Zachary

Just so you know - Zachary is in the hospital in Portland. He was getting sick and started wheezing. Lindsey took him to urgent care and they checked his oxygen level and sent them right to the Emergency Room. Hopefully they will get him better in time to catch their flight home on Sunday. I'm sure your prayers for him would be appreciated.

We don't want him looking like this:

We want him looking like this!

Seeds

A couple weeks ago I bought some seeds for our garden - beans and peppers. I planted them and only 5 plants have sprung from the earth. I followed the directions even soaking the beans to encourage timely sprouting. But nothing. So last night I bought more seeds. This morning I will plant them. Wish me luck!

Three Strikes

I ran a quick errand to Target on Tuesday. Target is like the closest store to our house. Anyway, I had my list and needed just a couple of things. I was watching Billie for Mom but I figured she'd be fine while I went on this quick errand. But before long I would realize that I was in a sort of "virtual softball game" and would be fighting for my life while at home plate trying to get a hit.

If you remember Tuesday was a very windy day! I parked and gathered my purse and keys and opened the door. As fate would have it just as I opened the door and swung my legs to get out a huge - and I mean huge - blast of air blew in just the precise angle so as to blow the door right out of my grip and crash into the car next door to me. It was a silver sporty type car - RATS! I looked immediately at the damage. There was a sort of white scrub mark that morphed into a pink and then a slight red mark at the end of the collision site. RATS and DOUBLE DARN!! But there was not actual body damage. Luckily our truck had a sort of clear sticker on the edge of the door that sort of acted to protect it from just this sort of mishap. A quick buff would surely fix the problem. So I waited for a few minutes hoping that the owner would appear and just smile and shrug and I'd be off the hook. But no one approached. So I wrote a note and a short explanation and my home phone number. I said to call so we could work out the situation. But before I left my vehicle I took a few pictures. Just wanted to document the damages on the spot. Judge Judy would be proud. I folded the note and forced it into a slightly cracked window. That would be Strike One!

I parked and walked in to encounter my second problem. They were totally changing the layout of Target. I could find things before with precision. Today I had to wander and search. That also added some time to my trip. Strike Two! I needed to be quick - Billie was home alone. But I worked hard and eventually found what I needed and headed to the car. I worried that a huge body-builder guy on steroids and angry would be out there just waiting to pound me. But I found my truck and the owner of the car next to me had already left. No note left for me. No intentional scratches or dents left for retribution. I heaved a huge sigh of relief and headed for home.

When I got the the red light that would let me out onto Northern I was the first and only car there. But the truck began to run really rough. I put it into neutral to rev up the engine but nothing happened. It just eventually died. RATS! RATS! RATS! I tried to start it over and over again - it always started but didn't seem to get any gas when I stepped on the gas pedal. Strike Three! I called Doug - he started for home. The only good thing about this whole incident is that we put Roadside Assistance on our insurance for the truck. So I called and they arranged for a tow. Eventually we got towed to the repair shop. Some electronic sensor was bad and needed to be replaced. Any guesses on price? $600. (That's just the part too - no labor) WHAT?! Well that was quite an expensive trip to Target.

So just like old times - Three Strikes and I was out.

P.S. Funny things happen when you are waiting for a tow truck. I put on the emergency flashers and raised the hood on the truck. I left the truck so people wouldn't feel it necessary to shake their fists and swear at me. But even with those very visual signs of distress it was amazing at how many people pulled right up to the back and waited for it to get going. Most people eventually figured it out. But a few pulled right up there and honked and got all worked up. I suppose they felt a little foolish when they realized the truck was indeed advertising it's broken condition and there was not a soul around it to get mad at. That put a smile on my face.

South Mountain Hike

April 16th we hiked in South Mountain Park. After studying the maps I created a 10 mile loop. The loop included these trails: Mormon Trail, Mormon Loop Trail, Javelina Canyon Trail, Beverly Canyon Trail, Pima Wash Trail, National Trail, and back to Mormon Trail.

We have hiked many of the valley mountain trails – this being one of the last to tackle. One of the main draws for this trail was to see and experience “Fat Man’s Pass”. And a bonus was seeing Hidden Valley and Natural Tunnel as well on the same loop to see Fat Man’s Pass. These mountains had their own unique look and personality. There were so many trails! We took a map and had confidence that we would be able to find our way. As we began hiking we saw so many trail signs we knew that, indeed, we would not get lost!

Mushroom anyone?

We started on the hike at 6:15 am. The Mormon Trail was a good one to get our hearts really pumping. We transitioned without a hitch to the Mormon Loop Trail. But when we should have transitioned to the Javelina Canyon Trail things weren’t right. We ended up on a long, flat, cleared “road”. It definitely did not look like a “canyon” trail. But no signs so we continued. With each step we knew things weren’t right but this road was loaded with “recreational hikers” so we knew we wouldn’t get lost and could definitely find our way back. We now know we were on a handicapped access trail. But eventually we saw a sign for Beverly Canyon Trail.

We turned onto it and immediately felt more comfortable and knew we were on the right path. But now we would have to reverse our route in order to get to the trail we had missed and still get our 10 miles in. No problem – with my map it was a snap.

We really enjoyed the morning. We took some pictures along the way.

Hidden Valley

Natural Tunnel

Fat Man’s Pass

Doug really enjoyed part of Beverly Canyon Trail where we followed some power lines. Made him feel at home.



On top of Old Smokyyy . . . . all covered with . . . . . meeee!



Nice view.

When we got back to the point where we hadn't found Javelina Canyon Trail we looked around and see that we did not miss a sign. There was no sign. But now we know exactly where we want to go next time. Right at that point we also found some cool petroglyphs.

And as you can all tell - by virtue of the fact that I am now at home and writing this post, we did indeed find our way out of the South Mountain Park/Preserve. One disturbing thing we noticed during our hike - every sign with the word "mormon" on it was defaced. People would scratch out the second "m" and therefore it would read "moron". Not a pretty picture. But at one point when we were nearly finished hiking we found this sign in pristine condition and took advantage of it.

Growing

Upon close inspection last night I found 10 tomatoes growing on our plants and 3 bean sprouts just barely poking up out of the ground. I hope this is a good sign for a very successful garden this season!

Dang Computer!

Dang computer! I had a nice entry about our South Mountain hike all ready to publish. I was editing some of the weird spacing I've been getting lately. I can't figure that spacing issue out. Anyway, one click and I lost it all. I don't feel like doing it again just yet. I hope I can get that urge to blog the event back again. It was a nice hike.

Dang computer! Oh well. For now - this will have to do.

Old Boots - 2

OK.

I finally did it.

I threw out my Old Boots.

They deserved a much better ending -

but in actuality they died a slow and lingering death.

I should have put them out of their misery much sooner.

The Old Boots are gone.

Please join me in a moment of silence in their behalf.

Thank you!

Old Boots

As most of you know I have spent many years doing hikes. I have used this one pair of boots for most of my hikes. They have become my Old Boots.
As the Stake Hike Leader for the 4th and 5th year girls I have lead many hikes: I have lead at least 5 Havasupai hikes (20 miles round trip), a couple hikes at Picacho Peak (7 miles round trip), and probably 7 or 8 hikes to Fossil Springs (7 miles round trip)- not to mention all the hikes while up at Girls Camp. And the actual planned hikes are usually the least of the mileage logged on your boots (feet).
There is usually a period of at least 5 - 6 weeks of training hikes that are done in preparation for the hike. Those were usually treks up local hiking trails varying in length from 3 - 4 miles round trip. Some of those hikes were: Shaw Butte, North Mountain, Squaw Peak (more recently named Piestewa Peak), and the Waterfall Trail in the White Tanks. These are just the hikes related to my calling as the hike leader.
I have in recent years also done some hiking for fun. I hiked Paria Canyon 2 years ago. Shortly after that I did a Grand Canyon hike - destination Thunder River. So I did many pre-hikes to get ready for those as well. And in the recent weeks Doug and I are preparing for a Paria Hike at the end of May. So we are doing more pre-hikes.
Anyway - my Old Boots have been with me on many of those hikes. After our recent 10 mile hike on Trail 100 in the rain we sat by our vehicles waiting for a couple more scouts to finish the hike. I looked down and saw my Old Boots were in bad repair. And actually after a close inspection I feel very lucky that I didn't walk right out of my Old Boots. I think the rubber is brittle and the glue has given up the ghost or something because there are soles flapping and rubber peeling and split everywhere I look! I used some Shoe Goo a couple of years ago to close some gaps - worked really well by the way. But I don't think there is much hope in using a little Shoe Goo to extend the life of my Old Boots. They have lived their life seeing a lot of action with me. Given all that - I am still having a terrible time throwing away my Old Boots.

APS MVP

Putting this in the blog so you can all see what a valuable worker Doug is.

He was recognized as the APS MVP back in 2008.

I just ran across the magazine and wanted you all to see it too.

BTW - isn't that a sweet personalized jersey?

Trail 100

Our training hike for the Saturday April 9th was Trail 100 in the Phoenix Mountain Preserves. The scouts in the ward would be accompanying us. They are preparing for their 50-miler for their summer camp. So in total there were 6 boys and 3 adults (Doug and I included).

We wanted to hike the entire Trail 100 which would be 10 miles. However, trying to figure out the logistics of getting the group to the front end of the trail and shuttling a car/cars to the other end was too hard. We settled on doing about 5 miles one way and then turning around and returning to our cars. That turned out to work pretty well.

One obvious challenge was going to be the weather. The news had forecast a 90% chance of rain for that Saturday. And it did. The rain started Friday night and rained through most of the day on Saturday. But that did not discourage the boys at all. They had a great showing and for the most part they came prepared. We did have to insist that a couple of them put on a sweatshirt of ours - these desert kids just don't like bundling up too well. Despite the weather and meeting time (6:30 AM) all the boys who were expected came - and one leader as well.

Doug and I suspected that the boys would be dragging a bit and we might not get a very good workout. So I added a little weight to my pack AND strapped 2 pounds onto each ankle.

Group shot at the starting point. Sheesh! Some of those boys did not want to be in a picture.

We started at the North Mountain Visitors Center at about 7th Street and just south of Thunderbird. The trail took us southeast and we ended up at about 32nd Street and Northern for our turn around spot. The trail included 3 tunnels that took us under - 7th Street, Cave Creek Road, and the 51. As we suspected the older kids decided to slack off and go slow. One leader would stay back and sort of prod them to go faster. But the pace wasn't terribly slow - you could just tell they weren't giving it very much effort. But as ALWAYS happens, when you turn around and head for home those boys were jazzed and energized and stayed out front the whole way.

A nice picture of the group - minus me.

One of the boys started complaining about 3.5 miles into the hike. He wasn't feeling well, etc. etc. I've done enough youth hikes over the years to know that issue is always going to come up. I think I would have told him to tough it out. He was really doing very well. But he wanted to go back. Doing that would have required 1 leader and another boy as well to abandon ship and miss the rest of the hike. I mentioned that it would really be closer to go ahead and get to our turn around spot and call his dad to meet us there. That is what ended up happening and our timing was what you might call "perfection". We arrived at the Dreamy Draw about 5 minutes before the parent arrived. That gave the boys time to use the bathroom there and to just take it easy before heading back.

Here we are at the half-way point. Notice the kid in the blue poncho? He's smiling like it is his birthday or something? He's the one getting picked up. Does it look like he's sick or suffereing to you? Not so much. But then again he is smiling like that in all the pictures. Go back and check it out.

The hike back was uneventful. We all kept putting one foot in front of the other and eventually we made it back to the cars. The other leader seemed to be struggling a little bit with leg cramps or something. He kept stretching his legs out. I, myself, was feeling the extra weight on my ankles. I was getting a pretty good workout - FOR SURE. I would be feeling that workout for several days afterward. But I guess that is a good thing.

This is the only shot of me. I'm in the orange poncho.

One cool thing was on the way back we saw a geocache just off the trail. Someone had left it a mess! Probably some muggle who didn't know what it was. So we stopped and put all the stuff back into the can and camouflagued it a little better.

How was the Trail 100 hike? A real success. It rained/sprinkled for the entire hike. The temperature was probably right at 50 or so. The rain made things look really different - but it was beautiful! Next week's hike? Probably some trails at South Mountain. Anyone want to join us? Let me know.

Wheat Hearts

Anyone out there remember eating Wheat Hearts? I have a lot of memories eating Wheat Hearts. When we visited Grandma and Grandpa Russell we were sure to see grandma cooking up a pan of Wheat Hearts on the stove - using the metal spooon worn down on one side from years and years of use. The steaming hot cereal would sit on the table waiting for us to partake. The carton of Half-and-Half was sitting on the table waiting to be poured onto the hot breakfast cereal. A little sugar (or a lot) added to the bowl and it became a delicious meal. So many memories of that cereal.

After we got married we got our own Wheat Hearts and had them on occasion. It was so much a part of our life that even when we moved to Arizona and couldn't find the cereal on the store shelves that we would buy some on our trips to Utah and bring it back with us. It became very disconcerting when we could no longer find Wheat Hearts in Utah either. Eventually we found that the product had been discontinued. What a loss.

Lately, we have been working on getting a true years storage of food. The plan we are following is that we plan on a breakfast and a lunch or dinner each day. You pick specific meals. We have been working on breakfasts. Doug eats Cream of Wheat every morning and has decided that he could eat that all year. I eat oatmeal so I decided to store some of that in addition to eating Cream of Wheat. Well, I don't know if you notice but Cream of Wheat or Malt-o-Meal is pretty expensive. Somewhere near $4 a box. That adds up when you are buying enough for 2 people for a full year. But I started getting it one box at a time.

I got smart pretty soon and decided to look on the intenet to see if we could buy the product by bulk somewhere. Sure enough I found several possibilities. During that search I found a family type business in Indiana that runs a flour mill and produces quite a few products. They have been doing this business for many many generations. Anyway I read a review where someone said that this particular breakfast cereal that they produce called Hearts of Wheat tastes exactly like the original Wheat Hearts and was very delicious. So when I looked into it - they did have a 50# bag and the price was really cheap! The shipping wasn't. But I kept looking back on and off and discovered that the shipping price had been slightly reduced. So I ordered it.

We got it later and it sat in the den until we purchased some #10 cans to store it in. The bag filled 12 cans with a quart jar left over. We cooked a batch of the Hearts of Wheat the next day and - voila - it looks and tastes just like I remember the Wheat Hearts did years ago! So I was smiling all day - we completed our years storage for breakfast AND enjoyed remembering and reliving all those childhood memories as well.

Superstition Mountains

On April 2nd Doug and I went to the Superstition Mountains for a training hike. A friend came out and met up with us early in the morning. We did the Peralta Trail - which we have done several times before. Any of you kids remember the time we went out there for a little hike years ago? Anyway, it was a nice morning and we enjoyed the hike. A few things I want to mention:

1. Doug lost the rubber tip off of one of his hiking sticks during the first 20 minutes of the hike. Bummer!

2. I took my new mini travel tripod and we were able to take pictures with all of us together. Nice! It is my new backpacking equipment addition. As you can see in the picture it is made of lots of ball-like structures. Each joint in the tripod is bendable. That way it can be placed on uneven surfaces and you can bend it and form it until the camera is pointing where you want it and relatively level. It can even be bent around a branch or something like that. It is pretty sweet indeed! As you can see in the people pictures that I posted - 1st picture the dang rock got in the picture, 2nd picture dark people and beautiful Weaver's Needle, 3rd picture better people and decent scenery. We'll have to work on our picture compositions.

3. We were blessed to be able to see 2 beautiful red cardinals as we neared the end of the hike. Wow! What a sight! They were a little camera shy though so no pictures.

4. On the drive on the dirt road back to Mesa - we saw a snake on the side of the road. We had a quick glimpse and wanted to see more so we backed up. There it was in the perfect "S" shape as if slithering across the road. But it wasn't moving at all. Doug got his hiking stick out and gave it a poke or two. It was definitely dead. Funny thing is it didn't look damaged, injured, deformed, or splattered at all. Just looked like it was frozen in action. It was a young rattlesnake about 18" long and a short rattle. Too bad it didn't get to grow up.

That is all I want to say about our hike into the Superstition Mountains a few weekends ago.

Black Cat

I was looking out my kitchen window this morning. I was watching my hummingbird feeders. Two of them were nearly empty. I made a mental note to myself to fill those feeders today. I didn't see any birds at the feeders. I watched for a while - still nothing. Odd. It has been rainy and windy and I would think the little hummingbirds would be eating like pigs. But no. Nothing.

I stretched forward, over the sink, to get a better look. What do you suppose I saw? Yep! A black cat! Dang! It was crouched or curled up just below the hummingbird feeders! I think it was looking for an easy snack before breakfast. No wonder there weren't any birds out at the feeders. They didn't want to become that black cat's breakfast! It was like the old Sylvester the cat and Tweety bird cartoons. Sheesh! I hope that black cat didn't already eat any of my friends. I sent Doug around to scare the black cat away.

It wasn't but a few seconds later that the birds began coming around to get their tummies full of delicious fresh nectar - made from scratch in my own kitchen. So I had to make another mental note this morning. Note to self: Watch out for neighborhood black cat who likes to make snacks of my hummingbird friends!

He did it.

OK. The wait is over. I won't have to wonder anymore. He did it. He got me. And it only took a week to discover it.

Doug said the other day that he thought he knew my routine pretty well but agreed that he must not have it down as well as the thought he did. But today - finally - his April Fools joke was found. And it was pretty good too.

I ate a snacky lunch. I got a glass of milk I decided it was about time to take a multi-vitamin. When I opened the bottle of vitamins I had to smile. There it was. Doug's April Fools joke. He did it! He really did it. There inside the bottle of vitamins were a bunch of colorful gumballs. Right in the bottle. Mixed with the vitamins. Ha! Good one Doug.

So I'll give him credit for a good April Fools joke. Now I'm one good joke down. Do I have to wait until next year? Or not? Only time will tell what I decide about this issue.

Still Waiting

Thanks for your comments so far. And Carolyn I will try the spacing trick next time. And just so you all know - I'm still waiting!

Waiting and Wondering

Lately I have been waiting and wondering. You might want to know why I have been waiting and what I have been wondering about. I'll fill you in - but you have to promise to add your comment at the end of this post. Promise? OK. Now you can read the details. This April Fools Day was pretty lame. Doug and I tried to catch each other with the old, "You have sauce on your white shirt." and other stuff like that. Pretty LAME-OOO. But we were leaving early for the cannery and temple and I just didn't get any fooling done. However, I think I said something like, "I guess as long as a person puts together a joke on the 1st it would still count as an April Fools Day joke." Doug says he was laughing inside because he had already set up a joke. Here is the problem. It is April 5th and I haven't found his joke yet. It seems it must be a little obscure if I haven't found it in 5 days time. Right? Will it count as an April Fools Day joke? That is what you need to comment on. Will he get credit for it or not? I expect a bunch of comments/votes on this. And you can comment now while I am still waiting and wondering.