A tender week

This week has left our family rather heart-tender. My grandma passed away four days after her stroke. That same day the father of Ariana's best friend died as well. Both deaths were somewhat expected. Grandma was 97 and logically we all knew she would die some day soon. Ariana's best friend's father had suffered from cancer for the past few years; his family knew his last days on earth were coming to a close. But still, both absences have affected us.

I would post a picture of Ariana and her best friend, but I don't approve of posting pics of other peoples' kids on my blog. :)

On Sunday I took my two older kids to say goodbye to Grandma. She never opened her eyes or made an attempt to speak. Ariana was nervous, and ran from the room before ever fully approaching Grandma. Isaac was different. By the end of our visit he had gone into her room at least three times to check on her. Everyone deals with death differently and my kids are no different.

Tomorrow is Field Day for Ariana's school; an event she has been looking forward to for weeks. But yesterday she told me she wanted to skip Field Day and attend the funeral of her friend's father. Both events overlap and she knew she would have to choose one or the other. I was impressed that skipping Field Day seemed like an inconsequential decision compared with supporting her friend.

Next week my grandma's funeral will be held. I was asked to help write her obituary and, after starting, I realized how monumental the task is of condensing 97 fully lived years into a few lines. How do people make up their minds as to tombstone engravings? Those are even shorter! Someone needs to start putting QR codes on headstones, that way families don't find themselves in dilemmas regarding picking epitaphs that will forever remain etched over their loved one's burial places.

Goodbye Grammy

Saturday I was able to say goodbye to one of the funniest, wittiest, and caring individuals I have ever known: my grandma.

Grandma remembers taking baths in the metal basin in the kitchen, watching the installation of telephone poles, and the Great Depression. She knew what it was like to be quarantined, to hit a high 'C' and to hear the approving whistles of men as she walked by. She dropped out of high school to care for her newborn sister and went on to manage a business. Grandma wrote for newspapers and owned her own restaurant. But she put her greatest efforts towards raising her two kids: my dad and aunt.

Of course, I had not yet been born when any of those things occurred. But just because she had lived most of her life by the time I came around does not mean she started slowing down. I remember when, in her 60s, she served a mission. I remember when she took French and flute lessons. I remember her spending hours making wedding dresses, prom dresses, and pajamas for her dozen grandchildren. She continued to make clothes and blankets for her great-grand kids as well.

Grandma was always cool. Her home was where I went to pick raspberries and read books. She was the only person her age I knew who understood how to navigate the internet and had an email account. Grandma always had a witty rejoinder. She kept up on modern slang and, after hearing a new word once, would quickly merge it to her vocabulary.

Grandma's driving matched her personality. A title given to her decades before, "Hot Rod Helen" fit her perfectly. There were many times when, as a passenger, I witnessed her running stop signs and speeding by people half her age. She always volunteered her car and retirement neighborhood as means for my teenage brothers and me to practice our driving skills. I am not sure how her neighbors felt about their street being used as a driving range, but we appreciated her offers.

Grandma was loyal to a fault. Her friends and family found her their constant champion. In her eyes, Grandma's kids, grandkids, and great-grand kids could do no wrong. If Grandma had something she thought someone else could use, she gave it to them. Everything and anything we did, Grandma was proud of. In her eyes we were all the most beautiful, talented, and amazing set of people she had ever known.

Grandma has not yet passed away, but she will within days. After suffering a massive stroke that left half of her body paralyzed, Grandma is now resting at home, waiting with family for her final hours to come. However, her spirit is strong and she continues trying to communicate with us. During my visit with her, after I told her I loved her, she gasped for breath and her hoarse voice managed a teasing, "You'd better!"

I do Grandma, I do.

Conference Time!

I love General Conference.  However, I can safely say that this year I probably heard only two talks in their entirety.

Sometimes watching Conference with kids can be pretty difficult.  But that's okay.  Because I know in 10 years I'll be reminiscing how things used to be.

This past week I was flattered to find out that the Deseret News published my article about a past General Conference. 

The funny thing is they told me on Friday that they published it in Tuesday's paper---three days after the fact.  Here's the online one: http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865577481/The-miracle-of-donating-to-the-General-Temple-Patron-Assistance-Fund.html

In other words, when I listen/read the talks of the April 2013 Conference it will be like hearing/reading them for the first time!

Spelling Bee

After being out of grade school for a mere two decades I have finally participated in a Spelling Bee.

I was in charge of helping with the school spelling bee and, while I love helping out, I had never even seen this scholastic event take place.  Ariana was too young to participate.  I was home schooled.  And, and, I've just never seen one before.

Luckily the school administrators were very gracious and kind. 

And dang, those kids can spell!  They spelled crazy hard words in front of hundreds of their peers.

If you ever need spelling bee trophies or ribbons I can suggest a few places.

Low-Fat Pesto Cream Sauce on Pasta

I was craving something with pesto the other night.  After some internet searches I had a good idea what I wanted, but everything seemed full of either butter or heavy cream.  So I came up with this.  I thought it was rather tasty.

Ingredients:
1 medium onion, chopped
1-2 tbsp olive oil
4 garlic cloves, diced
1 tbsp butter

2 cups milk
2 tbsp flour
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

3-4 tomatoes, chopped
1 cup basil pesto (I used Costco's brand, cuz it's tasty and cheap)
Salt and pepper to taste

1 lb cooked pasta (I used farfalli, but only because my family doesn't appreciate angel hair like I do)

Make It:
Saute the onions in the olive oil.  Once tender add the garlic and butter.  Make sure the garlic doesn't burn.  It's really easy to burn garlic; not that I would know....... While the onion and garlic are cooking, whisk the flour with the milk.  Add milk mixture to the non-burnt, only sauteed, onion and garlic.  Cook for a few minutes at a simmer.  Then add the cheese, stirring until it melts.  Add tomatoes, pesto, S&P, cover and cook for about 10 minutes.  You don't want the tomatoes to lose their shape; but at the same time, you also want them to be cooked a bit.  Now mix the creamy basil sauce with the pasta and serve!

And hey, why not add a bit more Parmesan to the top of your pasta once you eat it? 

Look!  I actually took a picture this time!