What are your plans for retirement?

I have been waiting to do this question for a while because I wasn't quite sure what we were going to do.  The answer has been firmed up.

Our plans for retirement are to leave Rhode Island on July 31, 2013 and take our belongings to Kerrville, Texas.  There we will put them in storage for 19 months.  We will then visit with each of our daughters, son-in-laws and grandchildren for a few days.  We will also go and make a fuss over my newest grandniece or grandnephew (thanks to Sara and Dallin Walker).  Then on August 26, 2013, Clyde and I will report to the Provo MTC for our mission in Copenhagen, Denmark.  We will spend 2 weeks there before we go and serve 18 months doing a record preservation mission for the Church.  The Denmark, Copenhagen mission takes in Denmark, Iceland and Greenland - so we could be spending time in any or all of those places, working in churches and government buildings retrieving records. 

We are beyond thrilled but also in shock.  We truly did not think we would leave North America because of my health issues.  Then after speaking to another returning Senior couple, I thought maybe we would go back to Frankfurt a/m Main in Germany.  At least there I would know enough to get around.  The ONLY Danish word I know is Aebelskiver!  And I am sure it isn't even spelled correctly anymore.  This is setting up to be quite an adventure.

After our mission, hopefully our skills as preservationists can be used in Texas and we can serve another local mission or possibly a temple mission in the San Antonio Temple.  So far that is as far as our retirement plans go.  I think that is enough.

Tell about changes you have seen in fashion in your lifetime:

When I was a young girl, women never wore pants.  They wore a kind of wrap dress or a loose fitting dress for around the house.  They also always wore and apron.  Women changed their clothes to go somewhere - even if it was to the grocery store.  When we went on our summer vacations to Utah, Mom would make matching dresses for the trip for Marianne, Mom and me.  Marianne and I would match in everything we wore but we always had 1 or 2 dresses that matched Mom as we were on the road.  The dresses were loose and usually made of a cotton jersey so they didn't wrinkle and we would look nice as we stopped along the way.  (Dad always stopped at sights as we traveled.  Only in an emergency would we travel straight through).  My mother did have pants and pedal pushers for camping and hiking when we were in Utah.  Grandma Tuttle did too.  But she worked with the 4-H and had to camp a lot.  I had plenty of short sets as play clothes and my long pants for the mountains too.

When we were in Germany, women started to wear slacks more and more but only in the home.  You never saw them in public.  We always wore dresses to school and would huddle on the playground in the freezing cold because our dresses were at our knees and we just had tights to keep us warm.  I loved my blue Naugahyde coat because when I squatted down - I was warm!  I was also glad when we came stateside to get rid of the monstrosity!
 
In Washington DC - when I was in JR High then things started to really change.  We went from the real classic beauty of Jackie Kennedy's look to Twiggy.  Skirts started rising - really quite slowly in retrospect but it was quite alarming to the parents of teenagers to see skirts 2 inches above the knee.  Boys hair was getting longer and girls weren't doing the bouffant anymore or going for the lacquered look but letting their hair hang loose and free.  Our mothers were horrified. 

By the time I was in High School, skirts were really short and pretty much anything was being worn.  We still could not wear pants to school.   I remember a bunch of us going and begging the principal to let us wear nice pant suits on cold winter days.  We badgered him so much that the European school districts finally said from Thanksgiving to Easter, nice pants could be worn.  There were specifics but right then pantsuits for women were really popular and I had 3 that I wore all of the time.  I was very out of step when in the spring - the dresses were shorter than ever.  I wore mine the length I felt comfortable with and I knew the Church wanted me to wear them.  I had my sister, Marianne and even though we were not in the same school - we at least had each others backs.  When we moved to Heidelberg the next year, Marianne and I found the midi - it came mid-calf.  My senior year I could also wear pants any day I wanted too.  Suddenly my dilemma for what to wear was over.  Plus Mom had hired a sewing lady and we would have her make us things periodically.  (I still commandeered the things Marianne made because she sewed the best and had better taste than I did.  Plus I was a brat.)

After that, I didn't pay attention to fashion again until our own girls were in HS.  I still don't - much to our daughters' chagrin.  I wear what like and feel comfortable in.

Whisperings

During my life, I have had many promptings from the Holy Ghost.  Sometimes I follow them and other times, I am sorry to say, I ignore them.  I have been thinking a lot about this, because I had a very strong prompting over and over - not for me but for Clyde just this last week.  I kept thinking, "Surely Clyde would feel the same way."  It turned out he did but he also ignored it because it was for Church.  Things did not go well.  Lesson learned. 

There is kind of a popular story among the youth of our ward.  They called it "Sister Bailey's Seminary Story".  It makes me laugh when someone tells me that the story popped up in a class.  In fact this story was just told last week.  I have told it many times but thought I would write it down for posterity.  It is how things usually work when you have a prompting.

When we owned the print shop, I always took the Broadway exit and then turned right on Broadway and went straight on to work.  One day I had a very strong impression not to go that way.  So I didn't. 

{This is when the students say, "What happened?" and I say, "Nothing, because I listened to the prompting."}

I have learned that when I get a prompting, to do what I have been prompted to do.  Sometimes it is to call a Visiting Teaching sister or one of Clyde's Home Teaching families.  Other times it might be just like the story above, to simply not go that direction.  More often than not, I follow the voice and do what I am told to do.  It has become quite apparent though that there is room for improvement.

What games did you play in your home and your neighborhood when you were growing up?

In the neighborhood, we played Hide and Go Seek, along with a lot of games that involved running and hiding, such as Cowboys and Indians or Cops and Robbers, or variations on that theme.  We played softball, Bad Minton, we bicycled everywhere and anywhere we wanted to go.  We had no fears.  It was a wonderful time to grow up.  When I was in the sixth grade, in the summertime, we had Monopoly marathons.  One of the neighbor girls always cheated and we all knew she cheated - so there would be hard feelings and we would all be in snit for a week or two.  Then she would apologize - we would do it again with the same result!

At home, we played a lot of card games.  Smut was one of our family favorites and we of course played Old Maid & Go Fish.   We also played a game involving cards and spoons.  I remember if you got rid of all of your cards you grabbed a spoon (I think).  It was kind of like UNO.  We played SORRY!, Mousetrap and other board games.  In fact every Christmas we would get a new game to play.  We didn't have TV when I grew up except for a few years here and there.  We read and played games.  I remember the year Marianne got the game "Dream Date" (was that what it was called?)  We played it all of the time for the first few weeks.  But we figured out really quick how to get the 'dreamy guy' and avoid the creepy one.  We pulled it out every so often to play but once you played it and could rig it - it wasn't quite as much fun. 

One of the things I have missed being in Rhode Island is having family to play games with.  I love visiting our children and grandchildren and then the games come out.  Clyde and I play Scrabble and Upwords but we are too evenly matched and we literally win back and forth.

What is your favorite movie and why?

I love old movies.  My most favorite movie is "The Bishop's Wife" with Cary Grant, Loretta Young and David Niven.  I do love "Enchanted April" even though it is not old.  However it is set just after WWI.  It is beautiful story and almost word for work for the book.  I also love "The Princess Bride".

I love musicals.  My most favorite musical of all time is "The Slipper and the Rose".  Marianne came to visit me infrequently when we lived out of state but once when she came, she told me we had to go to the movies and see this wonderful movie.  I fell in love but didn't get to see it again for years.  Then I saw it on TV but it was all chopped up and the best parts were missing.  I was thrilled when I finally had my own copies - first on VHS and then DVD.  Through an unfortunate chain of events, I have lost my copy.  I love the story and the music.  I keep hoping they will put it out on Blu-ray but so far no luck.

I love all animated features, especially the Disney classics and most all of Pixar's presentations.  There are other animated movies that I love.  I am also a big fan of the Jim Henson's productions - whether it is with the Muppets or his fantasies.

What are your favorite movies or movie genre?

What home cures were you raised on?

My family had the same cures for some things as other people.  Chicken soup for a cold, etc.  My favorite is still what my father said, "You will feel better when you quit hurting."  Or he would hand us a Tylenol and say, "Your cold will be better in 10 days to 2 weeks."  That is the running time of a bad cold.  Sometimes you just have to let things run their natural course.

When I was about 9, I had a really bad case of the hiccups.  I couldn't get rid of them and I was driving my parents nuts.  My dad sat me on the piano bench and told me sit tall and make myself burp.  Low and behold - my hiccups went away for a little while (I get hiccups all day long even now - just with short reprieves).  But the belching trick does help.  At least it helps me.

When I was little, we had Jewish neighbors.  I had chronic earaches.  One day Mrs. Israeloff (whose husband was a pediatrician) came over and brought an eye dropper and some olive oil.  She warmed a bit of the oil in a pan to about 99 degrees - because it was just a bit warmer than my skin.  She then dropped the warm oil in my ear and packed it with cotton.  The pain was gone.  I would never recommend this instead of a DR visit but before the visit this trick works great.   My earaches were usually caused from swimmers ear (where the water gets trapped in the ear canal).  This worked great on my earaches that were not an infection.  My youngest daughter had chronic ear pain too and this worked on her most of the time too.  I still do this when I have an earache.  Be careful though, Pam and I both have an eardrum that has a pinhole in it.  Don't go dropping oil in that ear!  You could do more harm than good!

When the Brugger family was in Germany the first time, our piano teacher, Frau Berner, told my mother to drink peppermint tea when she had a headache.  I do that now when I just have a dull throbbing headache and it works great - so does chamomile.  To sleep, chamomile works beautifully but there are some other herbal teas on the market that work great too.  I realize now that the flavored water is just a way of re-hydrating your body and the throbbing headache is quite often a signal you are dehydrated.  At least that holds true for me.

When I was really young, I had 3 great-aunts that lived together.  Aunt Ida, Aunt Cora and Aunt Lou.  All three suffered from various levels of arthritis.  Aunt Cora's was the worse off - hers made her use a walker (but she was in her late 90's at this point).  Aunt Ida (the oldest sister) had actually had the arthritis eat through one of  her hip joints - she would just pop her hip back in every time she stood up!  I asked them once how they kept going - because in the 1960's - arthritis quite often put you in a wheelchair.  They both told me exercise.  Just keep walking.  I realize now that their advice is the most sound advice anyone with arthritis could be given.  Since mine is inherited and probably from that side of the family - I plan to exercise and walk into my 100's too - just like they did.

What do you enjoy doing today that you also enjoyed as a child?

When I was very little, I watched everyone around me read for the pleasure of reading.  I couldn't wait to read!  I was going to be so good at  and it was going to be something I loved - I just knew it!  Some of my first memories are of helping my dad study in the morning.  As soon as the light went on, I would get up and crawl in his lap.  I would snuggle down and promptly fall back asleep.  It was the most comfortable and comforting place to be.  To this day, when I visit my father and see the light go on, I still have the urge to go and curl up beside him and help him study.  From that early age I knew I wanted to read.  My mother  and father read, my grandparents read and so did all of the other adults in my life.  It is one of the I things that I do daily.  I read my scriptures but I also read for the sheer joy of reading.  I usually read at least one book a day.   I will miss that while I am on our mission but I will be reading different things so the joy of reading will not be gone.

My whole life I have listened to music.  This is something that I do everyday too.  I love classical, musicals and old rock and roll.  Thanks to Pandora, I can listen to pretty much any type of music I want as I do my work.  I love having music on in the background and that is something I did as a kid too.

The Life of Pi - the movie

I am not a professional movie critic by any stretch of the imagination but the other day Clyde and I did something we rarely do and that was we rented the movie "The Life of Pi".  What a beautiful, thought provoking movie.  I highly recommend it.  The photography is breathtaking and the story line takes you through all of the emotions - just like a good story should.  When the academy awards gave this picture all of the technical awards - you can see why.  It deserved every one of them.  We rented it from Amazon Prime but we are going to buy it for our library.  It is just one of those movies that we will definately watch again and again.  There is no way you can catch everything in one or two viewings. 

What was your favorite dress or outfit as a child?

When I was 10, my Easter dress was one of the most beautiful dresses I had ever seen.  It was white with red tulips appliqued on the bottom of it in various sizes.  It had a red sash and capped sleeves with a little red shrug with 3/4 length sleeves to go over it.  I loved the dress!   I only wore it maybe 4 or 5 times and then it disappeared.  My mother gave it away in June of the year I had gotten it.  She had decided that someone else would enjoy it more. 

For years I puzzled over why Mom would do such a thing and it really wasn't until after her death that it dawned on me.  Right after that Mom went into the hospital for a few days and then was in bed for the rest of the summer.  It was the beginning of her cycle of a few months of remission and then a bad bout of  health that would go on for the rest of her life.  Whenever she was going out of remission she would become either really mean or do some quite irrational things.  Later on Dad and I talked about it and found out we usually got the brunt of it - so we tried to protect each other from her.  It turns out to no avail.  I am so happy that Mom is doing the good she always wanted to do and is so content.  She really deserved that.

Something to Ponder

As I have said before, I am going through my things and posting a few things I want to remember - tossing out even more.  When the internet was brand new (in ancient times) this poem floated around.  I have no idea who wrote because it was given many authors names, including several from the First Quorum of Seventy.  For my grandchildren:  The TV Guide used ot come in the form of a magazine - when all magazines came only in hardcopy.  You could buy it at the grocery store in the checkout line or have it sent to your home.  In many homes it was more read then than the Bible or Book of Mormon.  This poem could fit for any of the scriptures.

The Book of Mormon and TV Guide
Author Unknown

On the table side by side, the Book of Mormon and the TV Guide

One well worn and cherished with pride, not the Book of Mormon but the TV Guide.

One is used daily to help folks decide, not the Book of Mormon, but the TV Guide.

As the pages are turned what shall they see?
       What does it matter - just turn on the TV!

So they open the book from which the confide, not the Book of Mormon but the TV Guide.

The word of God is seldom read, maybe a verse here and there before we fall into bed.

Most nights exhausted and tired as can be, not from reading the Book of Mormon but from watching TV.

So back on the table side by side, the Book of Mormon and the TV Guide

The Plan of Salvation is full and free - but its found in the scriptures and not on the TV.

(Alternate ending)
But its found in the Book of Mormon and not on the TV.

My Surgery Pictures

 This is actually my missionary picture.  You can see how droopy my eyes and how saggy my eyebrows were.  It is also a less gross way of starting off.  Noah and Nathanael made me promise that I would post pictures for them to see.  The first few pictures are pretty gruesome  - so if you don't want to look - don't.  

 Right after surgery.  My eyes were almost swollen shut for the first few days.

 This is day three.  I felt so miserable all day long that I didn't even get out of my pajamas.

 Day 4 and I am starting to clear up a bit more in my left eye.

 My Oompah-loompah phase.  The orange bruises lasted almost 10 days.

 The one week anniversary.  This is why I couldn't go to Church.  I looked like I had been beaten up.

Monday of this week.  I was so excited and then somehow during the night I must have rubbed my eyes so or something but I popped a suture in my right eye.  (I thought I had opened up much more than that).  Tuesday afternoon the doctor said it would heal on its own and it is fine.  It is red and beefy looking again.  Part of that is allergy and part of it is that it has to heal again.  However I cannot believe the difference in my sight.  The world is brighter and as soon as the swelling is down in my right eye - it will be clearer, I am sure.  At least I don't look like an Oompah-loompah anymore.

Happy Birthday, Bella

Yesterday was my granddaughter - Isabella Lou Nordell's 10th Birthday.  We love you and are so proud of you Bella.  Hope you had a wonderful day and you have a spectacular year!

I am Thankful...

I have finished the little book that Pam gave me.  I am now just going to blog random things as I find them.  This might be something more for Thanksgiving but since I keep a gratitude journal, I thought it was approprate for everyday.  I cut it out from a newspaper a long time ago - since I haven't gotten a paper in over 10 years.  I don't know if it was in Utah or Texas.


I Am Thankfull...
For the teenager who is watching TV instead of doing the dishes,  because that means he is at home and not on the streets.

For the parking spot I fount at the far end of the parking lot, because it means I am capable of walking plus I have been blessed with transportation.

For my huge heating or air conditioning bill, because it means I am comfortable.

For the lady behind me in church that sings off-key because it means I can hear.

For the pile of laundry, because it means my family and I have clothes to wear.

For weariness and aching muscles at the end of the day, because it means I have been productive.

For the alarm that goes off in the early morning hours, because it means that I am alive and have somewhere to go.

For the taxes I pay, because it means that I am employed.

For the mess to clean after a party, because it means I have been surrounded by friends.

For the clothes that fit a little too snug, because it means I have enought to eat.  (I like it better when they hang a bit loose because it means my diet and exercise are paying off!)

For my shadow that is watching me work, because it means I am out in the sunshine.

For a lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning, and gutters that need cleaning or fixing, because it means I  have a home.

For all of the complaining I hear about the government, because it means we have freedom of speech.

For my children and grandchildren, who give me the chance to see through the eyes of innocence and be a kid myself again.

For my spouse, because it means I am not going through life alone.

For the weeds I spend hours pulling in my garden, because it means my body is capable of doing so.

I personally am thankful for the internet and telephones, because that way I feel close to my family and take part in watching my grandchildren grow up.  That is something my grandparents and even my parents did not have.

What are you thankful for?

What is your perfect day?

"April 22nd.  It is warm enough for a light sweater..."  Sorry couldn't resist.

The perfect day in my memory is the day we took family pictures in Las Vegas.  The weather was wonderful and everyone was having such a great time.  The grandchildren were having a ball together and the adults were too.  I want more days like that but with Brandon there.  Hopefully once we get a place of our own - with the Pfiester's in the area - we will have plenty of room to house everyone and just hang out.  That is what I want and look forward too.  We don't have to do anything fancy - just be together.

How do you want future generations to remember you?

I don't know how to answer that question.  What they will probably say is, "Who?"

What are some things you still want to do in your lifetime?

I have four things left on my bucket list.  Only one seems to be an impossibility and it would be the one thing that most people seem to be able to achieve easily.  My dream house and Clyde's dream house do not mesh.  I doubt I will ever see the house of my dreams but it is still on my bucket list.

A mission for the Church.  I know we have our papers in and they are being processed.  But until we are actually serving a mission it stays on the list.

A hot air balloon ride.  That was going to happen this summer but probably won't now - thanks to the sequestration.  So it will stay on my list until it does.

New Zealand.  Ever since I was a little girl and my Uncle Wayne and Aunt Ruth Tuttle came back from living in New Zealand where they helped build the New Zealand temple - I have wanted to visit there.  That desire has always been there.  I would love to go back to Europe someday but I have done that.  I want to see the southern part of the world too.

If you could have three wishes, what would they be?

A picture with our whole family in it.  It seems like Brandon is always out of the country whenever we get together.  Which leads to wish two - a family reunion with everyone together - the whole family.  I don't see any of that happening until Clyde and I get settled after our mission and that is wish three.  A house and to be settled down forever!

What is the most impulsive thing you have ever done?

I am not an impulsive person by nature and neither is Clyde.  Even things that look spontaneous are usually thought through with me and well planned.  However one time Clyde and I did do something impulsive and it about ruined our family.  When the movie "Hook" came out, we asked Lynda Havard to go and pick up the girls from school and took off for San Antonio to go and see the matinee.  We knew the girls would be fine because the Havards' were like a second family and we had a great time.  However when we got home, they were furious with us!  In fact to this day - one of our daughters will not watch "Hook" because it causes such bad memories.  The funny thing is that now we could just up and do things impulsively - we still don't.  That is the one and only instance I can think of.  There were times we sprung things on our daughters but because of babysitters and other arrangements they had been thought out before.

Who are the people you most admire and why?

I am back.  I will get Clyde to help me download pictures soon.

I have many people that I have grown up admiring.  Sarah Ann Sessions Neilson Tuttle was the first person that popped into my head.  I always loved Grandma Sarah and admired her for the things she overcame and her sunny attitude.  When I was young and found out her favorite book as a child was Pollyanna, I desperately wanted to read the book. The Disney movie was one of my favorites but it didn't quite measure up to Grandma's expectations.  I didn't get to read the book until I was in college.  I then realized why.  Pollyanna was so much more than what Disney had dwelled on.  This book had taught my grandmother not to be a spoiled brat who threw temper tantrums at the drop of a hat.  I was amazed when Grandma's siblings told me that she was a mean and moody child.  There was nothing like that in the adult.  In fact in later life when Grandma had dementia, she was sweet and kind.  Her sister had become so mean and belligerent that Alice's family happily put her in a nursing home. Omi was taken care of at home because she was joy to be around.  I hope I am like Omi but fear I may be more like Grandma Alice.

Aunt Norma has always been one the people that has been important to me.  She is one of my first memories and to this day and person I lean on.  We have always had a very special relationship.  She has never failed me when I have needed  her.

I have always admired my father.  We have a had a special relationship and he is someone that I am grateful my husband has also admired and emulated in his priesthood callings. 

There are people outside of the family that I admire but these are the three people that have truly shaped who I have become.  I have tried  hard to shape many aspects of my life after these individuals. 

I am an impatient patient!

Last Monday I had Blepharoplasty or cosmetic surgery on my eyelids.  (The promised pictures for my grandsons will be posted soon!)  I have a friend that had it done a few years ago and she told me it would be a 2-3 week recovery.  For some reason I didn't listen to the voice of experience and figured I would recover much quicker than she did (she did have some complications that I avoided).  It looks like you do not get out of this surgery in less than a 2 week recovery time.  Yesterday I thought I would go for a ride with Clyde as he did some errands.  My neighbor saw me and was horrified.  He immediately looked at Clyde like 'Did you do that to her!'  I had to explain the surgery and even though it was overcast go outside with wraparound sunglasses on.  I didn't want anyone to think badly of my husband.  You see no sutures right now because my eyes are so swollen and black and blue.  I just look like I was beaten really badly around my eyes. 

On the plus side.  I am already seeing a big difference in my peripheral vision.  Even though my vision is still fuzzy, things are brighter.  I can't wait for the recovery to be over to see the end result.  I also don't like Clyde  having to wait on me.  I miss fixing him meals and making sure life is going well for him.  He has been so loving and caring.  I want to be able to do my job again.