched up finger. and although it was a relatively small gathering for us, since we missed out of state and far away family coming in, it was a good night. there was laughter. there was music. there was harmony and much to be grateful for.

(and don't worry parker, i will remember not to buy you that "thing".)

introducing

landon christopher mullen

dang cute guy!

welcome to the family little one. it is an "interesting" clan you have joined...at least on your dad's side but we promise to love you and show you a good time.

landon was born nov 16 and gave his mom quite a hard time. the amazing jenna gave it her all and we hope she recovers soon.

can't wait to hold him in december!!!!!
oh yeah and we are excited to see his parents too. :)

ps. i think his marmee likes him.

are night owls wise

gram and i were on our daily drive, it was late in the afternoon and the news was playing on the radio. i must admit i was kind of in that driving mode trance, mind wandering etc when a news story caught my attention. "night owls vs morning people - who's smarter?". turns out studies show that night owls tend to have higher IQ's than early birds. (just google it)

needless to say i felt rather vindicated after years of scoffs and scorns and even, "gasp" those raised eyebrows when a new acquaintance learned of my normal bedtime (usually around 3am). it should be noted however that not all early birds treat us night owls with the same disdain. you see my neighbors have appreciated the hansen and connors households because we act as a type of neighborhood watch during the dark hours.

so i was driving along, feeling pretty good about myself and the family genes, until the announcer went on to say that on the downside, people who stay up late, although they have a higher IQ's, tend to be more emotionally unstable and are more likely to have problems with addictions and eating disorders. hmmm...yup...that fits. i'm addicted to spending late hours on the computer and well it's obvious my eating habits are not the best. oh well - guess you can't have it all!

on the way home from picking up parker from mrs. t’s preschool

me: oh look parker. there is a picture of wild animals on the back of that car.

parks: where, i can’t see. (he is sitting in the back seat strapped in and cannot see over the front seat)

me: oh i’m sorry bud. you can’t see it from back there. well it had giraffes and lions and monkeys and an elephant.

parks: oh, like zuri. (the baby elephant born last year at hoggle zoo)

me: yup. like zuri. but bigger!

parks: oh. like a grown up zuri.

me: yes

parks: when zuri grows up she , … pause … is zuri a she?

me: yes.

parks: oh. when zuri grows up she will be a mom, just like you.

me: (smiling) yes, she probably will be parksie, but, … i’m not a mom.

parks: ( hesitant and thoughtful) well, …………… long pause ……… you have gram!

me: yes parker i do.

and i have all of you kids too. i’m a grand aunt … just like one of those grand elephants.

parks: yeah!

(i guess as long as you take care of someone, you are a mom! thanks parker. i love you!)

The summer of 2010

It has been a long hard summer and as I thought about this blog entry I was focusing on much of what happened and it wasn’t all good. It has been a tough one for me, some of my family members and dear neighbors. But I get depressed focusing on that stuff so instead I will seek the good things and remember them.

Number one on my list is – I didn’t die when I fell off the ladder! That’s a good thing right? Right!

AM came to visit for 10 days or so to help out and then just came again last week to bring Joseph to school. This time she brought “Mike” with her! Sue calls me everyday! John and Brooklyn came to help make apricot jam and we canned cherries as well. Cori makes delicious dinners constantly. Ali is marrying a good guy and is happy. Sherry danced across the floor the other night. Sarah and Dave moved into a beautiful house. Ada Lillian joined the family making George and Cyndy grandparents again!!!! Stella gave us kisses. Jordon graduated. Lauren started Law School. Ian was baptized. Buddy came to visit and needs to come again and bring his parents. Our peach tree was so full of peaches a large branch broke off. (Next year I hope to “thin” a little better) Parker’s arm is ok now that the cast is off and Ruby doesn’t cry and shake her head “no” every time she sees me. . Kate came to visit and also got a new job! The guest rooms usually stay full. Sundays are delightful and busy. Gram is well.

Wow this list could go on and on and it is only things that happened this summer. I am very lucky and blessed.

more words of wisdom

do not eat a half of a large watermelon after 8pm!

however, since the watermelon is considered both a fruit and vegetable, do you think i can count it as eating my 5 servings of fruit and veggies?

.... and did you know that in 1893 the us supreme court ruled that the tomato, although botanically considered a fruit, was to be considered a vegetable!

... and our government also considers the watermelon as a vegetable. and that it has a legal impact on taxes that foreign importers pay to the united states.
it all goes back to 1887 and a tomato.

in 1887, u.s. tarriff laws taxed imported vegetables and not fruit. we imported a lot of tomatoes back then and the dispute over the tomato (fruit or vegetable) went all the way to the united states supreme court in 1893. the us supreme court decided that for tax purposes the tomato is a vegetable because of how it is used.

since tomatoes are used at dinner and not dessert, they would be a vegetable. (nix v. hedden). (although i believe sophie and joseph would beg to differ because they love the red round things for dessert and dinner). according to botanists cucumbers, pumpkins, and squash are all fruits too but the usda calls them vegetables anyway.

i know...i know...way too much information. but i find it curious the government's choose of words. they just pick what meaning that want regardless of the actually meaning.

i.e. it was a "police action" not a war in korea. operation iraqi freedom and afghanistan's operation enduring freedom are not wars either... they are military operations! and the oil pouring out into the gulf is simply a "spill" because it is pouring out of a container. i dunno but it seems to me it is much more than a spill!

oh well...this blog entry is getting way to deep for me. guess i'll go eat the other half of my veggie/fruit watermelon and go to the bathroom!

cold hands ...

i am greeted each morning as i walk into gram's room with a cheery "oh hi. are you here to get me up?" i smile and say "yup. do you need to go potty?". (thank goodness we still have little kids around and can use that as our excuse for using kid words). "yes i do. you better hurry". i then pull the covers down and gently, usually, wrap her somewhat useless legs in my arms and swing them to the side of the bed. she then grabs a hold of my elbow and lifts herself into a sitting position. this morning as we performed our daily routine, gram let out a very loud "ouch". "what's wrong? are you ok?" i quickly said, fearing i had hurt her. "your hands are cold!" she said with eyes wide and her mouth puckered in a small circle. "i'm sorry. here i'll try to warm them. i then proceeded to rub them together and blow some hot air onto them. i even ran hot water over them, then went to lift her up into her chair. "ooo...you're cold." "i'm sorry", i said again. "i tried to warm them." "well" she said with a smile, "you didn't do a very good job. but thanks for helping me. now get me warm!"

i remember gram telling us that her hands were, and in fact still are, often very cold. she would tell us that when we were babies we would cringe when she changed our diapers because her hands felt like ice against our skin. i suppose it is just one of the many things my sisters, brothers and i have inherited from our mother - cold hands, drippy noses, many clearing throats, etc. oh well as the old english proverb says "cold hands, warm heart".

post script - why is it that the rest of me is burning hot but my hands are still ice cold. could it be - - - hormones!!!!

colors

nighttime summer storm

harvest

icing on christmas eve

blossoms in spring