July 20, 1999 Farmington, Utah

HAPPY BIRTHDAYS TO RON ON FRIDAY AND TO JIMMY ON SUNDAY!!! WOW - JIMMY'S A TEENAGER - the Woolleys have had enough practice that they will be able to handle it - Ha!!! I hope you both have WONDERFUL birthdays - I think it is neat that through the years you will be able to celebrate your birthdays at the same time. I remember SO well when Jimmy was born and we were all hoping he would come on Ron's birthday - he almost made it!!!

Claire - THANK YOU SO MUCH for your darling card from Hawaii and those WONDERFUL pictures. No - I can't believe that Bob went up in that parachute but the smile on Laura's face made it all worth it. You are such an excellent photographer and the pictures are priceless - it was like being in Hawaii. I know you have had such a great time and you are coming home today. I hope Martha got better and was able to join you. I'm anxious to hear all about your trip.

Patrice - THANK YOU SO MUCH for your e-mail and also your shirt order. I am excited for your Mom and her trip to California and then to Washington. (Suzie is going to California for her High School 50th reunion and then she will go visit Liz in Washington). She could make a stop in Utah and I would pick her up and she could visit here too - I would love that. I LOVE hearing that the children and Sammie are getting along good - is she growing fast? One of my favorite pictures is the one with her in her kennel and the children close by. I know Julianna is missing her. I will be anxious to hear how Sammie and Suzie's cat get along - GOOD LUCK!!!

Jeannie - THANK YOU SO MUCH for taking care of my tomatoes, geraniums, etc. while I have been gone for a week. I talked to Jeannie last night and they are doing good. Mary Ann is a counselor at their Stake Youth Camp this week and Sarah is at some other kind of camp - I believe it is violin but I can't remember. Barji is working many hours at Mervyns and she is happy about that - I laughed when Jeannie told me that it is the kind of job that will encourage her to go back to school and get her degree. I remember so well when Roy decided he didn't want to do "roofing jobs" for the rest of his life.

John & Julianna - you are the only ones I haven't heard from but I know you are doing good. Have you sold all your dogs yet??? I appreciate SO much your bringing the doll house and other things to me - they are still in the garage but I will find a place for them in the house soon. I am thinking of turning the doll house into a "photo gallery" for my family - I believe there would be a room for each one of you. Does that sound dumb?

I have been in Wyoming with my neighbor, Margaret Anderson, and some of the couples here in the condos. I had a hard time deciding to go but I'm glad I did - I had such a good time. Margaret asked me to go with her on Tuesday and I suggested that I drive my own car so I could come home after a couple days but I could tell she really wanted me to go with her and after I got there I could understand why. There is a great couple in our condo area - they live about three condos from me - and they rode with us. I had known that the wife had been ill but I had no idea what was wrong with her. I think she is in the early stages of Alzheimer's (sp.?) - I know I shouldn't diagnose any thing but it was quite an experience being with them. I don't believe she ever did decide who I was or why I was there. She was in perfect health until January of this year and it started with extreme nausea and she had to be hospitalized. They are still wondering if it has something to do with all the medication she is taking. The couples who went have been going with Margaret for a long, long time - they were all friends long before Delonne (Margaret's husband) died. They did a lot of rafting on the snake river.

This lady's daughter is a plastic surgeon in Salt Lake and she came up on Saturday and spent the night and also part of Sunday with us. Margaret couldn't decide why she wanted to come but I think she wanted to see up close how her mother reacted in a situation like that. I felt SO sorry for her husband but she was perfectly happy - PLEASE, IF I EVER GET LIKE THAT PUT ME IN A HOME AND FORGET ABOUT ME. She is about five years younger than I am. Her husband was the golf pro at Oakridge for many years and now his son has that job.

There were five different couples that came up during the week and it was SO MUCH FUN. We all went shopping in Jackson Hole. One couple brought chicken cacciatore, another couple brought steaks to cook that were out of this world, I fixed fried rice that wasn't very good and they bought bar-b-cue ribs on their way home from the golf course another day. The food was just delicious and Margaret is a very gracious hostess and made everything SO special - we had a formal dinner one night at her big "reunion" table in the dining room and she even had that sparkling non-alcoholic beverage so we could have "toasts". That night a couple drove in from Driggs, Idaho - he was a Mission President in Russia and they have put their missionary papers in again and want to go to Vermont this time. The other nights she set her table out on their beautiful patio and she had different "motifs" for each night with beautiful table linens - Patriotic theme one night and Pioneer theme another night. It is just amazing all the things she has!!! She also has limitless energy - it's hard for me to believe that she was a classmate of Dee and Don - she seems like a teenager!!! She had to come home to see her missionary grandson off to Brazil - he leaves this afternoon. Her home is on 40 acres and she is quite isolated so her children don't want her to be up there by herself - she is thinking of taking one of her children's black labs up with her - his name is Casper. She has an elaborate security system so I don't think she has to worry.

It is fun to go through her home and see all the pictures on her walls. She has pictures with President and Mrs. Bush, Quayle and many other dignitaries - they went to the Presidential inauguration. They just about threw me out of the house when I said that I felt sorry for President Clinton. I guess I am going to have to start lying about how I feel about that. I certainly don't like him nor did I vote for him but I think Ken Starr has tried to crucify him and I don't like him one bit - enough of that!!!

We didn't hear about John F. Kennedy Jr.'s accident until the evening after it happened. She has a big satellite on her property but she doesn't get CNN so we didn't watch much television. We watched some excellent movies on video and I decided I had better "get with it" and watch more things like that - they had all seen the movies we watched, "Horse Whisperer" and "Dave" but they watched them the second time with me. They also watched "Star Wars" but I can't follow it so I worked on my rug (will I ever get that finished?) I am SO sorry for the Kennedys - we talked about it a lot and it seems like we all feel like they kinda' "live on the edge" and take chances they shouldn't take. No matter what - IT IS VERY SAD!!!