Okay Shannon, here are my responses:

A) Four places that I go to over and over: Home, Grocery Store, Doctor, Kathy's (as in Carter)

B) Four people who e-mail me: Lynda (Barron), Ann (my friend from work), Deseret News, Lilit

C) Four of my favorite places to eat: Magleby's Fresh, Olive Garden, Panda Express, Kentucky Fried Chicken

D) Four places you would love to be: Vacation, Home, Visiting Family Members, in bed

E) Four people I'm almost sure will respond: I don't expect responses

F) Four of your favorite TV shows: Animal Planet--Animal Cops, Food Network Challenge, Matlock, Murder She Wrote

Josh started this in an email, so it is fun to see it up on the blogs. I hope he has a chance to read the responses, though he might not get them back as emails.

Can't Resist

Okay, this one I can't resist.

The BBC believes most people will have only read 6 of the 100 books here. How do your reading habits stack up? Look at the list and put an 'x' after those you have read.

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen (X)
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien (X)--More times than I can count
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte (X )
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling (X)
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee (X)
6 The Bible - (X)--not cover to cover, but very nearly
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte (X)
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell (X )
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman ( )
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens ( )
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott (X)
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy ( )
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller ( )
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare (x)--some, but not really much
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier ( )
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien (X)
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulk ( )
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger ()
19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger ()
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot ()
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell (X)
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald (X)
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens ( )
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy ( )
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams ( )
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh ( )
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky ( )
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck (X)
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll ( X)
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame (X )
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy (X )
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens ( )
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis (X )
34 Emma - Jane Austen (X)
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen (X)
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis (X )
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini - ()
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres ( )
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden (X )--most of it
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne ( X)
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell ( )
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown (X)
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez ( )
44 A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving ()
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins (X )
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery (X)--the entire series!!
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy ()
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood ()
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding ()
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan ( )
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel ( )
52 Dune - Frank Herbert (X )
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons ( )
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen (X)
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth ( )
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon ( )
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens (X )
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley (X )
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime-Mark Haddon (X)
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez ( )
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck ()
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov ( )
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt ( )
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold ()
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas ( )
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac ( )
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy ( )
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding ( )
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie ( )
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville (X)
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens ()
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker ( )
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett (X)
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson ( )
75 Ulysses - James Joyce ( )
76 The Inferno - Dante ( )
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome ( )
78 Germinal - Emile Zola ( )
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray ( )
80 Possession - AS Byatt ( )
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens ( )
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell ( )
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker ()
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro ( )
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert ( )
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry ( )
87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White (X)
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom ()
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (x)--some of it, I think
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton ( )
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad ( )
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery ()
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks ( )
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams (X )
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole ( )
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute ( )
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas (X )
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare ()
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl (X )
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo ( )

I count 37 if you count the small x's as well. All I can claim is more years of living and reading. I have to say I've enjoyed reading all these things and many more. Thanks, Sandy

Baby Movies

These are just a few of my attempts recently to do movies with my digital camera. What better subject can you have for that than very cute babies!!!

This is Bethany (with Kyle in the background).



First meeting of cousins Bethany and Miriam. They have some interesting interaction!!



David has a couple of "signature moves" that I captured on video. This one is sign language for "more" when he wants more to eat, and the next one is his response when he does something he's really proud of, which always elicits the response of "good job!!"





ENJOY!!

Transitions

These last few weeks have been an interesting time for me. I'm still recovering from shoulder surgeries, an injury to my leg while on my vacation, the end of my job, and interesting weather.

Quite a jumble of things, I know. Relative to the first three, I'm recovering from the surgeries and injury. Hopefully before too much longer I'll be back to as normal as one can expect to be at my age. Also, I'm enjoying not having the pressure of a job for a little while. I don't currently have another job, but am confident that something is in the offing. As things develop, I'll provide updates.

Relative to the weather, I had the good fortune to have some friends from my Ward come and plant flowers and garden for me this year, and thanks to a very unusually wet spring and early summer, I have not had to do anything else but watch them grow. These same friends came and did some weeding while I was on vacation (see previous post) and that is all that has been done. See pictures below to show how my garden grows.

Squash (zucchini and yellow) and Cucumbers


Tomatoes--I think this is the earliest I've seen actual green tomatoes on my plants!!!


Beans--already in bloom!!


Finally, I had what I assume will be the last element of this year's birthday celebration today with Lynda. She had promised me a pedicure, and we went today to have it done. It was really a unique and pleasant experience, and my feet feel better than they have in some time. No more excuses not to walk--oh, except that I still have a significant swollen bulge on my left leg that makes it a little difficult to walk for long periods of time (sigh!!). Onward and upward.


Behold my pedicured toes!!!

Eastern Vacation

Okay, I guess it's finally time I do some posts again. It's been about 3 weeks since we returned from this trip, and I have simply not posted anything--too much going on in my life, I guess. Anyway, some of this may be redundant, since both Lila and Desirae posted about our trip to Hancock, Mass. and the surrounding area. However, I have a few pictures that may be unique that I'll share.

Lila and Desirae both posted about their hike to Bash Bish Falls--well, I didn't make the trek, but I did take these two pictures of the lush vegetation in the area and some tree stumps that were, I thought, quite interesting looking. I'm not sure why they look this way, but . . .



Our last day we went to Bennington, Vermont. I think I once saw a documentary on public television about the painted moose (plural) all over this town. They were everywhere, and I got pictures of several, as seen below. Maybe the pictures will give you some idea of the variety of these painted moose replicas.






Bennington is known for several things, but perhaps the one I found most interesting was that the most expensive private college in the U.S. is Bennington College. A number of famous people have attended Bennington College, including some presidents and/or their wives, famous athletes, etc. Apparently, there is nearly a one-to-one correspondence between faculty and students, which may explain why it is so expensive. Don't know about the academic rigor, however. This is a picture of one of the main buildings on the campus. It didn't seem very impressive for being such an expensive place.


Finally, I couldn't resist snapping a picture of some missionaries in downtown Bennington.

Can't Figure it Out . . .

This is a request to all you superbloggers. I apparently have done something to my blog that make it so that when I view other's blogs I see only the most recent post with it's comments. This wasn't the case when I first started blogging, and I originally thought it was a change everyone had made to their blogs, but it finally dawned on me that it must be some setting that I inadvertantly changed in my blog. Can any of you help me figure out what I did and fix it? I'm missing out on posts, and making a fool of myself :) with my comments sometimes since I see only the most recent post. Thanks for the help.

Easter Pictures

A collage of pictures from the Family Easter Egg Hunt. I just kind of tried to get each of my great nieces and nephews individually who were there. I did miss Matt somehow (sorry Matt). Otherwise, I'll just leave the pictures and let you enjoy.





Josh







Katy












Jeremiah (cheesy grin)








Aubrey (held by Diana)






Hannah




In case you haven't noticed, I'm not trying to get these in any order by age, but mostly just by family. :)




Mallory and Sadie (soon to by joined by Piper)

Austin

Parker (on Daddy's shoulder)

William

Alex

B.J.

Andrew

Charlie










Little Baby David (in mother's arms)









and finally Ben.






It was such a fun afternoon--thanks everyone!!!

Couldn't Resist

Rules are, you highlight, bold, or underline any of the following things you have done.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a Praying Mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris--the real one!! :)
13. Watched an amazing lightning storm
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child--Unofficially but just as legitimately
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Ran a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors--some of them
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa--the continent
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
47. Had your portrait painted--pencil drawing
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job--not fired, but RIFfed
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle--well, not actually speeding
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book--does a dissertation count?
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating.--I didn't actually participate in the killing
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Visited Italy

Well, I count 55--or 58 if you give me 75, 80, and 87. Thanks, Kathy!

SPRING!!

This is not another commentary on the strangeness of this particular Spring in Utah, but I couldn't resist taking some pictures this morning. We got anywhere from 6-10 inches of snow overnight, and it was gorgeous this morning.




On a sadder note, however, the snow was so heavy that it broke tree branches all over the place--especially the trees that had blossoms on them. I was sad to hear saws going all morning and afternoon as they took care of the trees that broke. Ahhh, Spring.

HAPPY EASTER

Happy Easter, everyone!! I have had a very nice Easter day, including Stake Conference this morning, time this afternoon to watch the movie The Ten Commandments, and then a delightful dinner and visit at Kathy's with all of her family (except some of the sons-in-law). It was preceded yesterday by a fun time with other extended family in an Easter Egg Hunt, games, lunch, and crafts. I thought I would share some pictures, movies, and fun happenings from these activities.

First, the little girls--that is, Katie, Hannah, and Megan--were having fun outside with pavement chalk. They focused on showing the plethora of loving couples in the Carter family right now. Their inventive spelling is delightful!! Keep in mind that these kids range in age from 3 to not quite 5, so I think they did exceptionally well!!


First, we have Scott and Mary Ann--notice the lovely spelling of the names and the delightful pictures that go with them. (Sot and Merean)


Next, we have Sandy and Jacob, who were here for a very quick weekend trip. (Sad--how do you do a backward S on the computer?--and Jacup)


This is Diana and Sam. . . (Dianu and Sam--again, backward S)


and last but not least, we have Darin and Karen. (Dern and Karen)

Another delightful part of the evening was playing a couple of games. The kids had fun interacting with each other and with their cousins. Some pictures showing the fun . . .

Josh, Matt, and Aubrey . . .
and Jeremiah and Lynda, having a great time playing Apples to Apples.


Aubrey also delighted us with making a "bridge"--something she learned from watching her big sister, Katie, doing her gymnastics. Aubrey is quite expert at responding to requests to make her "bridge."


I couldn't resist this charming picture of mother and daughter enjoying some comforting time together (MaryAnn and Lauren).

Finally, we were all delighted by stories of Meganspeak. For example, she blithely informed her grandmother that she didn't have her snissors from home, but that maybe grandma's snissors might work. She enjoys lemelade, but asked her mother this evening if she could have some scotch. When MaryAnn asked for clarification, she said "I need some scotch." MaryAnn finally figured out that she was asking for the chalk (see pictures above) to play with outside. She also has a little doll with a ponik (translation--bonnet). Did I forget any, MaryAnn?

The evening concluded with a several performances just before bedtime. I wasn't able to capture all of them, but here's a sampling.









Hope you've enjoyed the evening as much as I did!!!

Travel = FUN?????

Okay, so I just got back from a trip to Baltimore and you'd think I'd have some really interesting things to report. Well, all I have to report is that I was there for a consulting job, I arrived in the dark, late Sunday night, and I never left the hotel till I came home yesterday. Many of you are probably rolling your eyes and wondering what kind of person I am. Well, I started Monday morning at 8:30 (don't forget the two hour time change), worked all day Monday and Tuesday till 8:00 p.m. They provide so much food that I never felt like eating dinner, so I never went out to dinner. I "technically" had Wednesday and Thursday open, but I slept till 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday and then I worked all the rest of the day getting ready for my Friday/Saturday review. On Thursday, I had some more work to do to finish up one of the jobs I had been working on before this trip, and then it was raining and cold and I really didn't want to go out. Friday and Saturday, I worked all day till it was time to go to the airport at 3:00 Saturday afternoon. Fun, huh!! Travel--for work, anyway--isn't all it's cracked up to be!! I can't complain too much, though, as this was an opportunity to earn extra money, which I am in great need of about now. Cheers!!!

Quick Update

Just a quick update. I'm feeling much better, thanks to time and some good physical therapy and a little rest this week. I've been taking things somewhat easy, though still working and going to appointments, etc. But I've tried to limit my lifting and other movements with my right arm, and it is really paying off. I'm beginning to feel much more normal.

Oh, the Pain!!!

I've learned that there is more to recovering from this shoulder surgery than I expected. The surgery was on November 10, and I had been doing quite well when I started (about a month ago) to add some little weights--and I mean little, like maybe a half pound--to my exercises to begin strengthening my muscles. Well, it so happened that I did it when my physical therapist was gone for a week, and I think it was a real mistake. That was the beginning of a recurrence of my troubles. Those troubles culminated in a sleepless night last Thursday with such pain in my shoulder that I was in tears. I ended up going to see my doctor Friday morning--thank goodness he had an opening--and he was somewhat baffled. However, he gave me a cortisone shot which has somewhat relieved my pain. I think I was over stressing specifically the spot where the bone was shaved off by carrying heavy things and lifting things with that arm that it wasn't ready to bear yet. In addition, since one muscle is completely gone the others are learning new uses, and they are NOT HAPPY!! Long story short, I'm using that arm much less and trying to keep from stressing it. I don't need another sleepless night like that, and I'm ready to be done with all this.

Blog Remodel

I'm trying something new. Since my house is pretty much done--FINALLY--I thought I'd try something new with my blog. Up to now, I haven't been very adventurous with blog elements. I guess I'm into changes and new things right now, so I thought I'd try something new and see how it goes.

By the way, Happy Valentines Day to you all. I'm not much of a Valentine's day celebrant (is that a word?), but I do appreciate all of you and the opportunity to keep current with your lives through this medium.


I returned from work Friday afternoon to find my door like this. It says "You are Loved" on the big heart in the middle. I was amazed and quite touched that someone would go to this kind of effort in my behalf. I don't know exactly who did it, but I have some ideas. I have a witness that says it was some little girls--most likely from my ward. In any case, I'll pass the sentiment along--You Are Loved.

Last Remodel Update . . . for the time being

I've finally reached a temporary end to my house upheaval. The final installment is the painting of the kitchen cabinets and a few other details. (However, I do have plans for a little more work when I've accumulated enough money again and have a little better idea of what my future might be.)

One of the features is the addition of a little trim at the bottom of my cupboards to hide the recessed lighting that I put up awhile ago.



It's a little easier to see how the new paint color goes with the wall color in these pictures. The artificial lighting kind of washes out the wall color where it is lighter.

We also put a little trim around the tile edges, which gives it a little more finished look.


This last picture is of the kitchen with just the recessed lighting--main light is off. I love the recessed lighting. It gives the room a much warmer feel. Anyway, hope you enjoy, and that this will motivate some of you to come and see it all in person. The pictures really don't do it justice.

. . . and the cupboards were bare . . .

It was a little bizarre walking into my house this afternoon after work. This is what I saw!!


No secrets in my kitchen at the present time!!



Frontless drawers--they do look strange!




Maybe this is a little too revealing, I don't know. I guess I'm not really ashamed of what is in my cupboards, but I'm not accustomed to showing it off quite so graphically.

Why are there no cupboard doors, I'm sure you're asking. Well, this is kind of the penultimate project in my house overhaul. I'm having my cupboards painted and some trim added to the bottom and around the tile as a final little update to what was done earlier in my kitchen. I'm excited about it, and looking forward to the new look. The cupboards haven't been changed since they were installed. They are still in relatively good shape, but somewhat dirty and (according to Lynda) way to "pink." So, it's bye-bye stain and hello paint. I'll let you remain in suspense as to color, etc. They should be finished by the end of the week, and then you can have the after pictures. Meanwhile, it is a bit of a shock every time I walk into the kitchen. :)