Because I have not gone to my blog for so long I am going to use it as my journal and start with something I started in Salt Lake and asked my girls to join in.  That is writing an essay long or short on what ever comes  to mind using the letters of the alphabet.  I had completed A to F (included) and will continue with G for Golden Mesa, my new home.  I don't know how far my girls got.

ABC’s of Chyrrel’s Life

A is for Ancestors 

I feel very fortunate that I knew three of my grandparents.  My

Norweigen grandfather had made a success of his life by working for

the railroad as a foreman laying track through the mountains.  He was

payed in silver dollars and saved enough to buy a nice farm in Weber.

They raised 10 children there.  My grandma Olsen was quiet but made

dellicious sugar cookies the size of a saucer.  My  grandmother of

English descent lived with us about three months out of the year.

Here she would come with her feather bed and black sachel that

contained all her worldly goods wrapped up in lace hankies.  I loved

brushing her hair, she had so much of it.  She would ask my Daddy to

take her for a ride in his machine. and he would.

Today at church I heard some wonderful things.  Its not uncommon to

hear things like this in this mission.  A sister from Russia working

in Indexing came upon an old record recorded by the Priest where the

ink had too much water in it and was not legible.  She was about to

mark it ilegible when she was prompted to pray.  In her prayer she

remembered Joseph Smith and how he had translated things he could not

understand so she asked to have the power that he had had to

translate.  She looked at the page and it was blank and then names

appeared very clear.  She was able to index four families.

There was a big geneological conference in St George.  There was over

700 in attendance.  My friend said she had to sit on a childs chair.

Members are so excited about indexing they were divided into four

different groups.  Try it you'll like it.  Go to lds.org or

familysearch.org to get directed to a tutorial on how to do it.

Love,   mommissionary

  B is for Birds 

 When my father retired from Civil Service he spent a lot of time remodeling our house for my mother.  When that was done he could sit in the back yard and watch the birds.  He had feeders for them and was fascinated by the many different varieties.  There was one flock of yellow canarys that he especially enjoyed.  We wondered if they were descendents of someones pet who had escaped and survived. 

 I remember my mother's sisters Pearl and Annie having canaries that sang beautifully.  Mother tried having one but either its demise or seeds scattered all over ended that. 

Robin seemed like a lovely name for our fourth dark haired beauty, and it has been.

 In College Station Texas I remember seeing a flock of bright red cardinals roosting in a medium sized tree, all pointing in the same direction.  I thought that was unique.  Perhaps it wasn't, and that I just hadn't noticed a flock of birds in a tree before. 

The song of the meadow lark still rings in my memory as it sang.  "Ogden is a pretty little place." 

In Las Cruces, Elmer Zost and I were in cahoots to rid my Koi pond of fish eating grackles.  He gave me his bebe gun assuring my that it was alright for me to take a shot at them.  The result was a one legged female returning year after year hopping around to fish in my pond. 

Then there was that owl who hooted so melodiously from the utility pole in the back yard.  He was big, and hungry I guess as he swooped down on Muffin, our manx kitten.  He wasn't big enough to lift her off the ground but took a good chunk out of her backside.  For the rest of her life she hugged the wall as she walked down the hall. 

 I remember feeding the doves in Buenas Aires in front of Emilda's pink palace.  She was the dictators wife who was famous for her number of shoes and for whom they wrote "Don't Cry for Me Argentina."  Well, so much for the birds.      Mum

C is for cats

   Since I've lost A and B somewhere in cyberspace.  I will have to depend on one of you to send me copies and I will go on to C.

    Healthy cats of all kinds are beautiful.  My mother said, her mother Tirza Fisk Cox loved them so much she took in strays.  That is perhaps why I didn't grow up with any.

   I determined that my girls should have cats, see kittens born etc.  Bills only comment was that they had farm cats but they were not allowed in the house. 

   Who would know that near the end of his life he would have a cat he dearly loved who loved, only him.  I surely hope I haven't lost the picture of the two of them on the bed with Dottie snuggled up to him,  belly up.  She would have four kittens that night in the cubbard at the end of the hall. 

   In Las Crucs we could hear the cayotes calling and we lost a couple of cats to them I think.   I remember hearing that some boys were shooting bebe guns in the desert and finding our black and gold calico on a desert walk a long time later.  It was in tact but dehydrated and flat as a pancake.

   The prettiest cat we had I think was the Golden Calico on Morningside drive in Ft. Collins.  I just remember she chose to have her kittens on the stair well to the basement. 

I think Barbara and Robin's offspring of the beautiful Calicos, Toast I think was the mother.  Vera's Siamese and Julies love of cats before she married all come to mind.  I've always  been fascinated with the big cats at a zoo or on TV.  As I aged it got less desireable to have a litter box and cat hair so I chose to have a dog and perhaps I'll remember about them next time.

   Jullie reminds me of the parakeet  on Branson? in Las Cruces I taught to say "Call Me Star"  by repeating it over and over on a tape recorder.  It worked pretty good until she flew out the door.  I can still see her exit over the top of the slightly ajar door.  Maybe I'll try a parakeet again when I get home. 

    Vera reminds me that Emilda Marcos was from the Philipines.  So whose Pink Palace was I in front of in Argentina?  I remember we visited Pam Donaldson and her husband there-- I think.

     I better hurry and get through the alphbet before my memory slips any more.  Love, mamamissionary

D is for dog

     Dogs come in the category of  the animals in general that I

love.  It took me quite a while, at least until I was eighty to

finally accept that fact that I did indeed love dogs.  I might have to

get a new set of friends as too many have come to my house and had

their eyes swell shut because of being allergic.

       The first dog I got was one my mother gave me for singing so

well on a program.  I remember it was white and remember I was in the

back seat of the car when I got it.   I don't remember what happened

to it.  The next one was also a ball of white fur I got in Cheyenne

Wyoming while I was recuperating from Measles and Scarlet Fever, one

right after the other at age 12.   I came out of that skin and bones

and mother would make me milkshakes with a raw egg in it to try and

fatten me up.  It was during the second world war and I remember the

cardboard suitcase I kept under the bed with supplys in case the Japs

came after us.  After a while, when I opened it up all the chocolate

had turned white.  That little dog, Susie, came up missing and mother

was sure someone stole her.  She was so cute.

         Remember Red Feather?  We had gone camping at Red Feather

Lakes near Fort Collins Colorado and someone gave us a cute little

Beagle so of course we gave her the name.  The fact that she was a her

was the problem.  A great big dog jumped the fence and I thought I

could stop him from doing, you know what, by beating him with the

broom.  It didn't work and she had a very big batch of very big

puppys.  No one would help me out in this situation and I ended up

taking those pups to shelter.  When we left Ft Collins we gave her to

a nice family who had a farm.

           Our next dog was Charllie  who I wanted to name Cosme

(Russian Cosmenot) but the family said no.  She had been airfreighted

from Ogden by my nephew Barry. For ever after to be frieghtened by

loud noises.  She was very smart and won a gold cup at obedience

training for most obedient. I took her for long walks and she was

trained not to go in the front room.  You would see her peeking

through the front curtains then she would high tail it to the family

room so you wouldn't know she was in there.  I knew she was getting

old when she couldn't quite make it up the cement culverts on the way

to church.  My fondest memory of her is her sitting on Bill's lap with

her nose under his chin  growling softly with Bill growling softly

back to her and thus they would carry on a conversation.  She died at

age 12.  Brad buried her in the southeast corner of the yard.  Bless

his newly married heart.

       After that we had little cute white dog that got hit by a

teenage driver who cried and cried.  Bill said no more dogs as he had

to bury the dog in the desert.  So when Julie called and asked us to

keep Dixie, a half Pomerian half Russell terrier while they moved Bill

said no and I said yes.   When Julies move was over and she really

didn't want the dog back I was glad because I had come to love Dixie

and I think Bill liked her to.  The Kohlers will have had her two

years by the time I get back so I know she'll be lonley so maybe I'll

let her pick out a friend at the pound.  Maybe not........Love

Mommissionary

E is for everything  I enjoy.

Getting up early in the morning to greet the sun as it comes over the Organs or lights up the Angel Moroni on the temple.

 I enjoy going to the Temple every week and especially enjoy doing sealings.

After a good night’s rest, I enjoy feeling young as I role out of bed, before I take that first wobbly step. 

Seeing my face in the mirror and remembering that once I was pretty.  

Easing myself into as hot a tub of water as I can stand and letting the water cover me to the neck as it soothes the aches. 

I enjoy dressing in missionary black.

 I enjoy walking in rain and snow and slush. 

I enjoy the missionaries and patrons at the Family History Library, especially the old couples who don't know how lucky they are to have one another other. 

I enjoy taking sisters to the recreation center to exercise or have water therapy.

 I enjoy having a roommate who enjoys having family prayer and scripture reading every night. 

I enjoy our zone leader, the poet, who doesn't seem to know quite what to do with us all.

 I enjoy the marinated in coke hot pork sandwiches at the Nauvoo Cafe, the spinach salad with dates stuffed with walnuts and wrapped in bacon broiled just right in the Garden Restaurant on the 10th floor of the JSM.

 The 'catch of the day' served at the Pantry of the Brigham Young house. 

I love reading the Discourses of Brigham Young compiled by John A Widtsoe.

I enjoy talking to Vera about gardening and Sydney, Barbara about genealogy, Julie about writing and Robin about anything I can get her to talk about.

Love, Mommissionary

F is for the Future

 Only one knows how much of a future any of us have.

At this time of my life when I will be home in three months

I think about Las Cruces a lot.

First, about the people I love and the turns each of their lives have taken.

Then about me

What will I do there?  First to my house

And then to myself

When in  my mind I've worn myself out painting walls ETC.

I wonder what the Bishop has in mind for me, if anything, and know I'll do whatever....

I think about cruises I could go on if I saved long enough, and who

would be willing to save to go with me.

Or I could visit all my kids and grandkids and get to know them and my Greats.

Or should I volunteer at Munson

teaching Art or just take Tai Chi where I'll miss my friend Vyla Call.

My future may hold all or none of this.....I WONDER

Bill told me more than once that I "wondered" too much

Because I always wanted him to come up with an answer.

Love Mommissionary