January 20, 1997

Dearest John & Julianna; Roy, Patrice, Emily, Timothy & Jesse; Bob, Claire, Michael, Laura, Brett & Katie; Rick, Jean, Ricky, Barbara Jean, Mary Ann & Sarah; Ron, Ann, Susanna, Jessie, Russell, Lee Anna & Jimmy:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO CLAIRE ON SUNDAY!!! I hope you have a WONDERFUL day. It seems like a long time since I have talked to you and I hope you have completely recuperated from your surgery.

This has been a very funny week for me!!! We had a very bad snowstorm on Monday and when Cissy and Charles came into Salt Lake that night there was a real blizzard. They called me and said they decided to stay in a motel and I didn't blame them. I told them I was going to Palm Springs the next day but they could use my home to stay in if they wanted.

Monday afternoon my Home Teacher, Steve Frisby, and his sons came over to shovel out my driveway - it had drifted over and was a big job. I had been getting up periodically during the night for several nights to flush the two toilets upstairs so the water wouldn't freeze. WELL, that morning about 3 o'clock the guest bathroom toilet wouldn't flush. I really wasn't too worried about it because I had the water dripping in the bathtubs and the other toilet was fine. I asked Steve if he would come in and just check it because I was leaving town the next day. Steve didn't think the pipes were frozen either, AT FIRST. He thought something in the toilet needed to be replaced. He took the pipe just below the toilet apart and couldn't get any water to come out of it so he said the pipe had to be frozen. I WAS JUST SICK. I haven't had any problems with frozen pipes since Daddy and John tore the dining room ceiling out and just filled that area with insulation. Steve stayed over here for about 6 hours helping me with hair blowers, space heaters, etc. He opened a place in the garage ceiling where it leads to the pipes and found that Daddy had REALLY stuffed it with insulation. He took some of it out saying that maybe it was too much. I brought in a ladder and put a space heater on it turned towards the ceiling and made preparations to sleep on the floor in the dining room so I would hear it if it broke and could turn off the water in the house in a hurry. Steve left saying "I don't care what time it is, if your pipe breaks you call me". Shortly after that I heard it "gurgle" and it thawed without breaking. I WAS SO RELIEVED AND SO WAS STEVE.

I called John to see what he thought about my leaving to go to Palm Springs. He said he thought I should drain all the water in the house, turn the heat up and then go. I called Ron and he said the same thing. SO, Tuesday morning my good neighbors, Cora and Mel Wilcox came over and drained all the water in my house (he had done that professionally for people when they lived in Las Vegas). I felt really good about everything and had my suitcases all packed and was waiting by the front door when Ellen Mae called and said they had made one final check with the Highway Patrol and they said we would be traveling for 300 miles on ice so they didn't want to leave until Wednesday morning. I was SO tired from all the worry that I went upstairs and went to bed for a nap. About 4 o'clock my dogs awakened me with their barking and they just wouldn't stop. SO, I went out side to investigate and found little Hans down in the area of my pine trees and he was all tangled up in the frozen tree limbs and the snow had drifted practically all over him and he couldn't move. I climbed in that area and carried him back to the garage and decided then and there that I was not going to leave my home and little dogs. I called Ellen Mae and told them to go without me. I was SO surprised last night when she called me from Kaysville and said they decided to not go either - here, I was thinking they were enjoying the Bob Hope Golf Classic in Palm Springs and I was feeling sorry for myself. I am convinced we all made the right decision to not leave.

I did a dumb thing and forgot to ask Cissy and Charles where they were staying. I worried all week about them being in Utah and not knowing how to get in touch with them. They had come for their grandson's mission homecoming from the London, England Mission and I knew that would be held on Sunday morning. SO, I called Jeannie Saturday morning to see if she could find out which ward it would be held in and what time. Bless her heart - there are 30 different wards in Centerville but I did give her a clue about the names of some of their friends there and she found out what I needed to know. THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH JEANNIE.!!!! It was held at 9 a.m. so I left the house at 7:30 and traveled through a lot of fog but I made it in time and I AM SO GLAD I WAS ABLE TO GO. Their grandson, David Wheeler, is a darling young man and I really enjoyed his talk and also that of his parents, Shauna and Rex Wheeler - Cissy and Charles' daughter and son in law. It was WONDERFUL to visit with Cissy and Charles - they don't ever change. The Wheelers moved from Centerville to Arizona while David was on his mission but he left from Centerville so he had his homecoming there

I left Centerville after that meeting and went to Farmington to go to Relief Society with Jeannie. I got there right in time and I was SO SURPRISED!!!. Mary Ann and Sarah played a violin duet in their Relief Society meeting and Jeannie hadn't even told me they were going to. They did a WONDERFUL job and I was SO proud of them. They invited me to stay for dinner so I did and I was SO impressed in how they all "pitched in" to make a very delicious dinner It was cute to hear Jeannie give her family directions, "Ricky, you set the table", "Sarah, you put the placemats on", "Mary Ann, you get the drinks and ice" . etc. etc. Barji had gone directly from church to one of her friends for a few minutes so she had to help more in cleaning up - Ha!!! Of course, Rick was already helping. I told them that could get "habit forming" for me to have them all wait on me.

Barji was in a "Dance Team Competition" in Bountiful all day on Saturday for her High School. In fact, Jeannie had to hurry and make the phone calls for me before they left to go watch it. They had a video of it and we watched that after dinner yesterday. IT WAS WONDERFUL AND OF COURSE BARJI WAS THE BEST ONE IN HER TEAM. I was SO thrilled to be able to see it and have them tell me about it. Their High School placed in the top three.

I went to see the Bob Mellors after I left the Weinerts but they were in church so I missed them. Their church times are from 1:30 - 4:30. All our church times are different so it will be impossible for us to do anything as a family on Sundays. I really like the late times better but I know it is hard for those of you with young families.

Ann, Lee Anna, Russell and Jimmy came over for Family Home Evening last night - I was SO happy to have Russell come - he hasn't been with them the past two Sundays they have come because he has had other conflicts. Ron, Susanna & Jessie were on their way home from Jerome, Idaho where they had spent the weekend. They called me from the "Point of the Mountain" to see if their family had come but they had already left to go home. Ron's Mom has been in the hospital for the last week having some tests made so Ron went to be with her and he took Susanna and Jessie so they could clean her house for her. She came home on Saturday and will probably have to go in for more tests this week - what do they say? "OLD AGE ISN'T FOR SISSIES". I surely hope they will find ways to help her get well - she is such a special woman and we all love her - when people like Bev get ill it makes all of us so grateful to have spent holidays with her.

John goes over to the farm in Lehi with his dogs when he can. He called me to tell me the people putting in a huge pipe by the 5 acre piece have torn down the fence. They have had that road blocked off for several months and I haven't even been able to get by it - I don't know how John is able to do it. Anyway - I told him that I depend on Bob and him to take care of things over there - I don't speak their language!!!

Roy and Patrice - I understand you have had some Winter weather too. Cissy and Charles said they had a hard time getting to the airport from Hot Springs on Monday morning. I worry about the ice storms you sometimes have in Little Rock. The good thing is that your children don't have to get in cars in order to get to school. Jesse does but he doesn't really have to go to school if the weather is bad. I hope the insulation you had put in your home has paid off. I was happy to hear from Grandma Suzie and she sounds fine - I think it is great she is going to England in the Spring with the Elder Hostel group. I enjoy traveling with groups too even though I am finding out I am not much of a traveler. I LOVE being home!!!

I have been listening to the Inaugural Ceremony of President Clinton. I enjoy watching things like that but it is hard when the press decides to criticize his speech. I thought it was very good.

I am trying to retype most of my recipes and throw away a lot of them. I have so many recipes that it takes me longer to find the ones I want than it does to prepare them when I do find them. The way we cook nowadays is so different from the way we used to that I am finding many of my favorite recipes are obsolete.

Bob is still searching for James Mellor's original journal. That has turned out to be quite a mystery. Carol (Daddy's sister) called me and said she had seen it and that Granny Mellor donated it to one of the genealogy societies in Salt Lake She said she had seen it since that time "under glass" but she doesn't remember where. Bob says he has investigated the genealogy sources and they don't have it. Bob - I am proud of you for being so diligent in this. I wish I could be of more help.

This is much too long - You probably won't read it and I don't blame you. It is good journal material though.

I surely hope you will all be very careful in everything you do and let me know how I can help you.

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