Fifteen Beautifully Blessed Years

My sweet husband and I celebrated our 15th Wedding Anniversary on August 9.  How blessed I am to have this man in my life.  He helps me with all of my quirks and loves me unconditionally.  He humors my funky ideas.  He is the person I want to spend the rest of my life waking up with and ending the day with.  He makes me laugh and laughs when I cry at movies.  He knows my likes and dislikes.  He spoils me rotten and makes me feel like a princess.  If I had a daughter I would want her to find someone like him to marry.  I pray that my son uses his example to pattern his relationships and service to mankind.

Thank you Sweetheart and here is to so many more years together.  I love you more than words can express!

Moles, Voles and Gophers OH MY! Or Bye Bye Little Gopher

Well for a few months we had little mounds of dirt in our garden.  They would appear overnight.  Hmmm.  So I googled and googled and learned much about Moles, Voles, and Gophers.  Thought we had a Mole because none of the plants were disappearing.  Dug around, found a tunnel, stuck a garden hose in, turned on the water, water spurted out about 5 feet over and 3 feet down between the railroad ties holding up the hillside.  Hmmmmm.  Harumph!!!! says I and I call hubby out who immediately begins laughing.  He asks the question "Have you never watched Caddy Shack?".  So I began laughing too and then the games began.  I kept unhiding the opening to the "tunnel" and in the morning a little mound would be up where the opening was the night before.  And Repeat.  And Repeat.  And Repeat.  Well a few months go by and I am actually thinking having a mole for a garden pet is kind of funny.  THEN one morning I go outside and half of my marrigolds are just GONE!!!!!  WHAT!!!  Okay so now this is not funny or cute anymore.  The next morning,  more marrigolds have disappeared to be stored in the gopher larder.  Not kidding.  Moles store worms and grubs, gophers store roots and vegetable matter. 

So I was talking at church and one of the sisters had a gopher and had a brother from the ward come and take care of it.  So I went and talked to this brother and he and his family own a pest control company.  He came out on Monday afternoon and put some poison in the ground.  Two weeks later and no mounds of dirt.  It is kind of icky to think of a gopher dead in the hillside but at least he is "buried".  While he was at it the brother from church sprayed for spiders and ants, etc.  We are officially on a pest control plan. 

No more gophers, black widow spider bites, or spiders falling from the ceiling onto my face at night.  That is icky let me tell ya!

Along Came A Spider

We are still having some plumbing issues in our home and finally Saturday afternoon/evening I decided to do some much needed yarden work.  First off, the weeds are out of control and second off, I needed to do something that would make me feel in control of the situation.  I usually wear my shoes so that I can mow, weedwack, etc without harm but I knew I would not be using equipment that afternoon and went barefoot.  I love barefoot.  The way dirt and grass feel between my toes and the moist moss feels so soft.  So I was sitting down weeding when I felt something biting my foot.  I only had one more weed to reach so I finished it off.  I figured I was being stung by a centipede or something.  I moved my foot and a pretty big black spider started crawling up a nearby container.  I thought it might be a black widow so I stopped and finally subdued it enough to turn it over.  There it was.  The red hourglass.  I knew that it what had bitten me.  Sure enough a few moments later my foot swelled and my toes tingled and went numb.  I figured oh well and continued gardening for about 1 1/2 more hours.  I kept watch on my foot but nothing else happened.  Glad I am not alergic to the venom.  The bite site itches where my shoe fits and I know my foot is still a little swollen but no harm no foul.  I did have to kill the spider so she probably feels like it was great harm.  First a human had her crunched with the foot and then messed with her to turn her over and then smooshed her with a rock.  Bad day to be that black widow spider......

Perspective-The Knot

We had a lesson in Relief Society a few weeks ago.  It was about eternal progression and perspective.  The teacher held up a string.  It was meant to represent eternity.  There was a small knot along the way.  That little knot represents mortality.  Wow what a visual representation.  This mortal journey is so small comparatively and yet the choices we make are so profound for the rest of that string.  Also, it was a great reminder that we have always been on our eternal journey.  This mortal realm is still part of that.  We have a beginning before today and a progression beyond that we cannot even comprehend.

Happy Birthday To Me

Today is my birthday.  I am happy and contented.  I am where I am supposed to be with the person I am meant to be with.  Life is a journey and I am glad that Heavenly Father has allowed me to continue on a little longer.

Plumbing, Expense, and Hidden Blessings

Sometimes in the moment of mortality, the blessings are truly hidden.  On Sunday evening I went to get the dish soap out from under the sink and my finger brushed the floor of the cabinet.  I thought that it felt funny and slimy and was worried that some soap had leaked out.  I took out the garbage can and then some of the many cleaning products out from under the sink.  Low and behold the particle board had been soaking up water from a drip for ? how long.  There was actual mold growing on the board.  YUCK!  So I called my sweetheart in a panic and we wiped down the board and put some old yucky towels under the place where the water drips.  It only drips if you actually run the water in the sink.  Next morning, my sweetheart called the plumbing company that we use and trust.  They came out and discovered all of the many instances where prior owners had cut and spliced the pipes under the sink.  He offered to do a 40 point inspection for free so my sweetheart agreed to it.  He found out that our water pressure is too high which probably factored into the dripping pipes.  Also, our water heater was completely corroded and all of the under the sink pipes are badly corroded.  Apparently where we live has extremely poor water.  Also, the current water heater was not installed according to code and also had one of the pipes against the dry wall instead of the mandatory 1 inch space which could have caused a fire.  I won't mention the cost as it is astronomical to get all of these items repared or replaced.   We are also installing a filtration osmosis system that should help keep the minerals and corrosion down.  This should also help our washer, dishwasher etc run longer as well.  Apprently it will also help with laundry and showering to be using cleaner water.  My sweetheart saw the gunk coming out of the water heater and he was amazed that we had been using that water to prepare food, wash dishes and clothes, not to mention showering and drinking that water as well.  The good news is that our actual pipes are in good condition.  So at first we were shocked at the sticker price as they say but we looked at the blessings afforded from this.  We eliminated the risk of our home catching fire from the water heater, the water heater now has the overflow container that the original should have had, the pipes did not burst, and we discovered that the fire sprinkler system gauge is also corroded and dripping and could have burst at any time.  The cost is little more than our deductible for Home Owners insurance for a catastrophe that would have been more than just inconvenient.  This morning when I took a shower the water was hot instantly and with only a slight turn on the faucet knob.  So it may seem very expensive but the Lord has provided and also protected us in this.  I can feel the love he has and the blessings that He has given us in this.

Back from Vacation

We spent a lovely week in Laughlin with Mom and Dad S.  It was nice to get away and relax.  The river was full and beautiful.  We drove through some storms to get to our destination but it created a coolness that was enjoyable.  It was nice to see the rain in the desert.  Such a contrast with the browns and grays and greens.  There were no flash floods and the cajon pass was  a non event.  Those were the two things I worried about and once again worried for nothing.  It was a great time for the body and mind to be calm and rejuvenate.  Mom and Dad S are restocked for another 6 months and they are doing well.  Heavenly Father watched over our travels to and fro and we are very blessed.