Thankful Me

  Comet Tsuchinshan-ATLAS streaks across the night sky My time here in California is coming to a rapidly approaching end, and I'm busy trying to cram in all the things to do before moving (including going outside to view a comet). I don't want to neglect writing a Ten Things of Thankful post, though. Time to jump "write" in! Last Saturday, John called me to tell me that as he was driving home from work, the car made a knocking noise, then there was a big boom and a sudden loss of power. He was able to get the car to the side of the freeway. A man in another car pulled over behind him and excitedly reported that John's car had been shooting flames out the back! The car has 215,000 miles on it and is 16 years old, so we decided that given the circumstances, we'll call it a DNR.  1. I'm thankful that John is OK and that the car's death didn't harm anyone. 2. I'm thankful that we hadn't gotten around to replacing the tires yet. 3. I'm thank...

  The congregation on both sides of the aisle leading to the Conference Center platform. source  Those of you who have followed my blog for a while know that I look forward to every April and October, when The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints holds its General Conference . While I am thankful about many things from this past week (more time spent with my oldest daughter, a beach day with my grandchildren, etc.), I thought for this Ten Things of Thankful post, I'd share 10 quotes that stood out to me in General Conference.  1. "Divine love never runs dry, and we are each a cherished favourite. God's love is where, as circles on a Venn diagram, we all overlap. Whichever parts of us seem different, His love is where we find togetherness." --Elder Karl D. Hirst 2. "Whenever we seek to bless the lives of others, the Lord takes mercy upon us even more; He strengthens us and helps us in our lives." --Elder Gregorio E. Casillas 3. "We need to avoid c...

  My daughter and I stand in front of the dome car of the Arkansas & Missouri Railroad train I recently returned from a vacation to Missouri and Arkansas with my oldest daughter. We flew out of Seattle to St. Louis, Missouri one Saturday and returned the next. In that one week's time, we packed in a lot of sightseeing: some typical, "touristy" places, and some highlights that were meaningful to us, but perhaps not on the state tourism board's top ten list.  1. I'm thankful to have been able to spend so much time with my daughter. She is a kind, intelligent woman and she is my friend as well as my daughter.  2. I'm thankful we got to visit with my cousin. I hadn't seen her in years, and it was really great to spend some time with her.  3. I'm thankful we were able to find several cemeteries where relatives are buried, and to be able to find the gravestones. The smallest cemetery was on the property that used to belong to my g-g-g-grandpa. It was dow...

  A photo of a temperature display on a car dashboard, which reads "OUTSIDE 107 F" Fall officially starts this month, but summer temperatures are not going away without a fight. And as long as the weather wants to be ridiculously hot, you will find me trying to stay cool, whether that means a trip to the beach, or just a shopping trip to Costco to walk through the refrigerated produce room.  The Friday before Labor Day, I attended the funeral of a mother of a friend. My friend and her family had moved away from California around the time we had moved to Utah, so I hadn't actually seen her for quite a while. One of her daughters was my daughter, too, when John and I were Pa and Ma to a bunch of teens on a pioneer trek reenactment years ago. The funeral was a nice tribute to a amazingly musical woman, and it was good to reconnect with her family. (And if I'm not mistaken, one of the musical numbers had theremin accompaniment!)  1. I'm thankful for the chance to cele...

The word "Alligator" and an illustration of an alligator is on a blue piece of cardboard As I mentioned in my last post, I have been enjoying having my youngest granddaughter over several times each week for "Grandma Preschool." One of the things I have been teaching her is how to recognize the letter "A." I wasn't sure this particular skill was one that would hold much interest to a young 3-year-old, but I have been pleasantly surprised. I think the allure has come from the fact that I have been letting her use a flashlight to shine on all the A's she finds.  In any case, she is pointing out A's left and right now. Although I have talked about the sound that the letter A makes, I think that is going to take some more time to sink in. As she was playing with some alphabet puzzle cards, I heard her say resolutely to herself, "A is for crocodile."  1. I'm thankful for the example of confidence she gives me. Given the information she...

stock photo of a wind-up alarm clock  Time is a funny thing. One minute you're just starting out as an adult. Then life spins around quickly and the next thing you know, forty years have passed and you're attending social events with people you haven't seen in forever. Often these get-togethers, though enjoyable, require a certain amount of emotional effort--"Today I will be an extrovert!"--but I've come away from these recent events energized and looking forward to future reunions.  The first weekend of August, we attended a wedding reception, and spent the evening visiting with friends. One of those friends told me how much she enjoyed reading my blog posts. While I do not write for praise, I realized just how impactful encouragement is, and even though I haven't been as regular about blogging as I used to be, her comment sparked a desire to be more focused in my writing.  The next weekend, John and I flew up to Oregon. We went up for a dual purpose: to ...

  A small frog rests inside a child's cupped hands It's only the end of July. When I was a child, July was the middle month of summer, but my grandchildren start school on August 12th, so (even though the temperatures are by no means autumn-like) the end of July signals waning summer fun. While the grandchildren have been out of school, I've tried to pack in activities and experiences to broaden their horizons and introduce them to fun that doesn't involve little (or big!) screens. Some activities involved all of the grandchildren at once. Other times, I would take an individual grandchild on an outing catered to his or her interests. Each grandchild had a chance to stay overnight at our house then we went on an adventure together the next day. Friday night we completed the final sleepover, or rather, all of the grandchildren have now had a turn. They are already asking about "next time."  I'm thankful: 1. for summer library programs. My grandchildren have...

  Black and white photo taken in the 1930s shows an extended family standing and smiling at the camera From as early as I can remember, "going to the family reunion" meant driving to the mountains in Oregon and having a picnic with my parents, siblings, grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins. I didn't necessarily know exactly how everyone was related, but we each could find our name on Uncle George's chart, so that meant we were all family.  George and Dorothy stand in front of the family tree chart As (I hope) you can tell from the photo at the top of this post, the Telfer family reunion started well before I was born. That cute little boy second from the left at the bottom of that photo? None other than Uncle George. George kept the reunion going for decades, but sometime (I believe in the years just prior to his death in 2009) the annual gathering fizzled away.  Last year, one of my third cousins decided we needed to start the reunions again, and so we did. Attend...

Yellow lab Drexel, wearing his booties, walks on a leash down a sidewalk After months of almost always working 6-day weeks, John has taken time off the past two weekends and we've made some great road trips. Last weekend we witnessed the culmination of years of hard work by our oldest son, as we watched him graduate from his medical residency program. I'm so proud of him, not only because he achieved his goal, but also because he has a compassionate soul. Although he will be joining a private practice, he will also be regularly showing up at soup kitchens to provide medical care to those who are living on the streets. That street medicine program is one that he enjoyed participating in during his residency and he is so excited to continue.  1. I'm thankful we could celebrate with our son and that some of our other children could also attend the festivities. I love spending time with my family. Although we have been very fortunate to have competent, reliable dog sitters for ...

A sweeping view of pine covered mountains under a blue sky I spent most of this past week at a church camp in Running Springs, California with 84 young women, ages 11-18, and a bunch of adult leaders. My bunkhouse cabin home for the week, decorated with festive pendant banners. The day before I left for camp, I got an emergency alert text, informing me that my house in Utah was under evacuation due to a nearby fire. (Sorry, Mom, I didn't tell you because I didn't want you to worry.) Within 20 minutes of receiving that text, I received another text saying the evacuation order was lifted and the fire was under control.  1. I'm thankful for the firefighters who put the fire out quickly. 2. I'm thankful that no people were hurt nor homes were damaged. 3. I'm thankful that the whole incident was over before I left for camp, so I didn't spend the week worrying. The camp theme was UP, as in Speak Up, Look Up, Cheer Up, and Rise Up. The girls were encouraged to make new...

  Baby me, sitting on the floor, looks up at my dad sitting on the sofa, as he smiles down at me I've been extremely fortunate in my life: my parents provided me and my siblings with a very stable childhood. We had a roof over our heads, food on the table, physical and emotional safety, books, music, and lots of love and laughter.  Probably 3 or 4 year old me looks at a photo or small piece of paper with my dad My parents are humble people, quickly giving credit to the contributions of others, and although they won't toot their own horn, they are amazing people. One of my dad's favorite lines is, "The best thing I ever did was marry your mother." While I agree with that, as today is Father's Day, I'm going to focus on some of the things I've learned from my dad.  My dad taught me through example to dream big, work hard, and be responsible. Just because something is unusual doesn't mean it's impossible.  As a junior high school science teacher, ...

  Drexel wanders down the hill in our Utah backyard On Monday, I loaded Drexel into the car and we drove to Utah to spend a few days at home and take care of some errands that needed to be done there. The drive was ultimately uneventful (thankful #1): even though I apparently unknowingly stepped in gum at a gas station, I was still able to "unstick" my foot from the car floor when I needed to brake. I pulled over at the next rest stop and removed the glob of gum. After getting back on the road, I managed to avoid hitting a blue plastic water storage container that fell off a truck in Nevada, as well as a red gas can that was just sitting in a lane in Utah. We arrived to our Utah home while the sun was still up, so we were able to enjoy exploring the backyard. According to the old adage, "First year they sleep, second year they creep, third year they leap," our poppies (planted in 2022) are merely creeping this year. I can't wait to see how they look next year!  ...

A yellow Julia Child rose bush blooms in a pot Keeping the post short and simple today, but no less thankful! 1. I'm thankful for the sound of the birds.  2. I'm thankful for the lizards basking in the sunshine. One lizard basks on the ground, another one's head is barely visible on the edge of the planter under the basil  3. I'm thankful for the bats that fly at night (and eat the bugs!) 4. I'm thankful for the cute goat kids that bleat at me as I open the gate to drive away. 5. I'm thankful for the pink petunias that brighten a corner of my patio. 6. I'm thankful for the hummingbirds that flit around the petunias and the feeders. 7. I'm thankful for the squirrels even as I hope they leave the petunias alone. A squirrel stands up, and looks over the top of a pot of pink petunias 8. I'm thankful for the rose that is in bloom. 9. I'm thankful for my grandchildren's elementary school concert, awards ceremonies, and graduation. 10. I'm thank...