Fishing Mill Pond

 

 

Robb and I got up early on Saturday morning to go fishing for the first time this summer. We wanted to go to Mill Pond which is located about one mile north of Horseshoe Bend. Robbie got up and went with us. It was really quiet, we put up the shade got right down to business. I had one fish get away and caught two Bluegills. They are smaller than trout but fight none the less when trying to bring them in. They really like to nibble on the worms and i lost several pieces before being able to snag one. We had fun. The sun got up higher in the sky and we moved the tent and our chairs to stay in the shade. The cool breeze across the pond was just right to keep us cool. Robbie suggested that we try Lucky Peak the next time. We will go there on another Saturday. Lucky Peak is only 30 minutes away so we can get an earlier start and see what happens. Robbie says that we will find trout, larger ones, because the water is deep due to the dam.

Robb got a bit sunburned on his cheeks but he stayed under the shade and used sunscreen. Robbie I think got some tan. He wore his "muscle" shirt and tried to eliminate the farmer tan he has on his arms. Me, I forgot to put sunscreen on and of course, my arms broke out in the "sun rash." I cannot remember how long it has been since I got the rash but it itched. I came home, scrubbed and put some medicate lotion on my arms. This morning they are doing much better.

Recently, I read an article about people not getting enough vitamin D these days. Vitamin D comes from the Sun, however, because most people now wear sunscreen, the skin does not absorb the necessary vitamin to help our bodies recover. The lack of Vitamin D causes one to be lethargic, achy, and fell like they have the flue. Sounds familiar to me and fibromyalagia. I started taking Vitamin D but I don't know if they will help. I guess I will see if it helps but I love the sun and try to get sunlight every chance I get. It makes me feel better when I can feel the heat penetrating my body. I do try to watch it so I don't burn though.

Puttering Around

 


I had to take a picture of the squirrel in the backyard. We continue to feed the birds and the squirrels every chance we get. I just picked up another 25 pound bag of wild bird seed. I also purchased a suet block and feeder. I want to see if the birds like that as much as they do the feed. Robb got some squirrel mix the last time he went to WINCO and the birds and squirrels like it. It is really fun to watch the activity out in the backyard. I love hearing the birds chirp and the larger birds walk around the bottom of the bird feeders to pick up the seeds that have dropped.

The weather is finally like summer and then I hear on the news that there will be a "heat wave" next week with the temperatures up to 100 degrees for a couple of days. I hope my tomatoes and other hanging garden plants do not get fried. I keep them watered and they have been doing great. The squash is doing great in a hanging basket and I have not seen one squash bug. When we have planted them on the ground, they are usually covered with bugs by now.

My office just moved yesterday and today to our new digs at the Department of Labor. My new address is 317 W. Main Street. It will seem funny getting used to new phones, new computers, new email addresses, new street address, and up to date computer programs. The Commission has not been able to keep current with technology and DOL has the latest technology. We will have laptops with docking stations and more. WOW!! I will feel like we are coming out of the dark ages... I am excited!!! One thing I have to watch for is that in order to get a parking space in the DOL lot, one has to be to work no later than 8:00. It is first come first serve and the spaces are limited. Some of the employees park on the street and go down every two hours to move their cars so they will not get parking tickets. I think it will be easier and less expensive to get there before eight. I have been getting to work at nine for several years so I have to change my pattern.

I had so many plants in my office, some very large, that I had to bring home because the movers would not move them. I had fourteen of them. My co-workers call my office a jungle and I got the suggestions that I needed to play a tape with jungle noises. I love plants and maybe my office air is cleaner because of the plants. One would hope!! I think the rest of the office together has less than fourteen plants. I will try to fit them in my new office space but it may turn into a jungle if I do not have enough room. I will have to post a picture when my office is all set up.

Well, this is all for now. I guess it is time to move the sprinkler. see ya.

Mom and Dad Heaton

 

I opened my blog and low and behold, there is a picture of Mom and Dad that I put on the Merrill and Afton Heaton Facebook page. Well, now that I see I have blogged this picture, I will add a few comments.

Mom and Dad have been gone for several years and I still miss them and think of them often. Every time I pick up a book or read the Bible, I think of Mom and all those books that I brought home to her from the library about the groups of people such as the Hittites. She read them and did not complain about my picks. Of course, I had Ms. Carley helping me out at the City library. Ms. Carley was the School librarian until she retired and then she worked or volunteered at the city library. She and I would try to find something we thought Mom would like to read. I would take several books home for her and then take them back when she finished reading them.

I think of Dad every time I pick up a Book of Mormon. He read this book, talked about the Lamanites and the promises made to them every change he got. I remember sitting in sacrament meeting and listening to him give a talk about the Lamanitss and how they were to "blossom as a rose." Dad used the "breathing machine" for his asthma. He had to sit for fifteen minutes morning, noon, and night at that machine. I supposed it helped him breath better. I think it was like a big C-PAP machine when I think of it now. While sitting at the machine and "breathing" as we use to say, he would read the Book of Mormon. I do not remember every seeing him read any other book. I have a fond memory of Dad after he had been in St. George to the temple. He had spent the day down there and when he came home, I remember thinking that I wanted to marry a man that would be dedicated in going to the temple.

I love Mom and Dad and am so thankful for all they have done for me, to prepare me for life, and for helping me develop a strong testimony of the gospel. I look forward to seeing them again. How wonderful that will be. Right now I think of Grandma Heaton, Aunt Irene, and how many times we stopped to visit them as we drove back and forth to Salt Lake City. I remember Florian, Grace, Maxine, Ruth, and Claire. How fun they were and so much talent. I also remember Vard, Gail, Ross, and Lloyd and they all looked like variations of Dad. I just thought of Geneva.

Now, I am going to be thinking of family all evening. I love facebook and being able to see the extended family members.

I gotta go. I could write forever. Love ya.

Memorial Day 2010

It is Memorial Day again and we went to the Veteran's Cemetery to celebrate. Somehow it seem so right to go there and see the veterans all gathered, to hear the speeches, the presentations, the flag waving, the 21 gun salute, the cannons going off and the missing man formation as the jets roar past. I am very thankful for the freedoms we enjoy in this country!! Thank you all the vets in my family and though out the USA who have given much to protect us from tyranny. I am so thankful to Heavenly Father for the USA.

We drove up to the parking lot and got on a school bus for the ride to the cemetery. Cyn, Kyle, Jackson, Tonie, Robb and I all went up. Brad and Grandpa were there also. Jackson rode his first school bus.



Robb and I had the the family home this week-end. It was really fun but it rained and we could not do some of the things we had planned. I wanted to clean the kitchen cupboard doors but with the rain coming down, that was not done. We wanted to go swing some golf clubs but I did not want to have a family of lightening rods out on the driving range. I wanted to work in the yard but that did not work either. We just watched movies, had a BBQ out back and visited. Cyn and Kyle were able to go on a date because we were the babysitters for her. We had fun with Jackson. He is sitting up my himself, goes over on to his knees and hands and then plops down. He will be crawling around really soon, I am sure.

Today, I stayed home from work so I could recover from the family activities. I am sewing a dress for Tonie so I need to go back to it and finish it off. I love to sew and be creative with it. I wish so often that I could just stay home and do things for my kids and for Jackson. Also, for the new baby that will join our family in January. We are so excited that Robbie and Tracy are going to give us another grandchild. I love doing grandma things. I think I have repurchased and outfitted an entire nursery since Jackson was born. Robb made a changing table that is so pretty. We have a stroller, high chair, booster chair, changing table, and a pack and play. The next purchase will be a crib for Jackson for when he visits. He will out grow the pack and play. He already out grew the bassinet. Oh we are having so much fun.

Well, off to sewing. Bye.

Mother's Day 2010

I love flowers!!

Cynthia and Jackson. I love his little red baseball cap. What fun I have with Jackson.

Tonie Tonie aka "Auntie Mame."

I took this picture because it said, "Sweet Afton's." I thought it was neat because it said Mom's name. I do not know if mother would have liked being called "Sweet Afton." Oh well.

Cynthia and Tonie flew me to Salt Lake City to play with them on Saturday before Mother's day. We had a fun fun day. First, I forgot my cell phone so I called Robb in Boise to let Tonie and Cyn know where I was at the SLC airport. They told me that it was a lot easier to find me at the airport then when Robb flew down to meet them. I guess Robb walked way far down and they could not find him. Oh well, I was watching for them to come by. One time there was a gray small car with a black rag top and I almost ran over to get in but the car was not a VW but a sports car of some make. I thought it was Tonie's VW from the colors. Then I also watched for Cynthia's green or blue car, I could not remember the exact color. Finally, I saw Tonie get out of a green car and wave to me. Yeah I was found.

We left the airport and went directly to get a facial. Cyn and I got facials and Tonie got a massage. It was really nice. I have never had a facial. The lights were turned down low, the towels were hot but soothing, and Sarah Brighton was playing in the background. I could have gone to sleep. We were finished and off to get our toes done. We waited for some time but were able to get a foot and leg massage and our toenails painted. What women do these days to feel good. I love my toes.

Off we went to get lunch but first we picked up Jack Jack from the babysitter, who happened to be his aunt, Kyle's sister, who lives in SLC. Jack is such a cutie. I love him so much. He has long reddish blond eye lashes and blond hair. He still has blue eyes. I lathered him up with SPF 50 sunscreen so he would not get burned while we walked around a sort of Pioneer village type shopping village. I wished we had more time to visit the other stores and also go to the garden show that Tonie and Cyn had planned but we ran out of time. We ate lunch in a old silo that had been converted into a restaurant. After lunch, I was back to the airport to catch my plane home. Whew, it was fun but I was tired when I got home.

It was funny when we went to land in Boise. The airplane did an "uncle wiggley wings." The wings dipped left and right before landing. I do not know what that was all about but it sure unnerved some of the passengers. I just read my book. I had taken a book by Eli Weisel, "Night" about the Holocaust. I have had this book for sometime but just had not taken the time to read it. It sure makes me think about what happened to so many people.

I had such a wonderful trip. I am having a relaxing day today. Robb and Robbie are grilling steaks and shrimp since these are my favorite foods. We will wait for Tracy to get here before we eat. She had to work today. The boys, aka Micky and Vinney, are over here enjoying the back yard and playing with Simon.

I love being a Mom and Robb, my kids and Jack are great.

Is it Spring Yet?

We had sunshine for a couple of days and then back to the winter weather. Yesterday there was hail as big as marbles, 1/2 inch, and it sounded like the roof was taking a beating. I did not check to see if we still had shingles after the storm. The grass was covered. The wind did some damage to the soccer fields and farms around the area. It uprooted trees, destroyed barns, and demolished fences. Today, it is rainy again. I think we are to have a few hours of sun on Friday and then it is back to the stormy weather. We don't mind the rain but we wish there would be one dry day so the lawns can be mowed. Our back lawn was about 12-14 inches tall. We called a professional lawn mowing person and he brought in his riding lawn mower to cut the grass down. Now I need to get out an rake up the cuttings but it has been raining and so windy that I cannot go out. The front yard looks better.

We received our moving date today of when we are moving to the Department of Labor (DOL). Moving day is June 25th. DOL will give us boxes and tape so we can box up our personal things to be moved. They have a moving company coming in on Saturday and will get our things over to DOL about eight blocks down main street. They said they did not want the employees present because having employees there slows down the move. Our offices will be 10 x 12 and I have to reduce. My office for the last many years has been 15 x 14 with three windows, corner office on the fourth floor. Now I will be in a 10 x 12 with one window on the second floor. My view will be the office parking lot and trees. Oh joy! Oh well, I think it will be nice to have a future with the Commission.

Tomorrow evening is the Annual Bitteroot Ward Chili Cookin' Contest. Robb is all excited and has experimented with his chili recipe. Actually, the test one turned out really tasty. Tonight he is testing his cornbread recipe. I hope the turn out for the dinner will be good. I think the ward members will support the event really well. There are two categories for prizes: mild/medium and nuclear furnace. How fun. I have to get award badges, big ones from Zurcher's tomorrow. We also will get prizes, varying sizes of Tums.

oops. Robb wants me to taste the cornbread so I better go try it out. Yum!!

Salt Lake City Marathon

We made a fast trip to SLC this week-end. Robbie and Cynthia ran the half marathon!!! They did well. I felt so proud that they ran and finished. Oh they were hurting all right, but they did it. Robbie now wants to run a full marathon but I don't know if Cynthia will try this again. She was hurting so badly we wanted to cry - - her knee did not cooperate very well. She has done it once and once may be enough. I hope she does it again. I was excited at the notion that I might try a half marathon but I ran only about 20 feet on Saturday and felt exhausted. I was trying to catch up with Robb and Kyle as they were making their way to the finish line to watch Robbie and Cynthia. Robbie ran too fast for us and beat us to the finish line. We all got to cheer Cynthia on as she made the last turn and to the finish.

At the finish line, they each received a medal of participation and then we had their picture taken by a professional photographer. I anticipate they will get the proofs so they can order a photo for their memory books.

The entire family purchased blue t-shirts and had a logo printed on the back. Even Jackson got his t-shirt. It was so cute and we loved doing this. Kyle and Cynthia got a baseball cap for Jackson and he looked quite the spectator as his mother and uncle ran by. It was lots of fun. The logo is a picture of a fish skeleton with "go fish" written on it. We figured we could use them as our fishing shirts after the race was finished.

I am sure we will be attending more race events since Robbie has caught the bug. Tracy was not able to go with us and we sorely missed her. She is really a lot of fun and is always watching out for Robbie. It is cute to see them together. Maybe next year, Tracy will be able to go along. Robb and I drove down with Robbie. We stayed at Tonie's and Kyle, Jackson and Cynthia spent the night at Tonie's. Tonie is going to have a big house when she buys a house because we all like to get together at her house. Tonie had a backyard fire pit and barbecue we used for dinner on Friday night. Of course we all visited. Robb and Tonie were the last to retire, I think as they talked into the wee hours of the morning.

On Saturday, we started home at 3:00 from SLC. We had borrowed Grandpa's caddie to make the drive more pleasant. It normally takes five hours to drive home. But, we had to get speakers for the IPOD so we could listen to music. The radio did not work, according to grandpa. Then we needed to get keys made for the car. Then we needed to gas the car and pick up drinks. Then we needed more snacks and a restroom break from the drinks. Then, the fuse blew and the dashboard went dark with the speedometer stuck clear to the right of the dial. Robb panicked thinking I was going over 85 miles per hour. I panicked because all I could see was "140" but that was in Kilometers. I slowed down immediately and realized that all the dials had stopped working. We went to get fuses. We would not find anything but two fuses that would work. Robbie put the fuses in and then we took off again. We turned on the air conditioner and the fuse blew again. In the process of replacing fuses, the radio suddenly began working. I guess the fuse for the radio had blown and no one had replaced it. We had the radio all the way home and listened to Robbie's IPOD. Then, the air conditioner blew the fuses and again, and we stopped in Burley. We thought we might have to stay overnight in Burley if we did not have power to get home. We stopped at the Checker store and the men in the store came and put a meter on the engine. They found that the alternator was not working. OH NO!! A new alternator was $160.00. Then the other man at Checker said he had worked on a car where the air conditioner fuse also ran the alternator. (I don't know what the are talking about.) Good think Robbie and Robb were talking to them. The put in a new fuse and then checked the alternator again. Miracle of miracles, the alternator was working so long as the fuse was working. We had enough power to get home to Boise if we did not turn on the air conditioner. We took off again and did not stop again until Mountain Home. We had no more problems with the fuses and we did not turn on the air conditioner. We got home at about 11:30ish. That took us eight and one-half hours.

Now Robb has a list of things that need to be repaired or maintained on the Caddie. He will be busy and when we borrow it again, maybe we will not have so many fuse problems.

Today, we went to church but I was so tired I came home and slept most of the afternoon. Because I slept most of the afternoon, I am up now at 11:40ish working on this blog.

With the events from the race and the travels, we are blessed to have a wonderful family that loves one another. We love to get together and I guess that is the way it should be. We are blessed!