Standing Tall

This is INCREDIBLE! The picture was taken in 1918. It is thousands of men preparing for war in a training camp at Camp Dodge in Iowa . This is a definitely a true gift from some of our grandfathers. Enjoy!Imagine how long these 18,000 men had to stand in that one spot to set it up correctly.Don't you just love the detail by the change of hats to no hats, some with heads bent down, some with faces shining, and slightly different colors of uniforms etc? This took an enormous amount of planning, patience, and positioning and a determination to send their message to us, yes even to the world. It speaks loud and clear.
I have a picture of my Dad's Father in the same kind of uniform. However, being that he was never in Iowa, there is need for me to try and look for him in this picture. God Bless America.

Bright & Cheery

Spring is fresh new smells & colors....

FrontRunners

This past week we joined the throngs of people to ride the new commuter rail train FrontRunner from SLC to Ogden, UT. For the first few days of operation it was tested FREE of charge to get people used to the train. Walt & I, Colleen along with Dave & Donna rode the train to Ogden and enjoyed dinner at "Karen's Cafe" before riding back to SLC. We rode the TRAXX to and from the park & ride to the train hub to say we'd tried out the current mass transit system here in the Salt Lake-Ogden area. It was a very very smooth ride taking abt 1 hour stopping 6 times. The passenger cars have 2 decks with the upper deck having plug ins for computers, razors, hair curlers, phones etc that commuters might use. The upper deck also has tables (horizontal spacse) to work on while you are traveling.




25th street in Ogden not only has lot of pubs, cafe and vacant buildings, they have antique stores galore. Kris, I think of you every time we go to an Antigue store or even see one. How fun it would be to browse one of them with you.

Lovely smells

Some of the fragrances I love:
Sweet peas
Jasmine/Cotton
Apple/Cinnamon
Clean Flannel
Paper White (flowers)
Fudge
Blueberries
Strawberries
Rain on pinetrees
Rain on anything
Citrus

My cousin the Super Star

My cousin TOM POOLE is one of the contests in the current semi finals in the Miami Hearld Super Star Contest. He needs our votes. I know this is kind of a late post in the scheme of things, but maybe he'll be good enough to go on to the finals. Please check out his video and if you think he's good enough, vote for him. You can vote more than once in any day.

My true color is Red! This for the most part is so true....
The color is red, the color of racy sportscars, blushing cheeks, and luscious roses. Red symbolizes passion, romance, and love. So, since you're ruled by red, you probably trust your feelings more than your brain and tend to act spontaneously. If you see something you want, you go for it without thinking twice — impulsive is your middle name. You don't wait around for people to make decisions, either; you dive right in. Quite the romantic, you pay close attention to your emotions. In fact, if your heart isn't in what you're doing, you won't be satisfied. Of course, even when you do pour all your energy into the projects you tackle, your impetuous nature means your passions can shift as frequently as the wind. That's why some reds have trouble with commitment. Our advice? Next time you're feeling fickle, think before you act, if possible. You might be surprised at the results. Overall, though, it's great to be red. No one lives life more completely than you do.

Marathon Baker

We got a starter for an Amish Friendship cake recently and thought we'd try it out. Well, after 2 wks of starter growing we now have made 18 cakes (made in loaf pans). One could keep going with the batter you reserve as a starter x 4 to give to friends or make yourself more cakes. Colleen opted to make the cakes herself equaling a marathon baking session. She finally had had enough and threw the remaining starters down the drain. hehehe Good thing the cake is good.

Things I love this week

With spring in bloom there are many things to love:
Longer days of sunlight
Cool nights that are warm enough to have the windows open
Flannel sheets that smell of lavender & cotton (thanks to fabric rinse in the washer)
Sun being higher in the sky of blue
Mountains with snow in them sticking up so high in the BLUE sky
Dafodils so yellow next to greening grasses
The smell of fresh cut grasses
The freedom of travel (last week I was in Pinedale, WY and this next week I'll be in Powell, WY)
The great people I work with who offer me the opportunity to travel
New babies in the family, weddings upcoming
Did I mention alreay - Flannel sheets
And best of all - ALL of you who read this.

Stay at Homes in Spring

Today I just needed a little time for myself. So, I went to my friend Connie's house to feed her "stay at homes". She is off visiting her family in Rigby and had to leave all the birds, the cats and the ginnea pig at home. Taking 3 dogs to see the fam is chore enough. I go over and feed and talk to those left at home. Quirky to me - but they all seem to know who I am and chatter up a storm while I'm there. It's such a great spring day too. Lots of forsythia in bloom now. We even brought in a few cuttings of some for color in the house.
Another thing on my plate today is laundry. I'm going to be traveling for the better part of the next 2 weeks so need to get a few things in order. I'm headed to parts of desolate Wyoming to work. I hope to post from there. We'll see.

Tea Time

My sister Colleen has our Grammy's collection of Franciscan Ivy dishes. She's been adding to them over the years. They are pretty expensive when you can find them. Recently, she was at the DI and found this nice teapot with out a lid. Scored at $1. On Ebay just the lid alone is $110. A teapot with a lid runs for abt $240. You can't get a better deal than that.