Living Up to the Name

I really want to live up to the title of my blog today, and RAMBLE!

FUNERALS...I've been to many of these lately!
First of all, I sang "The Red Hills of Utah" today, at Quinta Beatty's funeral (see previous blog!). I was honored that Quinta wanted me to do this. I thoroughly enjoyed the funeral...I have to say right here that I love funerals, and I don't get people who hate them. It's fun to find out things about people that you would never know otherwise. It's fun to see loved ones that you don't get to see any other time. I visited for just a short time with my cousin Melodie (Quinta's oldest daughter) and her husband Vance who live in Texas. I don't think I've seen either of them since high school, so it was a real treat getting reacquainted.

When someone has lived a rich, full life, then a funeral is more of a celebration than a mourning. That's what Quinta's funeral was for me today. Randie (her daughter) and Brad (her son) both did such a good job of eulogizing their mom. Eric Nielson, her brother, also did a great job speaking. I need to say right here that Eric built Quinta's coffin just for her...at her request...and it was a work of art. What a loving tribute to his sister!

The funeral was tender, and a good send-off for Quinta.

AND...I got to see more friends and neighbors that I love. Paula (neighbor across the street) sat by Darwin and me, and she had her little granddaughter Abby with her, who is 2 and 1/2. I am so starved for grandkids, since mine all live too far away, that I ate it up. Abby is adorable with big, brown eyes...and she entertained me highly, just watching her snoop all through Paula's purse. She daubed me with lip gloss and perfume, and tried to give me Paula's credit cards and cash. Go, Abby!

Many of my Uncle Horatio Gubler's family were there...and they brought their mom, one of my last remaining aunts...Aunt Genevieve, who is still bright-eyed and witty at 96. Wow. I love every wrinkle in this adorable face. Isn't she CUTE??? Every spring her yard is a riot of color...flowers everywhere. I LOVE her!


FUNERAL POTATOES

Okay. You all know this is a staple food at LDS funerals. So my question is this: If this cheesy, artery-clogging, sour-creamy casserole comes from the same Relief Society recipe, why are some cook's versions so much tastier than others? After Quinta's funeral, we gathered for a light repast of...you guessed it...ham, funeral potatoes, salad, and many kinds of Jello and cake. My eyes zeroed in on just the pan of taters I wanted to dish my "heart-attack-on-a-plate" from. I could see Darwin eyeing up that pan, too. Unfortunately, there was only enough left for my sister Marilyn and me, since Darwin was such a gentleman and let us go first. He glopped his potatoes glumly on his plate from a different pan. It not only looked different, it tasted different. (Yes, we traded bite for bite!) Mine was FAR better. It looked like the photo above, while Darwin's looked like this:

Which would YOU prefer????
(I must say that my daughters have perfected this recipe, in case you're wondering. But you should only eat it once a year!)

NUMP
My brother Norman and his sweet, loving wife Anne were there, too. Here's Norman as a young teen growing up in LaVerkin.

 

Ever since I can remember, people have called Norman "Nump." Well, today was an earth-shattering day, because I finally found out who dubbed him with this nickname. It was another LaVerkinite...Dale Wilson. He admitted it today. Here is Dale with Norman. They look like they are up to no good, don't they!

Norman is one of those kind of people who would LITERALLY give you the shirt off his back. He has taken in more needy people than I can even remember. When I was a wee young thing, we had a German lady who got stranded on the highway living with us for months..."Fergie"...because Norman stopped to help. He's a marshmallow-hearted man...one of the most giving, caring people I know!

WEATHER AND SOUTHERN UTAH
We never get rain...at least, it seems that way. If we do, it's usually just enough to make dust splatters on the windshield. It seems like we're always nagging the Lord for rain. So the monster storm we've been having the past week has been such a blessing. After the funeral today, Darwin and I took the long way home. The storm was finally breaking up...there were alternate dark clouds and bursts of sunshine...and the air was clean and clear. In other words, it was spectacular. Here are some shots, though my point-and-shoot camera hardly does the day justice!

We drove from Toquerville around to Leeds. This was taken on the old highway, looking back toward Hurricane.
When I looked back towards Pintura, the view was quite different! The storm was not quite finished...








Home again, home again, jiggety-jig!


MOLLY'S NIPPLE
Hurricane has the dubious distinction of having a mountain/hill that is famed for it's unique and highly visible topography. Growing up in the area, I didn't ever give it a second thought. When we kids talked about THAT particular mountain, we just said things like, "Have you ever been up on Molly's Nipple?"...never thinking about how that might sound to an out-of-towner. We thought we were hilarious when it snowed, and there was a light dusting of snow on top: "Molly's got a bra on today!"

Who was that hapless Molly, and who named a mountain after her, um, feminine charms?