Sabbath Thoughts

I love Sunday. I love all that it implies: Church, study, serving, relaxing,(those previous two sound diametrically opposed!) and being with family. I love all that it doesn't imply: going to work at HIS, laundry, shopping, the slings and arrows of daily life. This morning I am sitting in my basement at the downstairs computer, the Fixity (Janna's and Juje's psycho cat) curled up beside me, listening to the sounds of...silence. Everyone else in this household is still asleep.

I am singing in Sacrament meeting in LaVerkin today--a medley of favorite Primary songs and hymns. Well, two songs, really: "Whenever I hear the song of a bird..." and parts of "How Great Thou Art." I came down here to run off words so I won't stand at the podium and have a brain blackout. Any other day I would feel in such a hurry to go, to do, to run, run, run...but not today.

I just want to thank my Heavenly Father for the Sabbath day. He knew what he was doing, consecrating one day in seven to be a day to worship, to ponder, to serve in many different ways than we serve during the week. Last Sunday was a busy day for me--going to Church at 9:00, going over to the Beehive House to sing a special number for those precious people over there, having our new home teachers visit, going to choir practice, making spaghetti for the family...but all the busy-ness was different busy-ness than I do on other days. It felt GOOD, not burdensome. I felt a happy kind of tiredness at the end of the day.

Probably my favorite part of Sunday is being with family. They are my favorite people to hang out with. I ended last Sunday by reading about family, too...Janna curled up beside me as I read aloud from Grandma Stratton's book, Look to the Stars. Oh, how grateful I am that she took the time to record her life for her posterity. I LOVE THAT PRECIOUS MOTHER OF MINE!

Oh. I'm caught. I hear footsteps above my head. Before I head off to the day, I want to say how much I love my Heavenly Father and his son, Jesus Christ. I am thankful for at least a zillion things today...and I want to NOTICE and pay attention to my blessings today. I want to live the words of the songs I will be singing...

"He gave me my eyes that I might see the color of butterfly wings,
He gave me my ears that I might hear the magical sounds of things,
He gave me my life, my mind, my heart:
I thank him reverently
For all his creations of which I'm a part.
Yes, I know Heavenly Father loves me." Clara McMaster Thanks, Clara!

This, too, will be a joyous Sabbath. I can feel it in my old bones.

The Wasatch Back: My Summer Dream Home

I love southern Utah. I really do. But I love the summers less and less the older I get. I don’t do heat very well anymore. Brigham Young really had the right idea: winter in the south, summer in the north.

This is the summer home I want, right in the heart of Huntsville,Utah!

Darwin and I took a 43rd anniversary jaunt last week. We had a free night coming at a condominium in Huntsville, on the shores of Pineview Reservoir.Our condo is across the lake, tucked up on the shore clear on the left. See it, see it??? Of course you don't...this is too dark of a pic, but it's the only one I can find right now.

We both have a thing about Huntsville, now. It’s the most charming town. There are no curbs, no gutters, just green grass growing clear to the edge of the pavement.
Here's what people have in their backyards--green--horses--water. Sigh.
SO GREEN, SO GREEN!!!!!!!!

People actually live this way. I cannot believe it!






Here's a great place to eat--a few minutes away from Huntsville in Eden.

Julianne and her friends (Hayley, Cole, and Brett)came with us. It was FUN.


We saw a sign that beckoned us to a monastery a few miles away.
This is Father Patrick and me. He is my new BFF...and I do mean the forever part. He is a Trappist Monk and has taken a vow of stability, so he never leaves the monastery, except to get his teeth cleaned. He says his next move will be vertical...and that he'll save me a place. He sold me this honey.

Okay. I'm going to shut up now. But I really, really, REALLY do want a summer home in Huntsville. I don't care how high the snow drifts are in the winter, because I'll be HERE...in my WINTER home in southern Utah!!!

Memorial Day 2011

There's a reason why this holiday is called Memorial Day. It is a day set aside to honor those who have gone before. It is a day for memories.

My memories are many-fold today. First of all, I'd like to pay tribute to John Kammerman.

John passed away only yesterday, leaving a huge hole in the lives of his loved ones. His passing seemed sudden...and he seemed far too young to make that journey into the next life. We will miss him!

Here is how he is related to me:
This is Jill

She is hugging on our son Andrew...to whom she's been married for 15 years.
We loved Jill from the moment we met her. She feels more like a daughter than a daughter-in-law.

Her parents are John and JoAn Kammerman. (I hope I spelled JoAn's name right!) Here I am with JoAn in Andy and Jill's back yard when they lived in Georgia.


We have loved JoAn and John like family ever since our kids hooked up. We have seven kids, they have seven kids...we love music, they love music...we adore our family, they adore theirs. On and on it could go.
Darwin and John in deep thought, trying to solve a Sudoku puzzle together...

When John became ill this spring, we were very concerned. We prayed for him and thought he would recover from this last, very serious set of problems. But as did the Kammermans, we left it in the Lord's hands. He evidently thought it was time for John to be called home because he was all finished here. John had fought the good fight. But what a void he left behind. He was a big man in every sense of the word...his heart was bigger than his whole body. What a gracious, kind, giving man.

I don't have a lot of pictures of John, because we've never lived in the same area. I want to share a few that I have.
John and little Tate Gifford in the Kammerman's yard in Georgia. His grandkids adored him.

John taught the kids to work right along side of him. This is Tate and Gavin Gifford. (Grandkids we share!!!)

He didn't just work with the kids, he always had time to play with them, too! Gavin and Blythe Gifford

Jill, Andy and Seth Gifford at Seth's baptism.
When the Kammermans and Giffords moved back to Utah, it was far easier to visit.

We went up to Springville when Seth was baptized. We met with the extended Kammerman family for a picnic lunch. I snapped this pic of John carrying his sleepy little grandson to lay him down--it's a tender shot that says a lot about John and his relationship with his grandkids.

When Andy and Jill's last baby was born, we were so thrilled that she was a girl...Blythe would finally have a sister! This is a shot of the Gifford and Kammerman grandparents at Grace Lolene's blessing. (Yes, they named her after ME!!!) John was in the process of recovering from surgery at that time, so he was pretty vulnerable...but still a trooper.

Here's the whole Gifford family with their Kammerman grandparents.
(from left to right, top row: Gavin, Blythe, Andy, Jill, Seth; bottom row, Hunter, Grace, JoAn, John, and Tate)

Farewell, good friend. You leave a legacy of love and family behind. We will miss you...until we meet again...we will celebrate our memories on this Memorial Day.

What I did today

I love Monday holidays. It makes me sigh with relief all weekend whenever the realization hits me yet again..."I don't have to work on Monday." Sunday evening is NOT poisoned with dread.

Today, I wanted to "dink around." That's Darwin's favorite saying for doing whatever you darn well please. It wasn't hard to convince Janna and DarDar.

First, we checked out an old house that's for rent in Toquerville, in case Florie wanted it. It looked like it was decorated in Early Hippie.


Orange and purple walls, with curtain fabric that looked like it was ripped right off from an Indian maiden...India, not Native American...while she was wearing her best sari. It was GROOVY!


Next, we toddled on up to Virgin (aren't the names of our towns awesome?)to feed the burros. We had a whole refrigerator drawer full of wizened apples that I had always meant to cook up into applesauce so I wouldn't be a "waste-y Beecham." The only time I would have these applesauce thoughts would be when I opened that fridge drawer...and since it's my tricky OUTDOOR fridge...I hardly ever opened it. So the Dar-ster made an executive decision and pulled the whole drawer out to feed the burros. He has a soft spot for those darn animals.


The burros had voracious appetites. Holy cow. They were the funniest things. If we fed them too slowly, they started to whine. I didn't know burros could whine. These guys are professional beggars! One of them got so excited he chomped Janna's whole hand. She said it felt like her hand got caught in a car door. It still hurts. Talk about biting the hand that feeds you!

Then it was off to Errand Land...St. George. We were so efficient. We took back Christmas gifts that needed exchanging, shopped for health food items at Natural Foods, returned a Dyson vacuum to Costco and got another...hopefully, this one won't sound like a diesel with its Jake brakes on coming down the Hurricane hill whenever you use it. I must just insert right here how much I love Costco. The only problem is...I always end up buying things I don't really need. Today it was beef jerky...97% lean. Original flavor.

Finally, the piece de resistance: (click on the link and listen to the pronunciation, and pretend it's me talking!): driving to see the brand new St. George municipal airport. Darwin and Janna had attended the dedication of the new building earlier in the week...or last week. President Dieter Uchtdorf was there to give the dedicatory prayer...and Janna sidled right up to him through the throngs and masses of people and stuck her hand in his for a hearty handshake from the man she calls, "Our hottest apostle." I, on the other hand, had to work and couldn't be as free-as-a-breeze to attend these festivities. So I wanted the grand tour today.

It was awesome. Check it out.


They say that they will eventually have direct flights to Denver...so watch out, Kate and Bean. Won't that be cool?




Darwin was so happy when he found out that his picture is on the walls of the new airport, just as it was on the old one. Since he was one of the original members of the Desert Wings Flying Club, he is HISTORICAL.


Can you see him? He is the handsome one with the dark sunglasses. Look at the names.

That was then. This is now. I think he's STILL handsome!


Oh. We sandwiched a meal at the Pasta Factory in there, too. Only it wasn't a sandwich so much as veggie noodles with marinara for me. I could suck their marinara up like a vacuum cleaner, I think it's so good...but I might choke on the mountain of fresh Parmesan I have them grate on it.


It was a good day.

My Mother, the Author

Alice Isom Gubler Sabin Stratton

Aaron has been doing a fabulous thing...putting my mother's writings online for all to view. Here's the link to his website.

He is doing a fabulous job of putting her book, Look to the Stars, online...and also linking all of her published works so we can easily find them. Have a look!

Elderberry Jam

and a practically-perfect-in-every-way day!



I have prosed on and on so many times about how autumn is my favorite time of year. I actually think now that I love whatever season I am currently experiencing the best...just like my favorite book is always the one I'm reading right now. (Summer excepted. I've NEVER said summer is my favorite season...au contraire!)

Two weeks ago almost to the day, my beloved hubby and I decided we were going to motor up on Kanarra Mountain to keep alive a tradition that we had neglected for a few years: gathering wild elderberries to make out-of-this-world-delicious jam.

We climbed in the Santa Fe, leaving Jack, our fabulous jack-of-all-trades(!), busily painting the exterior wood trim on our house. No work for us!(Bye, Jack! Have fun slaving away.)

After a brief but beautiful detour to New Harmony to get apples for another tradition--apple salad on Conference weekend--we headed into Kanarraville to find our mountain road. (The foregoing photo was taken from the Pace's back yard...the place where we bought our apples...can you imagine having this as your view???)

Soon we were in Kanarraville--(Obviously the home of some very STRONG females!)

The weather was so warm and beautiful that day. DarDar and I were having a blast just gawking about at local sights.
The owner of this old truck must love it very much to make it a permanent part of his home...and yes, the old service station is now a home!

Then it was away, away...up the mountain we chugged...stopping every now and again for a photo op. (Isn't my hubby absolutely ADORABLE???)

Note the dirt already stacking up on the back window. You ain't seen NUTHIN' yet!!!

As we climbed higher and higher...the scenery became even more breathtaking.






We found autumn up on that mountain!



and our favorite elderberry picking site!

Darwin and I were ready to reap...but there weren't many berries to reap! We felt like we were gleaners...coming after the main crop had already been harvested. But HEY...we were determined. Both of us got to work...me with a camera dangling from my wrist.

We occasionally took a break...the pause that refreshes!!! (I took this pic. Not bad, eh? I had to have some proof that I was really there!)


We picked a few berries here, a few there, working HARD for the money...but we were having so much fun. The scenery was outstanding, the company was great, and it was marvelous to be out in the hills. It's funny how hard you're willing to work when it's your own idea. We climbed through the brambles, scrambling up banks of rock, and really quite wore ourselves out trying to find a few handfuls of berries. I'll bet we looked quite hilarious...these old folks puffing along the mountain roads. When we had quite stripped one bush, we'd immediately look for another. We drove slowly along, basking in the beauty of the day.



I don't even know how long we picked. One problem we had was that we brought no food of any sort to munch on. We had the box of apples from New Harmony, but after one or two apples...I craved something more substantial. I do not recommend trying to eat raw elderberries, P.S.

As the day wore on, we noticed a storm moving in.



We weren't quite willing to quit picking, though. It had become a mania to scavenge all the berries we could.

We even stopped at one fruitful spot and picked a whole box of chokecherries. Nature was very generous in the chokecherry department. Obviously, no one wants to mess with them because they were abundant. We filled a whole box at just one spot. I ate a raw one to prove to Darwin that they weren't some strange, poisonous fruit I was asking him to pick. "If I don't die, you'll know they're okay. If not...I guess you were right!" As I'm writing this two weeks later and the aforementioned chokecherries are all jellied up in little jars, you know they were the real deal.

(This pic shows the chokecherries ready to juice. Aren't they pretty? I found out that they were a staple food for many Native American tribes. Yeah, they pucker your smucker when they're raw...but they do make good jelly!)

We finally gave up our labors when the sky was getting so dark we couldn't see to pick. Our energy faded at about the same time as the light. We no sooner got in the car when the first big, fat raindrops started to splat on the windshield. Talk about superb timing! Autumn had a very subdued glow with no sunlight to brighten up the colors--but it was still beautiful.

As we drove along, the wind picked up. Leaves began to swirl down from the quaking aspen trees and gather along the roadside...like a cool river of gold.
Quite suddenly, a hailstorm hit. It got so bad that Darwin was afraid we'd have a dented car.

We kept motoring on over the mountain, just relishing the vagaries of Mother Nature. What a fabulous show she put on for us. We were having a blast. The hail storm finally stopped before we began to ascend the mountain into Cedar City...but the skies were still dark and threatening.

The cows didn't seem to mind.

By the time we actually made it into Cedar City, it was raining in earnest. AND...we were both ready to start eating our own fingers we were so starved. Taco Time loomed out of the rain, and we pulled in. I have to say...the Cedar City Taco Time is a clean little fast-food emporium. AND the food was quite delicious. As my sainted mother used to say, "HUNGER MAKES THE BEST SAUCE!" (That quote was for you, Janna Lynn!)

The day had been, to quote Mary Poppins, "practically perfect in every way!"

P.S.
The jam went from this--
to this

to the beautiful filled jar at the first of this saga--and ultimately, to THIS:

We all went NUTS over the flavor of the jam/jelly. We used sugar-free pectin, so we didn't add nearly as much sugar as called for. It was DELICIOUS!!! (And will be too soon gone!)

But what a day!