One On One With Logan

Logan wanted to have some one on one time now for quite a while now.  Today grandpa took Tyson to the gun show and felt Logan was not really old enough for this activity.  Grandma had lots of errands to run, and so asked Logan if he wanted to come along.  He said, yes.  And so as we drove he was much more quiet than Ty, so I had to kind of start some conversations.  I asked if he knew what next month was? 

"No," he replied. I said, "It's Christmas".  "Oh," he said. 

 I asked, "Do you know what Christmas is?" 

"I don't know," he replied.  I said, "It's when you hear about the Christmas story and you kids act it out.  With Joseph and Mary and the shepards and the wise men and....." 

"And Jesus", he said.  Yes! OK!  I asked "who do you want to be this year."  "Joseph, and Tyson can be Jesus". 

I replied, "I think maybe Grayson would be better in the Jesus part this year, what do you think?"  "I don't know,what about Harry Potter?"  So does this mean our Christmas Story will have a bit of strange twist this year???  I hope not...I am kind of a traditional type grandma...

So we ran one of my errands and lo and behold, close by he spotted the errand store of his dreams.  It was Toys R Us.... He loved everything and I asked what he would like.  He looked and looked and loved everything he saw. But he chose Cars.  And then I got a huge lesson on the names of all the cars.  I hope I can remember, because I forgot Mater/Mator (whatever) was Lightning McQueen's best friend.  I should be given time out  for not knowing.  Logan was so surprised that grandma did not know this very important fact...



Then we went to Sonic for lunch.  I wanted to show him what "drive-ins" were like back in the "olden days".  It was fun, but after I got home I noticed I had not been given credit for the coupon I used.  Such a deal...  After we arrived home, there was a small package that I had been expecting.  And guess what it had ???  Poppers! What fun!!!

Here Logan proudly holds up his gift that he personally picked out for Grayson.  So Grayson will be Santa for Christmas.  I bought this at Penney's for $2.00.  Now that is a good deal!

Who Knew??

Yesterday on the bus I was sitting in the front seat talking to someone that had asked if I was working and at the library on the day of the shooting.  We talked about that and somehow got to talking about Elizabeth Smart's trial.  I mentioned that I had seen her downtown as I was walking on my lunch break to Zion's bank on Main Street.  She was in the white get-up walking behind a man and a woman.  I took a double take because they looked so ridiculous and I could see she was around teen age.  I remember thinking, oh that poor girl, she has the weirdest parents in the world.  My bus driver joined the conversation and said she was the bus driver that had them on her bus the day they found her.  Apparently they kept calling her on her phone system to get informtion but she too, had no idea who the girl on the bus was.  Interesting, isn't it?

It's My Turn

After church Logan and Ty came over.  They were at the table and Logan said, long time ago you took Ty somewhere and now it's my turn.  It has been a long time now grandma!  So it has, Logan!  What would you like to do?

All To Ourselves

This is an interesting shot, wouldn't you agree?

Took the 2 oldest of the grandkids to Pioneer Village.  It was a lovely sunny, warm Nov day.  Jamie had given me a coupon for admissions and I still have $30.00 left.  I will be going here forever, I think.  Unfortunately only the big train ride was going and the houses and the activities were closed.  So we could only walk, look, etc.  They loved the wooden train.  They want their own in the backyard.  OK, Jake, start building!

Please notice the sign on the ladder....My grandkids were being intentionally defiant here, I might add...  Notice the spelling of "Ladder"...Who wrote that anyway?

As you can see, we had the whole place to ourselves.  The weather was perfect and we could only look.  How sad..But we made the best of it and I hope that they still enjoyed the day.

Tending Grands

Yesterday I got to tend 3 of my grandchildren while Jamie did her bi-monthly Relief Society Dance Performances.  She does this with a group of women  and has been doing it for several years.  The dance company is called Diamond Dancers.  They have spiritual performances and perform free of charge 2 times monthly.  Here is their link  http://www.diamonddanceco.blogspot.com/ While she was away I tended kids because Jake was in St. George.  Here is Tyson writing his play on the computer.

Here is my little Logan.

Logan was trying his hardest to avoid having his picture taken and turned every which way to not let me snap a shot...Brecklyn, however, was more than happy to oblige!

My Hanisch Family

In an earlier post, I mentioned that I had a researcher, Ronny Suske do some on-site research on my Hanisch family.  Here are pictures of the Lorenzkirche where the records were housed in a part of the community of Zeithain.  My ancestors were actually in Krienitz, but due to the construction in the area, that church could not be photographed. The bottom picture is a view from the shepardry towards the location where the Hanisch windmill stood on a little hill. 

Election Day

Cell Phone Shots.  I photoshopped these, but then when I uploaded nothing stuck.  I even remember saving them all.  How strange. I am sure the fact that I have washed my cell phone didn't help its camera qualities too much...

 I waited well over 1 1/4 hours to vote.  After a long day it was hard to stand and wait and wait.   The couple in front of me kept kissing as though they were newly weds.  It was rather annoying.  Saw Marilyn, the Meadows, Ted Schultz, Janine Lasky, Vicky Forsyth and other familiar faces.

Ted reminded all to stay in line and make it count.  So I did.  Some people were reading, some were phoning and others like me weren't doing much at all.  But I voted and then I went home, very tired.  Spencer had gone earlier in the day.  That would have been nice!  Anyways, Tomorrow is another day and we will see how the election went.

The New Cast

Colorful and bright is the new cast Tyson is sporting.  Definitely catches some attention, don't ya think?  He has to wear it 4 weeks, so this is the CLEAN version.  I'll try to snap a shot before it gets removed to see how it looks down the road.  I remember his mom's cast when she was 18 months old and had broken her arm at about the same place, doing about the same type of thing.  It stunk so bad! Whew!  And it was black!  Although it started out white.  I got the honor to sign it.

I Been Tagged by Julie!

 Most embarrassing moment.


Prom, my heel caught the heel of my slip and it dropped to the ground...I stuffed it in my purse...geez.
2.If you could have an endless supply of one food, what would it be and why?

Chocolate, it is food, right?
3. If you could be someone else, who and why?

I would be Emma Smith.  She was an amazing woman.
4. Top 5 favorite songs of all time.

I am a Child of God
Hey Jude.
Spirit of God
How Great thou Art.
Not sure...

5. Million dollars. You have a month to spend it.

A big house with everything and a personal doctor that fixes everything that hurts.
Also, travel, travel, travel.

My questions:  Oh, were these for me??

1. Top 3 blogs.
Pioneer Woman
Jamie and Jake



2. Any weird pet peeves?
Kids or pets that walk on the counter top...

3. One thing you would change about yourself. Why?
My age...I would be younger and be healthier

4. 3 things you love about yourself and why?
Oh, dear, I love being the grandma...I love being a genealogist and I love that I am German.
5. If you could only eat one dish for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Spaggetti, yes that would be it.

I tag Claire.
I tag Sylvie.

My questions:
1.  If you were on an a deserted Island forever, what 1 thing would you be sure to bring?

2.  If you could change something about yourself, what would it be?

3.  If you could live one day over again, which day would it be and why?

4.  Who is your hero?

5.  What is your favorite pass time?

HALLOWEEN TERROR ( ie: the weather )

Well this looks to be a bust of a Halloween. It is pouring rain.  A few brave souls came between big showers, but it started up again and is just a heavy rain with wind on top of that.  I did get to see my favorites though and here they are.  "Got Candy?"

Tell Me The Stories of...Tyson

Today was my birthday.  We started out good by going to the Mt. Timp Temple and sealing my sister Barbara to my parents and doing some other sealings as well.  Is was nice and I enjoyed this part of the day.  After we got home I ran a couple of errands and then went home.  Not long after that Jamie called and was very upset because Tyson had injured himself by falling off the playground slide at school.  Could I please watch Logan and Brecklyn.  So I took them to my house while Jamie went to get Ty and take him to check out the arm.  Yes, it was broken and had to be set.  He is in a temporary cast till Monday.  This took a long time to take care of and they all looked exhausted when they got back home.

While tending the 2 kids, we were at the piano and I asked Logan if he knew the primary song that goes like this:  Tell me the stories of ---?  Logan responded quickly by saying, "Tell me the Stories of Tyson".  Even though I hadn't been too happy, I kind of had to laugh, anyway.  So Tyson has a story to tell now and boy, talk about boys being boys...Not a good thing.

After they got back we met them at Porter's Place.  We ate and then went home for Cake.  So my birthday wasn't the best I have had, but we all survived it...to Tell the stories of Tyson on yet another day!

The picture is an interesting one, because Tyson has gray hair (part of his Halloween get-up)  We all suggested the day was quite stressful for him and aged him alot!

Grandma, I Am So Glad You Are A Genealogist

Tyson, my 9 year old grandson, has always shown an interest in his genealogy and often asks me to show him the family pedigree chart and asks about certain ancestors, how they are related, what they did, etc. Yesterday, was the same. He wanted to see again how he was related to Joseph Smith, George Albert Smith, etc. So we talked about it and where the line ties in, etc. And with a big smile he said, "Grandma, I am so glad you are a genealogist and I get my genealogy all done for free!" I had to laugh, he always knows how to get on my good side!

Looking Out The Front Door

Did you Oversleep?

There are those "rare" occasions when I get to sleep in, even though I have to go to work.  Today was one of those...So at the "normal" wake-up time I hear "Did you oversleep?"  "Shouldn't you be awake?"  So what it boils down to is....I can never possibly oversleep, no one let's me.  I can't even sleep in 5 minutes longer.  Why is that????

She Speaks Pork

Sunday Brecklyn (who says to call her "Breck") showed me pictures of her friends on the bus.  She had taken them with her new cell phone camera.  She introduced me to her many bus friends, including the driver of the bus.  (He doesn't smell good, I hear)  So anyway, she shows me a girl's picture and says, "She speaks Pork".  I hesitated and asked what that meant.  "I can't understand much of what she says, because she speaks Pork".  I wanted to ask if she squeels and says oink a lot, but I held my tongue.  I am not sure what language "Pork" is, but it must be a good one!

Falling Leaves

I forgot to take a picture of the scene in my yard as I got home from work.  I had 3 workers raking up the leaves in the sideyard.  Brian, Logan and Tyson hard at work...  Won't Spence be happy?  Anyway, it cost me a fortune.  Maybe I need to do this myself?  Anyways, they were hard at work and I suspect they will be watching my trees in the next weeks/days.    Then I will have to take a picture before I miss the moment.

Why I Take the BUS to Work

I often wonder why I take the bus because...in the winter on dark dreary freezing mornings I have to wait outside as the wind blows my skirt over my head and rips right through to the bones.  Then I have to stop all the time to add more people, and then drop them all off.  Then in the afternoon, the whole thing starts over again, but from the reverse.  So, yesterday I drove to work and because I was alone in the car, no commuter lane for me.  I was in the big crowd.  And we all  enjoyed the slow relaxed pace of not moving much.  It reminded me of times in Germany when people got out of their cars and went and talked to the neighbors, so to speak.  Once, on the way to work on a Saturday, there was a game or something and then the traffic was at a standstill for ages.  Someone got out and and started throwing nerf footballs across to other people.  It was rather funny.  But with the bus, its commuter lane all the way...and hey, I can even take a nap if I am so inclined...

Peace and Quiet

Well, Spencer wasn't home last night because of a wedding.  Therefore last night it was Brian and me.  I had to laugh because suddenly out of the blue Brian says "Ah, no dad.  Peace and Quiet."  So there you go, now you know who is the noisy one in our place!

At Church

Sunday we sang a new Hymn at church.  A clip from the Program gives the details. 

Lunch at Grandma's

As the kid's came over to eat after church today, I had a thought about how maybe in about a year or so there might be one more visitor.  It was a cool thought.    At this particular meal, Ty and Logan are watching a show on the TV.  Brecklyn is busy with the latest hairdo style and it will be interesting what lunchtime activity Grayson will have...we shall see.  Just a matter of time!

Obituary of Minnie Mea Mouse

Minnie Mea Mouse, partner of the late Mickey A. Mouse was found dead this morning, Oct. 10,2010 in the exact location of her dearly departed Mickey.  Her funeral services will be identical to his and may be noted in his obit, below.  Survivors of the twosome have not been located as of this time to receive notification of their deaths.  Minnie apparently followed in the paths of Mickey, first living on the streets, breaking and entering and theft.  May this be a lesson to all followers and relatives!

Obituary of Mickey A. Mouse

Funeral services are pending for Mickey A. Mouse.  After a wild and riotous life of following the trappings of temptation, the life of Mickey A. Mouse was cut short by his inability to follow the straight path of resisting temptations.  As many of the youth of today, Mickey A. Mouse pushed his limits a little too far and the result was fatal.  He passed on 9 Oct. 2010.  Family and friends are invited to call at the Geneva Waste disposal area at Geneva Road in Orem, Ut.  Gas masks are advised. 

In lieu of flowers, please send your donations to the "Haunt-A Virus" research fund.  Funeral arrangements being handled by Burbidge Waste disposal.  His body will be transported to his final resting place on Friday Oct. 15.

Sadie COME BACK!

Until Sadie died in Dec of 09, through the whole 13 years we had her, no mice.  But now Mickey is here to stay, checking things out for his little family and making sure there are no big kitties, so now he says, ALL CLEAR, guys!  We have found our home.  So another night, no bait left in the morning and the trap hasn't sprung.  What is the deal....

Last night I didn't feel well and couldn't sleep and heard him rustling about the kitchen.  Having a midnite snack on bait and what not.  I think we have kept him well fed and happy for his recent stay.  For sure this is a good place for him to call home...Better luck tonight.  And if nothing, out come the mouse pellets.  I don't like using this, but I don't like him here.  It's my house, not his...and I pay the groceries and should decide who to invite to dinner.

Mickey The Mouse

I always brag that my grandkids are the smartest, cutest, most advanced, bla, bla,bla.  BUT my mouse is equally so.  He can get off every morsel of bait from the trap without a scratch.  He must have checked the internet as to "How to get bait off trap without causing you bodily harm" and learned the latest techniques in the mousetrap feeding...soooo tonight the bait is under the little bait holder rather than on top of it.  So we are crossing our fingers, otherwise things will get ugly soon.

Community Trees Online

Today we talked about a project called community trees. Just what I want for my Jaryzsow Reconstruction Project. I have been looking for some way to put this online. Maybe this will help. I also discovered, quite by accident, a man in a French-Polish genealogy forum that was looking for records of the Kalisch family in Nogowschuetze. What a strange surprise. I am really excited about this. I posted a reply and hope you will see it and respond to me. I have many Kalisch in my reconstruction project. And only one of the female name that he had which was Kondziela. It fact, he was searching for an Agnes and that is the only Kondziela that I have found.

Mickey!

Mickey is smart, or something.  He ate all the bait in 3 mousetraps...What does that say for traps?  The traps  tried to catch us a few times as we set them.  I hate this.  What to do?  I can't stand the "remains" and the thought of where has he been??? Yuch.

Tomatoes, etc.

I have lots of green big fat tomatoes.  So I brought in a bunch to see if they would ripen.  I sure hope so!  It's supposed to be cooler this week.  Any chance of frost??  I don't want to lose the tomatoes that are still out there.  But I didn't want them all at once.  The rest of my garden is really winding down.  Not much out there anymore.  But then it is officially OCTOBER!  Where did this year go?

The grandkids and their parents, of course, went to Bear Lake for the weekend and so things were quiet, but I really got caught up on my genealogy projects, although there is still tons to do, I felt like I made a big dent putting things on PAF and my Jaryzsow project file.  I have been able to put lots of Jaryszow families together and I am so excited about that.  I feel like this is a worthwhile project.  Oddly, I don't know anyone else that is researching here.  But with all the many Silesian researchers, eventually I will find someone, I'm sure.

General Conference was good.  I really noted that the speakers, many of them, were discouraging video game playing, etc.  I can see that will be a challenge to many.  But it does seem like a waste of many hours accomplishing very little. 

Well, getting late and I am getting tired.  So this is a quick little post.  By the way, dispite several traps, our potato chip eating friend, Mickey, is not interested in the bait.  Spence even put potato chip on the trap.  No nibbles.

My"New" Blog

http://treeclimbingwithsonja.blogspot.com/  OK, I am doing 2 blogs...Oh the time and work.  But OK, I have been doing the "private" blog thing and it's OK, but for the people that have been looking at the genealogy parts it is not working so well.  So I have decided to separate "Church and State" so to speak...
So my genealogy stuff will be on the other blog and my family stuff will be on this private blog. So if someone hacks into the other it won't be personal things. I have started moving things from this blog over to the other one, but will be a little while till I am ready to really move on it.  But eventually I will have two.  Don't know if I can keep up with two, but I will give it a good try, anyway.

What is a Genealogist Without a CEMETERY???

 OK, I am a genealogist right?  So when I am on vacation where might you find me??  Yeah, that's right!
Well, this year for Halloween I have my own cemetery in the front yard.  I should have taken the pics in the daytime, but hey, what's better than a cemetery at night to get into the real feel of the atmosphere??

Because I Can Never Find This

Here is an article I have saved forever because I always find great recipes and then they have alcohol, so I don't make them.  This article was in the Ensign in 1976 and  I am pasting it in here so that when I need it, I will find it (I hope!)


Winnifred C. Jardine, “How to Be a Gourmet and a Mormon Too,” Ensign, Dec. 1976, 47–48

Tired of finding a new recipe for the holidays, only to discard it when you discover that it calls for the use of wine? Gourmet cookery is the delicate blending of foods that makes use of the savors of one’s choice and need not include the use of liquors or wines. In recipes that do call for them, substitutions can be easily made.

Substitutions for Wine and Liquor in Cooking

In Soups and Entrees

Dry (unsweet) red wine:

Water

Beef broth, bouillon or consommé

Tomato juice (plain or diluted)

Diluted cider vinegar or red wine vinegar

Liquid drained from canned mushrooms

Dry (unsweet) white wine:

Water

Chicken broth, bouillon or consommé

Ginger ale

White grape juice

Diluted cider vinegar or white wine vinegar

Liquid drained from canned mushrooms

In Cheese Dishes (fondue or rarebit)

Beer or ale:

Chicken broth

White grape juice

Ginger ale

In Desserts

Brandy:

Apple cider, peach or apricot syrup

Rum:

Pineapple juice or syrup flavored with almond extract

Sherry:

Orange or pineapple juice

Kirsch:

Syrup or juice from black cherries, raspberries, boysenberries, currants, or grapes or cherry cider

Cognac:

Juice from peaches, apricots or pears

Cointreau:

Orange juice or frozen orange juice concentrate

Creme de menthe:

Spearmint extract or oil of spearmint diluted with a little water or grapefruit juice

Red burgundy:

Grape juice

White burgundy:

White grape juice

Champagne:

Ginger ale

Claret:

Grape or currant juice or syrup or cherry cider

Note: To cut the sweetness of the syrups, dilute with water. Also, there are many flavor extracts, such as almond or pineapple, that can be added for interesting flavors.

Flambés or Flaming Desserts

The only substitute that might be used is a sugar cube soaked in lemon extract, then set atop a dessert and burned.

Winnifred C. Jardine, Salt Lake City, Utah

Eek! A MOUSE!

Yes, Mickey has moved in.  Last night he dined on potato chips including the bag and cinnamon rolls.  He was defnitely a chip man, however, he barely touched the cinnamon roll.  Picky, picky....Our first mouse in over 13 years.  Sadie, you are missed...  Sadie died in December and here we are not quite 10 months later...our new family pet.  Anyway the trap is set.  Wish us luck.

One On One

Today after work I took Tyson for a frozen yogurt.  It is nice to have the kids "one on one" now and then.  It gives me a chance to get to know them and to enjoy them as individuals.  We hung out for a while and it was really nice.  Tyson seemed to be really happy tonight and that was nice to see.  He loves to tell me about the things he thinks about and comics he writes and illustrates.  It was so interesting to hear him tell me about things he enjoys doing and being able to only concentrate on him for a while.  We talked about the Walk-about that we had a few days ago.  It was just a nice time.  Let's see which one of the grandkids is next!

Just Like the Ole' Days in Highland

We have often reminisced about how things used to be when the kids were little.  One of the things we all seem to remember was summer nights out with the neighbors.  When things would cool off in the early evening, the kids would all head outdoors and start to play their night games.  You could always tell where they all were by all the noise, laughter and fun.  The parents would go out on the streets and start talking to the neighbors, and sometimes bigger groups would gather.  The evenings were not so much watching TV, hanging out with the computer, video games and such.  It was time for some real fun. 

Well, the ward has started what they call "walk-abouts".  Sounds a little Australian, don't ya think?  I missed it last month, as I was in Poland, but sounds like it was horrible weather with a huge windstorm, anyways!  I didn't think I would go because Spence doesn't like to walk much, but then I saw all the ward members starting to mingle, walk and gather.  It reminded me of the old Highland and I was excited and bugged Spence till he agreed and we went to the Fishes house.  But by the time we got there, the nummy rolls had been devoured.  In fact, the last one available was being consumed just as we arrived.  So we sat down and visited.  Before we realized lots of people came on foot, on bikes, skateboards, cars and whatever.  It was just fun to gather like we used to, even if the food was all gone. 

Brent and Carolyn and the Cooks came while we were there and we began to talk about the "Old days" when we weren't (old that is).  The kids were young back then and we would all head down to Palisades as a neighborhood and camp and swim and the men would golf and a good time was had by all.  We were thinking how would it be to all go there again with all the next generations that have somehow sprung up and all those kids.  We would have to reserve the entire park.  But it sounded fun, but the older of us could go to a bed and breakfast in Manti or thereabouts??  How does it sound??

Anyways, I think I like the walk-about.  Wouldn't mind doing it again next month when the next one is scheduled.  Kinda cool!  Everyone was visiting and the night couldn't have been a better one.