Yes, I know! It’s been too long since I’ve posted. I really have been working on my post about my cruise. It’s almost ready. I now have pictures, as well, so it will be more fun for you to look at and read. In addition, I’ve had cataract surgery on both eyes—two weeks apart and there was a short time when I had great distance vision but zero close-up vision. That meant I couldn’t see what I was typing on the computer screen. I do have to go in for a “laser zap” on my eyes. One in five people who have cataract surgery have to have the laser zap. It seems that occasionally a piece of the sac that held my original (what I was born with) lens, breaks off and then turns up in front of the new lens in the form of “fog.” That’s what I have to have done this Thursday, 5/14/09.
Enough about me! Here’s what’s happening with Jack:
For a number of years, Jack has had several TIA’s or mini strokes. He would have one and be unable to communicate for two or three hours and then he’d be back to normal as though nothing had happened. But in the past two weeks he has had two and maybe three strokes that have caused damage, i.e., his left leg is dragging, he cannot stand without assistance and can only walk when there is a person on both sides holding him up. Also, he has little use of his left hand. When I was at the care center on Tuesday, May 5th, his left eye-lid was drooping. His Doctor (Dr. Brown) thinks he had another stroke on Wednesday, May 6th. They drew blood and did a lot of tests on that. I have received the report but do not understand much. I will get with Juli when she has time. She really knows a lot about that stuff.
I talked to Jack on Sunday, May 3rd. He seemed pretty much like he has been. When I talked to him on Monday, May 4th, he really seemed out of it. He was slurring his words more than before but he kept saying things that were really “out in left field.” He told me that Juli is in charge over at the care center and that Juli really has everything “under control” at the care center. Then he told me that he needed me to look into something for him. He said, “Grandma Erickson died and she had a lot of nice furniture.” Then he said, “There are people who are taking her furniture and putting it into bottles to preserve it.” That’s what he wanted me to look into. He didn’t think “those people” should be taking Grandma Erickson’s furniture. For those of you who don’t know who Grandma Erickson is: Grandma Erickson is Jack’s mother’s mother. She passed away in December of 1956.
Juli had seen Jack on Saturday, May 2nd. She told me his left eyelid seemed to be drooping. I called the care center on Monday and talked to his nurse. She said that he seemed to be dragging his left leg and couldn’t stand up by himself and that he didn’t seem to have as much strength in his left hand as he had before. That’s when she told me she thought he’d had a stroke. She said that it was a small stroke and that they didn’t know whether he might soon have a massive stroke. Some people have a couple of little strokes and then have a massive stroke that either kills them or leaves them helpless.
I drove over to Richfield on Tuesday, May 5th to visit him. He was in the Physical Therapy room and they had been working with him. He looked at me and there was not an ounce of recognition in his eyes. A few minutes later he knew who I am but not at all, at first. I had taken him a Frosty. He tried to hold it in his left hand and had quite a hard time. I had to keep pushing the cup upright so it didn’t spill out. Bret was there to see him on the following Friday. He also took him a Frosty. By Friday, Jack was unable to hold the Frosty at all. Bret had to hold it for him. It was that weekend that Dr. Brown told Tal he thought Jack had had another stroke.
I went over to see him again on Friday, May 15th. He talked and talked but I was only able to understand two phrases. He was just mumbling. I told him several times that I couldn’t understand him and asked him to repeat what he said. He apparently did repeat what he had said but I couldn’t understand him the second time, either. It is very sad. Apparently the Physical Therapists are working with him a lot but I don’t think there’s much hope he will make a miraculous recovery.
That is pretty much how things are at the moment. I’ll try to keep you updated. It is so sad to someone who used to have so much energy and got so much accomplished become totally dependent for his care and lose his mind and memory in the process. As an Architect, he was the Architect on about 100 chapels, multiple schools, public buildings, hospitals, high rise condominiums and other miscellaneous buildings. He learned how to fly and got his private pilot’s license. He was President of the Sugar House Rotary Club and Rotary District Governor for the State of Utah. He sang with the Beehive Statesmen Barbershop Chorus for about15 or 16 years. While he attended the University of Utah, he played violin with the University Symphony Orchestra. Later, he was invited to play violin with the Westminster Community Symphony Orchestra. Later, he became Concert Master of that Symphony Orchestra. He was in the Coast Guard Auxiliary for 10 years. He loved to snow ski and water ski. He was a pretty good snow skier and a great water skier.
Yesterday, May 22, I met Shanna and Charlie in Richfield. Jack didn’t know Shanna at first and then he thought she was Narda (his sister). She told him that she is not Narda but is his daughter Shanna. Even after that, he asked her whether she ever talked to her sister Elaine, so he was still thinking she was Narda. He told us he has invented a new telephone but he is afraid to tell the person who is in charge of the telephones because he thinks that person will steal the phone. A little later he told me he doesn’t know what to do about his phone. He said, “I guess I will just leave it on the bed and let them steal it.” He really seemed happy to see me and just wanted to hang onto my hand for a long, long time. He told Shanna and I that he guesses “this place (the Care Center) is really my home now.” There is a “lift” in his room now because one person just cannot move him around from his wheelchair to the recliner or the bed. I was happy to see that the nurses and aides don’t have to try to lift him. The “lift” seems a secure and safe way to move him.
I will keep you updated on his condition from time to time.
As for now, I have been a real slacker where the birthdays are concerned. I didn’t forget any of them. I remembered them on the day and knew whose birthday it was and I thought of each of you. I just didn’t get them mentioned on my blog. But, here goes:
Happy Birthday to Spencer, February 9th; Juli, February 10th; Aspen, March 6th; Russ, March 12th; Kylee, March 14th; Charlie, March 17th; Dusty, April 8th; Dave, May 6th; Ali, May 7th; David, May 8th; Patti, May 27th; Waiva, May 31st. Hope you all had/have a super day.
Dave and Patti – Happy Anniversary March 17th. I love you all!
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
JANUARY MUSINGS
In case you are interested in trivia, yesterday, January 26th was “National Bubble Wrap Day.” Today is Mozart’s birthday so today I will listen to some Mozart music. Today is also Jack’s mother’s birthday. If she were alive, she would be 103. My parents were married January 9, 1918 so January 9th was their 91st anniversary. I just thought you’d all appreciate a little nonsense.
On February 4, 1991, the following article, written by me, was published in the Southern Utah News and the Page Chronicle:
“Here we are---already into February and, as yet, I have no clear-cut idea of which resolution I’m going to work on in l991. I have several in mind, each of seemingly equal importance. How do I decide? I wish I knew. Being able to make decisions has never been my most notable characteristic.
“For instance, I go into an ice cream store for a cone. They have 31 different flavors. It’s impossible for me to decide whether I want Butter Brickle, Praline Pecan, Black Walnut or Mocha Fudge.
“What do I do? I compromise by getting a cone with all four flavors. That would be a nice, simple solution if the salesperson didn’t always ask which flavor I want on the bottom. Immediately it throws me into the position of having to make another decision---choosing which flavor I want to taste last. If I knew which flavor I wanted to taste last, I’d only need one scoop! See what I mean?
“To make a resolution is a serious step. It demands a great deal of thought and a lot of commitment. Each of the resolutions I need to make will require a change in lifestyle. It is highly improbable that a person will/can make more than one major change in him/herself at one time, and I’m talking three drastic alterations in behavior.
“Okay, I’ll enumerate the choices:
1. Lose weight.
2. Be punctual.
3. Get organized.
“My doctor says to lose weight is of prime importance. My hair dresser says that punctuality is a virtue. My dear husband cries out for me to get organized.
“Should I attempt all three resolutions at once? By trying to accomplish all three, do I doom them all to failure? If I choose only one---which should it be?
“Therein lies the dilemma.”
Now, in 2009, I can add a postscript to the above. I still need to lose weight and my office is a mess. Yes, I do need to get organized. However, I have made great strides in the punctuality thing. When we lived in the Garden Heights North Ward I was the Ward Organist for many years. I liked to be at the Chapel 15 minutes early so I could start playing the prelude music ten minutes before the meeting was to begin. Generally, I was there 15 minutes early. As the Ward Organist I was almost always on time---rarely even two or three minutes late. The punctuality problem was elsewhere in my life. I remember in those days when I would arrive at the Chapel 15 minutes early there were always half a dozen “older couples” already in their seats waiting for the meeting to commence. I used to think: “Don’t you people have anything better to do than sit here for 20 minutes waiting for Church to begin?” (As you all know, most people arrive at Church within the last five minutes before the appointed time. And, of course, some people generally come in a little late.)
Now that I’m an “older person” I have become one of “them.” Yes, I leave the house about 30 minutes before Church time. It takes me between five and ten minutes to get into my van, drive, park and walk into the Chapel. I sit and wait. Also, in most other aspects of my life I am punctual these days, and, you know what? I feel good about that. I suspect it would feel equally as “good” to lose weight and get organized. We’ll see how this all turns out. I will make a report next January—that is, inasmuch as I’m an “older person,” I will report if I remember. If I forget---please, all you young people out there, remind me!
Happy birthday to Dallin, January 22nd; Ember, January 25th; Erica, January 31st. Hope you all had/have a great day.
I love you all.
On February 4, 1991, the following article, written by me, was published in the Southern Utah News and the Page Chronicle:
“Here we are---already into February and, as yet, I have no clear-cut idea of which resolution I’m going to work on in l991. I have several in mind, each of seemingly equal importance. How do I decide? I wish I knew. Being able to make decisions has never been my most notable characteristic.
“For instance, I go into an ice cream store for a cone. They have 31 different flavors. It’s impossible for me to decide whether I want Butter Brickle, Praline Pecan, Black Walnut or Mocha Fudge.
“What do I do? I compromise by getting a cone with all four flavors. That would be a nice, simple solution if the salesperson didn’t always ask which flavor I want on the bottom. Immediately it throws me into the position of having to make another decision---choosing which flavor I want to taste last. If I knew which flavor I wanted to taste last, I’d only need one scoop! See what I mean?
“To make a resolution is a serious step. It demands a great deal of thought and a lot of commitment. Each of the resolutions I need to make will require a change in lifestyle. It is highly improbable that a person will/can make more than one major change in him/herself at one time, and I’m talking three drastic alterations in behavior.
“Okay, I’ll enumerate the choices:
1. Lose weight.
2. Be punctual.
3. Get organized.
“My doctor says to lose weight is of prime importance. My hair dresser says that punctuality is a virtue. My dear husband cries out for me to get organized.
“Should I attempt all three resolutions at once? By trying to accomplish all three, do I doom them all to failure? If I choose only one---which should it be?
“Therein lies the dilemma.”
Now, in 2009, I can add a postscript to the above. I still need to lose weight and my office is a mess. Yes, I do need to get organized. However, I have made great strides in the punctuality thing. When we lived in the Garden Heights North Ward I was the Ward Organist for many years. I liked to be at the Chapel 15 minutes early so I could start playing the prelude music ten minutes before the meeting was to begin. Generally, I was there 15 minutes early. As the Ward Organist I was almost always on time---rarely even two or three minutes late. The punctuality problem was elsewhere in my life. I remember in those days when I would arrive at the Chapel 15 minutes early there were always half a dozen “older couples” already in their seats waiting for the meeting to commence. I used to think: “Don’t you people have anything better to do than sit here for 20 minutes waiting for Church to begin?” (As you all know, most people arrive at Church within the last five minutes before the appointed time. And, of course, some people generally come in a little late.)
Now that I’m an “older person” I have become one of “them.” Yes, I leave the house about 30 minutes before Church time. It takes me between five and ten minutes to get into my van, drive, park and walk into the Chapel. I sit and wait. Also, in most other aspects of my life I am punctual these days, and, you know what? I feel good about that. I suspect it would feel equally as “good” to lose weight and get organized. We’ll see how this all turns out. I will make a report next January—that is, inasmuch as I’m an “older person,” I will report if I remember. If I forget---please, all you young people out there, remind me!
Happy birthday to Dallin, January 22nd; Ember, January 25th; Erica, January 31st. Hope you all had/have a great day.
I love you all.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
CHRISTMAS MUSINGS
There isn’t a mother alive who doesn’t think she’s Superwoman a month before Christmas. If there are 30 days left, mountains of things can be accomplished---she thinks.
It will be a snap to do the shopping, baking, sewing, gift wrapping, tree and house decorating, entertaining . . . my goodness, 30 days is plenty of time to get all of these things done. Somehow, a memory lapse has occurred, temporarily blocking out the fact that there will still be dishes, cooking, laundry, house cleaning and changing diapers---all the normal chores that take 24 hours a day plus an 8-hour a day job away from home.
She envisions how cute the kids would look in new home-sewn flannel pajamas for picture-taking on Christmas morning. And, she just bought the darlingest material to make matching outfits for the kids to wear to the family Christmas party at Grandma’s. She’s just got to try those new cookie recipes in Better Homes and Gardens and this is the year she has decided to try her hand at dipping her own chocolates.
Temporary insanity takes over just after Thanksgiving and mothers forget the age-old phenomenon which gives the days between Thanksgiving and Christmas only 20 hours each. Not until after Christmas do days go back to their normal 24 hours.
Mothers wonder why each child’s school Christmas program is on a different day. Why can’t they all be on the same day? She has forgotten that it was the same last year. (Well, maybe she’d better stick with the old standby cookie recipes.)
Darn it! Why did little Susie have to get the stomach flu right before Christmas? That shoots another day and a half. (Perhaps dipping her own chocolates wasn’t such a good idea this year.)
Her husband belatedly informs her he has promised his boss four of her homemade apple pies for his company party. (Oh well, the kids can wear the clothes they wore on the first day of school for the party at Grandma’s.)
Someone calls to remind her of the two loaves of homemade bread and a pan of cinnamon rolls she promised for the church bake sale and Christmas party. (Some of the cookies in the bakery case at the grocery store will have to do for unexpected guests---if she serves them with her special hot wassail.)
Finally, her very best friend calls and asks for help with a Sub-for-Santa project. How can she say no? (While she says “yes,” she tries to decide which pair of the kids’ pajamas has the fewest holes to wear on Christmas morning.)
Mothers are lucky to get the shopping done at all and she decides at 3:30 a.m. Christmas morning that the toys will look very festive under the tree---without being wrapped. (As it is, she rarely gets to bed before 5:00 a.m. Christmas morning and the kids wake up at 5:30.)
So, Dad . . . after all the presents have been opened, dinner has been eaten and all the company has gone home, if Mother collapses in bed, don’t be too hard on her. Pamper her by putting the kids to bed. While she sleeps, dreamless, in total exhaustion, you can smile, secure in the knowledge that she really is Superwoman.
[I wrote the above article for a writing class when I had young children. It pretty well described my life at the time. After Jack and I moved to the Lake Powell area, I submitted an article to the local newspaper in Page, Arizona and also to the newspaper in Kanab, Utah. They liked my style and asked for weekly articles. I wrote for both newspapers for a few years in the late l980’s and early 1990’s. I dug this one out of my material from my writing class, submitted it and it was published December 17, 1990, under “MUSINGS by Marilyn Ehlers.”
It occurred to me that most of you do not know about that particular time of my life and I thought you might find this article amusing. If you do, I can, from time to time, share some of the other articles I had published.]
December birthdays: Happy Birthday to Jack, December 11th; Bret, December 21st; Jackie, December 22nd; Nathan, December 25th; and Kadi, December 31st. Hope you all had/have a wonderful day. I love you all.
It will be a snap to do the shopping, baking, sewing, gift wrapping, tree and house decorating, entertaining . . . my goodness, 30 days is plenty of time to get all of these things done. Somehow, a memory lapse has occurred, temporarily blocking out the fact that there will still be dishes, cooking, laundry, house cleaning and changing diapers---all the normal chores that take 24 hours a day plus an 8-hour a day job away from home.
She envisions how cute the kids would look in new home-sewn flannel pajamas for picture-taking on Christmas morning. And, she just bought the darlingest material to make matching outfits for the kids to wear to the family Christmas party at Grandma’s. She’s just got to try those new cookie recipes in Better Homes and Gardens and this is the year she has decided to try her hand at dipping her own chocolates.
Temporary insanity takes over just after Thanksgiving and mothers forget the age-old phenomenon which gives the days between Thanksgiving and Christmas only 20 hours each. Not until after Christmas do days go back to their normal 24 hours.
Mothers wonder why each child’s school Christmas program is on a different day. Why can’t they all be on the same day? She has forgotten that it was the same last year. (Well, maybe she’d better stick with the old standby cookie recipes.)
Darn it! Why did little Susie have to get the stomach flu right before Christmas? That shoots another day and a half. (Perhaps dipping her own chocolates wasn’t such a good idea this year.)
Her husband belatedly informs her he has promised his boss four of her homemade apple pies for his company party. (Oh well, the kids can wear the clothes they wore on the first day of school for the party at Grandma’s.)
Someone calls to remind her of the two loaves of homemade bread and a pan of cinnamon rolls she promised for the church bake sale and Christmas party. (Some of the cookies in the bakery case at the grocery store will have to do for unexpected guests---if she serves them with her special hot wassail.)
Finally, her very best friend calls and asks for help with a Sub-for-Santa project. How can she say no? (While she says “yes,” she tries to decide which pair of the kids’ pajamas has the fewest holes to wear on Christmas morning.)
Mothers are lucky to get the shopping done at all and she decides at 3:30 a.m. Christmas morning that the toys will look very festive under the tree---without being wrapped. (As it is, she rarely gets to bed before 5:00 a.m. Christmas morning and the kids wake up at 5:30.)
So, Dad . . . after all the presents have been opened, dinner has been eaten and all the company has gone home, if Mother collapses in bed, don’t be too hard on her. Pamper her by putting the kids to bed. While she sleeps, dreamless, in total exhaustion, you can smile, secure in the knowledge that she really is Superwoman.
[I wrote the above article for a writing class when I had young children. It pretty well described my life at the time. After Jack and I moved to the Lake Powell area, I submitted an article to the local newspaper in Page, Arizona and also to the newspaper in Kanab, Utah. They liked my style and asked for weekly articles. I wrote for both newspapers for a few years in the late l980’s and early 1990’s. I dug this one out of my material from my writing class, submitted it and it was published December 17, 1990, under “MUSINGS by Marilyn Ehlers.”
It occurred to me that most of you do not know about that particular time of my life and I thought you might find this article amusing. If you do, I can, from time to time, share some of the other articles I had published.]
December birthdays: Happy Birthday to Jack, December 11th; Bret, December 21st; Jackie, December 22nd; Nathan, December 25th; and Kadi, December 31st. Hope you all had/have a wonderful day. I love you all.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
I AM THANKFUL FOR . . . . . . .
The holidays officially begin for me on November 1st and will continue until Valentine’s Day. I’m not a Halloween person so I wait until the foolishness of Halloween is over and then my brain goes into HOLIDAY MODE. I’m not physically able to do, nor will I have the opportunity to do all the things I used to do but my brain does not know that yet. So, in my mind, I plan to do everything. And, you know what? It’s okay to celebrate in your mind. Since November 1st, I have been thinking of all the wonderful, beautiful, memorable things I have had in my life and how thankful I am to be me. Overall, I am a very happy person. No, everything has not always been perfect. It is not perfect now and may not be perfect in the future. It just that I have learned neither to dwell on nor remember all the negatives that have reared their ugly heads from time to time. I have learned that a person can be just about as happy with his/her lot as he/she wants to be. Sure, I’m aware that there are wife beaters in the world. There are child molesters and monsters of other descriptions. They need to be dealt with in swift fashion. No one should ever have to put up with that sort of thing.
I was never beaten by my husband. He was pretty rough on some of our kids and for that I’m truly sorry. I wish I could have done more to protect them. But I did try to discourage him from taking his anger out on the kids and we all learned to do what we had to do to survive. I loved my kids and did all I could to protect them. I rarely ever sent them to their father to ask his permission to go somewhere or do something. I made those decisions and sometimes neglected to tell their father just exactly what the kids were doing. He was never easy to live with and sometimes he was unkind, but I chose to be happy with whatever circumstances I found myself. Yes, I have complained from time to time but I chose to think happy thoughts and not let the negatives take over my life.
Why am I telling you all of this? I am so thankful for the many good things in my life that I’m going to share some of them with you.
I am thankful for my faith in God. I’m thankful for a discerning mind that has been able to comprehend the Plan of Salvation and to know and appreciate the truthfulness of the Gospel. I am thankful that I know there is a hereafter where I will be able to associate with those with whom I’ve been privileged to mingle and love in this life.
I’m thankful for the children to whom I gave birth. Knowing what I know now, I would do it again and be thankful for the blessing. I’m thankful for the grandchildren they have given me and the great, grandchildren who have and will come into my life.
I’m thankful for the talents I have been given. I’m thankful for the opportunities I’ve had to share my talents. I only hope the talents I have been given have uplifted others and have, perhaps, given others hope and a realization that they can do good things.
I’m thankful for the opportunities I’ve had to do good things and help others. My personal preference is that I can do something for someone without them knowing it was me.
I’m thankful for the health I’ve enjoyed most of my life. I’m still reasonably healthy but I move more slowly than I used to. My brain still works most of the time and for that I’m REALLY thankful.
I’m thankful for a warm home that I love and to live in a town that I also love. I’m thankful for the people around me who care about me and are happy to see me. I’m thankful for little children who brighten my life when they run up to me at Primary and say, “Maolin, I love you.”
I’m thankful for my life’s experiences: Some great and some not so great. But the combination makes up who I am. I’m thankful for the wonderful things that have been invented to make our lives richer and more meaningful---and more comfortable.
I’m thankful for the wisdom of my children who help me make difficult and sometimes painful decisions. I’m thankful that Jack is where he can get the care he needs from people who do it lovingly and patiently.
I’m thankful for my love of reading and that I now have time to indulge that love. I’m thankful for the sun that shines in my bedroom windows in the mornings and for the moon that rises (also in the east) that I can enjoy at night when I go to bed. I’m thankful for cool nights all summer that make sleeping so pleasant just by opening windows and not the artificial coolness of an air conditioner --- although, I should clarify that by mentioning how much I appreciated air conditioning when we visited Arizona and other warm places.
I am thankful for thunderstorms and rainbows. I am thankful for the smell of new mown hay. I am thankful for the bleating of newborn lambs. I am thankful for “Indian Summer” days in the autumn and for the smell of lilacs wafting on the breeze in the spring. I am thankful for family get-togethers --- whenever they happen. I am thankful for newly fallen snow. I am thankful for the Wayne County Fair in August with all the accompanying hoopla and fun. You all should come to Loa and share the Fair with us. You would have a great time. I’m thankful for all of you and I love you all.
I was never beaten by my husband. He was pretty rough on some of our kids and for that I’m truly sorry. I wish I could have done more to protect them. But I did try to discourage him from taking his anger out on the kids and we all learned to do what we had to do to survive. I loved my kids and did all I could to protect them. I rarely ever sent them to their father to ask his permission to go somewhere or do something. I made those decisions and sometimes neglected to tell their father just exactly what the kids were doing. He was never easy to live with and sometimes he was unkind, but I chose to be happy with whatever circumstances I found myself. Yes, I have complained from time to time but I chose to think happy thoughts and not let the negatives take over my life.
Why am I telling you all of this? I am so thankful for the many good things in my life that I’m going to share some of them with you.
I am thankful for my faith in God. I’m thankful for a discerning mind that has been able to comprehend the Plan of Salvation and to know and appreciate the truthfulness of the Gospel. I am thankful that I know there is a hereafter where I will be able to associate with those with whom I’ve been privileged to mingle and love in this life.
I’m thankful for the children to whom I gave birth. Knowing what I know now, I would do it again and be thankful for the blessing. I’m thankful for the grandchildren they have given me and the great, grandchildren who have and will come into my life.
I’m thankful for the talents I have been given. I’m thankful for the opportunities I’ve had to share my talents. I only hope the talents I have been given have uplifted others and have, perhaps, given others hope and a realization that they can do good things.
I’m thankful for the opportunities I’ve had to do good things and help others. My personal preference is that I can do something for someone without them knowing it was me.
I’m thankful for the health I’ve enjoyed most of my life. I’m still reasonably healthy but I move more slowly than I used to. My brain still works most of the time and for that I’m REALLY thankful.
I’m thankful for a warm home that I love and to live in a town that I also love. I’m thankful for the people around me who care about me and are happy to see me. I’m thankful for little children who brighten my life when they run up to me at Primary and say, “Maolin, I love you.”
I’m thankful for my life’s experiences: Some great and some not so great. But the combination makes up who I am. I’m thankful for the wonderful things that have been invented to make our lives richer and more meaningful---and more comfortable.
I’m thankful for the wisdom of my children who help me make difficult and sometimes painful decisions. I’m thankful that Jack is where he can get the care he needs from people who do it lovingly and patiently.
I’m thankful for my love of reading and that I now have time to indulge that love. I’m thankful for the sun that shines in my bedroom windows in the mornings and for the moon that rises (also in the east) that I can enjoy at night when I go to bed. I’m thankful for cool nights all summer that make sleeping so pleasant just by opening windows and not the artificial coolness of an air conditioner --- although, I should clarify that by mentioning how much I appreciated air conditioning when we visited Arizona and other warm places.
I am thankful for thunderstorms and rainbows. I am thankful for the smell of new mown hay. I am thankful for the bleating of newborn lambs. I am thankful for “Indian Summer” days in the autumn and for the smell of lilacs wafting on the breeze in the spring. I am thankful for family get-togethers --- whenever they happen. I am thankful for newly fallen snow. I am thankful for the Wayne County Fair in August with all the accompanying hoopla and fun. You all should come to Loa and share the Fair with us. You would have a great time. I’m thankful for all of you and I love you all.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
THE FOX IS IN THE CHICKEN COOP
The Islam Nations will finally have one of their own in the United States White House. Too bad. The people of this country need to be very watchful and careful in the days and months to come. Most people will not be watchful because they think they have elected a Savior. In my opinion, they have elected a traitor. So sad!
PRICES THEN AND NOW
After going to the grocery store again I am sadly aware of how little I bring home compared to amount of money I give them. A couple of “older” folks and I were reminiscing about the “good old days” and it occurred to me that you may get a chuckle at the prices I paid for groceries and other things when I was a young bride. There’s nothing to chuckle about the prices we pay now. Of course, we have to take into consideration the difference in wages paid then and now.
Actually, I think I’ll begin with the price of my wedding dress. I couldn’t afford a fancy, expensive dress and neither could my parents. I was living with my sister, Grace, her husband and their two kids, Rick and Eileen. We had a next-door neighbor who was an excellent seamstress. Grace and Afton were really good friends and we had done quite a few things together. Afton asked me if I’d like to buy the fabric for my wedding dress and have her sew it and that would be her wedding gift to me. My goodness! Yes, indeed! You betcha! That sounded wonderful to me. Grace and I went to a fabric store and they had taffeta on sale. Taffeta was what I had hoped to get. We chose a pattern that I loved. It was quite plain and simple. We bought the taffeta, the lace for the insert and collar and the pearl buttons for the sleeves. It came to the grand total of $12.00.
Immediately after our reception (we got married on Jack’s “boot leave”). Jack was in the Marine Corp and only had about ten days leave so we had to pack our things after our reception and get on the road to California. He was to be stationed at the El Toro Marine Corp Depot near Santa Ana, California. (I understand that now El Toro has been closed down.) We couldn’t find an apartment in Santa Ana so we just started driving south on the main highway. As we drove, we saw a “Furnished Apartment for Rent” sign in Newport Beach so we stopped and were able to rent the apartment and move right in. Everything we owned was in the car so why not? We had a nice furnished apartment with a kitchen, living room with a bed that pulled down out of the closet, a huge closet and for heaven sake, it had a bathroom. No outhouses for us. The kitchen was very nice with plenty of room and the living room was huge. We paid $50.00 a month for that apartment. And, there was a bonus attached. The beach was about 300 feet from our back door.
I should mention, here, that I had a job as a statistical typist with an insurance company before we got married. I was paid the enormous sum of $120.00 per month. If I had been a man I would probably have been paid at least $50.00 more a month. In those days women were second-class citizens and it was a widely held opinion (among the men of the world) that a woman was not worth as much as a man---even though they may have been doing exactly the same work. Go figure!
I don’t remember, exactly, how much Jack was getting as a PFC in the Marines, but $150.00 a month rings a bell. As his wife, I got $50.00 per month. Hey, $200.00 per month was enough, if you were careful. Jack had to drive to the base five days a week so we had to buy gas at 19 cents a gallon. I don’t remember too much about food prices in California so I will skip ahead to Georgia for that.
We had only been in California five weeks when Jack got his orders to go to Korea and they gave us eighteen days leave before he had to report to the base to leave with the troops who were going. Of course, they were to travel on a ship. I stayed in Salt Lake City with Jack’s parents, who very generously invited me to stay in their home for the duration of Jack’s time in Korea. I got my second job at that time at the LDS Church Welfare Department and I was an all around secretary for two men and sometimes three. I was paid $130.00 per month. But, hey, with my $50.00 stipend from the Military, I thought I was rich. I should mention that Mom and Dad Ehlers wouldn’t allow me to pay board and room. Before I got married I bought a sewing machine for $120.00. I paid $10.00 down and was to pay $10.00/month until it paid. Also, I had a ton of dental work done in the summer of 1951. I don’t remember the total on that---probably about $250.00 or $300.00 and I was paying that at $10.00/month. Inasmuch as I was paying no rent or buying food, I was able to pay off the sewing machine early as well as pay off my appreciative Dentist. At that point, we were totally out of debt.
Jack came home from Korea as a Sergeant with a pay raise, and was assigned to the Marine Base at Quantico, Virginia for OCS training. I stayed in a “Tourist Home” at $10.00 per week for five weeks until his training was complete and then we, thinking Jack would be staying at Quantico for a time, rented an apartment. It was furnished. It had a bedroom, living room, big kitchen and, of course, a bathroom. We paid $55.00/month for that one but we only got to stay in it for a week. Jack was reassigned to the Marine Base in Albany, Georgia and was advanced to the rank of Staff-Sergeant (with another pay raise) for the duration of his time in the Marine Corp. Again, we paid $50.00/month for a huge kitchen, a big living/bedroom, a really big closet and—ta-da! A bathroom!
We were in Albany for just a little less than one year. It was an interesting time and I was able to learn more about cooking, sewing and many other things. We made a monthly budget. We allotted $10.00 per week for groceries and that included laundry soap, shampoo, hand soap, dish soap, toilet paper, etc. Amazingly, $10.00 was ample. AND, we frequently fed the Elders. For a couple of months there were four Elders in the area and we fed all four a couple of times a week. Of course, we rarely had steak. Steak was almost $2.00 a pound and we figured it was too expensive.
Bread was 10 cents a loaf. Margarine was 10 cents a pound. Ground beef was 15 cents a pound. They had really fresh fish at the market where we shopped and we could get White Fish at 10 cents a pound. It was scrumptious. I used to make a bread dressing and stuff the fish, I’d place the extra dressing underneath the fish while it baked. Fish doesn’t take all that long to bake and it was quite an elegant dish. I suppose I served potatoes of some kind plus a vegetable and dessert. We almost always had dessert in those days. I usually did the fish on Wednesday and generally there were enough leftovers for dinner the next day. The Elders dropped in one Wednesday so that’s what we served them. They really liked it. I guess I mentioned that I usually cooked fish on Wednesday. After that, they were frequent Wednesday visitors. We loved their company and were happy to have them come. Of course, there were a few other members in Albany, so the Elders were often invited to two or three other member’s homes. Usually there was enough fish left over that we could have leftovers the next day.
Fresh fruit and fresh vegetables were five or ten cents a pound. Milk was 10 cents a quart. However, we usually drank reconstituted dry milk because it was cheaper. I always hated it but I drank it—if I drank milk. It was not as good as what I drank when I was growing up in Blanding. We didn’t drink skim milk. We either made cottage cheese from the skin milk or we fed it to the pigs. I was used to cream on my cereal and whole milk to drink. I refuse to drink skim milk now. It just looks like blue water to me.
Most of the canned products were 10 cents each. Sugar and flour were inexpensive. I made a lot of cookies and I learned to make pie crusts from scratch so we had pies but I was never successful at making cakes in Albany. I knew how to make cakes (from scratch) in Utah but not in Georgia. I’m sure it was the altitude difference. I didn’t know enough about cooking to know that. If there had been cake mixes, the directions would have been listed on the box and it would probably have been okay. I should mention here that with my mindset in those days, using a boxed cake mix would have been “cheating.” I made almost everything from scratch. I didn’t make bread, although I knew how to make bread.
I made puddings and other desserts. I tried new recipes. I read recipe books like novels.
With all the desserts I cooked, I still lost 15 pounds that year. When we arrived in Georgia I weighed 135. When we left I weighed 120. I was too thin. I felt better at 128 to 130.
And, I have to tell you about the watermelons! Spring begins early in the South. By late May we could buy freshly picked watermelons. The farmers would rent a corner lot in two or three spots in Albany (the same lots that had trees on them at Christmas). Those watermelons were absolutely enormous. At the beginning of the season they were $1.00 each. After about three weeks, they went down to 75 cents each. Three weeks later they were 50 cents each. Three weeks later they were 25 cents each. Huge, huge watermelons for 25 cents. Finally, they were 10 cents each. I guess the summer of 1953 I finally had all the watermelon I wanted for one summer. They were so juicy, sweet and delicious they were almost decadent. We kept one shelf in the refrigerator saved for watermelon. Those watermelons were a wonderfully cool treat during the hot, humid days of summer in Albany---with no air conditioning.
The Marine Base in Georgia was just being built when we went there. They didn’t have any base housing so we lived off base. There was also an Air Force Base in Albany. They did have base housing for their people. We were quite happy with the apartment we had except for the cockroaches. They were horrible. At that time I didn’t know there were people who came around to exterminate bugs. I didn’t know about exterminators for many years. Anyway, the Marines had bought a huge pecan orchard and were going to knock all the trees down. They told all of us we could have as many pecans as we wanted. I believe I have already told you about the pecans. But the Christmas time we were in Albany, we made batches and batches of chocolate fudge. We enjoyed a lot of it but we fixed nice boxes for our friends and that’s what we gave them for Christmas. We were a good team when it came to fudge. I didn’t have any “easy” or “fast” recipes for fudge then. I had Jack’s mother’s recipe. Apparently Jack had helped make fudge at home. I would measure all the ingredients, put them in the pot and tend it while it cooked. After while I’d get a cup with cold water and drop a drop of fudge into the water; I’d take it to Jack for testing. He’d get it between a thumb and a finger and roll it a little bit and tell me it wasn’t done, yet. In another couple of minutes I’d do it again. He’d check it and determine that it was still not ready. (It had to be cooked to the soft-ball stage.) By the third test, it was usually done. I’d have a roaster pan buttered and ready to pour the fudge into and then Jack would beat the fudge until his arms were tired. He’d let the fudge set for a short time and it would suddenly be ready to mold. In the meantime, I chopped pecans. Jack would get margarine all over his hands and begin to mold a portion of the batch. When he had it sufficiently softened he’d flatten it out a little and I’d pour pecans into the fudge. Then he’d mold the pecans into the fudge. We’d do that with each portion of the candy until we had nice fudge rolls about 2 inches in diameter and eight inches long. We’d put all the fudge rolls into a pan; cover it with waxed paper (we didn’t have plastic wrap or aluminum foil); put the lid on tight and by morning that fudge was heavenly. It’s been a long time since I’ve taken the time to make that kind of fudge. Generally I do the “quick and easy” variety. Quick and easy is good, some of it is very good, but it isn’t as wonderful and the kind I used to make.
We did a good bit of traveling while we were in Georgia. We would go sight-seeing to various places. We always attended the District Meetings for Church. It was great fun and we met a lot of lovely, friendly, kind and generous people. One family invited us to come to Valdosta, Georgia and go fishing with them. After we caught a bunch of fish we had a huge fish fry and invited friends of theirs. It was a fun party. Others would invite us to dinner occasionally. We traveled to various “Gold and Green Balls.” For those of you who don’t know what a “Gold and Green Ball is: It was a tradition, at that time, to have a big, formal Church dance in the spring of each year. In those days, everyone danced. It was customary for people of all ages to come to these lovely dances. They usually had a live orchestra that played real music. In the middle of the dance they’d have a nice program and there were refreshments. We always had to travel to go to these dances in Georgia so somebody would say, “Come stay the night with us.”
When we went to the District Conferences, there would be a meeting in the morning and another in the afternoon. We’d take a couple of hour break between meetings. Those Southern ladies would bring out the food for lunch. It was always Potluck and it was always magnificent. I’m telling you, those Southern women were first-class cooks. They would put out a beautiful and bounteous spread for all to enjoy. We’d fill our plates and sit on blankets on the grass under the trees and enjoy.
We didn’t worry about money for the gas. It varied between 19 and 29 cents a gallon. Never more than 29 cents. Most of the time it was less. Our car got pretty good mileage. We drove a 1947 Dodge four-door sedan.
We could go to an occasional movie at the Air Force Base and the cost was 10 cents each. Of course, movies in the City of Albany were 25 cents but on Military Bases they were always inexpensive entertainment.
I bought fabric and sewed dresses for me and shirts for Jack. Fabric was about 15 to 25 cents a yard. With thread, trim, buttons and whatever else was needed I don’t think my dresses ever cost more than $1.50. I made some really elegant “western” shirts for Jack. They had piping around the collar, cuff, pocket flaps and down the front by the buttons. I think they probably only cost about $1.25 each. To buy a fancy shirt like that now, I suspect you’d be paying upwards of $150.00 or more. There were 18 buttons on each shirt. I sewed every buttonhole by hand. They were gorgeous.
I hope you’ve enjoyed my little reminiscing trip into the past. I realize women can generally make as much as men these days (although occasionally someone brings inequities in the male/female pay scale out into the open), and what you make now is a whole lot more than we were making in the l950’s. It’s quite funny to see the comparison. Oh, I do have one more story. We finally did splurge and buy steak one time in Albany. As I said, it was almost $2.00 per pound. I don’t think we bought a whole pound---just two small pieces. We really planned carefully for that meal. I cooked dinner and everything was just perfect. Just as we were sitting down to the table the Elders drove up. Our only option was to set two more places and share. I can truthfully say that even with cutting our small pieces of steak in half, we had all we wanted. When we were through we looked at each other and commented on the big piece of steak we had eaten. It was almost like the story of the fishes and the loaves.
November birthdays: Happy birthday to Danielle, November 13th. Hope you have a wonderful day.
I love you all.
Actually, I think I’ll begin with the price of my wedding dress. I couldn’t afford a fancy, expensive dress and neither could my parents. I was living with my sister, Grace, her husband and their two kids, Rick and Eileen. We had a next-door neighbor who was an excellent seamstress. Grace and Afton were really good friends and we had done quite a few things together. Afton asked me if I’d like to buy the fabric for my wedding dress and have her sew it and that would be her wedding gift to me. My goodness! Yes, indeed! You betcha! That sounded wonderful to me. Grace and I went to a fabric store and they had taffeta on sale. Taffeta was what I had hoped to get. We chose a pattern that I loved. It was quite plain and simple. We bought the taffeta, the lace for the insert and collar and the pearl buttons for the sleeves. It came to the grand total of $12.00.
Immediately after our reception (we got married on Jack’s “boot leave”). Jack was in the Marine Corp and only had about ten days leave so we had to pack our things after our reception and get on the road to California. He was to be stationed at the El Toro Marine Corp Depot near Santa Ana, California. (I understand that now El Toro has been closed down.) We couldn’t find an apartment in Santa Ana so we just started driving south on the main highway. As we drove, we saw a “Furnished Apartment for Rent” sign in Newport Beach so we stopped and were able to rent the apartment and move right in. Everything we owned was in the car so why not? We had a nice furnished apartment with a kitchen, living room with a bed that pulled down out of the closet, a huge closet and for heaven sake, it had a bathroom. No outhouses for us. The kitchen was very nice with plenty of room and the living room was huge. We paid $50.00 a month for that apartment. And, there was a bonus attached. The beach was about 300 feet from our back door.
I should mention, here, that I had a job as a statistical typist with an insurance company before we got married. I was paid the enormous sum of $120.00 per month. If I had been a man I would probably have been paid at least $50.00 more a month. In those days women were second-class citizens and it was a widely held opinion (among the men of the world) that a woman was not worth as much as a man---even though they may have been doing exactly the same work. Go figure!
I don’t remember, exactly, how much Jack was getting as a PFC in the Marines, but $150.00 a month rings a bell. As his wife, I got $50.00 per month. Hey, $200.00 per month was enough, if you were careful. Jack had to drive to the base five days a week so we had to buy gas at 19 cents a gallon. I don’t remember too much about food prices in California so I will skip ahead to Georgia for that.
We had only been in California five weeks when Jack got his orders to go to Korea and they gave us eighteen days leave before he had to report to the base to leave with the troops who were going. Of course, they were to travel on a ship. I stayed in Salt Lake City with Jack’s parents, who very generously invited me to stay in their home for the duration of Jack’s time in Korea. I got my second job at that time at the LDS Church Welfare Department and I was an all around secretary for two men and sometimes three. I was paid $130.00 per month. But, hey, with my $50.00 stipend from the Military, I thought I was rich. I should mention that Mom and Dad Ehlers wouldn’t allow me to pay board and room. Before I got married I bought a sewing machine for $120.00. I paid $10.00 down and was to pay $10.00/month until it paid. Also, I had a ton of dental work done in the summer of 1951. I don’t remember the total on that---probably about $250.00 or $300.00 and I was paying that at $10.00/month. Inasmuch as I was paying no rent or buying food, I was able to pay off the sewing machine early as well as pay off my appreciative Dentist. At that point, we were totally out of debt.
Jack came home from Korea as a Sergeant with a pay raise, and was assigned to the Marine Base at Quantico, Virginia for OCS training. I stayed in a “Tourist Home” at $10.00 per week for five weeks until his training was complete and then we, thinking Jack would be staying at Quantico for a time, rented an apartment. It was furnished. It had a bedroom, living room, big kitchen and, of course, a bathroom. We paid $55.00/month for that one but we only got to stay in it for a week. Jack was reassigned to the Marine Base in Albany, Georgia and was advanced to the rank of Staff-Sergeant (with another pay raise) for the duration of his time in the Marine Corp. Again, we paid $50.00/month for a huge kitchen, a big living/bedroom, a really big closet and—ta-da! A bathroom!
We were in Albany for just a little less than one year. It was an interesting time and I was able to learn more about cooking, sewing and many other things. We made a monthly budget. We allotted $10.00 per week for groceries and that included laundry soap, shampoo, hand soap, dish soap, toilet paper, etc. Amazingly, $10.00 was ample. AND, we frequently fed the Elders. For a couple of months there were four Elders in the area and we fed all four a couple of times a week. Of course, we rarely had steak. Steak was almost $2.00 a pound and we figured it was too expensive.
Bread was 10 cents a loaf. Margarine was 10 cents a pound. Ground beef was 15 cents a pound. They had really fresh fish at the market where we shopped and we could get White Fish at 10 cents a pound. It was scrumptious. I used to make a bread dressing and stuff the fish, I’d place the extra dressing underneath the fish while it baked. Fish doesn’t take all that long to bake and it was quite an elegant dish. I suppose I served potatoes of some kind plus a vegetable and dessert. We almost always had dessert in those days. I usually did the fish on Wednesday and generally there were enough leftovers for dinner the next day. The Elders dropped in one Wednesday so that’s what we served them. They really liked it. I guess I mentioned that I usually cooked fish on Wednesday. After that, they were frequent Wednesday visitors. We loved their company and were happy to have them come. Of course, there were a few other members in Albany, so the Elders were often invited to two or three other member’s homes. Usually there was enough fish left over that we could have leftovers the next day.
Fresh fruit and fresh vegetables were five or ten cents a pound. Milk was 10 cents a quart. However, we usually drank reconstituted dry milk because it was cheaper. I always hated it but I drank it—if I drank milk. It was not as good as what I drank when I was growing up in Blanding. We didn’t drink skim milk. We either made cottage cheese from the skin milk or we fed it to the pigs. I was used to cream on my cereal and whole milk to drink. I refuse to drink skim milk now. It just looks like blue water to me.
Most of the canned products were 10 cents each. Sugar and flour were inexpensive. I made a lot of cookies and I learned to make pie crusts from scratch so we had pies but I was never successful at making cakes in Albany. I knew how to make cakes (from scratch) in Utah but not in Georgia. I’m sure it was the altitude difference. I didn’t know enough about cooking to know that. If there had been cake mixes, the directions would have been listed on the box and it would probably have been okay. I should mention here that with my mindset in those days, using a boxed cake mix would have been “cheating.” I made almost everything from scratch. I didn’t make bread, although I knew how to make bread.
I made puddings and other desserts. I tried new recipes. I read recipe books like novels.
With all the desserts I cooked, I still lost 15 pounds that year. When we arrived in Georgia I weighed 135. When we left I weighed 120. I was too thin. I felt better at 128 to 130.
And, I have to tell you about the watermelons! Spring begins early in the South. By late May we could buy freshly picked watermelons. The farmers would rent a corner lot in two or three spots in Albany (the same lots that had trees on them at Christmas). Those watermelons were absolutely enormous. At the beginning of the season they were $1.00 each. After about three weeks, they went down to 75 cents each. Three weeks later they were 50 cents each. Three weeks later they were 25 cents each. Huge, huge watermelons for 25 cents. Finally, they were 10 cents each. I guess the summer of 1953 I finally had all the watermelon I wanted for one summer. They were so juicy, sweet and delicious they were almost decadent. We kept one shelf in the refrigerator saved for watermelon. Those watermelons were a wonderfully cool treat during the hot, humid days of summer in Albany---with no air conditioning.
The Marine Base in Georgia was just being built when we went there. They didn’t have any base housing so we lived off base. There was also an Air Force Base in Albany. They did have base housing for their people. We were quite happy with the apartment we had except for the cockroaches. They were horrible. At that time I didn’t know there were people who came around to exterminate bugs. I didn’t know about exterminators for many years. Anyway, the Marines had bought a huge pecan orchard and were going to knock all the trees down. They told all of us we could have as many pecans as we wanted. I believe I have already told you about the pecans. But the Christmas time we were in Albany, we made batches and batches of chocolate fudge. We enjoyed a lot of it but we fixed nice boxes for our friends and that’s what we gave them for Christmas. We were a good team when it came to fudge. I didn’t have any “easy” or “fast” recipes for fudge then. I had Jack’s mother’s recipe. Apparently Jack had helped make fudge at home. I would measure all the ingredients, put them in the pot and tend it while it cooked. After while I’d get a cup with cold water and drop a drop of fudge into the water; I’d take it to Jack for testing. He’d get it between a thumb and a finger and roll it a little bit and tell me it wasn’t done, yet. In another couple of minutes I’d do it again. He’d check it and determine that it was still not ready. (It had to be cooked to the soft-ball stage.) By the third test, it was usually done. I’d have a roaster pan buttered and ready to pour the fudge into and then Jack would beat the fudge until his arms were tired. He’d let the fudge set for a short time and it would suddenly be ready to mold. In the meantime, I chopped pecans. Jack would get margarine all over his hands and begin to mold a portion of the batch. When he had it sufficiently softened he’d flatten it out a little and I’d pour pecans into the fudge. Then he’d mold the pecans into the fudge. We’d do that with each portion of the candy until we had nice fudge rolls about 2 inches in diameter and eight inches long. We’d put all the fudge rolls into a pan; cover it with waxed paper (we didn’t have plastic wrap or aluminum foil); put the lid on tight and by morning that fudge was heavenly. It’s been a long time since I’ve taken the time to make that kind of fudge. Generally I do the “quick and easy” variety. Quick and easy is good, some of it is very good, but it isn’t as wonderful and the kind I used to make.
We did a good bit of traveling while we were in Georgia. We would go sight-seeing to various places. We always attended the District Meetings for Church. It was great fun and we met a lot of lovely, friendly, kind and generous people. One family invited us to come to Valdosta, Georgia and go fishing with them. After we caught a bunch of fish we had a huge fish fry and invited friends of theirs. It was a fun party. Others would invite us to dinner occasionally. We traveled to various “Gold and Green Balls.” For those of you who don’t know what a “Gold and Green Ball is: It was a tradition, at that time, to have a big, formal Church dance in the spring of each year. In those days, everyone danced. It was customary for people of all ages to come to these lovely dances. They usually had a live orchestra that played real music. In the middle of the dance they’d have a nice program and there were refreshments. We always had to travel to go to these dances in Georgia so somebody would say, “Come stay the night with us.”
When we went to the District Conferences, there would be a meeting in the morning and another in the afternoon. We’d take a couple of hour break between meetings. Those Southern ladies would bring out the food for lunch. It was always Potluck and it was always magnificent. I’m telling you, those Southern women were first-class cooks. They would put out a beautiful and bounteous spread for all to enjoy. We’d fill our plates and sit on blankets on the grass under the trees and enjoy.
We didn’t worry about money for the gas. It varied between 19 and 29 cents a gallon. Never more than 29 cents. Most of the time it was less. Our car got pretty good mileage. We drove a 1947 Dodge four-door sedan.
We could go to an occasional movie at the Air Force Base and the cost was 10 cents each. Of course, movies in the City of Albany were 25 cents but on Military Bases they were always inexpensive entertainment.
I bought fabric and sewed dresses for me and shirts for Jack. Fabric was about 15 to 25 cents a yard. With thread, trim, buttons and whatever else was needed I don’t think my dresses ever cost more than $1.50. I made some really elegant “western” shirts for Jack. They had piping around the collar, cuff, pocket flaps and down the front by the buttons. I think they probably only cost about $1.25 each. To buy a fancy shirt like that now, I suspect you’d be paying upwards of $150.00 or more. There were 18 buttons on each shirt. I sewed every buttonhole by hand. They were gorgeous.
I hope you’ve enjoyed my little reminiscing trip into the past. I realize women can generally make as much as men these days (although occasionally someone brings inequities in the male/female pay scale out into the open), and what you make now is a whole lot more than we were making in the l950’s. It’s quite funny to see the comparison. Oh, I do have one more story. We finally did splurge and buy steak one time in Albany. As I said, it was almost $2.00 per pound. I don’t think we bought a whole pound---just two small pieces. We really planned carefully for that meal. I cooked dinner and everything was just perfect. Just as we were sitting down to the table the Elders drove up. Our only option was to set two more places and share. I can truthfully say that even with cutting our small pieces of steak in half, we had all we wanted. When we were through we looked at each other and commented on the big piece of steak we had eaten. It was almost like the story of the fishes and the loaves.
November birthdays: Happy birthday to Danielle, November 13th. Hope you have a wonderful day.
I love you all.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
I AM IN MOURNING
No, silly! Jack is safely alive in the Care Center in Richfield. I am mourning the death of Paul Newman. I have been enamored of him since the 50’s. How could anyone not be in love with that beautiful face and those magnificent blue eyes? But he adored Joan Woodward. I wouldn’t have stood a chance. One time a reporter asked Paul why he never strayed. Paul’s reply was classic: “Why should I dally with hamburger when I have steak at home?” (I may have paraphrased that a little.)
When Tal was in the play “West Side Story” I watched him on stage and the thought crossed my mind that he resembled Paul Newman. I didn’t tell him my thoughts for quite some time because I assumed, perhaps, he would not like me telling him he resembled an “old” man. Finally, I told Tal I hoped he would not be offended but I thought he looked like Paul Newman. He just laughed and said, “Oh, I’ve heard that before.”
Well, enough of that! I have had an eventful month. As you know, I drove to Cedar City to visit with Patti, Dave and Danielle. I was fortunate to be able to watch Danielle’s High School Varsity soccer game. I had been wishing I could see her play and it was wonderful. Of course, I knew nothing about soccer but Patti was well qualified to fill me in on what was happening and when Danielle’s team won---that was an extra bonus. Very exciting! Dusty came to the game and brought his current “squeeze” Vanessa. Cute girl and very nice and feisty. I’ve been home for a couple of weeks so I don’t know whether they are still hanging out together. It was great to see Dusty again. Dave came home from Vernal late Thursday night and I had a couple of nice chats with him. I love that guy. Patti was the perfect hostess and it was so good to have a chance to visit with her again. I really do have unusually special children---all of them. I have been greatly blessed.
Patti already told you she took me to see Shakespeare’s “Julius Ceasar.” Fred Adams gave us an overview of what the play was about and in doing so, he quoted some of the more famous lines in the play. I remembered that I had heard those lines from my mother-in-law. For those of you who do not know, Thelma Ehlers was Jack’s mother. While Jack was in Korea I lived with Jack’s parents (at their request) and it was a wonderful time for me. Mom and Dad Ehlers were very good to me and I loved them very much. I always loved them a lot. I was much closer to her than I was to my own mother. Grandma and Grandpa Ehlers did seem to favor their two daughters’ children more than mine and that irritated me, but they were good to me, personally. I always tried to be good to them, as well.
While Patti and I were sitting in the theater before the play started, I told her some things about Grandma Ehlers and her love of all things Shakespeare. Patti said she never knew those things about Grandma Ehlers and was quite amazed at what I told her. It occurred to me that all of you might want to learn more about one of your ancestors so that is what I will focus on in this chapter.
Years ago, before we began having the three-hour “block” meetings on Sunday, we had Priesthood Meetings, Sunday School and Sacrament Meetings on Sunday. Relief Society was held on Tuesday afternoons at 2:00 p.m. Tuesday evening we had M.I.A. (Mutual Improvement Association—now known as Young Men and Young Women). Primary was on Wednesday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. during the summer and right after school during the winter. That was the schedule if there was only one ward in a Chapel. Of course, if there was more than one ward in the building the schedule was different for the other ward. As I recall, they would have one schedule for a year and then change with the other ward for a year.
Today, I will focus on Relief Society. The first week of the month the lesson was spiritual. The second week was homemaking and we always had a light lunch. The third week we had lessons on human relations that dealt with most of the situations people encounter in life. (I gave those lessons for about 12 years: first, in our Ward in Sandy, then in Garden Heights South Ward where we lived while our home was being built, and when we moved into our home I received the same calling in the Garden Heights North Ward. It was very educational for me and though it was a huge undertaking every month, I thoroughly enjoyed the challenge.) The fourth week was devoted to literature for 10 or 12 years. Grandma Ehlers was called to do the literature lessons in the Garden Heights North Ward. She was absolutely perfect for that job. She was imminently qualified. I don’t remember all of the authors we studied but I do remember that three years were set aside to study Shakespeare. Fortunately, for me, we didn’t begin to study Shakespeare until after we had moved from Sandy. Obviously, Garden Heights South Ward Relief Society was on a different day than Garden Heights North and I began attending Grandma Ehlers lessons on Shakespeare. That woman was a wonder. She was very well-read and well-spoken and she loved Shakespeare. I wouldn’t dare suggest that all the wards in the Church had GREAT teachers like Grandma Ehlers but we really “lucked out.” I’m reasonably certain that the classes Thelma Ehlers taught were equivalent to what we may have gotten if we had been studying literature at a University. Her classes were always packed.
Some of her lessons stand out more in my mind than others. I remember when she did Romeo and Juliet. She did the entire balcony scene from memory. It was incredible! She had studied Shakespeare enough that she understood it very well and if there were passages that were not easy for a lot of people to understand, she could explain those passages.
I remember the day she did Julius Caesar. She told the story and recited the speeches that Fred Adams recited to us before the play began. As Fred Adams spoke I realized that I was remembering those same speeches from Grandma Ehlers’ lesson. The lessons she taught are probably as close to a course at a University as I will ever get. Grandma always thought that Shakespeare must have been very familiar with the Bible because he echoed many things from the Bible in his own writings. He touched on the evils of murder, greed, infidelity, jealousy, theft, etc., etc. Several times she mentioned that if you want to know right from wrong and can't seem to get through the Bible, just read the works of Shakespeare. I have thought, on occasion, that it probably wouldn't be any more time consuming to read the Bible than to read the entire works of Shakespeare but, at least, it offers an alternative.
I must tell you one more thing about Grandma Ehlers. She had a very subtle sense of humor. What I am about to tell you occurred several years before she began teaching the literature lessons at Relief Society. I became pregnant with Bret in March of 1957 and gave birth to him December 21, 1957. In March of 1958, I became pregnant with Jackie and gave birth to her December 22, 1958. Yes, one year and one day apart. Near the end of February, 1959, my mother-in-law called me and said: “Marilyn, beware the Ides of March.” For those of you who do not know---“Beware the Ides of March” is a line from Julius Caesar. It was just a reminder to me that she was thinking of me and I smile every time I think of it. Patti was born May 27, 19661. No more December babies. Shanna was born 14-1/2 months after Patti, August 12, 1962. And, of course, Tal was born almost five years later on July 25, 1967. As you can see, I took Grandma Ehlers’ advice.
Grandma Ehlers was 5’ 2” tall and she was a little “spitfire.” She obtained her driver’s license and drove their car a couple of times. One day Grandpa asked her to back the car out of the driveway and drive it down the street to pick him up. He walked down the street to turn off the irrigation water for someone. Grandma backed the car out, drove down the street and right into a ditch. Grandpa was pretty proud of his car and was a little upset that she drove it into the ditch so he yelled at Grandma. Grandma vowed that she would never drive again and she didn’t. He spent the rest of her life driving her to the grocery store (and other places) then he’d go home and wait for her to call (she’d use the phone in the grocery story—no cell phones). When she called, he’d stop whatever he was doing, get in the car and go get her. I don’t think he ever yelled at her again. How’s that for women’s lib?
Grandma was very artistic. She was a fantastic seamstress and a great cook. I lived with them for about six months and during that time she taught me many things including how to sew and how to cook. She had Jack’s sister, Elaine, type a lot of her recipes and sent them to me after Jack came home from Korea and we went back East to Quantico, Virginia, where Jack was to be stationed for the next couple of months. Many of the things I learned from her have been invaluable to me. She was a great lady. She died in March, 1981 at 76 years of age. She had breast cancer but she died of a heart attack. The doctor discovered that she had breast cancer but they didn’t treat it because her heart was so bad he figured her heart would quit before the breast cancer became a problem. That is exactly what happened. The day she died, Grandpa had fixed her a sandwich. She was sitting at the table eating her sandwich while he got his own sandwich. He heard her say, “Oh, Arnold, I feel so dizzy.” He dropped everything and ran over to her just in time to catch her as she fell to the floor. He laid her down, carefully, and she was gone. A few minutes later he called us at the office and told us she had just died. What a way to go! That’s how I’d like to leave this world: Quickly and with grace.
There was something else I was going to tell you in this chapter but it slips my mind at the moment so I will stop now. My goodness! How will you all stand it? It’s rather short, for me.
September birthdays: Taylor, September 10th; James, September 15th; Eric, September 25th, Davey and Kammie, September 26th.
October birthdays: Heidi, October 3rd; Zac, October 13th; Kacie, October 26th.
Happy birthday to all of you. I hope you all had/have a wonderful day.
I love you all.
When Tal was in the play “West Side Story” I watched him on stage and the thought crossed my mind that he resembled Paul Newman. I didn’t tell him my thoughts for quite some time because I assumed, perhaps, he would not like me telling him he resembled an “old” man. Finally, I told Tal I hoped he would not be offended but I thought he looked like Paul Newman. He just laughed and said, “Oh, I’ve heard that before.”
Well, enough of that! I have had an eventful month. As you know, I drove to Cedar City to visit with Patti, Dave and Danielle. I was fortunate to be able to watch Danielle’s High School Varsity soccer game. I had been wishing I could see her play and it was wonderful. Of course, I knew nothing about soccer but Patti was well qualified to fill me in on what was happening and when Danielle’s team won---that was an extra bonus. Very exciting! Dusty came to the game and brought his current “squeeze” Vanessa. Cute girl and very nice and feisty. I’ve been home for a couple of weeks so I don’t know whether they are still hanging out together. It was great to see Dusty again. Dave came home from Vernal late Thursday night and I had a couple of nice chats with him. I love that guy. Patti was the perfect hostess and it was so good to have a chance to visit with her again. I really do have unusually special children---all of them. I have been greatly blessed.
Patti already told you she took me to see Shakespeare’s “Julius Ceasar.” Fred Adams gave us an overview of what the play was about and in doing so, he quoted some of the more famous lines in the play. I remembered that I had heard those lines from my mother-in-law. For those of you who do not know, Thelma Ehlers was Jack’s mother. While Jack was in Korea I lived with Jack’s parents (at their request) and it was a wonderful time for me. Mom and Dad Ehlers were very good to me and I loved them very much. I always loved them a lot. I was much closer to her than I was to my own mother. Grandma and Grandpa Ehlers did seem to favor their two daughters’ children more than mine and that irritated me, but they were good to me, personally. I always tried to be good to them, as well.
While Patti and I were sitting in the theater before the play started, I told her some things about Grandma Ehlers and her love of all things Shakespeare. Patti said she never knew those things about Grandma Ehlers and was quite amazed at what I told her. It occurred to me that all of you might want to learn more about one of your ancestors so that is what I will focus on in this chapter.Years ago, before we began having the three-hour “block” meetings on Sunday, we had Priesthood Meetings, Sunday School and Sacrament Meetings on Sunday. Relief Society was held on Tuesday afternoons at 2:00 p.m. Tuesday evening we had M.I.A. (Mutual Improvement Association—now known as Young Men and Young Women). Primary was on Wednesday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. during the summer and right after school during the winter. That was the schedule if there was only one ward in a Chapel. Of course, if there was more than one ward in the building the schedule was different for the other ward. As I recall, they would have one schedule for a year and then change with the other ward for a year.
Today, I will focus on Relief Society. The first week of the month the lesson was spiritual. The second week was homemaking and we always had a light lunch. The third week we had lessons on human relations that dealt with most of the situations people encounter in life. (I gave those lessons for about 12 years: first, in our Ward in Sandy, then in Garden Heights South Ward where we lived while our home was being built, and when we moved into our home I received the same calling in the Garden Heights North Ward. It was very educational for me and though it was a huge undertaking every month, I thoroughly enjoyed the challenge.) The fourth week was devoted to literature for 10 or 12 years. Grandma Ehlers was called to do the literature lessons in the Garden Heights North Ward. She was absolutely perfect for that job. She was imminently qualified. I don’t remember all of the authors we studied but I do remember that three years were set aside to study Shakespeare. Fortunately, for me, we didn’t begin to study Shakespeare until after we had moved from Sandy. Obviously, Garden Heights South Ward Relief Society was on a different day than Garden Heights North and I began attending Grandma Ehlers lessons on Shakespeare. That woman was a wonder. She was very well-read and well-spoken and she loved Shakespeare. I wouldn’t dare suggest that all the wards in the Church had GREAT teachers like Grandma Ehlers but we really “lucked out.” I’m reasonably certain that the classes Thelma Ehlers taught were equivalent to what we may have gotten if we had been studying literature at a University. Her classes were always packed.
Some of her lessons stand out more in my mind than others. I remember when she did Romeo and Juliet. She did the entire balcony scene from memory. It was incredible! She had studied Shakespeare enough that she understood it very well and if there were passages that were not easy for a lot of people to understand, she could explain those passages.
I remember the day she did Julius Caesar. She told the story and recited the speeches that Fred Adams recited to us before the play began. As Fred Adams spoke I realized that I was remembering those same speeches from Grandma Ehlers’ lesson. The lessons she taught are probably as close to a course at a University as I will ever get. Grandma always thought that Shakespeare must have been very familiar with the Bible because he echoed many things from the Bible in his own writings. He touched on the evils of murder, greed, infidelity, jealousy, theft, etc., etc. Several times she mentioned that if you want to know right from wrong and can't seem to get through the Bible, just read the works of Shakespeare. I have thought, on occasion, that it probably wouldn't be any more time consuming to read the Bible than to read the entire works of Shakespeare but, at least, it offers an alternative.
I must tell you one more thing about Grandma Ehlers. She had a very subtle sense of humor. What I am about to tell you occurred several years before she began teaching the literature lessons at Relief Society. I became pregnant with Bret in March of 1957 and gave birth to him December 21, 1957. In March of 1958, I became pregnant with Jackie and gave birth to her December 22, 1958. Yes, one year and one day apart. Near the end of February, 1959, my mother-in-law called me and said: “Marilyn, beware the Ides of March.” For those of you who do not know---“Beware the Ides of March” is a line from Julius Caesar. It was just a reminder to me that she was thinking of me and I smile every time I think of it. Patti was born May 27, 19661. No more December babies. Shanna was born 14-1/2 months after Patti, August 12, 1962. And, of course, Tal was born almost five years later on July 25, 1967. As you can see, I took Grandma Ehlers’ advice.
Grandma Ehlers was 5’ 2” tall and she was a little “spitfire.” She obtained her driver’s license and drove their car a couple of times. One day Grandpa asked her to back the car out of the driveway and drive it down the street to pick him up. He walked down the street to turn off the irrigation water for someone. Grandma backed the car out, drove down the street and right into a ditch. Grandpa was pretty proud of his car and was a little upset that she drove it into the ditch so he yelled at Grandma. Grandma vowed that she would never drive again and she didn’t. He spent the rest of her life driving her to the grocery store (and other places) then he’d go home and wait for her to call (she’d use the phone in the grocery story—no cell phones). When she called, he’d stop whatever he was doing, get in the car and go get her. I don’t think he ever yelled at her again. How’s that for women’s lib?
Grandma was very artistic. She was a fantastic seamstress and a great cook. I lived with them for about six months and during that time she taught me many things including how to sew and how to cook. She had Jack’s sister, Elaine, type a lot of her recipes and sent them to me after Jack came home from Korea and we went back East to Quantico, Virginia, where Jack was to be stationed for the next couple of months. Many of the things I learned from her have been invaluable to me. She was a great lady. She died in March, 1981 at 76 years of age. She had breast cancer but she died of a heart attack. The doctor discovered that she had breast cancer but they didn’t treat it because her heart was so bad he figured her heart would quit before the breast cancer became a problem. That is exactly what happened. The day she died, Grandpa had fixed her a sandwich. She was sitting at the table eating her sandwich while he got his own sandwich. He heard her say, “Oh, Arnold, I feel so dizzy.” He dropped everything and ran over to her just in time to catch her as she fell to the floor. He laid her down, carefully, and she was gone. A few minutes later he called us at the office and told us she had just died. What a way to go! That’s how I’d like to leave this world: Quickly and with grace.
There was something else I was going to tell you in this chapter but it slips my mind at the moment so I will stop now. My goodness! How will you all stand it? It’s rather short, for me.
September birthdays: Taylor, September 10th; James, September 15th; Eric, September 25th, Davey and Kammie, September 26th.
October birthdays: Heidi, October 3rd; Zac, October 13th; Kacie, October 26th.
Happy birthday to all of you. I hope you all had/have a wonderful day.
I love you all.
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