Then and Now

This is a shot of the beautiful blue sky after a late winter snow storm two weeks ago.
And this is how our pansies looked on that day.
And here are our pansies today. I love spring!
The daffodils popped out overnight.
We planted sod in the back last year, and we thought that we had dug up everything planted there...but lo and behold these tulips are not to be denied their desire to push their way up though the grass.
Another "then and now"... here's Guenther tearing off the wallboard in the downstairs bathroom... ( I posted some earlier photos with Rich helping him)
..And here's the finished wall complete with pictures. Nancy's ability to remember colors just amazes me. She and Lisa took a look at the bathroom wall when Lisa was here, and a few days later she told me that she had some pictures that might go well there. They do work..the colors are perfect, and I am so pleased.
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Some "Now" Stuff..

This week Guenther tried spinal decompression for the pain in his lower back and leg. We've done some accupuncture, and he has felt a little relief, but we wanted to see if this approach might be what was needed. The chiropractor's assistant belted Guenther in and then the machine pulled and released vertebrae in the lower spine. After two treatments, Guenther felt that they had been significantly helpful, so he's signed up for nine more.
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Something new I learned this week...don't trust the recipe on the package for cooking corned beef in the oven. It took so long to bake the meat really tender that we had to have our corned beef and cabbage as leftovers the next day. (Although it was delicious then, however). Anyway from now on I will cook it on top of the stove or in the slow cooker.

Two of Guenther's Cutie Patooties

We had a nice visit with Bob and Genie last night.David was excited to see us and Emma was shy.

Emma's sad because her brother accidentally bumped her when they were both in Bob's arms.

Genie says that David knows the routines at school, and he enjoys going.

Lucky little Emma...her hair is naturally curly.

In The Past Two Weeks

The past two weeks have flown by. I've been doing the taxes and haven't had time to blog for awhile. On Sunday the first of March, we attended Cole Jaycob's blessing (Cole is Guenther's great-grandson from Kyle who is Renee's son), completed projects, and celebrated my birthday. I forgot to take my camera to Kyle's so I didn't get photos, but he and Krissie put on a really nice get-together at their home afterwards.
Sunday the 8th was my birthday, and we celebrated with a lasagna dinner at our house.This year Logan, McCall and Michael all turned 16.
Lisa, Terry, and Logan were here during their spring break, and it was great to see them.

Nancy and Summer made these neat cupcakes. Summer bought a cupcake book at the school's Book Fair, and this recipe made the cupcakes look like they were topped with spaghetti and meatballs. The meatballs were actually my favorite Lindors chocolate truffles.

Jen reading.

Lisa is showing Nancy a math trick. They were surprised to see that they both had had their hair cut short this winter.

Ellyn, Ema, and Summer play in the Toy Room.

Then on Tuesday the 10th, we had a party at David's. He, Tami, Katherine, and Michael were in New York City on Sunday, so they weren't able to celebrate with us. This a shot of the mountains on the way to David's. We had a snow storm on Monday that left the valley beautiful the next day.

Hanging out in David's Great Room

Kai loves dogs, but he broke out with a rash and itchy eyes after Zeke licked his face. His folks say that's happened before. So...sorry Kai, if you ever get a dog, it'll have to be a hypoallergenic breed like the one that the Obama girls are getting.

Lisa and Tami

Logan watches Mike fiddle with his guitar

Jen and Zeke. Jen has rented her own condo. Here's the recipe for the delicious spinach dip that she made for the party:
Spinach and Red Pepper Dip
-1 pkg. frozen chopped spinach, thawed
-4 oz. low fat cream cheese
-1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
-1/3 cup chopped roasted red pepper

Ellyn looks pretty comfortable here.

On Wednesday the 5th, Summer and her friend, Jayden, helped me bake sugar cookies at Summer's house.

Toby really wanted to join us, but he's restricted to his quarters for violating the "no- marking-your-territory-in-the-house" rule.

For my birthday, Guenther put a new light fixture in the sunroom. We weren't getting enough light with the chandelier that was there.

When he ran into a problem with the power, naturally Guenther called on his Number One Fix It Man, Rich.

And here's the finished product. It's not as cute as the chandelier, but we love the light that we get now.Another project that Guenther did recently. He replaced the sink and faucet in the bathroom upstairs.

This is the finshed wall in the bathroom downstairs where there used to be a fake window with curtains. I posted photos earlier of Rich helping Guenther with the drywall.

Lindsay sang a special birthday song for me. She's played guitar since high school, but she just took it up again recently.


Here's a video of everyone singing Happy Birthday to me.

Three 3-pointers

We really enjoyed watching Ryan's Jordan Beetdiggers Sophomore basketball team beat the Taylorsville Warriors on Friday afternoon. Jackie had called to let us know about the last home game. Ryan is number 22, and he did a great job..he got in there and scrambled and scored three 3-point baskets, plus he did some excellent guarding and rebounding.

Here he's scoring a free throw.

Ryan got fouled here, but the ref didn't see it.

Celebrating with My Munchkin Valentines two days late

Lindsay and Matt brought the kids by on Monday the 16th on their way to visit the zoo. They had planned the outing for Saturday, Valentine's Day, but the snow kept them away.

Kai is growing up way fast.Here he is by Bryce's elephant (the one I've willed to him, Bryce, I mean).

My Big Valentine gave me roses.

winter and spring thirty miles apart

Both of these shots were taken Last Monday at 5:30 in the afternoon. It was hard to believe that it could be so snowy at Lindsay's in Layton when it was dry in Salt Lake. However, it snowed here during the night, so the next morning we were back to winter also.

Accident Prone

This is what happens when a nearly-71 year old grandma doesn't focus. Saturday night I was taking some items to the storeroom downstairs when I became distracted and missed the bottom step. I felt something pop as I toppled forward on the side of my ankle, and I thought for sure it was broken. However, thanks to GramPeachie's genes and healthy lifestyle when she was expecting me (she walked a lot and ate tons of oranges), I have super strong bones, and x-rays at the emergency room showed that it's just a really bad sprain.

To my chagrin, however, I had delayed taking photos of Colette, Mike, Ro-Bo, and Lisa who arrived Friday evening for a weekend visit. On Saturday, they went to the Timpanogas Temple to attend the wedding of a sister missionary from the Rochester, Washington area. I spent Sunday in bed with ice on my ankle, so I wasn't doing any photography, and they headed home at 4 a.m. on Monday morning. It was great to see them, and we enjoyed the visit, and they got to see the rest of the family on Sunday evening when Jackie hosted a party while they watched the Super Bowl.