Cold isn't really the word... Freezing? Frigid? Bitter? Frosty? Icy? Arctic? You get the idea. Very, very cold. We brought Gem into the garage, where she hung out for several days and nights. It was much warmer in there with a little space heater going, even though the water in her bowl still froze solid! I didn't see the chickens out for a few days, but when I went out to feed them yesterday they were out under the coop clucking and pecking around. I am really amazed that they didn't all freeze solid! Like Ruth, we felt it was rather a relief when temperatures got above 0 degrees today!
The students were supposed to return to school on Tuesday, which they did. Then Wednesday, due to heavy snow, they were told to not arrive at school until two hours past the usual starting time. And that was it for this week. Only 1.5 days - no more school due to extreme temperatures and icy road conditions. But Emma did plenty of studying at home. Her state competition for "We the People" is tomorrow. If successful, they will be going to a national competition in Washington, D.C. sometime in March, I believe. She has worked long and hard and she hopes her efforts, and those of her teammates, will pay off.
My resolution to get more exercise this year was realized this week by shoveling snow and shoveling more snow. Actually, Dad did most of it, but I did help. My other resolution to get more rest and go to bed earlier was realized by getting sick and feeling like it was bedtime at 8:00 p.m. It's not much of a peaceful rest, though, when you're coughing and blowing your nose all night! Things are looking up, however. My nose is still attached, which was has been a concern, and my throat and ears are not as painful as they have been. I am on the mend! I even attended Sacrament Meeting today, which always helps with the healing process.
We had a lovely holiday time and were so grateful to see all of our family sometime during the Christmas break. It was a blessing to have Jenn and Scott here. Emma was especially delighted to have them come. Lauren and Wesley spent the better part of one day here so he could get familiar with Auntie Jenn and Uncle Scott. He did eventually warm up to them. Thomas and Victoria came for dinner on Christmas Eve and then for a while on Christmas Day and it's always delightful when they are here. Joe and Lori's family came the day after Christmas and got in on Hyde Park's free ice skating night. They stayed for a little while the next morning before loading up to head to the cabin at Bear Lake. Then we drove up to Idaho for a day of fun with family and thoroughly enjoyed visiting at the Harts home and having dinner at the Nilssons. So, our holiday was complete! Thanks to everyone for making it so wonderful!
Emma and her friends had a wonderful experience with her Christmas for the needy this year. Again inviting donations from neighbors and ward members, she was overwhelmed by their response this year. The needs were greater than ever in Angela (Aschcroft) Hansen's ward that now has a number of refugee families living there, as well as many, many families in need of space heaters and warm blankets to help them stay warm in this weather. In the end, the girls had over $1500 to spend on 7 families and 2 single adults! They purchased heaters, blankets, food, clothing, diapers, paint supplies, toys and other necessities. It was truly amazing! Jenn and Lauren helped with wrapping. Scott and dad loaded it all up to take over to Angela's house. It was a team effort of love.
I was impressed this year again with how contagious kindness is. When I went to the paint store to get paint for a man in Angela's ward who was trying to improve his living conditions, the man who was helping me asked if it was for some kind of service project. I told him it was and that the person we were trying to help had stopped smoking a few years ago, but there were still nicotine stains and smoke smells and he was trying to get things cleaned up, but couldn't afford to do it himself. The man said, "Well, I'm going to give you the contractor's discount since you are doing such a nice thing for someone else." It was a substantial discount on the supplies, but provided a great increase on the feeling of goodness of people. I think it's "what Jesus would do," and I, like Lauren and Jenn have mentioned, hope to have similar opportunities daily this year!
Lots of plans for the new year.... New flooring upstairs, painting downstairs, lawn in the back yard, livingroom blinds, garage side doors, some fun vacations, reading great books, etc., etc. We'll see how much of it actually gets done! But it's fun to plan and hope and dream! That never gets old!
Sunday, January 8, 2017
Hart Happenings
Greetings everyone! Welcome to 2017. I need practice writing and typing that. 2017 2017 2017 2017.
I personally think it is going to be a great year. Is it time for our predictions yet? We'll get our soothsaying hats on and see what we can come up with.
Our big project this past week was painting Ian's room. He was tired of being surrounded by flesh colored walls and so he chose a gray that he loved and we all attacked his walls. It was super quick and looks really, really nice. The trim part wasn't so quick, but he persevered and it looks so clean and fresh now we all like to go in there.
We've mostly been watching snow fall and the temperature drop, so not much playing outside going on.
Alex and I attended our first water/irrigation meeting. Looks like there will be lots to go around.
We decided to pitch our vacation rental idea to the wedding industry and spent our weekend at the local bridal fair. The concept was really well received and we're thinking it will provide a nice service for those brides who have guests coming from out of town. It was a little surreal to be back in that environment but not with the bridal shop. So much of the first years of our marriage was spent in that arena. Alex kept remarking how glad he was that we are not in retail anymore. AGREED!
We had a really fun art class with Ruth this week. The boys learned all about lines and creating 3 dimensions out of all kinds of lines. It was kind of like magic.
This new year will bring lots of projects. Alex has some he wants to work on, I have a list, the boys keep reminding me of things they want to do, so hopefully we will be able to find the time to get all those done!
Speaking of time....I watched a really great TED talk on time management. The speaker had an unexpected way of looking at managing our time. Check it out!
I also stayed up way too late the other night watching a Netflix documentary called Minimalism. It was fascinating! If any of you watch it, let me know, because I'm dying to discuss it with someone.
Sounds like things are well with you guys! Hope that is true and we really hope to see you all soon!
I personally think it is going to be a great year. Is it time for our predictions yet? We'll get our soothsaying hats on and see what we can come up with.
Our big project this past week was painting Ian's room. He was tired of being surrounded by flesh colored walls and so he chose a gray that he loved and we all attacked his walls. It was super quick and looks really, really nice. The trim part wasn't so quick, but he persevered and it looks so clean and fresh now we all like to go in there.
We've mostly been watching snow fall and the temperature drop, so not much playing outside going on.
Alex and I attended our first water/irrigation meeting. Looks like there will be lots to go around.
We decided to pitch our vacation rental idea to the wedding industry and spent our weekend at the local bridal fair. The concept was really well received and we're thinking it will provide a nice service for those brides who have guests coming from out of town. It was a little surreal to be back in that environment but not with the bridal shop. So much of the first years of our marriage was spent in that arena. Alex kept remarking how glad he was that we are not in retail anymore. AGREED!
We had a really fun art class with Ruth this week. The boys learned all about lines and creating 3 dimensions out of all kinds of lines. It was kind of like magic.
This new year will bring lots of projects. Alex has some he wants to work on, I have a list, the boys keep reminding me of things they want to do, so hopefully we will be able to find the time to get all those done!
Speaking of time....I watched a really great TED talk on time management. The speaker had an unexpected way of looking at managing our time. Check it out!
I also stayed up way too late the other night watching a Netflix documentary called Minimalism. It was fascinating! If any of you watch it, let me know, because I'm dying to discuss it with someone.
Sounds like things are well with you guys! Hope that is true and we really hope to see you all soon!
A recipe
I completely forgot to share my favorite meal of the week. It is a recipe from the seasons Best Bites book. It is the Lime Chili Chicken...or something like that. It is right after the Tandoori recipe. Anyway it was really delicious. We had it with cheesy quinoa (which was supposed to have broccoli in it but we were out so it was just cheesy). Yum!!!
Flake Fun
8 Jan 2017 - It is hard to get back into the groove of things after a couple weeks of vacations, holidays and the like but we eased back into the work life this week without too many bumps and bruises.
The weather has been chilly with little to no sunshine and some bitter winds but nothing compared to Idaho so who can complain? Ruth, you guys are welcome any time. Today was about 50 and the low last night was about 34. Come on down! That goes for anyone else that is tired of the cold weather up north. I can't promise sunshine but we do have a nice wood stove that has kept us comfy.
We ordered seeds for the garden which was fun...or at least will be when the come! It won't be too long before we can start them in our greenhouse.
The highlight of this week was finding a package on our porch on Tuesday that contained the fixed piano peddles! The piano is now fixed and sounds wonderful!!! Thanks to Dad and Mom for getting those fixed and surprising us with a belated Christmas gift.
We are excited to be seeing the light at the end of the tunnel get bigger!!!!
We are hoping to get the house posted by the end of next week. It is livable but the clean up has to happen and a couple of other minor things. So look for the official good news next Sunday!
The weather has been chilly with little to no sunshine and some bitter winds but nothing compared to Idaho so who can complain? Ruth, you guys are welcome any time. Today was about 50 and the low last night was about 34. Come on down! That goes for anyone else that is tired of the cold weather up north. I can't promise sunshine but we do have a nice wood stove that has kept us comfy.
We ordered seeds for the garden which was fun...or at least will be when the come! It won't be too long before we can start them in our greenhouse.
The highlight of this week was finding a package on our porch on Tuesday that contained the fixed piano peddles! The piano is now fixed and sounds wonderful!!! Thanks to Dad and Mom for getting those fixed and surprising us with a belated Christmas gift.
We are excited to be seeing the light at the end of the tunnel get bigger!!!!
Laundry Room = Complete!
Back bedrooms = Complete
Master/Living room = Complete
In 2-3 days this will be a new concrete countertop for the basement bathroom.
We are hoping to get the house posted by the end of next week. It is livable but the clean up has to happen and a couple of other minor things. So look for the official good news next Sunday!
Nilsson News
Happy New Year! I have been out of the groove for a couple of weeks so I'm a little late saying that, but it is still the new year. We had a wonderful Christmas but we were disappointed not to see the Flakes. The weather has been crazy! The wind, combined with the snow on Christmas, cancelled church for us and I haven't seen that in awhile. We did manage to drive to the Hart house that day and had a delicious feast with good company. The cousins had a great time!
Since the Christmas storm we have had 7 car accidents in front of our house and our neighbor's. Two cars have run into our neighbor's mailbox, one ran into the fence and had to be cut out, two flipped into the big ditch across the street, one ran into our neighbor's pine tree and one ran into the telephone pole and cut our power for a bit. Use caution when driving on roads made of ice! This week has been cold, bitter, frigid. Thursday and Friday schools were cancelled because the temperature was estimated to be -23 and with the wind chill it felt like -40! We went through extensive measures to shut all animals in the barn, build up their bedding and start up a heater. They survived! This morning felt tropical when Addy and I went to feed the animals and the thermometer read 5 degrees above zero! Woohoo!
Garrett has been working extra hard on our basement project. He has decided to take it into his own hands to be our electrician because our plumber has taken a good chunk out of our budget and continues to run into more costly problems. Scott, we may be calling you if/when we run into trouble. He has installed eight can lights, a light switch, and run wiring for the outlets. He has only caused sparks a few times.
One thing our plumber discovered was water damage and leaking in our upstairs master bathroom. He said we needed to pull out the toilet, rip up the floor and replace both of those. Since the bathroom was so outdated, we decided to gut the whole thing. Garrett had demo day in our bathroom all day yesterday. He got the toilet, sink, vanity, floor and some of the panelling ripped off the walls. I can't wait to start the painting and putting back together phase!
The kids have enjoyed playing in the snow, although I told them they can only play outside when the temp is above 0 degrees. We are slowly getting back into a school routine and chore routine. It has been lovely. If anyone has temperatures in the 40's or 50's, let us know and we might run down for a visit to thaw out! If anyone would like to try their hand at some serious ice fishing, come visit us! Hope to see you all soon!
Since the Christmas storm we have had 7 car accidents in front of our house and our neighbor's. Two cars have run into our neighbor's mailbox, one ran into the fence and had to be cut out, two flipped into the big ditch across the street, one ran into our neighbor's pine tree and one ran into the telephone pole and cut our power for a bit. Use caution when driving on roads made of ice! This week has been cold, bitter, frigid. Thursday and Friday schools were cancelled because the temperature was estimated to be -23 and with the wind chill it felt like -40! We went through extensive measures to shut all animals in the barn, build up their bedding and start up a heater. They survived! This morning felt tropical when Addy and I went to feed the animals and the thermometer read 5 degrees above zero! Woohoo!
Garrett has been working extra hard on our basement project. He has decided to take it into his own hands to be our electrician because our plumber has taken a good chunk out of our budget and continues to run into more costly problems. Scott, we may be calling you if/when we run into trouble. He has installed eight can lights, a light switch, and run wiring for the outlets. He has only caused sparks a few times.
One thing our plumber discovered was water damage and leaking in our upstairs master bathroom. He said we needed to pull out the toilet, rip up the floor and replace both of those. Since the bathroom was so outdated, we decided to gut the whole thing. Garrett had demo day in our bathroom all day yesterday. He got the toilet, sink, vanity, floor and some of the panelling ripped off the walls. I can't wait to start the painting and putting back together phase!
The kids have enjoyed playing in the snow, although I told them they can only play outside when the temp is above 0 degrees. We are slowly getting back into a school routine and chore routine. It has been lovely. If anyone has temperatures in the 40's or 50's, let us know and we might run down for a visit to thaw out! If anyone would like to try their hand at some serious ice fishing, come visit us! Hope to see you all soon!
Sunday, January 1, 2017
Flake Fun
1 January 2017 - Happy New Year everyone! I hope that you all had a fantastic first day of the new year. It rained here quite a bit which is a good thing for the coming summer. It was so fun to see most of you over Christmas and to have a white Christmas. It has been quite a while since we saw one of those.
We have gotten back into the groove of the house again so we are slowing getting things done there. Hopefully we'll have it finished in the next couple of weeks but who knows for sure.
Today I was called as the relief society communications secretary...not really sure what that means but I'm up for it.
We still haven't quite recovered from our trip and the house is a mess but all in good time, right?
Well, not much to report but hope that everyone has a good first week of a good new year! Lauren, thanks for the reminder to read that book again and focus on what is really important. I feel like I have been coasting, kind of lost the last few years trying to find my place in this whole scheme of things. Although I haven't really found that place yet, I am going to work on it this year and focus on finding myself again and firming my feet on the rock of Christ.
I love you all and miss you like crazy...more than you know.
We have gotten back into the groove of the house again so we are slowing getting things done there. Hopefully we'll have it finished in the next couple of weeks but who knows for sure.
Today I was called as the relief society communications secretary...not really sure what that means but I'm up for it.
We still haven't quite recovered from our trip and the house is a mess but all in good time, right?
Well, not much to report but hope that everyone has a good first week of a good new year! Lauren, thanks for the reminder to read that book again and focus on what is really important. I feel like I have been coasting, kind of lost the last few years trying to find my place in this whole scheme of things. Although I haven't really found that place yet, I am going to work on it this year and focus on finding myself again and firming my feet on the rock of Christ.
I love you all and miss you like crazy...more than you know.
Manning Musings
Happy New Year! Time just flies by. This past year has kind of been an unusual and life changing one for me but it has been very educational and wonderful too! Christmas was so great this year. We spent Christmas Eve down with the Manning family and then came back that night so that Nick could play in the Christmas program at church. We spent most of the day at our apartment and then took an hour trying to jump start our car and dig it out of the snow so we could go the Belliston parents' home. It was delightful to see Jenn and Scott and they were Wesley's favorite. Speaking of Wesley, he is about as close to not crawling as can be without actually crawling. Any day now but I don't think I am ready to baby proof the house!
This past month I reread the book In His Steps by Charles Sheldon. It has always been an inspiring read but it was more so this time and I have been thinking a lot about what it means to follow Jesus' steps. The great thing about being a member of the church is that we have already covenanted to do that and we have the gift of the Holy Ghost to help us but I know that for me I don't always see it that way. It is a pretty daunting idea to always ask "What would Jesus do?" and then follow the best you know how. But I am going to try it out this year and see if I can remember longer than next week!
Can't wait to see you all again! I hope it is sooner than later!
This past month I reread the book In His Steps by Charles Sheldon. It has always been an inspiring read but it was more so this time and I have been thinking a lot about what it means to follow Jesus' steps. The great thing about being a member of the church is that we have already covenanted to do that and we have the gift of the Holy Ghost to help us but I know that for me I don't always see it that way. It is a pretty daunting idea to always ask "What would Jesus do?" and then follow the best you know how. But I am going to try it out this year and see if I can remember longer than next week!
Can't wait to see you all again! I hope it is sooner than later!
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