Stripes

When I was a child it was wartime. We didn't have

a lot of clothes. Everything was rationed and clothing was one of these things. We were allowed so many clothing coupons per year.
As an adult our clothes needed to be replaced regularly, not just because of style but because clothing wore out.
Not so these days, seems like we have our things forever. Case in point. Recently when we were visiting family in California my Grandson (who
will remain unnamed) made some comment about the shirt I was wearing.

You have all seen it, red with white stripes (or is it white with red stripes?) either way he indicated that I was wearing it again/still.
Apparently there are pictures taken of me holding him the day he was born wearing "THE" shirt and now he is 16.
So to perpetuate the fun I told him I would not

wear it anymore because I would save it for the day we took him to the MTC. Actually the "oldest" picture I can find of me in the shirt is 1989 at the Rockfeller Center in New York.

I wore it at a family picnic to celebrate our 50th
in 2006. That is a long time. I went through my pictures and here are some of my findings.

Some pictures do not need explanation but.........

New York 1989

Portland Temple 1989

50th Anniversary 2006

Tara's birthday, Peter Vidmar in San Diego, Alan Nielsen, Family Reunion, London, Bountiful Temple, San Francisco

Seasons...........

..........of my life......

I am Lesley's Mother

I am Lesley's baby Jeffrey's Grand-mother

(and Andy's,but this isn't about Andy :o))

and now I am Lesley's baby Jeffrey's baby Avery's Great Grand Mother.

Does that all make sense?

Either way I am one richly blest lady.

Movie Lines

Last night at the time when we are usually thinking it is time for jammies and retiring, Granpa was in the process of putting some soda in the fridge to chill when one can, acting on it's own impulse, jumped from the counter onto the floor and and blew it's top. It acted like a

"catherine wheel" (firework) and sprayed it's contents far and wide. All over the floor, the walls, the cabinets (high and low), the fridge which was open so....., the scriptures sitting on the table, the chairs, the verticals, and probably places we have not as yet discovered. Are you laughing? I admit if it had happened to you I would be laughing...... but Granpa cleaned up the best he could last night and then this morning discovered the fridge door stuck shut.

So let me brag. Our kitchen is clean. The walls, the floor, the cabinets, the appliances, the blinds the windows.

So now to the movie line. My favorite movie is

"My Fair Lady", at the end of the show when Professor Higgins has had a showdown with Eliza,

he is walking home and he says,

"DAMN, DAMN, DAMN, DAMN"

Dessert or Deseret

When I was a child growing up in
Belfast we always went to Church (Sunday School) on Sunday morning and when we got home my Mother always had a good dinner prepared. My Dad would sometimes ask if there was any "114". ? HUH? Well, turns out that in the old hymn book #114 was "In our Lovely Deseret" and anyone who knows my family at all can imagine how quickly "dessert" can become "deseret". Even as an "old" man my Dad would still occasionally ask for "any 114"

Singing was always important in our family. Non of us were singers per se but that wasn't a problem. We sang anyway. I love the hymns of the Church and at special times in my life they have "carried" me through. My children usually leave the room when I start singing, and when my Grandkids were babies I always "sang" them to sleep. Was that their defense system? falling asleep? Alan and I do not look at each other as we sing, "Praise to the Man" we will always have tears.














One Christmas when Alan Jr. was on his mission in the Philippines we were all in Church on Christmas day singing "Silent Night" and I started crying, one by one the children all joined in and there was only one hankie between us. Granpa's.
"Redeemer of Israel" is another favorite.
Just suffice it to say, if I was castaway on a desert island along with the scriptures, my next request would be the Hymn Book.

If a Picture is worth a thousand words...........

This is 3 year old Mia waving goodbye to her Daddy as he deployed for Iraq in February 2008

this is 4 year old Mia awaiting her Daddy's return this past Sunday

Do you suppose this hug was worth the wait? on both sides.?

this is absolutely priceless.

This was featured in Monday 9th 2009 Deseret News

Storage

I was opening a new package of soap the other day and was reminded of my Mother-in-law. She saved soap.

I went on my first trip to West Yorkshire in October of 1954. A long time ago....... I met my future Mother in-law. I was very interested in the fact that she had lots of bars of soap. When I asked her why, she told me how during the war soap was rationed and hard to come by so she now stored it up. She never wanted to be without soap ever again. This was a new concept for me. I too remembered ww11 and the shortages associated with it but had not as yet progressed as far as storing items for future use.

Another thing I saw on my first visit to West Yorkshire was a "washing machine". My Mother-in-law to be had one. She was so pleased with it. I was amazed. Up until that time and for years after (until I came to Utah actually) I had used a scrub board and soap to do the wash. Some things went out to be laundered like white shirts.

Another thing they had in the "prefab" was a refrigerator. Alan showed me how to remove ice from the tray by running the ice tray under cold water. This was another new concept, we didn't worry about food being kept cool, the milkman came everyday and delivered milk and we went to the shop every day.

My Mother-in-law was a widow, she worked in the woollen mills, she worked hard. This is a rare picture of her enjoying the sunshine. She may have saved other things also but I always remember the soap. This was a good lesson for me to learn. My first on "Food Storage"

On This Day in History January 23 1937

My Alan was born..........

There are MANY things I can say about my Alan but there are just a couple I wanted to mention.

We met in June of 1954, got engaged at Christmas 1954 and in January I travelled to Yorkshire where he was then living and gave him as a birthday present a Triple Combination. He was so thrilled, it was the first one he ever had. Prior to this he used a soft-backed blue copy of the Book of Mormon and a similiar copy of the Doctrine and Covenants. But he was already familiar with the scriptures as he read them everyday. He was 18 years old. On the day before Lesley was born, our second wedding anniversary, I gave him a copy of the Bible. He read and used these books for many years and when the covers began to show wear and tear I bought him scripture covers to preserve them. He was a "little" rebellious when the Church published the LDS Edition of the Scriptures because he loved the "feel" of his precious books and where exactly to find what he was looking for, but he soon accepted these "new" copies and "retired" his old books. I think Lesley now has these copies. The purpose for this little bit of history is this; I want our children and more especially our grandchildren to know , their Granpa, reads, knows, loves and lives the scriptures. A day very rarely passes that he does not spend time in reading. He honors his Priesthood, loves the Lord and his family. It would be my desire as the Mother and Granma in this family, that our children and grandchildren would emulate their Granpa.

Another thing he does, he makes me laugh every day. :o)

He has taught me many things, but one of the very first things he taught me was, to let him be a gentleman and allow him to serve me. As a result, he always opens the doors for me, carries my packages, does heavy jobs and assures me it is his privledge to make me happy.

Another biggie is

I.NEVER.HAVE.HAD.TO.PICK.UP. AFTER.HIM. Not in 52 + years of marriage. He always puts his things away carefully, always brushing his suits before hanging them up. Even turns his socks right side out before putting them in the laundry basket. And then he carries the laundry basket downstairs for me. What a man. I.THINK.I.WILL.KEEP.HIM.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SWEETHEART.

LOVE YOU