playing scrabble on Mother's day.

I know this is out of order......but I want to post some other stuffs and so I'll just leave it out of order, perfect for the ending of mother's day wonderful......This is James and his mother and Tomasi.

Beautiful Felila and I played dominos. I love playing this game. not much thinking and can "talk story" while playing....ha.

Felila and Rachael singing a wonderful song for me. If I was sharp in this, I would have recorded it and put it on this blog, oh well.....another time. maybe.

this is all 5 of us on this marvelous MOTHER'S DAY where the kids served us.....

Dan bathing Daniel the second

Here is wonderful Dan, bathing his 5th son......soooooooooooo sweet, yeah?
ahhhhhhhhhh, sink baths, such a time......

Dan and Laura and their little one. To update all of you that might read this blog spot.....Dan was out of work at this time.....and was working at the Army National Guard translating Arabic. Instead of being gone for ONE YEAR in Iraq again.....he got offered a 3 month job in Kwajalein Islands. Laura would rather have that. So they made the decision that he'd go and when he comes back, he'll have another year of translating Arabic. We're now getting phone pictures on email. hooooooooooooo boy, Laura has her hands full, 5 boys ages 5 and under. I love them all dearly.

lunch in Nauvoo Cafe in S.L.C.

When I was a senior in High School...........I worked in some burger mill across from San Jose State College. (1959) I worked 30 hours a week....and had my dinner there every school night......It was early and so I had only the little birds to eat with. This is when I began to love the birds of all kinds.......... ahhhhhhhhhhh, this reminded me of this time in S.L.C. before I went to the Conference Center to see the art show and go on the roof. It was such a perfect spring day. I got this gorgious sandwitch at the cafe that was called "The Nauvoo Cafe". and ate it outside with my friends, the birds and lovely flowers.

chunky but happy.

Spring flowers are soooooooooooooooo beautiful.

On my way to the conference Center, I took this photo looking up at the S.L.C. Temple. Can you see the Angel Moroni on top?

Art show inside Conference

There was a wonderful art show inside the Conference Center, folks contributed from all over the world. I didn't take a lot of pictures, but a few here......

I was fasinated by this handmade banjo. terrific workmanship. It said that it was made with the tools of the 18th century. I find this photo interesting in that the glass on the bango case here.....reflects the windows and I still like it.

My daughter Isabella loves Turtles as I do....I like what it has to say of Divine Nature.

Conference Center and Temple Square in S.L.C.

This is the conference Center in S.L.C. You can attend something inside and be with 20,000 others. fantastic performances are also held here.
I'm taking photos on TOP of the Conference Center in S.L.C. this was during my "mother's day time there". You can see all the construction that is going on in downtown. S.L.C. did not want it's old city to become like other old cities.........trashy dumps and run down places .....they are doing a good job of this....the skyline is changing. Only sad thing is that it is dwarfing the size of that awesome Temple.
a fountain on a roof, get that.....
Here is a very old tree that has been transplanted....a prairie on the roof....and the grasses and other native plants. There was an article in National Geographic about doing this all over in cities across the Nation.........to cut off the heat and pollution in cities. It's like cutting the land and just moving it up. good idea if you ask me.
I soooooooooooo love columbines. these are the flower of Colorado. I painted this flower on one of my harps that I made out of Myrtle wood. sold that harp in Ashland, Oregon.

This is just another shot and those that have been to S.L.C. showing that awesome egg shaped Tabernacle.

more to look at.

when you visit S.L.C. next, go to the conference center and take a little tour.

When I went down to the Temple square, I found all of these flowers blooming on the wall.....had someone take my photo here. I look at these and see my father's mother.....my dear grandmother Lena Jane Daniels Holmes.

my day with Angelita in S.L.C.

Angelita with her darling little garden. She had some little critters eating her tender plants and then built this little cage to keep her plants growing.

here she is in front of her apartment.

We drove by this house and she said she really liked this yard. yep, I said "so do I. Can we go back and take a picture of it? That's the kind of thing I want to do in Nauvoo so as NOT TO MOW A LAWN. We like the varity of colored rocks.....

Okay, when she showed me how she was doing her computer set up..........no wonder she hardly computes!...We then went to our little dinner in Sugarhouse area and we were passing one of my favorite D.I. places.........and we made a quick left into the parking lot. We found a cute little desk and chair...ha, we were in Dan's (my son's little car) and it was a challenge to get those in their.....did it and took it back to her place and set it all up.

and here is Angelita with her new stuffs. I hope to see more of her on our family site. I love you Angelita.

The moth

This is the best picture of this lovely moth, and taken with my cell phone.

Dear family and friends......I have two stories here.....and you need to read them to really know what is happening to Tomasi and Irene. Here is a picture I've taken with my little phone camera of a beautiful huge moth. When I did my walk on Wednesday early in the morning, I saw 5 walkers all standing in the middle of some crossroads looking down at something. I asked what they were looking at and they said, "the most beautiful butterfly......" I walked over after they left and could see the most beautiful moth I'd ever seen in my life. He was still flexing his wings very slowly and being that I could see a truck coming down the road a piece, picked him up and saw his little furry body and legs curl up as if being taken for a little ride.....I let him off in the grass nearby and told him he was so very beautiful.....and that the grass was a better place for him. I walked onto the place I love to sit and look at the huge Mississippi River just "rolling by"....the family graveyard of Joseph and Emma Smith and other members...........a sacred place.....and the impression came to me to go put this gorgeous moth in a safer place. With renewed steps and a fast pace.........I found him where I'd left him............just in time before the lawn mowers came. Picking him up from the grass, and carrying him over to some huge potted plant, talked to him some more and said that he'd be safe here and could fly away if he wanted to.I went home and decided to get my good camera and take a picture of this moth. Grabbed my camera from the house and zipped back to give him a "photo shoot". By the second picture....my fancy camera lenses got all fogged up....wow, forgot to consider that I'd taken my camera out of the cool house to this VERY HUMID MORNING.....so used my cell phone to get this picture, and I could have done that in the first place....ha. I told Vicki about it when I got home and she said, "he was dieing and that I should go back and get him and let him die in my shop and then frame him in a box". ZIP ZAP....I got in my Hanna the Vanna and went right back to where I'd left him and he was not there. I looked all around the pot, and area....no lovely mothie.....I think he found the courage to fly off somewhere else.....Story #2. On Wednesday night, Tomasi and I went to see and hear the MIDVALE BELLE RINGERS.........a bell choir that is really good and fun. The last song was THE LITTLE TIN SOULDIER and the bouncy happy conductor asked for a volunteer to come up and be a tin souldier with her. Up hops this young man that was so very fun, I thought he was part of the act, he stole the show away by his marching and antics.....because my vision is now 20-20, I could see the printing on his black shirt very well.....it read.........."DON'T KNOCK ON DEATH'S DOOR, RING THE BELL AND RUN, HE HATES THAT". END OF TWO STORIES....Because Tomasi has lost 70 pounds of weight in 3 months and other symptoms, I got him in for an exam and 2 weeks ago for a colonoscope exam.....they found that he has rectal/colon cancer. Hardly a good time for this to come.......but another journey for us to take together. I will support Tomasi in whatever decision he chooses to make. We met with the radiologest in Quincy, Illinois at the new and large Cancer Clinic yesterday and next Wednesday he will begin radiation 5 days a week for 6 weeks. By the XRAY and cat's scan.....all other organs look good. Quincy is a little over an hour away.....and a beautiful drive. We'll need to get some books on cassett tape as that's all I have in the air conditioned truck we have.....I don't know what uses less gas, my Hanna the Vanna (VW Camper 1988 running very well thank you) or our 1988 Dodge lovely kept up, 8 foot bed airconditioned maroon truck. We got this so we could haul stuffs for the house we knew we'd be building....and it's been great for that purpose. We meet with the Chemo Doc. next Tuesday in Carthage, Illinois.....We're less excited about this treatment and all the sickness that has been known to go with this procedure...........and yes, we've got a pile of questions.....We figure we've got 6 weeks to also try alternatives that may also shrink that tumor before the sugery............where they want to take out EVERYTHING down there and have him have a bag on the side for the rest of his life. We're praying these treatments will shrink it enough so as not to have such drastic surgery........Pray for us and know that prayers are answered. We all have to go through Death's door..........a more beautiful world awaits us there we are sure............but for now, we're "ringing that bell and running".