Yikes, I Don’t Know What I’m Doing

I’m trying-out Microsoft Live Writer to help me blog. Windows 8 has disabled Google blog posts. Not sure I like this new method and I’m not sure I can get to my other pages. Still learning and anxious to get something posted, especially for my family.

True Confessions

The truth is... I've been very late catching up with my blog/journal entries because I decided to spend all my energy looking for Waldo.

Well, I found-out that traveling guy "found" himself. Sure hope he's happy sitting on his seater.

So much has happened in just a short amount of time!

Deep breath! Should I say it all at once or little at a time? I'll do it little-- It started with me milking in May and snowballed into crazy... about the time our two dogs here at Danger Ranch had puppies.

We had a family reunion:

Our grand daughter in Fillmore was made Miss Teen Fillmore.

We have new grand daughter:

My son got married! I have another grand daughter and my new daughter is indescribable. Beautiful, intelligent with an MBA, but she could be a brain surgeon. Sweet, kind, and never says an unkind thing about anyone. The whole town of Santa Paula loves her and claims her as their "best friend." My son and his best friend fell in love. They found each other.

Our family took a trip that I thought I'd never have, ever:

I've been doing genealogy and found some really interesting information through my own blog comments about my great grandparents and it's very sad, it's one of those individual family members that you lose sleep over, by grieving for her and her mother,too... my great, great grandmother.

Our new baby girl grand daughter had me worried about winter weather and I developed this crazy obsession of going full-speed focus, trying to use all my beautiful yarn for our grand daughter. I made a whole box full of baby hats, booties, and diaper covers and they were all too small. The hospital was extremely excited to accept them and I learned a lot about knitting, crocheting and also loom knitting. That was all good, my little "Dune" doesn't need a thing. I gained so much.

One of my trips to Utah, I started getting sick and then getting sicker. That was way back in May. A bit scary because I didn't know how to make myself feel better. Still working on it all and hopefully new treatments will make better. Five big doctor's appointments in one week is intimidating.I have faith.

I have some daughter's that have endured much this year. Our Oklahoma family just missed the two F5 living between Moore and the big highway. The tornadoes were right there and really just missed the tornadoes by a block.

My Wyoming daughter is enduring, like most of the country (here a bit, too) freezing temperatures. Two days ago it was -20 degrees and the windchill was -43. My daughter's husband was out welding railroad tracks faraway and she and her little family live out on a ranch. Praying for them as I did my Oklahomies.

I still did my most of my chores, but my Steve is helping me more and more. I want to blog about each of these events and I will. There's still new events all around us. Baptisms, new callings in Church, and of course we are having puppies again probably tonight. So if you want to see fatness (Laney) please go to my Queensland Heeler page with the top tab or HERE.

I think the hardest obstacle I've had to overcome was the giving-up my little computer and going with a full lap-top of Windows 8. This is something! It's making me crazy with Google fighting with this set-up! Stupid Microsoft won't let me write on my blog, so I have to do it on another program. Grrrr. Oh, and my pictures are really hard to load. I'll think it's going to be easy soon, just like knitting. But instead of reading the tutoring part about Windows 8, I need to jump in get in and get started. I haven't found the APP yet I guess. Ugh! Writing all in HTML is archaic! No spell check?! I may have my heart attack, yet.

The Disker; A Modern Parable

My husband teaches a Sunday School class. He seems to end-up there with the same age group every once in a while. He remembers so well the class he had just before he was called as bishop. Some young men and young women are easy to teach, involved with the class and spiritually ready to be given the lessons based on The Scriptures. Others in the class, young men and women are there because they are supposed to be in Sunday School and some of them are a challenge. The challenge are the reason he was inspired to write this parable. The class members took turns reading it.

He was trying to explain how the Savior taught in parables in our Scriptures. It was more than that to him, the teacher. However, it began a time of stories in "parable form" from students in the class. I'm not sure my Steve will ever forget this lesson. It's based on true principles.

                                                 The Disker; a Modern Parable

1. Whereas through the past many years, even unto today, there is an owner of a small plot of land that has several wheeled and fuel powered farm maintenance machines that can be used to pull his disc to plow the soil and turn over and dress the soil of his family’s small farm.

2. The property owner likes one of the fuel-driven machines better than all of the others and prefers to use his favorite machine when he is disking the soil of his small property.

3. The preferred fuel-driven wheeled machine is a small, orange-colored, and is a rusty, diesel-
fuel powered machine that was very old even when it was purchased by the property owner.

4. The farmer’s favorite machine has a many mechanical problems including that it must be towed by another machine to start the power-unit because the machine has never had a starter even from the day that the property owner purchased the machine.

5. One of the reasons that the property owner likes the small, rusty machine more than the others is that it is very powerful for its small size and it can run for days with very little fuel being used while pulling the disc across the land.

6. Another reason that the farmer likes the small, rusty machine is the sound that the engine makes when it is pulling the disc, especially when the disc digs deeply into the soft soil.

7. One of the plots of land that the farmer must plow is made up of very hard and rocky soil.

8.  The farmer dislikes the sound of the disc as it bounces along the surface of the hard and rocky soil.

9. Whereas within this hard and rocky plot of land there is a small section, within the shade of a large oak tree, that is made up of land that is dark and verily it is soft rich soil.

10. Whereas when the tractor and the disc pass-over the small area of soft, rich soil... the disc behind the machine digs deeply into the ground and the engine of the small rusty machine makes as very pleasant roaring sound that makes the farmer pleased.

11. Whereas when the tractor and the disc pass over the rest of the plot of ground the disc makes the sound of symbols as it bounces and rattles over the rocks and the hard ground; the sound of which the farmer finds to be unpleasant.

12. So as to find some part of the disking of the that hard and rocky ground more to the farmers pleasure he pulls the disc through the soft, deep and dark soil each time he completes his circuit around the plot of ground, thus making the small plot of soft soil even deeper and softer rather than giving equal attention to all of the rest of the hard rocky ground.

13. After following this same pattern for many years, whereas the soft and yielding ground gets the     majority of the farmers disking attention because it is pleasant to disc and the hard and rocky soil gets less of the farmers attention because it is very unpleasant and unyielding to disc, the farmer sees that his actions are amiss and are not productive.

   14. The soft soil, even though it is the most pleasant to disc, could be productive with far less of the farmers attention and the hard and rocky soil, which is unpleasant to disc, could be much more productive if the farmer gave it the attention that it needed.


15. The farmer came to realize that if he increased his disking of the hard ground that eventually the ground would break apart and soften and with continued attention become as soft and pleasant to disc as the small plot he paid so much attention.

16. The farmer realized that life and people are the same way.

17. The people that are pleasant and return companionship that provides great pleasure may not require constant attention and frequent care and still be strong and hearty people.

18. Whereas those people that are hard and rocky and resistant to attention and care may not be pleasant and easy to give attention that they are the very ones that need the attention and care the most to become pleasant, yeilding and rewarding.

19. The farmer realized that in life, the hard, rocky and unpleasant children of God are the very ones that need and deserve the greatest love and attention even if they are resistant.

20. Whereas in so caring for the hard and resistance ways of our brothers and sisters they will provide the greatest satisfaction and most pleasant and rewarding experience to the farmer as they soften and become pleasant, yeilding and productive.

Parable written by Steve Lazenby 10/12/13 for Santa Paula Ward Sunday School

I Think I Lost My Place

Holy Cow!

It's been forever since I've added anything to my blog. This past month I haven't read all my emails or even deleted any of them, even the reminders to take my heart medication (I've got a beeper for that on my phone) I don't need an email. So here I am looking at over 4,500 emails. I forgot this whole month! I did take care of my messages--I did a lot of messaging.

I have been sick, yeah I was... and I'm not quite over that mess. I suppose the doctors are working-out a plan. But, I milked my goats through it all. I sold puppies and took a quick trip to Utah (very sick) and then went to Utah again and stayed almost a month with my youngest daughter and her husband and now new grand daughter, Dune Marie Aitken. She is named after Kiely's grandmother Dune Marie Patten Lazenby and was also born in Payson, Utah.

 I'm a bit bored and dislike the desert off Highway 15.
It's so different from the desert just to the North.
I know that where Death Valley is but it's at least interesting.

The Neverending Story Started Here

So I knitted and knitted. Just like I had done for a few months
and like most older grandmothers like to do in their spare time.

The Beginning

I Went Crazy

I don't think we were even invited to be up there, really...we just went. How could we miss our grand daughter Dune Marie coming into the world? It wasn't an easy time for my daughter, Kiely (she had huge complications and didn't complain at all) but for our grand daughter, her daughter, she let the doctor help her deliver the baby quicker. The problems was just a bump in the road and lasted just a short time. I'm figuring it's like my being a bit sick. Just one of those bumps we all have and endure.

I have to have challenges at certain times of my life. It's a time I become closer to the Savior and through the Atonement I can share my burdens. This always have an increase in my faith and of course know the miracles happen after the trial of my faith. I love prayer.

Terrifying Big Hawk Break-in

It was terrifying to me...

Something loud crashed and broke in our kitchen! A big hawk was dancing on my kitchen floor. Not an INDIAN! This huge bird broke-in through my kitchen window! I sorta' screamed a bit louder than I thought I was able to do. I was shaking so bad. First thought was that it was a giant bat. Not funny, McGee! The hawk broke the glass a second time getting out. His total damage (not really sure of his head) but there's only 5 small white feathers outside and the hawk is nowhere. 

Is this bad Luck? I mean... besides a broken window? My Steve came home to console me. Nah, he came to pick-up all the glass and look at the hole in our window and shook his head, laughing. Danger Ranch. 

This is what I saw. Not the actual hawk, but has the likeness of the alleged perpetrator of "breaking and entering" and dancing on my kitchen floor.

Red Tailed Hawk

Sky Hawk Not Batman

My thought is that if I had been in the kitchen ~ I don't think the glass would have got me because I would've fainted. My friend said it was my Grandpa Joe, who's a Crow (Indian) and has been gone for almost 10 years. A couple of white feathers outside~~nothing flopping around. I can't believe this bird lived. The hawk broke the window twice! Lots of glass going out the same way he came in. There's glass all over outside too. Steve just said that there's more glass scattered about than that window could possibly hold. It exploded.

Hawk Window Pain

I'm glad it's not snowing outside like at my kids in Wyoming, Oklahoma, and Utah, because I have a wide open window. Oh no. I just had a creepy feeling.What sort of varmints might climb-in a visit us tonight?

It was a really "big bird," but not yellow. He didn't leave a dream-catcher or silver bullet. The weirdest is that all our dogs were barking and then completely quiet! Our canaries, our cocktail, dogs, cats, horses, sheep, goats, not even a little peep. Erie silence. I heard the hawk flopping around, and in just one second thinking, "Take the gun or the camera." as I opened the door. Hahaha I freaked-out.

I found my camera on the floor and glad it had a protective case. I sat down in the living room trying to call my husband. I'm so glad for the memory of recent calls came up, because I couldn't remember his number. 

My Steve cleaned-up all the glass and all the left-over glass in the window. Honestly, he thought this was funny. I'm so glad we are redoing our lawns because it's hard finding all the glass shards outside.

Great Break-in The Hawk Didn't Steal Anything

 It might rain in a day or two. I'm very happy 

Steve's not on duty and staying at the station.

Confession: I took a Xanax, there's no beer in our house.

*Happy!* Steve hired a glass fixer: TaDa! No worries.

Genealogy, Two Full Days And ... I'm Doing It, Again?

 

The Beginning:

Genealogy has been more than a hobby for me. I've been involved in it on and off for forty-four years. I had a lot of interest in it long before I joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at the age of nineteen.

I shuffled though letters on my great grandmother's dining room table when we visited Colorado before I was in the sixth grade in Montrose. She asked me not to move anything and she was looking at me in a panic. I was trying to read at a letter upside-down and telling her someone is writing you and I can't read it. I remember asking her, "Why are all the words pushed together." Grandma McKean was writing and receiving letters from her family in what is now Poland and also Germany. All of them spoke German, but she said to me she had wished that they would've written all their letters in French. Grandma was upset and took the letter from me and pushed it down on the table. She said didn't like the Germans. I found-out much later her own mother all of her ancestors were from Germany, but writing her in that particular language upset her. It had to be memories and stories within her family growing-up.

McKean's and Chandler's In Colorado (Loepp)

Before World War I the Prussians were just starting to raise the taxes on everyone and as a result gaining everyone's land that defaulted on their taxes. Her Grandfather was a wealthy man, but as he grew older, the families knew it was a matter-of-time before all the land and money would be gone. The Prussian officials were angry at everyone and she said everyone went inside their homes when they came around on their big horses. That was something she must've heard because she was very young when she arrived in the United States. A bit of "Kid History," that grew as World War II started.

My Mother Is Sitting On The Ground. Martha Loepp Mckean Holding My Uncle Dan

I know that her heart was softened when she made a trip to northern California to visit her daughter, my grandmother. There in the field next to the O'Connor family home were German "prisoners-of-war" picking apples. My aunts and my mother were teenagers and they watched the young men that were their own age pick apples. Mom says they were the most beautiful men she had ever seen. The girls all were sent inside and not allowed to look at them, but my great grandmother baked them something quite German and took a lot out to the soldiers. She spoke to them for a long time and all of them appreciated her and told her they loved America, even though they had to work.

On one of the trips back to Colorado, I asked Grandma McKean about the French Language and I wanted to see it. Grandma said that in none of the letters were in French. She wanted me to know it was a beautiful language and they did speak French in her home until the family came to America. A tradition carried from her grandfather Peter Loepp. There was a time that the Loepp family lived in an area that was part of France. She said a few words and she looked completely different to me. I'll never forget her face that day.

The family's arrival to America was on the Germania Ship. They had a fancy state room and money enough to not only ride the train, but buy a house and farms.

Germania

I remember her face when I spoke French to her a year later. I took a French class from Mrs. Johnson at Isbell School. Not a popular language in Middle School and I was fortunate to have two years of French. The French class was eliminated after I went on to high school. My Grandma O'Connor passed-away and her mother, Grandma McKean came again to California only this time it was to our house here on the ranch. She asked me what I did in school. A pretty typical question a grandmother would ask and I bought-out my little blue French lesson book and read it to her and I made her cry. I thought I wasn't doing very well and stopped. She told me to keep learning the French, it's a beautiful language. 

On The Other Side:

Grandpa Joe was my dad's father and was very involved in genealogy, too. He worked with a cousin and a professional genealogist. He had to actually visit graveyards and write county's for certificates, copy newspapers by hand in the actual cities. My Grandpa was the youngest of the family and ended-up with all the old family papers, the heavy Otis book and all the pictures. I joined the Church and asked him if he was going to will me anything, could it be the papers and pictures? He handed them to me on the spot. My only regret is that he gave me a white box full of letters and pictures of and from my dad, an only child. My dad saw it and I could tell he was very upset that I got them and he didn't. He wanted to look at all of them. I took him the white box. My dad died a short time later and I asked for the box back and no one could find it. I've asked since 1990 and finally my mom, after her stroke and "no hold-back-filter" in her mind, told me she just threw it away with everything else. She went down the list of his Western Wear, his hats, his boots, his junk (pictures and letters) all of it. I went home and cried. I thought of the trinkets she bought and still buys at garage sales and here my dad's memories disappeared and are buried on the mountain.

The Quest: 

I'm trying to gather so much information right now. I have the upgraded version of Root's Magic. It upgraded right in the middle of my frantic searching and now I'm really learning about the Family Search website. Soooo, I hit a button on "automatic import" to Roots Magic of all the Church has that's connected to my lines. It was a six hour watch of thousands of names, mostly French, coming flying into my database. The interesting point here is that two big lines went back to my 8th great grandmother and grandfather. I caught a date on one of those and it was the late 1400's. It was my dad's side again, but his mother's line, starting with my great grandmother's mother Julia Charbonneau.

The whole reason I started this real effort was to 

find only ten names that haven't been baptized for my

 grandchildren going to the Temple on Saturday. 

The Church's website is filled with names but with only those that have had their work done. I checked and checked and double-checked it all. A couple need more information, including sources. I need Ancestry.com again. I just gave a talk on that subject that we all didn't need to pay so much money to find our ancestors. Well, we do right now. I had hoped to sell all our young Spring lambs and goats that are heavy-weights now to buy a membership to Ancestry again. But...I told everyone at Church and all my family I could do this all without it. I'm so bummed because I'm not making any progress. Today would be perfect to run over to the Stake Center and use their membership. The

Family History Center is closed today and well, my husband took the car to work today. This is disappointing.

I wanted to fill today with making a dress if I didn't get my paint-remover for my daughter's little cradle. It will be my present to her for my new granddaughter that will be arriving in just four weeks.  But .... I can't do any work on the cradle. I made that quick decision after I read the directions before I started the project. I need different gloves and I forgot about the steel-wool to get in the corners and the carvings in the wood. Here again, I hurry-up and wait.

I'm going to crack open this "little green book" from Grandma Martha Marie Loepp McKean and see what I can find. One more try before Saturday.

And We Did This, and This, and This?

We had an early start today with lots and lots of chores to do before we headed-out past Los Angeles.

So we did this, and this, and this, got dressed and put my make-up on...in the car (bet that looked lovely with a few curlers hanging here and there) I was essentially "all dolled-up" before we hit Fillmore.

We both hated the terrible traffic and going at speeds not known to small town folk. No problem, we stayed ahead at the front of the traffic jam.

Rancho Cucamonga's a good ways from our house and the building we needed to be inside was huge! We sat and the music started and there was our Tressa graduating, again!

My daughter graduated today! Tressa Saviers. I'm so proud of her. She worked and studied hard for years. She should be motivational speaker on enduring, learning, and that hard work brings great blessings. She's a wonderful role model to her children. Congratulations!

We're so proud of her! She was in a mass of other students. I suppose I thought 330 names were a lot to go through she graduated with a major in Psychology so she was back toward us, but so far away. A Mega-tron shows us her walk. Wow. More graduates than I've ever seen.

We know this is a great dream come true for our oldest daughter and she'll go far. Not a cliche or part of a speech, she really does have a wonderful and new plan. We are amazed at her goals for the future. My children never give-up. I'm so proud of Tressa and for her family's support. I cried.

We went home the old road and scenic route. We call it the "Bree-way" because I have a daughter that hates freeways. So on the "Bree-way" we stopped here and had a happy picnic.

Hugs, kisses and  I know you know ... I love you, Tres! We're very proud of you and glad we took our jar of pennies and nickels to pay for parking (for reals) it was worth every cent!

So Much Happening and I'm Sick. Timing On Being Sick Is Always The Wrong Time

Be sure and check the update on Our Queensland Puppy Page

I've been doing a lot, going a lot, having a fun time even though I'm sick.

• Graduation of Corbin and I've got pictures

Corbin is telling The Principal that she said his name 

wrong. It's not "LAY-zen-by" My name is,

 "Corbin LAZ-en-by" The principal has known

 our family for a long time and Corbin had to make it right.

• Outrigger canoe racing-my grandson's love participating paddling and I've got more pictures

  

  Corbin Pushing and Tanner Pushing With His Feet

  
  

  

  Huge Crowd

  
  

  

  And They're Off! Too Crazy In OPEN Water. It's Passion

  • Our Kenna grand-daughter was a star in "Ruckus in the Rainforest" & had a solo part. Pics!
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
• Dallin is in the Little League Champion play-offs. A HAT PIC-THAT IS ALL...
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• Church IS wonderful, as always.

• I'm still milking goats 
• This journal writer is sicker
•  Puppy duty daily just like the goats and I love it!
 

Monday and Tuesday:

• My Steve had Emergency Preparedness Meetings all day with the County
• I watched grand children and arranged for my referral to another specialist doctor

Today we had to do a major clean-up work day at our house. My grandson's helped with my son. We appreciate them more than they will ever know. They fixed fences, cleaned some pens, worked in our garden, and carted-off two really nice but not working refrigerators. I almost danced.

Tanner put all my Christmas decoration boxes in the basement and out of my "cowboy room" corner. I could've stayed in the basement all day. The stuff in there is as our Tanner says, "Totally Awesome!" I found my record player and a bunch of old LPs and my grandson packed it up and is enjoying Perry Como, like I did when I was his age. Perry Como is "big band" and before my real music appreciation time. Well, I heard it on KNX Los Angeles at my Dad's dry cleaners in Fillmore. Let's see...that was about in 1963. I was 9 years old.

Funny how some days go.