ROGER & GLORIA MALMSTROM

If it's Thursday, we must be in Price, again!

2010-05-20T16:16:00.006-06:00

The day started out nice and sunny. Then I took a nap at 2:10 p.m. and awoke when the alarm on my clock radio went off at 3:15. At about the same time, Gloria returned home from work and I dragged my creaky old body out of bed and noticed it was overcast outside and looked like we're about to receive some rain.

I spent most of the morning trying to recover some files from a 3 1/2 inch diskette that I had done using WordPerfect back in 1989, including some letters that I had keyed and sent to James while he was in Chile on his mission. I had to do quite a bit of reformatting the files into Word. There were some other documents I had put on the disk that I got a few chuckles from as I recalled the circumstances or reasons why I had created them. I enjoy being able to look back in time and recall interesting experiences that at the time weren't very enjoyable and seeing how they turned out.

Gloria is enjoying the Bernina sewing machine I bought for her on Ebay this week. It's like the one that Suzette and Terry bought for her while we were living in Clarkston, WA. She literally wore that machine out; and Bernina makes excellent, high-quality, durable machines.

We learned of two people we were somewhat acquainted with who died recently. One was a lady in our ward who suffered for several years from Alzheimer disease and the other was a woman who often substitute taught at the high school who had undergone surgery but was later put under induced coma and was never able to be brought out of it. We're planning to attend a grave-side service for the sister from our ward tomorrow, May 21.

Mary is doing better after her surgery. However, she still needs to stay down and not rush things too fast. She's under doctor's orders to do no lifting for five to six weeks. Melanie is doing a lot to help with the children during the day while Tyler is working. And the older children, Alicia and Canyon, have been taking turns staying home from school in the afternoons while Isaac goes to school. And members of the ward are helping with evening meals this week and next Monday. Gloria and I want to be able to spend a couple of days helping her, as does James while his family is in Arizona for a week and a half.

School ended for Gloria today. Graduation exercises for the seniors was this afternoon. However, she is on a year around work schedule and will be working on through the summer. At least, that's what we think is going to happen. Who knows with the employment situation these days. The superintendent of schools retired this spring and the newly hired superintendent was introduced to the high school staff on Monday of this week. Gloria was favorably impressed with his background, experience, and overall philosophy about education and hopes he will be as successful here in Carbon County as he has been in other districts.

Well, it's about time for me to "bag it." My eyes are getting blurry and my fingers are getting tired. So, I'm "off like a dirty shirt." Until next time.

Happy Trails To You

2010-05-15T16:58:00.001-06:00

It's Saturday night and I find myself glued in front of out computer again working on the blog.

This morning, Gloria was up early and did some exercises on the Nordic Track. Then she did some preparation for her Primary class tomorrow. That's what she was doing when I got up around 6:15. I powdered my nose and put on my jogging pants and a short sleeved shirt and some socks. Then I headed for the kitchen.

Out came a large and a small frying pan--the large one was cast-iron and the small one was Teflon coated. I put some frozen hash-brown potatoes in the cast-iron pan and some turkey bacon in the small one. After the bacon was done, I turned on the burner and put the bacon on a plate covered with a napkin and then I mixed three eggs and a little milk in a Tupperware measuring cup and finished warming up or cooking, the potatoes. When they were done, I pushed them to the side of the pan while I poured in the eggs and scrambled them to just the right consistency. I announced to Gloria that breakfast was ready and proceeded to dish the bacon, eggs, and hash-browns on to separate plates and placed them on the table with two plastic cups and a gallon of 1% milk. There was also placed some salt and pepper and catsup for flavoring. Bon apetit!

Just as we had finished eating and started to clean up a bit, Gloria telephoned Mary for some reason, I don't recall what. As Mary answered the telephone and Gloria began speaking to her, Gloria sensed in her voice that something was wrong. Mary explained that they were in their car and on their way to the hospital. They were going to leave the children at Melanie and Randy's house while Tyler drove Mary to the hospital with severe lower abdominal pain. She started having them last Monday and Tuesday but didn't do anything about it thinking that it would eventually go away. It didn't. Finally, she spent a sleepless night last night and early this morning before deciding to take her to the Emergency Room for professional medical treatment. Tyler telephoned us and told us he would keep us updated throughout the day with information on Mary's condition.

After finishing breakfast, I washed the dishes while Gloria began gathering the dirty laundry to be washed. Then, I headed for the computer, again. I got involved with trying to figure out how to download YouTube videos into my blogspot. In the meantime, Gloria had headed to the out of doors and had planted two rows of our tomatoes that we had grown from seed. Around noon, she took a quick shower and went with Sister Wells to see Sister Norton's (a different Sister Norton than the one we home teach) new kitchen cabinets.

After testing her blood and taking an ultra-sound scan it was determined that Mary was having an ectopic pregnancy, where an ovum has started to grow in one of her fallopian tubes. She required surgery as soon as possible. The doctor informed them that it is considered an out-patient procedure and would not necessitate having to stay in the hospital overnight. Because it is a macroscopic procedure no incision would be necessary. However, the doctor told her that she was not to do any lifting at all for about six weeks.

When Gloria returned from Sister Norton's house, we had some lunch and then she headed outside again. This time she was going to mow the lawn again. However, after doing the front lawn, I coaxed her to go with me to get some things I need to finish the hanging tomato planters (three to be exact) that I bought last month but have never finished. We went to Surtherlands and Wal Mart. I got what I needed, and she got a bunch more garden paraphernalia that she needed, including some plastic painter's drop cloth to cover and protect the freshly planted tomatoes from potential frost and wind. When we arrived back home, she had to quickly get the tomatoes covered before a threatening dark storm cloud blew into Price and brought some rain and even a little hail. What can I say. You never can second guess Mother Nature. Right?

Mary's surgery went as planned and she was sent to recovery about an hour after they began. After spending the afternoon in recovery, she was released to go home. Tyler was instructed to be sure to help her get up each day and walk around the house, in spite of whatever pain she may experience, which may be quite severe for the first few days. He was told that the fetus was about six or seven weeks old. They were able to completely remove it, along with the beginnings of the umbilical chord. Had Mary gone another two weeks before seeing a doctor, they probably would not have been able to save her life. So, it was potentially very serious business indeed.

Anyway, we finished the bacon and cooked cabbage for lunch today, only this time it was covered with mozzarella cheese, and we also had a lettuce and tomato salad. And this evening, Gloria prepared an omelet and more salad.

Thank Goodness It's Friday

2010-05-14T20:28:00.002-06:00

That's right, it's Friday again. Where has the time gone so quickly?

I had high hopes for Thursday. But the late night on Wednesday made more tired than usual. During the day, I found myself dosing off a little every once in a while when I was reading or trying to concentrate on something. I usually spend a lot of the time in the morning going through my e-mail and then checking what is going on around the state by going the KSL.com for the news.

I am scheduled to present the lesson in my High Priest Group meeting this coming Sunday. This week's lesson in No. 10 and it's on the Scriptures. I've read the lesson through once and Melanie spoke on the telephone about the May issue of the Ensign. She said one of James' high school classmates, a girl named Jan Madsen, was pictured in it with her husband and three young children (two girls and one boy). As I was looking through the Ensign to find the picture, I happened to notice the talk given by Elder Todd Christopherson of the Quorum of the Twelve, on the subject of the Scriptures. So I read it. It was very interesting and informative and I plan to use parts of it in my lesson presentation on Sunday.

Last night before I went to bed, I telephoned the three families Gloria and I visit as Home Teachers. Two of them are actually single adult sisters: Sisters Norton and Payne, and the third is a retired couple name Gwynn. I scheduled times when we could visit them this evening. So, we met with Sister Norton at a little after 4:00 o'clock, Sister Payne a little after 5:00, and the Gwynns at 5:45. And since this months home teaching message comes from the May issue of the Ensign which contains the April General Conference talks and reports, I decided to briefly review Elder Christoperson's talk on the Scriptures. By 6:30 we were back home having visited all three of our families and before the 15th of the month--two months in a row.

Gloria prepared franks and cooked cabbage for dinner. We haven't had that for quite some time. We also had some left-over corn on the cob. It was another early night to bed for Gloria again. I stayed up until after 10:30 myself. Then it was. . ."To the bed, to the bed, to the bed, bed, bed. To the bed, to the bed, to the bed, bed, bed." Oh, you know how it goes!

Dr. Stilson here I come.

2010-05-12T21:42:00.003-06:00

I didn't have a whole lot to do today. I got up and had a bowl of cracked wheat with Gloria before she had to go to work. I needed the minivan today, so I drove her to school so that she would be there as close to 7:00 o'clock as possible.

We've been keeping our eyes on a used Bernina 1120 sewing machine on Ebay. It's the same model that she received as a gift from Terry and Suzette when we were living in Clarkston, Washington in 1979. She used it for so long that she literally worked it to death. She loved working with it and was broken hearted when the technician she has service her machines told her that even though it was a rugged machine and a well-built one, it was worn out and it would simply cost more to try and fix it than it was worth. So, we're in the hunt for a replacement. There have been several bids on this particular one, but I didn't want to bid until right before bidding closed, which would be around 4:55 p.m.

My appointment at the dentist was for 1:00 this afternoon. I didn't know how long that would take, but I figured it shouldn't be more than an hour or two at the most. I showered around 11:00 a.m. and got dressed into my street clothes. I left in plenty of time before the scheduled time and was actually 15 minutes early. Within short order, I was directed to the appropriate room and prepped by the dental assistant. Dr. Stilson showed up about 10 minutes later, applied the Novocaine, and after another 10 minutes began removing the old cap on my tooth. Then came the removal of the new cavity, inserting the new silver filling, and polishing up the work. Within about an hour I was finished and on my way out the door.

I came home from the dentist's office and waited until Gloria called from the high school to have me come and pick her up. She had an appointment with her visiting teaching companion, Sister Janet Beach, to begin their monthly visits that were scheduled to keep them busy until about 7:30 later in the evening. It had started to rain when I went to pick Gloria up after she called at about 3:35. She was running a little late because of the amount of work that she had to take care of for the day before leaving so she barely got home and changed into a dress before Sister Beach arrived to pick her up. They were scheduled to visit four sisters--and Gloria had been lucky to get them all scheduled on the same evening and after only one call to each of them.

At 4:30 I opened my Ebay account and logged into the sewing machine being auctioned. There had been 19 bids up to that point, but the last bid made had remained the same most of the day. At about 4:53 I put in my bid with about a minute and a half left. It then showed that mine was then the highest bid. I then bumped up my maximum bid amount by about $40 just seconds before time was to run out in case someone made a higher bid before the auction closed that would out bid my initial offer. After time had elapsed, I reset the screen to see the results. When Gloria returned home from visiting teaching at about 7:45 later that evening, I told her that she was the proud owner of a Bernina 1120 model sewing machine just like the one she had loved so much before she had to send it to the sewing machine grave yard. She is now the owner of four different sewing machines of various kinds, including her mother's old vintage Singer in a wooden sewing cabinet, and one serger.

We were both pretty tired by then. I hadn't had my daily nap, again! And with all the things that had happened today, our comfortable bed was quite inviting. I don't even remember what, if anything, we ate this evening. Oh well, they say that fasting is good for the soul.

Gloria was in bed by 9:00 p.m., but I got enthralled in reading some material on the Internet and didn't get to bed until close to 11:00 o'clock. When will I ever learn?

Another Double Day

2010-05-09T13:19:00.003-06:00

It's Sunday and we're back from church. We have the early schedule this year, 9:00 a.m. to noon, so that gives us more home time in the afternoon.

We started out yesterday morning breakfast of pancakes with pure maple syrup and turkey bacon. Then it was haircut time for Grandpa. It was that or the purchase of a dog license. Later, while he was working on a Power Point presentation most of the afternoon and evening, James was working in the kitchen on his laptop computer while Gloria and the children went to Penney's to exchange some clothes for Laura and Bradley that Gloria had sent to them but were the wrong size. After Penney's, they went to Dinosaur Park over near the 7th-8th Ward's Chapel. They had a fun time there for about an hour before returning to the house.

Around 1:00 p.m. everyone but Roger went to swim at the Wave Pool. However, Gloria did not swim and Bradley didn't want to have anything to do with the waves. They stayed for about two hours and then came home and took some quick showers.

For dinner, we all went to Winger's to eat. It was about 6:00 o'clock by then. Gloria had received a coupon card worth $25.00 from the counselors at the high school for Professional's Day so it actually only cost about $16.00 to feed all six of us. It wasn't too bad, except it was pretty and we had to wait some time for our food. We watched some of the third game between the Lakers and the Jazz. The Jazz ended up losing it at home. One more loss and they're out of the playoffs. Oh well, we don't watch them much anyway.

After dinner, Gloria and the girls watched the new version of "Pride and Prejudice" (the one with the pink Bible) on video, while Bradley watched a video about some children that helped save the life of a Panda bear in China. James was still working on his laptop and Roger was still trying to finish up the Power Point presentation. (It's an unprofessional attempt on something for Gloria for Mother's Day.)

Around 9:00 we all started to get ready for bed. By 9:40 lights were out and it was prayer time and then beddy-bye.

This morning Gloria was up around 5:30. She took a shower and worked on her Primary lesson. She woke me up a little after 6:00 o'clock so I could get up a take a shower before the children and James awoke. We had warm cracked wheat cereal and biscuits with honey-butter for breakfast. Everyone then got ready for church and we were out of the house at about 8:35.

The Young Men's Presidency were the speakers in Sacrament and the Young Men and their leaders sang a medley of songs for the intermediate hymn. James and I attended Sunday School Gospel Doctrine class while Gloria and the children were in her class with her two class members. Then James and I attended High Priest Group Meeting while the kids and Gloria were in Sharing Time.

We arrived home a little after noon and Gloria proceeded to put Sunday Dinner together. Laura's sugar count made it necessary to delay eating for a while so it would go back to normal. We eventually roast beef, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, green salad, biscuits and more hone-butter. Then we topped it off with Heavenly Hash or Blueberry and Pomegranate ice cream. Pretty tasty!

While James took a much-needed nap, Gloria and the children played some games in our bedroom and Grandpa worked on his presentation on the computer. Then Bradley wanted to watch a video and so did the girls. So, the girls and Gloria were in the small bedroom, along with Grandpa, and Bradley was in the living room.

When James woke up, and the videos were over, it was time for our guests to start putting things together for their trip back to Kaysville. Everything was rounded up and stowed into the car and by 7:30 p.m. they were on their way "over the mountain." Stephanie was due back from New York to the SLC Airport by about 9:00.

By 9:00 Gloria and Roger were ready for bed, but not until having spoken to Macy and John by telephone, and to Audrie, of course.

Let's Straighten Up The Workroom, Company's Coming

2010-05-07T18:54:00.007-06:00

It's Friday, and it's 7:00 p.m. It's been nearly 13 hours since I woke up and got out of bed. Gloria was off to work early because Rick and Melissa weren't planning to be there today and she was responsible for administering the Advanced Placement Assessment Tests for those students who were registered to take them at the School Board Building. She wasn't looking forward to it very much at all.

I got dressed and took my medication by 6:45 and then finished getting dressed and freshening up in the bathroom. Then I started straightening things up in the sewing/computer room so that someone would have room to sleep in the bed. We went to Wal Mart last evening and purchased a new set of sheets and pillow cases for the full-size bed in there and Gloria washed and dried them so they could be put on the bed this morning. It is interesting to see how long that bed stays cleared off after someone has stayed at our house and slept in it. It's usually no longer than two or three days. It's like a large magnate that mysteriously attracts metal objects from its surroundings. Before we realize it, the bed is covered with fabric, books, papers, scissors, etc., etc. Then, when we expect company again, it's time to quickly do an emergency clean-up or clean-off drill. Oh well, why worry about it? It's just one of those things we live with in our little "cottage" in Carbon County.

I was checking out Michelle and Aaron's blog spot today and came across a picture of her and her sister-in-law in Las Vegas. While the doctors were in classes the wives were shopping for what looks like some booze in a bottle. What's up with this Michelle? That's quite the grin you have on your face. Did you enjoy it? I'll bet you did. Ha, ha. Just kidding.

"Here's to ya."

James called a little before 11:00 a.m. to tell me that he and the children were just leaving their house in Kaysville and were heading to Mel's house in American Fork to pick up some things the girls were sending to us. He said they would probably be here sometime around 1:00 p.m. At around 1:45, he called again and said they were running a little later than planned and were just leaving Mel's house and were heading for Price. I took a short nap from close to 2:00 to 2:40. By the time I got up and put my shirt on and combed my fly-away hair, it was time to medicate again. A little after 3:00, I called James on the cell phone and asked him where they were. He said they were in the front of our house waiting for the UPS driver to deliver a package to our door and then move his truck from in front of our driveway. While they were driving into the driveway and parking, I was thinking, "Who is sending Gloria a box by UPS from San Diego, CA?" I used Gloria's new Flip video camera to film the kids coming to the door and into the house to be welcomed by a loving Grandpa. And by 3:35 Gloria arrived to find and greet our anxiously awaited for guests.

As you might have imagined, Gloria began to work before she had hardly taken off her shoes and put on an apron. At 11:00 a.m. this morning, I had put the contents of two separate crock pots into their cookers sitting on the kitchen counter that she had prepared earlier this morning and placed in the fridge. They were to be used to prepare dinner for our neighbor across the street from us who's fiancee had died just this last Monday. After reading his obituary in the paper on Tuesday, Gloria spoke to her last night to offer her condolences and ask if we could bring her dinner tonight before the viewing at the funeral home. So, James and the girls were recruited to help prepare the making of a green lettuce salad with fresh strawberries (Sara), a delicious desert made from angel food cake squares, yogurt, and whipped cream with strawberry jello (I think) made by Laura, and the cutting up of chicken breasts for a pasta recipe of chicken and noodles in a creamy white sauce that was really tasty (Gloria and me). There was also some warmed green beans to go with it all. When it was all done, I filmed all five of them carrying everything across the street to the neighbor's house. After they returned, we all sat down and ate the very same menu that we had served our neighbors. And it was good to know that we had shared with someone who was probably feeling very sad and lonely today. That's what the Savior would have us do, I am sure.

James was pretty tired so he stretched out on the living room floor for a little nap. However, Gloria was too curious to let her package wait any longer. So, she opened it up to see what it was and who had sent it. James had guessed that it was from Nate and Macy. And he was right. It turned out to be a box of fresh, chocolate covered giant strawberries packed in dry ice to maintain their freshness. We each had our choice of brown or white chocolate and enjoyed every succulent morsel.

Before hitting the sack, the children watched a Disney movie on the video player (Pete's Dragon). Bradley can hardly wait to go swimming tomorrow at the swimming pool. James plans to drive to SLC to attend the Constitution Party Convention as a voting delegate.

That's about it for today. See you again tomorrow.

HAPPY TRIALS TO YOU, 'TIL WE MEET AGAIN. Love, Dad

It's Thursday, we must be in Price.

2010-05-06T13:44:00.009-06:00

Top of the afternoon to everyone. Yes, it's Thursday. Sorry, but I missed yesterday's post. But, for some weird reason I tried justifying to myself that if I didn't get anything written for Wednesday that I could simply do it on Thursday, today. However, if I did that, it would show today's date on it rather than yesterday's date. Da! Oh well, I'll simply combine them into one, even though Blogger will only let me show today's date. So, here goes.

On Wednesday, I woke up early, around 5:15 a.m. Then, when I realized Gloria had gotten up and left the bedroom, I turned over from my right side to my left side, like I normally do, and went back to sleep. Normally, I hear Gloria using her hair dryer around 6:30; but, this time I did not. In fact, I got up around 7:00 o'clock and found the house to be as quiet as a proverbial church mouse. Gloria usually slips into our bedroom to say she is leaving to go to work and to say goodbye. Again, she didn't do so. She hasn't been feeling very well this week and it's caused her to be more than usual on edge. She's been anxious about getting some things done around the house and the yard but the persistent cold and windy weather has apparently put her in a bad mood. She's feeling the pressure of having to work all day at school and then come home and have to do so many things here at home, especially the weeding, mowing the lawn, cleaning up the yard, and getting the garden ready to plant. It has her frustrated because she's been having reoccurring headaches and back and shoulder muscle pains. Anyway, she's tired and worn out most of the time. And in addition to all the physical work she has to do, she also has to plan and prepare for her Primary class each week, along with the various and sundry projects that she is constantly working on. My goodness, it's enough to make me wonder how she is going to be able to keep up with it all. When will the madness stop?

I may have mentioned to some of you that I purchased a new lawn mower for the yard. I decided that since Gloria does whatever mowing there is to do that it should be as easy and labor saving as possible. So, we invested in a mower that is a rear-wheel, self-propelled model with a key ignition system. The instruction manual directed us to charge the ignition battery for at least 24 hours before the initial use. So, we extended an electrical extension chord out the back door on Tuesday evening around 5:00 o'clock and left it plugged in until yesterday, Wednesday, at about the same time. Gloria had driven to the gas station and bought a gallon of gas. She filled the engine with oil and gas, held the control lever down with her left hand, inserted the starter key into the ignition switch with her right hand, and gave it a twist. Brrruuuumm! It started like a jewel. We both momentarily stared at each other with a pleasant smile and somewhat surprised look on our faces. Then, I told Gloria to grasp the red accelerator handle and pull it toward her. She did so, and immediately the growling machine leaped forward with a jerk and started forward. It reminded me somewhat of a small woman walking a giant dog on a leash when the animal sees a cat or another animal and immediately lunges toward it at a swift pace, nearly pulling its owner off her feet and battling to try and keep up with the runaway dog.

When Gloria was finished mowing the lawn we sat down and ate left overs from two days back. In fact, we actually had meat loaf from last Sunday, beets from Monday, I think, and mashed potatoes from who knows when. I warmed them up while Gloria was changing from her work clothes to her house coat. After dinner, it was sewing time for the Mrs. and a little bit of TV time for Grandpa. I had over 30 segments of the Glenn Beck show recorded on our DVR plus some old NBA games and a couple of movies. I ended up erasing everything but one movie. It is called "War" and it was filmed back in 1994 I think. It starred Kevin Costner and is rated PG-13. I watched it until about 9:15 and then I decided to stop it and go to bed. I was going to finish it today, but it doesn't look like I'll get to it before I have to go to bed again. Oh well, maybe manaña, okay?

This morning I got out of bed around 6:00 a.m. I wanted to make sure Gloria didn't sneak out on me again. But, then I realized that I had an appointment to have my teeth checked and cleaned at 10:30. I got dressed and drove Gloria to work around 7:00 then I returned home and fiddled around on the computer checking emails and looking at the KSL-TV news website. I took a shower at 9:15 and was at the dentist's office by 10:25. The hygienist took me right in and began taking x-rays of my teeth. She was using a new digital scanner that was hooked up to her PC next to the chair I was sitting in and I could see the x-ray instantaneously on the computer screen. It was pretty cool. She then cleaned my teeth and the dentist, Dr. Stilson, came in. He looked at the x-rays and informed me that he could see a cavity in one of my teeth on the upper-right side of my mouth, the second tooth from the back. He said he would need to remove the filling already in the tooth to determine whether he can remove the cavity and make another filling or else put a cap on the whole tooth. A new filling will cost $168. A cap on the tooth will cost $700. With our dental insurance plan, the filling would cost us about $80 and the cap would cost us $350. I hope we have enough money in our flexible spending account to cover most, if not all, of it.

After the good news from the dentist, we made an appointment for me to go back for the dental work next Wednesday and 1:00 o'clock in the afternoon. Then I came home and ate some lunch. I got involved in some work online again until Gloria called around 3:10. I drove over to pick her up at the high school and we drove to the DMV (Dept. of Motor Vehicles) and paid for the renewal of our car registration. Then we drove to the Dollar Store to pick up some things Gloria needed. And finally we went to Wal Mart to do some grocery shopping. We cleaned up and reorganized the second bedroom so James' girls will have a place to sleep when they come to visit us tomorrow, Friday the 8th. Stephanie will be in the Buffalo, NY area doing a seminar so the rest of the family will spend the weekend with us. We hope they don't get too bored.

Well it's almost 9:00 o'clock and it's to sign off. So ......

HAPPY TRAILS TO YOU, 'TIL WE MEET AGAIN. Love, Grandpa

Greatest Bowl Comeback Ever? 1980 Holiday Bowl: BYU vs. SMU

2010-05-04T14:56:00.005-06:00

I was thumbing through YouTube today and decided to Search for "BYU", and I came up with this so I decided to share it with all of you great BYU fans. It brings back old, cherished memories of the our first fall and winter here in Price. I was invited to watch the game at our neighbor's house because we couldn't pick it up on TV. When the score was so lopsided towards the end of the game, I sensed that they wanted to just turn it off and go to bed. But not me! No sir, I'm no sunshine patriot! I stick with the Cougars through think and thin. When it turned out the way it did, they thanked me over and over for sticking with the Blue and White and the outcome was glorious. It was fantastic! Once you start the video, right click on the viewing screen and the picture will get larger. Then when you finish, click the close cross at the top right to come to this blog.

I'm thinkin' Arby's!

2010-05-04T13:46:00.003-06:00

I'm starting a little early today. It's 1:48 p.m. I went out and retrieved the mail awhile ago and it was mostly just the weekly marketing advertisements. But, as I looked at one particular one, I kept thinking the phrase, "I'm thinkin' ARBY'S." At that particular moment in time, I wouldn't have minded having one to eat and then wash down with a cold root beer on ice. But then I thought again and decided that I really didn't need the carbs and the accompanying carbonation from the drink, so I immediately erased the whole idea from my mind and focused my attention on a portable water purifier being advertised in the monthly catalog from Emergency Essentials.

Well, that's enough about food for now. I'll sign off for now and continue again a little later in the day.

Happy Trails. Dad

Monday, Monday.

2010-05-03T17:11:00.004-06:00

It's 5:12 p.m. I had to transplant some squash plants into larger containers this morning. I hope they don't die from the shock. I wish it was warm enough to plant them in the garden spot, but with the unseasonably cold winds we have had I'm afraid of frost. So, we're going to wait a little longer to plant them and the tomatoes we also started from seed. I bought three of those hanging containers to grow some tomatoes up-side down to see how they do. But I first have to install some hooks on the eves of the house that will be strong enough to hold them.

James and his children a planning to come to Price this weekend. Stephanie will be going to New York State to do another seminar for the school she's working with. It's Mother's Day on Sunday. I hope it isn't too cold to enjoy it. It will be good seeing the children again; and we'll also welcome James, of course.

Gloria went to the dentist this afternoon at 2:00 o'clock for her six-month checkup that has turned into an eight-month one instead. Everything seems to be okay. It will be my turn on Thursday at 10:30 in the morning.

The weather was nice today. Not too windy, I mean. Gloria got the new lawn mower out of the storage shed to plug in the battery charger so she can use it tomorrow. The battery has to be charged for at least 24 hours before the first mowing and then again after each mowing. It will be nice for her to not have to struggle trying to tug the starter rope. Plus, it is self-propelled so she won't have to work so hard pushing it around the yard, especially in the back. We've been using the sprinklers for over a week now. So, we're ready to have spring get here for certain soon.

We called Mary and Tyler last night before we went to bed. Tyler and the children had just arrived home from their trip to Idaho to attend Jerome's baby's blessing. He said that he was glad that he had gone. Jerome (sp) told him how much he appreciated having him there. They were both a little teary eyed. Anyway, we sang to them to wish them a happy anniversary. Then Gloria went to bed and I stayed up until about 11:00 o'clock before I finally followed her.

That's about all for today.

"Happy trails to you, until we meet again." Love, Dad

May Day +1

2010-05-02T17:48:00.002-06:00

It's May 2nd, a Sunday, and it is colder outside than a mother-in-law's kiss! The sun is shining brightly, but the wind is blowing coldly. We returned home from church a little after noon and when we entered the house, Gloria and I both exclaimed, "Turn on the furnace!" We had meatloaf and potatoes with a green salad and jello to eat after closing our fast. Then both of us took a nap.

We decided to call Uncle Reed on the phone after we both finished napping and Gloria is still talking to him as I write. Today is Mary and Tyler's wedding anniversary so we are going to telephone them as well to wish them our best.

In a little over three weeks, Gloria will finish the school year and summer break will begin. It doesn't seem possible that another school year has come and gone. This has been quite an eventful year. There has been a lot of ups and downs. Lucy was born, that's an upper. I lost my gall bladder, that was a downer. Tyler found a new job, that's an upper. Luke spent a week in the hospital, that was a downer. John finished his third year in his apprenticeship, that was an upper. I could go on, but that will do for now. Any way, we still have reason to count our many blessings. After all, how can we recognize the sweetness of life if we never experience the bitterness occasionally?

I've made a commitment to repent and be more consistent in writing in this blog on a regular basis. So, look forward to hearing and seeing more of us from now on.

"HAPPY TRAILS TO YOU 'TIL WE MEET AGAIN."

Love, Dad

It's alive! It's alive again!

2009-07-30T13:31:00.005-06:00

Yes, indeed, it is alive. At long last, I've broken down and decided to revive this blog. It will be short, but sweet.

I'm a little sad now that Macy has gone home. Gloria's and my loss is Nate's gain. Thanks Nate for letting us keep her for so long--18 days is a long time to have to 'bach' it alone. You are much too kind. But, thanks just the same.

It was good to see James on Tuesday. He's looking good. In fact, everyone was looking good. Now it's time to settle down and get caught up on some things I need to do. One of them is writing up the report for the family newsletter for June and July. With my memory, I'll be lucky to remember what happened yesterday. Wish me luck.

Macy spent a lot of time scanning pictures that I've collected over the years. Many of them she had never seen before, like the ones in my mission scrapbook. Here are a few I will sign off with for now.

This is my cousin, Marsha, and me when I was 3 years old.

This is me, my older brother, Larry,
my little brother, Doug, and my sister,
Lynette when I was about 8 years old.

This is my brother, Doug, and me when
I was 8 years old.

WE ONLY SAW THE REPLAYS

2008-09-08T17:48:00.005-06:00

No. 84, Jan Jorgensen stretches out
his left arm just as the ball is being
kicked and in doing so blocked the
attempted point after attempt by
the Huskies of the University of
Washington. The Cougars won by
a score of 28 to 27.

Bradley discovers "Blossom" at Grandma GG's
and Grandpa Roger's house. Blossom was his
dad's rocking horse 38 years ago when they
lived in Altamont, Utah, where Grandpa Roger
first started to teach school.

James and his children visited us last weekend while Stephanie was at a seminar in Portland. While they were here, they visited the Dinosaur Museum and then watched Ratatooe (sp) and Matilda on DVD. Bradley found a new (actually used) toy. He became friends with "Blossom" and had lots of fun riding him. He even learned to get on and off by himself. In the evening, we all attended the "End of Summer Ward Social." We ate hamburgers or hotdogs, jello salad, potato salad, green salad with dressing, chips, cakes of all kinds, and cookies. After filling our tummies, James and the children packed up their things and headed back to Kaysville. You all may recall that they just so happened to be here the weekend we had our last ward social as well at the Price Recreation Center in Price Canyon. All in all it was a fun-filled day and a wonderful weekend.

August is almost over

2008-08-25T13:56:00.006-06:00

It's the 25th of August. Where did it go? School has started again. Our road is still unfinished. The tomatoes have not yet really started to mature to the point they can be picked. The days are getting shorter and the nights are getting a little colder every passing day. It's like the old song goes, "Times, they are a changin'."

Gloria and I spent five days in Logan with Tyler and Mary and their children. They have a beautiful and precious bundle of joy. Ava Gloria is a doll!

Gloria basks in the joy and happiness of holding baby Ava for the very first time. This was a great three-generation magic moment.

Gloria fixed Leah's hair and so Leah wanted Roger to take her picture. She sat on a chair and Roger told her to "Hold you head up." She did.

Alicia and Canyon started back to school on Wednesday of last week. Don't they look excited and anxious to get started again? Alicia is a 4th grader this year and Canyon is in the 2nd grade. Don't they look sharp?

How About A Little Nostalgia?

2008-08-09T10:37:00.004-06:00

CINDY, JAMES, AND VICKI MALMSTROM

The picture above was taken in Provo, Utah when
James was about a year and a half. We had Cindy and
Vicki pictured in a previous posting when Cindy
was three and Vicki was five and in Kindergarten.
This is about that same time. They and their families
live in the San Francisco Area of California.

"1:00 O'CLOCK, 2:00 O'CLOCK, 3:00 O'CLOCK ROCK!"

How about this for a hoot? They had a 50's Day when
Roger was teaching at the Uintah Basin Area Vocational
Center in Roosevelt back in the 1970's. He actually won
a prize for being the most "cool" teacher in period dress
style. Do you think those are cigarettes in his shirt pocket?
The person next to him is Sherry Bolton, a female colleague
who also taught in the Business Education Department.

Roger was rummaging through some of the memorabilia in our closet that Gloria has collected and separated according to year. It includes pictures, letters, greeting cards, certificates, etc. that we have kept over our nearly 39 years of marriage. Think of that--39 years! That's pretty remarkable. And to think that we're both as smart, good-looking, and easy to get along with as we have ever been. It's just remarkable. Any way, Roger found a number of interesting things that he's going to include in our blog every now and then. So, keep yours eyes open--we think you just might get a chuckle or two out of them.

Well, our one-week street repaving has come and gone. Is it completed? Not hardly. They were excavating somewhat smaller vertical holes over gas and water lines leading into each of the homes on our side of the street yesterday. They used a large tanker-type truck with a giant vacuum hose about 9" in diameter and a high-pressure water hose to "drill" down through the ground. The high-pressure water would break up and soften the dirt while the vacuum would suck the dirty liquid up and into the storage tank on the truck. It was quite a sophisticated operation. It was somewhat noisy but quick and efficient. There were no picks or shovels used at all that were noticed. There were four holes drilled or excavated in front of our yard alone. Roger took his daily "siesta" (or at least he tried to with all the noisy racket of the equipment) while the two men were working in front of our yard. When he awoke, he noticed that a number of sections of about 24" to 30" in diameter black rubberized or plastic sewer pipes were stacked next to the gutter on the opposite side of the road. That means that they'll be digging up the road in order to install the sewer pipe. Whether it will be on our side of the street or on the other side, isn't known at this point in time. When it will all be finished and completed--who knows. We'll just have to keep you posted.

Wednesday-- It Was A Busy Day

2008-08-07T20:51:00.005-06:00

It started out with a trip to the eye doctor. I've started having some blurred vision in my left eye lately. That's the one I had the cataract removed from two years ago this summer. And, since neither Gloria or I have had our eyes checked this year and the deadline for having it done so that it will be covered by our insurance, we both went together at 11:30 a.m. this morning. The dark glasses are for eye protection after they were dilated during the exams. Remember the old saying, "Smile, you're on Candid Camera?" Well, we look pretty cheesy don't we.

Roger's fingers are sore today because he spent about four hours cracking and shelling some of the English walnuts that the Merrells gave us last fall. Gloria's plans are to use the unbroken shells for part of her Sharing Time in Primary for the month of September. The soft skin covering on the shells were still either partially or wholly intack and then basically baked on after being exposed to the hot sun. It was hard breaking it off the actual shell before doing the cracking to get at the meat part of the nut. This box shows the shells he was able to use with both sides unbroken and then kept together with rubber bands. There's still more to be done before all of the nuts are cracked. We learned in a gardening book that broken up nut shells from walnuts, almonds, peanuts, etc. are good to put back into the soil as part of mulching and/or composting. So, that's what we're going to do, by golly. That's what we're going to do.

Gloria spent until after 10:00 p.m. bottling some vegetables from our garden. She did 19 pints of beets and 5 quarts of beans. Our tomatoes are growing, but they're still green and won't be ready to start picking for at least a couple of weeks. We're looking forward to doing some carrots and squash as well as more beans and beets. We even have some water melons coming along. Isn't that wonderful?

Tonight, Gloria is busy working on getting scrapbooks caught up to date. Roger has been spending the day reading and working on getting some of our important documents gathered up and put in one location so that they can be readily accessible. Plus, Aunt Rita is working on the Freeman and Gladys Williams History and has asked Roger to help create a pictorial pedigree of the Williams Family. There never seems to be a dull moment around here.

That will be enough for today. Tune in next time for more exciting news. Oh yes, we received some welcomed rain last evening and this evening as well. Sweet dreams to everyone, it's 9:30 p.m.

New Month, New Road!

2008-08-02T16:59:00.006-06:00

On Friday morning, August 1st, I heard some sounds of heavy equipment out in front of our house a little after 7:00 a.m. I went to our front bedroom window and snapped the following photos with our digital camera:
As you can see, they methodically tore up a strip of asphalt about six feet wide from the edge of the cement gutter, loaded it onto a waiting dump truck via a conveyor belt, and then hauled it off to some site for probable recycling. By quitting time at 6:00 p.m., they had taken up all of the asphalt (about 6-8 inches deep) on Sagewood Drive from Cedar Hills Drive to Homestead Blvd. Monday they will begin the work of preparing Sagewood Drive for a new layer of asphalt. Whether they put a new dirt and gravel base down first and then a thinner layer of asphalt remains to be seen. The project is supposed to be all completed by Friday, August 8. We would like them to put speed bumps in the new surface to discourage drivers from driving so fast on it. It's fortunate that no accidents involving children playing or riding bikes has taken place. Or, the fact that people use the street for walking or jogging in the morning or in the evening and speeding cars through the curves just to our east is a potential pedestrian/car accident. Anyway, that's how we feel on the matter. End of subject.

Then last evening, around 9:00 p.m. we heard a knock on our back door. When we answered it, who was it standing there with smiles on their faces? It was James and Lauralyn. Because of the road construction, Gloria parked our van about half a block north on Cedar Avenue. So, our visitors didn't know if we were home or not, even though the lights were on. James, Stephanie, and all three of the children, had attended an evening picnic at Pioneer Park here in Price that had started at 6:00 p.m. as part of James' 20th Year High School Class Reunion. He ran into some of his school chums from "the good old days" and had an enjoyable time visiting and eating with them. Stephanie's family members are in Kaysville for the McBride Family Reunion today at Cherry Hills, which is up by Lagoon. So it was a quick trip down here to Price for the evening and then back home for the festivities up there. They visited with us for about an hour or so and then headed for home.

Today, it was my turn to cook breakfast. It was hash browns, bacon, and scrambled eggs. It's something I do everyone once in a while. Gloria seemed to enjoy it, plus it spared her of having to do it. She deserves a rest now and then, certainly more than she gets from me. But, I'm trying to do better. I even cooked burgers for lunch. But Gloria topped them off with home-made rootbeer floats. Yum, yum! At 2:30 p.m. she attended the baptism of one of the young boys in her Primary class. Then she came home and started canning some beans that she had picked from our garden before she left. She's presently working on what she does a lot of--quilting. I am constantly amazed at how hard she works. She's always busy doing something for someone. And I am so grateful that she is so willing to do so much for me. "I stand all amazed."

It's been a busy week. With Aubry's surgery, we've all had an opportunity to count our blessings and give thanks to Heavenly Father for his bounteous love and blessings. Our petitions through prayer and fasting have surely been answered and we have been greatly blessed.

We send greetings and best wishes to all. We love you all.

A Last Adios For July

2008-07-31T11:20:00.006-06:00

View from the veranda of our unit at Wolf Creek in June.

Looking down through this natural arch from a view point at
Bryce Canyon National Park in early July.

Five members of Laura Taylor Malmstrom Family
(from L to R) Larry, Edward (Ray), Roger, Dennis and Lynette.
Not present were Arland and Doug.

These were some pictures we had developed at Wal-Mart and just recently received back. Like we said yesterday, it's been a busy month.

Word from Portland, Oregon is that Aubry's medical procedure was successful--all went just fine. She should now have a new lease on life, at least for a number of years. As she grows older and her body gets larger, she'll need to have the same procedure repeated. How many times? Who knows--"only the Shadow knows." Aubry should enjoy hearing from family and friends now that it's all over and done for this year. It's back to the swimming pool and more summer fun. Then it will be back to the books and other off-summer activities. Cheerio!

Now it is time to focus our attention on Macy's and Anna's birthdays. Fun, fun, fun. And then it will be time to welcome a new member of the Mills Family. Will it be a boy? Or, will it be a girl? Remember: "Only the Shadow knows."

Now, as Roy Rogers and Dale Evans (his wife) would say each week at the end of their TV program, "Happy trails to you, until we meet again. Happy trails to you, keep smiling until then. Happy trails to you, 'til we meet again."

We love you all, Grandpa Roger and Grandma GG

She's At It Again

2008-07-30T20:49:00.004-06:00

Gloria is purchasing more fabric for another "Project."

July is coming to an end, and it has been rather a busy month for Grandma and Grandpa Malmstrom. We traveled to southern Utah with Aunt Lynette and Uncle Doug, celebrated two holidays, attended the Taylor Family Reunion, drove to American Fork to babysit Avery for Melanie and Randy, entertained Melanie and her children for part of last week, and Gloria has been busy bottling some of our home-grown beans and beets. Then, of course, there's the usual day-to-day things that transpire: yard work, house work, work work, and church work. But, we can't complain. At least we are healthy and can enjoy the comfort of the air conditioner during the hot afternoons.

We're presently waiting for word from Michelle in Portland about Aubry's medical procedure to insert the stint in her heart. The phone lines have certainly been busy transmitting messages back and forth and trying to keep everyone appraised of the progress. Aubry has shown great courage and faith and we are confident that everything will turn out just fine.

Mary was told by her doctor that after this week she should be more or less ready for the baby to come whenever it is ready. That will certainly be a great relief for Mary; the after-delivery part, that is.

School will be starting again in two or three weeks here in Utah. The Warner and Mills families have been able to enjoy swimming at home for the last couple of weeks. They are all probably getting tanned very well.

Welcome home James and family. We understand you had a wonderful time in Montana near Glacier National Park. It's wonderful that we can freely travel about this great country and enjoy the many beautiful and wondrous places that Heaven Father has created for us through his son, Jesus Christ.

We hope little Audrie has completely recovered from her bout with a tree stump in Ogden Canyon recently. She is such an adventurer. We wish we had only a fraction of her energy.

And lastly, we congratulate Nathan for his promotion to store manager. We knew it had to come sooner or later. And Macy is doing some ancillary work with a performing theater that will allow her to do more of what she really loves doing--designing. That's great! And Macy is such a card! She is the life of any party. She's creative and talented. We want her to know that we'll miss not having her here on her birthday (August 10) but that we'll be in touch.

That's about it for now. Adios ah todo!

The Wonder of God's Creations

2008-07-11T10:20:00.012-06:00

Bryce National Park

Uncle Doug and Aunt Lynette Keane came to visit us from Colorado Springs last Saturday, July 5th. We telephoned Uncle Doug (Malmstrom) to wish him a happy birthday, but had to settle for singing to him on his voice recorder. Then on Tuesday morning, we started on a multi-national park excursion down through southern Utah. We took their smaller car because it was more conservative on gasoline. It included Capital Reef, Bryce, and Zion's National Parks. It was a wonderfully scenic and picturesque experience for all of us. We went to Loa, Utah on Tuesday morning; including a visit with Uncle Afton Taylor, the oldest citizen of Wayne County at 98 years old. The morning also included a tour through Capital Reef National Park just to the southeast of Loa. In the afternoon, we visited Bryce National Park. I purchased a Senior pass for $10.00 which gives me life-time entrance to any or all National Parks throughout the country. Plus I can take three people with me. Cool, right? We ended the day by staying at a motel in Panguitch, Utah which is about 21 miles northwest of Bryce National Park.
Early the next morning, we left the motel and headed south on State Highway 9. It was a beautiful drive through a lush, green valley surrounded by pine trees and aspens. Then the drive through Zion's Park was merely a re-enactment of the day before, but the rock formations were different colors and shapes. It was fantastic scenery. There was a free shuttle bus tour that takes people all through the park, but it took at least 90 minutes and you had to have a hat, water, and sunscreen. Unfortunately, we were a little short on time, and we didn't have hats or sunscreen. So we had to settle for the sights we could see as we traveled through the park in the car. There were spots where we could pull off the road and take photographs, and that provided us with some fantastically beautiful scenes of wonder and awe. We then continued west from the park's exit point. As we left the park, there were a couple of small cities like Glendale and Orderville (Orderville looked like each house was surrounded by at least three pre-1960 cars--it was a vintage car enthusiast's paradise). We then headed north on I-15. At Salina, we took I-70 east and then at the Fremont Junction, we headed north on Highway 10 to Price and arrived home around 5:00 p.m. It was the end of a lovely trip to a part of the country that none of us had ever visited or seen except in books or on TV.

Allen Jr. and Lula Taylor Home -- Loa, Utah.
It was built by their son, Afton.

Lodging accommodations for guests converted from dairy
milking barn of Uncle Arvil Taylor, son of Allen Jr. and Lula

Aunt Lynette Keane and Gloria
at Balance Rock Cafe in Helper, Utah.

Doug and Lynette Keane and Gloria and
Roger at Zion's National Park.

Roger and Gloria at Zion's National Park.

Zion's National Park looking northwest.

The Answer Is Yes. We Are Still Alive.

2008-07-03T09:39:00.005-06:00

Goodness, gracious, where does time go? After all, it's a long time from April to July! But it's actually only a matter of priorities. And, unfortunately, this blog hasn't been that high on our list of priorities. But, we can always repent, right?
Some of the family, if not all, might think that we are a pair of pack rats and 'stuff freaks.' And, we would be the first to agree that we do have more 'stuff' around here than we need. So, we are making an attempt to 'clean house' so to speak and get things more organized and 'in order.' Case in point: We have four computers, that's right, four computers. One is the first one we ever bought; it's an old 486 PC that uses the DOS operating system. One is a Pentium II PC that needs a new hard drive. One is the Pentium II that we're currently using. Finally, there's the Pentium IV that we have yet to get set up and operational. We recently got another metal filing cabinet at a garage sale that we can use to store hard copy material that we want to keep. And Gloria is progressively using a lot of the fabric she has accumulated over the years to make quilts, baby blankets, baby bibs, etc. that she spends a lot of her at-home time doing. Hopefully we'll have it all done before Christmas.
James and his children came to Price last Friday evening and stayed with us until mid-afternoon on Sunday. Stephanie was in Cardston, Canada doing a seminar for George Wythe College. On Saturday evening, we picked up a sister we home teach in the van and we all drove up to Price Recreation Area for a dutch oven cookout. The weather was beautiful, there weren't any mosquitoes, and the food was delicious. We left the house at 5:50 p.m. and got back home around 8:00 p.m.

James' neck was very stiff and sore from early Saturday morning.

Sara sees something of interest at the next table.

Laura wasn't feeling too chipper herself--something with her tummy.

Gloria takes an opportunity to visit with Sherald and Lula Law.

Aunt Lynette and Uncle Doug Keane are planning to come to the Taylor Family Reunion on July 12th. They plan to come a week early, on July 5th, and while they're here they want to take a day-trip to one of the National Parks in southern Utah and have us go with them. Neither I or Gloria have been to Bryce or Zion Canyon; nor have either of them. We're not sure if Cathy and Josie are going to be able to come this year. Lynette was going to call Cathy and see if they wanted to come with her, but we haven't heard anything definitive yet.
We are disappointed that some of our immediate family will be unable to be with us at the Taylor Reunion. But, we understand that circumstances simply make it more advisable to not do a lot of traveling for various reasons. We will miss not having them with us.
That's about all the news for today. Who knows, perhaps a new posting may come as early as tomorrow or the next day.
In any case, it's goodbye for now. As Bugs Bunny would say, "Beduh..., bedu..., bed.., that's all folks." (Something like that, at least.)

New Beginnings

2008-04-17T13:24:00.002-06:00

Today, a tiny plant. Tomorrow, a bucket of red, ripe tomatoes.

Isn't Mother Nature wonderful? I didn't want Macy to take all the glory with her picture of her plant in her last blog. I planted these tomato plants on Friday of last week. Yesterday they were just barely breaking through the soil. They've grown a half inch in one day. Before we know it, I'll have to transplant them to their permanent home outdoors. We bought a new wheelbarrow on Saturday. But it has to be assembled before we can use it. We're also looking for a higher ladder. Gloria seems to be acquiring a desire to do some more exterior house painting. Oh, the joys of home ownership. Right?

Well, it's nap time for me. So, adios for now.

Long, Lost Cousins

2008-04-16T08:22:00.004-06:00

Uncle Arland's Three Daughters

Vicki is the one on the left. The girl in black is a half sister. Next to
her is Shiela, and the one on the right is Cindy.

On the 4th of April, their mother, Diane, and other siblings from Diane's other marriages gathered for a family holiday.

Diane, Uncle Arland's former wife, and her daughters gather for
a day of family fun. They look pretty happy don't they?

They are all anxious to get to know as many of the extended families of the Malmstrom Clan as they can.

Merrell Family Receives "AVERY AWARD"

2008-04-04T19:58:00.018-06:00

HERE AT LAST! HERE AT LAST!
OUR BOY, AVERY, IS HERE AT LAST!!

Avery checked in at 2:00 p.m. on Friday, April 4, 2008
at American Fork Hospital weighing 7 lbs. 13 oz.

Grandma Gloria greets her 17th grandchild with a broad smile and joyful heart.

Avrey William Merrell, our most recent gift from our loving Heavenly Father.

Randy and Melanie were scheduled to be at the hospital this morning, April 4, at 7:00 a.m. However, the hospital had some unscheduled deliveries earlier this morning so they had to put Melanie on hold in order to accomodate them. So, Melanie and Randy didn't leave home for the hospital until close to 9:00 o'clock.
Gloria drove the kids to school and Jarom stayed with me at the house while she was gone. We played with some of his put-together toys. A little later, Gloria went on a trip to an in-home copy center to get some Primay material from old copies of the Children's Friend plus some things at Albertson's. Jarom watched a DVD of "101 Dalmations". Randy telephoned from the hospital to tell me that Melanie still hadn't had the baby but that they were going to induce he starting at 1:30 p.m. Gloria returned around 11:45 and we had some turkey sandwiches.
I layed down for my nap about 1:30 and slept until around 4:00. The children were home from school by then and Randy came home shortly after I arose with the news that Avrey was born at 2:00, just one half hour after Melanie was induced. Everything had gone very well and he is a healthy and handsome bundle of joy.
Shortly thereafter, everyone but me went back to the hospital to see the baby and to take a few more pictures. Some of the pictures taken with our camera are shown above. After seeing the baby and Melanie, Randy stayed at the hospital and Gloria and the children went to McDonald's for something to eat. In the meantime, I watched a little TV, mostly the evening news and then I headed to the computer to complete this blog. So, that's about it for today.
Oh yes, Macy called to congratulate Melanie and the family, and I had to tease her about her latest escapade in Boston (all by herself, and all). She said it was interesting but short. The weather was cold and she didn't see a whole lot. She does, however, want to go back sometime with Nate. They said that Nate was buying plane tickets to come see us from May 29 to June 10, as I recall. Yippie!!
Adios for now, companeros. Love Dad

News from Star, Idaho

2008-03-24T10:41:00.007-06:00

Today is Monday, March 24th. I'm sitting at the Warner Family computer updating our blog. Gloria and I drove from Price, to American Fork on Tuesday, the 18th after school was out. We delivered a few things to Melanie and her family and then drove to John and Sarah's house in Holladay (sp). We spent the night with them and had a blast with Audrie. What a precious little girl she is.

On Wednesday, we left John and Sarah's about 9:30 a.m. We stopped at ZIM'S Craft store next to the I-15 freeway for a few items Gloria wanted to get while we were in SLC. We then headed for James' house to stop and see them and leave a few things for the children. We got as far as Bountiful and remembered that we had forgotten our clothing at John's so we had to turn around and head back to retreave them. We called Mary and told her what had happened because we also planned on driving up to her home in Logan to see them and leave some things there as well. We couldn't reach James' home because no one answered the phone. We wanted to tell them that we planned on stopping. So, we called James at his office in Salt Lake just off the 600 North off ramp of I-15. We caught him just before he was to leave to go to another building to work. We were able to visit with him and leave the things for the children that we were planning to leave at their home. We had a good, but short, visit with him just outside his office building near his truck.

We then headed for logan. We arrived there about an hour before Alicia and Canyon came home from school. We left some things there and had a visit with Mary, including a haircut for Gloria, before continuing our journey north.

From Logan, we drove straight to Star, Idaho. We had prepared a map and directions from the GoogleEarth website so we were pretty well able to drive right to their home, even though it was dark when we got into Star City. At one point, we had to turn around and backtrack for about a mile because we couldn't see the name of the street we were supposed to turn left on. We had a bunch of cars behind us and we didn't want to disrupt traffic at a moment's notice. We drove forward for a bit, made a U-turn, came back, turned on the street we had missed, and then just followed the written directions to the Warner's house. They were all up and waiting for us. Me made it!!

Michelle's doctor had planned on having Michelle induced if the baby would have turned, it was in breach position, or performing a C section like he did with Anna on Thursday, the 20th. But, Thursday was a busy day for Aaron and so he had the doctor change his plan to Friday, the 21st. On Friday morning, Aaron and Michelle were at the hospital by 9:00 a.m., and the doctor performed the C section around noon. The procedure went like clockwork and, "Tut, tuda, da! Here's

Elizabeth!"

We went to church on Sunday, Easter Sunday, and Aaron was able to bring Michelle and Elizabeth home around 1:00 p.m. We had a delicious turkey dinner, compliments of Gloria. Then we just relaxed, took pictures, and enjoyed the rest of the Sabbath day.

Elizabeth Warner (7 lbs. 2 oz. / 19 3/4 ")

Elizabeth Warner at 3 days old.

Warner children: Anna, Seth, Aubry, Luke, and Elizabeth

THE WARNERS

Pop Corn Scattered All Across My Lawn

2008-03-16T18:51:00.003-06:00

When I looked out my window at the crack of dawn
I saw pop corn scattered all across my lawn.
Mother Nature had brought me such a sweet surprise;
Loads of pop corn was scattered right before my eyes.
I could take a hand full and make a treat,
A pop corn ball that would taste so sweet.
But it wasn't so 'cause it was really snow
And now I have to wipe it off from beneath my feet!

We were beginning to think that Winter was about over here in Price. But, you just can't take things for granted these days, especially when it comes to the weather. The days have been getting warmer, the snow is pretty well melted (except for the shady spots on the north side of the house), and some green shoots are beginning to poke out of the grassy areas. But, we won't be out of the woods for a while yet. Just when we start thinking Spring is here, we'll probably get a late frost and we'll lose the blossoms on our apricot and apple trees. If we get some really warm days soon, we made end up having floods from the rapid runoff. Oh well, I guess we'll just have to take things the way they come, one day at a time.

We'll be heading to Star, Idaho this week. We have Easter weekend next week starting at noon on Wednesday. However, Gloria will take that morning off because we plan on spending Tuesday night at John and Sarah's house and then heading for Idaho on Wednesday morning. That will make it a little easier for me, with travel time, that is. We'll stay in Star to spend time with Michelle and her new "bambina", if she has it while we are there, of course.

We'll probably see everyone but Macy and Nate either going or coming from our trip. So, until then, we'll just say, "Adios, muchachos!"

Roger

It's Wednesday, and all is well.

2008-03-05T17:53:00.003-07:00

Well, here it is another Wednesday; March 5th to be exact. Uncle Gary was supposed to have a surgical procedure performed today at the hospital in Orem. He telephoned us last evening and spent about 45 minutes talking about a number of topics from politics to food storage and temple work. He's quite the guy. We told him we had assumed it was all going to take place on Monday and that we had been fasting and praying for him over the weekend. He thanked us and said he appreciated it. He didn't seem too concerned about it all even though he had not received any word from hospital personnel informing him what he was to do to prepare for today other than what time to be at the hospital. That seemed somewhat strange to us. We asked him to have Katie or Mary call us with information on how it went. No word yet.
We changed from Dish Network to DirecTv yesterday. We , or should we say, Roger, wanted to change because they will be carrying the MTN channel this year, which broadcasts the Mountain West Conference sports programs, especially football (Utah, BYU, UNLV, etc.). They guarantee that it will be up and going no later than September 1. So, we're hoping it happens as planned. One bad thing about the change is that we will no longer pick up the Hallmark Movie Channel. We'll still get the regular Hallmark Channel, however.
We got an email from Sarah today reminding us that she has the family newsletter this month and that she'll need all the input by the 15th of the month. We'd better get with it and get them turned in.
Roger has been in contact with Uncle Arland's ex-wife, Diane, and daughters in California. They have indicated an interest in establishing contact with members of our family and extended family. They are even speaking of trying to make it to the Taylor Family Reunion in July. It would be nice to get to see them again. It's only been close to 40 years since the left Utah and went to California.
Melanie, thanks again for your contribution to the Malmstrom Clan Blog. Now you just need to settle down and create a "Merrell Family Blog". Then we'll be able to see and hear a lot more about that new addition when he arrives in April.
The snow in the back yard is practically all melted. Not so, however, for the front. We need to put some deicer granules on the front steps and walk so the frozen snow and ice will melt faster. We cannot afford to have someone fall and get hurt because we haven't cleared it off yet. We can have the Richardson's come back now and do the repair work above the bay window. There's always something that has to be repaired or replaced. We also need a new vacuum cleaner. Will it ever end? Oh well, we should count our blessings more and not complain about a bump in the road now and then. Right?

We'll sign off for now. Love you all. Cheerio!! Mom and Dad M.

A Prayer Expressed in Music Offered by President Gordon B. Hinkley

2008-02-25T11:13:00.005-07:00

President Gordon B. Hinkley

I received this musical selection from the wife of a good friend. Richard Larsen and his wife, Jean, are serving a 18 month mission for the LDS Church in Salt Lake City at Temple Square and the Conference Center. I found it very touching, knowing that President Hinkley offered it at a Youth Conference in Georgia in the year 2000. Below are two links. The first is the Website of Ashley Harris. She explains how the prayer was made into a song entitled, "A Prophet's Prayer." She includes the actual words to the prayer. The second link is to the musical version for the prayer that she wrote. Music often affects my spiritual tender button and I often tear up when I hear certain music or songs. This is one of those spiritual buttons for me. I hope you enjoy it.

http://www.ashleyharris.com/prophetsprayer.htm
http://www.ashleyharris.com/music/ProphetsPrayer.mp3

Love, Roger

Gary Houskeeper, our "Good Neighbor Sam"

2008-02-24T18:08:00.006-07:00

Gloria is in the ward choir. This weekend has been our Ward Conference. Since the ward choir was scheduled to sing during Sacrament Meeting this morning, Gloria needed to be at the Stake Center an hour early for one final practice. She got up at 5:00 a.m. to work on part of her Primary lesson that she had forgotten to do earlier. I awoke and got out of bed at 6:10 a.m. and found her in front of the computer screen and keyboard putting the final touches on the lesson that she would be presenting to her seven-year olds at about 10:20 a.m.

I took a shower and got dressed. At about 7:10, I began cooking some multi grain hot cereal and toast. After Gloria got showered, dressed, and ready for the day, we both ate breakfast and waited until about 8:05 before leaving for the Stake Center. After having started the minivan a little earlier in order for the engine to warm up, we got ourselves and Gloria's lesson materials in the van and started to back out of the driveway. "Wait a minute, what's wrong with the van?", she asked. "It's not backing up normally." She stopped and took the drive train out of gear. I noticed the front left side of the van seemed a little lower than the right side and said, "We might have a flat tire on your side." She opened her side door and got out to check. With a look of resignation and frustration, she simply said, "Oh, I need to hurry and call Nancy Owings and see if we can ride with her! Why did this have to happen now?"

She tried to call Nancy but she did not answer. If fact, she ended up calling four people before connecting with one who had not left their house yet. They agreed to come and pick us up very shortly. After about five minutes, their car drove into the driveway, somewhat full of family members. I knew I couldn't fit my oxygen tank and myself into the available space in the front seat next to Gloria, so I said I would wait and call another neighbor and ask them for a ride. After they had left for the Stake Center, I went back into the house and called Gary Houskeeper. I explained my situation and he graciously offered to let me ride with him and his young daughter, Kaylee at about 8:50. The were on time and we made it to the Stake Center on time for Sacrament Meeting at 9:00.

After the block meetings, another ward member and his wife, Thomas and Gwen Gwynn brought us home. They are a retired couple in their late seventies or early eighties who were recently assigned to us to home teach. We have become close friends with them since they moved into the ward a little over a year ago. They are very nice people.

Gloria had made some home-made vegetable soup for lunch following church, so she warmed it up and we were finished for about 15 minutes before our own home teachers, Kendall and Beverly Branch, came to visit us. We chit-chatted for a few minutes and then Kendall gave us a spiritual thought from the February Ensign Magazine. About that time, a knock came to our back door and so Gloria answered it. It was Gary Houskeeper. Unbeknown to us, he had brought his portable hydraulic jack over from his house, raised the front end of our van up, and found a screw lodged into that flat tire. After telling and showing us what he had done, he took the tire off and replaced it with the smaller donut tire that is used as a spare. He checked the air pressure in it and found out it was low. So then he put the flat tire into the back of the van, returned the portable jack back to his house, returned with a portable air compressor and filled the donut to the proper pressure. Finally, he even offered to take the flat tire to the repair shop to be fixed tomorrow when he takes his daughter to school. I told him he had done too much already. He just laughed and said, "I appreciate the lessons you give in Priesthood Meeting. I cannot teach like you can, you're the professional teacher. That's why I don't offer to give the lessons. But, I can do things like this. I can't get up in front of a class and present a lesson, but I can do these kinds of things. And I don't mind doing so." I then said, "But today is Sunday, the day of rest." At which he simply said, "I consider this as being 'an ox in the mire', that's all, an 'ox in the mire'." We both chuckled a little bit and I said, "Somehow I'll get even with you."

Gary lost his wife a couple of years ago. He was seriously injured in a coal mine accident a number of years ago and fought hard to get on SS disability. He spent at least a year or more trying to qualify for it, even though his physical health condition made him unable to work a regular job. He is the fellow who always comes over early in the morning following a snowfall to clean off our driveway and sidewalks with his four-wheel SUV and snow blade. In fact, he does it for other neighbors as well. He's a swell guy and has four grown children plus his six-year old adopted daughter, Kaylee.

After the home teacher's visit and Gary's helping hand with the flat tire, I took a nap, as per doctor's orders, from 2:35 to 3:15 p.m. I did some reading for a while and then migrated here to the computer. It's a little after 7:00 now and Gloria is watching something on the Hallmark Channel on TV. And I need to take a couple more pills. So, I'll sign off until next time.

Lover, Roger

I thought you might get a chuckle out of this.

"Play it again, Sam." Humphrey Bogart

2008-02-23T20:47:00.009-07:00

Last night before going to bed about 9:00 p.m. Gloria called me to the front door and what you see below is what we saw last night.

Some of those snow flakes, as you can see, were as big as a half dollar.

It came fast and furious, but it didn't last too long. However, it interrupted
our satellite reception and we had to turn the TV off at about 9:05 p.m. We
woke up to about two inches of new heavy and wet snow this morning. It was
very pretty.

There wasn't any snow around the fire hydrant on the right before
the snow storm last night. Gloria was up early this morning with
our snow shovel clearing off the driveway and the sidewalk when a
neighbor who lives up the street from us stopped and gave her a
hand after she was about half way through with the driveway.

The new snow on the top of the mailbox shows how much snow was
still left at about 12:30 p.m. this afternoon after the sun had come out
and the temperature had arisen to over 32 degrees and had melted
some but not all of it.

This shows how much snow is still on our front lawn. Granted, there's
mounds of it around the edges of the driveway and sidewalks, but the
middle of the lawn area still has a considerable amount of snow still left.
It will probably be mid to late March before it all gets melted, unless it
gets very warm in the meantime. That would probably produce some
flooding in some of the streams and rivers of water that run off in the
mountains. That happened in 1983, three years after we moved here
to Price. In Salt Lake City, flood waters from the early runoff due to
higher than usual temperatures in the early spring caused a river of water
to run down out of City Creek Canyon onto State Street in Downtown Salt
Lake that required sandbags to be placed on the sides of the street so that
flood water could be channeled through the city and into the Jordan River.

Well, that's about it for this post. It's getting late and we need to be getting to bed. We have the early morning schedule for church this year so we need to be ready to leave the house about 8:45 a.m. So, we'll sign off for now. Good Night.

There's Springtime In Our Souls Today

2008-02-21T10:47:00.010-07:00

Where, oh where does the time go? And how does it do so so quickly? It seems like it was just yesterday that we did our last posting. But it was February 3rd. It is often said that time passes quickly when you are having a good time. That must be so, because we certainly had a good time looking at Macy's daily posts during the 10-day countdown to Valentine's Day. Three cheers for Macy--Hip, hip Hurray! Hip, hip Hurray! Hip, hip Hurray! Macy, you are FANTASTIC!!!! You remind us of that song that starts out, "You light up my life . . ." What would our lives be without you? Pretty Boring!

We went to Provo on February 11th. Roger had a doctor appointment to have his physical progress evaluated again. It went pretty well as usual. We arrived about 20 minutes early and were able to go right in to the examination room. But, as usual, Roger had to be weighed. A new assistant that we hadn't seen before did the weighing and, again as usual, Roger began taking off his jacket and removing some things out of his pocket in order to get a more accurate reading. When she had determined the amount, she picked up the paperwork to write it down and at the same time started saying something like, "Well, it looks like you are at two hundred and sixty-. . ." A that time, Roger quickly interrupted her and said, "Wait a minute, that can't be right. I couldn't have gained 100 pounds in three months!" She quickly rechecked the scale. Sure enough, she had over-read the amount and it should have been 164 pounds. That sounded much better. In fact, that scale usually weighed him in above 170 pounds. That's with his clothes on, of course. When he steps out of the shower at home, he averages about 165-167. After an arterial blood gas test was performed, it was determined that his blood oxygen concentration is up from 89 to 92, which is great. However, his CO2 level has increased from 67 to 74, which isn't so good. Dr. Ross isn't too concerned with that figure, yet. He recommended that he be more consistent in taking a nap in the early afternoon each day. He's been a little lax in that recently. So, hopefully, getting more rest using his VPAP machine daily will help to bring that CO2 level down again. We hope so.

The weather is slowly improving, temperature wise. The snow melts more and more each day. We had a little problem with water seeping into the edge of the roof just over the bay window that we had installed three years ago. We had our insurance adjuster come and look at the damage and he determined it would take close to $900 to fix it less the $250 deductible. We received a check from them last week. Now, we need to get the ice melted along the top of the bay window so we can do the work of replacing dry wall and repainting, etc. Hopefully we can have it done before we go to Idaho in March when Michelle has her baby and we go up to spend about a week at their home in Star, Idaho. Gloria is really looking forward to that. She can hardly wait.

We're including some photos of one of Arland's daughters, Vicki, and her family. She is Diane's daughter and Diane was married to Arland when they lived in Lindon, Utah. At that time, Vicki and her sisters, Sheila, and Cindy were just little girls. There's been a lot of water flow under the proverbial bridge since then. Diane and the girls left Arland and moved to California. They divorced and Diane remarried. Vicki recently has indicated that she wants to get to know some of her long-lost aunts and uncles and cousins. And we want to get reacquainted with them as well. So, here's Vicki and her family:

Vicki and Tom Higginson

The Higginsons - (Standing L-R) Ricky, Vicki, Shantale
(Sitting L-R) Tiffani, Troy (grandson), and Tom

(L-R) Vicki, Shantale, Tiffani

Vicki's daughter, Shantale and grandson, Troy

Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow!

2008-02-03T20:17:00.000-07:00

It was snowing lightly when we arose Saturday morning and it had been through the night. By mid-day, however, the sun was shining brightly and the snow on the road in front of our home had been plowed and sanded and then melted. These photos were taken from our living room front door and bay window.

At the bottom in this photo, there is a mound
of stacked snow that stands about four feet high.
It just keeps growing from alternate bouts of
being stacked then receiving new snowfall again.

We have a very good neighbor who owns a four-wheel SUV with a snow blade on it. He often will be found shoveling off sidewalks and driveways for neighbors on our street very early in the morning before residents back out of their driveways in their vehicles. That's how many of the piles of snow keep growing as snow storms continue to blanket us with their beautiful white stuff. Some people in our area are beginning to do a little complaining about all the snow and cold weather. But they have to remember that we live in a dry, desert part of the state and we often have periods of drought. This summer, we will be very, very thankful for the snow we are receiving now. Believe me!

Gloria, in blue, and a neighbor girl, Autumn Sutton, are

busy using hand shovels to clear Friday night and early
Saturday morning snow from our driveway. They were
uncooperative with me in taking the picture by facing
away from the camera instead of facing toward it.

While Gloria and Autumn were hand-shoveling the driveway, another fellow who lives up the street from us came by and helped finish it up. He also did the sidewalk in from of our home as well as a few other neighbor's driveways.

It makes me wonder how long it will take for all
the snow to melt down to where the green grass
of spring will be visible again. The fellow on the
SUV can hardly be seen from our front porch.

We watched the funeral proceedings of President Hinkley's Funeral yesterday morning starting at 10:00 a.m. on KSL-TV. The ceremony didn't actually begin until 11:00 a.m. It lasted uninterruptedly for an hour and a half. It was a great, spiritual tribute to a great and spiritual man. His dedication and hard work contributed greatly to the accomplishments that the Church has experienced during his tenure as president and prophet. His love and devotion to us all are great blessings and we have all benefited from his leadership. He will be greatly missed. There will be an announcement over KBYU-TV tomorrow, Monday, February 4, 2008 at 11:00 a.m. to name his successor as Prophet, Seer, and Revelator and President of the Church.

This morning, February 3, we arose again to another blanket of newly falling snow. And it continued on into the day and afternoon. Weather and road condition reports informed us that the entire state was being affected by the storm, with varying amounts of snow coverage. The southern portion of Salt Lake County and on south into Utah County received enough snow to force a number of LDS meeting houses to be closed and their members to return to their homes because of the high buildup of snow and difficult driving conditions. Melanie called and told us they left to go home after Sacrament Meeting and that several people had fallen in the parking lot. We returned home following our block meetings and choir practice for Gloria at about 1:00 p.m. Gary Houskeeper came over with his SUV and shoveled our walk and driveway again. We owe him a debt of gratitude. It was nap time for Dad after we ate a pork roast with potato pearls and broccoli with raspberry jello and cottage cheese salad. It lasted for about three hours (the nap, not the meal).

We decided that we were not going to watch the Super Bowl this year. And we didn't. It's now time to bring this blog to a close so we can get to bed. We hope everyone is well and happy. We love you all very, very much. Pleasant dreams. Love, Mom and Dad

End of the month, and all is well.

2008-01-31T10:17:00.000-07:00

Well, here it is the end of January. That means that in about 45 days Spring will officially begin. That will be wonderful. It isn't that we don't like the snow, the sleet, and freezing cold weather. It's been the best snow year that we have had for who knows how long. But the thought of waking up to sunshine outside and birds chattering in the trees along with early spring flowers and newly greening grass brings anticipation and joy to our hearts. Besides, we want to see if the back yard seeding project is going to produce and new lawn for us.

For those in our immediate family, we are starting to use another site on the MyFamily.com web site. It was started by Vicki Higginson, Uncle Arland's daughter. She's sent invitations to her extended family members to join and participate. Vicki has communicated with us through e-mail and has voiced a desire to communicate more closely in order to renew family ties and relationships. More information and details will be forthcoming.

When we arrived home from the trip to Idaho Falls and Logan last Sunday, we discovered water seeping in over the large window of the bay window in the living room. We've called our insurance company and they are sending a claims inspector from Salt Lake City to evaluate our claim of damage. Somehow the ice buildup on the edge of the roof over the widow has caused part of the roof to separate around the shingles and caused water to enter when it gets warm enough during the day to melt part of the ice. It has caused portions of the paint to separate from the dry wall on the ceiling over the interior part of the window. Who knows how much work it will take to fix it and how much it will cost. We have a $250 deductible and I hope it won't cause an increase in our premium.

Then, of course, we heard the news of President Hinkley's passing away. It was a surprise, but not really a shock. We all knew that he seemed to failing in strength. His speech was weaker, his mobility was more guarded, and he just seemed to look very, very tired. And, of course, he was. What a great example he has been to all of us. He was so dedicated and so driven to do everything in his power to do what he was called to do. And he did it with boundless faith and love. We will all miss him. He will always be one of our greatest heroes. We all need to catch his vision and do our best to follow in his footsteps.

Congratulations to the happy couple, Brent and
Tiffany Perrin Hunter. This is just the beginning
of a new and exciting journey in your lives.

It was good to see John, Sarah, and Audrie this past weekend and spend time with them on the trip to Idaho last week for Brent and Tiffany's wedding. It was great fun and we had a wonderful time seeing and visiting with extended family members that we haven't seen for quite some time. We are grateful for Uncle Jay and Aunt Rita providing us with a warm bowl of home-made chicken noodle soup and bread, a comfortable and warm bed and home for the night on Friday, the 25th. And on Saturday morning, Jay cooked us up a delicious breakfast of scrambled eggs with bacon and a scrumptious milk shake. Ummmm good!

We went from the Critchfield house in Pocatello to Idaho Falls for the wedding and arrived just in time to sit down and get settled when the wedding ceremony began. Immediately after the ceremony, a luncheon was served in the cultural hall of the LDS stake center we were in. Then, after the luncheon there was dancing in another end of the cultural hall. You can't go to a Perrin wedding get together and not have a time for dancing. Everyone had a good time.

Could Sarah be pointing to her lip to John to indicate
that he has some food on his lip that was left when he
finished eating his food during the luncheon?

Around 2:30 o.m. we loaded up in John and Sarah's Blazer and headed for Logan, Utah to visit Marylee and Tyler and their four children. We were excited to see the children, Alicia, Canyon, Isaac, and Leah; and we also joyed in seeing their mom and dad. We had a fun evening got to bed around 11:00 p.m. The next day was Sunday. We were up by 6:30 a.m. We showered and got dressed for church. We had bacon and eggs again, Tyler Mills style, and then it was off to Sacrament by 9:00 o'clock. After the block meetings, packed up the Blazer, ate Sunday dinner (sorry, I don't remember what it was. My memory cells must be dying because of oxygen deprivation), and started for Sandy, Utah (we had met John and Sarah at Sarah's parent's house and parked our car in their garage while we drove in their Blazer to Idaho and back) at about 2:00 o'clock.

All during our trip the weather was great. There wasn't a storm and the roads were basically clear and dry. When we reached Sandy, it was overcast and the wind was blowing. We transferred our belongings from the Blazer to our minivan, including my oxygen equipment, and headed for American Fork. It was quite windy over the Point of the Mountain between Salt Lake and Utah Counties and Gloria, who does all the long-distance driving, was getting a little nervous and concerned about potential stormy and bad weather and roads. We visited with the Merrells and had a bite to each, again no currently recollection of what we ate. And then it was time to head home. By then it was about 6:00 to 6:15 p.m. and it was getting dark.

The I-15 South freeway was clear and dry, and the sky was mostly overcast with blowing winds. When we reached the mouth of Spanish Fork Canyon, Highway 6 South was wet. As we proceeded up the canyon there started to be light, sanded snow on the sides of the road and in the center. Traffic slowed and by the time we reached the Red Narrows it was down to 30 mph. It began snowing very lightly and snow was drifting with the wind in spots. We maintained the 30 mph speed on up to the top at Soldier Summit and ten further south down Price Canyon. By the time we reached Helper, the road was simply wet, but there had been some snowfall earlier. We made it home safe and sound ounce again, thanks to Gloria.

This week has gone by very fast. We wonder if February goes by as fast as January has. We're looking forward to our next family newsletter. We hope that everyone is getting over their colds or flus and that you're all happy and well. We love you! Gloria and Roger

I guess I have been tagged. Duh!

2008-01-24T15:36:00.000-07:00

I read Macy's blog where she told everyone a bunch of stuff about herself. I read it and had a few chuckles or two. Then I just skipped over the bottom part where she listed the people who she was tagging. So, sit down, grab a soft drink and some chips or a few cookies, anything that is fattening, and follow along. I hope

10 Years ago today (Jan 1998)

I bought Macy a bed to sleep in while she was living with Randy & Melanie in Provo, Utah and attending her second semester at Utah Valley State College in Orem. John was a junior at Carbon High School. I hadn't started using the bpap machine during the night yet at that time. That was about the time we bought the Town and Country Minivan. Andrew hadn't been born yet, as I recall. I don't remember a whole lot. I need to write more in a journal on a regular basis. Time goes by too fast and I forget a lot of things.

5 things on my to-do list today:

1) Get up and out of bed.
2) Medicate myself ala Furosimide, Omeprazole, Klor-Con, Mirapex, and Androgel. Plus Kyani. No all at once, mind you, but throughout the day and evening.
3) Check the news and weather report.
4) Finalize the updating and sending of the Taylor Family Address List to my cousin, Mary Johnson, who is spearheading the planning and organization for this year's Taylor Family Reunion this summer.
5) Finish this tagging exercise.

Snacks I enjoy:

1) Chips and fresh veggies with dip
2) Curd and string cheese
3) Root beer floats
4) Peanut Brittle
5) Cool, fresh apples

Things I would do if I were a billionaire:

1) Pay off all immediate family mortgages. I'm like Macy.
2) Create a trust fund for missions and education for my heirs.
3) Build a medical clinic for poor people.
4) Buy a nice, well-equipped motor home to travel about in for extended visits.
5) Build a new home for Gloria and me to live in. It would be big enough to accommodate all our family gatherings.

3 of my bad habits

1) Procrastination!!!
2) Spending to much time watching TV.
3) Buying things I really don't use or need.

5 places I have lived:

1) Provo, Utah
2) Orem and Springville, Utah
3) Uruguay, South America
4) Altamont and Roosevelt, Utah
5) Clarkston, Washington
6) Price, Utah

5 jobs I have had:

1) Babysitter
2) Assistant Custodian
3) Shipping Clerk
4) Commercial Dish Washer
5) Warehouse Clerk
6) Public Junior High and High School Teacher
7) Manager of Fast Food Cafeteria and School Bookstore
8) Insurance Agent
9) Office Manager
10) Lawn and Grounds Keeper
11) Adjunct Junior College Teacher

5 things people don't know about me:

1) I have once played musical spoons.
2) I repeat in my mind scriptures I have memorized while I try to go to sleep at night.
3) I once shook hands with Roy Rogers and Telly Sevalis (the bald headed movie actor).
4) I can clap with just one hand, my left one.
5) I have had to learn how to walk three times, including when I was just an infant.

People I am tagging:

Aaron
Tyler

At long Last -- A New Update

2008-01-22T16:14:00.000-07:00

Well here we are again. It's a new month and a new year. It's also been a terribly long time since this blog was last updated. Macy has chewed on me a number of times by telling me it was time for some news from Price, Utah. Good or bad, it was time for news! Since it was Macy that wants to see something on this blog, this picture was created just for her:

Macy has always been good at picking winners. One could say, "She has the Midas tough." Anyway, it's hoped that she gets a little chuckle out of the montage.

There isn't a whole lot going on here in good, old Price. It has been rather cold of late. It typically gets down into the single digits at night. The days have been bright and shiny until about the time the sun goes down. Then the temperature plummets. We have had a lot more snow this year than we have for quite a few years. Say about six or seven. They've been getting quite a bit more up along the Wasatch Front. But, we usually don't get anything that comes over the mountain from the northwest. Our storms have to usually come from the southwest in order to bring any appreciable moisture.

If the weather is good in northern Utah and southeastern Idaho this weekend, we plan to go with John and Sarah to Tiffany Perrin's wedding in Black Foot. It will be in the morning on Saturday, the 26th, with a luncheon following afterward. Then we want to drive back to Mary and Tyler's house and spend Sunday with them, weather permitting.

Gloria is enjoying her new calling as a Primary teacher. She teaches the children that are 7 years old and will be turning 8 years old this year. That will give her a chance to help them understand and prepare for baptism. She's putting in a lot of extra time preparing materials for the children to take home and share with their families. And she has had comments from some of the parents telling her how excited their children are when they come home and show them what Gloria gave them to take home and keep. That makes Gloria feel good and shows that her extra effort is bearing fruit after only a few weeks of teaching. There are nine children in her class and about seven or eight come each week. That means preparing personal flannel board stories for each child -- with each picture colored by hand and laminated. But the children love receiving them. She is surprised that most of the children have difficulty reading. Hopefully they will develop a desire to read from the Book of Mormon. And with the materials Gloria prepares for them to take home they should be well on their way.

I need to spend more time doing some genealogy. I am supposed to be a Family History Consultant for the ward, but I have been shirking my responsibility, I'm afraid. I want to start going to the History Library that is located on the other side of town. Since I am finished with the class on learning to create web sites last semester at CEU, I now have the time to do more genealogy. That would be a good new year's resolution, don't you think?

Well, it's getting close to dinner, so I think it's about time to sign off for now. So, until next time, Chou for now.

Oh, the weather outside is frightful.

2007-12-11T18:28:00.000-07:00

As you can easily tell, it has been like a month of Sundays since we've added anything to our blog. The last time an entry was made was when Gloria had just planted some new grass seed in the back yard and we were watering it so it would start growing. Well, between the wind and the birds, things haven't turned out quite like we wanted them to. That, plus the fact that our sprinkling system needs some revamping, simply gives us something to plan on come next spring.

One morning, after the planting of the lawn seed, I looked out the kitchen window only to see the lower end of the newly seeded lawn infested with a flock of birds voraciously feeding on the bounteous breakfast. We tried making noises to scare them off. It happened the first time fine. After that, forget it. They just looked at us and kept on feeding. Gloria had heard that if you hang old CD's on a string and stretch over the new seed bed that the suns reflection off the shiny side of the CD frightens birds away. So, she tried it. Once again, it din't wurk!! So, I made the decision. This was war and I was going to do whatever was necessary to protect my lawn. I made a quick trip to Wal-Mart and proceeded to purchase . ., you guessed it, an AIR RIFLE and a bottle of bee bees. I couldn't wait to get home to do what had to be done.

On the way home, my mind went back in time to when Gloria and I were a little past being newlyweds and in fact, we even had our first baby, James. We were visiting Gloria's parents at their home in Glenns Ferry, Idaho. It was summer time and I came across a bee bee gun that Gloria's father kept to chase off the critters and birds that liked to feast on his strawberries. I picked up the gun and quietly left the house through the back door and proceeded to the garden in the back part of their property. Dad Williams had some fruit trees around the edges of the garden and there were a number of rows of raspberries and blackberries that ran along the west side of the house where they enjoyed the warm afternoon sun. I was standing under an apple tree and I happened to look toward the front of the house when I saw a magpie sitting on a fence on the far side of the road that ran in front of the house. I had cocked the gun and it was ready to fire. I had heard that it was pretty hard to kill a magpie with a bee bee gun because they grew to be quite large and the bee bees would simply bounce off the thick growth of feathers on their bodies and wings. In spite of that fact, I started to take aim at the bird to see if I could just hit it and scare it off of its perch. As I proceeded to do so, I was surprised to see the magpie take to the air and begin flying toward the tree I was under. Apparently the tall berry plants had obscured its view of me standing in its flight path. With the butt of the rifle up to my shoulder, I watched the it fly directly toward me. The bird flew closer and closer and as it did so, I could tell it was much larger than I had imagined. I took aim at it as it grew nearer and nearer. Then, just as it landed and took hold of one of the branches of the tree directly in front of me, I quickly pulled the trigger. Pop! To my great surprise, it began flapping its wings wildly and started to quickly wobble with no apparent sense of balance. Then it simply fell to the ground kicking its feet uncontrollably and flopping around on the ground. I was stunned! What had I done? How could this have happened? I didn't really mean to kill the bird. One minute before it was a living, breathing creature full of life. Now it lay on the ground dying from a tiny metal object that had been fired at a high rate of speed and at close proximity and just happened to strike it in its most vulnerable spot -- its head. I felt sick at heart. I couldn't stand to watch it suffer so I picked up something, I can't remember what it was, and I hit it on the head strong enough to kill it outright and put it out of its misery. That experience affected me for quite some time after that. I've never forgotten and I probably never will. I'm not proud about it. In fact, I wish it had never happened.

Anyway, that is what I was thinking about on our way home from buying the air rifle. I made a promise at that time that I would never fire the gun at a living creature with the intent to kill it. I would use it only for scaring off the birds eating my grass seed and perhaps a stray dog or cat that might stray into our back yard to "relieve itself." And, I do admit that I have actually had occasion to use it for the afore mentioned purpose. I will also admit that it does work. But I don't have the time to be continually peering out the window looking for the hungry little pests. We'll replant more grass in the spring and fix the sprinklers so they will do what they're supposed to do.

My goodness, it's getting late. I'm going to have to close for now and I will continue again as soon as I can.

The birds have landed.

2007-10-03T11:12:00.000-06:00

Last Saturday, Gloria got up early to work in the back yard. She spread fertilizer and grass seed and then raked it over a bit to cover the seeds with a shallow layer of earth. It took her all morning and part of the afternoon.

Then she came inside and did the washing and began cooking the evening meal for the full-time missionaries. She prepared tinfoil dinners with pork, potatoes, carrots, and broccoli inside each one. She was also going to have some delicious baked squash, but she was cooking it separately, and it wasn't cooked enough when they arrived. Therefore, we just had to go without it. I felt bad, because it is really good with butter and sour cream. There was also a tossed green salad with fresh garden grown tomatoes, lettuce, and onions (she forgot to include some fresh mushrooms) with a choice of two salad dressings. Finally, there was scrumptious desert consisting of a lemony-flavored blend of lemon jello and cottage cheese, covered with a thick layer of blueberry pie filling, and topped with freshly-whipped cream. It was "excellente!"
Both of the missionaries had double helpings of the meat and vegetables. Oh yes, how could I forget the fresh baked rolls with honey butter? Elder Farmer, from Seattle, mentioned that it was the first tinfoil dinner he had been served during his eleven-month old mission so far. And his companion, Elder Carey, I think, had never had one before in his whole life. He is from Texas. In fact, he lives very close to Macy and Nate's new home in Spring, Texas. I'll have him look them up when he returns home. Anyway, the next day was Sunday, and the Ward Mission Leader raved on and on how the missionaries really enjoyed the meal. That made us happy. It was a little funny, because they had been working all day on a service project in East Carbon. The day had been quite windy and somewhat cool. They wore only short sleeved shirts and both were somewhat chilly when they arrived at our house. After the meal, they headed for their car and the wind was blowing quite nippy by that time. I said to them, "My mother always said that a wise man always carries his coat." They both just kind of grinned but didn't say much, as though they didn't want me to think they were a pair of wimps. But, after I closed the door, I looked out through the glass window in the door and saw that they had opened the back doors to their car and were retrieving their suit jackets to put on. People are interesting.

There's not a whole lot more news for now. We're looking forward to having the Merrell Family down for the weekend. We're trying to keep the back lawn area damp in order for the seeds to germinate. The last too days, the sparrows have been feasting in certain spots, mostly near the fence line. Gloria tied some small ropes with old CD's attached to them from the fence to the trees to help ward the little pests away. Someone had told her that it helped keep them away because the sun reflects off the shiny side of the disk and scares them. At least, that's the theory. Now we'll see if it works. That's why the title to this post was used.

It's time to sign off for now. Chau!

Labor Day Weekend? Indeed!

2007-09-03T10:34:00.000-06:00

John points to the kitchen window he broke
when he threw a rock at some neighborhood
children who were laughing at and making
fun of his shorts and the T-shirt he was wearing
promoting Notre Dame. (Just kidding)

John is tilling the lawn area in the back
yard while Gloria rakes up the dead leaves
and grass. We're getting prepared to
reseed the lawn that has been infested by
Johnson grass and weeds spawned by
drought and hot weather.

John, Sarah, and little Audrie came to visit us for the Labor Day Holiday weekend. Sarah and Audrie drove down from Richmond on Friday after Sarah finished her work day. They picked up John at Sarah's parent's home in Sandy, Utah, where John stays during the week while he works in Murray, Utah as an apprentice electrician. They hope to be able to move closer to his work some time within the next six months or so. Sarah works in Preston, Idaho as a social worker for Idaho State Social Services. She wants to be able to quit working after they make the move so she can be a stay-home mother and take care of their daughter, Audrie, who is nearly nine months old. Anyway, they picked up John and then continued on down to Price. I was alone all evening because Gloria had to pull an extra-curricular duty selling tickets at the Carbon vs. Altamont football game. She arrived home after 9:00 p.m. I stayed up and watched the news and then I went to bed. John and Sarah arrived sometime after that.

On Saturday, we all slept in a little later than usual, for me at least. Gloria made breakfast of bacon, eggs, and hash browns with orange juice. Then the television was turned on and tuned in to Notre Dame football. John is a fanatic for the "Irish." He has all kinds of Notre Dame memorabilia and clothing. They played Georgia Tech, but they didn't do very well. In fact, they played terrible. They ultimately lost 33 to 3. Mid way through the game, BYU and Arizona started playing on another channel. So, we spent time changing channels back and forth until it was pretty obvious that ND was going to lose. Then we concentrated on the BYU - U of A game. As it turned out, the Cougars were "hot" and the Wildcats "were not." BYU was in control the full game, both offensively and defensively. They came out victorious with a score of 20 to 7. Arizona's points weren't put on the board until less than a minute was left on the clock. By then, the Cougar second string defense was on the field. With their last-minute touchdown, the Wildcats were able save their record for 30 years without a shutout on opening day. It was sweet for BYU, though. James bought a season pass again this year, but for one ticket only instead of two. He and three other fellows from the Kaysville area decided to buy season tickets near each other and then take turns driving down as a group. I remember fondly the times James and I used to go to the home games together at Cougar Stadium, now the LaVell Edwards Stadium. It was great fun. My present health condition precludes me from doing that any more. So I settle for watching them on the tube. Go Cougars!!

We all attended church together yesterday. The congregation was a little sparse. It was probably due to the Labor Day Holiday. Afterward, we just lounged around the house and ended up watching a Jimmy Stewart video called "Rear Window," which was a Alfred Hitchcock mystery. Everyone was down for the count by 10:30 p.m.

John and Sarah will be heading back north today. This morning Gloria and John did some tilling in the back yard. Uncle Arland brought a tiller over for us to use on Saturday. When he was reminded that it had been my birthday the day before, August 31, he said I could have the tiller as a birthday present. He said he had another one that was smaller and it met his needs just fine. We were looking at having to rent one at the rate of $75.00 a day. Plus we would have had to find some way to get it and return it after we were finished. Since Gloria will be the one to do the actual tilling, it will be nice to have it here all the time so she can use it a little bit at a time over a period of days rather than having to wear herself out doing the whole back yard in one day. It's another blessing that Heavenly Father brought together for us. He does that all the time. Like they say, "God works in mysterious ways, His wonders to perform." John spent about an hour working with the tiller this morning while Gloria did some raking and cleaning up a lot of dead leaves and weeds. After tilling up all of the back yard, we want to reseed it in grass to replace that which is full of Johnson Grass and weeds.

James called yesterday afternoon. Stephanie and the children: Laura, Sara, and Bradley, went to Prescott, Arizona last week to visit her mom and dad. Her mother has had some heart problems that put her in the hospital for a while. James mentioned that he was thinking of coming down to see us next weekend. That will be nice, to be able to entertain house guests for two weekends in a row.

I went to see my doctor on the 29th of August. After having an arterial blood gas test, the results showed a marked improvement in both my Oxygen saturation and CO2 (Carbon Dioxide) levels. My Oxygen saturation went up from 89 to 91 and my CO2 went down from 75 to 64. That's the lowest my CO2 has been since I left the hospital a year ago last spring. Needless to say, Gloria and I were both pleasantly surprised. And so was Dr. Ross. Now if I can only maintain that far into the future. Wish us luck.

Well, I'm running out of things to say and it's time for me to go take my afternoon nap. So, I'll sign off for now until the next time. Take care.

Dad

Good for another couple of years, at least.

2007-08-14T08:35:00.000-06:00

Eenie, Meenie, Mynie, May
Let's all sing a song today.
Make it happy and make it fun.
Then we'll go outside and run!

Said Gloria to Michelle,
"That smell you let, it lingers yet.
It's not broken wind,
but smelly feet, I'll bet."

I just thought everyone might enjoy a little humor today by seeing a couple of photos that were taken when the Merrell's lived in the basement apartment in Provo (to provide a little nostalgia to what otherwise might be a typical, hum-drum day). Hopefully it will allow Gloria to lift her spirits and her physical strength after her "procedure" at Castleview Hospital here in Price yesterday, Monday, August 13th.

It's a subject that most people, in my humble opinion, do not like to talk or even think about. She fasted over the weekend for the six coal miners who are trapped in the Crandall Mine in Emery Canyon, as well as for their families and loved ones. That is on Saturday she fasted as much as she could because she started taking Milk of Magnesia and then some other stuff in preparation for a colonoscopy to be performed on Monday. She didn't go to church on Sunday because she needed to stay close to the restroom. We went to the hospital on Monday at 10:30 a.m. They didn't start the procedure until around 1:30 p.m. because of other people having the same thing done before her. Once the doctor got started, it actually only took about an hour. Then she spent until about 4:00 p.m. in recuperation and coming out of the sedation and anesthesia. She drank some cran-raspberry juice and ice water before leaving the hospital, but then it came up shortly after we were in the van on the way home. Luckily the nurse had given us a few barf bags before leaving for home. She slept after arriving home until after 6:00 o'clock. Anyway, the doctor said there was nothing in her colon to worry about, it was clean and normal. She does, however, have a few hemorroids. I asked him what needed to be done about them and I was told that we do not need to be concerned unless they start to give her problems. So, she and I are both relieved to know that she's good for another four for five years before having to have it checked again.

I've never had such a procedure because both of my doctors feel that it's more dangerous for me because of the sedation that accompanies it. They are affraid of the potential threat to my respiratory function problem. We've discussed some alternative tests that could be done but nothing definitive has been decided. We'll have to check on it again when I see Dr. Ross again at the end of this month.

Well, that was just a report on Gloria's status. She was somewhat tired this morning, but she did get up, take a shower, get dressed and go to work. If she starts to feel weak or phatigued then she may come home to rest. But, knowing her, she'll probably just work through it in spite of how she may feel. She's like that, as you all know. Your thoughts and prayers are and will continue to be appreciated.

I'll sign off until the next time.

Roger

August is here and school will start soon.

2007-08-02T16:09:00.000-06:00

Regina (Uncle Arland's daughter), and her husband, James
Talbot paid us a visit on Monday, July 30th.

The newest addition to our house. James
picked up this Rubbermaid shed kit at Home
Depot last Friday, July 28th, and brought it
to Price for us. He and Gloria spent about 4-5
hours unpacking, sorting parts, and assembling it
in the southwest corner of the house.

Gloria started helping the counselors register sophomores last week. Then on Monday of this week they started registering juniors. On Wednesday, they started on the seniors. Tomorrow they'll go back and do sophomores who did not show up last week.

Miracles of miracles happened this morning. It rained persistently for about 45 minutes to an hour. It wasn't very hard rain, but it was rain just the same. And I said a silent prayer of thanks. We certainly need it.

Anna Warner turns three on the 6th and Macy turns -- on the 10th. If you want to know the number of her birthday, you'll have to figure it out yourself or ask her personally. Right Macy?

We're looking forward to seeing Mary's family this weekend. We're planning to attend the Castle Valley Pageant in Castledale on Saturday evening. Sounds like fun. Maybe it will rain on us. That wouldn't be too bad.

Thanks again to all of the family for helping us out during the Taylor Reunion. It was a lot of work and we really appreciate all you did to make it a success. Mary Lou Parker, Uncle Wendell's daughter and her family have volunteered to be in charge next year. I told her we would help and support them any way we can. Okay?

Time to go. We're going to Doug Fausett's viewing tonight. He passed away on Tuesday, the 31st of cancer. His funeral is tomorrow, Friday, August 3rd.

Chau for now!

2007-07-10T09:42:00.000-06:00

9:00 a.m. Flag Ceremony

Sleepy Time Gal

Christine is all smiles

All in white -- a cousin's delight!

Chow time in the Mess Hall

A baptism at the Snake River

These are only a part and parcel of the memorable things that made up the Williams' Family Reunion of 2007. Denise Nelson has accepted the assignment of planning for the next one to be held in 2009. We know she will do a tremendous job. The Brent Williams Family is to be congratulated on the wonderful job they did this year. And everyone pitched in to offer help and support from start to finish. The Williams siblings, their children, grandchildren, and even great grandchildren will remember this event for years to come. Let's do it again!

2007-07-09T09:55:00.001-06:00

Malmstroms, Warners, and Mills

We're back home again, after spending July 4th-8th in Glenns Ferry, Idaho, attending the Freeman and Gladys Williams Family Reunion. One hundred and eighty some-odd individuals were counted as having "appeared" at one time or another during the four-day get-together.
It was "Hot, Hot, Hot!", but it was loads of fun. The water slide was a great hit again this year, especially for the youngsters. There ended up being a few bumps and bruises, along with some sunburned noses and ears, but it was great fun. The food was plentiful and delicious. The dance on Saturday night was a hoot, and the Sacrament Meeting Program on Sunday morning was provided by the Williams Family. There was a baptism in the Snake River for Enoch Williams, Mahonri's son, on Friday and the confirmation on Sunday by Mahonri and assisted by the older uncles in the extended family.
The reunion was a first for Denise Perrin Nelson's new husband, Eric. In addition, Laura Kennington, sister-in-law to John Malmstrom came as a guest of the Malmstrom Family.
Aunt Christine was home for the occasion. She will be able to remain at home until August 9, when she will return to Montana for further therapy. She is progressing wonderfully. She is now able to move both legs and arms. She is even able to stand with some assistance and to take a few steps while supporting herself on walking bars. She looks great and has a tremendous spirit about her. She is doing fantastic things.
This coming weekend, on Saturday, July 14th, we will attend the Allen Jr. and Lula Taylor Family Reunion at Spanish Fork. It's much shorter in duration, only one day. We're hoping to have representatives from all of the living siblings in the Taylor Family. And perhaps we will have members of each of the Malmstrom siblings in attendance as well. We hope so.
That's about it for now. Have a great day and week.

It's Getting Warmer in Price

2007-06-23T18:56:00.002-06:00

The handsome fellow at the top of this blog entry is my youngest brother, Douglas. He is a professional artist and is currently living and doing his art in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He has a distinct style of his own. Instead of pictures, they are called "Masks." They are a form of ceramic, requiring being baked at 1,600 degrees Fahrenheit. He tried to explain the process in detail, but I am the type of learner who needs to "see" and "watch" something being done rather than trying to picture it in my mind. In an email message the other day, he informed me that he has taken over 30,000 pictures of his work. This weekend he is taking part in a large art show similar to the Park City Art Show, which he has also attended in years past. His work is, admittedly, rather impressionistic; but, then, so is his personality (as may be perceived by the photo of himself that he included with several examples of his work).
Anyway, he is planning to attend the Taylor Family Reunion this year, if everything works out for him. He's had some health problems recently but has been feeling better and stronger. I just hope the art show doesn't wear him down too much.
The weather here in Price is rather warm, just like it seems to be throughout the Inter-Mountain West. By the end of June, Gloria and I will have made five or six trips "over the mountain" for one reason or another -- birthdays, marriages, family travel, etc. With the price of gas, I hope we don't end up in the poor house.
Through Gloria's efforts, the kitchen floor re-grouting and tile laying is now complete. Two windows have new shades, some cabinet finishing work is done, the basement has been cleaned up and a number of items disposed of via a yard sale or a trip to DI, the vegetable garden has been prepared, planted, and almost ready to start producing a few items like peas and beats, etc. In addition to that she has her regular day job at the high school, and she has responsibilities in the ward. And finally, she has the regular cooking, cleaning, washing, vacuuming, etc., etc.
The bad part about the foregoing is the fact that I am unable, physically, to do much of anything to help and support her. I must admit, however, that I need to repent and do better because I can do some lighter chores; like doing dishes, cooking some light meals, and keeping things looking a little more tidy around the house. I will do better!
Well, it's getting late. Gloria had to go to a wedding reception at the Elk's Lodge tonight. Not because she wanted to, really, but because the mother of the groom works with her and she felt that she should support her, at least.
I'll make another post soon. Chou for now. Roger

"Makeovers" -- Some are E X T R E M E !!

2007-05-21T11:16:00.001-06:00

Without oxygen tube (but still alive, ha ha)

Roger after the "Makeover"

One of Roger's "Bad Hair Days"

Macy and Michelle recently went to Betty's Salon while the Warners were in Houston for the weekend of May 19-20. They had their hair cut and styled by Betty herself. In Michelle's blog you can see the results of Betty's work. The "Makeover" wasn't in the 'extreme' category. As you can see from Roger's picture above, his beauty treatment is 'extreme, indeed.' The first picture shows him shortly after getting out of bed in the morning without his oxygen canula on. The picture below shows him with the canula and ready for the day.

Roger has to use a pressurized face mask over his nose and mouth while he sleeps. The mask is held on by a strap that fits over and around the top of his head. In these pictures, he did not use a "dew rag" that goes over the top of his head under the strap and we can see the result -- fly away hair. Plus, he wears a bandage over his nose to keep the mask from rubbing a sore on it. He wrote a poem to Michelle for her birthday about his morning "Makeover" that included the following lines.

"Getting out of bed each day, Roger's appearance is often bleak.
He has to sneak upon the mirror and build up courage to take a peek.
What he sees is often breathtaking, and for him that is not good.
But after a shower and a shave, things start to look the way they should."

Yes, miracles do still happen.

We're glad that Mary got her blog on line. It's neat to have you on board. It'll be fun keeping tabs with each other with pictures and news. Now we need to get Michelle and Melanie to get hooked up and then James and John. Then the whole cotton picking family will be able to communicate! Let's get it going!

Love, Mom and Dad

Dia de las Madres

2007-05-13T18:41:00.000-06:00

It's mid-May already and it's time to shower our moms and wives with lots of hugs and kisses, as well as plenty of "I love you's" to last a month or two. And that is just fine with me. I only wish I had my mom around to do it to. I'll just have to do a little more for my sweetheart to make up the difference. Speaking of my "sweetheart", she just walked into the computer/sewing room with a delicious plate of cheesecake covered with cherry pie filling and whipped cream and a cold glass of milk. UUUmmmmmmm! It's goooood! However, I'll have to admit that it was I who actually made the cheesecake. Yep! I made it the other day and placed it in the refrigerator to cool. But, we've been too busy to sit down and enjoy it together until this evening. But, it was worth the wait.

I just ate the cheesecake and it was delicious, very!

Yesterday was Saturday, May 12th. I didn't do a whole lot. I surfed the Net part of the day looking for a storage shed to put our lawnmower and generator in out of the weather and for security. Gloria wants a plastic one made by the Rubbermaid people. She doesn't want an aluminum one because they are "too flimsy" in the wind and they rattle as well. And wooden ones cost too much money for our budget. So, we're going to get a 7' x 7' x 7'9" one called the Big Max and put it up next to west side of the house on the south side of the fence. Melanie offered to bring it over the mountain from either American Fork or Provo in their truck and then help us put it together and put it in place.
One of Gloria's friends came over from Helper Friday evening with a tiller and they worked together in tilling our garden spot so it can be planted. They only got about three-fourths of it done before they ran out of gas and then the pulley string broke on the tiller. Some times we have the darnedest luck! Anyway, she got up on Saturday and proceeded to plant some tomatoes and a few other veggies. It was unseasonably warm yesterday. Normal May temperatures are in the 50's and 60's and yesterday it was in the high 80's. Oh well, at least we're not having fires like they are in California, Georgia, and Florida. Nor are we having tornadoes and flooding like they are in Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma, and other flat parts of the country.
Today Gloria didn't go to Sacrament and Sunday School with me. Instead, she went to Ted and Margaret Wells' home and sat with their young daughter, Ashlyn, who suffers from spinabifida and other health issues. She recently went through some major surgery to straighten out her spinal column which had curved forward and was making it difficult for her to breath. She is at home but will be bedridden for three months. Gloria watched over her while Margaret attended Sacrament Meeting and Primary. It was the Mother's Day program and the Primary children, one of which was her son, Cody, sang two songs for their mothers. Gloria thought it would give Margaret a little bit of a rest and help relieve some of the stress she is going through right now. The compassion and love that Gloria continually shows towards others is one of the many character traits that endears her so much to me. I wish I were more like her in many ways.
I bought a vintage Singer Sewing Machine today on eBay. I know it is Sunday, but the auction was ending at 6:00 p.m. and I made one bid of $20.50 and won. I didn't really think I would, but I did. One reason I wanted it was for two hinges that are on it that we need for Gloria's old Singer that she got from her mother. She refinished the cabinet, but somehow the hinges that allows it to be folded down into the cabinet were lost. We've been looking all over the place trying to some more. Maybe these will work. I hope so.
Well, I'm going to call it quits for now. It's going on 8:00 p.m. and I want to see what the JAZZ on doing in Oakland against the Warriors. I'll sign off and make another entry soon. Chau.
Roger

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jig.

2007-04-11T09:42:00.000-06:00

Gloria and Roger with the Mills children (L-R) Alicia (8 yrs), Isaac (3 yrs), Leah (1 yr), and Canyon (5 yrs)

Today is Wednesday, April 11, 2007, and it's time to post a new blog to inform all the family of our recent trip to Logan to share in Leah Kate Mills' first birthday, Tyler Mills' thirty-second birthday, and to celebrate Easter Sunday. Gloria was finished for the week and was able to come home at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, April 4. We finished packing and left the house at 12:15 p.m. After only a quarter of a mile, we had to turn back and return home to clean up a 32-ounce Gatorade spill just under Roger's feet in the front passenger seat of the van. The cup overturned when Gloria turned onto Cedar Hills Drive and the top popped off and spilled the cup's contents onto the carpeted floorboard. We rushed back home and Gloria was able to soak up most of the red colored beverage with terry cloth towels from the kitchen. It actually cleaned up rather well and we were off and running again within about 15 minutes.
We stopped in American Fork to see Melanie and to pick up a large, a VERY LARGE, fabric covered bean bag. It was appropriately called a "Love Cushion." It was a real hoot watching Gloria, Melanie, and Melanie's mother-in-law, Nelda Merrell, try to fit that cushion into the van via the driver's side sliding door. The van was already pretty well full, as it usually is when we leave home for the weekend or any extended period of time, and trying to fit that thing into the compact space that was left available became a monumental undertaking. In essence, here is what it was like: (1) Melanie and Gloria had quite a hard time simply getting it from inside Andrew's bedroom closet, through to doors and hallway, and finally out to the van. (2) Melanie positioned herself at the opened, passenger-side sliding door, reached over the seats , and grasped onto the cushion and began tugging and pulling. (3) Seeing that Gloria and Melanie could use some help, Nelda came over to lend them some assistance. (4) The bulk of the cushion was on the driver's side where Gloria and Nelda were fervently pushing with all their might to force the cushion inside. (5) Melanie was huffing and puffing on one side while she pulled, and Gloria and Nelda were doing likewise on the other side while trying to push it on through the opening. It looked vaguely reminiscent of two women attempting to push an elephant from its behind into a regular sized door. It would have made a great contribution to the America's Favorite Home Videos program on TV. It was literally a "sight to behold." Eventually they had to remove the folding seat entirely from the van in order to finish tugging and pulling enough to squeeze it in. Even then Melanie was nearly pinned inside and we had to help extricate her from between the cushion and the ceiling of the van. It was an experience that one could say, "A picture would have been worth a thousand words."
After the wrestle with the cushion, we bid adieu to Melanie and the children (Andrew and Erin had gotten home from school by then) and we headed on North to Logan. James had called Melanie earlier in the day and told her that Stepanie and their children had driven to Prescott earlier that day to spend Easter with Stephanie's folks. James informed her that he planned on joining us in Logan but probably not until Sunday morning.
We thought the weather was going to be nice and warm, but it turned out somewhat nice with an abundant amount of wind, which made it not so warm. Tyler took Thursday through Sunday off in order to spend the weekend with us. We went to the movie, "Night at the Museum," on Friday afternoon. Tyler and Mary were able to go to the Temple on Saturday morning. Then later on they took the children to an historic farm where they could see young animals like calves, lambs, piglets, etc.
At around 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, John, Sarah, and Audrie came to help us celebrate Leah's first birthday. Gloria and Mary had taken the children with them to the store to get some things to decorate Leah's birthday cake. While they were gone I boiled some eggs so the children and I could decorate and paint them. Later we let the children go out and take turns hiding them in the yard and then going to find them. They had lots of fun and ended up eating a lot of hard-boiled eggs. At around 4:30 p.m. Tyler entertained a few of the members of his Sunday School class, the 16-17 year olds, with a barbeque. There wasn't a great turn out, but those who came seemed to have a good time and they agreed to try it again sometime and try to get more to attend. Some members of the class were out of town for the holiday and some just simply forgot about it. Anyway, we all were able to share in the victuals and enjoyed visiting. Later on, Tyler started to assemble a trampoline set that was purchased for the children for an Easter gift to the family. He worked on it until around 11:30 p.m. before quitting for the day.
James, John, Sarah, and Audrie came on Sunday morning and we all went to church. After the block meeting we came home and enjoyed a good chicken dinner together. We would have had a pork roast as well, but Gloria or Tyler forgot to turn on the crock put before we left for church. So, we simply started it after church and it was ready to eat that evening. John's family left around 5:00 p.m. but James stuck around until around midnight talking and visiting.
We were all up at around 8:00 a.m. on Monday. Gloria and I got our things packed up and let for home around noon. We stopped in American Fork to pick up our car seat and then left about an hour later. We stopped in Provo at a Home Depot store to price a storage shep for the back yard and to pick up some vegetable seeds and a power stapler that I've been needing for one of my projects. We then stopped at the Springville Wal Mart Superstore and got some fabric Gloria needed and ate at the local Dairy Queen. We were both disgusted with the meal, the building, and the workers. We haven't had much luck with our association with Dairy Queen, many of you will remember our experience in Kaysville. This wasn't quite the same, but it was still bad.
Well, that's about it. We spent yesterday getting back into our routine again. So, until something else exciting happens to us, we'll say, "So long for now!"
With lots of love. Roger and Gloria

Spring Has Sprung And The Day Is Young

2007-03-27T07:34:00.000-06:00

It's Melanie's birthday on March 30th. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MELANIE!!

"Time flies on wings of lightening, we cannot call it back", so goes the song we often sing at church. But, oh how true it is. It doesn't seem possible that the month of March has passed so quickly. It seems like just yesterday that we were blessing Bradley, our newest grandson, in Kaysville. I checked the date on our last blog message and it reads, 'March 6, 2007'. Now there's only four more days left until April starts. Anyway. Greetings from Price and Castle Country.

Things are going rather well here for us, with the only exception being our disorganized kitchen. We decided to regrout the ceramic tile but ran into unforeseen problems. Some of the tile had unseen hairline cracks in them which, when the old grout was chipped out, the tile proceeded to break. That left us with the challenge of having to replace several of them. Therein lay the problem. We used two different colors of tile: stone white and a color named bone. We had kept nearly a full box of the original stone white color, but we came up short of having enough replacement tiles for the bone colored ones. We checked out various sources for possible replacement but to no avail. I ultimately located the original manufacturer, 'Fabricas Orion', in Monterrey, Mexico, on the Internet and found the tile I needed; so I thought. I telephoned them and spoke to a gentleman named Dante, who fortunately spoke English. I learned that it was an older style of tile but that there was a place in Kansas that had some in stock. However, the tile was a larger size than what we need. Anyway, I had him contact the company and have them ship us one box by UPS, thinking that we could cut the tile to fit the size we need. About a week later, maybe a little longer, we received this gigantic 50 pound box via UPS. To our frustration, the tiles were almost 2 inches wider, about half as thick, and slightly different in color. So, now we're back to square one again. I don't want to sound sacrilegious, but some words of a popular song of the 70's by Deonne Warwick are, "Say a little prayer for me." We're hoping that we'll soon be able to find a way of solving our dilemma. Wish us well.

This coming weekend will be General Conference. There was an offer made by a member of our bishopric last Sunday during Priesthood Meeting to give some tickets for the Saturday morning session to someone who would like to use them. He cautioned that those receiving the tickets would need to be sure and use them or else the number of tickets given to our stake or ward at the General Conference in October would be reduced by the number of tickets not used this weekend. I would have liked to attend and would, under different circumstances, have requested to use them. But, living as far away from SLC as we do and realizing the physical demands and logistics necessary to get there and get settled and then to get back home again would be a bit too taxing for me, physically. So, I opt to watch and enjoy the proceedings on the "tele." Maybe Melanie and family will be able to join us, if they can put up with our "disorganized situation."

Our family, which I guess means the "Malmstrom" family, has been asked to spearhead the planning and organizing of the Taylor Family Reunion this year. The date has been set for Saturday, July 15, 2007 at a park in the mouth of Spanish Fork Canyon. It's the same place that it was held last summer. We've been, or should I say "I've" been, putting it off too long now and it's time to get "down and dirty." I'm going to put together a flyer this week and get it distributed to all the relatives of the children of Allen Jr. and Lula May Jameson Taylor this week. So, if you're part of the "Fam", you may anticipate receiving something in the near future either by snail mail, by email, or from an "upline" relative. So, I better sign of and get going.

It's been fun blogging. If you have a response, or a comment, feel free to send us a message. Until the next time--Aufviedersein.

Love Roger (and Gloria in spirit)

If it's Tuesday, we must be back in Price

2007-03-06T18:11:00.000-07:00

The handsome young man in white at the right is our 14th grandchild, Master Bradley James Malmstrom. This photo was taken last Sunday, March 4, 2007 after Bradley had been officially named and then blessed by his father, James. Also participating in the blessing were grandfathers Roger Malmstrom and Jerry McBride, with uncles Randy Merrell, Aaron Fields, Dennis Gardner, and Bishop Alan Story. Bradley's Uncle John was able to hold the microphone while standing next to the circle of participants.

Bradley was born premature in November of last year and following the advice of their doctor James and Stephanie delayed performing the blessing in order to avoid exposing him to any potential health risks. However, he is growing and procressing normally now and is getting to be a handsome fellow, even if we do say so ourselves.

Marylee and Tyler and their family wanted to be with us but because of some illness they were forced to stay home and try to throw off a virus or something that they picked up last week while Marylee and the children visited Melanie and her family in American Fork. Tyler took them there on one of his truck runs and when he to pick them up on Saturday morning, he was sick also. Perhaps they picked it up in Logan before they left but it didn't manisfest itself until they were in American Fork. Anyway, we're sorry they missed the get together and hope they are on the mends.

John and Sarah and their little one, Audrie, were able to be with us. They spent Saturday night in Sandy with Sarah's folks and then drove up on Sunday morning. We also missed Michelle and Aaron with their four children and Macy and Nate. Distance was the determining factor, we're afraid. And with inclement weather earlier in the week, they opted to come and see us all later this spring.

Gloria and I are back at it here in Price. Hurray! Hurray! We finally broke down and got DSL for our Internet connection so now ya'll should be able to contact us by telephone more often without getting a busy signal. And it is much better to have the faster speed.

We'll sign off for now, so until next time. . Adios amigos! Love Roger and Gloria

Following Doctor's Orders

2007-02-28T12:36:00.000-07:00

It's Wednesday and mid-week of the last week in February. On Monday Gloria and I drove to Provo for another visit with my respiratory specialist, Dr. Douglas Ross. I informed him of my rescent head and chest cold and that I had resorted to using the antibiotic he had prescribed for me last fall as a precautionary measure to ward off any danger of contracting pneumonea. I hadn't left the house for two weeks and I was beginning to go stir crazy before I finally went out last Friday, the 16th, to get a few things at a lumber store and Wal Mart. Man was it windy and cold! I had bundled up well, but it was "colder than a monther-in-law's kiss" out there. Actually, the cold mother-in-law kiss isn't really true in my personal case. My mother-in-law, now deceased, had a wonderful, loving kiss.

Anyway, I got over the coughing and runny nose and began to feel half way human again over the weekend. I was able to go to church again. I had missed two Sunday meetings in a row. Dr. Ross examined me and after reading and interpreting my arterial blood gas test that I had just been subject to (those needle pricks can be somewhat challenging, especially if the technician has to poke it in two or three times to find the artery). My CO2 level had not gone up since my last appointment in January; and my potassium, HP, blood pressure, etc. were all at satisfactory levels as well. My water retention was down some so I was advised that I could stop taking two different medications that I have been taking for over a year. One in particular had as two of its side-effects a swelling of the breasts with some tenderness as well as unusual muscle weakness. The other one was simply a reductioon from four tablets a day to only three. But at least thats two pills I no longer will take every day. At least we are going to try it for a month and then next month I will have another blood test here in Price and see if everything is okay. If they are, I can continue the reduction in medication. I won't go to see Dr. Ross again until May 30th.

The whole state was supposed to get snow the last two days, but Price didn't get any. There was a skiff on Monday as we were headed for Provo, and then there was some accumulation off the side of the road going up the canyon with patchy spots of slush and broken up snowpack on the roads going through Soldier Summit and down the other side. But, the rest of the day was clear and warm, into the 40's in fact. The next day, however, most of the Wasatch Front and higher elevations got pelted with a significant snow fall. There may have been some snow fall in the mountains around Price, but none around us here in town. Nada.

We'll be heading for Kaysville for Bradley James' blessing on Sunday. We hope to have most of the family there with us, except for Macy and Nate, unfortunately, but we know they will be thinking about us. We miss them a lot. But, we had them relatively close to us for several years and now it's time for the Perrone family to have their turn. We do love them. John and Sara's baby, Audrie, is pictured above wearing her blessing dress worn for her blessing Sunday, February 4, 2007. Isn't she a little doll? We think so.

I better sign off for now, I need to go take my afternoon siesta. I hate to take the time to do it, but I know it helps me breath better in the long run. I send our best regards to all who read our posts. Give us a response if you have the urge. Bye for now. Roger (and Gloria, in spirit)

Saturday Evening Post

2007-02-17T18:32:00.000-07:00

It's 6:30 p.m. and we are about to have dinner. James arrived here from Cedar City at about 9:45 last night. He was there attending a class that he is enrolled in that meets every Friday afternoon from 2:00 to 6:00 p.m. He dropped Stephanie and Laura off at the SLC airport at 6:00 a.m. and then came on down to Price with Sara and baby Bradley. They arrived at about 8:10 and he was on his way south by 9:30. Sara and Bradley spent the day with grandma and grandpa. Gloria took the day off so she cold tend the little one and I "helped" by entertaining Sara while she dived into the Barbie dolls and other odds and ends toys. Things went fine all day. James was pretty tired by the time he got back. And so was Gloria. Bradley slept most of the night and awoke early this morning to eat.

The day was spent just relaxing. Sara has been content to watch a little TV and continued entertaining herself with the dolls, coloring books, and listening to her dad tell stories. They were planning to go to the park but it got a little chilly outside and plans were changed. Gloria attended two separate baptismal services: one for an exchange student in high school from the far east who lives with a single widow in our ward, and the other for an eight year old boy and his convert mother. The husband to the convert woman and her son is a member but has been inactive for a number of years.

I have been wanting to be able to use a DVD player/burner that I installed onto my computer last summer, but I bought it used and found out I needed a decoder for it that didn't come with it. So, James helped me find a program that hopefully will help me use the DVD like I wanted to from the start. It is in the process of being downloaded and because I have a slower modem it will probably take until 10:00 before it finishes. If anyone has been trying to call us they will only get a busy signal because I don't have DSL yet and have to rely in dialup until the first part of March. Sorry for the inconvenience to anywone trying to call.

Bradley has had some coughing spells today so Gloria has put the humidifier by him in the living room. He's been really good while he's been here. He does let us know, however, when he is hungry and wants to eat. I think everyone will have a good nights sleep tonight.

Out guests will be leaving for home tomorrow afternoon. We have church from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. So, by the time we come home and have something to eat, it will be close to 5:00. James wants to stop and visit with Melanie and her family before they head for home. He plans on meeting Stepanie and Laura at the airport on Monday but I'm not sure when.

That's about it for today. I''ll sign off until next time. Adios for now.

Sinceramente, Roger

It's a sunny day in Carbon County

2007-02-15T09:01:00.000-07:00

How was your Valentines Day? Gloria had a card for me, but was sooooo embarrassed to admit that she had forgotten where she put it. Who could wonder why she may have forgotten when we consider all she does in a given day. She's usually up before 5:00 a.m. and doesn't get to bed until after 9:00 or 10:00 o'clock at night. And she's going all the time. After school yesterday, Valentines Day, she made a quick trip to the store for some food items, rushed home and prepared a meal for an elderly sister in the ward, delivered the meal and stayed to visit with her for about an hour, then came back home to warm up the meal portion she had made for us. She is so thoughtful of others.

I made a card for her for the special day with a small verse that said: "I may not be a rich man, but I'm certainly not a poor man. I consider myself most blessed, because I'm simply your man".

To top the day off, Gloria spent valuable sleep time having to nurse and doctor me. I've had a head cold for about a week. Yesterday afternoon and into the evening, I started coughing and trying to clear out my sinuses and chest. I started wheezing so she made me a mustard-plaster and then tended me until I was finally able to settle down, after taking some Musenix. By then it was close to midnight. I started to take an antibiotic this morning, so I hope it will help me get over this threat.

James and his youngest daughter, Sara, are planning to spend the weekend with us starting tomorrow, Friday. Stephanie and Laura are going to Washington State to attend the baptism of Stephanie's nephew. Sara said she would rather come and see Grandma and Grandpa instead. We're not sure yet if baby Bradley will go with his mom or come here with James and Sara. But, of course, we definately know what Gloria would prefer. She does love the grandchildren, especially the two most recent ones.

Well, I better get going. I have a number of phone calls to make and some reading to do. I hope all is well with all those reading this message , as well as with those who are not. Have a great day.

Love, Roger

A New Adventure

2007-02-14T15:46:00.000-07:00

Welcome one and all. This is our initial posting to our new blog. We've never done anything like this before and, we must admit, it promises to be fun, exciting, and educational. We hope to use it as a means of informing our family, both immediate and extended, as well as our friends and acquaintances of our comings and goings and other things happening in Carbon County and wherever else we may roam.

Thanks for dropping in. We hope you will keep in touch and use this as a vehicle for keeping us informed of what is happening in your lives. Touch base with us again, soon.