No Time Traveling Today

Sorry I missed posting for a couple of weeks. The Master and I went to Los Angeles for the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Swimming and Diving championships. It was a lovely week of record high temperatures for the LA area and I ate it up! Mornings working out in the hotel gym (I was so proud of Me!) and mid-mornings of lounging by the pool reading were my agenda. I'd wait for the coaches to bring the athletes back from the morning's prelims and then my cute husband and I would go for a lunch date every day! We drove around a bit and looked at local neighborhoods, houses are a favorite pass-time of mine, and we shopped at the local mall. At the end of the week our men won the conferences championships once again and all of the coaches went into the pool to celebrate! That last night, Dee started coughing. It was a rough night. We had to be up and out at 8:00 am to drive to the Long Beach Airport. On the drive there I noticed that my throat was a bit sore. By the time our flight landed in Salt Lake I just wanted to crawl into bed. Dee and I coughed, didn't sleep, and were miserable for the next week. He got it worse than I, as he tends to have things like bronchitis turn into pneumonia. The second week in, he was still coughing so hard he pulled muscles in his rib cage. I was blessed to recover and be able to take care of him but I was still so weary. Late in the second week Dee's parents arrived at our home with a moving van pulling a large trailer and all of their earthly possessions. They have moved from their home of 24 years, Puyallup, WA, and returned to Utah Valley where they once lived. It's been an ordeal for them as my Mom-in-law says, "people in their 80's should never move!" They are now nicely settled into an apartment and will look for a home in the coming months. I wish we had felt better and could have done more for them, but the kids helped and so did new neighbors. We have already enjoyed fun outings and Sunday dinners with Granni and Papa, who we haven't lived near since the year 2000.

We have been through a pretty rough last weekend. My dear brother-in-law Steve has been layed-off from yet another job. I have lost count over the years. I don't even think he and my sister know anymore. He is so skilled at what he does, and is at the point where employers would rather hire someone younger who wouldn't require as much salary. It's an economy driven job, and he got caught in a cycle of being hired, layed-off, over and over. Now he can only find contract work. It pays very well but there are no benefits. Sometimes those contracts last for months, sometimes not. He has even lived away from home for months at a time just to be able to work. The stress and worry are about to kill both of them. I don't know what to say to them anymore except that I love them and I know God does too. Through all of these unstable years they've never gone hungry or lost their home. He has always been there for them. Some health insurance and retirement would be nice though.

My 92 year old mother lives in their home. This last Saturday she suffered another mini-stroke and spent the night in the hospital. Mortality and reality have a way of smacking me in the face lately. I worry for her health and I don't want to think about life without her. She's home and happy but it sure takes a lot out of her. We have varying troubles in our own little family, among my children, ranging from need for employment or direction in life, to unfulfilled dreams and expectations. I have prayed and poured my heart out to the Lord in the last few days. They have been prayers for miracles and mercy and peace. I couldn't sleep last night. I cried a lot. I  dozed for awhile and awoke way too early with a killer headache, but I fully intended to sit down and type out another Time Travel Tuesday for my family. Then I saw what I'd be typing next in my Grandma's story and I don't need that sorrow right now. I'll save it for a Tuesday coming up.

Until then, please know that I KNOW that God lives. He knows each one of us intimately. It seems like prayers aren't heard or answered quite often lately. I cannot pretend to know why certain of us have certain trials, and why they last for years. All I know is that He is there to comfort and lift us up. The Savior bore it all for us and can calm our hearts with his perfect empathy. Don't ever give up the good fight! "The Son of Man hath descended below the all. Art thou greater than he?...There fore fear not what man can do, for God shall be with you forever and ever."  Doctrine & Covenants 122:8-9

I'm holding tight to that promise

What's Up?

I have been so busy telling my grandmother's story on Time Travel Tuesdays that I haven't really posted about what I've been up to lately. If you follow me on Instagram @marianneloose, you have likely see some of these photos, but my Mom doesn't do Instagram. Frankly at 93.5 years of age I am impressed that she gets on her Email and Facebook accounts all by herself! You GO Mom! So, Mom...here is what your little girl has been doing, and a bit of the rest f the gang too!

Sometimes brides have interesting color choices for their receptions. One of our lady Cougar swimmers asked me to make an apron for her that matched her color scheme. These colors are beautiful. I pictured gerbera daisies & paper lanterns.
I wondered, however, if I'd find fabric to match. 

 I shouldn't have worried!

It turned out so cute!

I also made two of these sweetheart aprons for servers at a 50's themed 50th anniversary party.

Not wanting to pay $12 for the pattern, I made up my own! 

I guess I've been doing this long enough, huh?

We have had a really cold spring. It's good for the snow pack up in the mountains. The longer the snow stays up there, the more water we have this summer. Down in the valley, however, we were freezing and ready for warmer days!

I had already cleaned out the fireplace for the season but I had to relent. Our resident pyromaniac has moved to Provo where she enjoys her gas fireplace in her new condo. We were glad to have her here one cold, stormy night when I needed a fire-starter!

Cold temps call for comfort food. I saw this recipe on Facebook one day and had to try it. It was so good we had it twice in one week! It's so easy! Just scrub your potatoes clean and slice them thinly with a very sharp knife. Careful though! Don't cut them all of the way through! Put them in a dish that has been sprayed with a no-stick spray. Drizzle them with olive oil and add your favorite seasoning. I used Mrs. Dash one night and lemon pepper the next time. Bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes.
SO GOOD!!

This was April 2nd. A few days after the fire and the potatoes. A massive hail storm that froze us out again.

Roxie and I have had it with winter!

She finds this sunny spot every morning. I wish I fit in it!
Phooey on the cold!!

So, being housebound, I turned to two subjects I love...Family History & Scrapbooking!

I am nearly finished with these beauties!

I love mornings when the Skype ringer goes off on the computer! It means I get to spend some time with my sweet girl Diana and her little man!

One morning last week they called to show me how Lucas had painted his Easter Egg holders...

My latest sewing project was these darling Matryoshka dolls.

 They are made from a pattern by Retromama on ETSY.com

I love everything she creates! Aren't they cute?

Rachel and her friends, Brianne, and Melissa went to ComicCon today. Rach and Melissa went as Totoros and Brianne was The Black Widow from Marvel Comics.

Rachel and Melissa made their cute little outfits the other night.

So many people aske them if they could have their photos taken with them.

ComicCon is basically a Nerdfest and they loved every minute of it!

Patrick Stewart (Capt. Piccard from Star Trek the Next Generation) was there!

She got to see Adam Baldwin who plays John Casey on "Chuck".

She also saw Nathan Fillion, TV'S "Castle"...DREAMY!!

Then, if you are a "Dr. Who" fan, she saw Karen Gillan who portrays Amy Pond! 

She is home now, and very happy!

The 2013-14 BYU swim season is over. It's good because we get to see the coach a lot more!

The guys gave him this memento of the year in which they were all allowed 

to grow a mustache for Mo-vember.

 Yay! A hairy mustache in a frame! 

It's going back to his office desk in the Richards Building!

Lastly, may I leave you with this adorable photo of my grandson, because I cannot get enough of him!

He planted marigolds with his daddy the other day in sunny California and his Mama shared this with me.

She says this is his "CHEEEEEZE" face.

Oh. My. HEART!!!

LA Roundup and a Championship!

When last I left you in Los Angeles, I had just tended my grandson for the evening. How lovely is it to take a trip far from home and have it be in a place where your married children can come see you?
After Diana, Nick, and Lucas went back to San Diego I spent the next few days at the swim meet with my husband. One afternoon I sat and took splits for him as his distance swimmers raced in the 1650 Freestyle. That's 1,650 yards folks. These kids are hard core! They swam it in an average of 15 minutes. I was in awe.

 One morning I read by the pool some more and sunned my poor white legs. By the week's end they were a rosier shade of white!

 

 We had a lovely lunch one day out on the back patio and watched the golfers go by.

 Coach Dee was naughty and fed the squirrels!

Then it was back to the pool every evening for finals. I was so proud of our BYU kids. The sportsmanship, team spirit, dignity, and modesty shown by them was so good to see! On the last night Diana & Nick came back up to  LA to watch finals. Lucas was a riot! We taught him how to cheer the swimmers on just like his Pa does! Fluttering arms means kick harder!

 Then Lucas wandered down the observation deck and flirted with some 

cute UC Santa Barbara blondes. They let him wear their Gauchos hat!

 

I borrowed this photo from Haley Bertoldo on Facebook.

It shows the many styles of coaching a swimmer on to go faster! From left, John and Yolanda do the flutter your arms (kick harder) move, while Tamber, Sherry, and Dee point and lean forward as if by doing so the athlete will be magically propelled onward. I asked Coach Dee once if the kids can actually see their coaches jerking and undulating on the sidelines

 and he said, having been a former swimmer himself, "Yes!"

There is always a break between the evenings' main events and the final relays so that the relays can warm up. sometimes coaches get a little giddy after a week long meet and let their guard down a bit!

 That's our little Cougar in his Gaucho hat. Good thing Pa was busy coaching and didn't see!

 There's always time for a Gramma/Lucas selfie!

 Here are the final scores before the last relays were added in. The places stayed the same though.
Our Cougars Men won the MPSF Championship!

 Our Lady Cougars took third! (We are not sure if the grandson wearing 

the Santa Barbara hat made a difference here!)

 Here are our Seniors being recognized.

It's always sad each season when we get to the last meet and we have to say goodbye to the Seniors who have worked so hard. The coaches really come to love them.

 

It's tradition for the winning team to leap into the pool after being receiving their trophy, and to pull their coaches in as well! Dee is so superstitious about this. He will not bring the extra clothes into the pool area until all is said and done. They have to stay locked up in the trunk of the car. It's a sad, soggy coach who forgets a change of clothing and has to ride back to the hotel all wet. Someone forgot dry underwear this year. I won't say who, but it wasn't Coach Dee this time!

There's my Sweetie on the far left.

The next morning we were up before the sun to get to the Long Beach Airport. After a 90 minute fight we were back in chilly Utah! At least this year we didn't come home to a fresh foot of new snow! I am looking forward to next year.It should be a good one!

February~the Frozen Month of Love & Other Stuff

Every February 1st the world anxiously awaits the appearance the next morning of old Punxutawney Phil the Ground Hog, or Agua Fria Freddie the Gila Monster, or Radar the Weather Dog depending on which part of the country you live in. Here in our house though, we sort of forget about the predictors of spring and focus on the Master of the house. He was born on 2/1 which is kind of a cool birthday! He was out of town this year on a recruiting trip on his birthday so we celebrated on 2/2.
  It would have been fun to give him a tutu...get it?








We sent him this photo as a teaser and made him wait until the afternoon of the 2nd, after he had arrived at the airport, after church was over, and after Brittany had a chance to join us. He was such a baby! He wanted to open his big present so badly!

 

My husband loves hot cocoa. He wants to marry hot cocoa he loves it so much! He had a "Cocoa Motion" cocoa maker that sadly broke this fall. He was so sad. We went deluxe this time!

 Here he is checking out the spout and scheming the making of his first batch!

 Valentine's Day was............

 Lucas sent us a darling valentine with his thumbprints. It said "Thumb-body loves you!
 



 As usual Roxie was eager to eat-- umm,  help with the decorations.

 Don't give me that "sorry" face young lady!

 Dee and I ate a yummy lunch a Zupa's and I even pulled off making sugar cookies.
 OK, it was really late when they were done but I did it!

 

 We had a little heat wave in February! It was awesome! Notice, no coat?I am stopped at a red light here, I promise!

Does Roxie lok a bit blurry here? It's because she was! She had her annual dental  cleaning and was coming out of general anesthesia. She was very loopy and could hardly hold herself up! Notice her cute little hospital collar? Yeah, she wanted that thing off ASAP!

 Lucas asks his Mommy quite often if he can Skype with us. He climbs up into the chair and pats the computer. On this morning he showed me his amazing yogurt eating skills. What you don't see is his Momma's face moments later when he tried to feed her!

For the second year in a row I have been blessed to be able to travel with Dee and the BYU Swim & Dive Team to Los Angeles for the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championships. Last year I wrote about my train journey and my four day visit to Diana and her family here.

This year I stayed in LA with Dee and My grandson came to me!

 Here he is opening our little gift for him, Megablox guys to add to his collection, and enjoying them while we waited for our dinner.

Later at the hotel he wanted to try on Pa's swim goggles.             

 

 The next morning I sat outside and read my book while I waited for Nick, Diana, & Lucas to arrive from their hotel. Did I say I was outside...in flipflops?!! Yeah, yeah, I now all of you people in AZ and St. George are not impressed, but I was giddy with happiness!

 Soon enough my kids arrived and we went on jolly adventures with the boy. He loves fireplaces, calling them "hhh-ot". There were two "Hots" in the hotel so he was busy going back and forth between them!

                 Outside "Hot".                                                                                 Inside "Hot".

We waited for the team to return from prelims around noon, then we spent the day together until Dee had to go back to the pool in the late afternoon for finals. Nick and Diana had a proposition for me. They had been given gift cards to have dinner at the Blue Bayou restaurant inside Pirates of the Caribbean at Disneyland. Since they hold resident passes they can go in at any time but didn't want to have their restless, squirmy son along. I don't blame them! It's kind of romantic in there! So...

I got to babysit my grandson! We had dinner together in the hotel room and played with anything and everything he could find! It was a busy, busy time. Did I mention that this kid has no hips? His pants are always coming down!

He had to try on the goggles again.

 Next he helped Gramma crochet while we watched some cartoons.

It was getting to be Sleepy Time but the boy would not slow down, so we put on our shoes, and our pants of course, and took a walk.We explored every nook and cranny, every spotlight and flower,

 

 

 Then we came back inside, got into our jammies, and settled in to watch some awesome Olympic bobsledding!

 

 Pretty soon Pa came "home" from the night's swims and the boys watched some Dumbo together. Lucas is really into elephants right now.

If you have stuck through all of these photos until the end you are to be congratulated, or revived! I took a lot of pictures. I love this little boy SO MUCH!
 Next time I post I'll share all about the conference meet with you! We had some great swims!