Tuesday, June 30th, 2020

Veracruz, Mexico

93rd operating temple

Dedicated: 9 July 2000

By: Thomas S. Monson

Jesus Christ, Lamb of God

Revelation 19:9

And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.

Book of Mormon/"Come Follow Me"

Alma 24 with James; 

Lambson Study Group

God is Merciful

Inklings

Healthy benefits of beans

We left for the valley at 5:15 this morning. Our first stop was in Globe to get gas and then in Miami to pick up a Tony's Special breakfast burrito at Burger House. Masks are required, no public restrooms, only three customers in the building at a time. Such a downer.

Burger House Heist

One taste of this breakfast burrito we shared and we

knew it was worth any hardship. Delicious!

James's two houses failed inspections again. There are three contractors that are supposed to come back and deal with problems. None of them came. James has to reschedule an inspection for the third time. 

I dropped James off at Sheri's to work while I went to my infusion. Stacy came by to pickup some pills from me and ended up taking me to my appointment. James needed to keep the car to pick up some materials at Home Depot. We both wore our masks in case she is still contagious although by this time she should not be. It's been almost a month since she came down with it. 

My infusion went quickly. They called me back and I got started at 10:30. My appointment wasn't until 10:45 but I was early. I was done by 11:30. I can't call while I'm in the infusion center so I kept texting James but he never answered me. I went outside and called when I was finished and he said he had not seen my texts. I told him I was going to walk across the street to Freddy's and he could pick me up there. The only thing open at Freddy's was the drive-thru window so I waited outside in front on a bench sitting in the shade until James got there. We drove back to Sheri's and I picked up Max and Evan and took them to Jersey Mike's to order some lunch. We had to wear masks and the dining area was not open so we took our sandwiches home to eat them. I love the Jersey Shore Special, Mike's Way. Max and Evan were thankful that I bought them some lunch. We also saw Alex when we got back to the house. He said he is taking Max fishing near Saguaro Lake on the Salt River tomorrow morning for his birthday. 

James didn't quite finish at Sheri's. He tried to call Sal and Greg Hatch but could not get a hold of either one of them for a meeting. He said he had to go to Peoria to meet with someone whose job he and Sal are starting this week. We drove 45 miles across town so James could meet with this guy for about 10 minutes. He lives in a nice neighborhood and has retired at a young age. James was impressed with him. Aaron is the guys name and he had requested to meet James. 

Next stop was at Dobson Ranch where James has done lots of work. Some guy named Don wanted James to look at something that might be a potential problem. James took a look and told him what to do and that was it. 

My friend Barbara had surgery on her shoulder yesterday. I texted her and ask if I could pick up anything for her at Costco. She wanted sweet plums, Barbacoa beef, and Quaker granola cereal. Before going to the Gilbert Costco we stopped in at Deseret Book which is right behind Costco. I got a new Book of Mormon, triple combination.

I have my reasons

James helped me shop at Costco. We thought Barbara wanted fresh plums so we picked up a bag. I got the last package of Barbacoa Beef, and then we easily found the Quaker's granola. After we had checked out I looked at my phone and realized these are the plums Barbara wanted. 

I texted this picture to Sheri. She is going to get these plums and bring them up when she comes up on the 13th. In the meantime Pierce and Barbara will have fresh plums to eat. 

Our best deal at Costco was a big bag of walnuts for twelve dollars. From Costco we drove to Darrel and Trina's. No one is home. Darrel is on his way but he is a long ways away. I got the garage code from Darrel and we broke in and left Lola's birthday present on the table. I also stole (I asked) one of Darrel's caramel protein shakes.

Loved it!

From Darrel's we headed for home. We didn't roll into our driveway until 9 p.m. James's first concern was feeding Luna. I helped him unload the car and we got the Barbacoa beef and some green chili pork into the refrigerator. It felt so good to be home! 

I took a shower and changed in to my comfy clothes. I did not get all of my steps today but I will make it up the rest of the week. We will deliver to the Goodman's tomorrow. James made a spinach, pineapple, banana smoothie and shared some of it with me. I forgot how much I love them!

Somewhere near St. George, Utah 

Tuesday, January 7th, 2020

Dedicated: 4 June 2000

By: Gordon B. Hinckley

Jesus Christ, Jehovah

Isaiah 45:17

But Israel shall be saved in the Lord with an everlasting salvation: ye shall not be ashamed nor confounded world without end.

Book of Mormon

1 Nephi 2

Oct 2019 General Conference

"Watchful Unto Prayer Continually"

Elder David A. Bednar

"Satan 'is the enemy of righteousness and of those who seek to do the will of God.' All day, every day, his only intent and sole purpose are to make the sons and daughters of God miserable like unto himself. The Father's plan of happiness is designed to provide direction for His children, to help them experience enduring joy, and to bring them safely home to Him with resurrected, exalted bodies. The devil labors to make the sons and daughters of God confused and unhappy and to hinder their eternal progression. The adversary works relentlessly to attack the elements of the Father's plan he hates the most."

I read an interesting article in Meridian magazine this morning. The title: "How the Lord Can Give Us Renewal Instead of Resolutions"

by Wallace Goddard

"We yearn to be better. If we are not careful, we map out our lives and form a resolve that makes us less available to God. What right do we have to take charge of our lives if we have previously given ourselves to Him?

Make God a partner in your planning. We belong to Him. Seek the renewal that comes from having God govern your life. Rather than focus on goals and timetables, we may turn our hearts to faith and submission. Seek guidance and power from Him. Renewal is less about setting goals than about submitting to His will."

At 9 a.m. I had an appointment to get four fillings in my front teeth filled at Dr. Douglas's in Chandler. Of course she starts out by giving a couple of shots to numb the areas. Then it's the drillin' and the fillin.' She found another tooth that needed a filling and did it too. It only cost me $425. Why is everything so expensive?

When James picked me up I asked him if he got the oil changed and he said no. It was too expensive. 

Our next stop was at Bill Valentic's yard on Arizona Avenue just south of Willis. James needed to count stakes. He said there were only 40 when there should have been 20. I guess he needs to check with Armando.

Next stop, Lucille's Smokehouse in Tempe Marketplace. We have not been there in years but Dawn gave us a gift card for Christmas so of course we went.

I got the brisket salad. James ordered deviled eggs as an appetizer and then the fried chicken and mashed potatoes. I forgot how good their food is plus they give you biscuits with honey butter. 

I especially loved the gravy for James's mashed potatoes. I'm sure I ate more of it than he did. 

 Look at that pile of chicken. 

Normally they would cover it in gravy

but James asked for the gravy on the side.

Here I am trying to be good with my half salad and

James sticks his gravy right in front of me.

It's a hopeless cause.

Next stop was Bass Pro Shop. Nice that it's very close to Lucille's. James got a gift certificate from Sheri and Ian for Christmas and he wants to get some new shoes. He came out with low top boots. They look nice though. I was going to wait in the car but I got bored so I went inside to get a drink. I ended up buying vitamin water. James was a little upset because he couldn't find me and I wasn't answering my phone. 

It would have been nice if we could have just headed out of town but we left our stuff at Darrel and Trina's plus James wants to go by Mario Chacon's tire shop to talk to him. He is the guy building the two houses and James is doing some of the work for him.

I waited in the car while James went to talk to Mario and I think I might have seen a drug deal go down. I'm just sayin. An African-American gentlemen got out of his car, grabbed his fat wallet out of the inside door of his car and went inside. When he came out he no longer had a fat wallet. He had a little blue package. Now you tell me, does that sound suspicious?

Here is James speaking to Mario. There is a language barrier so James uses his hands quite often when he is speaking.

I'm not sure what James said but he came back with a check for $3,400. $700 was for materials James already bought and the rest was for a down payment on the first house. It's nice to have some operating cash.

From Mario's we went back to Darrel and Trina's to nap and pack up to go home. Darrel is home installing ceiling fans. We got to say goodbye to Darrel, Ruby, Rowan, and Lola. Trina was at work and Addy wasn't home from school yet. 

We stopped at Burger House and picked up burros and when we got to Show Low we stopped at Walmart to get my prescriptions. While James was at the prescription counter I bought him a Yoda stuffed animal for his birthday. When Star Wars first came out Yoda was his favorite. I was pretty tricky sneaking it out to the car and into a big garbage bag I had. When I got home I put it on the shelf in the garage so James wouldn't see it when he unloaded the car.

We stopped at the Halcomb's to pick up Relief Society birthday cards for me to sign. 

After everything was put away I did some "Come Follow Me" studies, walked and then we went to bed.

 McKellk Miner's little boy as Batman

reminds me of how Michael used to be.

 Scarlett enjoying life in Arkansas

Former friends and neighbors Joe and LueDean

Andersen and their children. They ended up having one more.

The second little girl, the one on the front row is Treva. She

is Stacy's age.

Thursday, August 1st, 2019

Veracruz, Mexico

93rd operating temple

Dedicated: 9 July 2000

By: Thomas S. Monson

Jesus Christ, Firstborn

Moses 2:26

And I, God, said unto mine Only Begotten, which was with me from the beginning: Let us make man inn our image after our likeness;; and it was so. And I, God said: Let the have dominion over the fishes of the sea and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

Book of Mormon

Alma 43:27-40

New Testament "A Minister and a Witness"

Acts 25:13-27; 26

General Conference

How Can I Understand

Ulisses Soares

"When we accept the Savior's invitation to 'come and see,' we need to abide in Him, immersing ourselves in the scriptures, rejoicing in them, learning His doctrine and striving to live the way He lived. Only then will we come to know Him, Jesus Christ and recognize His voice, knowing that as we come unto Him and believe in Him, we shall never hunger nor thirst. We will be able to discern the truth at all times, as occurred to those two disciples who abode with Jesus that day."

We left for the valley a little before 7 this morning. Michael was up sitting on the couch. He says he never sleeps more than 4 or 5 hours. Sean was also up. Sheri was up too. She was out running.

James dropped me off at Dr. Douglas's office around 10:30. My appointment is at 10:45 to get my teeth cleaned with Shelly, the new hygienist. Their computers were down so they were running late.  

I have two crowns in the very back on my left side that need to be replaced, one on the upper and the other on the lower part of my mouth. Dr. Douglas says the top one the tooth is crumbling and will need to be pulled. I said that was fine but I could not afford to get an implant. On the bottom they will take off the crown and replace it. All of this is going to cost around $1,200.

When James picked me up we went to Fry's to get me some dry mouth lozenges. They also told me I needed to drink more water so I got a bottle of water. I looked for the hot and sweet pickles that Sister Bradshaw brings to the temple but there weren't any so I bought bread and butter instead. 

We drove to the Firebirds in Gilbert where I had a lunch date with my friend Karen S. We go to lunch in February for her birthday and August for mine. I had what I always have at Firebirds, the coconut shrimp with mango habernero chutney and an ice cream sundae for dessert. Karen told me how much she loved the book I gave her for her birthday and then she gave me two books.

I have an entire collection of Aunt Dimity books.

Karen got me started on them several years ago.

Karen and I had a nice visit and then it was time to go. James spent some time at Stacy's while I was at lunch working on the door he installed. Stacy gave him a card and a dark chocolate hazelnut bar for Father's day.

We went to Darrel and Trina's next. James dropped me off while he went to mail the book we sold merchant fulfilled. I just walked in the house thinking no one was home but Addy was there. She just had her first day of school and she looked so cute. Here is what she wore her first day:

James and I were both tired so we took a nap. When Trina came home she and I decided we would go to the 7 pm showing of "Lion King". Rowan had football practice until 6. James did not feel well so he stayed home while we went to the movie. Trina put Lola in her pajamas. 

At the movie I bought a big bag of popcorn to share with the kids and drank my water instead of a soda. 

No hot and sweet pickles

 Our old bank in Chandler

I don't think so!

 Today's rain in Vernon

We ended up having to sit on rows 1 and 2 because we were late. I liked the movie. I forgot what a good message it has.

Meanwhile back in Vernon. Ian and his brother Sean worked on fixing the Razr for over six hours. Sheri went in and bought a new battery and they got it started but it doesn't sound good and it won't go very fast. They cleaned it all up and just left it parked in the garage. I know they were disappointed they couldn't get it running but I am so grateful to them for all they did and for trying.

They had a huge rainstorm, a gully washer and the lights went out for over two hours. Sheri said they remembered the stove was gas so they cooked dinner in the dark.