Lady's Lines

Purple is my favorite color. Seven is my lucky number.  

I have always liked the color purple. Deep purple. Royal purple. Plum or Grape Purple. The lighter purples, known as lavender, are great colors for lilacs, tulips, and well, lavender.

Two years ago when I switched to AT&T I was quite happy to be able to buy a purple flip phone. Awesome. Recently when I went looking for a 2011 day planner, yep, there was a purple one.

Four or is it five seasons ago when I started watching Pysch, I noticed that the color purple was being used, noticeably. With each season, more and more purple is used. I wondered why. I thought maybe it was there way of saying Yahoo paid for advertising. Yes, Yahoo went purple a few years ago.

This Fall I noticed that at least three of us in our department had acquired purple tops. Once we all wore them on the same day. It is always weird when that happens.

A couple of weeks ago I headed to my favorite thrift store to see if I could find some winter slacks. You guessed it, there was a pair of purple pants. I mean really, what are the odds.

Last week a co-worker said that a well known television chef was offering a set of purple colored cookware for sale; this year only. For a few minutes I imagined what purple cookware would look like sitting on the burners of my 1970′s cream colored stove. Hmmm, no.

In October the hubby and I started watching our Pysch dvds again. Under the guise of watching the show, I was really focusing on all the purple items in each episode. I have acquired the desire to know how many purple items there are in total. I knew I should have just taken a pen and paper and written them all down starting with season one. Some things just have to be answered.

Today’s purple observances have just added to the obsession. I wore my purple pants to work. At least two other co-workers had purple tops on. I viewed a catalog of items a company could put a company logo on. It had plenty of offerings in the color purple. There were balloons, bags, key chains, mini portfolios, pens, etc.

After work I had several errands to run. As I got our of my car, at my first stop, there were two women, wearing purple, walking into the same store as I was.

That was the final confirmation that we have entered into a brave new purple world.

After years of declaring that purple was my favorite color and seven was my lucky number, I remembered that there had been a purple paper circle with the number seven written on it attached to my school locker.

The grade I was in – Kindergarden.

It has been a great day tootling around Chardon and shopping in stores. My first stop was to the American Cancer Discovery shop. I had hoped to find some long sleeved tops. I managed to find one top and two nice pairs of pants for work and winter time. One pair is purple and should be quite fun to wear.

When I walked around the housewares section of the store I heard a man talking about buying something. I thought he was talking to some one. I turned the corner and discovered he was talking to himself. I must say I had to smile to myself. Especially since for once I was not talking to myself!

I managed to find a few nice little items for mere pennies as it was half off everything day. I love thrift store shopping.

I moseyed along to put gas in the car, shop at Aldi’s, and then off to Walmart. While I am not a huge Walmart fan, I must admit it is a great place to roam aimlessly. It is full of colors, interesting people, and food. I like to walk over to the fabric section just to walk on the super thick floor pads that are next to the cutting table for the employees. I would like that type of padding to walk regularly. 

Thus I let time unravel till two o’clock. Twas fun.

I woke up this morning before 4:00 a.m. The fan was blowing in the bedroom and Ed was not there. Another restless night.

After washing the dishes, and checking out why a lamp won’t work, I decided I might as well write a post to my blog for a few minutes.

What woke me up was the dream I was having.

I had been dreaming about being with my two sisters and showing them genealogy items. In the dream they were both visiting me and it was time for them to leave and go home. One of them asked a question about some family item and off we trotted to a room of family artifacts. I proceed to sort through things trying to find the item in question. One discovery lead to another with each of us peering intently at the details of each item. I was handing off desired items to which ever sister wanted it.

I have had this dream before several times. The items don’t really change much in the dream. It is a very vivid dream each time. This morning there was an item about our dad, in duplicate. I just ripped the two pieces apart and handed one to each of my sisters. Then there was an elaborate and ornate book. It is clear grandfather Holbrook has acquired it. It contains a lengthy history of Holbrooks. There is always a doll. It always belongs to Marsha.

None of the items I see in this dream exist. At least as far as I know. Sometimes I wish I could draw. Then I could bring the entire scene to life. I wish this especially when I dream about genealogy. This morning when I woke from the dream I was not sleep eyed and everything was still quite clear in my mind.

Not too long ago I had another dream about genealogy. I was reading a newspaper article about some ancestor. As I read it I realized it had details that were unknown to me. Part of my sleeping brain said you need to remember this. I remember that in the dream I was trying to peer closer to see the information and not lose it. Then it all just disappeared and I woke up. I couldn’t remember a thing.

Sigh. Life is like that sometimes. You get close to receiving knowledge you have been seeking. You can feel it is almost within your grasp, and yet you can’t hold on to it. In my case, one just has to keep moving along the seeking path and hope the next time enlightment comes around it will stick in the brain.

Such are the musings for this early morning hour. I am off to plug in the lamp with two light sections, of which only one with work.

Time is spinning along and the month is almost over. It has been a very busy week or two. Right now I can’t seem to think just what it is I have been doing.

A fair amount of time has been attending church meetings of one sort or another. I ventured out to my second book club meeting this year. The first one I tried was at the local library. The book for that night was “The Lost Painting” by Jonathan Harr. I  enjoyed the book, but the conversation was sparse.

Last night’s book club was with a group of ladies from church. The book was a juvenile literature title called “The Hunger Games”. I did not care for the basic concept of the book. I wasn’t going to finish the book and probably should have put it down. The book was well written, had plenty of twists, etc. I won’t be reading the rest of the series though. The book discussion was quite a bit more lively.

On Saturday, Sept. 18th, I attended one hour of the Stake Relief Society conference. Melissa Cummings Cameron, daughter of Bob Cummings, gave a very nice presentation on her family history. I wasn’t able to stay for the rest of the event. I left straight away to spend the rest of the day and evening with my grandchildren in Richfield.

I had a good time with the children, and then with my daughter when she got home. As per usual, V.J. and I ended the day by crafting. I showed her how to make a large tissue paper flower. It was very nice to be there and help out.

I have also made several trips to the library. The usual stash of dvds and books are poised on my table in my study. Several of the books are about St. Augustine. I wanted to get out several versions and do a bit of a reading comparison. I am very lucky to have such an excellent library network where I live.

Tomorrow will be a full day with a trip to the Columbus Temple. A very sweet 92 yr. old lady from church will be sealed to her parents. It will be such a wonderful moment. Due to her age we will only stay long enough to take care of the sealing. We will stop for lunch after we have left the temple. It will be around five o’clock pm when I am home again.

Then in the evening, at eight o’clock will be the General Relief Society Broadcast. Off to the chapel I will head to view the broadcast. Sunday morning will be another early trip to church for leadership meetings and then on to regular church meetings. Around three o’clock pm – I will head home once again.

I will enjoy a quiet afternoon and evening before another week of fun and work rolls around.

The week prior to being on vacation I began by tiding up the spare bedroom. Friday and Saturday, September 3rd and 4th, I began cleaning the front room. I packed up books, stationery, more books, genealogy, photos, and a large variety of miscellaneous items.

On Saturday I took one hour to digress from packing items in the front room and hauled about ten large rubbermaid containers from the garage to the attic.

Sunday was a day of rest and a welcome spiritual feast at church. Monday was yet another day of cleaning fun. I was nearing the end of packing and hauling items up to the attic.

Monday morning I plowed on with the effort. Tuesday was a pre-planned day of rest from cleaning and fun with my daughter and grandchildren. I enjoyed having lunch with my daughter in the sun and wind, as we sat outside of Panera Bread. We went to Lowe’s to buy 4-inch by 4-inch plain tiles. We would be making decorative coasters out of them. We went to Hobby Lobby to explore all things craft related and to kill time before picking up the grandchildren from school.

While we were tile coaster decorators extraordinaire, two of my grandchildren took piano lessons. The day was topped off with a lovely dinner of chicken mixed with salad greens and vegetables. By 7:30pm I was wending my way home.

Wednesday turned out to be the unavoidable melt down day. After several days of cleaning and one day of fun, even the Sunday of spiritual feasting could not hold at bay the tide of exhaustion and life events that ended up occurring.

The corner china cupboard was emptied of its fragile merchandise and the last of the boxes removed from the room. The once clean spare bedroom was now filled to the hilt.

The vacuuming and the shampooing begin. By 3:00pm the melt down had already occurred and I was done with being Suzy house cleaner.

I took off to run an errand in another part of town. I bought myself a chicken sandwich from Burger King; complete with fries and soda. I called my sister and said it has been a long day. Then let the exhaustion of emotions and work roll off my tongue for many minutes while I sat in the Burger King parking lot.

Soon I was back on the road finishing up two more errands and returning several phone calls. I made it back home before 6:15 pm to meet up with ladies in the Relief Society presidency to go visit someone.

By 8:30pm I was home once again. The rug was dry and I was ready for bed.

I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I presume that most people who read my blog, know that already. Even so, I wish to express what my membership in this church means to me.  

Today is Fast Sunday. It is called Fast Sunday because we abstain from eating two meals and donate the equivalent of what those two meals would cost to the needy and poor within our church.

When one fasts with a spiritual purpose in mind the experience can be very uplifting. It has not always been easy.

Tithing one tenth of all of my increase is part of being a member. Sometimes I have had people question the sensibility of doing that. Faith aligned with obedience in paying tithe always gives more to me than I ever give. It has not always been easy.

I go to church for three hours on a Sunday. I attend the Sacrament meeting which has speakers and the partaking of the sacrament. The most important part of this meeting for me is taking the sacrament. It is my privilege and opportunity to renew my baptismal covenants with the Savior, Jesus Christ each Sunday.

Sunday School follows in the next hour. When I attend and even more so when I prepare, I am alway rewarded with a renewed spirit.

The third hour is Relief Society. It is the women’s opportunity to learn and discuss gospel principles together. When I take a full heart of love and willingness to learn I am always blessed with the spirit.

Sundays provide spiritual feasting, learning, fellowship, singing, sharing of burdens, and even laughter.

Sometimes it has not always been easy to attend all the meetings. 

It has been thirty six years this Fall since I chose to be baptized in the church. The journey has had it’s ups and downs. It has not always been easy. Many of the times when it has not been easy, it was because I lacked the faith or obedience to overcome the challenge or trial facing me or to do what I knew I should be doing.

 I have loved the Lord, Jesus Christ, since I was a young girl. My understanding and knowledge was smaller then. I wanted to go to church, I wanted to know more. That seeking for knowledge let me to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Today I would like to express my deep gratitude for my testimony of the truthfulness of the gospel and the plan of salvation. There is no other church whereby the fullness of the gospel may be known.

I love God and his son, our Savior, Jesus Christ. I know He lives and loves us. I am grateful for his atoning sacrifice for our sins; that He was willing to lay down his life for us. His hand is ever out stretched towards us.

I know there is a prophet on the earth today and that he is Thomas S Monson. I know the apostles are called of God. I know the Book of Mormon is true and bears another witness of Jesus Christ. I know the Bible to be true, in so far as it is translated correctly. 

I know that through obedience to the principles of the gospel we can grow closer to God and return to live with him for all eternity.

I know that all sins, save two, the Lord will forgive to the truly repentant heart. I know that God knows all and His plan is perfect. While we may not understand all that can occur to us in this life, He knows exactly what we need at every moment of our lives. I know His plan of salvation will not fail. We can fail, but His plan will continue.

I know we have the choice to live according to the plan of salvation or not. How beautiful that is!

To those of you who may read this and have not yet experienced this joy that I humbly have tried to express, I invite you to hear the message of the gospel of Jesus Christ through His one and only true church. Your life will be changed to a life of goodness and joy beyond your imagination and understanding.

This is my testimony and I leave it with you, in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen. To learn more go to www.lds.org or to http://www.mormon.org/ .

It has been an interesting five days. On Thursday, August 19th I headed towards Columbus to attend the temple. It was quite nice to have some time at the temple. It seemed like it had been a long time since I had been there. I was able to spend a long time in the celestial room which was very nice.

After leaving the temple I drove to the hotel where the Origami convention was being held to meet my sister. Thus began several days of paper folding fun.

It was interesting to meet some of the people and see their devotion to the art of folding paper. It was especially nice to see my brother and sister, who I do not get to see very often. The moments we had together we quite enjoyable.

Alas, the sinus congestion I had been battling for about two weeks finally got the better of me. Sunday morning I woke up and the room was moving though I was not. I had an equilibrium problem. I knew this was not going to bode well for me.

I hoped sitting upright would assist draining my head and I tried taking a shower. Iit was evident I was going to need help getting home from Columbus. While I preferred it to be otherwise, I was grateful my daughter and son-in-law could drive down and assist me in getting home.

While I was waiting for them to get to me, Marsha went off to the paper folding class that was number one class I wanted to attend out of all of the classes at the convention. My words to her were “remember all the folds”.  She returned with a beautiful modular sphere. I am looking forward to learning that one.

Once home I spent most of my time sleeping. This morning was a trip to urgent care and home again to rest and re-coup. I am thankful I am already on the mend and can get back to work tomorrow.

Every day has a surprise in it.

It is a balmy Saturday night in our little corner of Ohio. I am enjoying the cool breeze of the ceiling fan. Thru the open windows I can hear the crickets night music.

There has been an orchestration of events in my life in the last three weeks.

On July 18th, a Sunday, the executive secretary for the Bishop asked if I could meet with the Bishop right after the sacrament meeting. I knew it meant I would be given a new calling (job) to do in the church. I figured it was going to be in the Young Women’s program. Then as I pondered that possiblity, I realized I probably was wrong. I was.

I was asked to be the President of the women’s organization, Relief Society. I was stunned. I certainly did not think I would be called to that position. I walked back and forth along the river bank for a few minutes trying to absorb the reality of the request. Then I was simply fine with it.

Sunday afternoon I considering names for the presidency and taking time to pray about the choices before meeting with the Bishop later. I felt a great sense of peace and assistance in the process.

The following week was filled with normal work routines and preparation for the announcement at church. July 25th I was sustained during sacrament meeting, as were the first counselor and the secretary. Vanessa and her family was able to be there and I was grateful for that.

The week of July 26th was busy with organizing the new church duties and balancing work and home routines. I made more time for praying.

August 1st was my first Sunday to conduct in Relief Society and I had a lesson to teach. The lesson went well and I was grateful for the spirit that was present.

During these three weeks normal life as continued. Changes at my job abound. New data systems, organizational systems, and more departmental drama.

Four people were let go at the company I work at. Three of the individuals left at the beginning of this week. The situation created a somber mood for most individuals at work. It is a smaller company and as such it is hard not to have everyone be affected to some extent. Plus one of my favorite co-workers was leaving for greener pastures. Today was her last day. I will miss her a great deal.

I didn’t miss out on winning something from the Adult Summer Reading program at the library. I won a T-shirt. Not the one they had advertised, but a very cool one none the less. It is a first for me.

I have read three books. No Man’s Land, For My Mom, Finally, and The Diving Bell and the Butterfly. The best book was the last one. Written by a man who was suffering from locked-in syndrome. He blinked his left eye to communicate each letter of the 132 page book. Truly amazing.

I went to my grandson’s fifth birthday party. The majority of my children and grandchildren were there. The younger grandchildren are getting so big. It was wonderful to watch them playing on the water slide, see their smiles, and hear their laughter. I enjoyed catching up on the latest news with each of the children and their spouses or companions.

I ate too many Dairy Queen blizzards and a couple of Dove bars. I ate my first mini blizzard. I ate two big plates of spaghetti and meatballs. Yummmm. There was plenty of fruits, salads, and granola cereal.

I spent an utterly wonderful sunshine filled day with my daughter Vanessa. We braved the waters of Lake Erie to visit Kelley’s Island. We made great memories by driving go carts around the island, having lunch, talking, and laughing and laughing. Go bar less is a new secret catch phrase for us.

Tomorrow there will not be near enough time in the day to do all I would like to do or should do. There will be enough time to do what needs to be done.

Life is very good and I am glad God is at the helm of it.

It is easier to capture the feelings of daily routines when one writes about them closer the actual events. I feel I am behind on doing so lately.

On July 11th I decided to inquire about assisting with driving the youth to the Hill Cumorah Pageant in Palmyra, NY. I offered my assistance and made arrangements on Monday to take part of the 13th and all of the 14th of July off to go. What a great trip it was for me.

I throughly enjoyed the company of the youth. They are such a delightful group of young women and men. It had been about thirty seven years since I had been to the pageant. It was an amazing spectacle to behold. I wanted to take the Tree of Life prop home with me. The rain came and went, it was humid, there was not as much sleep, and the book store loved my money. I am sure I came away with far more than I gave.

Saturday, July 17th, I had the opportunity to attend the baptism of Jeremy Hunsacker. New husband of Kayla. She is such a sweet spirit. It was such a good experience. Again, I received more than I gave.

At the start of this year, I was more than aware that I was heading towards my 60th birthday at the end of the year. I thought to myself what if this was the last year of my life, could I live this year, as if it were my last year. Would I have a greater sense of urgency to get certain things done, to do things I had always wanted to do, etc. I have found that the answer is yes; to a certain degree.

It’s July 19th and I have not accomplished near as much as I thought I would by now for this year. One of the blessings has been realizing more fully how much I have been given and how good my life is.

What remains is for me to finish out this year and my life, however long it lasts, making the most of what I have been given.

Yippee! It has taken a while for rolling laughter to spin it’s self into my mental realm again. Spontaneously it gurgled up and pealed out of my grinning mouth.

It moved right along with my words creating a chain reaction effect. Sprinkling from one sunny laughing face to another.

Being human is an amazing experience.