BREAD...

    

BREAD is like the Sun...

It Rises in the "YEAST"

and Sets in the "WAIST"

Saw this little axiom on some marquee somewhere and laughed out loud!  

I LOVE bread.  It is literally the stuff of life for me.  But it is also the reason why I no longer have a waist.  Do I want a shape, or will I be content to just get thicker and thicker and thicker around the middle until I roll out of my turn on earth since I have no willpower to pass it up?

And I wonder, will there be bread in heaven?  

Just pondering....

OOPS!!!

                 The "all-seeing eye" that let me slip out of it's gaze....OOPS!

 I went to a different WalMart a few weeks ago and checked out the Garden Shop to see if there was any inventory that was on sale.  There was...including a good-sized shrub to replace the one that died over last winter.  And at a quarter of the price it was in early Spring!  What a bargain...

As I was going through the self check-out however, the replacement sale tag had faded from water exposure and the bar code couldn't be read by the electronic eye.  After I had scanned all the other items in my cart, bagged them, and put them into the cart, I motioned for the clerk that I needed help.  Wow!  Not only did she assist me in making sure the shrub was entered on the tally for the things I had purchased, she also gave me an earful!

The clerk told me that she was SO sick of the garden department and that she was SO happy they were clearing everything out within the next few days.  Then she added that there was going to be NO Garden Shop next year.  This was the beginning of August, and I thought that seemed early to get rid of all the remaining plants.  And there were A LOT of them still in the Garden Shop.  This was one Wal Mart store which over the years has had the best plants including flowers and shrubs.  I have often purchased my own garden treasures there.  I wasn't too keen on the news that there wouldn't be ANYTHING next year.

I asked her if that was just her store or if that was the plan for all the other WalMart locations around the country.  She said she didn't know.  It only mattered that SHE wasn't going to have to deal with them anymore, trying to get the price tags to scan and putting up with the inconvenience of plants not ready for check out.  

That particular WalMart store is set up a little differently than the one I usually go to which is closer to my house.  So, after she finished her diatribe--which also included there were going to be no more plastic shopping bags anymore after the first of the year--I thanked her for her help and left the store through an entrance immediately next to the self-checkout.

As I was putting the shopping bags into my car, though, it suddenly hit me that I hadn't PAID for the stuff I bought.  That woman was so completely in my face with her sad tale of woe, that I forgot to click on the PAY NOW button.  I had walked out of the store with a cart full of unpaid merchandise!  

I turned around to see if the store cops were on their way to apprehend me.  They weren't.  But you can believe I did double time getting back into the store with my credit card in hand to take care of my error!  I was sure at any point the long arm of the law was going to reach out and nab me.

It was a different clerk at the self-check registers when I got back.  Very embarrassed and red-faced, I told her what had happened.  After checking around a bit, she found a message that the transaction had been a "walk-off" or some such thing.  (There was a special name for it.)  I hurriedly paid, all the while apologizing profusely for not paying attention and walking out of the store without having paid before.  The new clerk was really nice and said not to worry about it.  I had taken care of it, and that was that.  

I felt like such an idiot, as it was a pretty big OOPS!  

But all's well that ends well.  And my new shrub looks great on the front porch!

PS   Over the following weeks I have been in several other WalMart stores, specifically to check out the garden department.  Some of them WERE completely empty.  A clerk at one of those locations told me that she actually wept when they came in and cleared out all the living plants and put them into the trash.  It was such a waste, she said.  However, many of the other stores still have many plants--brand new selections for the upcoming fall months with autumn colors to enhance any fading blossoms that are nearing the end of their season in home gardens.  I bought a couple of them myself the other day to fill in a space in my own yard.   

I thought again how blessed we are to have such beautiful surroundings to enhance our turn on earth.  What a loving Creator we have!

AGENCY

 There is a lot of talk in the world about "free-will" and having the RIGHT to do what you want when you want.   People over the ages, and most assuredly now in our ME culture, claim there really is no right and wrong, that everything is nothing more than moral relativity.  If it feels right, go ahead and do it.  And the world be damned because it is personal choice that no one has any business interfering in.

 I was taught and have always believed this ""free-will" or agency as it is spoken of in the scriptures, is one of the most glorious gifts a loving Heavenly Father has given us.  And that it carries with it a responsibility because there ARE consequences.  

I recently read this definition which I think really spells out how this powerful behavior can be a tool for good.  It is from an address given by Randy D. Funk in the April 2022 General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  

Perhaps it speaks to you, too!

   THE GIFT OF AGENCY IS NOT SIMPLY 

      THE RIGHT TO CHOOSE, 

 IT IS THE OPPORTUNITY TO 

CHOOSE THE RIGHT.

PIONEER DAY!

 

I come from Pioneer stock.  

My ancestors on both my mom's and my dad's side of the family came West with the Mormon Pioneers in the mid 19th Century.  That is a fact that I have always been proud of.  My parents both spoke so highly of the stupendous accomplishment their grandparents and great grandparents two or three generations back who pretty much walked the 1,000 plus miles from Illinois to Utah--and some of them did that barefoot!

So, when hard things have happened in my life, I often remarked that I come from Pioneer stock, if they could do hard things, so can I.  And I have often reminded my own children, when they have been in the face of difficulty or are being confronted by challenges that seem overwhelming, with the same reminder of their Pioneer heritage.

Today is PIONEER DAY .  It marks the day the first members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints arrived in the Salt Lake Valley as emigrants.  That was in 1847.  Their guiding principles continue as the great qualities which have marked sacrifices for countries, families, members of congregations, and for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints worldwide.

Though our contemporary challenges are different from those faced by earlier pioneers, many are just as dangerous or difficult, or formidable as were theirs.  Just clothed a little differently.  Here are just a few.

WOLVES:  not prowling animals, but drug dealers, pornographers, and unsavory video and audio experiences in music, movies, and video games.

ILLNESS:  we have the blessings of modern medicine to help cure us from disease and accidents, but we have recently suffered a pandemic which kept the world confined and off-kilter.

PHYSICAL HUNGER:  now we could face spiritual hunger if we choose to listen to the world's rhetoric

WORK:  pioneer children did incredibly hard physical labor to survive their surroundings.  Now many of our children face the ABSENCE of hard work.  This absence has brought about a change in "discipline, responsibility, and self-worth".

And what was it that enabled those early pioneers to wade through so much adversity?  FAITH!

To quote Dallin H. Oaks, "They stepped forward into the unknown:  a new religion, a new land, a new way of doing things....they stood fast against formidable opposition."  Their efforts were part of what made their still fairly new nation great in a unique way, and in turn also changed the world.

Many other great qualities are evident in these pioneer ancestors.  They are a lack of selfishness, unflinching service, cooperative unity, and persistence to continue in the face of adversity as they patiently continued onward mile after mile after mile across the Great American Desert and endured to the end.  They also left a legacy of inclusion:  no one was left behind (they went back for those who couldn't leave initially) and on the trail no day ended until everyone was accounted for--including the stragglers.

As my children were growing up, we looked forward to celebrating Pioneer Day.  It was one of our favorite Nichols Family parties.  We played pioneer games, ate pioneer food on tin plates, wore pioneer clothes, and ate out on our "prairie", then enjoyed favorite pioneer stories and songs around our "campfire".  Sometimes we invited the neighbors who also joined in the fun with a true pioneer spirit. I miss those days with my children and grandchildren celebrating this important occasion.  

Today it is just Louis and I, but I have had a true Pioneer spirit as I reflected on the enduring principles that continue to have a profound effect on how I meet my current challenges.  How blessed I am!

Long live the pioneers...anyone who prepares a way for others to follow!

TALKING A LITTLE ABOUT THE WEATHER....

When Jeremy was a small boy and I would suggest maybe he might like to go out and play on a beautiful summer day, he would say, "It's too hot outside."  And, on a cooler day when I made the same suggestion, he would usually say, "It's too cold outside."  One day in frustration, I asked him just what kind of day he would like.  

"Medium.   I just want it to be medium."  

And that is exactly how I feel!  I would just like a nice 85 degree day in the summer with pleasant sun, no wind, and beautiful blue sky.  

But the bad thing about weather in the Rocky Mountain West is that it is constantly changing.  What is forecast in the morning--for example a lovely day, not too hot and not too cold--can be totally different by noon.  Sometimes I find the forecast has changed to something entirely opposite: windy with possible thundershowers and only partial sun.   There is always something about the weather that isn't stable.  And it can't be depended on for any length of time.

However, I recently saw a weather forecast that never changes.  It was on the marquee of one of the local churches in the area.  

WEATHER FORECAST

GOD REIGNS

JESUS CHRIST ALWAYS SHINES

Now THAT's the kind of forecast I like!

And how about this weather forecast that gives others around us something they can depend on.

THE BEST TEMPERATURE YEAR 'ROUND 

  IS A WARM HEART AND A COOL HEAD!

No wonder researchers say that "weather" is the number one topic of conversation!  There's always a little something to talk about....

...and then COVID

Yup!  We had a great vacation, fast-paced as it was--so it was no surprise that just a couple of days after we got home, I began to feel ill.  At first, I thought it was because I was worn down from all the fun we had.  But as more and more of my body felt like I had had a run-in with a MAC truck, the headache was intense, and my eyes hurt even to move them from side to side I started to think maybe I was sick "for reals", like my kids used to say.  

I told Louis that if I didn't feel better by Sunday night (this was Thursday) I would make an appointment and go to the doctor.  He said I was foolish.  If I were sick, I should go to one of the urgent care centers.  No, I like MY doctor.  I said I would wait.  

But by Saturday morning, I was really feeling bad, so I went online to see which urgent care center took my insurance.  Then I got into the car and drove myself there.  Five minute wait and I was talking to the doctor.  Maybe they could give me a strep infection test?  That was the way I felt--like all the times I've had strep infection over the years.  Okay.  And we'll do a COVID test, too.

Well, the strep test was negative.  The COVID test was not.  I had COVID.  A whole different sickness than when I had it in January 2020 before all the hoopla and the quarantines and the pandemic.  Whole different way my body reacted.  So, I spent the next few days in bed or on top of the bed resting.  Yet, I could not sleep day OR night, and I felt like I was going to go crazy from lack of sleep.  

Soon, though, I was up and about and even went out after the proper time period the CDC now recommends.  Although I still don't feel 100% like I do when I am totally well, I am trying to get back on track after the hiatus of routine during my heart procedure just prior to our trip to Savannah and then being sick for several days after we returned home.

Someone asked me where I thought I might have contracted COVID.  Well...let's see 

• six flights
• four major airports
• two graduations
• hundreds of people 

It's anyone's guess.  I'm sure somewhere in all of that there was probably someone who passed the virus to me.  It's okay.  I got it.  I got over it.  This time it was more like a bad case of the flu.  I'm sure there will be more bouts of the "flu" before I come to the end.

But sometimes, it's kind of nice not being expected to do anything, to be productive, to contribute.  We all need a rest like that at some time once in a while.  This was my time.  

BUT I'M GLAD IT'S OVER...

                    CORONA VIRUS

VACATION!

 

RIVERBOAT CRUISE

Going up the gangplank for a lovely evening on the river!

It was our last night in Savannah...

Louis and I usually take a little trip to celebrate our May 12th anniversary.  But the last couple of years, COVID made things a little difficult with the pandemic and all the travel restrictions.  We like to pick a place we have never been, but also a city where The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has built a temple.

In 2020 we decided to go to Nova Scotia.  Every time I had a trip scheduled out of Newark to fly there as a flight attendant for United Airlines, something happened.  We got reassigned.  The flight was cancelled.  We missed our connection.   Always some different reason.  Obviously, I never made it there.  And... there is a temple in Halifax.  Fit our criteria perfectly!

I also told Louis to BUY the tickets. Newark is the only city that United flies from to Nova Scotia, so I wanted to make sure we had seats--NO STANDBY!  He did.  Then he arranged for a hotel, a rental car, and we made plans of where we wanted to go besides the temple.  Going to be a great vacation!

However, about a week before we were supposed to leave, Canada closed its borders.  Most of my trips that spring had been to Canada--Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Toronto--and as flight crews we were able to fly in and out of Canada without any ruckus.  Not so for vacationers.  Not welcome!

We ended up driving to Albuquerque.  We had a nice time, and they didn't have a mandatory face mask mandate at that time.

In 2021 we just went to a brand-new hotel in Boulder and spent a Saturday morning walking around Boulder and going to a Farmers' Market.   Again, we had fun even though both those little anniversary trips were pretty low key.  

By 2022 we were ready for adventure and started looking for someplace other than Canada which still had some restrictions.  Forget that.  We talked a little about Panama.  I had been there for United a few times and always wished Louis were on my layovers because he spent time there in the Army as a Ranger.  Somehow, though, we mis-communicated and struck that off our list.  Next under consideration was Ireland.  We could get there but getting home looked kind of iffy with their travel restrictions.

Louis asked for more suggestions of where I would like to go.  Savannah?  In all my travels for work in Corporate America, and my trips with United, I had never been to the Georgia coast including Savannah.

Savannah it was, then!  And Louis made reservations for us to spend Saturday to Saturday there starting on Memorial Day weekend so he had to take only four vacation days.

We had a terrific vacation, including a quick trip up to Cincinnati for 36 hours for our grand boy's high school graduation!  Visiting a beautiful city and celebrating with family--life doesn't get much better than that!

While in Savannah we went on a trolley tour of the city and were completely pleased to see the beautiful "Squares" like mini parks practically every other block.  These garden-like city blocks were full of historical bits of information about people and events that happened from the establishment of the city.  

One square that was of particular interest to me was one which had a history board about Lowell Mason.  I mused to Louis if this might be the Lowell Mason who wrote some of the hymns in our hymnbook.  It was!  He lived in Savannah for about 15 years and was affiliated with one of the churches there.  The hymn I recognized him for is "Nearer My God to Thee", one of my favorites!  That was a nice little plus for me during the sight-seeing tour.

We also went to a fabulous museum that was on par with the Smithsonian which chronicled the training and combat tours of the 8th Air Force something or other during WWII..  We could have spent three days there and not touched it all.  Also, for me, this museum filled in some of the background for the WWII history that I am so keen about.  

One day we drove up to Hilton Head in South Carolina.  Not even an hour away.  Nice, but very crowded and pretty commercialized.  I thought the Channel Islands in Georgia were much more attractive, like Tybee Island and Jekyll Island which we also visited.  White sand beaches but not so crowded and trim cottages with fresh paint.  Very inviting even for the NON-water/beach person that I am.

The rest of the time we just did some touring on our own with stops at shops and restaurants along the way. And spent a lot of money on little gifts to take home like Georgia Peach Butter.  In fact, everything peachy--like the ice cream--tasted delicious.  UM UM GOOD!  

All too soon, our Southern adventure was almost over.  I was glad we had saved the best for last, an evening riverboat tour complete with buffet dinner.  It was a beautiful evening, warm with a great view of the city's lighted shoreline.  What a memorable cap to a great week!  

Now instead of telling people I had never even been to Georgia until I was 50 years old and had NEVER been to Savannah, now I can tell people I have been there and give an enthusiastic thumbs up as a testimony if you're looking for a great vacation.

THAT'S ALL, Y'ALL!