A day in retirement

4:34 a.m. Eyes open and look at clock. Hmm ... 4 minutes until the alarm goes off. I might as well get up so the alarm doesn't wake Louise. I later found out that she woke up every hour but what else is new! I got up and headed off for swimming. It was a good morning and I swam my 1250 yards.

5:55 a.m. As I drove up to the house, I saw the entrance hall light on so I knew Louise was on the downstairs treadmill. Good for her. She is such a hard worker and takes good care of herself. I certainly married up.

6:25 a.m. I fixed oatmeal and toast for breakfast. Nothing fancy but we both enjoy that type of meal to get us going.

7:00 a.m. Louise is on her way to school. I did a quick review of e-mail (junk) then reviewed the merit badge list for the ward. I may sign up for a couple more as a counselor.

7:20 a.m. We are getting low on bread and I have never made it by myself so today is the day. I knew we had dough enhancer but it was not on the recipe so after a quick check on the internet I was ready to go. I ground the wheat, lined up the other ingredients, and away I went. I am still challenged to determine when it is done but I think it turned out OK. Note the Norwegian sign behind the bread -- "Giv os idag vort daglige brod" (Give us today our daily bread). Nice. I gave three small loaves away to the neighbors.

10:00 a.m. Time to get the pruning all done. I finished the apple trees last Friday but the dogwood and lilac still needed to be done. While I was at it I did a bit more on the apricot then topped our neighbor's pear tree. By the time I gathered it up and piled it in the front yard it was 12:20 p.m.

12:30 p.m. Lunch was home made bread covered with the leftovers from our Indian food from Saturday night. I about choked laughing at a Reader's Digest article on practical jokes. A guy saw a dead deer by the side of the road so he hurried home, got his Santa suit on, and went back and laid next to the deer. Just then a school bus loaded with kids drove by and they freaked out!! I thought it was really funny.

I also checked with two of my block captains (ward emergency preparedness) because they did not call in last night during my walkie talkie test. All checked out just fine.

12:55 p.m. I went out to the newly barbered (or butchered) trees and gave them their annual dormant spray. I want to get completely rid of that San Jose scale. I also did the neighbor's trees.

2:30 p.m. I was covered with the oil mist so once done spraying, I came in and showered.

3:00 p.m. I am low on dormant spray. I might want to give them a 2nd shot in a week so I headed to IFA and got it plus a new bag of Imidan (great apple spray -- only has to be done every three weeks).

3:30 p.m. I was going to do some things at the desk (turn piles into files, etc.) but I decided to remove two packages of zucchini from the freezer and made some soup. It will be a good supper.
I did not use MSG. No need.

4:30 p.m. I measured the garden and am now going to plan it out for the season.

Yes sir -- I sure am glad that retirement is such a laid back event. Actually, I am very thankful that I can be up and doing. Because I got the outside jobs done today, I am looking forward to spending all tomorrow morning in the temple.

Grandchildren are for loving

We (Louise and I) so much enjoy being with each of our children, their spouse, and our grandchildren. Each new experience adds to a great store of joy that I feel can only be gained by actually experiencing it. I feel bad for those that say the sweetest sight is the tail lights as the family leaves. I always learn something about those I am with or something about myself with each new visit. To illustrate, I will share four experiences:

Salvation Mountain, Niland, California
When I was visiting the family in February, I hard about Salvation Mt. near the Salton Sea so I loaded the kids and off the five of us went. Some call him the Desert Prophet. Hmmm -- sounds like a teaching opportunity. We had the opportunity of meeting Mr. Leonard Knight. He had been living in that area for fifty years -- the last thirty in a make shift camper. He started to build up his mountain (actually a hill) and it is in a state of constant expansion. Much of what you see are straw bales covered with adobe and paint that is donated. It was interesting to visit and to see the honor that he gives God.

A view of the kids from atop the mountain.

Mr. Knight has built a "cave" out of tree branches, bales, and his tree trunks are made out of stacked tires (tractor and truck tires on this large tree) covered with adobe. Colorful with nice messages but not a place to be during an earthquake!

The cave is on the right of the photo with the mountain taking the rest of the vista. He also has a tractor, two trucks, another car, and two motorcycles decorated with his messages. As we drove down the road at our departure, I asked "What is a prophet?". "A good person", "someone that teaches good things", "someone that can make good things happen" (i.e., by their fruits), then finally "someone that has authority to speak for God." We decided THE prophet lives in Salt Lake City.

Water Polo

Water polo is not for wimps. I watched them practice then participate in their matches in the 7.5 foot deep pool and decided it is a great way to get in shape. I appreciate their dedication and spirit of enthusiasm for the sport. Way to go kids!

That is Reagan being "blocked" by a competitor. This is not a sport for softies.

At Home

We are glad we have one family with grandchildren that live somewhat close so we can visit for a weekend. I wrote earlier how I learn something new with each visit. All you need to do is sit knee to knee with this little "I can do it myself" and you learn something! She is a sweetie and fun to read to and to go to the park to play. Being outside is a real treat to her.

Louise, as usual, took some fun things with us on our last trip -- this time was bubbles with a big wand. We had fun on the late winter day in the park with bubbles.

It just so happened that we were there for Janae's birthday. The party was attended by about 8-10 couples with their children so it was a noisy, fun time. It looks to me like it was a good time had by everyone. The friendships are genuine and oh so valuable. The help goes both ways.

The story goes that the young driver shown below was cruising down the sidewalk one day so it was decided that there would be a time trial (Olympics just having been completed) driving around orange cones in the driveway. It was truly a time for fun for everyone. Erik was the only child. Some adults did OK and some need to practice with a joy stick at some game console.

Native American Day

The kids were at our house for a few days so we took them to the Native American Day at the university. I have never seen so many different outfits as were worn that day. It was spectacular! I appreciate the culture that is being preserved through their dress, dances, and art work.

The women had two basic types of dress -- the bell dress shown here or one with beautiful shawls and bead work.

After about 45 minutes, Erik said "Well, it's time to go home." I like that directness -- no misunderstanding there. We did enjoy a Navajo taco, some fry bread, and souvenir shopping.

We had to stop at the store on the way home. Louise was in the store and the four of us in the car that quickly became too small. We had a contest of who could open the widest. Erik won!!