"PRACTICE"

So Allen and his partner came to my house to practice with their new toy. It is a curb maker. It squeezes out cement like toothpaste. Very Cool! They had a guy here from Surprise to train them and needed a place to work. I won. We are paying for supplies. They did curbs around my front yard and trees and curbed a flower bed and then practiced stamps and colors by the side of my house. (SMALL AD FOR MARK)I am excited to do the landscaping. Anyone need to come and practice planting grass? JK

Here is Emily and her roommate Jeanie at ASU. They are already having a blast. Tawny is with them blowing bubbles. Their school starts Mon. the 25th. Em says she is excited and a little nervous. She also says their ward is OLD...at least 25. Soooo old. Sheesh! I must be ancient. Very ready for the weekend! Ta Ta

Day to Day Dad

Poor Dad, he just can't keep from crying. He doesn't want to cry so he is mad when he does, which is all the time. Everyday he says that he is getting better, but cries as he says it. Today we went to the Cemetary and looked at Mom's grave site. It looks like it has been there for years not weeks. The gravel is all smoothed over and there is a small metal sign at the head of the grave. Dad says he isn't ready to think about a headstone, but when he does, his name will not be on it. He thinks it is morbid to put your name on a headstone when you are still alive. So...he wants to put Mom's name on one side and leave the other side blank. I think that is just fine. When I drove up to his house this morning, he was trying to mow the lawn. He couldn't get the mower started. We checked everything out and it seemed just fine, so I pulled the cord and it started right up. When I was finished mowing he said, "I'm going to go buy a John Deere riding mower today".

If life gives you lemons, make lemonade, or if you can't start the mower, buy a John Deere. He is doing well taking care of himself, doing his laundry and filling the dishwasher, but he is very lonely and emotional. He knows this will pass and says that he knows he will be with her again, but that it doesn't help him right now. Give him a call.

SOOOO DALLIN!

Dallin's friend and Emily's soon to be roommate, Jeanie sent these pics to me this week. Apparently they were taken on New Years at about 2 am. What?! My children never stay up that late and do crazy things. NOT. I thought that this one just captured "the boy" He would do anything if it made him happy. He even wore weird things because it made him happy. Like......socks that didn't match, very bright colored anything, t-shirts with random sayings on them, a coat that was about 45 lbs. of purple, and a huge assortment of odd belts and buckles. There are at least a thousand more, but........Words made him happy too. He would assign names to people and then never use their real names again. There was a kid in his high school that was only known as New York. Then there was "lunch lady" at NAU, Skanky Patterson was his name for someone who was mean to him. He was and will be a constant source of fascination and humor.

Gordon Homecoming

We went to Miami (AZ) Sunday for Rue's Mission Report. He is Darrins nephew. He just returned from New Zealand. The Gordon't don't get together very often so when we do we always take a picture. Rue is sitting in front with his neice Alli in his lap. We are missing Dustin and Cindi's family and Dave, Kenneth, and Nolan. It is always fun to reunite with a missionary. He is so full of life and the Spirit. Welcome Home Rue.

Our New Favorite Color

For 19 years we have been BLUE, but as of yesterday, we are now GREEN.

No more

Dallin and Emily were both Safford Bulldogs and wore blue for 13 years of school, but Sarah and Jesse will be......Thatcher Eagles, and wear green.

Sarah has been going to Thatcher for 3 years and Jesse will start this year. Should be great.

Marcie, Marcie, Quite Contrary

How does my garden grow? See for yourself. My grass is just glorious and my tomatoes are delicious.

I didn't show the rest of the yard because it is covered with weeds. We have had a lot of rain. Rain=Weeds. It is great for the grass and garden to, so I can't complain too much. We are in school prep mode. Jesse starts the 6th, Sarah the 13th, and Em on the 25th at ASU. It snuck up on me, I am not ready. So....off to Mesa today to go shopping. Spend, spend, spend! My favorite thing to do. I didn't inherit very much of the frugal gene. I think I will be awfully bored when my kids are gone all day. What do I do? NOT! Goodbye summer.

Make your own Cheese

I have had several requests for my cheese recipe, so here goes.

1. you will need a stainless steel pot that will hold one gallon of milk.
2. a candy thermometer.
3. a medium sized strainer
4. a slotted spoon
5. a microwave safe bowl
6. 2 small glass glasses


Ingredients:
1 gallon 2% pasteurized milk (not ultra-pasteurized)
liquid vegetable rennet (available at health food stores or online)
citric acid (also available at health food stores and online)
non iodized salt the finer grain the better (flaked is best, but hard to find)
Distilled water

Pour milk into stainless steel pan and turn heat to medium.
Put 1/4 tsp liquid rennet into glass and add 1/4 cup distilled water and stir
Put 1/2 tsp citric acid in other glass and add 1/4 cup distilled water and stir
Place thermometer into milk and gently warm to 55 degrees, stir occasionally
At 55 add citric acid mixture and stir gently with slotted spoon.
At 88 degrees add rennet mixture and stir gently with up and down motions. (Curds will form quickly, keep gently stirring until next step)
At 105 degrees turn off heat and strain cheese into micro safe dish.
(Whey should be clear, if not wait a few moments)
Press as much whey out with the spoon as you can. Add salt to taste (about 1/2 tsp) and mix in well. Put dish into micro for 1 min. Remove and press out more whey. Do this 2 more times heating for 35-45 sec in between.
Let cheese cool only until able to handle and stretch like taffy for about 2 minutes. Form into a ball by squeezing outside edges under the center and place on a plate to cool. Slice and enjoy. Can be refrigerated or frozen in ziplock bag. YUM!