More about the weekend

 Here are more pictures to record what happened on Saturday. I had to beg them from other people.

Josie has been taking so many pictures, so hasn't been in many herself. Here she is at Ireland's party on Saturday, holding the birthday girl.

When I saved the above photo, I decided to name it JosieIreland, but found that I already had a photo named JosieIreland2017. This Ireland was not born until 2021! It was quite a different Ireland in the photo with Josie five years ago! (The Emerald Isle -- that Ireland!)

Josie took this cute photo of Rosie's dad, Dave, his wife Alicia, and Ireland. (We really appreciate Alicia. She is great.)

Patrick took a whole bunch of photos for Austin. Here is one of the many he took of our four generation group. (It technically should be Bruce, not me, but he did not stick around long enough for the photo session that eventually took place.)

Or, if you prefer to see one less person in landscape orientation, and with balloons, there is this photo. Speaking of the balloons, when it was time to go, Austin wanted to pop all the balloons and throw them away. Allen had the best time popping them with his pocket knife! He said, "Oh, I am going to have the most fun I have had all day!" and he did.

Those are two of many that Patrick took at the park. Nancy commented that she didn't know how we could be wearing sweaters, but in truth it was super cold and windy. Which it had been for a day or two. Patrick had spent the day on Friday working on the set at Goshen, and they had snow. For a person acclimatized to Hawaii, he was very cold!!

And Josie took a picture of Kelli and I during our game-playing session on Saturday evening, which she says is not a very good picture, and that may be true, but still. It is a picture.

That last game, And it came to pass, was confusing to me. I liked the word game better. When Josie was the guesser, she needed to guess the word "Zeus." The best clues were "greek" but since David and Allen both put that word, it wasn't shown. I think I wrote "Olympus" and I can't remember Patrick's clue, but Kelli wrote "Seuss." So Josie ended up only confused. So Patrick found this cartoon, which he shared on our family chat, and which Kelli said helped to make her clue abundantly clear to anyone.

Sunday pictures are next!

Speaking of Greece, Patrick wanted to cook a Greek meal, so we went to the store on Saturday, he and I, and spent a boatload of money on all of the ingredients (less fresh and more expensive in the US than in Greece). Then he ended up very busy on Sunday, part of which involved spending hours cooking, with Josie and I as sous chefs. Here is what the spread looked like:

He also cooked chicken marinated in Greek yogurt and other ingredients, but it was a concession to protein lovers, since his original plan was all-vegetarian, with of course cheese because Greece.

We only took one picture of part of the crew who gathered. Patrick had invited Kellie and Allen, Rosie and family, and Matthew. Only Kelli got an early solo dispatch, so she was off driving again, so she and Allen were not there, which solved the chair problem--I really need to get more chairs!

Josie was the photographer, I was dancing around making silly noises beside her so the babies would look, Patrick was still in the kitchen cooking, and Dad was not feeling super well, so was hiding out in his quiet den.

Plenty of pictures were taken of the babies. They enjoy our silly little toys--our blocks, and our little Tupperware container of little animals. The yellow cylinder block is a favorite--watch for it in the pictures below! Ireland started out with a little gray seal, which she kept trying to trade for the yellow cylinder. Look for these toys in the pictures below!

Patrick was kind enough to share with me this selfie he took of himself with Millie. He had been helping her get off the couch, and cheering her up while she was feeling some elimination issues, which would cause her to abandon her usual smiles for a modicum of unhappiness from time to time.

When Patrick was out of the room, Millie took advantage of the opportunity to get into his stuff. She very much liked the frisbee. Patrick was freely allowing her to play with a mini-frisbee, which she really liked to chew on, but she was very fascinated by the larger model.

It was a good day! So fun to be together, even though both Ruth and I needed some decompression time after having so many people around. Good thing we are in this bigger house now!

Saturday is a Special Day

 It was fun to have David and Ruth here on Saturday. We went for a walk to the nearby school playground. There were no swings--Millie's favorite thing at playgrounds--so there were not many baby-friendly things to do. (Like Phoebe, Millie does not really enjoy the change in altitude that slides involve!)

Here is Millie and her mommy. It looks like a beautiful day, but the wind was very chilly!

Millie was tolerating me pretty well...as long as she could get back to mom or dad when she wanted them!

In the late afternoon, we went to the party Rosie and Austin were throwing in honor of Ireland's first birthday--held a week early, since they will be in Saint George for her actual birthday.

Ireland was very interested in Millie! Millie took a bit more cautious approach.

Poor Ruth was stressed because she had an assignment due by 11 pm that included a bear of a problem. David had worked on it with her, and they had spent several hours on it. Ruth brought her homework to the park because Alicia, Dave Boel's wife, who spends all her working hours on Excel, offered to help her. Alicia was disappointed that she could not figure it out! They made headway, but there was no AHA! moment yet. But thankfully, David and Ruth were able to figure it out.

When Patrick, Josie and I got home, Ruth was on to the one remaining question in her homework, and so David and I took the opportunity to make a quick run to say hello and goodbye to Amanda Pilmer and her cute little daughter. I was the photographer, and I didn't notice that little Prima was in the shade created by little Millie's shadow.

By the time we got home, Kelli and Allen had beat us to the house, and we spent the evening playing games with them. I didn't take any pictures, but today Kelli and Allen, plus Rosie and her family, are coming for dinner. Patrick is making a Greek dinner. So I will take more pictures today!

May Time

 This lovely month of May, construction continues in the library. The next thing on the chopping block is the little suite of offices from my early days at BYU. Who knew that we should have stood in front of our doors,: Sherry, me, Janet, Irene, with a student at the front desk, and taken a picture.

Instead, Janet and I took pictures of the empty space before they completely tore it down. Here is the view from the hallway. (For the past four years or so, these offices have been repurposed as group study rooms.)

And here is my picture of the offices, Janet standing the doorway to her old office, taking a picture of its interior.

Patrick arrived for his two week stay, and we have not seen much of him since. He came when he did for a two-day reunion planned with his old ultimate crew. Because he had the car, I walked to work on Friday AND walked home. about 35 minutes each direction. (I did not need an additional twenty minute walk on Friday!) And let me tell you, I was quite knackered on Friday. I was supposed to leave at 5 AM to drive to the airport, but it turns out that I woke up at 3 AM and couldn't get back to sleep. So, up since three PLUS two 35 minute walks = soooooo tired. But I slept well, at least! 

Rosie and Austin dropped in tonight before Austin's missionary reunion. His mission president is from Argentina, and does not get up here often, so he was here, and therefore they had a reunion this evening. I woke Bruce up from a nap, saying "Rosie and Austin are here." He said, "Did they bring Ireland?" "No," I joked, "they left her home with the dog." (Well--didn't the Darling family leave their children with Nana, the dog? Of course, that ended rather badly for them...)

So here we are. Josie is taking the picture, and she did not want to switch places with anybody, so she is the missing figure who is behind the camera lens.

Bruce was happy to meet Ireland for the first time. He has said things like "I hope I can meet Ireland before she is one year old." And I have suggested to him that he can call Rosie and arrange to go and visit. It is easier for the person without the baby to go visiting than it is for the person with the baby!! But...finally they came to him. And so the meeting of Bumpa and Ireland happened.

Two funeral day

 It is a good thing I actually like funerals! My first outing, sporting my spiffy new sunglasses, was to attend two funerals. Usually, if I ever have had two funerals on the same day, I have to choose, because they are at the same time, or at close to the same time, enough that it would be impossible to go to both. Or one is in Utah and one in Alberta, and clearly I have to choose then! That has happened!

I was thinking of that this morning while at Sherry's funeral early (Janet and Daron and Janice were all doing music, and wanted to test the venue out in various ways--the piano, adjusting the height of the organ bench, where to put the music stand, etc.) and I was chatting with Irene H. and LaDonna (another library retiree) and I remembered that I had to miss Irene's husband's funeral because I was at another funeral, and I couldn't remember whose. So I looked up Ron's obituary to get the date of his funeral, checked that against my blog, and realized that it was Grant's funeral that was at the same time. 

But today, Sherry's funeral was at 11 AM, while George N.'s funeral was at 4 PM. So, we went to Sherry's funeral early, arriving at 10, went to the cemetery, went to the luncheon, and I was home by 2:30. Then Josie and I left at about 3:00 for George's funeral. I came home after to check on Bruce (since it was only 10 minutes away) and Josie stayed for the luncheon, and then I picked her up at 7 PM. So, start to finish it was like a full day. But though I cried at both funerals, they were both touching and uplifting, and I grew to appreciate both people more, and also their families.

Sherry's funeral was shorter and filled with beautiful music. George's funeral was longer and filled with beautiful music. They had the music in common. Sherry had a casket, while George had an urn full of ashes. 

My favorite thing about Sherry's funeral was the bishop saying "I really have nothing to say except Amen to the way Sherry lived her life." Like, sometimes bishops are tempted to do a little preaching at a funeral, but he just didn't feel moved to do that. Just--look at the way she lived! She was so kind, so patient, so loving, she was widowed as a young mother and raised four children so well, she was always giving to others. She was a bit of an angel, but she never made anybody feel "less than"--she was humble. (That is me talking, not the bishop. He didn't need to say that, because everyone there knew her.)

My favorite thing about George's funeral was the bishop (or bishopric member? not sure) reading from the back of the program (that Eliza had written) about all the character traits that George left to his children. That was very touching. Even though I had already read it myself, hearing it read (with tears) was very sweet. George's life was more complicated that Sherry's, filled as it was with a brain tumor that affected his judgment and personality, and while mistakes were acknowledged, the good that George had done was emphasized. (I really liked what Irene posted online, "George, the Father of my six beautiful children passed away this week. We are sad there wasn’t more time to make things how we wanted them to be, but George and his body were at war with each other for a long time, I am happy he is free of that fight. If heaven is what he expected there will be a river to fish on. This is how I want to remember him. Thank you for all of the good you brought to my life. Rest In Peace my friend.")

Both funerals were heavily family-run, with the children and grandchildren of the deceased participating, speaking, telling stories, providing music. So, very special in the way that funerals are to people like me who like funerals. Not a bad way to spend my first day out of the house in awhile!

These eyes

Monday was the day for my keratectomy surgery on my left eye. I was very nervous and anxious, because I didn’t know what to expect. I do not think that I outwardly appeared as nervous as I was, but my blood pressure was 162, and the nurse checking me in said, “A little anxious, are you?” She could tell! (Elevated blood pressure is something she sees often, as people are waiting for surgery!)

I was vastly relieved when the anesthesiologist assured me that I would not be put to sleep—I would be sedated so I would be out of it, as he put it I “would not care” what they were doing to my eye. But would be awake-ish. I was scared to be put to sleep! I have not done that for a long, long time. When I was 16 and had my tonsils out. And we all know how that went! Throat butchered. Like, I know that if I am laying there sedated, I can’t stop them from ruining my eye, but it feels like maybe they will be more careful! (I have trust issues with medical practitioners…)

So, they gave me a ride down the hall to the operating theatre, and a few minutes later it was done, and they gave me a ride to recovery, and I am pretty sure I was in and out of sleep, and then they had some trouble locating Bruce to pick me up. (He had gone to get a hamburger.) And then he was there, and I was on my way home.

This is what I looked like.

 And that first day was honestly pretty miserable. I was terribly light sensitive, like the light from the sun through windows covered with curtains was so much light! And my eye didn’t exactly hurt, but it was super uncomfortable.

The first night was very hard. I finally figured out that if I pulled the patch up off my eye, it felt better. (I had to do that anyway to put in the eyedrops, so I wasn’t breaking the rules.) But in the morning, I figured out that part of the discomfort was that my eyelashes were all stuck together with goop.

It was a delicate business to clean them, but I needed to do it because I had an eye appointment at 12:30, and clearly the doctor would need my eye to be able to open so he could check it!

And it checked out pretty good! My eye was healing nicely, and he could remove the contact bandaid that was on my eyeball. My eye was feeling great. And then the numbing drops he had put in my eye wore off. My eye was actually not feeling great.

I slept most of the day on Tuesday, and then took Nyquil so that I could sleep the night away too. And then I woke up in the morning on Wednesday, and slept most of the morning. I was Sleeping Beauty, only without the Beauty part.

However—I did get up and WALK. You will be pleased to know that I did not one, but TWO 20-minute walks on both Tuesday and Wednesday, once in the morning, and once in the afternoon, and then, more sleeping. (These were laps around my house. One lap takes about a minute, although I was faster on Wednesday. Around and around the house I walked. Not quite ready to take it outside! Too light out there!) But I did not do my planking. My instructions say no heavy lifting (over 40 pounds) for a week. And planking is actually lifting all of my 124 pounds, so that is heavy lifting.

And then I slept some more. Who knew that a grown-up could sleep so much? (I think I was taking a page from my grand-daughter Phoebe, and stress sleeping. Maybe when I wake up this will be over?)

At my doctor appointment, I was happy to receive a wonderful pair of sunglasses that even protect the sides! They will get lots of use from me! (Although, the light sensitivity is diminishing. I can sit in the unlit living room with the light coming in through the sheer curtains and my eyes are totally okay with it.)

 And yesterday afternoon, my eyes felt okay to even look at the computer for a few minutes. It was blurry and they were not super happy about it, but I needed to make sure to put my next eye appointment on my calendar so nobody grabbed a meeting time with me and messed me up!

Today, I feel much better. I finished a book this morning, because I could read. So that was nice. Not being able to read, or see, is not fun. I am so thankful for my eyes! As eyes go, mine have been pretty to look at, and not the best as far as usefulness—I mean, I am pretty blind, comparatively speaking—but I am so, so thankful for them. Eyes are wonderful!

I am glad I could have this little surgery done. Glad that it is over and my eyes are on the mend. Not at all looking forward to having the right eye done in the future, though I think I will be less anxious because I know what to expect.

This doctor thinks I should have these two surgeries plus cataract surgery all in the same calendar year. (Because of insurance, it will cost me less out of pocket that way.) I am not sure if that is an idea I can get behind. I have not loved this week. And Dr. Nelson, my usual ophthalmologist, but who is not the guy who does the surgeries, does not think my cataracts are very bad yet.

But we’ll see. For now, I am just so happy to have my eye feeling almost normal, and to have light reactions that are almost normal, and to be able to use my eyes. And stay awake. These are all things to be thankful for!