Friday Sessions and Good Night, Grandma (PI Trip ~ Day 6)

Friday was another full day!  We heard from Bro. Weidner, Les, Bro. Oscal and Bro. Dansby:

 

The young people had a good time in the afternoon!

Les and I did a special on Friday night.  "Goodbye World, Goodbye."

Bro. McCoy preached.  It was another fantastic message.

Lots of pictures afterwards!

Sis. Balmas painted this picture for me!

Sis. Cajanding:

Sis. Barrero:

Our fantastic sound man, Bro. Ray!

Les giving him a tip about winding up cords!

Our final meal all together at the Mission House.

Selfies with Clark!

As I told him good night, Clark said, "Good night, Grandma!"  My heart just melted.

Grandparents Day

Happy Grandparents Day to any of my readers who have grandchildren.  I was blessed to know five of my grandparents.  Both of Mom's grandmothers were still living while I was growing up, along with Mom's mom and Dad's mom and dad!  I think the bond with grandparents is very special and I'm grateful for mine.

One of my earliest posts was called, "When Mom Became Grandma."  Mom wrote in her Grandmother's Memories book:  "When I first became a grandmother, I felt like a Queen. I couldn't stop grinning; I got 3 grandbabies in 10 weeks! Ryan, Krysten & Lauren."  Ryan was born on January 11th (his daddy's birthday) and Krysten and Lauren showed up 7 weeks before their due date on March 20th.

 

Grandparents Day has brought a new emotion this year.  It started with a text I received about a month ago from my niece, Lauren:

My heart is overflowing with excitement!  Lauren and Jordan got married in January of this year and now they are going to make my sister a grandmother and I get to be Great Aunt Kathy!  It seems like yesterday that they were this tiny:

Barn Insulation, Anyone?

Les and I were discussing candy this morning.  M&Ms has a lot more flavors than they use to.  I picked up a bag of coffee flavored the other day.  They also come in White Chocolate Candy Corn flavor.  Talk of candy corn led to other Halloween candy, which led us to Circus Peanuts.

Mom's mom, Grandma Luella, always had Circus peanuts on hand in the Fall.  I have no idea why.  I remember eating them just because I was a kid and they were the only candy she had in the house! According to Spangler Candy, "Spangler Circus Peanuts have been a long-time favorite fat-free candy. This banana-flavored, peanut-shaped marshmallow treat is free of major allergens." While Les and I were talking about them, I got curious so I went to Wikipedia:

The first circus peanuts are long rumored to have originated in Omaha, Nebraska as the brainchild of chemical engineer Richard Dye. After fashioning a foam, peanut-shaped insulation for use in preventing drafts in his livestock barn, Knapp was said to have been so pleased with the texture and shape of the insulation that he was inspired to recreate it as a confection in his kitchen using edible ingredients. The treat delighted his family and friends, and he was encouraged to distribute small bags of the candy “peanuts” each year when the circus passed through town.

Banana-flavored, peanut-shaped, marshmallow treat with barn insulation texture, anyone?

Happy Left Handers Day!

You know there's a day for everything, right... er, correct?  Well today is Left Handers Day.  As a lefty, I've learned to do some things with my right hand by necessity (I've never owned left handed scissors) and some things I was taught to do right handed (my right handed brothers taught me how to hold a baseball bat.)  Just about everything else I do left handed.

Approximately 10% of the population is left handed.  There are many lists of famous left handers.  Benjamin Franklin, Albert Einstein, Michelangelo, Ronald Reagan, and Beethoven were all lefties.

I come by my left handedness honestly.  Mom was a lefty.  She had beautiful hand writing and taught me how to place my paper at a diagonal to avoid smearing.

Grandma Luella, Mom's mom, also was a lefty.  She is obviously the one who taught Mom how to turn the paper to avoid smearing!

And we have a fourth generation lefty - my niece, Krysten!  At family meals we try to sit next to each other so we aren't constantly banging elbows.

I'm sure there are advantages and disadvantages to which ever hand is dominate, but it's pretty cool being able to hold Les' left hand with my right hand and we both have are strong hands free!

Anyone else left handed?

1966: Sister Celebration

My sister, Kim, is the oldest of the Fultz Four.  She was born on April 23, 1959 (hopefully she's not reading my blog and isn't ready to strangle me for revealing this fact!)  I was born five years, four days and two brothers later!

When I turned 2, Mom wrote in my baby book, "I guess we'll always celebrate with Kim.  This year we went to Storyland.  On the date we had cake and ice cream.  Grandma Luella, Marie and Esther came to help us have fun."

Storyland is a fun little place found at Roeding Park in Fresno.  It opened in 1962 and admission today is still only $5 for adults and $3.50 for children.  "At Storyland, fairy tales come to life. Follow the path through the Park and find Humpty Dumpty, “three little pigs,” Mother Goose, Alice in Wonderland, witches, pirates, a castle and much more. Use your magic key to unlock our talking boxes and listen to stories of adventure and danger, fantastic worlds and heroic journeys."

Jack and Jill falling down the hill while Krysten and Lauren fetch a pail of water

I don't remember celebrating my 2nd birthday at Storyland, but I certainly remember going there many times as a child and later taking my nieces, Krysten and Lauren.  There's something special about seeing a book come to life!

We've definitely had our share of sister spats and ups and downs but I'm so thankful to have a sister to celebrate life with!

Change Your Clothes

A few months ago I spotted a really cute skirt online. I bookmarked it, but didn't buy it.

When we were in Hawaii in April I spotted this cute top at Macy's.  I did buy it.  {April/May is typically my one time of the year that I do a little frivolous shopping - I have birthday money burning a hole in my pocket!}

Last week, I found that bookmark and thought the combo would be really cute.  I ordered the skirt, but when it arrived it was just a little too short.  It fell to the bottom of my knees (barely) but it's quite full so I knew it would have a lot of movement when I walked.  After my success last year with changing my clothes, I felt sure I could make this skirt the right length with a little work.

A trip to Jo-Ann Fabric, $3.50 for a half yard of fabric later, and I was ready to go.  As I posted yesterday, my adventure began, but it did not go smoothly.  My sewing machine belonged to Mom.  When I was a child, she sewed most of my clothes on the machine she received as a teenager.  I believe she got this machine in the late 70s or early 80s.  It became mine when she passed away in 1998.

I spent some time trying to adjust it on my own, but quickly got frustrated.  I sewed one seam (trying to attach two pieces together) and that was it for yesterday.  Google to the rescue!  The machine was manufactured by White Consolidated Industries, founded in 1858.  It is now under the ownership of SVP Worldwide, which includes the Singer brand.  I was able to find the manual for my sewing machine at Singerco.com.  I got up this morning determined to get things going.  I opened the manual on my iPad and in less than 15 minutes adjusted all the dials for the proper tension, stitch type and stitch length.

My skirt has a lining, which made my project so much easier!  I marked a line on the lining, then pinned my additional fabric to it.  With my machine humming along, I was able to sew my addition to the liner.  I then turned the hem, machine basted, then hand sewed it.

And voila!  I changed  my clothes!

I can also dress it up a little with a white jacket.

Don't be afraid to change your clothes.  If  you're not a seamstress or don't have a sewing machine, find a friend who can help you.  It doesn't take much time or money, but you may need a little extra patience!

One more little item that showed up in yesterday's post.  This pin cushion:

I think this little pin cushion is about 40 years old!  Mom and Grandma Luella made a bunch of these way back when.  I'm sure they used old scraps of fabric and trim because I remember a variety of colors and patterns.  The spools of thread were held on by elastic.  (I found a tutorial here.)  The elastic on mine finally deteriorated, so I just put some ribbon through it.  I really should take the whole thing apart, wash it, and give it a fresh piece of elastic, but it continues to serve me well!

Praying Mothers

Happy Mother's Day to all you wonderful moms!

As I was thinking about what to post this morning, a beautiful family memory came to mind.  It starts with my Great Grandmother, Maude Lancaster, born October 13, 1887.  She was the mother of eleven children.  She received the gift of the Holy Ghost and lived a holy life, but was not baptized according to the Bible.

Great Grandma Lancaster

One of her daughters was my grandma - Grandma Luella Pearson.  Born February 26, 1919 in Mayes, Oklahoma.  During the Dust Bowl of the 1930s, the family moved to California.  At some point, Grandma Luella saw her need to be baptized in the name of Jesus.  Grandma Lancaster told her, "That's okay for you, but I don't think I need it."

Grandma Luella

On January 1, 1940, Norma Pearson was born.  Mom grew up believing the gospel.  As a young mother, she started praying for her children, but she also started to praying for her grandmother.  She wrote letters and sent tracts explaining Jesus name baptism.  In the early 1970s, Great Grandma Lancaster then in her 80s, saw her need to be re-baptized according to the plan of salvation found in the book of Acts!  It was a beautiful Sunday morning when our family gathered in Visalia to witness this grand occasion.

Mom, when the twins were still in the hospital.  I know she prayed for them, too!

I saw Grandma Lancaster for the last time in 1984.  I was preparing to go to the Philippines.  She told me what a blessing we would be.  Then she wanted me to turn around so she could feel my hair.  At the age of 96, most of her hair had fallen out, but it had never been cut.  She died peacefully while I was in the Philippines, I'll always treasure that last visit.

Mothers, don't ever stop praying!