Book Review

Today I want to write about Natalie S. Bober. She wrote a book about Abigail Adams that I read last summer. She didn't interject her opinions, she just used letters and journals of Abigail to let Abigail tell her own story. As I have read other works of Natalie's, I have noted she works the same way. I just finished reading Thomas Jefferson, Drafstmans of a Nation by Natalie. The reason I read it was because I was watching a Ken Burns special on President Thomas Jefferson and he had Natalie Bober on as one of the authorities. I suddenly started noticing her more and more on PBS specials about famous people. She apparently has caught other peoples attention for her honest approach to her subject matter. I highly recommend her writing because she lets the protaganist tell the story.

As I have been reading so much lately I have gravitated back to what our daughters' called 'Grandma's trashy novels'. Mom loved Danielle Steele novels and looked forward to the new ones. I have not read a Danielle Steele novel since Mom's death. It wasn't because I didn't like them I just didn't have anyone to give them to me anymore. The other day someone did. I have 8 years of novels to catch up on now. I thoroughly enjoy her story telling. It is not near the trash that most adult authors go for nowadays. I found it quite refreshing. I think I will read her more often.

My heroes

Today is a tribute to our daughters' mother-in-laws. I really like them all and I think that if I lived in an area where I had a chance to develop the friendship with anyone of them - we would end up being very good friends. Since Pat Pfiester was the first one in the family, she and I have the longest relationship. She has been nothing but kind and gracious from the moment I first met her. There is something about Texas women that makes them both strong and sweet. How you can get that combination and still keep your femininity is baffling to anyone else but in Texas it works. That describes Pat. I don't know the others nearly as well. It seems that when I go to Texas I ended up staying for such long periods of time - especially when Carianne was threatening to lose both Noah and Nathanael to miscarriage that Pat and I ended up very close. We were fighting for our babies lives. But that does not diminish the other mother-in-laws. When I was with Heather because she was so morning sick, Carolyn (and Larry) came down several times to check on Heather and Bella, even though Brandon was in Kuwait. As soon as Pam went into labor, Kelly was booking her flight to be with Pam and Chris because she knew I couldn't be there. I will always be grateful to her for that. Shirley has always been closer in proximity to the Bahlmann's so they know her better than me. Each family has a grandma that dotes on them when the other is busy. I am very grateful for that. We are lucky to have the family that we have - full of loving grandmothers.

Trunk or Treat

Last night was our ward's Trunk or Treat with a Chili Cook-off (I won third place but I rigged it - trying not to win at all!). Yesterday afternoon Scott Halverson called to tell us that Josh had pneumonia. Karyn (this wife and obviously Ashley, Josh and Taylor's mom) is in Utah fussing over her new nephew. The Halverson's have a unique situation in that all of the grandparents but one grandmother have passed away - hence how Clyde and I were adopted as the surrogate grandparents. We were just there to fuss over them. I knew Ashley had Homecoming so we offered to pick up Taylor and bring her the Ward party. When Scott told Taylor that Grandma Bailey wanted to come and get her - Taylor jumped at the chance to come with us. She was cute at the party too. She stuck pretty close to Clyde or me. She was very careful about telling us where she was and who she was with. We had a really good time together - but then we always do.

The Chili Cook-off was a last minute thing for me. Clyde told me I needed to enter my Mother's Chili because I was the bishop's wife. I made the whole recipe and filled our huge crock-pot up. I hadn't signed up so every time the came to mine (we were voting by cheering) I booed really loud. There were 9 chili pots in all. A non-member's won (I screamed the loudest for his because I wanted him to win. I told everyone to cheer for him - even people that hadn't tasted it.) With someone as loud as me and the other people I had cheering for Dana - he had to win. I almost got second until I told the cheering to stop for me. They wouldn't when it came to the 3rd place prize. In fact they told me that my pot should have taken first. I know Mom's Chili is the best. I don't need a prize but for self-esteem purposes - some of the other people there would have really gone a long ways with a ribbon.

Trunk or treat was fun. As usual we didn't give candy. This year we gave light sticks. Bracelets for the girls and 6 inch sticks for the boys. Pretty soon everyone had a stick and bracelets. They love those! They came to our car first so they could have the lights for the rest of cars (even though they didn't need them). Taylor went trick or treating with a bucket for herself and then went for Josh. They actually gave her more candy for Josh. She explained why she was going around twice.

This morning I went and picked up Ashley and Taylor for Church. I took a few movies for Scott and Josh to watch togther for the next few days. I thought I would be able to leave right after Relief Society but the people that were supposed to do the lunch for the Military Students didn't follow through. My assistant, Celeste Bremer and I, were frantically pulling stuff out of the freezer, and then I had to come home and clean out our crisper for a salad. Fortunately Celeste had brought two pies (we had 14 today). We always keep a couple of lasagnas in the freezer for emergencies. I was thinking the other day that they had been in there for more than 6 months and we needed to use them. Today was the day. We will replenish them for next time. We actually have several of the students that give money to 'other' on the tithing slip - they are so grateful for this service we provide. A couple of the students had their Drill Sargeants find out about out lunches and are now no longer allowed to stay. What is interesting is that we have a Navy psyciatrist that attends our ward. Her husband is not a member but is one of the chaplains. They are looking into what they can do so those young men can enjoy the fellowship with the other students after Church.

Taylor and Ashley stayed with me and helped and then left when Clyde and I left instead of going with the many families that offered to give them a ride home. Part of that was they wanted to ride in our new car! This is the first week that I have stayed for the whole block and attended Relief Society since my surgery. I was going to anyway but hadn't intended to have to say for 7 hours! I am kind of sore tonight but I think I will be OK. I love being a grandma - real or surrogate. I am lucky to have my true grandchildren and then those that willing to adopt me. I will take grandchildren anyway I can get them! Life is good.

Book Review

I love Edith Pattou! She is a great writer. I fell in love with her writing when I read East by her. Pam had given it to me to read during my recovery. I read it very quickly because I couldn't put it down! This week I ordered from our library system her, Hero's Song. I was not disappointed. I had been reading Eragon and Eldest while I was waiting for this to come in because the YM and YW had been talking about how much they loved it. I like this so much better. It is a well written story and kept my interest much better. I truly cannot wait to read Fire Arrow. I have ordered it and am waiting for the library to call and tell me that it is in.

Another fun series that I have thoroughly enjoyed is Nancy Atherton's 'Aunt Dimity' books. The catch to these fluffy mysteries is that Aunt Dimity speaks to the protaganist through a diary. It takes place in England and is really a fun read. I really do read a lot of mysteries don't I? I love how they are so improbable and fun. My favorite thing to do on Tuesday afternoons is to watch our local PBS station. They have been running the whole Miss Marple series of Agatha Christie and that has been an absolute delight. The woman that plays Miss Marple in these 2005-2007 renditions is exactly how I envisioned Miss Marple when I was a young girl and had never seen a movie to have my mind made up. She truly is a sweet, British aunt that you would go and visit.

I know that I usually write my book review on Tuesday but yesterday got away from me with finishing Hero's Song, Miss Marple and the Newport Genealogy Society last night.

Monday Heroes

This week I have two heroes again. The first one is Carianne since she turns 31 years old tomorrow. I dreamed and waited 5 years for her birth and was so thrilled when she came into our lives. As with her sisters' she is loved and cherished. I am so proud of her and the mother she has become. She is an amazing daughter, wife, sister and mother.

The second hero is my physical therapist Joe. Today I graduated from having to visit him twice a week and to be honest there is a little part of me that is going to miss him. I am grateful to him for teaching me well enough that now I am able to be on my own. I have the tools to progress so that now, as long as I do my exercises every day, I will be pain free and quickly heal to 100% from my surgery. I will always be thankful for Joe and what he has taught me. Hopefully it will be a very long time before I have to visit him professionally again.

Memory - Bynx

Why would I write a memory about a cat we all remember? Last night I was with the Girls' Achievement Class and two of the girls are sisters. They have 6 cats because of the mice in and outside of the their house. Two cats are for inside and the other 4 stay outside and catch the rodents that roam the countryside. Emma and Sara said that they don't even have to feed the outside cats because they catch enough mice and rats. I laughed and told them the probably are being fed by other people like Bynx. They were fascinated about our cat really belonging to the neighborhood. The thing that the whole class loved the most was that Bynz only came in the house if their was a rodent to capture. She would race in, catch it and leave. She never came in otherwise. It took us a while to figure out what she was up to when she would come in but she would be standing at the door with a dead mouse in her mouth every time.

The girls' also thought it was funny when Bynx had her kittens and we gave them away. 2 of the kittens we gave away within 4 houses of where we lived, one next door and the other to Hayden. One day Bynx came home with the kitten hanging from her mouth (banging against the sidewalk) all the way from Hayden's house. She did that several times. Hayden finally gave up trying to keep her. The only kitten that successfully stayed away from Bynx as a matter of fact was Matt and Jill Neilson's 'Tinkerbell' and that was because they made her a strictly indoor cat.

She had a sweet disposition. We had a hard time naming her and one day Jason Brugger was down visiting. He insisted that her name was Bynx and so it stayed forever more. We just left her to fend for herself when we left Ephraim and we are sure she was fine. I am sure she has passed on by now - she was 9 years old about when we left. She would disappear for weeks at a time and I think people would try and make a house cat out her. It wouldn't have lasted long. She loved being outside and free but she always returned to us at some point.

The other thing I would like to write about is a comic strip I read clear last Sunday. It was Funky Winkerbean. In it they were talking about how life has all kinds of twists and turns and wouldn't it be nice if we had a GPS to guide us. I have thought about that and I am so grateful that I do have a GPS - the Holy Ghost. When I listen to the promptings of the Spirit the twists and turns of life don't take me by surprise and life is so much happier. It is truly the GPS that guides me in everything I do. The Lord has blessed us greatly by giving the Spirit to us. We just have to listen and heed the prompting. The more we listen the easier it is to hear. We are truly a blessed people.

Voting

Yesterday as I was reading Elise's blog about voting or not voting I realized that Carl made my decision very simple for me last spring. He pointed out the candidates were split on pro-life and abortion. He could not in good conscience ever vote for anyone that was not pr0-life - it was against everything he stood for. He is right.

As I have watched the debates and listened to the political commentary on the election it has reminded me of High School elections. When kids would be running for student body president they would promise things like longer lunch hours and shorter school days but you knew they couldn't do one thing about it. The people we need to look at it is the Congressional people running . And when you really examine it -it isn't Bush that has gotten us into this financial mess - it is Congress with their porkbarreling. The most vocal Senator about the things is a senator from Massachusetts. As I have examined what he has been up to he actually has holdings in some of the failed banks! This is something that is so WRONG but things like this go on all the time up here. I am sure that if you looked into other congressional people there are similar things going on (especially politians in the Northeast). Of course we have to shore up wall street! By doing that we are lining the pockets of our politicians. That isn't Bush's fault it is just a corrupt system that we have let happen. It is the senators and state reps that you really need to make sure about when you vote this year. They make more decisions than the President ever makes. The most prestigious decision the president will make will be a new judge for the Supreme Court - maybe - and in truth Congress has the final say about that. The rest truly rides on the shoulders of Congress.

Rhode Island spends more yearly on their roads than any other state in the union but the system is so corrupt that it is also the state the has the least repairs on its roads in the union! People know this and they just look the other way. We have unions and other organizations that get their palms greased until there is no money left for the actual work. Our senators are busy trying to get the federal government to pay for our roads! Why should you pay for our corrupt mismanagement? But things like this go on all the time.

My advice is vote with your conscience. But as for me - like Carl pointed out - the vote for president was easy. They are both a bit like snake oil salesmen and I am not enomored with either one but the issues are clear.

Tuesday Book Review

While I was recovering my friend Jennifer Mello brought me over a bag with 20 books. I have never had such a good time in my life. She was rather surprised when I had returned them all in less than 2 1/2 weeks but there were some very thought provoking reading in that pile and I had read them all. It wasn't all light and fluff. Surprisingly of the 20 books I had only read 1 and that had been just prior to the surgery. It turns out that Jennifer and I have surprising similar tastes. I even read books that I would never have otherwise. Here are two of them.

The Covenant by Naomia Ragen: This is a book of present day Israel and Palestine and the turmoil that is going on there. It is about a kidnapping of a family. The twist is the 'covenant'. A group of women that had survived the concentration camp during WWII and how they resolved this issue. It ends realistically but not too tragically. It was beautifully written and as I stated before, something I would have never read had Jennifer not had it in her bag.

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruis Zafon and Lucia Graves. Jennifer and I think that Carlos wrote it in Spanish and Lucia translated it into English. This is a story of a boy whose family is one that is trusted to 'keep' the books of Spain. He becomes possessed with the book he has been given and tries to find other copies only to discover that his is the only one. It too ends in a realistic but not too tragic way - especially since it is during the Spanish War and uprising. This one was a surprising one. I give a book 40 pages and then if I am not enamored with it I will put it down. I had to give this one about 120 and then I couldn't put it down! The thing is - the whole time I was reading it I kept thinking, Andy and Chris would love this book. I never think things like that. I usually think that about our daughters. But I really think this is a book they might like to look into sometime. Maybe read it in the orginal Spanish. It might be more of a challenge but wouldn't it mean more? It probably has things in the Spanish that were lost in translation. That could very well be why I kept thinking that this would be a book they might like. Plus the boy was not a hero in the knight in shining armor sense. He was just a curious person who needed to know more and things happened because of this.

Monday's Hero

I have been thinking a lot about today's hero and once again I have two. The first once is my niece Julianna Dittmar. She is currently on a mission in Uruguay for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She is an amazing young woman and always has been but as I have been reading her letters the last 9 months, I am astonished at how much she has grown. She is a dynamic and energetic missionary. She wants so badly to serve the Lord and do all the things that He wants her to do. On top of being a missionary, she is also the Young Women's leader for their little branch. She is truly spreading her wings and flying high.

My other hero is Lucille Mueller. She has been my friend since we very first moved to Kerrville. She has always been there for me as an individual and us as a family as has her husband, Harold. Life has not been very easy for her but for the most part Lucille has looked on it with optimism and joy. When others were too busy to care, Lucille was there and has always been there. She truly knows what a friend is and more than that what a Sister in Zion is all about.

A Swiss Memory

When I was growing up we lived in Germany for two of Dad's tours in the Army. The second time we were in Germany and our first summer back we decided to camp in the Black Forest of Germany. This was a region that we really hadn't ever been in before and we were really quite excited about going. Dad set the tent up in a light drizzle and then it rained and rained and rained. It rained so bad that even though Dad had trenched the tent properly, underneath the tent, it was so muddy it was like walking through several inches of mud but your feet stayed dry. Mom and Dad were concerned we might rupture the floor so we had to stay on the cots unless absolutely necessary. The final straw was Dad dropped a paring knife on the floor of the tent. Then every time someone walked there was a little fountain of water squirting up! Dad looked at us and said, "Does everyone have their passport?" We all did and he had his so we packed up our soaking wet tent and loaded up our white Ford Comet Station wagon (I think it was a 1961 and this was 1969 - we called it Chitty Chitty Bang Bang) and we headed for Switzerland.

This is the summer we found the camping spot in Interlocken Switzerland that we would stay at every time we went back from then on. It was just at the base of the Jungfrau mountain and it was beautiful. The owners spoke broken English but it was the German part of Switzerland so we got along quite well. The owners took us into their family to the point that they even invited us into their home for home cooked cheese fondue (truly the best cheese fondue I have ever tasted and it was all from scratch - Marianne and I helped make it). They got us tickets to the "William Tell Pageant" an outdoor panorama of the retelling of how William Tell freed the Swiss and told us the sites to see. From then on - whenever we had any free time Switzerland was our choice to and this was the campsite we stayed at.

The next summer Bob had gone back to the States to work on our uncles farm. Marianne and I read in the tent and shopped at the little store for fresh brotchen and grape juice (or whatever fresh juice she had that day) and fresh cheese for our lunch. She also had some fresh goodies for our dessert. That was the summer I read REBECCA by Daphen DuMaurier and was so caught up in that book. It was a fun summer. Mom and Dad were able to go the temple several times because the Temple in Bern wasn't that far away. I am not sure what Marianne read but in the afternoons when Mom and Dad came back, we would go hiking and wandering around the area. That was also the year that Dad took us up the the Jungfrau. I laid on the side of mountain for over and hour and watched avalanches falling from this side of the Jungfrau. It was breathtakingly beautiful.

One of our other favorite destinations was Trummelbach Falls. This is truly indescribable. They are so fast and furious that they have cut deep into the side of the mountain. A tree that gets caught up in the falls at the top is ground to nothing by the time it hits the bottom. You would think there would be debris and twigs at the bottom of the falls where it meets the river - there is nothing - just a fast moving river. It is an amazing and truly breathtaking site.

What brought back this memory. I watched a PBS special on the trains of Switzerland. The one the other day was the one of the Jungfrau. I envy my sister, Marianne, because she and her husband were able to go back this last year and see some of our favorite sites. Switzerland will always have a soft spot in our hearts. Maybe it is because our 'Brugger' ancestors came from Switzerland.

Turesday Book Review

When I was in the first grade I was so far ahead of the rest of the class I was driving my teacher crazy. Finally one day out of desperation she handed me "The Bobbsey Twins". I loved it! I loved it so much I finished it in just a few days. So my dad took me to the bookstore on post and let me choose another. It was 50 cents. By the time I kind of grew out the Bobbsey Twins I had quite a collection. I then moved on to the Cherry Ames, Student Nurse - and read that series. When I was between second and third grade I found Anne of Green Gables. It was years before I found the whole series but I found the first 3 books that summer and devoured them. I couldn't believe anything could be so beautifully written. I guess because that was written by someone at the turn of the century, suddenly people thought I was ready for things by Dickens and Jane Austen. I wasn't. In fact because my teachers tried to force them on me too young I was turned off of them for many years. I am a person that has to find things on my own terms. When I do I embrace it wholeheartedly. If I am forced to do something - I will do it but only as far as I have to in order to squeak by. I have tried hard to overcome this quirk but it is there.

The current book that I have read I really recommend is "East" by Edith Pattou. It is a fantasy and fairy tale that both Clyde and I thoroughly enjoyed. Clyde is not a reader but even he found time to read this book. It was a book you just could not put down. It is written in different voices - which is not all that uncommon - but the way she did was really well done. Each person told their story beautifully. Apparently it is quite a popular book. As I have spoken with people about it, I am finding it is on reading lists for Middle Schools and the reading lists for libraries as well.

Monday's Heroes

This weekend was conference. I could pick a handful of heroes from the speakers because I have many favorites but I am going to pick a new hero. I know very little about her but I am always impressed. Her name is Silvia H. Allred, first counselor in the General Relief Society Presidency. Last year when she spoke at the Women's Conference she took me by surprise. I did not expect a sister from Central America and was blown away by her talk. This year I was ready for her -I thought. Once again I was blown away by her talk and then she spoke in General Conference. It was amazing. She is very unassuming in the typical Hispanic way but such a spiritual dynamo. She is utterly amazing in my book. I just had to mention her.

My real hero this week probably should have been the first hero I started with. It is my husband and sweetheart, Clyde Bailey. We have been married for almost 36 years but have been in each others lives for almost 37 years. From the moment I set eyes on him, the Spirit whispered to me that he was the one for me. That is why when things were rough and some were actually counseling me to bail on our marriage - I knew I shouldn't. The Lord had been in on our decision from the very beginning and if He wanted us together that bad then we needed to work things out so we could stay together. One of the things the Elder Russell M. Nelson said in his talk yesterday is that marriage is made up of two imperfect people. That is the case of This marriage in spades. But we have found our stride and we are happier than we have ever been.

I have stated this before but I am amazed (well not that amazed) at what a kind and compassionate bishop Clyde is. It has taken him a long time to get to this point in his life. We have several high maintenance people in our ward. They would drive me nuts but Clyde and our Relief Society President, Jennifer Mello have untold patience with them. They are the right people in the right places at the right time. Isn't it amazing how the Lord knows what he is doing?

The last month - up until just a few days ago - Clyde has been responsible for being bishop, his daily job and taking care of me. He has done a wonderful job. I have been extremely impressed with his meals and the sweet way he has taken care of me. It is time for me to take over again but I pushed to hard on Saturday and have been paying for it with bad pain in my leg ever since. I keep thinking I am further along in my recovery than I am. They said 6 weeks and I would be 75% I want it to be a month and 100%!

I am grateful for my husband. I am grateful for following the prompting of the Spirit and marrying him in the temple. I am grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ because that has kept us together. We are not perfect but we have it pretty great. Hopefully soon things will completely be back to normal and I won't be sound asleep before he comes to bed and still asleep when he leaves in the morning. I need to start being a better wife and getting up for him at least.

Popi

My dad was named Popi by Carianne (our oldest child) when she was a baby. Her first words were Hi, Mama, Da and then suddenly Popi and it was meant for her grandfather. It stuck. The spelling came about because of my parents' maid, Leola. She addressed a gift for Christmas with the spelling and it stuck. In Spanish and Portuguese 'Papi' is and endearing term for Daddy or grandpa. I didn't know that until years later but I always thought it was interesting how our Hispanic friends in San Antonio never thought it was an unusual name while our Anglo friends did. Well, Duh! It is part of their culture.

All of our daughters' friends have called Dad, Popi. The funniest story I have ever heard was one my sister, Marianne told me. Juli Anna and Elise, I hope I have it somewhat right. Anna Osmond had been one of our daughters' really good friends in Ephraim (and like another daughter to me). Elise had been one of the family growing up in San Antonio as a child. Apparently they knew each other at BYU-Hawaii. When Elise was getting ready to go on her mission she mentioned that Popi was coming to her farewell. Anna said, "You know Popi?!" And so they did. One from her early childhood and other from her teens. The funny thing about this story is that they were so sure it was the right Popi and it was.

One of the lessons that my father - Popi - has taught me from a little girl is that we are always setting an example. Whether it is a good example or a bad example - someone is always watching us even when we are not aware. So what is wrong with always trying to set a good example - it isn't that hard? So many times I have had people come and tell me a story as simple as the one above - about my own life - where we simply crossed paths with mutual friends. What kind of example was I setting? I don't sit and worry about it but I do hope I have never hurt 'Popi's' good name.

Memory - My Parents

This isn't a specific memory. When I was growing up I knew I had the best parents in the world. I felt sorry for other people for not having my parents - especially my dad. Even my cousins I felt sorry for because they didn't luck out and get the better sibling. Then I got older and thought other people thought that way about their parents. I was really astonished to find out that very few do. I know of no one that felt their parents were superior to anyone else's at any point in their lives. It wasn't something my parents told me. It wasn't something my parent even instilled in me - this was an observation I came to all on my own. So finally when I was a young mother I realized for me I did have the best parents in the world - for me. There wasn't anything cocky about it but just a plain fact. I have always been grateful that I have had the parents that I have had. There were times I have had a hard time with my mother but then when I was able to start to read the symptoms of her illness I would realize that when she became snippy she was coming out of remission and we were in for a battle again. Unfortunately it took me a long time to read that sign and there were many years of hurt feelings because of that. I know now that if she had some control over it those words would have never happened. After Mom's death I found out my dad and I tried to protect each other. We would see the flare-ups start and so we would try and sheild each other so the other wouldn't be hurt. I love Dad more for protecting me.

I know that I was not nearly as good a mother to our daughters' as my mother was to my siblings and me. I am hoping that I can measure up and be as good a grandmother as my Omi Tuttle was to me and my mother was to our daughters' on her healthy days. If I can do half as well then I will know I am a success in this life. My whole life I have wanted to be 3 things, a wife, mother and a grandmother. I have accomplished these goals - the last one with the help of our daughters' and their husbands! I am lucky that in these life desires I can keep growing - they are not the end-all of all desires once they are attained.