The End to a Busy Month

The weeks are going by so fast I can hardly get anything finished. This week was busy with a doctors appointment, Relief Society birthday party, irrigation and sewing. I like to look on quilting blogs and see what really talented people are making. I found this really cute pattern for an Easter bunny, so I've spent the last two days working on it. I don't know yet whether to make it into a pillow or a quilt. Now Mindi thinks I need to make one for her. It's already been two months since we said good-bye to Dad and I'm glad Mom's doing as well as she is. I ask her everyday if she is ready yet to come live with me and the answer is always, "not yet." She is a busy person who works in her yard and feeds the stray cats in the neighborhood. I'm so thankful she is able to be independent as long as possible. I've made an appointment to see my doctor about the pain in my left shoulder and I may need to have another surgery on something else. Getting old is so hard, I sometimes get so discouraged with all my aches and pains. If this is as good as it's going to be at 60, I dread going into the 70's and 80's. Last night we took Spencer to the airport to join Annie in Boston. They have sold their home there and are packing all their possessions to move it across country again. Hopefully they will get it done fast and come home for good. I never know with them where they will end up, so I'm going to enjoy them as long as they are here. Next week we move into April with two birthdays, our anniversary and Easter. There is going to be lots of celebrations going on the next couple of weeks, and of course we also have taxes, we can't forget those.

Pantry Cleaning and Broken Body Parts

It seems like the older I get the faster time flies by and the less I get accomplished. Last week went by really fast and when I think what's going on this week it makes me tired. Last Friday Mindi and I went over to see my Mom in Scottsdale.  We stopped by to pick up a sandwich and had lunch with her.  I don't think she eats unless someone encourages her, or she gets faint. My poor Dad was always hungry and waiting for her to fix him something to eat. He finally just started making eggs and bacon everyday so he wouldn't go hungry. While we were there, Mindi decided to tackle her pantry. A few years ago we went and threw out tons of canned goods and outdated food that she had collected. Dad hated her pantry being so stuffed but she was stocking up in case there was an emergency, she could help her family. I do the same thing and haven't gotten the rotation aspect of food storage. Rich hates my pantry too and sometimes I'll come in the kitchen and see that he's organized it and that's fine with me. That's not one of my strong suits, organization. While Mindi was hauling stuff out to the trash, Mom and I were going through Dad's closet. She hasn't wanted to do anything with all his stuff yet, but she did give up his ties. Len had mentioned that he would like the ones he had given him and I took what I gave him. I think I have about thirty more ties to try and find a home for. I swear that since I've turned sixty I'm falling apart. I've been having trouble with my right hand going numb and then for the last two months my left shoulder has been killing me. I finally went in last week and had x-rays of both of those body parts and when the doctor called to tell me nothing was wrong that he could see, maybe you need an MRI, I was discouraged. I HATE pain, even though I have a high tolerance for pain I still don't do well when my body parts hurt. Tomorrow I have another appointment to check out another part of me that is struggling. I wish I could check myself in somewhere and get everything fixed and updated. That would probably cost more than I'm worth so I guess I will just carry on the way I am. As we left Mom's the neighbors were all outside visiting. I thanked them for keeping an eye on her and told them she wasn't allowed to bring any more canned goods into her house. I think she probably headed over to the grocery store when we left to replace all we threw away, I sure hope not, but some things just never change.

Sundays Are Hard

We survived spring break and the kids are all back in school, thank heavens.  We did get a lot done around the house and yard. I found myself kind of envious of those who have the time and money to take their families away for the week. Because Rich wanted to run his own business, that has never been the case for our family. Sometimes when I'm feeling sorry for myself, I am reminded of my blessings. I'm lucky to even have a house to live in and a yard to mow. We have a huge posterity that seems to grow every year and we are thankful for all of them. Sundays seem to be the hardest for me. It's a time of reflection and quiet. It seems like Sundays represent my parents love of the Gospel and their testimonies that they shared with us often. It reminds me of their service as Dad was Bishop, Missionary and Temple Worker. My Mom now attends her Ward alone, and I know that has to be hard but she carries on. Sometimes I look back at last year and all the inspiration I received about Dad's final year. When we were juicing pomegranates, I felt it would be his last year. Then when we had Christmas Dinner I felt again that this would be the last Christmas with him. He didn't even make it out of January before he left us, but he was ready and I'm happy he is out of pain. Sometimes I can hear him tell me he's okay and happy where he's at, that eases the pain a little bit. We did get a little bit of good news this last couple of weeks. Spencer and Annie aren't moving to Montana as planned because he was offered a job in Tucson. I don't think Annie is as excited as he is but the opportunity he has been given was too good to pass on, so they will be way closer than Boston or Billings. He loved playing football at the U of A and hopefully he can use his opportunities their to help others. Now it's time to get going and finish all the projects I didn't get done last week, that's going to take a long time, not to mention all the quilts I need to finish.

Spring Break 2015

This week is spring break, so in true Larsen fashion we are having a work party. It started on Saturday when we had all the kids out cleaning up the back yard. We had a stretch where with the rains and irrigation it was too muddy to do anything. Now that the temps are in the high 80's and shooting for 90 tomorrow the weather is perfect for working outside. I decided it was time to tackle my sewing room. It seems like I just get in there and sew until I'm too tired to do anything else, so I just turn everything off and shut the door. Even though I have four or five quilts to put together, I decided it was time to get organized. I've spent the last two days sorting through scraps of material and organizing them into colors and textures. Being organized isn't one of my talents and it's extremely hard for me to get in the mood, but I will be so happy when I can find things when I need them. On Sunday we had Mom over for dinner. Len had to speak at Stake Conference in Tempe so he and Julie picked her up and took her with them. After he spoke they brought her to their house, where we picked her up and she ate dinner and visited with us. Then Len took her home on his way to another meeting. I think she is doing great with Dad passing away, but I know she is lonely and always comments that life sure isn't much fun without him around anymore. She could come live with us but right now she wants to be in her house, with her friends and ward family calling and checking on her all the time. I suppose some day she will get tired of being alone and decide to make a change, but until then and as long as she is of sound mind, she can do what she wants to. Maybe the chaos of our "funny farm" would be too much for her to handle anyway. When I went outside yesterday to feed the critters, the warm breeze and scent of orange blossoms made me so melancholy. I miss my Dad, and I still miss Kamber. I know they are both together, and both happy to be where they are, but I'm not happy they are gone. Mom keeps reminding me that we will all be joining them someday, but for now I'm still stuck, stuck in that place I've visited before and hopefully can leave someday.

Wet and Busy Week

We started off the week with two and a half hours of irrigation and two days of rain. It has been in the 50's and 60's which is cold for this part of the country. Hopefully it is going to warm up and dry out because I hate feeding animals when it's a muddy mess. I had a friend text me last week asking if I could adopt her ducks. She has been breeding and raising Muscovy ducks for a few years now, but with the recent passing of her husband she was downsizing. So I'm now the new proud owner of the cutest ducks on the planet. This is the time of year that I really enjoy my herd, or flock, or pack, whatever animals I have. The problem is when the temperatures go up in to the 100's that it gets hard. I'm not as young as I used to be and it's getting harder and harder to run the farm while hobbling around on a bad knee, bad hip and other ailments. If I were rich I would buy a 20 acre piece of land and rescue as many animals as I could handle. I would also hire a few guys to come and do all the work. It would be heaven to me to care for the injured, sick and those whose owners have abused them. I'm not rich, and I'm married to a Rich who doesn't particularly share the same love for animals as I do, so it makes it quite hard to run the petting zoo by myself. He's been a good sport most of the time, bless his heart.  It has been seven weeks since Dad went to see Kamber. Sometimes I really am at peace with his passing, then others I'm angry and sad. I can say that it was way easier to let Dad go than to come to grips with Kamber leaving, but I'm so thankful for the knowledge I have that we live after death. If losing a loved one was final, with no chance of ever seeing that person again, it would be unbearable, but because of the Atonement and my belief in a loving Heavenly Father, I know I will see them again. So every day is a challenge to keep my mind and emotions right, to stay busy doing what I love and serving others. I've been working all week on some quilts and burpers for the twins. They are getting so big Jenn is using their baby quilts to burp them with. I do have to say that sewing helps me created and do something I love. It's way more fun than laundry and dishes.