Utah Tourist

Utah Olympic Oval

2011-04-11T09:02:00.000-07:00

This is the legend of "The Worlds Fastest Ice" and for Eli and I it's also
the worlds slip-pery-est ice. You see, we neither one know HOW to ice skate
but decide to go any-how. We made it around the oval rink once before Eli
suggested ( wisely) that we run the track instead.

This is one of my most favorite things to do. This long frozen winter , I ran
all my long runs up on the oval track. While skater from around the world
came in to compete, I watched the show while I ran . It is very motivating to
run next to a speed skater from Japan.

The track is state of the art cushy-soft and easy on your sore feet. It is
a constant 65 degrees and the perfect temp. The track is on the outside, The
speedskating oval next and in the center another rink and an ice hockey rink
that can get real loud. It's a 440 meter track that converts to 3 1/2 times
around equals 1 mile ( aprox ).

The Great Zamboni must cross the running track to reach the ice. I am going to
have a t-shirt made that say's - I can run faster than a Zamboni ! Because I can,
I can run faster than the Zamboni !

There is a funny sign on the track where the big garage door opens up and the
mighty Zamboni must cross and it reads, RUNNERS MUST YIELD TO THE ZAMBONI .
Now pardon my potty mouth, but NO SHEET SHERLOCK *!!*!!* That reminds me of the
Road-Runner and how he always managed to slip into a narrows crack in the side
of a mountain, while the WILE E. COYOTE hit it face on. Hard ! Flat like a Johnny
Cake and SLOWLY sliding down to the dirt.

KOPFC

2011-01-22T18:25:00.000-08:00

The Kearns Oquirrh Park Fitness Center is 3 blocks away from our home and
spectacular. There is something for everyone. This facility is massive
and also can brag the Olympic Oval as it's next door neighboor. There is plenty
of parking. A huge parking lot extended to a small park with a gold medal mile
path. There is also the Oval Parking and Kearns High school parking. All within
2 minutes or less of walking.

This is the place to be. I feel so lucky to have this facility so close to
my home. Eli is in swim lessons , so we leave an hour and 1/2 early and he can
swim , slide , play games on a console have his lessons shower in the family dress-
ing rooms and still be sad about leaving. The daycare center is so affordable
and the kids club is wonderful. They do crafts, activites , give out snacks and
take Eli swimming . It is just so large and affordable. On memorial weekend the out
side pools open and they are huge . It's a full sized water park with high dive
pool and olympic pool.

There is much, much more to write about but that is enough bragging. For now.

Mamma Moose and her Baby

2009-11-04T12:05:00.001-08:00

I submitted 6 pictures to the County Fair this
past August, and to my great surprise they all
won a blue ribbon for 1st place. The mamma and
baby moose was one of them, and I will bore you
with all 6 over the next few weeks or until
somthing exciting happens and I can write about
it.

Eli and I spent 3 wonderful days at grandma
and gramps house and he sure misses them. Not
for long though, we will celebrate Eli's
b-day in Salt Lake City and hope to see A
Christmas Carol with everyone the same weekend
at the IMAX theater.

My favorite part of my trip, Ken - Dad - Eli (!)
and I stayed up till 2am laughing and the Ma
kept getting up and wondering what we were up
too! Just like old times. Brian was there
but left a little after midnight. My Family
is hilarious and I miss them all so much. Also
Con-man has grown two feet. Sooo not exaggerating !!
One handsom nephew I have.

Old Fashioned Food Storage

2009-09-30T14:49:00.000-07:00

The root cellar. While I worked hard this summer on feeding
the neighborhood chipmunks our garden, Dean worked really -
really hard on the root cellar. He wanted to keep the cistren
water tank from freezing and what a great idea to also store
foods the old fashioned way. ( I do hope he wasn't expecting
me to GROW the food ) DARN CHIPMUNKS. The broccolli was lookin
sooo good, other vegi's growing. A cat wandered in one day
and we are keeping him! He is friendly and cute to.

He dug - he hauled & stacked rocks - he dug - he hauled
and stacked more..........many more rock. He measured,
suppoted, calculated and planned. It took months to complete
and his little helper Eli was surely hoping for a new hut or
fort.

Doesn't it look old fashioned and earthy? ( pretty sure
earthy's not a real word ).

We read that the "new green word" is a Geo-Thermal room that
built right, can even replace the refrigerator in your kitchen.
WHAT! I am going to kick our propane sucking - onion smelling -
space taker upper fridge right out the door to the curb!

Oh, we dont have a curb.

Spider man Pictures

2009-09-01T13:32:00.000-07:00

I took soooooo many pictures of my son - son that
if you view them on the camera with the button
held down, it looks like he is climbing up the
wall in a very speedy climb.

A Fact about Ben that someone may not know......
He served 4 years in the Marine corps and has
served and been in many places of our world.
Iraq was one.
He is the strongest kid (adult) that I have ever
known. Physical and mental.
Very proud of the kid (adult)

Check out Skylar Deans huge proud smile.
He kept yelling - Thats my dad !!!!!!

Little Buckaroo Mutton Buster

2009-08-19T14:00:00.000-07:00

It was sooo cute to watch the kids ride the sheep.
Some were so little and all very brave ! Our Eli
did-not even hesitate. He hung out in the corrals
sittin on top of the fence so he had a front seat
and watched as some of the kids just didn't want
to do it. I understand !

When his time came, he just climbed right on. They
gave him his choice of sitting forward or backwards
and his choice was backwards, it did seem the back -
wards kids were doing a little better at "hangin on".

Slap the sheep and off he went. The crowd CHEERS !
Down he goes ! The announcer says, give that kid a
hand, what a hot dog ! Look at that smile ! Eli
was just one big happy smile walking back to dad.
He got alot of high fives and good job pats on the
way. He had fun and he was proud.

I soon found that he had been stepped on by that
"big old mean wool ball" and his new fair shirt
had a big rip down the shoulder/back side. I walked
him to the trooper to change his shirt and apply
Triple Antibiotic plus pain relief to his hoof scrape
welt. His smile was fading as he looks at me and say's,
mom, I should have known better - now i'm going to die.
I just busted out laughing and said "no one is going to
die (his welt scrape must have been stinging some). He
never cried over it and his new shirt and smile were
back on in time for the goat ribbon pull. He asks every
day if it's time to do it again.

The Duchesne County Fair had something for everyone. It
was a great week, the events were so much fun and the
people friendly and nice. I entered 6 digital photos
and won 6 first place blue ribbons. I can't wait til
next year either.

I loaded pictures in backwards of course !

Face of a graduated swimmer

2009-07-30T11:58:00.000-07:00

Eli has been in swim lessons for the last 8 days.
We got up early and went to the library in hope
the internet was up (they have had big problems)
and then off to his lessons. After his lessons
I dressed him in the Trooper and we went to
Duchesne high for the school lunch program. It
is a free lunch program for kids ( usually in
the park). It is a great program.

From there we strapped on Eli's bike helmet
and rode our bikes at the high school, the
park and through the neighborhoods to his
elementary school (in the fall of 2010).
It has a great fun playground and he typically
begged for me to quit playing and continue our
bike ride. The age requirement for swim lessons
is 5 but they wanted to see how he may do at 4
years old. On the second day the teacher said he
is doing good but not listening as well as he did
on the first day, so I let him know if he didnt
listen to his teacher there will be no more bike
rides. They told me he was one of the best listeners
ever. He loved the bike rides and we will continue
them 1 day a week till the snow flies ( shutter )

Some days we went back to the library and some days
we went to the river walkway and soaked our feet
in the strawberry river. All days I was wiped out
but so was he. we ate ice cream cones and I think
he had a lot of fun.

He graduated as a level 1 swimmer.
I am still wiped out.

Camp Hevelone

2009-07-16T14:46:00.000-07:00

Five days with 5 kids, ages (7) Lynzi Lou (6) Skylar Dean (4) Eli Burton
(3) Kaydence Mckenna (2) Q Micheal. I am happy to report that we are
still alive. Dean was scared the first day but we both agree that we
will try for part 2 in august, Maybe titled 5 kids for 3 days. We miss
the little guys.

We all slept on a small cozy cot on the living room floor. For much of
night " I was the cot" for Eli and Q slept on me and Kaydence snuggled
in. With luck most of the mornings went like this: find shoes out of
the great shoe basket pile, lace "em" up and go to the first outhouse
trip. Hurry up !!! was grumbled but mostly the kids started to wander
off and play. Velcro and flip flop shoes will be required camp gear
from now on. Round up all playing children and take them in for food.
The first morning we bravely whipped up griddle cakes. Yummmy. But get
real granny, all the rest of the mornings breakfast was cold cereal
or instant oatmeal. Wash hands and sticky syrup faces. Round "em"
up again. This takes forever! I hunt for suitable fitting and semi-
clean clothes (we aren't to picky) from a great heaping pile that has
formed (grown) in a corner of our small humble home. Why are socks and
underwear always missing? By the end of the week all 5 kids had on Eli's
underwear and socks. Dont tell Lynzi Lou I told you!! Hers were spider-
man.

Not done yet... hairbrushing ( ooouch ) tangled wild banshee hair ! Well
a good bath will take of wild hairdooos. Spray detangler helps. Teeth
brushing, all goes well and smooth. line "em" up for sun protection
lotion. No - one likes this step but we make it through. It just takes
FOREVER! Get on shoes again. They run, far, loudly and happily.

I clean up after brekfast, pick up and fold every blanket we own, heft
the floppy mattress up against the wall for storage and to hide the huge
clothes heap. It's about this point when I realize it's time to start
on lunch and I am still in my jammies. The rest of the day is a whirl
of activity. Mostly sweeping. Rain season and muddy shoes. How on
earth do mothers, grandmothers and care givers do it ???? For me it
was Dean and my special helper Lynzi Lou. Turning 8 last saturday.
Outhouse trips, meals and snacks, hair and teeth brushing, sun pro
application, shoes and jammie(clothes) She was right there to help
with it all. Not one complaint out of her. She is and always has been
my special girl.

Highlights include: Feeding the chickens - Lizzard hunting - Getting
rained on several times a day - Shelby getting stuck (bad) and we
dug/pulled her out from under a huge boulder - Dutch oven cook out -
collecting sprigs of sage ( nature walks ) - beading necklaces and
making dads day cards - eating two whole watermelons - having popcorn,
rootbeer and watching a movie - eating smarshmellows and sipping hot
cocoa at the kitchen table ( due to all the rain ).

What we didn't get to do : See a bear or go fishing ! Maybe next camp.
My special ones

Lynzi : Creative and everyones friend. Brite and smart. Adventurous
high spirited happy girl. She is a mini-me in looks and we have alot
in common.

Skylar : The problem solver. He say's "wait I know what, lets try "...
He is a great leader and scout and headed up all our hiking adventures,
and very patiently waited for the slow little ones.

Eli and Kaydence : They just play together mostly peacefully. Eli
say's Kaydence is his best friend and she teaches him how to be good???
You go girl !!!!! Eli asks her to hold his hand often and you can
watch them walking hand - in - hand alot. It's sooooo cute.

Quintin : is a sturdy little guy that has a smile that shines from
here to Arizona ( dimples included ). He says the cutest things with
his squeaky little baby voice. He is a carefree little guy. Dont
tell him that though.... he say's he's big.

1 - 21

2009-07-02T11:48:00.000-07:00

1- We spent a month in the city (fixin up the Kearns house for a 1
year lease)and moving everything left there. It wasn't all work.
Lets hope for a good quiet lease year. (too late!)

2- Thanks to Strong Ben and Cody for all your help!

3- Special thanks to my Shelly belly for all the GREAT
food and company!

4- Most thanks to Jo-mamma (who I love) for being the
best mom ever to my special kids.

5- Gramps, Eli and I went to the living aquarium while
in the city, we got toooo many pic's to post them all.
Our favorite part? Just spending the day with the folks.

6- Cody, Eli and I rode the Trax Train to The museum of
Natural history.

7- I came home to water !!! I will never figure out how
my honey (Dean) found the time - but what a surprise!!
Running hot water and washer. LUXURY

8- I will soon write a story on water and conservation,
and waste. I went right back to long hot showers in the
city.

9- We had our mail stolen. Made alot of calls. We go
down the mountain every day for mail now. While
Shipping packages last December from the city, the
gal asked, do you really have a highway contract box?
It's a rural route box the sits on hwy 40.

10- Rain, rain go away. 6 solid weeks of rain. We planted
peppers (and lots of other vegi's) and they haven't grown.
Also-they haven't died.

11- We had a dutch oven cook - out with the kids and grands.
I kept the grand(babies)and we ran camp Hevelone. Will
be my next blog, and we miss them kids so much, we will
have camp Hevelone again in august.

12- Shelby the dog has been missing for over two weeks.
Anyone who ever met her said she was the best dog. I hope
she has a new good home.

13- The chickens are hilarious creatures and we laugh
when Eli feeds them. One dominates the food(slice of
bread)and the other three chase her around and around
for their fair share. She cant stop to eat or the others
will catch up. So they run and we laugh. Very amusing.

14- Sego lilies are in bloom for Deans birthday. They
are sparse this year(prob to much rain). Last year we
had fields of hundreds as far as the eye could see. I
will repost an older blog with a picture.

15- I have tried to post this blog a few times but failed-
not enough time, the library closes at 6 not 6:05 my fun
librarian guy teases us, then throws us out. I saved one
in draft and cannot get it to post. I drove to the library
and had no TIME restrictions only to find out the internet
was down - first time ever.

16- My Lynzi Lou helped me soooo much with Camp( shoes,
outhouse, teeth brushing, sun protection application, etc.)
that I took her to a local soda fountain Rexall drug gift and
cafe for lunch. After we hit the local library in R Town and
we decided to relax and chill out. She named it chill-axin.
We also had fries and hot fudge sunday's.

17- Eli starts swim lessons soon. We will go for 8 mornings,
then to the park for lunch and friends. There is a walkway park
here it winds (safely) around the stawberry river and so we
may have to get us "our fishin permits".

18- There is the best program out here. Eli gets tested in
5 areas on August 24th, and if he is delayed in any area,
he will go to pre-school two days a week. If he has no delays
then we have a great year before he starts kindergarten and I
will continue to teach him at home. Some teacher will appriciate
that I have taught him to Listen with his ears open and his mouth
shut. I think he will have delays in speech.

19- Dean is turning 49 on saturday. He wants Nachos for dinner.
He doesn't get ice cream on his special day. The store is 21
miles one way, in July and our freezer is to small and filled
to the max. I will take him to Al's for ice cream next week.

20- I miss my mom and dad. I kinda miss my sibs tooo.

21- Wendy is coming out for a long walk.

Wheeler Farm Picnics

2009-04-27T12:07:00.000-07:00

We all went to Wheelers Farm on tuesday afternoon.
Ben, my Shelly belly, Skylar, Shellys mom who we
all very affectionately call Jo "Mamma" two of her
cute stuffed animal looking dogs, Shellys sister
in-law Katie, her three adorable kids, My mom,dad,
sister Jodi and Cody. The kids were running around
chasing the ducks and begging Ben to swing them
some more. We were all talking and I paused to
reflect on the fun memories there. We had a picnic
dinner on a picture perfect spring day. The company
was also perfect. I was so mad that I forgot to set
up a family pic of us all. It was Codys job however,
to remind me not to forget.

I had to carry Eli to the Trooper, he was screaming
" I want Halloween!" Here is why.

Last fall Gramps, Aunt Jodi, Eli and I all went
to the farm and picked a pumpkin from the patch,
stuffed a scarecrow and just walked. It was so
much fun we set plan to meet again this year in
the Pumpkin Patch. Eli had gathered a-lot of candy
and goodies. Thanks in part to Aunt Jodi and gramps.

The year before for moms b-day we went to the farm
and the kids met a skinny Santa and we went on a
hay ride through the woods to see the christmas
lights. It was cold out that night so a cup of
cocoa by the fire was perfect.

One fall I took little Lynzi Lou to the farm for
some fun. A big old goose got up in her face
and let off a long, loud honk ! She cried so we
walked away from the goose and ended up in front
of the turkey cage. One turkey went to her and
sent out a suprisingly loud, gobble ! gobble !
She cried, so walked into the barn to milk a cow.
The little girl in front of her was milking the
cow and it swatted her hard in the face with it's
tail. She started to cry and Lynzi Lou looked
over at grannie (me) with big wide eyes and that
brave little girl marched over and took her turn
milking the cow.

The pic's are not in order.

Shelly and her nephew Colton

Ben swinging Skylar and the kids patiently
waiting their turn. Yeah right ! Not Eli !

Scarecrow fun with gramps and Aunt Jodi.

A fun b-day for grandma at christmas time.

Lynzi Lou milking a cow.

Kids Tear - Free sun protection, is it safe ?

2009-04-02T12:10:00.000-07:00

The back of the tube label says many great ingredients that
protect against the harmful effects of the sun. It brags
that it is "as mild as water to the skin".

Dean was applying this to Eli and had too much in his hand,
so I grabbed a disposable plastic water cup and put the
excess amount in it, intending to use it the next day. I kept
grabbing the tube instead so the plastic cup with the lotion
in it sat. After about a week, Dean picks up the cup and
exclaims, will you look at this ! As you can see in the
picture, over the week the sun protection lotion - ate away -
or melted the plastic cup.

CRIPES !!! Kids need protected from the sun, but how safe
is this stuff ? I remember being taught in science class,
that soda will eat through a nail in about a weeks time.
What about the rest of the bad, harmful stuff.

Pestisides and fresh fruit and vegetables............

Beef and mad cows disease..............

Chicken and growth hormones.........

Hydrogenated oils & Trans fat.............

Nuts are radiated..........

Fish has high mercury levels......

Rice and Corn are genetically altered..........

Enriched white flour.........

High fructose corn syrup, makes everything taste better,
Therefore we eat more and may contribute to diabetes.

Preservatives, a Twinkie stays a "Twinkie" for like a
hundred years. Too DARN bad preservatives don't keep
up well preserved!

The food statements you have just read are not proven
facts, and may have even been fabricated. Well, I like
a good RANT.

It's just hard to know what is the best and safest things
for our family.

A birthday blog

2009-03-25T13:58:00.000-07:00

Great mind think alike, if anyone else had this idea brewing.
My Amanda Mayberry is a year older today. 1981 . My long
walker Wendy and I used to fight over her. Wendy usually
won. The first time Amanda ever got sick was when she was
6 months old. Wendy brought that baby sprite and crayons ?
She can't have sprite and she will just eat the crayons, I
said. Wendy gave me the "look" and she got the sprite and
ate the crayons.

All ( yes, every single one ) of her school teachers said
at parent teacher confrences, just pack her bags and let
me take her home with me. One gal that took care of her
after school in Sandy said, she is the perfect child. I hope
mine are half as great as she is.

Sooo, I could write all day about her virtue's, but to
sum her up: She is down to earth, and non-judgemental.
She is calm and relaxed, she sings when she picks
up one of her kids, she is happy and always makes me
laugh.

It was hard to pick just one short story of her, but here
is my favorite. We were taking her to her dads out her
in the basin and we were driving a brand new shiney red
truck. Christmas was a few short days behind us. We gased
up at a station and got a bonus free car wash . SWEET, lets
use it before we hit the road. Great idea, she agrees. While
in this high powered, brush spinning wash, we here a terrible
loud noise! What...... all her christmas loot was in the
BACK of the truck !!!! I am a self described air head. New
rollerblades and clothes etc......... She could have been mad
or sooo sad, but no, we laughed all the way to Roosevelt and
still laugh at the memory today. I have lots of thoose stories.

I choose two picks of her and wish I had thought of one other.
We went to the Mayan for her birthday one year and they made
her wear a ballon hat. She just has a great smile.

Picture # 1 - She and my sis and baby Connor (which is exactly
how I remeber him) on my wedding day. I choose this picture as
one of my favorites but also because Aunt Jodi is VERY special
and very good to Amanda.

Picture # 2 - One of our crazy rock hounding trips. There were
so many fun trips it was also hard to pick just one.

See you friday My Mayberry !

The long walkers

2009-03-18T13:04:00.000-07:00

My long walker is leaving. Oh it's only for 18 months they say,
but for me thats a lifetime away. Besides my canteen, Wendy is
the only one who understands and joins my passion for long walks.

I met her in 1980 and over the years we were inseparable. As our
kids grew and left, there was a time only a check-up phone call
was made once a week. But in the summer of 2002 we walked. All
summer long. During the week she came at 6am monday, wed and fri.
She was a perky - happy little thing on our morning walks. Me, not
so perky. I had a graveyard part-time job and got home around 3 am
and took my snooze til she came and kicked me out of my naptime.
Some mornings the best I coul'd give her chatty banter was Uh - huh.

Saturday's however was our long walk days. We set off at dawn and
strolled back in late afternoon. some days 12 miles, others 20.
My best story of the long walks is one saturday we parked the
Trooper across the street from Hogle Zoo. There is a trail head
( I forget the name ) that winds around the Red Butte Gardens -
the U of U hospital where we watched life flight lift off - then
goes around and into City Creek Canyon and finally emerging into
the State Capital grounds. This is were Dean and Terry ( our
hubbies ) were to pick us up and wisk us off to a great dinner
at T.G.I. fridays. Well they weren't there, so we start walking.
The only good thing about walking down town Salt Lake City in the
middle of dead heat summer is there is a 7-11 on every city block.
We were sore but fine eating candy, chewing gum and walking. Yep,
you guessed it, we walked ALL the way back and as soon as I stuck
the key in the door the guys drive up. It was a great walk and a
great dinner.

I only remember the year "cause" it was the year we all rock
hounded and camped at Topaz mountain, and the same terrible year
Terry died sept 6th. He had found a cool twisted up stick and de-
barked it, sanded it, wrapped a cord around it and gave it to me
for my birthday that same summer. Someday I may blog all our many
memories of him, his steel art work in our home, our fun wednesday
dinners.

We have seen Wendy more since our move to the Basin, She (by chance)
became the steel lady sales rep. for this area and her and Eli have
some kind of special connection. She is being transfered to Idaho!
Idaho, where is Idaho, Canada? Just kiddin all my Idaho-an cousins.

We have snow shoed in and back out the next morning. We took Eli
sledding the roads and ate many bowls of popcorn up here. Dean had
laid a pine floor, sanded and finished it while Eli and I stayed in
S.L.City. He had put everything, even the kitchen sink in a small
area of the livingroom. We had a long walk planned for over a month
but Wendy helped instead put it all back in order, even the kitchen
sink. It was just as fun as a long walk.

Enjoy your Idaho adventure Wendy, I love your alter identity Idea -
buy a pair of wranglers and cowboy boots.

Pics not nessesarily in order.
Me as a kid, I was ready to walk at the first sign of spring. I only
now understand why my mom didn't let me hike in winter and walk alone.

Wendy and I at Topaz mnt. May 2002

Wendy, Eli and I at Cowans Cafe Duchesne, March 13, 2009. Dean is the
camera guy.

I found a picture of us Christmas day 1980. I decided not to post it,
we looked like a couple of kids. I guess we were.

Ben, The wind generator tower and the battery bike ?

2009-03-12T12:09:00.000-07:00

Our Rim Rock adventure would never have been as fun or gone
as far without our son Ben. He has put alot of time and
muscle into this place and the best most pratical - generous
gift ever, came from him and his wife Shelly (hole-in the-belly).
A wind generator. Ben and Dean built a 60 foot tower, not an
easy task, but up it went. It whirled - twirled and generated
alot of power. It was the best thing ever.

We had waited all spring, summer and into fall for the water
well drillers to punch a hole in our mountain. They finally
came in October and hit dust. 800 feet of a probably dry well.
22 thousand dollars. Circumstances can sure alter how we live.
Plans can be made, but life can throw a few hardships.. Even
with solid plans and finances in place. We are what legends
are made of. Everyone knows of us from the wind generator
tower and deep, dry well. We should have enough water to bathe,
launder, (pretty sure thats not a real word) have our garden
and greenhouse growing, 33 and 1/3 chickens or compairable
(spelling ?) stock, and or enough flowing H20 for a water
park.

We were still in deep shock over our water situation, when one
night a few weeks later a storm with high winds blew in and
blew down our loved wind generator tower. It smashed both
generator and tower and both un-repairable. Ben, in frustration
over our situation took solid action. The next day a new more
efficient wind generator was on it's way. Ben also went into
KSL.com classifieds and wondered how much a tower may be, if
even available. A shocking, unbelievable, most amazing thing
he found - a free ( yes FREE ) industrial strength, massive,
galvanized steel tower with all hardware included (crates of
u-bolts & clamp etc.) again for free. She could have sold it
for thousands of dollars, yet she was very grateful to just get
it off her property. She had just listed it that morning.
Things may work in mysterious ways but Ben takes action. We
have to wait for spring to put it up with a cement base. Also
Dean has worked soooooo hard on so many other things. We still
have limited power but solar panels that Ben hauled 23 feet up
to the roof work good too.

The old generator has been promised to me. I want to see if
Ben can wire it up to a stationary pedal bike and I can keep
our batteries charged for Eli's toys, camera, etc, and it
will help me stay fit. I am excited for the battery bike.
Maybe a great invention ?

I don't believe so much in bad luck. I believe our choices
have ripple effects on our future. We are just a family that's
trying to put a home and new life together. We all just do the
best that we can. It's just life after all.

Notes:
The Duchesne county library ROCKS !

I want to say " hi " to goodbyes. She is my special cousin
and I couldn't wait to see her when we were kids. " hi "

Look close at the generator pic and you will see the moon
during the day.

I got an awesome e-mail from Dorothy Galyean's granddaughter
( check out one of my old posts )and sadly I am losing my
long walker. Not sure which one to blog first. I loose the
net and suddenly I got all kinds of things to say!

Living Off Grid - Part 1

2009-03-04T15:01:00.001-08:00

An article in our local newspaper sparked this blog. Also a blog that I
have had written for a while, Titled: Ben, the wind generator and a
battery bike falls right into perfect place as part 2.

Cheryl Mecham writes for our local news paper, The Uinta Basin Standard
and in this one article asks her husband what is off grid? Off the map?
Outer space? The top of a mountain peak? Where? He explained that that
it meant some folks choose to live without electricity, water or sewage
systems. That is not quite how I would explain it but she goes on to
write it was a real "Jaw-dropper". She had heard of the Cedar-billie's,
a popular derisive term in the Uinta Basin for those who live in
substandard housing (lean-to's and even vehicles) amoung the vast acreage
of Cedar forests. There was more to her article and it was favorable to homesteaders/Ceadar-billies having pride and satisfaction when saying we
live off grid. It does bring up the question of the quality of life.

We are homesteaders and have had many set backs on our utilities. That
struggle goes into more detail in part 2. I personally did not set out
to be self sufficient. I wanted to live on Main street, any small town
Utah with Sheriff Andy Taylor, Aunt Bea and Opie as neighbors and friends.
I am not SURE that this remote mountain is the best place to raise an only
child. But, I do know that our old residence of 20 years was NOT a good
place. Living off grid is certainly not an easy way of life. We have a
farmer friend and his wise words are: To make a life out here, you have
to be 1- rich 2- very tough and 3- stupid. Two outta three, not bad.
We are almost out of cash!

Quick basics on how we do it: We drive off the mountain every other day
to collect water and the mail. Aprox 7 miles round trip. We drive to
town once a week to get grocery and clean clothes. Aprox 50 miles round
trip and round town. Everything takes alot of time. We get all cooking
and drinking water from our daughters house in Roosevelt, and keep it in
seprate containers. A few people have drank the well water we use for
washing and without names they all seem fairly normal, but in my family
I can't rightly say what normal is. Sorry Pa .

We heat the water each night for dishes and the baths. I was so worried
about this and taking care of Eli. I never want it said the he is not
clean, happy and healthy under the circumstances that we live. But just
the opposite is true. More needless worry . He gets the best care and
the same care as any home with running water and modern conveniences.
He gets a bath every night, we prepare food the same and our home is
clean and comfortable. It just takes a little extra special care and
work. We have an outhouse and a chemical "potty" in the house bathroom
for after dark.

My husband Dean has put everything into this homestead. Our small 900
sq. foot cabin house is beatiful inside and on a solid foundation.
We have spent the last two years on it and the loft divided into two
rooms. I have a lot of creativity and Dean has alot of muscle. He is
the brains behind it all. There was nothing here but the shell of our
house, no pipes, only basic outlets for power. Dean has designed and
built it all. From the make - do for now - power supply, to the cistren
and underground water lines. He had jack hammer in 80 feet out of
300 feet of water lines, buried 3 feet deep for frost protection.
They don't call this place Rim Rock for it's great soil. We have
been denied a septic sewer twice. Bad soil out here. He had to put
in bathtub, sink, wash and dryer hook-ups, and all lines , water heater
to put in place and plumb it in to the tub, sinks, washer. How do you
set up a fully functioning home with limited power? He has done it.
We are almost there. Dean put in propane lines and we have a
cook stove and a propane fridge and the water heater will be the insta -
hot - power saving one. All lights have energy efficient
low watt bulbs.

Once the cistren is in (1200 gallons) we will fill it with a 300 gallon
tank that sits in the back of a pick-up truck. Dean will go into Duchesne
to fill it prob 3 times per week. We can buy a water card for a nominal
fee of $35.00 per 8000 gallons. Part 2 will explain why the cistren and
a monthly water bill was not a part of the master plan. But things they
do change. Also the cost of gas will be greater hauling water.

Dean likes to collect things and this adventure would never have been
possible without his knowledge - determination - and all the "stuff"
he has gathered. LOL . It may look bad but it works good.
Dean can fix - learn - and - do everything. I have heard (by many)
that I am also a rare breed, as not many women like to camp and would
never consider this style of living. We have had our struggles, but no
more than anyones and certainly less than alot of people. Amazingly,
I miss television shows more than water, power and sewer. Oprah, Dr.OZ,
Dr. Phil, Little House (yes - for real), Law and Order, A- Idol ! All
things are possible and with permanent power station maybe satellite dish ?

This is a very challenging place and way of life. We must be up for the
challenge, we are still here. Any one can ask questions about our
"Hill- billie's ways by sending an email from my profile page (I think)
and I welcome all questions. I no longer have internet so it may take
time before I reply, but I will get back to you. Also I shall blog part
2 from Amandas house on saturday.

Tabiona Sky

2009-02-22T19:11:00.000-08:00

The pictures were taken from a house that we were interested in the
Tabiona area. There was an old three room cabin that was build in
1935. Over the years someone had put up stucco siding and we had
grand visions of restoring it back to it's original log. I look
back after all the work and time we have put into the inside of
this place and realize how much time we would have spent on that
project. Soooo glad the septic was not up to code.
Beautiful golden sunset and a rainbow.

Internet Blues

2009-02-21T19:37:00.000-08:00

Two more pictures from Kearns. The one was taken from our front
door. It's the rooftop of the house across the street, with
a fiery red sunset.

The flower a bulb that was spreading fast. It bloomed atop a
3 or 4 foot stem.

Our internet may be a thing of the past. If so I may try to
post a blog from the library or Mayberrys house every few weeks
or so. Will keep you posted.

For Real ?

2009-02-21T19:24:00.000-08:00

This actually happened to me on March 25th, 1981 at Cottonwood hospital.
I also had to eat a spaghetti dinner with my left hand. Try it sometime.
Good thing they sent me home with a baby girl.

Wasatch Front Picture

2009-02-20T15:11:00.001-08:00

Watch out, Babs is going through all the lost, scenic pictures.
I will send a few of them your way. Hope they are fun
and NOT toooo boring.
The two here are from the front porch in Kearns.
There is a lot that we miss about the house and yard.

Freedom Bridge

2009-02-19T20:33:00.000-08:00

I am adding a picture of Freedom Bridge, just because we have to cross
it to get to town.

Greenie, Gr`en'ie: of the color of growing grass or foliage, or a remote control
dragon fly, fun, gift from father/gramps.

The great adventure "going to town". We have made a few friends at the
laundro-mat and if it's empty Eli walks in and says, Hey - where is everybody !?
He took his greenie in one day and made a-lot of friends, by flying it into thier faces. Good thing people generally have patience for rowdy, talkative 4 year olds.
One interesting story, I met a gal that had named her baby girl Cindy. She or her husband could'nt even call her by her name, it just didn't fit her. So they went
to the state and since the baby was under 6 mo. old they could change her name
for 1 dollar. They renamed her Rebecca and it fit.

Fun reminder hanging in the doctors office waiting room -

MEN-tal anxiety !
MEN-stral cramps !
MEN-opause !
MEN-tal breakdown !

How come all our problems begin with men ?

I should have some info on the Freedom Bridge but not finding any.
I wonder about the old bridge and was it as long and in the same spot?
Thats all I got.

Get up Family !

2009-02-17T18:00:00.000-08:00

My eyes were open, but my body not moving at any great speed to climb out
of bed this morning. Wendy has put this best. She and Eli had slept on
the pull-out bed in the living room. I heard the next morning, the rustle
of the bed and her feet hit the floor . I then hear her grumble.... nothin
like puttin your boots on first thing to walk to the outhouse. Winter gives
it extra special - I don't want to - meaning.

So, laying there this morning not wanting to get up, all cozy and warm, Dean
and Eli still snoozing, I hear a LOUD female voice say "WARNING CARBON MONOXIDE".
Dean is up. What?. That voice again. "WARNING CARBON MONOXIDE". Open the windows
Dean say's from down stairs, he is fast and already checking the wood stove.

This happened one afternoon in Kearns and it was a combination of low battery
and dust build-up on the sensor. But here the danger is greater here with our woodburning stove, also the propane fridge and stove both have pilot lights
burning. Our detector warns well before levels are dangerous and also senses
strange odors, so we really didn't panic.

I had left the oven on. A strange temp of 270 degrees ? The point of this
post: Check your surrounding before going to bed, have 2 or more detectors
up and in working order.

P.S. I no longer even try to format or edit, it just does whatever it
wants anyhow.

Snow Days

2009-02-12T19:40:00.000-08:00

Today was about pushing snow. Dean plowed with the old tractor, today was colder
than most but he loves it. It keeps him busy. I put on the last coat of paint
in the bath, we ate luch. Work done. Now for the fun stuff.

We have a perfect little sled hill for a 4 year old, but we (I) wanted to make a launch pad to gain just a little umpfff to slide farther. We hauled snow in the
sleds yesterday, up the hill and packed it in. I wish I had taken pics yesterday because we also built a luge run and we packed it down and were slidin way down
the field.

Also I have a snow angel.

We have had some snow storms lately and last night and all day today down it came.
I like to say to Amanda and other young mothers : Trying to keep a clean house
with three kids is like shoveling your driveway in a snow storm. That is what
I did today, shoveled while it was snowing. For fun. For exercise. I like to
put Eli in a sled and drag him around. For fun. For good exercise. It packs
down the snow and makes pathways.

I am begining to REALLY like snow.

Ponderisms

2009-02-10T20:45:00.000-08:00

Why do we say something is out of whack? What is a whack?

Why is the person who invests all your money called a broker?

Why isn't the number 11 pronounced onety one?

If you take an Oriental person and spin him around several times,
does he become disoriented?

What hair color do they put on the drivers licenses of bald men?

If Fed Ex and UPS were to merge, would they call it Fed UP?

Do Lipton Tea employees take coffee breaks?

If it's true that we are here to help others, then what exactly are the
others here for?

Rocks and Sticks

2009-02-02T16:19:00.000-08:00

This is for my kids and grandbabies. I have always said to them, you are so lucky. All we had to play with when we were young kids were rocks and sticks. I know "mom"
Ben always say's - and you carried your sister to school on your back, barefoot, in the snow, up hill both ways! YES, and thanks for paying attention son-son. BLAH, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH. This is where an e-mail from 2005 takes over. I will shorten it and must omit some language.

When I was a kid, adults used to bore me to tears with thier tedious diatribes about how hard things were for them growing up, and I remember promising myself that when I grew up there was no way I was going to lay a bunch of crap like that on kids about how hard I had it and how easy they've got it!

But now that....
I'm over the ripe old age of thirty-something, I can't help but look around and notice the youth of today. You've got it so easy! I mean compared to my childhood you live in a damn UTOPIA!

When I was a kid we didn't have the INTERNET. If we wanted to know something we had to go to the library and look it up ourselves, in the card catalog!!

There was no E-MAIL!!!! We had to actually write somebody a letter...with a pen! Then you had to walk all the way across the street and put it in the mailbox and it would take like a week to get there!

There was no MP3's or Napsters! you wanted to steal music, you had to hitchhike to the record store and shoplift it yourself! Or you had to wait around all day to tape it off the radio and the DJ's usually talk over the begining and MESS it all up !!!!

We didn't have fancy crap like CALL WAITING! If you were on the phone and somebody else called they got a bust signal, that's it! And we didn't have fancy caller ID boxes either! When the phone rang, you had no idea who it was! It could be your school, your mom, your boss, your bookie, a collections agent, you just didn't know!!! You had to pick it up and take your chances, MISTER!

We didn't have any fancy Sony Playstation video games with high-resolution 3-D graphics!! We had the Atari 2600!!!! Your guys were little squares!!! And there were no multiple levels or screens, it was just one screen forever! And you could never win. The game just kept getting harder ! and harder and faster and faster until you died!..... Just like LIFE!

When you went to the movies there was no such thing as stadium seating! If a tall guy or some old broad wearing a hat sat in front of you and you could'nt see, TOOO
BAD!

We had 4 television stations. There was no onscreen menu and no remote control! You had a little book called the TV Guide to find out what was on! You had to get UP!!!
to change the channel. No surfing and no CABLE 150 options !!!! There was no cartoon network either! You cold only get cartoons on Saturday Mornings. Do you hear what I'm saying!?! We had to wait ALL WEEK for cartoons, you spoiled little rat-B@#%%'S!!

And we didn't have microwaves, if we wanted to heat somthing up. We had to use the stove or go build a friggin FIRE....Imagine that!!! If we wanted popcorn, we had to use that stupid JiffyPop thing and shake it over the the stove forever like an idiot.

That's exactly what I'm talking about !!! You kids today have got it too easy. You're spoiled! You guys wouldn't have lasted five minutes back in the 70's or 80's!

So... About the Bears

2009-02-01T14:15:00.004-08:00

The first thing the rangers station peoples asked was were did I live, then shoved a bunch of info on black bears into my hands. You live in bear country I was informed and the activity was heavy this year. They are closing camp grounds and watching dumpsters. I need to be Bear aware ! My next stop that morning was to the Welcome center in town and the gal informs me right away that there are two black bears and a cougar that live on Tabby Junction. Tabby Junction ! Thats where we live, three miles up the mountain. We were neighboors and I learned alot more about our area that day. This all had meaning to me. My Pa had struck the bear fear into me January of 2007 when we bought the place. The president of our HOA only validated my fears may of that same year. There was a black bear attack on our roads he tells us all, a front end loader was workin on the roads when a bear attacked and he had to use the bucket to defend himself. He will not come back to our area.
Well, I am a walker (wannabe) jogger. You need to pack a pistol many people have said. It just seems a bit ironic that after many years (16) of walking/jogging the mean streets of Kearns I need to carry heat on the peaceful lanes of Fruitland. I have settled on a whistle and pepper spray and I make A-LOT of noise singing out loud. Poor Bears!

Note: The chance of surviving a bear attack is very, very good. No Quotes on this - but there has only been 1 death from a black bear in Utah. This was a child back in 2007 when all the bear scare was goin on. The chance of surviving a Cougar attack are not so good!

Duchesne Co. Rangers Station

2009-01-31T13:55:00.000-08:00

I walked in to the rangers station last summer to simply ask a question. Baby Eli and I walked out with a sack full of fun information on forest fires and black bears. Activity books, card, iron-ons, a compass thermometer key chain, braclets, Rye grass seed packets to plant in little animal planters, coat zipper clips and to much more to list. They were the friendliest people and it was such a great experience for our 3 year old little guy. Dont call him that though - call him Eli. His name is Eli.

Necessary and Fun Things

2009-01-29T19:32:00.000-08:00

I asked Dean if he wanted to hold some of my favorite things for this post and I found he is Blog Shy! Eli, however is not and jump in on the frige pic. Here are few of my favorite and necessary things.

Mintek Portable DVD player, Thanks Ben - Jamman! It went through a war with you and
we have almost taken it out. I know - I know I told you not to leave it, that we did'nt need it. I am the crazy lady. We need it.

Our Dometic propane fridge - It's small and always packed full, but our old large Fridge in the city house was always half empty. I do miss the instant crushed ice machine, though.

The energizer crank flashlight. We all three have one of our own. They never fail and are just as bright.

A crank popcorn popper - Thanks Watsons! Eli informs me the popper is for him to crank, not us. He loves to make popcorn.

Solar powered battery charger - it takes a little longer to recharge the batts, but sun power keeps all Eli's toys running strong.

Battery operated Christmas lights from IKEA. One of Eli's toys that need rechargable battery power. They last forever on 2 batteries.

Solar powered and cranking radio - you cant dance to it, but Dean likes to have it on while he's working.

Bissell Natural Sweep - cleans up a room sized rug in under a minute with no power, and does a great job. I cant figure why I went so long without it.

A giant calculator - Thanks Bean! you thought it was a great gag gift but - simply - we are blind.

I want to post in the future a few of my favorite fun things that are not necessary.

2009-01-25T16:07:00.000-08:00

What a peaceful walk I took today. I grabbed the sled, the camera and of course the baby and Shelby the dog followed. We have had a lot of sunshine this mild winter and until this morning we were down to mud (yucky). On our side of the mountain it was gray and misty, on our road and 15 minutes later walking, was a pure blue - yet cloudy sky. Check out the suns rays. I guess a little closer to heaven is also a little closer to melanoma. We all need sun pro even in winter. I did'nt expect to walk into such direct sunlight. The only thing missing I realized was my mom. She loves the fresh falling snow and I miss her. It was a picture perfect warm snow day.

Spooky ( lookin ) Ancestors

2009-01-24T17:01:00.000-08:00

The pictures were giving to dad by his Aunt Margaret Cotter. I hope all (greats)
are true and correct, but cannot be held accountable. Pa helped count. Also this post would not be possible without the "FANTABULOUS" christmas gift from Ben & Shelly. A SCANNER !!!! Also My formating scatters - not sure why, and sorry for that in advance.

Ezra Tuttle - Charity's husband born, 1762. Sea captain then Methodist Minister after a great storm at sea. (Aunt Margaret writes) I see hell fire and brimstone in his eyes! ( I write ) Fascinating . He does not look nice or forgiving. He is dads great, great, great, great, great, great, grandfather. ( 5 times removed )( give or take a great ). I think.

Charity Tuttle - maiden name was Smith - daughter of "Whig John" Smith of Long Island. The British used to steal his cattle. Charity was born 1764 and is the daughter of Lucretice(?) Delphine Johnson Burton.

Asa Allen - maternal grandfather of John E. Burton. Dads great, great grandfather. He was a farmer near New Hartford New York. He killed hogs each Nov. for great grandpa John Burton. He took many a "nip" of whiskey at Jern (?) Dobies Tavern.
03 a nip ?

Susannah Parker Allen - maternal grandmother of John E. Burton. Wife of Asa, born in Conningsby Lincolnshire England.

The Book Of Us - Staying Connected

2009-01-21T20:53:00.000-08:00

My dad - A.K.A.- Grampy wrote a book of his childhood memories. Eli was born to us
a little late in life and I was exhausted after his birth on Nov 24th. I recieved a copy of dads book for christmas that same year, Eli was only 1 month old but I could'nt put the book down. I was so fascinated by his life - my hero - his sense of humor carries the book. I am honored to have recieved such a gift. I will re-read it to Eli soon. This brings me to my guiding light, Red-hair-doos my sister
and her blog. She has kept us all connected. I know this to be true. Amanda has been a regular blogger for a while now, Grampy has a blog, Flagboy. I have a new friend / Pen pal that has a new blog, I can go see her anytime. Cody kind of has one. Brian throws a comment here and there. And then to see that Shelly ( hole in the ) Belly has started a blog, I realize the scope of our blogs. It's the story of us. A lifes journal. A history of family and friends. We all have a story to tell. Thanks to grampy it's in our Genes, our DNA. And thanks to Red-hair-doos it's on paper for our future generations to read. You people better be printing a blog book. I know, I am a sap.

Out Of The Mouth Of My Babe

2009-01-20T22:05:00.000-08:00

He just says the funniest things. The other day we walked up a long road and on our sleds, took a long steady ride back. We gained a little speed and crashed at the end of our ride. That was awesome and a ton of fun "my handsome fella" I say. Mom he says seriously, call me Eli, the doctors and officers all call me Eli. ( who are the
doctors and officers ? ) Sunday Amanda, Lynzi , Eli and I all go the small town of
Vernal for a great day of shopping, laughing, and of course eating. We picked a place before we got into town and had fun saying what we all were going to order. So we were crushed and just a little disapointed when we pulled in and it was closed. Well it was sunday. Lets find a new place we decide. But, but, but Eli say's in a loud and excited voice - just call them on your phone and tell them to come down and OPEN THE DAMN DOOR !! Laughing so hard - can't breath. Lynzi( 7 yrs old )calmly says, thats just what beavers build, it's not a bad word. My little 4 year old saves the day - one morning he say's mom I think I will start calling you my Sweet Heart Momma. It just does'nt get any better than that.

A Rocket Scientist's Mystery

2009-01-15T14:00:00.000-08:00

First let me say ***#!&?#!***. Amanda and I got hooked on the clue type interactive
games Myst, Riven, and Exile. Well after many failed attempts to get ANYWHERE, we ran
for the cheat sheet books. Even with the walk through mauals to the games we still had to call in the "BIG GUN". After alot of time spent (lost) on trying to reach a new level by cracking a code on a piano tone, we ran and got Dean. In he walks, listens and in no time we are on our way to the new dimension in our game. Quick Mayberry (Amanda) save it !!! I was intrigued when I read Jod my sis was hooked on Nancy Drew. It sounds perfect for me. I ordered. It came. I opened it last night. It says for ages 10 and older. Well I have never claimed to be a genius, but I am older than 10. Are 10 year old's also 5th graders ? Apparently you need to be a rocket Scientist. Apparently I can't pour a beer in an Irish Pub or spot the differences of pictures in the time allowed. Apparently I am always broke and can't collect a coin. This has given me a new direction in life and it's not to rise to the challenge and
"smarten" up and figure things out. No. I am going to start with mystery games for ages 10 and YOUNGER. Freddie Fish here I come!

Big Sky Basin

2009-01-12T15:35:00.000-08:00

Montana, is big sky country. My son in-law Mike has huge family ties in Montana.
I hope someday to get a blog from my Mayberry on a trip they took there. Hint.
I must nominate the Uinta Basin for the second runner up award. Headed east on
hwy 40 from Fruitland, across the Freedom Bridge(Starvation Resevoir)into Duchesne is so awesome a sky. It never fails to show some kind of beauty as far as the eye can see. Majestic never ending views of fluffy white, lined with dark grey, big clouds against a picture perfect blue sky. Some days when a storm is brewing the heavy black clouds hang seemingly to the ground, a space opens up for a beam of
pure golden light that needs to shine on the scene. They say world famous artists come to Utah to capture our sky, the colors and backgrounds. I have enclosed a couple of pics that I hope work, but a camera will not capture the sight. The sky
is bigger than any lens. The last pic is of Freedom bridge. You just have to look
real close to see it.

Dorothy Galyean

2009-01-07T13:43:00.000-08:00

Dorothy lived here in Utah (Springdale ?) and wrote some books that I found and bought in a cafe down south many years ago. You may even have one laying around. Grandmas Recipe Box, Quips and Quotes and Good Clean Jokes, no #1 and #2. She was very proud of of her book, From The Dust of Time - Grandmas Remedie's - Old Medical Remedies. She spent 40 years collecting remedies from old folks all over the country some of them date as far back as the fourteenth centry. She writes that you cant buy a cheaper gift for some one on you list than one of her cheap books. They were $4.99
a piece. She writes that if it doesnt make em smile then scratch them off your list.
Any-how I love her Quotes and want to share a favorite or two, once in a while. I wish I knew a little more about her. I ran a search and found endless pages of this quote so it is a very popular one.

Worry is like a rocking chair. It gives you something to do, but it does'nt get you anywhere.

Forget the mistakes, but remember what they taught you.

If you want to live longer, give up all the things that make you want to live longer.

The seat of some work pants, wear out faster than the knees.

Too Funny ! Dorothy also writes, children seem to get sick more often now days than
when I was a child,(this is not true). Mother only had IODINE and CASTOR OIL, if we hurt inside we got the castor oil, on the outside she smeared us with hot burning iodine. We didn't mind being sick as much as we dreaded her cure. So we kept our mouth shut when we had belly aches and hid the cuts under our sleeves. I didn't want her grabbing the Iodine, OH how that crap did burn!

Very entertaining stuff Dorothy Galyean

Indians, Mormon Pioneers, and The Sego Lily

2009-01-04T19:16:00.000-08:00

For only a couple of short weeks, the Sego Lily blooms in first part of July and we have fields of thousands, as far as the eye can see. The bulbous root about the size of a walnut, is sweet and nutritious, and was used as food by Indians and Mormon pioneers , who consumed the bulb in large quantities. It was eaten cooked or raw, boiled it tastes like a potato. The Indians frequently ground it and made bread from the starchy meal. I found this next info from a favorite cook book my mamma gave me years ago : The Sego Lily was declared to be the Utah floral emblem on march 18, 1911
Kate C. Snow, once president of the Daughters of Utah Pioneers, in a letter dated April 17, 1930, wrote that between 1840 and 1851, food became very scarce in Utah due to a crop-devouring plague of crickets, and that the families were put on rations, and during this time they learned to dig for and eat the soft, bulbous root of the Sego Lily. The memory of this use, quite as much as the natural beauty of the flower, caused it to be selected in after years by the legislature as the floral emblem of the state. Also noteworthy as a food staple in our backyard - Utah Service-berry, it was dried and pressed into cakes for winter use. They made Pemmican by pounding the dried berries together with dried buffalo or deer meat. This was then mixed with fat and made into cakes. Also in our area and used as food - Juniper berries - Pinyon pine nuts - roots of Arrow leaf Balsamroot - Elderberry, who's poisonous hollow stems were used for much more. There is such a long list of ornate and poisonous plants, and used for so many fascinating things, that I must just end this blog now! I think we will still be getting our food stash from Al's Food Town.

2009-01-03T15:39:00.000-08:00

HMMMM... How to format a post. Practice I suppose.

Pioneering or Crazy People ?

2009-01-03T14:44:00.000-08:00

We now live in a very remote - heavily wooded - beautiful area with no
utillities. It's not from lack of hard work or financing. But we are
humbled by the pioneers and there strength at each hardship and what
they had to do just to survive. We haul water in jugs, in our Isuzu
Trooper and ( luckily ) not by covered wagon,horse back, or foot !
It's awful hard to to cook-n-clean with limited water that needs to be
heated for dishes and the babies(Eli)bath each night. We go into town
once a week to do laundry and get food for the week (45 miles - round
trip) while pioneer women dug in the snow for Sego Lily Bulbs. No need
to compare the washboard and a river. At least our awesome almost finished cabin/house was in place . Can't even imagine builing a place out of sticks
rocks - and mud, just to survive the winter. We have limited power
most due to the fact our wind generator blew down, but Eli gets a good mix
of movies, playing with his bazillion toys, and the great out door activities. Thanks to Dean and my techi Cody- Yody, I am writing this with a gas powered generator and Sprint Mobile Broadband. I may not have water but I have
internet. Signal can be a problem and some days I'm not able to connect and
read my Favorite Blobs ! Last - but not least - the outhouse - WE HAVE ONE !
How lucky are we ?