Dearest Family,
Are we in the "January Blahs"????????? It
seems like it has taken me for forever to get my Christmas tree and
other decorations put away - I AM SO SLOW!!! I talked to Jeannie one
day and she said she had taken her tree down THAT DAY - I used to be
able to take mine down in a day but it's like that in every thing I do.
What I could do in a day a few years ago now takes me three or four
days.
Roy & Patrice turned the bed in the
downstairs bedroom in a different way while they were here so that gave
me the opportunity to make some changes in my living room. I have
wanted to move my "end tables" somewhere but I didn't know where to put
them. I decided to put them on either side of the bed downstairs -
there wasn't room until it was moved. THAT WAS A GOOD MOVE!!! I have
ALOT more room in my living room now AND I NEEDED IT!!! I needed a
floor lamp in the area where the end tables were and I had an extra one
in that downstairs bedroom but it needed a new shade. I went many
places trying to find one and finally ended up in Salt Lake at the lamp
store. The first one I bought didn't work so I had to go back and trade
it for another one - that took two days - Ha!!!! Anyway I like the
changes I have made and I thank Roy & Patrice for getting me "started".
There have been many things I have forgotten
to write about in my weekly letters this past couple weeks so I'm going
to include them now. I had such a fun 80th birthday party when we were
all together on Christmas Eve that I forgot to write about the day of my
actual birthday. Cheryl called and asked me what my favorite Thai food
was - actually I like EVERYTHING Thai. She got Don from the nursing
home and went to "Bangkok Thai" and bought three different kinds of Thai
noodles and they came to my condo and we had a delicious Thai
lunch. Don looks and acts SO MUCH BETTER - he has had surgery done on
his eyes and that has REALLY helped. We had a fun afternoon and then
Cheryl took him back to the nursing home.
Later that evening Bob called and said he
was coming to get me to take me to dinner with him and Michael. THAT
WAS SO SPECIAL!!!! We went to the Lone Star restaurant which I had
heard alot about but I had never been there. Bob & Michael suggested
that I order a baked sweet potato to go with whatever else I wanted and
I couldn't believe it - I had never had a baked sweet potato before and
they serve them with LOTS of butter and cinnamon and they are "to die
for". I felt kinda' sad because I have some sweet potatoes in my
refrigerator that I had planned to cook when the Roys were here and I
forgot. Bob told the people in the restaurant that we were celebrating
my 80th birthday so they brought me a HUGE piece of chocolate cake
that was also "to die for". It was hard for Bob to get away that night
- his receptionist, Sherri Tingey was married that day and he missed her
reception that night to take me to dinner.
I have also forgotten to mention how much
fun we had with Ann's "Chocolate Fountain" at our Christmas Eve party -
THAT WAS REALLY A HIT!!! I think we should use that for all our family
parties. We could just use apple slices and it would be very nutricious
- I'll bet carrots would even be good!!!
I don't know anything about Brett's phone
call to his parents on Christmas Day but I want it recorded in my family
letter. I think it is REALLY neat the missionaries can call home on
Christmas and Mother's Day. ( I may have mentioned this in another
letter - I am forgetting too many things.)
Did you all receive the Christmas picture
and letter from Jim and Kallene Braithwaite? I will bring it to our
next family get-together in case they just sent one to me to share with
all of you. As you all know, Jim had an aneurism a year ago in December
and it is a miracle he is alive. He was in the hospital in Provo for
the biggest part of his twelve week stay and Annie tried to get Kallene
to stay at her home but she stayed at the hospital. The picture of Jim
is just remarkable - for one thing he has lost ALOT of weight. They
have four daughters - the oldest one just received her dental degree
from the University of Louisville and is now practicing dentistry with
Jimmy Willardsen in Las Vegas. Two of their daughters are at the
University of Utah and the youngest one is a freshman at Manti High
School where she is a cheerleader. Jim Braithwaite is the son of Aunt
Carol - I know all of you know her. Kallene is a darling woman and they
live in Manti.
I had a BIG surprise yesterday when I went
to my mail box. I found a big padded envelope in which Peter Murray had
sent me two videos of all the acitvities at the Memorial Service for the
C-47 American servicemen who were killed when their plane crashed in
Townsville, Australia. I know you have heard me say this before but I
am SO thrilled to have all this information. The videos are just
excellent and they re-enforce the fact that noone has ever known any of
the details about that crash until about six months ago. It is
unbelievable in this day and age that all the families of the 27 men who
were killed have not known what really happened or where for the last 60
years. I want each one of you to spend time watching these videos - it
will take about an hour. That way you will better understand the
patriotism and kindness of the people in Townsville as they have gone
WAY OUT OF THEIR WAY to show their appreciation for the sacrifice of
these young servicemen. My brother Bob, was named after his Father,
Robert and my son Bob is named after both of them so that name is
important in our family genealogy. My son, John Forrest has my maiden
name so - "Robert W. Forrest" should be included in all your genealogy.
Does that make sense? By the way, the "W" stands for Wilson and that's
why my Father was always called Bill. That doesn't make sense -
Ha!!!!! Timothy also has my maiden name - Timothy Forrest Mellor.
That's important to me!!! They unveiled a plaque in the Memorial
Service and Robert W. Forrest Jr. is listed as one of the Flight
Officers - the neice of the other Flight Officer attended the services
and speaks on one of these videos.
I had another BIG surprise last night. One
of my neighbors called and said she had left some food at my front door
- we had two funerals in our ward yesterday and there was food left over
so they brought some for me and Margaret. I didn't hear the doorbell so
I went downstairs to get it. WHO SHOULD BE AT MY DOOR BUT ANNIE AND
RON!!!!! They had tried to get the key to work because I didn't hear
their doorbell either and since it wouldn't work they were writing me a
note. I'm SO glad my neighbor called me right at that time so I
wouldn't miss their visit. I WILL NEVER FIGURE OUT WHY THEY COULDN'T
GET THE KEY TO WORK - it works fine for me!!! They came in and watched
some of the video with me and we had a good visit. They had been to
Hooper to attend a wedding reception for a young man who had been in
their BYU ward. I wish they would come more often.
John - THANK YOU FOR THE "HORSE VIDEO". One
of his friends brought his daughter over to ride John's horses in his
barn and then she took a video of it and it is REALLY NEAT. I haven't
seen anythng like that before on the computer and it is amazing. John
helps this little girl so she won't be frightened and she is probably
about 3 or 4 years old. THEN John rides his horse while training with
his mechanical cow and I can tell John knows what he is doing as he
makes the horse stop and then start again at a certain pace - WHAT DO I
KNOW???? Anyway, I LOVED IT!!!!!
I FINALLY found a beautiful easel for my
beautiful picture and that was not an easy thing to do. I called MANY
places that I thought would carry easels but there aren't many places
that do. I took the picture to an "Art Gallery" in Riverdale and they
helped me choose one. They wanted me to highlight the background of the
picture which is mostly white so the easel is a "dull silver" with
leaves at the top and ornate legs at the bottom. I JUST LOVE IT AND I
HOPE ALL OF YOU WILL TOO. It is very sturdy, adjustable and custom made
in Clearfield. Another friend came by to see the picture yesterday and
all she could say was "OH MY GOSH", "OH MY GOSH", "OH MY GOSH" - Ha!!!!
Susanna - THANK YOU for your sweet letter.
I can just see Jackson playing his heart out with all his cousins in
Florida and I'm SO glad you had such a good time. I dropped by to see
Jeannie one day last week while she was taking care of Preston & Gracie
while Boyd & Barji are in Hawaii - Ricky was home and he was playing
football with Preston and they were having SO MUCH FUN!!! It's a
WONDERFUL thing when cousins can get together and play rough house -
parents, grandparents and great-grandparents are just TOO old - Ha!!!!!
I miss all of you - I look forward to when
the Roys will be able to come to Utah again. I WISH IT WEREN'T SO
EXPENSIVE TO FLY!!!! I have framed your puzzle picture Jesse and I put
it on the wall in the downstairs bedroom and it REALLY brightens that
room up. I visited with Sarah for a few minutes and she said they had a
WONDERFUL time in Island Park - she said there are pine trees all over
and it was a beautiful sight. She and Danny are back in school and in
work and they're VERY HAPPY. I love to look at the pictures of Emily &
Katie and wish they could spend more time together - THERE ARE SOME VERY
GOOD SCHOOLS IN THE WEST EMILY!!!!!! Thanks to Lee Anna too for her
note - she had a Happy Birthday and she and Chris are busy with school
work - I LOVE to look at our family pictures and see Chris ALWAYS
smiling - WHAT A GREAT QUALITY!!!! I have heard from friends who have
received my Christmas letter and family picture and they all comment on
my "BEAUTIFUL FAMILY". I'm SO PROUD OF EACH ONE OF YOU.
I had a phone call from Cissy Beyers - she
is on dialysis three times a week but she is in good spirits. They
didn't come to Utah because she got pneumonia. Their daughter Shawna
and her husband have moved to Salt Lake and Steve and his wife are also
there so they will be moving out soon, I'll bet. Steve has prostate
cancer - he's your age Bob - WOW !!!! They got it in its early stages.
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