Dearest Family,
We are having a BEAUTIFUL Wintry day today
with bright blue skies BUT it is very cold, 27 degrees according to my
thermostat.
I have thought about Steve all week but I
haven't heard how his knee is. Susanna and Steves' ward had their
annual "Turkey Bowl" while the Woolleys were visiting for Thanksgiving
and Steve hurt his knee in their game of basketball. I hope his injury
was not serious and that he is much better by now. Annie - thank you
for your wonderful letter telling about your time with the Reeves
family. They went to the Grand Canyon on their way home and visited
other places and arrived in Cedar City the same time as the big storm so
they traveled about 20 miles an hour because they couldn't find a place
to spend the night. It is the time of year when we can experience snow
and ice and I remember the many times we had experiences like this as we
traveled back and forth to Utah from Arkansas. I'm praying the weather
will be good for Roy, Patrice and the children while they visit in a
couple weeks - I'm sure THEY WILL HAVE ENOUGH SNOW TO GO SKIING IF THEY
WANT TO. They keep giving reports about all the snow in the mountains.
I went to church this morning dressed as though I would be going to work
or school - I wore my flat shoes because I worry about walking on the
driveway from the parking lot to the church building. Our church is SO
early they don't clear off the snow and ice and it is treacherous!!!
This has been a fun and busy week. I know
all of you remember our Alabama friends, Chris & Wayne Smith. Their
daughter Linda and her daughter Jennifer came to Salt Lake and wanted to
meet for lunch. Jennifer has accepted a job with Blue Cross-Blue Shield
in Salt Lake and has rented an apartment at the "Gateway". She and
Linda drove Jennifer's car and they had hoped to have Jennifer's
furniture arrive in time to get all settled before Linda had to go back
to Dallas where she lives with her husband, son and other family
members. The furniture probably won't be here until this week sometime
so they are staying in a motel. I was SO happy to call Claire and
Jeannie to see if they could meet for lunch and they were WONDERFUL to
arrange their schedules and we all met at the Joseph Smith Memorial
Building for lunch on Tuesday. Linda hasn't change one bit from the
time we were all together in Little Rock over twenty years ago.
Jennifer is a beautiful young woman and when she gets her weight under
control she will be even prettier - she looks like her Father, Ken. I
admire her courage for leaving all her family members in the Dallas area
to move to Utah where she hopes to find more single adult activity -
sometimes that happens and sometimes it doesn't.
I went to the"Festival of Trees" with
Margaret and that is always such a special event. It seemed like there
were thousands of beautifully decorated Christmas trees and each one was
on sale with the proceeds going to the Primary Children's Hospital -
Margaret bought one for $1,500.00 and I bought some hot pads at their
boutique shop. These trees are donated and it is amazing how much work
is spent decorating them and they are all different. They also have
wreaths, gingerbread houses, and some large furniture like playhouses,
etc. When it was over I couldn't find Margaret or her son and his
family with whom I had come - they had problems with the electricity
system and all the lights were out except at the one entrance where I
stood for at least an hour and a half. Finally, Steve, Margaret's son
came and said they had been looking for me BUT they had gone out in the
foyer part of the convention center instead of staying where the
festival of trees was. I felt bad because I had made they wait but I
thought it was dumb for them to leave the area where we were all
shopping. OH WELL!!!
Brett - I hope your family will hear from
you tomorrow and learn that you have been transferred to a REALLY nice
place in Brazil with a nice and safe apartment. We are all hoping you
will make LOTS of new friends and that "Farnsworth" will be with you
because you are good friends after being together for about six months.
I want to hear that you have some Christmas decorations in your
apartment and that you are VERY happy!!! The weeks are VERY long when
your folks don't hear from you.
I went to a church Christmas program last
Sunday night so Bob, Claire, Jeannie & Rick didn't come over. The
Weinerts went to a church meeting and Bob & Claire stayed home and
visited with Michael & Staci, Laura & Katie and they put a puzzle
together. It was a stormy night and I didn't want them to get out on
the roads after I got home from my program because it was late. It was
WONDERFUL that Michael & Staci could be home for the Thanksgiving
holiday. I'll get caught up on their familys' news if they can come
over tonight. Sarah and Danny are VERY busy with their wedding plans -
I believe their invitations are ready now so they will be addressing
them. I went to the Weinert's home one day last week and saw Sarah's
bridal pictures - WOW, they are just gorgeous!!!
I was thrilled on Thursday night to have
John call and say he wanted to come get some more information for the
"picture project". I always hate to have him drive here when he is SO
busy with his work but he said it was "fun" - Ha!!!! That picture
project has involved much more of his time than he planned on when he
first started it - he told me it was a "fun hobby" - Ha!!! He told me
his business was planning their Christmas party at the "Grand America
Hotel" in Salt Lake - WOW, that's about the nicest place in Utah to have
a party. I hope it was successful and LOTS of fun!!!
I went to visit Don at the Nursing Home in
Salt Lake yesterday after I finished at the temple. I waa VERY
surprised to see him looking SO good. He has had eye surgery and has
gained weight and looks VERY HEALTHY!!! I keep wanting him to be able
to get out of his wheelchair and walk around but of course he can't. He
doesn't do much talking - I told him that I hadn't been to Brigham City
for a long time and he said, "We are going to go there today" so you
know he is hallucinating but I don't believe he is in any pain. I am SO
grateful to the Veteran's Administration for providing such a nice place
for veterans who are in such bad health. The home is all decorated for
Christmas and is a beautiful place. I'm also grateful to Cheryl who
takes such good care of Don and makes sure he gets all the medications
he needs. They had a party at the home with a raffle and Cheryl won
some free nights at the Marriott hotel in Salt Lake so she and her
sisters are going to stay there and go shopping soon. I got there
about 11:30 and they were getting ready to serve lunch so I only stayed
about 15 minutes which is just the right amount of time. Don says they
have good food.
I hope each one of you is enjoying the
"Beauty of the Season" - I LOVE the Christmas carols and all the
decorations. Please take time to enjoy the simple things of life and
don't get all "bogged down" in the commercialism (is that a word?) - I
HATE THAT!!!! AND BE VERY, VERY CAREFUL IN EVERYTHING YOU DO. I LOVE
EACH ONE YOU SO VERY, VERY MUCH. Grandma B XXXXXOOOOO