Road Trip

David had some work to do in Round Valley

so I went along with him hoping we could

see some of the after effects 

from the Wallow Fire.

We took Highway 60 because we thought

260 was closed.  We drove through Eagar

hoping to get a picture of "Highway 260 closed"

but it wasn't.  So we drove over the

mountain to home and this is what we saw.

 Burnout southwest of Eagar.  This looked like an active fire

near Southfork.

 Mountain ridge southwest of Eagar.

 Greer Road.  Still closed.

 West of Greer turn off on 260 looking South.

 Sheered sheep grazing on dry grass as

if nothing had ever happened.

 Sunrise.

 Entrance to camping area across from old ski run.

As you can see from the yellow sign.  No entry.

 I hope it will still be the land of many uses.

Road to Big Lake.  Entrance closed.

Warning sign for heavy traffic.

ICP (Incident Command Post) at Seneca Lake.  

He Ain't Heavy ~ He's My Brother

I have put all my "important papers" and pictures in a pile

in the event of an evacuation.....just to be ready.

I looked in one box that was full of old pictures.

I found this picture.

I don't remember seeing it before.  This is my

Aunt Irene and my cousin, Vickie.  They lived

in Snowflake.  Vickie was always my favorite 

cousin.  I thought I was her's until one day

she told me she was having a hard

time deciding if I was her favorite or

if another girl cousin on her mom's side

was her favorite.  Harsh reality.

The boy is my brother, Randy.  I think

he was probably 10 years old.  And the

baby is me.  This has to be the only existing

picture of Randy and I together.  I 

like to think he was enjoying holding me.

It is probably more of "here, Randy,

you hold Tricia and I will take a picture".

If he is 10 it will be two short years later

that he tried his first alcohol.  If only he

hadn't.  To look at him and especially

him holding me I wish it had all been different.

There were things that Randy did

that reflected true kindness and

sensitivity and a love of tradition.

Alcohol erases....rubs out all of that.

I lived around him enough as an adult

to see that process occur.  

I look at this picture and just see

a life wasted.  I realize that I don't know

him all that well.  But I can't  help but think

if he had never become an alcoholic we

would have become friends as siblings

do when all become adults.  

What would that have been like?

I wish I knew.

Heartbreaking

I haven't checked on the Wallow Fire for 

several days.

I was so sad to open this up

and see how much

has been burned.  Obviously, it has 

slowed down

but it would take a full box 

of crayons to color this

page.

The forecast is for very windy 

conditions today.

Firefighters are gearing up for a big day.  

It has been 18 days now.

Alpine residents cannot go home yet.

My neighbor who is a firefighter

told me that 

he doubted that people would 

be let into the

burn area this year. 

The Forest Service will

have to go in and start 

restoration work ASAP.

Where have all the Heroes gone?

I found this series on Netflix.  

It is amazing!  It is worth watching.

I am particularly interested in the

main characters.  These were men's men.

But they were people who had homes

and families before the call to serve.

Below is the most heartfelt letter from

a Major Sullivan Ballou to his wife. 

It is actually his final letter to her.

I just wanted to share it.  

Get your tissues.

Sarah, my love for you is deathless, it seems to bind me to you with mighty cables that nothing but Omnipotence could break; and yet my love of Country comes over me like a strong wind and bears me irresistibly on with all these chains to the battlefield.

 The memories of the blissful moments I have spent with you come creeping over me, and I feel most gratified to God and to you that I have enjoyed them so long. And hard it is for me to give them up and burn to ashes the hopes of future years, when God willing, we might still have lived and loved together, and seen our sons grow up to honorable manhood around us. I have, I know, but few and small claims upon Divine Providence, but something whispers to me -- perhaps it is the wafted prayer of my little Edgar -- that I shall return to my loved ones unharmed. If I do not, my dear Sarah, never forget how much I love you, and when my last breath escapes me on the battlefield, it will whisper your name.

Forgive my many faults, and the many pains I have caused you. How thoughtless and foolish I have oftentimes been! How gladly would I wash out with my tears every little spot upon your happiness, and struggle with all the misfortune of this world, to shield you and my children from harm. But I cannot. I must watch you from the spirit land and hover near you, while you buffet the storms with your precious little freight, and wait with sad patience till we meet to part no more.

But, O Sarah! If the dead can come back to this earth and flit unseen around those they loved, I shall always be near you; in the garish day and in the darkest night -- amidst your happiest scenes and gloomiest hours -- always, always; and if there be a soft breeze upon your cheek, it shall be my breath; or the cool air fans your throbbing temple, it shall be my spirit passing by.

Sarah, do not mourn me dead; think I am gone and wait for thee, for we shall meet again.

As for my little boys, they will grow as I have done, and never know a father's love and care.(he was raised an orphan) Little Willie is too young to remember me long, and my blue-eyed Edgar will keep my frolics with him among the dimmest memories of his childhood. Sarah, I have unlimited confidence in your maternal care and your development of their characters. Tell my two mothers his and hers I call God's blessing upon them.

O Sarah, I wait for you there! Come to me, and lead thither my children.

Sullivan

What the Heck!@#*!!

So I walk over and get my mail this afternoon and

find this letter!  Who decided I was a "senior citizen"???

It is an invitation for me to by the "Sunset" magazine.

What is that supposed to suggest?  Sheesh!

When Is The Last Rodeo?

This picture is front page of our

local paper. 

Sentiments

Rock Hard Sugar

 Several years ago I gave my daughters

boxes of brown sugar.

I kept some for myself.

This week I needed to make a treat 

and it called for

one pound of brown sugar.  

The boxes are exactly 

one pound.  Yea!

Oh, but they are hard as a rock.

I don't know if sugar has an expiration date.  

I am guessing not.

But issues do arise!  

But a solution was available.  

This is my box of sugar

and this is my brown sugar keeper

and this is what

I did:  I soaked the keeper overnight 

and in the morning

I put it in a tupperware container with the

hard sugar (out of package and wrapping) and

let them spend the day together.

 I opened the tupperware and Whawhooo!  

Soft brown sugar.  ( I am hoping my girls

still have their sugar and, if they hadn't

realized it, they still can use it.

 This is what I made.

BROWN SUGAR SQUARES

1 pkg. bronw sugar (#1)

2 cups flour

4 eggs

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup nuts

Mix together.  Sprad out completely 

on greased 9x13 pan.  

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Cool, then frost with butter frosting and cut

into squares.  (for butter frosting I used 1/2 butter 

and powdered sugar

to desired consistency and vanilla for flavoring)

It was good.

One thing:  The brown sugar did need to be 

used right away once

it is out of the tupperware.  

Big Lake

Lee sent this picture to me.  She got it from a friend

whose husband is a firefighter.  

This is the south side of the lake looking west.

Some of our Favorite People

Yesterday we went to Uncle Carl's funeral.  Of course, we

know we will see some of our favorite people.  Why is it

that this is where we always meet?  But true to the script

here are Neal and Denise.

FYI

Denise is a couple  years younger than David

and the youngest in the family.  I remember when

they first moved to Show Low I thought she was

so cute and had a nice shape.  And she ran fast.

I first met Neal at NAU.  If you know NAU there

is one thing that hasn't changed much in the last

40 years and it is that there are a lot of weird LDS

boys that go there.  (I know some nice ones and

they married friends but that was meant to be.)

Neal was someone that I thought of as very normal.

He probably doesn't remember but he was

my home teacher for a while.  I remember thinking

that he was nice and fulfilling his responsibility to

come home teaching but he wasn't comfortable.

Neal and Denise met in Joseph City when  he

came home from his mission.  David and I were

living there running the store and I remember

the girls all being excited because he was coming

home. 

He met Denise and that was that.

 They married and moved to Provo for Neal

to start school.  We would go and visit

every so often.  One visit I remember very well.

I was barely pregnant with Jill and sooo sick.

Neal and Denise were living in a basement

apartment.  I just really remember it.  She

offered to fix us a breakfast.  It was bisquits

and egg gravy.  For some reason it just made

me feel better and I remembered the taste

all day long.  And I fixed that same breakfast

for my children for 30 years.

Side note: My son-in-laws won't eat it.

We loved to go to Snowflake and spend time

with those guys.  We have always felt comfortable

around them and have good memories.

The Powers That Be.

We took this picture yesterday.

That is the Snowflake Temple in the foreground

and the sky is holding a column of smoke

and cloud from the Wallow fire.

Food for thought.

Love notes

When my grandchildren leave these are love notes

left behind.  The star on the door is from Bode who

was setting up for a parade.  Gotta have stars!

And the heart is from Melanie.  That's me

with Abbey.

Grandpa Dave and Grandma Trish's Bed and Breakfast....and Smiles!

On Friday evening David and I went to dinner.  

When we returned home and walked into

the house it was quiet.  That is not unusual.

David is quiet and I am preoccupied.

And this past week it wasn't!  We have had

grandchildren (and their parents) here.  

Tim and Connie came with their children

on Friday evening.

We packed up our fishing gear and

went to Big Lake.

don't forget the sun screen.

Dad, why aren't you catching any fish?

  Grandpa is.

Like father like son.

 Solitary man.

 Connie and my fishing hooks.

 FINALLY!

Finally!

I really enjoyed the afternoon by the lake.  I did worry

that Tim wasn't going to catch anything.  David was having

a great day....just reeling them in.  Tim finally caught 

enough to encourage him to go back to Big Lake

early Monday morning in the freezing weather and

catch some more.   And he did so he brought them home 

and filleted them and fried them

in corn meal and seasoning....delish.  Tim and I

are the only ones who will eat Trout.

(I grew up eating trout that my dad brought home. Dad

would clean them and scrap the scales or whatever off

of them, cut off the heads and tail, and Mom would

dredge them in corn meal and seasoning and fry them.

I learned to peel the meat off without getting any bones

and I loved eating those fish.)

This is across the lake.  Although I don't see a motor

on this boat we figured it must have died and this guy

had to walk his boat back to the dock.  And that

water was cold!

 Although we left Ben with a sitter (all I could see was

him head first in the water) he was all smiles for us

in the evening.....he found my yarn and wrapped 

himself up in it.

Mike and our neighbor's son, Branson.

(filling water guns)

~

On Monday evening Heidi came with Bode and Laine.

Do I need to say more?  Cousins!

Heidi was happy to bring her kids up here

in the cool country so they could play outside.

You know....climbing trees and such.

Little fingers.

~

And then on Friday afternoon Brittany made a

stop on her trip back from Albuquerque.

They spent the afternoon.

We finally put the trampoline up and

here is Jett after 15 minutes of jumping.  

Melanie.  

Megan.

Happy girls! Come back and stay longer!

Conversation on the front porch.  We almost
got to spend Pete's birthday with him.  He had a bunch
of Boy Scouts at Roosevelt Lake.  We thought he
might want to come up here and meet up with Brittany
and us and wake up on his birthday here.  it was too
big of a stretch!  Happy Birthday anyway, Pete!

I remember very well how much I enjoyed taking

our children to their grandparents homes.  There is

something very satisfying about

seeing them come together.  Grandparents

are vital to a child's identity.  It is a blessing to have

that family circle.

It is a blessing to grandparents too. It give us

identity and a family circle.  I wouldn't change it.

I like the quiet but there is really something 

sweet about opening the door and hearing,

"Grandma"!