Dearest Family,
HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO JIMMY TODAY!!!! 18
YEARS OLD AND I HOPE YOU HAVE A VERY HAPPY DAY!!! I have been working
on my "picture project" the last couple days and I have LOVED seeing
pictures of "Baby JImmy" at Lake Powell and at other family gatherings -
who would have believed he would grow into such a good looking
"HUNK"!!! I am thinking that since his birthday falls on a Sunday, he
has probably already celebrated with friends, etc.!!!
John - thank you SO much for calling me when
you got back to Utah from Costa Rica last Sunday. I haven't heard from
John since then but I'm sure he has had alot to catch up on. I am SO
happy that he has such a lovely, lovely home to come back to and take
care of. I know Tar was happy to have him home.
Annie - thank you SO much for your phone
call concerning the Hacking family. That is certainly a mystery isn't
it? Roy & Patrice won't be familiar with this story so I'll fill them
in. Last Monday morning they issued a call to the community to help
search for a missing jogger - Lori Hacking. The Hacking name is so
familiar to me - Lynn & I had such dear friends and neighbors in Orem
whose last name was Hacking. I immediately called my friends, Anne &
Percy Smith, who lived next door to these people - Wayne & Mae Hacking.
Percy said, "It must be another family" and Anne agreed so I stopped
worrying. Annie called me on Wednesday morning and told me it was the
same family and I have just been so very, very sad!!! Mark Hacking who
is Lori's husband is Mae's grandson and he is under suspicion in her
disappearance AND IT DOESN'T LOOK GOOD. Mark has had a nervous
breakdown and is in the psychiatic ward at the University of Utah
Hospital. He has surely done some dumb things - he fabricated a story
about graduating from the U. of U. with high honors and was preparing to
go to medical school in North Carolina. None of it makes sense to me
but I hope SO VERY MUCH that he isn't involved. Mae moved from my
former neighborhood this last year and I can't find anyone who has her
new address in Woodland Hills - I would like to send her a note of
support - Mae & Wayne were absolutely fabulous to us during Lynn's
illness - Wayne also had prostate cancer but he lived 15 years after
diagnosis.
Claire - thank you SO much for your pictures
of the "toilet papering" at your home. WHAT A MESS!!! The pictures
showed Katie and Bob getting it off the trees in the front and back of
their home and there were many bushels of toilet paper. Claire said
they also turned off the electricity and that isn't funny!!! Katie is a
VERY popular student at Davis High and they'll look back on this and
laugh - won't they???? Claire spent last week at Cedar City for the
Shakespearean Festival Plays - I hope you enjoyed them. I know Bob &
Katie are glad to have you home. I think about Laura all the time - I
hope she is doing GREAT!!! I SO enjoy it when Bob & Claire come over to
visit on Sunday night - it's funny, they always wanted to leave early so
they could get home for Family Home Evening before Brett went to sleep -
now Brett is in Provo and they are concerned about Katie being alone and
I don't blame them one bit.
Barji - thank you SO much for helping
Preston draw a picture for me. It has been a VERY long time since I
have had a child's drawing like that to put on my refrigerator and I
LOVE it!!! I hope to get to see Gracie before long - I called Jeannie
one day but I didn't get anyone - I hope things are going GREAT for all
of you. Jeannie, Sarah & Ricky came over last Sunday night and we had
such a WONDERFUL visit - they are keeping busy like all of you and
that's the way it should be. Sarah is keeping up with her violin and
will play a duet with her friend at my church but not my ward - I plan
to go hear them play. She is taking care of the swimming pool in their
housing area. Ricky is doing GREAT and he is going to church at one of
the University of Utah wards where Lynn Summerhays serves in the
Bishopric. I think it is mighty important for my young adult
grandchildren to meet with others who are their ages and the church
provides these places.
Roy & Patrice - I know you will be watching
the Democratic Convention this next week - AND SO WILL I!!! I enjoy
things like that but Margaret said she won't watch one bit of it -
Ha!!! I plan to vote for Kerry because his running mate Edward's wife
is heavy - Ha!!! I think some of the political advertisements are SO
funny - have any of you watched "JibJab" - "This Land Is Your Land, This
Land Is My Land". Some people are VERY clever!!! I think about Emily
all the time and I expect her to come home speaking Spanish more than
she will English - OH ME!!!
I have had a busy week. Chris Jordin came
from Little Rock on Tuesday afternoon. She planned to rent a car
because she left my home to go to Montpelier and Idaho Falls, Idaho to
visit relatives on Thursday. I was worried that she wouldn't be able to
find my home because of all the construction going on so I said I would
meet her at the Hertz Rent A Car place by the airport. Her plane came
in at 4:10 and we planned to meet at 4:30. I was there before that time
and waited and waited but I couldn't find her. Finally about 5:00 I
parked my car for one second and ran in to see if she was in their
waiting room - a policewoman gave me a ticket for leaving my car
unattended while I was standing by it. I was SO disgusted!!! There are
police all over that area and they told me I had to keep riding around
and coming back into the airline area until she came. I did that for
about 10 times and finally decided her plane was delayed so I parked
upstairs in the parking lot. I couldn't believe it when I went into the
Hertz place and there she was - sitting reading and not even looking out
the window for me. I had been right outside that window many, many time
and I even honked thinking if she were in there she would hear me. We
didn't leave the airport until about 6:30 and came home. I didn't tell
her about my ticket.
Wednesday morning we got ready to go to our
"friends get-together" at Barbara Sondrup's home in Salt Lake. Ellen
Mae had brought me some rhubarb because I had told her Chris loved
rhubarb pie. Chris spent the entire morning making this pie and it
looked delicious. Ann Cobb was going with us so she came about 2
o'clock Wednesday afternoon and I put the pie in my casserole carrier
and somehow it slipped out on the garage cement floor - you just can't
imagine how sorry I felt. There was glass from the pie plate all over
so we got a shovel and put the whole thing in the garbage can.
Barbara Sondrup had given us the wrong
address and I was driving so that was a little stressful but we finally
found her place and it is lovely - she is in what they call "cluster
homes" - one of her five homes!!! Viola Munk and Marilyn Harris were
supposed to be with us but they couldn't come at the last minute but we
had a GREAT time. Linda Smithers Stringfellow was there and she is very
happy with her new husband she found on the internet - Ann Cobb was with
our group for the first time and she was fun to be with and she brought
many pictures of her children and they have a good looking family.
Barbara Sondrup was caring for her two grandchildren and while we were
there she received a call from one of her daughters who had just had a
new baby boy in Denver and that was exciting. Barbara's son, Sam took
the children to a movie and the rest of us went to the "Tuscany
Restaurant" for dinner. Chris is VERY, VERY thin and looks just
WONDERFUL - I'm very jealous!!!
I must tell you about my hair. I have told
some of you how unhappy I have been with the ugly color it has been for
the last four months - I don't mind getting old and having lighter color
hair but it doesn't have to be UGLY. I had an appointment with the
beautician who has been working with me on Tuesday morning and I asked
her to make it a "LITTLE" darker - WELL - it came out absolutely black
and I was sick!!! I went to the party and they all laughed with me but
they were kind. Chris is worried about getting on the right road so I
took her out to I-15 going to Ogden on Thursday afternoon after we had
gone to the Distribution Center to get her some more garments. Somehow
I lost her but I think she is okay!!!
I went to the store after leaving Chris and
got some of that "Hair Color Remover" from L'Oreal and came home and put
it on. I can't describe what it did to my hair - I came out yellow and
orange and instead of crying I started to laugh until I was weak. I had
to wait until the next morning to call L'Oreal to see what I could do.
They told me I could apply the coloring I wanted whenever I wanted so I
went back to the store and got some "light brown" coloring and put it
on. I am VERY surprised but it looks quite good. Margaret is VERY
upset with me but it really doesn't matter how many people liked it that
ugly color - IF I DIDN'T LIKE IT I DIDN'T HAVE TO LIVE WITH IT!!!! I
liked what Linda Smithers said about the ugly color "Barbara it was SO
lifeless". It isn't lifeless now.
.
The July 24th Celebration was surely a big
success - there were fireworks going on all around me and the parade was
outstanding. I enjoyed watching it in the comforts of my family room
but the weather outside on the parade route wasn't as hot as it has been
other years. That's all the news - I think!!! I LOVE EACH ONE OF YOU
SO VERY, VERY MUCH. PLEASE BE SO VERY, VERY CAREFUL IN EVERYTHING YOU
DO. Grandma B XXXXXOOOOO