It's Beginning to Look a Lot...

In a ploy meant to decrease the frustration of putting our Christmas tree together and carefully installing the Christmas lights, we purchased a brand-new ready-to-go Christmas tree. One of those new ones where the limbs are already attached and the lights are already carefully wrapped around the branches. That's right...just like in the Norman Rockwell paintings! It was great. All we had to do was carefully place the ornaments on it and presto...instant tree. Just add presents. When our children were little, we went out and cut down a real tree and then decorated it with lights and ornaments. Honest. I have pictures.



One of the fun things we did this Christmas is that Travis & Jaqui took us to see the local presentation of the Nutcracker at the Pantages Theater. It is a beautiful building, one where I remember seeing movies when I was younger. I have always enjoyed listening to Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker Suite, even when it's not Christmastime. The performance was very good and the live music by the Tacoma Sinfonietta was quite enjoyable. And the company was without equal.



It had been snowing off and on, and when we came out of the performance, it was definitely on. Driving home, I took a picture of this building. It is actually "Tacoma Self Storage," but one year the "S" broke, and so now, every December, they turn the "S" off on purpose. It makes me smile every time I see it.



It is quite strange to have this much snow in December. We rarely have a white Christmas. If it snows at all, it is usually in January. And then it only lasts for a day or two and then is gone. So far, we have had a total accumulation of 6-12 inches. In fact, for the most part, church was canceled yesterday. We only had a one-hour Sacrament Meeting with the three wards which meet in our building meeting together. This is a picture of me shoveling the driveway (after I had cleaned off the car and the front deck). It was quite a workout. Maybe that is why people from Minnesota live so long. I thought about titles for this photo as I was shoveling.

1-Why I like rain
2-Things I DON'T like doing on my birthday
3-Let Al Gore try to explain this "global warming"
4-An hour of my life I will never get back

Surprise!

We got a phone call Friday night from Reagan telling us that they were coming to visit us. Not only were they coming to visit from Spokane, they were already past Ellensburg and would be here in two hours. She called us so that we wouldn't go to sleep before we got there. What a treat that was.

Gwyn, Reagan, Anson, Kelsey, & Tanner--Ella was still at home

We spent almost all of Saturday with the grandkids, so their parents could spend time doing some things and also spending time with each other. It is a real blessing that our sons (and their wives) enjoy being with their siblings. When the boys would call home from their missions, it was just as wonderful to listen to them talk to each other, as it was to speak to them ourselves.

Matt, Gina, Reagan, Kelsey, and Gwyn had to leave early Sunday afternoon. It was sad to see them go, even though they are only five hours away. Before they left, Kelsey and Reagan left post-it notes all over the house. Check these out---

35 Years of Dating

This is the 35th anniversary of our first date. I remember it as if it were yesterday, probably because I was so nervous at the time. I talked to Stella on the phone for over an hour before I got the courage to ask her out. She has since told me that during that phone call she was wondering if I was ever going to get around to asking her out. Being the big spender I am, and trying to make that great impression on her, I took her out to the Old Spaghetti Factory. Honest, we have been out to nicer restaurants since then, but we often return here to remember what it was like over 1/3 of a century ago.

Where it all began

I have always liked this picture. Stella was working at LeRoy Jewelers at the time. Before we started dating, we spent a lot of time in our Young Adult group at church. We were good friends before we ever started dating. That was a good thing.

Hard to believe we looked like this in 1974. It is also hard to believe that nobody told me how goofy I looked with long hair and a Fu Manchu 'stache. Maybe all my friends looked goofy, as well. My parents and church leaders must have thought "this too will pass." They failed to tell me that the photos will live on forever.

Eighteen months after that first date

Explosion of Color

I have really been impressed and amazed with the colors of autumn I have seen in the past week. I don't remember the leaves ever having been as vibrant or bright as they have been this year. I think it is because we have not had a lot of rain, which means the leaves are not crumpled up and withering on the ground, and the skies have provided a bright blue background. I choose not to believe it is because I am just getting older and appreciating the autumn colors more.

Wright Park-built in 1886

I love the contrast of the leaves and the tree bark

Wright Park--27 acres of heaven

Wapato Park--opened to the public in 1889. Named after small potato-like vegetables which grew there

Railroad tracks near the T.O.A. not far from Titlow

Looks like New England, but it's our beautiful Tacoma

Bridge to the Tacoma Outboard Association

Joy and Pumpkins in Spokane!

This weekend we took the opportunity to go to Spokane, where Matt, Gina, Reagan, Kelsey, & Gwyn live. It just so happened that Devin, Dacia, Tanner, Anson, & Ella were there, after having visiting Utah. It's not frequent that we are able to get together with all the grandkids any more. And this was the first time that they were all in Spokane. All six of them love each other so much! There are major tears when they have to say their goodbyes at the end. OK...so maybe the tears are mostly grandpa and grandma's.

While we were there, Matt took us to a place called Sieman's Pumpkin Farm to take part in all the fall activities there. It was the perfect place for kids to run around and have fun. And their parents. And their grandparents. There was a hay loft, a corn maze, a castle, a boat to play on, pretend animals in cages, two tractor-powered "trains" (Big Toot & Little Toot), and even some pumpkins.

Ship of Grandkids

Playing in the hay loft

Ella enjoys the excitement


Entering the maze


Tanner & Anson aboard Little Toot

After that, we all went out to Wingers for dinner. I hope everybody in the restaurant had as much fun as we did.

Tanner & Kelsey have always been cousins & best friends

The End!

Fireside talk and General Conference

Today I gave a talk at the Single Adult fireside. I tried to get about six others to do it, but when they couldn't for various reasons, I knew the Lord decided it was my turn. As I was watching the Relief Society broadcast last Saturday, I realized my topic was supposed to be revelation. Interesting that it was revealed to me that the topic of my talk should be revelation. It was not because I am excellent, or even good, at receiving revelation, so I guess it was something I needed to learn more about. As I sat in sacrament meeting last Sunday, I had dozen of thoughts come to me, which I immediately wrote on my church bulletin. One of the things I learned is that when revelation comes, it needs to be written down and acted upon immediately. So I did. I spent all week studying and reading and pondering the topic of revelation. Then during all the sessions of conference, I heard so many general authorities mention revelation, that I knew they were talking to me. I spent all the time in between sessions of conference trying to organize my thoughts into something coherent and that made sense. In my calling as a high councilor, I give a talk every month in an assigned ward on an assigned topic. When I prepare for a talk, I prepare enough for a fireside talk. So when I prepared for this fireside talk, I prepared enough for....I don't know, maybe a book or something.

As I was finishing up my talk after the last session of conference and before dinner, all of a sudden I became frantic and frazzled. I couldn't remember any of the things I had read, or where I had read them. So I did the best I could, took my talk with me, and trusted in the Lord. I think it turned out very good, but I don't take credit for it. I know that when I do my part in preparing a talk, or fireside, that the spirit will help those who have prepared, to hear what the Lord would have them hear. As the speaker and hearer are prepared, their spirits communicate with each other through the Holy Ghost and give the inspiration and revelation which is needed. I also realized that it is all right to over-prepare. As people made comments, I was able to use parts of the talk which I was not planning to use.

I learned from my preparations, that the Lord reveals things to us on his time frame. Many is the time I prepare a talk for the next day, only to awake in the morning and realize that it's not right, and then while I am taking a shower, all these thoughts come to me. Amazing how it works. I also realized that many is the time we receive revelation without even knowing it. I think about my father taking a couple of years to write his life story, only to finish it just a few years before dementia set it. I'm sure he was inspired to do it when he did it without even knowing it.

Conference was also wonderful. It was enjoyable to have Travis & Jaqui come over to watch conference with us. I am always reminded of how, when King Benjamin gathered everyone together to listen to him speak (I imagine it was a general conference of sorts) they gathered as families in their tents to listen to his words. Not as wards, but as families.

When I was younger, I used to enjoy talks about tithing and the Word of Wisdom...things that I can say I do 100%, but that really does me no good. Now I enjoy hearing talks about all the things I am lacking in, which inspires me to improve myself and be a better person. I think when I hear talks like that, the spirit speaks to me, which is a comforting feeling. Hopefully I will be able to realize some changes in my personal life because of this conference. If you don't notice them...maybe they're deep inward changes.

Windows 2008

Sorry, I didn't really get a new, secret edition of Microsoft Windows; I'm still hooked on my Mac. We did get new vinyl windows in our house, though. After waiting for years for the stars to line up so that we could replace our old, outdated aluminum windows, it finally happened. I can think of three benefits of having vinyl windows without thinking too hard.
1) Energy savings
2) Being able to see through windows which are not filled with moisture
3) No more door-to-door salesmen constantly trying to sell us vinyl windows
I think the third benefit is the one that finally put it over the top

Mt. Rainier-fact or fiction?

How can you not see a 14,410 foot mountain when you are standing on it? I don't know, either, but that's what happened to us when we took a drive to view our beloved Mt. Rainier. I would have thought in August not only would you be able to see the mountain, but you wouldn't encounter any snow. Bizarre. Anyway, we had an enjoyable time viewing the beautiful area, complete with August snow.

Stella is happy to be hiking (Tatoosh Mtns. in background)

the Skyline Trail seemed almost surreal


Normally, Mt. Rainier provides a beautiful backdrop to this view of Myrtle Falls


I just thought this was an interesting photo


What a surprise to see a UFO land on the road to Paradise!
(Some would say it's the Visitor's Center, slated for demolition)


In November 2006, 18 inches of rain fell in 36 hours
The Nisqually River filled this entire area and caused much destruction


Here we are at Narada Falls--we just love being together

Flora, Oregon--ghost town

Stella and I were recently in Enterprise, Oregon visiting Stella's mom and some of her family. One of the things we wanted to do was visit Flora, a "town" about 40 miles North of Enterprise and about ten miles from the Washington border. My brother, Roger, joined with us for that little expedition to explore the area where my Grandma Jessie Shumate (Botts) grew up with her parents and seven siblings. The last time we were there was when my family went there in 1964 to visit my Uncle George, who was still living in the old family home. The town wasn't much then, and is even less now. In fact, after the post office shut down in 1966, the town became un-incorporated. It is officially a ghost town now. Anyway, the purpose of our expedition was to see what was left of the town, see if we could find where the Botts homestead was, and check out the cemetery for grave sites of ancestors.


On the way to Flora, there was a beautiful viewpoint of Joseph Canyon. I would guess the canyon is 2000 feet deep and was the winter home of Chief Joseph. He would go down into the canyon every winter, where it was warmer. He couldn't figure out why the homesteaders would stay up on the plateau in the winter, where it was so cold. The homesteaders, in turn, couldn't figure out where the Indians went every winter. This photo in no way shows the grandeur of the canyon. I dislike the word "awesome," so I will say that it was awe-inspiring.


The first thing that Roger, Stella, & I did was to visit the cemetery. The Flora Cemetery is overgrown with all sorts of vegetation, and is very small, about the size of a football field. It was established in 1891 when a frontiersman donated a corner of his homestead for the cemetery.




















These are the headstones of my great-grandfather and great- grandmother. It was quite a reverent feeling to be at the graves of so many of my ancestors. To think of what they went through was very humbling. It was a good feeling to know that their temple work has been done and that I will one day have the opportunity to personally thank them for their lives.


After the cemetery, we went on the hunt for Uncle George's place. We went down some little dirt roads that seemed to go nowhere. Actually, we were in the middle of nowhere, which explains roads going nowhere. The old homestead was not where we thought it was, but I'm guessing it collapsed some time ago. However, we did find the Lost Prairie School (pictured above). It was built in 1910 and opened with a total of six students! The building off to the left is the wood shed. We found many similar one-room school buildings out in the middle of obscure fields. Most, like this one, had metal roofs on them and are now being used as storage buildings by the owners of their property.

We then went back to Flora to "take in the sights." Here are a few of them.

The Flora (Methodist) Church. It was built in 1896

A couple of old houses located on what used to be Main Street

1908 Blacksmith shop of Durwood Conley (the husband of my grandmother's sister)

It was quite a unique experience to go to a place which remains pretty much the same as when my ancestors lived there. It helped me to appreciate their lives just a little bit more and the legacy they left. I hated to leave there, but at least I have the knowledge that if I travel there again, the town will pretty much be the same.

Enterprise, Oregon

We just got back from spending a week away from home. One of the places we went to was Enterprise, Oregon, which is located in the very Northeastern corner of Oregon, to visit Stella's mom and PJ and Shawna (Stella's niece) and their family. Enterprise is a beautiful town located at the foot of the Wallowa Mountains. There would be worse things than to wake up to this view every day.


We got there in the evening and were having a barbecue on their back deck when dark clouds started to roll in. Fast! In a few minutes it was raining in a way that it doesn't rain in Tacoma, and we had the added pleasure of lightning and thunder. It was beautiful. And powerful. It makes me think of the power of God who creates all of those things. Shawna and PJ are wonderful hosts and we are grateful for the generosity of them and their children. It is also more fun to visit Enterprise than Wendell, Idaho, which is where they lived before.

The next day we went to Wallowa Lake, which is also beautiful. We rented a pontoon boat and explored the lake. It was fun and nobody fell overboard.


OK, so we look kinda weird or bored, but we were having a wonderful time. Honest.


Because of the large amount of snowfall this past winter (it snowed last month), and the hot weather, the Wallowa River, which feeds the lake, was near overflowing. In fact, some of the campgrounds were flooded. We are planning on having a family reunion here next year, which promises to be a lot of fun. There is a tram which goes 3700' up the side of a mountain. It is said to be the steepest in the nation. I honestly want to try that one out.

On the way to Wallowa Lake, we went through the town of Joseph. It is a little bit touristy, but in a tasteful sort of way (?). We had a nice lunch at a 60's diner and checked out most of the stores. The town has a western feel and is known for its bronze sculptures. I am not a great fan of western art, but I thought these were impressive.