Weekly Report April 22, 2001

Dearest Family,

CONGRATULATIONS TO STEVE THIS WEEK - I BELIEVE HE WILL GRADUATE FROM BYU THIS WEEKEND.  I AM PROUD OF YOU STEVE AND I HOPE THE WOOLLEYS WILL TAKE LOTS OF PICTURES TO SHARE WITH YOUR FAMILY - I KNOW THEY WILL MISS BEING HERE WITH YOU.

I have had a fun week and I hope all of you have had one too.  I still haven't heard from my Thai friends and I don't know why - this has been a frustrating month and I hope it won't happen like this every year.  I don't know how to get in touch with them so I just have to hope I'll be home when and if they call.  I have had quite a few phone calls with no one answering on the other end and I'm wondering if maybe they have tried to call and didn't do it right.  I REALLY expected them to call today and I have stayed home except for my church meetings.

One of our new temples at Winter Quarters, Nebraska was dedicated today by President Hinckley and it was televised.  This is the second one in the history of the church that has been televised and you could only attend at the Stake Centers if you had a ticket from your Bishop.  It was SO funny - this morning at Relief Society my Bishop came in and handed me a ticket.  I was SO happy thinking it was such a nice thing for him to do because you were supposed to go to his office to get one.  WELL - when I looked at the name on it, it wasn't even for me - it was for "Ruth" and evidently she had gone to his office to get it and something happened and he had to bring it to her.  I found her and gave it to her.  It's a change for me for my Bishop to not even know who I am - Ha!!!  I hadn't planned to go anyway so it was okay.

I went to the condo board meeting this week and that is an "eye opener"!!!  Two couples who live in the condos came to the meeting with a "landscaping plan" - they live on the East side and want more money and time spent on beautifying their backyards so they can be "up to standard" with the ones on the West side that have the golf course in their back yards.  Everyone on the board serves without any compensation and they are expected to "please everyone".  Most of the people in the condos are very nice and cooperative but with 36 condos I guess there will always be problems.  They want to take my little "rock garden" down because Jack didn't ask permission to build it.  It is SO pretty right now with a lot of tulips in full bloom and the rose bushes are so healthy and it will be pretty all Summer - I hope they change their minds!!!

I went to my DUP meeting on Wednesday and I had the best dessert I have had for a long time.  It was a strawberry trifle but it wasn't served from a trifle bowl - it was served on individual dessert dishes.  The hostess said she put strawberries on the bottom then layered it alternately with a mixture of creamed cream cheese, sour cream, whipped cream and powdered sugar with more strawberries.  GOOD!!!

I have thought about Annie a lot lately and her experience on the Provo School Board.  There was a big article in the paper about a "school gun hoax" at Timpview High School where all my Provo grandchildren go (Jimmy will start there in the Fall).  Evidently it was rumored that some students had plans to start shooting other students so they had to investigate.  I'm sure that school safety is a big issue throughout the United States and the school boards will be involved in all of it.

I had a funny experience yesterday.  I told Margaret I would take care of her dog, "Rerun", while she went to New York with some people from Utah State to attend some kind of a concert.  I took him out to do "his business" about 4 o'clock yesterday morning before I went to the temple and then I put him in her garage.  When I came home about noon I put him outside on his leash - it was raining just a little bit but I didn't want him to mess up the garage and he had been in there for 7 hours.  WELL - Margaret's daughter Peg and her granddaughter came by to check up on him and found him outside and thought he had been out there since 5 o'clock in the morning when I went to the temple so they took him inside Margaret's home and put him in his bed in the bathroom.  They came over to my condo but I can't hear the doorbell ring when I am upstairs so they didn't think I was home.  After about ten minutes I went to put him back in the garage and saw that he was "unhooked" from his leash and I thought he had run away.  I just panicked because Margaret loves that dog more than anything else in the world.  I got in my car and drove all around this area and then came home and searched by foot all over the condo area.  I decided the best thing to do would be to call all the church people and ask them to look for him around their homes but I thought it would be best to call her daughter first.  Her phone number is unlisted so I went into Margaret's home to see if her number was on her desk by the telephone.  As I went in I noticed the bathroom door was closed and I make a point of keeping it open to air it out - when I opened it there was Rerun!!!   A little while later Peg called me and said she had just realized what she had done and she felt TERRIBLE!!!  She was so sweet and brought me a beautiful plant and LOTS of apologies!!!

Do you all remember the wrestler from Wyoming who won the Olympic gold?  One of his best friends who lives in Star Valley Wyoming has cancer and has had one of his legs amputated.  He has had many operations at Mayo Clinic and I believe he also went to Mexico for treatment he hopes will help him.  He makes fishing fly rods and Margaret bought one from him and also one to be auctioned off at the golf tournament she sponsors each year at Oakridge to benefit Utah State.  WELL - he was to deliver them to her today because he was going to the airport to fly to Minnesota to go to the Mayo Clinic for more treatment.  She asked me to meet him at the K-Mart by our condos because she didn't think he would be able to find her place.  I met them after church and what a sweet couple - they are probably in their 20's and SO optimistic about his chances to be cured.  Their names are Carol and David Draney and Carol told me they stay with members of the church while they are at Mayo Clinic.

John - I watched Good Morning America one day last week when they had an opera singer who was singing out in the crowd at Times Square and it looked SO exciting!!!  I'm SO glad you are doing good.  I had Kinkos copy Daddy's journal from the disc you gave me and I will be eternally grateful that you had that done - it saved me hours and hours of time and LOTS of work.  Jeannie came over one night to visit for a few minutes and as soon as she came the phone rang and it was Chris and Wayne calling from Gulf Shores - she knew I would talk for a long time so she left.  The Weinerts are doing fine and they are VERY busy!!!  Chris and Wayne called to tell me how much they enjoyed Roy & Patrice, Emily, Timothy and Jesse while they were in Gulf Shores.  Wayne said, "Roy is such a GOOD fishing buddy" and Chris said, "they have a  WONDERFUL family".  I was SO happy to learn they had been together.  I hope Chris and Wayne will come stay with me sometime this Summer - they said it would probably be in August.  The Woolleys are doing good too and Ron is once again "running interference" for me with the problems with the Lehi property - I just hate to have him spending his time with that.  I had no idea it would be such a BIG DEAL!!!

I was THRILLED to have Bob come over for a visit last night and was SO surprised to have him bring a "scanner" for my computer so I can send pictures on e-mail.  He spent about three hours working with it and in my mind I kept thinking, "There is no way I will ever be able to learn how to do that".  He was SO patient and wouldn't leave until I did it by myself.  I am going to send this letter and then send a "genealogy picture" that was taken when Annie and Jeannie came home from college - I chose this one because I have a waist in it - Ha!!!  I will send pictures later when I have more time to find some that I think will interest you.  I am SO happy because I will be able to send some pictures to my Thai friends too.

When I tried to persuade Bob to not do this for me he said it is my "Mother's Day" gift and this gives me an opportunity to tell all of you to PLEASE not give me anything for Mother's Day.  I have millions of flowers in my yard (my tulips are prettier than they are at Temple Square and so are my pansies) - I am on a perpetual diet so I don't need candy - what I really would like is a card and if you have a snapshot I would also love that.  At this point I don't know what I am going to do about Bob!!!

Michael - your folks kinda' thought you might be transferred soon.  I hope your bike is in good working order now.  There was a missionary who was hit by a car in West Jordan last week as he was riding his bike.  I believe he has recovered now and is doing good.  PLEASE be sure to wear your helmet and be careful.  My friend who sends me his reports from Russia always includes some quotes from his missionaries and they remind me of you - they're SO excited about their work and love teaching the people - many are teaching English.

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

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