hot dogs, football and the U

Joel's friend from high school is now the President of the University of Utah. He is very kind to his high school friends, and we get invited to many things are the U. We were invited to the U game, and they played the University of New Mexico. Of course the U won, and it was an exciting game. The weather was mild, and comfortable. Before the game started, we had our choice of all kinds of food. We had Mexican food, drinks, cookies, and there was hot dogs available too. Grandson Parker ate more than the rest of us. He had at least three hot dogs, tons of cookies, lots of Mexican food, pop corn, ice cream, and more hot dogs. He had the best time. During half time, we were sitting next to Frank Layden. I started talking to him, and he was the best sport. He is so cute, and a true gentlemen. We had our pictures taken with him, and he asked us all our names and where we were from. He gave me his card and told me to send him a picture and he would authograph it and send it back. He said he only comes to Utah county two times a year, and that is to ferment his wine............... (get it: come to Utah county and you go way back in time......) Thanks to Mike Young for inviting us to the game and letting us spend some time in his presidential suite.

The Michael Jackson Tragedy

Last week some friends and I went to see the new Michael Jackson Movie "This Is It". It was well worth the $ and the time. So much time and money went into this concert. The special effects were incredible! This movie will give you a different opinion of Michael. He was extremely polite to everyone involved, especially the singers and dancers The THRILLER segment was the best part of the movie.. It is just a shame that the concert was not able to go forward. Don't miss it!!!!!!

FALL UPDATE

Sometimes when one works, it is impossible to get this blog updated. I can't do this at work, so it takes a little more effort on my part to post things. For the grand kids fall break, the family went camping at Kodachrome Basin, located in the Grand National Staircase, by Cedar Breaks. The weather was just beautiful,
and the fall leaves were at their best. The camp site has a great restrooms, clean and it has free unlimited hot (for time) showers. It was fun to just relax and enjoy the scenery.

Tradition

Every October Jenny, Chloee, Wendy Grace and I go to Salt Lake City to see THRILLER. This has been our traditional for years now. This year, we went and Natalie met us there. Before the performance, we ate at The Red Iquana. Wendy and I had tried to get in there before, and the wait has always been a long one. We were early enough on that Saturday to get right in. The food was great, and the company was better. Before the performance starts, there are ghouls outside to scare you. Our cute little friend Alayna was one of the ghouls, and she is in the performance as well. We were not sure at first if it was her, but she grunted that it was, but it was hard to tell by her frightening appearance. We look forward to this day every year. It is great dancing and entertainment. Love you Wendy for getting us to go with you the first time!

My Dad

Today is my dad's birthday. I really miss him. Today it kind of hurts to think about. You see, my parents got divorced when I was in kindergarten. I don't remember much about living with him. But I remember how much my parents fought when he came to visit my brother and I. When my parents got divorced, my brother and I went to live with my mother's parents, my grandparents. We had a great life with them, they gave us everything. We did not see my dad very often. I think it was just easier for him to stay away. I feel cheated that I did not get to live with him. When I got older, I tried to spend as much time with him as I could. I watched him suffer with his jaw cancer. It breaks my heart to think about it. Dad, you are at peace now, and we will see you again.

Getting Old

I guess I have had a melt down. Sometime life gets overwhelming. The poor economy, lack of jobs, and everything in general have just gotten to me. I had to suspend my blog for a while , while I "recovered". I am still recovering, sort of. Hitting 60 is not fun, and it makes it really hard to find a job at that time of your life. I have always had a easy time finding a job in bookkeeping, since I know Quickbooks. But not this time, because I am in the job pool with hundreds of other, not just a few. And those "others" are a lot younger than me. My friend Elizabeth told me about a job where she works. I applied for it, and I got a job there, which was a big relief. I work at Modus Link in Orem, but I am employed through Select Staffing. I work for Apple, processing rebates for their Back to School promotions, and iPhone. It is a temporary job, and I don't know how long it will last. But for right now, it is OK. Joel is working for the Census Bureau, doing surveys for the Commerce Department. He interviews random people about how they spend their $$$$$$$$$. These surveys determine the CPI, and interest rates, etc. He is not crazy about the job, but it is a job. Car sales are really slow right now, so every little thing helps.....

Being A Pack Rat

All my life I have had a hard time getting rid of things. Last week I finally threw away the feather pillow I have had since I was three years old. I wasn't using it, it was just taking up space on my bed with some other pillows. Years ago I left it at a motel in North Platte, Nebraska. On our trip back through I stopped and picked it up. It had been stored where there was lots of cigarette smoke, so it smelled terrible. When the covers wore out, I would make another one. The original mattress ticking was long gone. So I threw a part of me away last week. One thing I do have is my Great Grandma Effie Bird Crawley's vintage aprons that she made long ago. I probably have about ten or so. She made her meager little living out of selling these aprons. She was a widow for many years. When I found these aprons when I was cleaning out my grandparents Daley's home, I found them in a drawer, all starched and in tissue paper, ready to be sold, or given to someone.

Going Green

I read this article every Sunday in the Salt Lake Tribune. It is by Mary Jane Buttars, who lives on a farm in Moscow, Idaho. She was born in Ogden, Utah, and is the most interesting person I have ever read about. She is a believer in organic and going green. I made this laundry soap:

2 cups powdered hand soap (Borax suggested)
1 cup washing soda (Arm and Hammer)
1 cup Borax (20 Mule Team Borax Natural Laundry booster

Mix all ingredients well and store in an airtight plastic container. Use 1/4 cup per load of laundry. I bought all of the ingredients at Macey grocery store. This will save you $$$$$$, and it gets your clothes REALLY clean.

Brown Bag Apple Pie

I inherited (or took) Joel's mom's recipes when she died. She had some great recipes from her days at BYU (that would be during the fab fifties)and recipe collecting from all the LDS wards that have published cookbooks. Here is one of them that was clipped from a newspaper:

Brown Bag Apple Pie
Crust: 1 1/2 cups flour, 1 1/2 cups flour, 1 tsp. salt, 1/2 cup oil, 2 T. cold milk. Combine and mix until blended. Pat into the bottom and sides of a 9 inch pie plate.
Filling:
4 cups slices apples, 1/2 cup sugar, 2 T. flour, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, 1/2 tsp.
Cinnamon. Combine dry ingredients and loss them lightly with the apples, Pour into the unbaked pie shell. Add topping (below).

Topping: 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 cup butter, room temperature, 1/2 cup sugar. Combine and mix with fingers until crumbly. Put the pie in a large brown paper grocery bag. Fold to seal, staple shut. Bake @ 350& for 1 1/2 hours.
Remove from oven and let cool in the bag.

I need to get with it!

I haven't posted anything for so long. I don't know why, maybe because of all the many things that have been going on since the death of my dad. There was Memorial Day, which used to be called "Decoration Day". Our family decorated lots of graves at the Provo Cemetery. We even "geo-cached" at the Provo Cemetery. Jenny found a "micro" there and was really thrilled. Dad and Gayle's grave (at the Orem Cemetery) do not have markers yet, but they both had tons of flowers and remembrances. It has rained so much this past month, that we have not done a whole lot of things. I planted wildflowers from seeds, and they are doing well. I have a small garden with tomatoes and peppers. Dave came from Palm Springs for a weekend visit and we did the Brick Oven Pizza thing. My grandson Brady had a "jumping on the bed" accident and lost his four bottom teeth. Jenny was tending him and was right there folding clothes, and he hit his jaw on the bed frame when Jenny caught him. It was traumatic for everyone concerned, but he mended and things are great. I reminded his mother Ashleigh that she lost her four top front teeth to an accident on her bike, and she survived. I am thankful that things are back to normal now and thankful for our many blessings.

My dad's obituary

Donald H. Rasmussen


1928 ~ 2009

St. George, UT - Donald H. Rasmussen was born October 4, 1928 in Springville, Utah. He was the son of Arnold H. and Deane Martain Rasmussen. He lived in the Provo/Orem area most of his life, graduating from Provo High School.

He was an Ironworker by trade working for Bechtel Corp., Consolidated Western Steel and most of the time for American Bridge at Geneva Steel. He attended night school at Utah Valley University, then Utah Technical College, where he learned blue print reading and other crafts. Later he taught the Ironworker Apprentice classes in Safety, Blue-Print Reading and Welding at Utah Technical College. At one time he was the youngest superintendent for American Bridge Co. in California where he worked on the L.A. Convention Center in the early 1970's.

He was previously married and had two children. He married Martha Brown Lamoreaux on June 20, 1958. He is survived by his wife, Martha and his children Sharon (Joel) Murphy of Pleasant Grove; Charlotte Lamoreaux (Richard) Evans of St. George; Alan (Margarett) Rasmussen of Provo; Dean (Alisa) Rasmussen of Kaysville; Don J. (Kara) Rasmussen of Spanish Fork; 15 grandchildren and 19 great-grandchildren.

He was active in the LDS Church and held many positions, High Priests Group presidency in two wards, Ward Activities Committee, Young Men Presidency, Scout Master, Asst. Scout Master, Webelos, Merit Badge Counselor, Scout Committeeman and Home Teacher. He had a compassionate spot in his heart for the elderly neighbors and always for the underdog.

He and his wife, Martha, have lived in St. George for nearly 20 years. His home was always open and his greatest joy was when he was surrounded by his family, which was often.

In St. George a visitation will be held on Thursday, April 23, 2009 from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. at the Bloomington Hills LDS 4th Ward Chapel, 750 Ft Pierce, St. George, Utah. In Orem a visitation will be held on Saturday, April 25, 2009 from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at Sundberg/Olpin Mortuary, 495 South State St., Orem, Utah followed by Graveside services at the Provo City Cemetery, 610 South State St., Provo, Utah. Arrangements under the direction of Metcalf Mortuary 435-673-4221.

DEATH AGAIN---CANCER I HATE YOU!

My dad, Donald Rasmussen passed away yesterday in St. George, Utah from complications of radiation treatment for jaw cancer. He had lost a lot of weight and had a hard time eating since the treatments had burned his throat, etc. Joel and I brought the three granddaughters here to St. George for spring break. All they want to do was swim. It was kind of cold here, but they swam anyway. We went to visit dad on Friday and he was sleeping, and looked horrible. He looked like he was a death camp survivor. The next morning we went to check on him again, and when we turned the corner his home had tons of cars there. I knew that something horrible was going on. My brother Don had come down that morning so see dad and went he arrived he had already died. It was a shock, as he did not appear to be close to death. He was suffering, so it was a blessing that his life had come to an end. Maybe dad somehow choose to leave when most of the family had gathered there for spring break.......

There will be a visitation in St.George Thursday night, with a funeral on Saturday in Orem, Utah. Dad was born in Provo, Utah and spent most of his life there,until he retired to St. George 20 years ago. He worked many years at Geneva Steel.

Death again.

My great Uncle Jack Mckell of Spanish Fork, Utah was laid to rest on March 21, 2009. It was a beautiful day and family and friends were in attendance. Aunt Carma Van Wagoner was there from Salt Lake City, my brother Alan Rasmussen, and Jack's children John and Elaine. After the services we stopped by to visit aunt Margaret in the assisted living center.
Alan, Carma and Sharon


Alan, John, Sharon, and John's wife Jeanette

Saying Goodbye.........

There were tons of beautiful flowers and lots of visitors and lots of tears as we said goodbye to our loved one, Gayle. She will be missed by everyone.
We will see you again............

Gayle's 58th Birthday

The day before Gayle's birthday, the therapy dogs from the hospital came for a comfort visit. The dogs belong to the Beagley's. They go to hospitals and care centers for comfort therapy for the sick. The dogs are huge! They are Newfoundlands, names Jet and Jaro. Gayle knew the owners and the dogs, as they came to the hospital to visit when Gayle had been at work. Gayle continued to work just a few weeks before she became really ill, and her last day at work the dogs had paid a visit to the patients there. Gayle really enjoyed the dog visit. The next day for her birthday she had a steady stream of visits from the neighbors, family, friends, and her co-workers at the hospital. She had a wonderful day. Things were getting harder to watch, as we all knew that her time was getting near. The next day, the family got together and planned out who was going to stay with Gayle through the night. Joel and I were the ones to stay on Friday, February 20th. We got up with her twice in the night, and the next morning she was gone around 8:10 a.m. What a sad day for us all.

February Updates/Cancer Sucks

I have not posted forever. A lot of things went on in the month of February. First of all Joel turned 60, with a surprise birthday bash at Jenny's house. Pat Wimmer and Jenny and all of the girls in the family made cheese cakes, birthday cake, cookies and punch. We had a wonderful dinner cooked by all, with Pua making the breaded pork chops for the main dish. It was wonderful!!!! Later that evening Joel's family and friends came over for a surprise visit. Dave, his brother flew in from Palm Springs for the weekend. His visit was bittersweet. He came to visit his sister Gayle, as she was in her final weeks of life from colon cancer. Joel, Gayle and I were planning on our annual "President's Day" weekend visiting Dave and Glen at their home in Palm Springs. Gayle was too sick to go, and in fact was too sick to come to Joel's party. She went downhill very fast. She had cousins visit from north Utah on Thursday, and by that night she was paralized on her right side. The cancer had spread to her brain, and she was now in bed with hospice care. We were all just devastated with the news and her rapid decline.
Kaye, Craig and Toni Bryson, Joel, Sharon Gayle and Karen Mortensen

We had a great visit that day, and the cousins were very glad that they were able to talk with Gayle before she got worse.

Joel's birthday was great, and many friends and relatives came to visit him with birthday wishes. Here are some of the visitors:

THIS IS THE TRUTH

ok---I am bordering on the edge of insanity. We have 18" of snow on our deck. It has snowed non-stop since yesterday, and it is still going (7:00 p.m.). The snow plow has not been around lately. Joel has plowed the driveway and walkways numerous times today. I just can't believe it.....