Mistakes and Stone Throwing

"If you don't learn from your mistakes, there's no sense making them." --Anonymous

Last week I took the car in for a lube job. Everyone that knows me knows that the main reason I do this is so they can check the air pressure in the tires, change the wipers, and vacuum out the inside. Those are tasks I would gladly pay someone else to do. The actual oil change is the extra.

After I paid and drove on my merry way, I noticed the car smelled a little oily. Hhmmm, maybe they dripped a bit on the engine. Not a big deal. Over the next few days, the smell still lingered and became so strong that we'd have to roll down the windows. Then the engine started sounding really low and a bit thumpy. Something was wrong. We pulled over and popped the hood. The oil cap had not been tightened and over the week had been shaken off and there was oil spurting all over the engine! Eewww! Stinky big mess! We put the cap back on, wiped up a little bit and got back on the road.

After I dropped off everyone that needed to be to school, work, etc., I went straight back to the lube place. I didn't even go home and put on makeup first. I was starting to fume a bit (just like the car). And then I was a little surprised at how apologetic and nice everyone was there. They thanked me for coming back in. They washed the entire engine. They washed all the windows, inside and out. They put on a new wiper blade because it had gotten oil on it. The wiped down the dashboard. They made sure the oil level was where it was supposed to be. They fixed their mistake. I don't know what I expected them to do but I had thought that I would have to stand firm and demand the engine be cleaned and refuse to pay and maybe not ever go back there again. I was very impressed with how they made it right.

I compared it to a time when, as a teenager, I went to get my brakes fixed. As I drove out of the parking lot, the brakes that had just been fixed, did nothing when I stepped on them. I used the emergency brake to stop myself before getting into traffic. I went back into the shop and told them that the brakes that they had just fixed didn't work at all now. They just kind of brushed it off and said they must have forgotten to put brake fluid in. They told me to drive it back up and they would fix it. I told them to drive it up! I wasn't going to drive a car without brakes! If I ran into their shop or another car, I did not want to be held responsible. Then they acted like it was my fault that the car didn't have brake fluid in it. What? It could have gotten very ugly so I stopped talking except to make sure it was done right before I left again. As you can guess, I never went there again and talked bad about them every chance I got.

B-man brought home a book from the library recently that is about inventions that were made because of mistakes. Stainless steel, liquid paper, celluloid, rayon, and dry cleaning, to name a few. A mistake was made, the person figured out how that new product could be used and now we all have microwaves in our kitchen. Amazing.

It's kind of like the making lemonade out of lemons saying. What do we do when something goes wrong? How often do we take offense when a mistake is made? Do we try to right our own wrongs? Do we own up? Do we give others the chance to right their wrongs? Do we throw the first stone?

Mistakes are a part of life and we all make them and, yes, some are bigger than others, in fact, some are doosies! The thing that matters is our response to a mistake--whether our own or someone else's. I suggest we clean the engine and replace the wiper blade and clean the windshield inside and out. Make it right.

Some Random Recently-Finished Quilts

I have finally gotten a few projects done! This first quilted wallhanging started out as a Quilt Challenge. (I borrowed from my sister-in-law's quilt group.) We were given a fat quarter of four different batiks and to that we added a yard of any other fabric. This is what I came up with. The fabric I added is a black and cream mini toille that I love! After I worked with it a bit and realized I really loved it I went back to the fabric store to get more and they had less than a yard left. You think I would have learned that lesson by now--when I see a fabric that I love, buy it up! The border is random stripping that I mitered in the corners. I'm liking randomness more and more with quilts.



This red and mustard quilt is from a seminar I went to in Monterrey Mexico a few years ago. I finished the top in three days and then it sat. I finally pulled it out the other day and got the quilting done in a couple of evenings. I'm binding it today! It's a twin size and I don't really have a bed for it but I love reds so much and I love the randomness of all the different reds so I have to find a place for it somewhere in the house!


Next project is C's graduation quilt! She wants it blue and green--she'll need something soothing in the dorm! I've already purchased about 40 fat quarters in different blues and greens and the pattern is picked out. I've got to get it going! Graduation will be here before you know it! Hopefully there will be pictures of it before June!

Countertop Clutter

This morning I went to make B-man his lunch and the thought came to me that today is Tuesday and sometimes on Tuesday the school offers egg rolls and sweet and sour chicken for lunch and that’s his favorite. So I decided to consult the school lunch calendar to see if I needed to make him a lunch or not.

The school lunch calendar is always on the counter. This morning I could not find it. The pile on my counter has gotten out of control and after sifting through the massive pile three times, I gave up. I told B-man just to buy lunch--just in case.

After I got the kids to school, I decided to tackle the countertop! This is what I found:

1 checkbook that has been sorely missed
1 large crayon-colored picture entitled “The Water Cycle”
6 various report cards, 3 progress reports
Rodeo art certificate, Cursive club certificate, perfect attendance certificate
13 pencils, 4 Sharpies, 4 dry erase markers, 3 ball point pens, one piece of yellow sidewalk chalk
9 CD’s including the Middle School’s band concert from 2007-08, Paul Potts, Carpenter’s Christmas, and Jason Mraz
2 Christmas cards that never made it on the hanger
3 wedding announcements that I still haven’t sent gifts for
1 get well card from last summer when I was under the weather
5 magazines including Ensign, Family Fun, Family Handyman, and 2 Real Simples
13 recipes that need to be filed--don’t want to lose Ure’s Whole Wheat Bread!
2 carabiners
1 compass
One candle
A Mary Kay lipstick sample
2 spirals
1 coin purse made out of a little pink sock
2 pennies (what?!? Not more money than that?)
1 elastic girl Pez dispenser
2 bug-man receipts (he comes every 3 months)
2 dice (B-man rolls these at dinner to tell him how many more bites he has)
1 empty ink cartridge ready for recycling
J's Christmas list (he actually got one thing from it--not bad)
1 spider ring
1 hair clip
1 bobby pin
1 nerf bullet
1 tiny toy kangaroo (I have NO idea where this came from)
1 pocket pack of tissues
1 plastic ‘stained glass’ dump truck painting project
Paint for plastic ‘stained glass’ dump truck

Yeah. Pretty bad. I can’t believe how out of control it was. I’m glad today’s garbage day and I’m glad our garbage bags are strong.

p.s. The school lunch calendar was here by the computer. My bad.

Thanks for your love

I was hesitant to post last week.
The last couple of weeks have been hard, with life getting turned upside down.
And surprises, bad surprises springing up.
Who wants to let the world look in that window?
But, it has been very therapeutic to release it and put it out there.
Hearing support from friends and family, feeling of your prayers.
I know that hope is there and pulling together as a family is always a good thing.

I'm sorry I can't post details, it's still too new and personal.
In this instance, time is a friend.
After a while, a smile, a laugh, the sun keeps shining.
I love my family.

The Bruise

Last week when I happened to be showering, as I washed my foot my little toe started really hurting. The pain of that brought a memory really fast--I stubbed my toe on the ironing board as I was going to the bathroom in the middle of the night. Wow. It didn't hurt until I touched it and I didn't remember what I did until it hurt. Bruises do that. Sometimes I see a bruise on my leg and wonder how it got there. I push it until it hurts and remember the corner of the table or whatever it was that did it.

I have another bruise that's even deeper.

In the summer of 1977, at 6 am on a Sunday morning, we got a knock on the door. Just my mom (3 mos pregnant) and us 7 kids were home. Dad was on the road, driving back from a quick trip to pick up our broken car in Nevada. Mom answered the door. It was a policeman. There had been a car accident and dad had died. Just like that our world changed.

I was 10 years old at the time and remember thinking that we would have a lot of challenges because of this--probably my whole life long. I turned myself over to God and let Him direct me because I knew, first of all, that He still loved me and second, He owed me. I know that's not the most humble attitude to have, but it was what I thought of as I went through those next ten years. Those teenage years were rough, and many of my prayers were asking for favors 'owed.'

Yes, things have always been hard, but not impossible. As I got to my 30's, I really began to like my life and was glad that things turned out how they had. I liked where I had gotten to even if it was a rough road. I think that's a 30's thing--pretty normal for most people to finally put the past behind them and look toward the future optimistically.

This last week we've had somewhat of a family crisis (extended family). I can't go into details, but I really miss my dad. I wish he were here to give some council and advice. I wish he were here to hug and tell me that everything is going to be OK. I've had that deep bruise poked and prodded a lot this last week and the memories are really tender. I want to cover up that spot so it can't be poked anymore.

Moving on . . .

I missed an entire month of posting. And I don't even feel guilty (ok, maybe a little bit). But anyway, December was a very nice month. We got a little snow here, had a little holiday feasting, felt that warm, nice Christmas spirit, and got to have two weeks with our oldest.

I've decided to give the kids blog names (is there a more current techno term for that? I don't know) and our oldest is hereby christened BlueJay--maybe BJ for short. She has ALWAYS been attracted to anything that glitters--anything sparkly that catches her eye usually ends up in her nest. I don't know what names the other kids will get stuck with--time will tell.

So, BJ was home from university life for 2 weeks. It was wonderful! She got her ankle checked and doesn't need surgery, but has lots of physical therapy to do every day. We were able to fit a few fun family activities into the schedule--movies, Kemah Boardwalk, sleeping in, football games, fireworks. On the way to the airport to send her back up to the cold, we asked if she would just like to quit school and stay home. She didn't really want to. She's loving what she's doing and where she is and all of her friends and classes and learning and progressing. Wow. She used to be such a homebody. It was nice to hear her say it and sad, too. She has definitely flown the coop (nest).

So, now we're into January. A new year, a new decade. I'm still mulling over possible resolutions. I'd like to try a new meal every Thursday this year--(I've got a lot of cookbooks and I've got to get out of a rut). But, not this Thursday. Today, I'm making Sally Pando's crock pot stew because we love it and there's a cold front on its way and that's what I want to eat. (recipe below)

Another thing I want to try is the financial envelope system. I can't see that one lasting past March or April, though, because the system I've adapted for our family works for us. I guess I just want to see if using all cash and sorting it would work better and be more productive or not. Actually, I don't see this one lasting past February. Maybe I should just delete this whole last paragraph. Hhhmmm...

I always want to do better with getting in shape and losing weight -blah blah blah- and reading my scriptures more and getting to the temple more -blah blah blah. Those are just such daily things. Always thinking of and always working on it doesn't seem like a resolution. It seems like a garden that needs tending.

I think a resolution should be new and exciting like parachuting or traveling to China or saving the rainforest (hmm ..I think it's the ice floes now, isn't it?) or saving the ice floes! But, alas, (yes, I threw an alas in there) daily life comes and goes and life gets crazy just trying to keep up with what needs to get done. The other day I mentioned to number 2 daughter (new blog name: sorry, can't think of one) that life is so crazy! She said, "No, mom, life isn't crazy, life is wonderful! We're the ones that make it crazy." My jaw dropped. Since when did a high schooler get so smart? Well, she is my child. So, this year I hope I don't make it crazy. I hope I can let the wonderful come through.

CROCK POT BEEF STEW
Sally Pando

2 lbs. Beef stew meat, cut in 1-inch cubes
¼ c. flour
½ tsp. Salt
½ tsp. Pepper
1 ½ c. beef broth (or 1 can)
1 tsp. Worchestershire sauce
1 -8 oz. Can tomato sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
1 tsp. Paprika
4 carrots, sliced
3 potatoes, diced
1 onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, sliced
¼ c. ketchup

Put meat in crock pot. Mix flour, salt and pepper and pour over meat; stir to coat meat with flour. Add remaining ingredients and stir to mix well. Cover, cook on LOW 10-12 hours or HIGH 4-6 hours. Stir stew thoroughly before serving.
Makes 6 servings.

Thanksgiving with the Aliens

We hit the road for Thanksgiving this year. We traveled to the great state of New Mexico and stayed in Roswell for a few days visiting Grandma and Grandpa and Grandpa’s mom, Grandma-Grandma. When people hear the name Roswell, the first thing that comes to mind is certainly not dairy farms or south-western art or even Thanksgiving destinations, although there is lots of that there. Admit it, Roswell is known for UFOs and aliens.

UFO Museum

What happened on that July day in 1947? Apparently a UFO crashed into a ranch close to Roswell. There was a cover-up and so any information that has come out since then has been questioned. Is this information legit or is it what they were told to tell? The questions and conspiracy have led to quite a big, fun mystery.

There is a UFO Museum and Research Center right on Main Street, located in an old movie theater, until money is raised for a new state-of-the-art building. I told my mom that it’s very Americana--in a kitschy sort of way. Mom also mentioned that since a lot of the farmers are getting old, they don’t care anymore about getting in trouble for talking so maybe new information that was once hush-hush will start to come out. The museum shows an 80’s-made movie about what ‘really’ happened. It’s narrated by a guy who sounds like he’s introducing the "Twilight Zone" --you know the type, talking serious about ridiculous things.

Model of the crash

There’s a section on the history of what happened, signed statements framed on the wall, copies of the newspapers, models of what the crash must have looked like, and mock-up aliens lingering around. There’s a section on crop circles, rocks and shells that look like alien faces, and ‘proof’ that the Aztecs were astronauts. There are statements about other UFO sightings, including one in Arizona three days before the Roswell crash. There’s even a section on comics that refer to Roswell. Of course our favorite area of the museum was the gift shop.

Newspaper Headline

Hhmm, think it's real?

Roswell has certainly embraced the notoriety. The town-folk think it’s fun. It brings in some tourist money along with the weird alien groupies. The street lights all have alien faces and in the spirit of the season are currently sporting Santa hats. The Wal-Mart has a souvenir section and UFOs painted on the outside of the building. There are aliens waving from shop windows and UFO’s stuck onto the tops of buildings.

Streetlight in front of a piano shop

When we were driving into New Mexico, we happened to see a UFO hovering in the sky right in front of us and yes, I took a picture. Maybe I’ll frame it and send it into the museum. It might even get its own display.