UNEXPECTED DELIGHTS

     This is the beginning of the time of year where our Western skies give us great sunsets and interesting weather phenomenon to watch.    Last Wednesday this was my reward for an early 6:18 a.m. waking time!

(Hmmm....if I were a gambler I would have taken it as a sign to high tail it to the strip and claim my pot of gold at that particular casino!)

Now THAT was very weird !!!!!!!!

     Have you ever had a daydream come true???

     Recently Aly (Peter's daughter) was given a giant stuffed Zebra that her Grandmother Jensen bought her when they were all at Sam's Club.  Audrey & Ethan (Becky's kids) were over here on Saturday and Audrey took quite a shine to this huge, very soft critter and seemed to love lying and sitting on top of it.

     Jill told me that there had been lots of animal choices at Sam's and that one of them Aly almost chose was an elephant.  My ears pricked right up on that!   Elephanta are Audrey's favorite animal and she has a birthday coming up.  I decided the $20 price was right and a cuddly elephant would be a great gift choice.

    But I know how quickly seasonal merchandise can deplete so I went to bed just thinking about how urgent it was to get to Sam's club & check and how much I still wanted there to be an elephant! Sometimes a thought like that will play itself into a whole scenario in my mind and that happened as I drifted off to sleep.   I "dreamed" of being in Sam's and seeing another lady with a shopping cart that had one of the elephants in it and my saying something to her like, "Oh...that's what I came looking for too.  Where did you find that one?"  I was aware of wanting her to give up hers to me and in the "dream" that is exactly what she did.  "She said, "here you can have this one."

     The next day I went as soon as Sam's opened.  I had other items to get and another couple of ideas to look for for Christmas so was just wandering the isles.  I was by some furniture items when I turned and there right behind me was a lady with a shopping cart with a huge elephant in it!    I gasped and said, "There it is!!  That's what I came to Sam's to get!   Where did you find it cuz I haven't seen the display yet!"    She said, "Ya know... my son just threw that in the cart as a possibility for our grandson's birthday.   Here, YOU take it because I want to look for something else."    The skin all over my arms just prickled.  "Are you SURE???   If I go find another one would you like me to look for you and come give this one back? "  
     "No," she said.... "you just take it."  And she turned and went on her way

     I thanked her profusely and went off with my prize.....  but the whole rest of the remainder of the shopping I just had this eery, that-was-so-weird feeling!   I eventually came to the stuffed animal display.  There was one more elephant.   So I realized I would have eventually come to it in the course of my normal shopping and would have been able to take the last elephant.    .......so why did my daydream/nightdream actually play outself out like that????    Did someone else have the other elephant and then decide to put it back?   Would I have missed it?         Soooooooooooooooo  weird!

(Audrey had better love this elephant! I will spiffy it up with a lime green bow to match Becky's home decor)

I'M STRANDED !!!

Mud Slide at mile marker 8 has destroyed a large portion of Highway 14.

Access to the Cabin through Cedar City will be impossible for the next couple of months!!  I assume Dad must have had to turn around and go down thru Brianhead and Parowan when he left to go home yesterday.  I am still at the cabin and, oddly,  feel stranded even though I know there are back ways to get to our cabins.

Below are the aerial photos taken two days later.  The photos above are a tiny tiny portion viewable at the far left before you see the total COVER of earth.    This will be no quick fix.  I sure hope no one is buried under all that!

We suspect the county will make a bigger effort to keep the stretch of road from 14 up past Cedar Breaks open during the winter months....   who knows??

AGH !! THE WEATHER WIZARD WORKED HIS WITCHCRAFT !!

     Remember that post a few days back??  Well - Suddenly an all-day rain storm turned to snow and our autumn days turned into winter.  We were sort of housebound for two days so were grateful that our company loves playing games!! 

     The Walters & Bryants had left and were replaced with Margene and Dennis Taylor and Howard and Carol Snow from our Chilean Mission Days.  We were joined for an afternoon by a short visit from Richard and Caroline Wilson from St. George.   We were glad the roads cleared enough they could make it up!

This is the same stand of trees where just two days ago we took group Fall Color photos with the Bryants & Walters

Across the road from Panguitch Lake

Our neighbor's Spruce sporting winter icycle ornaments

Snows taught us two new games to while away the winter hours inside the cabin:  Pony Tail (a fun new version of Canasta) and a dice game called "Perudo".  That's the Wilsons at the head of the table.

Carol and Howard Snow

Dennis and Margene Taylor

I LOVE CONFERENCE TIME!!

It can't get better than this.  New temples announced and what is better - a new fund where we can all donate to help those that are financially strapped to travel to wherever they need to go to get to the temple for the first time.   I am REALLY excited about this since I remember the years that my Guatemalan and Salvadoran Saints had to travel 3-5 days straight in order to go to Mesa, Arizona - then their closest temple!   There are still many who struggle to go have those saving ordinances.   Dear friends!!  Give generously...or give even a little!

And how wonderful to preserve both the Provo Tabernacle and be able to have another Provo temple to take some of the burden off the existing one!

Mike and Yolanda Bryant working on Leisha and Phil's quilt during conference.  (Yes, Mike is a GREAT quilter, just like my Dad was!)

Here we are at the cabin, with wonderful friends, eating good food, loving fall colors, playing games, getting caught up!    Relationships are the most important thing in life.   Love well;  love willingly!!

Wes Walters finishing our hard puzzle during conference

while LeGaye is very attentive and taking good notes.



And Grandpa is absorbing by osmosis as usual!   :-)

And grandkids called to talk to "bumpah" afterwards.....so it has been a wonderful weekend!   Hope it was for all of you too.

We ate well & played hard and explored some incredible Fall Color displays:

The "Low Country Boil" is ready!

(One very large pot, three quarts of water, a packet of Zataran's Shrimp & Crab Boil, red potatoes, Kielbasa sausage, corn & green beans each added in turn as the preceding ingredient begins to be cooked.  At the very last, throw in whatever seafood you choose.  I used shrimp, scallops & some pieces of Hake.  In the Low Country you would throw the drained contents onto a spread-out newspaper, give each person a napkin, some bread and a small pot of melted butter...and then you just eat!   No plates, no utensils.  Fun!)

Neighbor Glen Barker joined us and was brave enough to stick around and play the Bryant's version of "Scum" - complete with colorful hats for the King, Queen & Scum

Glen got first turn at being Scum, but I followed close behind

Mike and Yolanda as King & Scum

Next morning we set out for a glorious exploration of Fall Colors.  The Season really came through for us!

This scene on Kolob Mt. needs to be made into a puzzle!

Victor and I in a particularly beautiful stand of Aspen

This is from the same spot, looking back at the highway.  I thought the natural arch created by the Aspen was really cool!

Same grove; cool arrangement of fallen aspen trunks

We liked the combination of colors with a spot of red against the lave by Birch Springs Knoll

along with the cool broken limb.

Wish you could all have been here!



mmmmmm! Yummy BAKED oatmeal!!!

Even oatmeal haters will love it!

Prepared for us at the cabin on a lovely Fall Conference Sunday by Colorado friend, Yolanda Bryant

(And it's a cool recipe because you can prepare part of it the night before for a quick "put-together" the next morning)

YUMMY BAKED OATMEAL

(with healthy, enhanced ingredients in parentheses)

Combine the following dry ingredients the night before (should you choose to) and let sit out, covered, at room temperature.

     2 c. regular oatmeal  (Can add 4 T. flax meal or freshly ground flax seeds)

     1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

     1/2 tsp. salt

     1/3 c. chopped almonds

     1/3 c. chopped dried apricots (and/or any other dried fruit you like, i.e. craisens, dates, prunes, apples...)

Wet ingredients (which can also be combined the night before and refrigerated)

     1 1/2 milk (or soymilk, rice milk, or almond milk - increase to 1 3/4 c. if adding flax meal)

     2 large eggs

     1/2 c. firmly packed brown sugar  (or 1/3 c. agave syrup)

     3 T. vegetable oil

     1/2 tsp. cinnamon

     1 fresh ripe pear (or apple or peach) - Add this at the last minute as you combine with oats

Preheat oven to 325.

Whisk all the above wetter ingredients together and combine with the oatmeal mixture.  Pour into an 8 x 8 buttered baking dish.  Bake until all the lliquid is absorbed & the top is a light golden brown (approx. 45 minutes).   Serve warm,  accompanied by fresh milk and additional fresh fruit if desired.  

It's not quite a coffee cake, but is chewy and crunchy and REALLY good and stays with you.