Childhood Memories

My grandmother hasn’t been feeling well lately. She has been in and out of the hospital this week. My mom phoned me this morning to give me an update. It reminded me that I haven’t gotten around to writing down my childhood memories of Grandma and Grandpa Jackson. We were asked to do this last fall when Grandma celebrated her 80th birthday. My aunts put together a memory book for her. I’m pretty embarrassed that I haven’t contributed to this book until now. So this morning as I was playing with Ellen I wrote down some memories that stand out in my mind and that I hold dear to my heart. Some of these memories helped shape me into who I am today. It has been a good exercise for me to look back and realize what a wonderful childhood I had and how special my family is…

I remember picking lilacs from Grandma and Grandpa’s lawn for her. She always had a wee jelly jar full of these sweet smelling purple flowers in the house. I was always amazed that you could find these little treasures in the lawn of all places and you didn’t have to plant them they would just show up in the spring. We would also search the grass for four leaf clovers.

I remember playing in the leaves in Grandma and Grandpa’s front yard. The piles were so big we would bury ourselves so deep and jump into them with a big “poof”. I also remember building little rooms with the leaves by sorting them into squares that would connect and designating them as the kitchen, bedroom, family room and so on. This is a game my mom taught me as she used to play with the leaves like this when she was a little one.

I remember rolling down the little hill in the backyard with Leslie and Jon and my cousins we could do this for hours and laugh and giggle the whole time. Now the great grandkids take pleasure in rolling down that little hill. It was so big way back then it’s so fun how the size of things change with time and age.

I remember Grandma hanging the laundry on the clothes line and watching the breeze gently blow through all the linens and shirts and such.

I remember taking breaks in the shade of the back porch and settling down after playing with my cousins. This little porch was always the best spot to go to for cooling off on a hot summer day.

I remember walking down the street to the playground behind the church with the cousins and Aunt Laurie and Gay. Laurie and Gay also walked us to the penny candy store down the road for a special treat once in a while.

There was always a constant supply of ice cream in Grandma and Grandpa’s freezer and they were always willing to share. I was introduced to Tin Roof Sunday at Grandma and Grandpa Jackson’s. It is still one of my favorite flavors.

I love that at Grandma and Grandpa’s washing dishes was never a chore. We all pitched in and helped by either washing, rinsing, drying, or putting them away. It seems everyone would gather in the kitchen and talk and in the mean time the dishes would get done.

One of my favorite memories and one that I know the whole family cherishes is the Christmas Eve tradition of making Aebleskivers at Grandma and Grandpa’s. They were always such a treat and I thought it was so special to eat something sweet for dinner. My favorite goody to dip them in is cinnamon and sugar of coarse. Grandma and Grandpa always had the most beautiful Christmas tree and they would dim the lights in the room so we could fully enjoy the Christmas atmosphere/spirit.

I love hearing Grandma and Grandpa talk about our family heritage like my Great Grandma coming here from Ireland. It is also very special when they share their story about how they met and began dating. Apparently it all began with the flip of a coin. Grandma and Grandpa love each other very much, they have a strong and special marriage that has been a wonderful example for their children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, and those beyond. Thank you Grandma and Grandpa Jackson for that beautiful legacy.

I LOVE YOU

Wonderful Reunion

Last Saturday Gary and I met up with my friends Sara, Brigitte, and Max from College and beyond. We went to Beaver Mountain to ski. This mountain is where my ski roots began from adventures in middle school and high school with friends to a ski class with Sara for 1 college credit. It is still what I remember a rootsy little resort that serves the community well. I was reminded what a special place it is and how lucky I am to have grown up with it. It was so great to ski at a small little hamlet with no crowds and great stashes of snow everywhere. Although Alta is very near and dear to my heart rediscovering the Beav was very refreshing.

I’m so glad I got to spend the day with my friends and catch up. After every run I was excited to get back on the ski lift with the girls and talk more. After the ski day we all got together for pizza with all the kids and husbands. Sara and Brigitte have such cute kids and it was so fun to meet them and see how much they look like their parents. Ellie was bright eyed all night watching them play. I loved it. Thank you Sara, Jeff, Brigitte, and Max for making my weekend so great. Lets do it again soon!!!!

Check out Sara’s blog for her take on the day and a great picture.

Here are some more pictures complements of Brigitte. Thanks Bridgy!

Happy Valentines

I know I’m a day late and a dollar short as usual. We had a good day here at home. I made some sugar cookies. Gotta love pink frosting. It somehow got everywhere. We had dinner reservations at a new restaurant in Heber but Adah decided to go off on one of her infamous neighborhood expeditions and didn’t come back until 7pm. Needless to say we didn’t make it to dinner. OOh that dog! Gary recovered the night though by making dinner for me and doing the dishes. (Thank you my love.)

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvadBZlfHsY[/youtube]

I had planned to get this great book for Gary as a Valentine but Amazon.com let me down and wasn’t going to fulfill my order until the 22nd of February for no apparent reason, when I signed up for two day delivery. So, in a fit of rage I canceled the order. I don’t understand why a big old consumer machine like Amazon can’t fulfill orders the day they come in? I wrote a rant to their customer service knowing that its not going to do me any good but was nice to vent. I vowed to use my local independent bookstore from now on and encourage everyone else to do the same.

Anyway, we did have a good day despite the little hiccups along the way. On the positive side we had a beautiful sun rise this morning see….

Wildlife

This week we have had the pleasure of catching rare sightings of some Heber Valley natives. I love running across wildlife I’m always humbled by their beauty. Due to the harshness of this winter’s storm after storm the Deer and Elk have been on the move. They are getting closer and closer to the metropolis of Heber City in an effort to find food. Last week we spied this heard of Elk gathered in the eastern fields of the valley among the developing neighborhoods. On Sunday we caught some more Elk hanging out with some Deer in yet another developing neighborhood. Yesterday while on a walk up the road we came across Mr. Moose sunning himself in the neighbors driveway. I was very proud of our dogs they did not approach this guy and allowed Mr. Moose plenty of room while keeping a watchful eye. Adah has come a long way from the day she was dunked in the Green River by a Moose just trying to get to the other side. Finally there has been a Bald Eagle in the canyon. We have been able to see the glorious bird a few times but have yet to get a picture. Perhaps it’s best to just appreciate the elusive bird and be satisfied and grateful for the few showings it has made.

oh, that’s just Chip

Saturday Morning

An array of Saturday morning entertainment…

After a long week of dealing with a nasty cold that has victimized all three of us I decided we could use a treat. I didn’t have the time or energy to make Grandma McKenney’s cinnamon rolls so I improvised and made cinnamon biscuits instead. They turned out quite good actually, but you really can’t go wrong with anything that contains butter and sugar, right? They brought up a flood of memories for me. Whenever I had the opportunity to stay with my aunt Laurel as a youngster she would make a stop almost every morning at the Hardee’s down the road for their yummy cinnamon biscuits and coffee before we headed up the canyon to Alta. I’m so excited because I nailed it. They taste exactly like what I remember.

Cinnamon Biscuits

2 cups flour

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 Tbsp sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

6 tbsp unsalted butter (cut into pieces)

3/4 cup milk

Set your oven temp at 425. Combine flour, salt, sugar, and cinnamon in a bowl. Cut butter into dry ingredients. Stir in milk. Don’t over mix or you will end up with a tough dough instead of a nice flaky dough. Bake for about 8 to 10 minutes. Also, you can get ahead of the game by mixing everything but the milk the night before and just add the milk the next morning. If your like me this helps prevent mistakes due to the pre-coffee “morning fog”. Finally mix up a bit of powdered sugar with some milk for a tasty frosting. Wala!

On another topic but relevant to our Saturday morning: Gary informed me that he added the Neil Young “Living With War Today” link to the site. I was going to try to avoid political commentary on this blog but Gary is so passionate about wanting a change I guess we should share what we are doing and talking about. Besides I am a big Neil Young fan, and Harvest Moon is my all time favorite song.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQXnvNwGTAY[/youtube]

We just got done watching all the video of his recording sessions. In case you haven’t heard about Living With War (LWW), this is Neil Young’s documentary recording series focused on the part of the war you WILL NOT see on the main stream news, and protesting the war in Iraq. Neil is still at it. Bless this man! If you’re interested, here are some links:

• Living With War Today Videos (All videos are included in the “Living With War: In The Beginning” CD/DVD set.)
• This video is particularly touching. Neil talks about how when he finished and was reciting the lyrics to his wife, he broke down crying: Flags of Freedom

Finally something so wonderful to post about. Ellen is starting to sit up on her own! She is also starting to say mama in her babble mostly when she is complaining or on the verge of crying (not sure how I should feel about this). She doesn’t associate mama with me yet but its exciting none the less. Needless to say our hearts are soaring.