A Life of Service

Saturday we attended the funeral of Jim's Aunt Hermese, whose 90th birthday celebration we attended on Labor Day weekend. Her life was full of devotion to her family, the gospel, and service to anyone she came in contact with. There was such a nice spirit at her funeral. All of her children paid wonderful tributes to her and the music was the perfect complement. Everyone was in agreement that we'd all like the same contract she had--live a full life, celebrate your 90th birthday with a great party, then quietly pass away.

My Fair Lady

Some years ago I had the opportunity to accompany My Fair Lady at our local high school and as it turned out to be a less than positive experience, I have not wanted to ever perform it again. Last night everything changed. For an anniversary gift our kids gave us a night out with dinner and tickets to our choice of shows--La Boheme, a "Brat Pack" revue, or My Fair Lady. We chose the latter and was it ever the right choice! What an enjoyable evening we had with the wonderful songs of Lerner and Loewe and the clever dialogue adapted from George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion. (How I love a musical with a witty libretto!) It was a Pioneer Theatre Company production and they are always top notch (although not always in good taste). The performers, sets, costumes, musicians--everything about it was outstanding. So thanks to our family for such a great gift and to Kristin, I'm ready to do this one whenever you are!

Top of Utah Marathon

One of Stephanie's goals has been to run a marathon and so yesterday she ran in the Top of Utah Marathon in Logan. We were there to see her cross the finish line after 5 hours and 38 minutes. She was exhausted and sore, but satisfied, and we were very proud of her.

The Gift of Music

Friday and Saturday night several family members were able to attend The Tanner Gift of Music concert at the Conference Center featuring the Tabernacle Choir, the Utah Symphony, Brian Stokes Mitchell, and Denyce Graves, all under the baton of Erich Kunzel. The program's title was "An American Songbook", so it featured a lot of patriotic numbers, Broadway songs, old standards, and some choir standards like "Come, Come Ye Saints" and "Battle Hymn". It was a wonderful evening and I particularly enjoyed Brian Stokes Mitchell. What an incredible voice and stage presence! From "The Star Spangled Banner" to Broadway, jazz, and ballads, he performed all equally well. I also loved Denyce Graves' rendition of "Climb Every Mountain". (For more on the concert read Sam's blog.) Anyway, the whole point of this blog is the gift of music and how grateful I am for it. I am thankful for those willing to share their talents to entertain and uplift us and I am also thankful for the country that we live in that gives us the opportunity and freedom to express ourselves musically in the way that we want. How blessed my family and I are to have been given our own musical talents and opportunities to develop them. I can't imagine my life without this gift!

My Favorite Walking Partner

At the beginning of the summer I gained a new walking partner, my almost 88 year old mother. At first we didn't get too far, but you should see us now! I must admit that she is the one getting the good workout, but I get to enjoy the fresh air and the company of a great woman. She is a much better companion than Matt, Meredith, Al, and Ann who entertain me when I'm on the treadmill in the morning. What a blessing it is for me to still have my Mom with me and as long as the weather holds, you can find us on the Lagoon trail three days a week.

Especially for Aimee

For as long as I can remember I have enjoyed cooking. I learned to cook in Home Ec. classes, in
4-H, and at my mother's side. Mom let me try all kinds of dishes out on the family--things like souffles and steamed brown bread. Now I might enjoy cooking, but I love baking--cakes, pies, cookies, you name it. I think my favorite thing to bake is bread. The smell is like a little bit of heaven on earth! I love to try new recipes, but once in awhile I find something that just can't be topped. Such is the case with the recipe for white bread that I got from my sister-in-law, Teresa. After making it all these years, I finally asked her this summer where the recipe came from. (She is so talented and clever that I thought maybe she had created it herself.) It actually comes from The Joy of Cooking cookbook. So this one is especially for my niece, Aimee, whose food blog gives me lots of new things to try out.

White Bread

1/2 cup warm water

1 Tbs. yeast

1 Tbs. sugar

Mix together.

1 beaten egg

1/2 cup oil

2 cups lukewarm water

1-1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup sugar

Mix together, then add yeast mixture.

4 cups flour

Mix with other ingredients, then add 4 additional cups of flour. (I use a Bosch mixer, so sometimes I can't add all of the flour.) Knead 10 minutes. Let rise until double. Punch down and let rest for 10 minutes. Shape into loaves. Place in greased pans and let rise until double. Place in cold oven. Turn temperature to 400 degrees for 15 minutes, then continue baking at 375 degrees for 25 minutes. Makes 3 loaves.

Happy Birthday Emily Rose!

Happy birthday to Emily, our Spanish rose. Born in a rocky land that resembled the difficulty of her birth, she has been worth every pain and effort it took to get her here. We are grateful to have tended the garden in which she blossomed. We celebrated the birthdays of Emily and Jennifer together last weekend.

Good Times II

Saturday night we held our first annual (we hope

there will be others) "Friends and Family" bonfire

in my parents' orchard. We had our sons-in-law

invite their parents and their siblings' families and

we also invited our friends, the Reids, and their

family to come. The potluck dinner was delicious

and we had a great time getting better acquainted

with these good people. Some stayed until well

after dark visiting and laughing around the fire.

Good times!

Good Times

I love holidays because they usually mean a break from the typical daily routine and also provide an opportunity for families to get together. This Labor Day the stormy weather broke just in time for us to enjoy a barbecue on my parents' deck with family and friends. The food was great, but the company was better. It's so nice to have my brother, Dave, his wife, Judy, and their family living back in this area. We've had the chance to become better acquainted with their older children as they have come to Utah for work or school, but now we finally have the opportunity to get to know the younger ones and reconnect with Dave and Judy. We missed my sisters and their families, Melissa's children, and several of Dave's family members who weren't able to join us, but still a good time was had by all.

Another Happy Birthday

Saturday evening we attended an open house to celebrate the 90th birthday of Jim's Aunt Hermese. One of his favorite memories of her is that when his family would go to visit her they were always greeted by the welcoming smell of her freshly baked, homemade cinnamon rolls. She always had them ready without fail, even when we visited her as young couple with several children. And they were every bit as delicious as they smelled. She is a great and gracious lady. Happy birthday Aunt Hermese!