Another Busy Weekend

 Here are some of the highlights of the weekend. 

Friday I had the day off, as I use up my PTO before I retire.  I had quite a bit of PTO accumulated and I am determined to use it all up, since we are not paid for unused time off. We went to our new home. This was the beautiful view from our street, with the trees out in full spring blossom and the snow capped mountains in the background.  It was a warm day - over 80 degrees.  It felt more like June than March. 

We did a little shopping for things to give our grandchildren for Easter.  I like to remember them, with fun things, but also want them to learn the true reason for the Easter season - the resurrection of our Lord and Savior.  I found this Easter creche at a Christian bookstore I like and decided to get it for my daughter's family. I am seriously thinking of getting one of these for my own home too.  

I also made some little Easter bags for each grandchild that had a little Easter candy (chocolate bunnies, chocolate coins, and peeps), and cards with a gift card to Chick-Fil-A inside.  I took these to give to the grand children on Saturday. 

We had a busy day running around and getting things for our new home on Friday.  We stopped for a fast-food dinner before going to a history conference we had scheduled for evening. 

Charly and I usually really like academic kinds of conferences about subjects like history, religion, and apologetics, and we got tickets to this conference several months ago. Friday evening was the first session of the conference we went to.  The first session was not at all what I had expected and I almost felt like it was a waste of time and money. We actually liked the Saturday session we attended much better. 

Friday, I also sold another item I had listed on Facebook Marketplace.  I had used this wooden box first for family keepsakes, and then for bedding, but I don't have a good place for it at our new home, so we decided to see if anyone one else could use it. Less than 24 hours later, a very nice young couple came and picked it up, paying almost full asking price.  I am glad that someone can use it! 

Saturday, we went to another session of the history conference.  This was our favorite session where we heard one of my favorite podcasters give a presentation. I learned a lot from what he had to say.  His presentation made the entire conference worthwhile. 

A little later, we took our granddaughter out to lunch for her birthday. She will be 18 on Monday. She is graduating from high school in May and has already been accepted to her college of choice. She has decided to service an 18 month mission before going to college.  Exciting times for this sweet and beautiful young woman!

We also donated three bags and two boxes of things at a thrift store Saturday afternoon.  I think we are doing pretty good at paring down our possessions as we move.  A lot of the things we donated this afternoon were Josh's things that he didn't want any more. 

Sunday was a beautiful spring day. The morning was sunny with cloudless blue skies. We went to church and enjoyed a wonderful worship service.  

After church we went back to our new house.  We actually  made two trips there and back after church - so that was a total of 160 miles. We took a lot of kitchen items, including dishes and pot and pans.  Before we left to come back to Salt Lake City, all the boxes shown on the counter were unpacked and the contents put away in their new home in the new kitchen. 

We took some things over to Josh at his apartment before we left Utah County. This is the mountain view from the parking lot of his apartment complex. You can see that by evening, the blue skies of the morning had turned cloudy. 

We had a very busy but good weekend. We accomplished a lot and enjoyed some good family time.  Now onto another week full of good things!

Weekend Gratitude:

• Traveling safely - we put in over 300 miles this weekend!
• Taking our granddaughter to lunch for her 18th birthday.
• Visiting with our daughter and her family.
• Meeting more neighbors in our new neighborhood. 
• Worshipping and feeling God's spirit and love. 

Praying For:

• A blogging friend who is in the hospital.
• Safety for our military. 
• Help in selling our current home.
• All of our children and grandchildren.
• Our nation.

Looking Forward To:

• Spring break - coming in April!
• Getting the rest of our stuff moved to our new home. 
• Selling more items on Facebook Marketplace (hopefully).
• Retirement!

That's all for now.  See you again soon.  Have a great week!

Until next time,

😊Deb💖

"The Lord is good to all:

and His tender mercies are over 

all his works."

~Psalm 145:9

Fall Gratitude

Here are some of the things I am grateful for this week.  To look back at the good, I am joining once again with Susanne over at Living to Tell the Story for Friday's Fave Five. 

😊  Charly's birthday was on Monday.  It was a quiet, low-key kind of birthday.  Charly and I will do more to celebrate our birthdays when I take a day off later in October.  I am grateful for Charly and that we are still together as the years go by.

😊 Thursday was my birthday. I am so grateful for all of the lovely cards, texts, messages, and gifts I received from friends and family.  Charly gave me a beautiful leather wallet that I sorely needed and just love.  He is such a thoughtful gift-giver.  It was a blessing to receive so many nice birthday wishes. 

😊 Since I am beginning a new trip around the sun this week, I decided to get a new 2026 planner and start recording birthdays, appointments, and other special days.  I am grateful for the fresh starts and new beginnings another year of life brings. 

😊 Our problem tenants have moved out of our rental property, and now we are getting it cleaned up, fixed up and ready to go back on the market.  I am grateful that we will be able to get the condo ready to sell by the end of October, and probably with less effort and expense than we had feared. 

😊 Charly and I both had dental check-ups this past week. It's good to have it over for another six months.  I am grateful that I had no problems and no cavities.  Charly had one cavity that he had easily taken care of Thursday morning.  I am grateful for a good dentist and good dental health for both of us.

Although there is always more to be grateful for, that's all for this post.  Thanks for stopping by to visit, and thank you for the lovely birthday greetings! Have a good weekend!

Until next time,

😊Deb💖 

"The thankful heart opens our 

eyes to a multitude of blessings

that continually surround us."

~James E. Faust

The First Weekend of October

Here is what the first weekend of October was like in my world. 

We had much much needed soaking rain beginning on Friday night and continuing through most of the day Saturday. 

The rain in the valley was snow in the nearby mountains. 

 

We began our Saturday by walking at the mall before the stores opened. 

After walking at the mall, we went to our favorite nail place and Charly and I had pedicures.

I had to go to Dollar Tree Saturday afternoon to get some gift bags and a birthday card for my sweet Charly whose birthday is Monday. 

We watched our church's semi-annual General Conference Saturday afternoon and evening. The messages and music were uplifting, and inspirational.  All of the speakers bore powerful testimony of Jesus Christ and encouraged all to follow Him as true Christians!

Saturday afternoon, I made a batch of sloppy joes for dinner.  Here's a link to the recipe. I made a double batch with one pound of Beyond Beef and one pound of regular ground beef.  We also added chopped up red and orange peppers and it was delicious.   We had some of the leftovers on Sunday.

It rained overnight on Saturday and we woke up to a very chilly Sunday morning.  We turned on the heat for the first time this fall season, and I broke out my soft and comfy plaid flannel. 

We watched our church's General Conference again on Sunday.  There were no in-person church meetings for our church on Sunday. 

Sunday afternoon, I went for a walk.  We didn't have any rain, but it was still cool and cloudy. 

While most leaves are still on the trees, but as you can see in this pictures, some are starting to fall. 

After dinner, I got ready all of the gifts I have to give Charly for his birthday.

Weekend gratitude:

• Worshipping at the temple.
• Receiving much needed rain. 
• Exchanging texts with my oldest grandson. 
• Learning from inspiring General Conference messages.
• Enjoying cooler autumn weather. 

Coming up this week:

Monday - Charly's birthday and our oldest son Alex's birthday

Wednesday - Dentist appointments for both Charly and I

Thursday - My birthday

Friday - Our daughter-in-law's birthday

Friday - Worship at the temple

Saturday - Lunch with a friend and former colleague

Praying for:

• Those injured in the horrific church shooting in Michigan, and the families of those who were killed.  
• Family members going through difficult things. 
• Help with our upcoming retirement and move. 
• Unity and love among all followers of Jesus Christ!
• Our nation.

That's all for now. Thanks for stopping by.  Have a good week!

Until next time,

🎃Deb🍁

Currently on the Final Day of July

Here's what is currently going on in my world on the last day of July, 2025.

The weather is hot, but we have actually had fewer days over 100 degrees than we usually do.  We have had an extremely dry summer, and need rain, which just doesn't seem to come.  

I'm reading The Second Mrs. Astor by Shana Abe.  I just started it a couple of days ago, but I am really enjoying this historical fiction.  I'm also reading an inspirational nonfiction book, Life Lessons by Trina Boice.

I'm working on updating and writing down all of our usernames and passwords. I have needed to do this for a long time. 

I'm also working on getting rid of things we no longer need like this load we took to donate at a local thrift store on Thursday.  We are planning to take another load to donate tomorrow. 

I'm loving this cool family crossword puzzle that I ordered. I honestly don't usually order things I see on Facebook, but when I saw this family crossword puzzle art, I had to have it. It arrived this past week, and I am very pleased with how it turned out.  I plan to put it up in our new home after we move in a few months.  

I'm also loving the variety of flowers currently out in bloom in my yard. 

I'm looking forward to finishing my teaching career this coming school year.  Next week is my LAST first day back to school.  This has been my FINAL summer break.  Next summer will be my first as a retired teacher, and I am excited about and looking forward to that!  

I've been enjoying occasional Diet Coke floats this summer.  I have been pleasantly surprised that a small amount of vanilla ice cream in some Diet Coke does not seem to bother my sometimes lactose-intolerant stomach. 

I'm celebrating this sweet granddaughter's 11th birthday this weekend.  We will be seeing her and taking out for her birthday lunch on Monday. 

In the kitchen we had a "clean-out-the-fridge" night.  I had half of a calzone we bought at the grocery store a couple of days ago, along with a few left-over tater tots and a green salad with tomatoes from my garden. 

I'm grateful for Josh's help as we work on getting rid of some things we've had in our shed and garage way too long.  As we prepare to put our current house on the market in less than a year, it feels good to get rid of things we don't need. 

That's all for now.  Thanks for stopping by to visit.  Have a good weekend!

Until next time,

😊Deb💖

"Never regret a day in your life:  

good days give happiness, 

bad days give experiences, 

worst days give lessons,

and the best days give memories. 

~Saint Mother Teresa

Final Weekend of October

 Here are the highlights of our final weekend of October 2024.  

Friday, I took the day off and Charly and I went to an apologetics conference in an area about 30 miles from where we live.  We attended classes on such various topics as science and religion, understanding scripture through the archeology and the Hebrew language, apocryphal books and how they relate to the scripture canon and falling marriage and birth rates and the negative impact on our society.  We enjoyed all of the presentations and discussions and learned a lot.  I also got to meet and talk to some of my favorite Christian Youtubers and Podcasters.  Charly and I were completely spent at the end of the day, but we enjoyed the conference and plan to go to the next one which will be in April 2025. 

Saturday was a beautiful, sunny, cloudless day. The weather was perfect.  Since we didn't have anywhere we needed to be on Saturday, it turned into an errand running day. 

After going to the rec. center to walk, we worked outside in the garden, cleaning things up for fall.  I dug up the carrots I planted in the spring. They aren't huge, but they are very tender and sweet. 

In the afternoon, we went to one of our favorite thrift stores, and look at all the Hardy Boys books they had there. There were more, but these are the volumes I needed for my collection.  They were only $1 a book, which is a real bargain. 

My collection of Hardy Boys books is growing.  I am also keeping my eye out for more Nancy Drew books, but they are a little harder to find. 

Sunday began with this beautiful, pink sunrise.  I took this picture from my front porch because I still in my jammies and didn't want to venture into the middle of the street for a better shot, but you can see how beautiful the morning sky was. 

By the time we got to the church in time for the 9 a.m. service, the sky was cloudy and dreary.  Our service was excellent though, and the surprise of the day was that Charly's younger brother came to church.  There is a bit of a back story there, but basically Charly's brother has not been to church for several years, and hasn't spoken to Charly in any meaningful way for about that long.  We both made an effort to talk to Charly's brother and welcome him to church, and he was receptive and responsive to both of us.   We are hopeful that this may lead to a thawing in the relationship between the brothers. Charly's brother is a nurse, but told Charly that he has retired, so his schedule may allow him to attend church more now.  Charly's sister was also at church (yes, also in our congregation) but she still will not speak to either Charly or I and seemed put out that the younger brother was talking to Charly.  Families! (Sigh!)  We are praying that God will soften hearts.   

After the main worship service, Charly and I went to the separate men's and women's classes.  The lesson and discussion in the woman's class was excellent as usual. 

After church, I ate lunch, then took a short nap. When I got up, I went out for my Sunday afternoon walk.  I walked two miles. There are quite a few houses in our area decorated for Halloween.  Here are a few that I passed. 

It was cloudy but not cold and my two mile walk was pleasant. 

For Sunday dinner, I made this super easy and delicious chicken recipe.  This is a recipe I made quite often a few years back, but I always used the oven back then. Today, I combined California Honey French Dressing, apricot preserves and onion soup mix in the crock pot then added three chicken breasts and cooked on high for four hours.  

Here is the finished product. The chicken was tender and juicy and there was plenty of tasty sauce to go over the rice. I had green beans and green salad with mine. 

I tried this new dessert recipe that was also quite good.  This is recipe I got from a video I saw on Facebook.  Here is the typed out recipe.  I would make this one again!  It would be even better with vanilla ice cream, which we did not have. 

Apple Pie Bake

From Facebook

3 eggs

¾ cup of sugar

1 cup of milk

2 ⅜ cup of flour

3 apples cut up

1 TSP cut up apples

Bake at 360 for 40 minutes

Sprinkle sugar on top

Sunday was our little granddaughter's sixth birthday! We will see her and take her out to lunch next Saturday. She is home sick today and we sent her a Happy Birthday Marco Polo. This is the response we got from her. She was feeling better in the evening, which we are grateful for. We love her and all of our grandchildren so much.

In the evening, we watched a couple of scripture study Youtubes to end our Sabbath Day.

Weekend Gratitude:

• Attending the apologetics "Firm Foundations" conference.
• Getting a lot done on Saturday.
• Seeing and talking to Charly's younger brother at church.
• Hearing excellent messages/lessons at church.
• Enjoying some new recipes.
• Having good phone conversations with Josh.
• Receiving Marco Polo Messages from our granddaughter.

Coming Up This Week:

Monday - Contractor coming to winterize our sprinkling system.

Tuesday - Appointment after school.

Thursday - Halloween

Friday - Teacher meet and training day at school - no students.

Saturday - Taking our six-year-old granddaughter out to eat for her birthday.

That's all for now. Thanks for stopping by for a visit. Have a great week!

Until next time,

😊Deb💖

"Now the God of hope fill you

with all joy and peace

in believing, and ye may abound in hope,

through the power of the Holy Ghost."

~Romans 15:13 KJV