Internet Housekeeping, etc.

Just for your information, I am unable to post comments on the following blogs: Suzanne, Julianne, Scott and MaryAnn. There might be a couple of others that I don't remember. I have written many comments which have not posted as I keep thinking it might work this time, but it never does. I used to be able to post, so I don't know what happened except that Tyler did some stuff to my laptop which was supposed to make it work faster and that might have affected it. If anyone knows how to fix it, I am open to suggestions.

And, it is very windy in Southern Utah today. Everything is still so green! My big trees I planted last fall have apples and peaches on them; my little trees I planted this spring have leaves on them; and my blueberry bushes are thriving. I had to pick off all the blossoms from the blueberries as the instructions said they need to spend this first year developing a good root system which can't happen if they produce fruit. The weeds are also growing apace. I'm so tired of the dirt and weeds; I want a yard with a garden, and plants, and maybe even some grass.

I am almost reluctant to publicize it, but I heard today that Sunday, May 20, 2012, there is a complete eclipse of the sun which will last 3 hours, and will be best viewed from Cedar City. I would prefer Cedar City to be hidden from the world, not exposed to it; but I suppose an eclipse is something I really have no control over.

And that is all for today.

Spring!! And It's Really Green This Year

Cherries coming along.
By the church. The deer got to them.
House to the West.
Kitty corner house.
Maybe if I did this more often I would learn how to make my posts more attractive and it would be easier and less traumatic. However, I persist and do it in my clumsy and inefficient way. Everything is growing like crazy this year. It probably has something to do with the moisture. And, it stayed cold for a long time; then after it started to warm up there was only one cold snap which pretty much did in the apricots, but everything else survived. We will even have cherries this year. But this weekend I especially noticed the lilacs. I love lilacs! I always have. They are so unassuming and hardy and prolific. I can't smell them very well since I have loss of sense of smell as a result of last year's bout with the flu; but they evoke memories of childhood and a general feeling of well-being. So I spent the weekend alone in Summit and enjoyed lilacs everywhere. There are some by the vacant house kitty-corner from us, some directly across the street, some by Uncle Alma's which bloom only up high because the deer browse the lower branches, and some in the lovely yard of the Wilson's next to the Church meeting house. I have enjoyed this spring weekend, and I hope you did too.

I'm Baaaack!!

Good news from the tax accountant precipitated the purchase of a car. Because we are on the road so much, we decided to maximize our potential gas mileage by buying a Prius--used--2008 with 18,000 miles on it. We drove it to Summit this weekend, and it was a new driving exerience for us. David admonished me I should drive the car, not let it drive me. If that is your philosophy, you probably shouldn't buy a Prius. You have to watch the fuel consumption to learn how to maximize your potential mileage. That suits my style of driving. Anyway, here's a photo.

Redemption and New Floors

I am finally ready to redeem myself from the bottom of the blog post list. (Eat your heart out, Janet!) Over the last few weeks we have had a new floor installed in the "great room" area of our Summit house. I bought the flooring last summer/fall when Leslie and Cameron installed the same floor in their new home, and I liked it a lot. After realizing that kids with their own houses are never going to have time to install flooring in my house, we hired a contractor. I won't go into the details, but we had planned to buy a rug for the living room, and I ordered a bigger one than I might otherwise have purchased because of some unaesthetic "regularities" in the installation. So I have taken some pictures of the floor (and the new rug) for your viewing pleasure. I now will need to paint the walls, and perhaps the ceiling, because there is too much "yellow" in the rug--so much for ordering on line. All in all, though, we are pleased with the new floor, and I think the wall color is due for a change after 7 years with the original paint.

Snow and More Snow

I don't have pictures, but you've seen them--snow piled everywhere. It isn't really out of the ordinary, but it is surely more evidence for global warming, . . . somehow. It snowed about three days straight in SLC (or South Jordan) through Christmas day and after. The streets were not well cleared and full of slush and salt. I got terrible mileage, and I'm convinced that it's because I was carrying about 50 pounds of ice in the wheel wells and on the undercarriage of my car. So I fled to Southern Utah, pausing in Provo Friday night at Barbara's house. It got warm enough there for my car to shed huge piles of dirty, salty ice in her carport, and to earn a scowl from her very kind and orderly neighbor who shovels the walks and takes out her trash. Dry roads on Saturday, but on arrival, more snow!! Snow piled by plows blocking driveways and walkways, snow covering the piles of firewood in the back yard, and snow stuck to the blacktop in spite of plowing and salting. It almost makes me want to go to Vegas for a few days. If I could post a picture which I would have taken, it would be from the back of my house this time, through the trees and past the old sagging buildings from another age to the steeple of the ward building across the snow and down the street. I only have to go to Sacrament meeting in this town populated by scrappy, independent farmers and ranchers to remember how thankful we must be for the moisture that falls during the winter months, and which is the lifeblood of this community. They never forget it in their prayers, talks, and testimonies. It has been a lovely Sunday!

Sunday Morning Moonset

When we headed to Utah Thursday evening we were impressed by the huge moon in the sky. Little did I know that I was witnessing a phenomenon that won't be seen again until something like the year 2016--don't know the details, but the moon was a certain percentage larger and brighter than usual. Well, I didn't get a picture. When I woke up this morning, there was the moon setting in the West over the night's snowfall. So I ventured out on the front porch in my nightgown and slippers and snapped this photo. It's not such a great picture, but I do enjoy the exceptionally clear skies and beautiful sunsets. Hope you enjoyed your weekend as much as we did ours.

Soup Recipe

For the soup recipe go to www.brentandlou.blogspot.com in case you didn't already find it. Don't let the number of ingredients trouble you--it's fast and easy as most of it is open and dump. Thanks to Laura for putting it together!