November 28, 1999 Farmington, Utah

This is the time of year when there is a lot of anxiety - even though I don't have near the stress that all of you do I still feel "anxiety in the air" - Ha!!! I had a man put up my Christmas lights on the outside about a week ago and when I went to turn them on, one string didn't work so I had to have him come back. He kept saying he would come but he didn't show up until yesterday - SO now they are on and they are pretty. All the condos have those icicle lights on their roofs and then some of the others have other lights too. Margaret has colored lights on her pine trees at the side of her condo and they add a lot. I bought all white icicle lights but when I opened them, one set was blue so I have put those on the balcony by the bedroom and I love them at night when I go to bed - they match the blue in my bedroom.

The Woolleys will spend Christmas in Hawaii this year but they still put up their Christmas tree. Their home was simply beautiful when we all went there for Thanksgiving and I want to tell you all about it. I went early and stopped in Orem to visit with John and he helped me with my finances again. I LOVE his home and he keeps it so clean and orderly. Moki and Tar always welcome me but they are SO gentle that it is fun to be around them - they can't help it that they are SO big!!! I LOVED seeing the pictures of Emily, Timothy and Jesse with Sammie on John's refrigerator. John had ordered a HUGE salmon for Thanksgiving dinner and he had it all prepared. He says it comes as a big fish with just the insides taken out and he puts lemon slices, garlic, onions, etc. inside it and then grills it. It really is the best salmon I have ever eaten and I ate a lot of salmon in Alaska. I would like to try to cook one like that in my oven sometime.

The Weinerts had already arrived at the Woolleys by the time John and I got there about 2 p.m. It is WONDERFUL to see how much the cousins enjoy each other. I LOVED the way Annie had planned the day - she said to come about noon but to not be hungry - Ha!!! We had veggies and dips - Ann had made a delicious seafood one and when I asked for the recipe she said she had "made it up". We had time to just visit in a very relaxed way and I have NEVER enjoyed a Thanksgiving day as much. It was something I will remember as I saw all the Bob Mellors come in carrying a big pie - Claire must have worked all morning making pies - pumpkin, cherry, and pecan served with ice cream or whipping cream. CLAIRE IS THE FAMILY PIE MAKER!!!

The tables were set so beautifully with Thanksgiving tablecloths and place cards for everyone and candles. Annie had a funny experience with candles later in the day - she had very large candles on her fireplace mantle and they dripped over the side onto her tile floor there. She bent over to wipe up the spills and the candles from the mantel dripped all over her hair - we all laughed and said it was a good thing it was the white candle and not the red or green ones. Ann had fixed her usual delicious food - turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, cranberries (a new and wonderful recipe with dried apricots) hot rolls etc. - Jeannie had made a great fruit salad. I fixed cauliflower in a Swiss cheese sauce but I won't do that again - I think everyone would have preferred the green bean and mushroom sauce dish.

After dinner some of us went to the movie "Toys 2" - Bob had surgery the next morning so he and Michael went home. I will have to admit that I fell asleep watching the movie (I always do that) but what I did watch was darling - especially the Barbie dolls. IT WAS AN ABSOLUTELY MARVELOUS DAY IN EVERY WAY - Thank you Woolleys for having all of us. I have talked to many friends who live in the condos and they had their families for Thanksgiving so I am going to try to get better organized for the next time you come here. My neighbor to the North of me had 40 people - they served it buffet and said it worked great - some went downstairs!!!

Bob and Claire have some GREAT pictures of their week in Guatemala - they have pictures of a place where they stayed and honestly it looked terrible. They only spent one night there and Bob said it cost him $1.50 which was way too much. It looks like a very lush and beautiful country.

Jeannie and Barji came by to see me on Friday night at ZCMI and that was fun. We are very, very busy - the phone doesn't stop ringing and I am expected to know the answers of every question you could imagine. I have never used the phone for shopping and it is amazing to me that many, many people do.

I forgot to mention that Susanna made the most DELICIOUS pumpkin chocolate chip cookies for Thanksgiving - they were SO good and even John ate some!!! She is going to be a good cook just like her Mother.

I LOVE YOU ALL SO VERY, VERY MUCH. PLEASE BE SO VERY, VERY CAREFUL IN EVERYTHING YOU DO - Grandma BXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Dearest Family,

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ANNIE ON FRIDAY!!! I do my best thinking in the middle of the night and last night about midnight I woke up and thought "Holy Toledo, I forgot to wish Ann a Happy Birthday in my weekly report". The calendar I use with all my notes on to write my letter has each month separately on the page and I didn't turn it over to December. I'm sorry Annie - this isn't the first time and I am sure it won't be the last that I will forget a birthday. I HOPE YOU HAVE A WONDERFUL DAY WITH A GREAT BIG BIRTHDAY CAKE AND BREAKFAST IN BED - that's a laugh because I know you won't eat cake and you will walking your five miles before anyone else in your family is awake - HAVE A GOOD DAY ANYWAY!!!

I LOVE YOU ALL - Grandma B XXXXXXXXXXXXXXOOOOOOOOOOOOOO