Atlas Shrugged - still reading

Okay, so I am not even halfway through the book at page 534. I really don't know what I am commenting on because I have no idea how it will end. However, I did have an interesting thing happen this week related to the book. I was at Kaiser waiting with my mom to have an X-ray taken and a woman who was sitting next to me saw the book on my lap and told me that she had read the book over 30 years ago because her husband was into this kind of thing (whatever this kind of thing is). After 30 years she couldn't find her original copy so she ordered another copy recently from Amazon and it was on her coffee table as we spoke. After we talked a bit she said that she was going to go home and start it. She said that the reason she bought the book to re-read is because of the times that we are in. She said she never thought that the things in the book would every really happen but she felt that they are happening now. So far, I agree.

Yesterday I heard in the news that GM is going to file bankruptcy on Monday. They went on to talk about the slant that the President and his advisers are putting on it (and this is non-partisan, it has been happening for a long time on both sides of the aisle). They stated that we will be investing another sum, more than we did originally, after the announcement. I though to myself, this could come right out of the book. I have to finish this book this week. The suspense is killing me.

I have had a rough week though. I feel melancholy. I know it is because I am reading the book. I relate to some characters and loathe others. It is the recognition of characters among the living that create these emotions, other than light little mysteries, I seem to get this way when I read. Of course, only if the author is good enough to create such characters.

Memorial Day Weekend - Monday

The project continued on Monday. Owen sorted through stuff that won't go back into the shed. Valiant attempt but too much to do in one day so it still sits on my driveway, but we made lots of progress. Meanwhile, I weeded flower beds so I could be outside with him. These are my hydrangeas that were totally lost under weeds, poison oak, a blueberry vine and a stray strawberry plant. Now they are papered and ready for mulch. Greg had cut them way back so I didn't even know if they were really there anymore so it was a nice surprise.

Here are my lamb's ear. I love this stuff, its furry and it grows and grows. Greg told me that the whole plant has moved. The original plant was in the bare spot and it took off everywhere. Then the original plant got old and tired and died. I am hoping it will fill it completely. Low maintenance is the goal.

After gardening....our reward....Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian.

It was okay. Enjoyable but I liked the first one better. Started slow but did better toward the end. Some of the writing was cheesy.

Memorial Day Weekend - Saturday

The boys helped the Loveridges move today. I just visited with Alicia and held the baby. The house is great, the neighborhood is great, the yard is great. I so happy for them and so sad for me. I will miss having them in our ward and close by. However, we have promised to still do things together, chat and all of the stuff we do now. I mean really I am never in Placerville anyway, but I guess it is just the thought. My friends leave Placerville eventually, I will be here until I am in the ground. Sometimes that makes be happy and sometimes that makes me sad.

Here is Barrett holding Porter. I love pictures like this. I know he will be a great dad. Here, however, he was blatantly using Porter to get out of moving furniture.

Memorial Day Weekend - Friday

I decided to take Friday off so I could have Friday, Saturday and Monday to sink my teeth (and those of my cooperative family) into a project. I am so excited at what was accomplished on Friday. We got everything out of the shed, a load to Hospice, a load to the dump and some keepsakes remarked and repacked and all the camping stuff back in the shed. Take note of the blue tape on the floor, I am particularly proud of it. This is the designated free zone so we don't put stuff there. This, in theory having never really lived like this, we can walk in to the shed and get what we need out of it when we need it.

I had a Karma moment today...I took a picture of the rest of the stuff that is still out of the driveway for the second round of the sort process intending to post what still needs to be done on Monday in admittedly an exposed, biting kind of way toward the clutterminded in my household but it didn't show up in my email when I sent it to myself. A reminder to self....be happy with what has been accomplished and that it is getting better everyday.

Blast from the Past

Well, it is past for the boys but for me it still seems like the present....perhaps it has to do with the fraction of your life it encompasses :) Anyway, Elder Uminski paid the boys a visit. It was fun. He is a character. He fits right in, smart, funny, nerdy in a loving way. He came over and played games with Seth, Barrett, and Brandon. Brandon left to go to his father's before this picture was taken. Richie ended up staying the night. He had a cleaned up copy of Little Miss Sunshine so I stayed up way too late to watch it with them. It was very good. He left the next morning about when I was going off to work.

Atlas Shrugged ...reading

Okay, I must admit. I was not a reader...never read the classics, missed the boat on what was going on in the world around me when I was a teenager and well into my adulthood. My son knew about this book and I had never heard of it. I hate to admit it but it is true.

As you know I work for government and I was in a informal meeting with a consultant and he made a reference to Atlas Shrugged. I am sorry to say that the three others, all work in government, had not heard of it either. He went on to tell us just that it was written by Ayn Rand and that it is a classic and that we have to read it. One of the women turned to me and asked me to order a copy for each of them. Knowing nothing about it except it has been around a long time. I decided to first check it out at the library. All copies were out ( I am sure it is getting a lot of attention nowadays) but I asked for a hold and it came in. I went to pick it up and I almost laughed out loud when I saw its size...it is 1168 pages. Meanwhile I thought of the conversation we had in front of the consultant....how ignorant that conversation sounded. Clueless. He probably laughed inside when he knew we were talking about an 1168 page novel. Yeah I won't be ordering it with public funds...although based on the content, I am guessing it would actually be a good thing. :)

I am only 125 pages in and am enjoying it very much. I have resisted the urge, mostly, to look up the whole story line, see how it will end, etc. So far I am already sure that every business owner wishes every politician and government employee would read it.

I read a passage that affected me to the core. I was going to write it here but when I had Barrett read it, it didn't hit him the same way as it did me. I realized I can't set up the characters here well enough to feel the true impact of the passage. I will hold off until I finish the whole book. I can tell you that I thought it illustrated, to a tee, the current political/socioeconomic situation that we find ourselves in.

In looking for a picture for this blog, I saw that it is slated to become a movie in 2011. Interesting....

Dan and Jenna's wedding

Now that I have your attention (Dan and Jenna's first dance), I will go back and recap the day. The wedding was in Virginia City, NV and they dressed the part. She was in a vintage dress from the era and he was in western attire. Very handsome couple.

The wedding was in the banquet facilities of the Delta Saloon.

Dan with his mom, Joy, and niece, Jamie (in Joy's arms) and cousin....cute but can't remember her name---Mary's daughter.

Lynne, Owen, Dan, Greg and Barrett on Main St, Virginia City, waiting for the ceremony to start.

Here is Dan waiting for Jenna to walk down the aisle. She walked in to "Annie's Song" by John Denver.

Jenna and Dan after the exchange of rings.

They did it! They walked out to "Ring of Fire" by Johnny Cash. The boys thought the music choices were great.

Posing for pictures. Very cute couple (I don't think Dan would appreciate that I used the word "cute" here) but they are.

First dance. Dan doing something other than the "dance in a circle" thing all Mormon boys learn at Stake dances. Joy and Dan dancing the mom/son dance to the perfect song.....I can't remember the name of....by Rascal Flatts......some words "my wish for you.....something, something...." Anybody...help.

Sara and ARod were there, parents of Jamie and sister and bro-in-law to Dan. Jeff is deployed and Trish is on her mission in Washington DC so they couldn't be there.

Gregory and Barrett "enjoying" the festivities (translation....nice to see the cousins, but lets eat and get out of here!)

Jenna had this picture displayed in the reception hall. This is how Dan and Jenna are best known. They met on the mountain and work together at a ski resort. Well at least until November when Dan joins his brother in the Navy where he too will jump out of helicopters into water to save people.

Ponderosa Music Concert

Stephanie (back right) is my dear friend and wife to Mike, the best music teacher on the planet (bias view), invited me to go to the Ponderosa concert. All the kids (Barrett, April, Brandon, Spencer, and Greg) came along and we sat high up on the bleachers with Steph and her mom, Dorothy. The concert was amazing! I don't have a picture of Mike conducting because my batteries ran out. I have it recorded in my phone until that battery ran out so I will see if I can get it loaded. The band did several nice numbers, but the one that shot it out of the park was An American Elegy, which is a tribute to those who died at Columbine High School. It was so powerful. I cried. I cried because of the piece but I also cried as I thought of the impact Mike has had on my kids' lives. It is Mr. Holland's Opus. I think Mike was surprised we were there but I want to go every year. It is amazing to see his influence on kids year after year. (Note: Greg wants to invite Mike to go down the river with the gang next time they go. Mike is a river rat and took Greg and I down the river before Greg left for ERA). I trust Mike.) This is the first chance I had to hear their choir program at Pondo....also amazing. From Michelle (pianist for the groups) that it was awesome but I had no idea. Even their beginning choir out paces EDH.

After the concert, we went down on the floor and talked with Mike a bit. He was busy of course, but he did give Barrett permission to play Pondo's brand new digital piano (it looks like a mini grand). That was quite fun for him. He played it in harpsicord mode as to not draw attention to himself. He makes me laugh.

Happy Mother's Day

I must say this is by far one of the best Mother's Days I have had. It is such a blessing having both of my boys home. Grandma came for dinner. Also, a blessing to have her here in Placerville with us.

One of the great things about having the boys home is having their friends as part of our lives. Seth and Brandon are really part of the clan.

Here is my Mother's Day cake. Chocolate with a dark pink cream cheese frosting that was very yummy. Greg spend two days working on the cake. He also grilled pork chops for dinner. April made a lovely salad and Barrett made The Green Beans for the meal. Brandon made fish and Seth cleaned up for me. A wonderful day all the way around.

Its also great having a girl hanging around the house too. April gave me Japanese Cherry Blossom shower gel....my favorite scent from Bath and Body Works and she said that she would do all the girly, spa stuff with me. I've never learned how to do any of that stuff and don't have girls to learn with. I think it will be loads of fun.

Crystal Apple Awards

Crystal Apple Awards are presented to teachers from the local High Schools as voted on my the Seminary students in the El Dorado Stake. We went because Seth got credit for those who attended but I am so glad we went. It was a very nice event and it was good to hear from the kids about the teachers and the teachers about our kids. The teacher from Ponderosa said that he can always tell the Mormon kids because they are confident, look you straight in the eye and are positive (okay maybe not exactly but close). Terry Cox was the teacher from EDHS and David presented to him. Mr. Cox talked about making connections with students. He talked about his relationship with David and how they, though on the surface have nothing in common, really got along well because they were able to make the connection.

LOST Traditions

Wednesday night tradition is LOST at the Alicia and Rick's. As it turns out this is the episode before the season finale AND the season finale is the week before they move. Alicia has invited us to continue when they go to EDH but, sorry Alicia, I can't imagine driving home at 10 p.m. since my bedtime is really 9 p.m. Barrett sits front and center as not to miss a moment. He is in charge of volume control.

Alicia and Rick treat us all to popcorn with real butter (yum) and this week a special treat: Edamame....double yum! Thanks guys :)

Spencer is part of the tradition. He doesn't seem to mind hanging with the crazies.

I love crazy traditions like these. Memories that last a lifetime.

When Owen and I were first married. We were invited to Suzi and Mike Hardy's to watch Remington Steele on Tuesday night. That turned into a tradition too. Oreo cookies were our pleasure then. Every Tuesday we would go over in time to have family prayer with them and their darling little girls and then would smile when they all came back out one at a time for drinks of water.....now all the girls are grown with kids of their own. Suzi and Mike live far away but we are still friends...wish we could see each other more than we do, but still our lives are intertwined and our friendship is eternal. Note: Barrett learned how to play the piano because Jeigh played for him while we visited the Hardy's one year in Idaho. Look at him now.

These are the things life is made of....Dillon Beach, Girl's Night Out, Sunday night dinners at the Dopps and now at my own home.

Greg's outing

Greg had an outing with someone. He spent the week planning it. He decided on frisbee golf at the park. Once that started, Barrett and I went to In and Out Burger for the meal and placed it in the picnic basket. Once it was all set, we texted Greg to let him know and then took off. I think it turned out okay. I thought it was all quite cute.

Wolverine

May is a big movie month for us. One movie we have been waiting for at our house, is this one. May 1st...opening day. The plan.....we all go to the matinee Friday, May 1st at 4:30 p.m. Reality...the boys all went at the midnight showing Thursday night/Friday morning and slept in most of Friday. Owen and I still went as planned. The boys all came to watch it again too. Way fun.