As to when I shall visit civilization, it will not be soon,

I think.  I have not tired of the wilderness; rather I enjoy

its beauty and the vagrant life I lead, more keenly all the

time.  I prefer the saddle to the streetcar and star-sprinkled

sky to a roof, the obscure and difficult trail, leading into 

the unknown, to any praved highway, and the deep peace

of the wild to the discontent bred by cities.  Do you blame 

me then for staying here, where I feel that I belong and am

one with the world around me?  

From: Heart of the Desert Wild

by: Everett Ruess

You cant know how very thrilled  i am to have red rock pics back up on my blog!! It feels almost as good as being out there among the rocks and sand...but in truth NOTHING can feel as good as being out there again!

Theres no way of knowing just how many times Ive been on the Slots hike in my hiking career. At least a hundred times Im sure.  But is had been at least 5 yrs since I've visited the trail.  I had my willing, patient companion in Clark...and off we headed to what I thought would be a most familiar trek.
The first bugaboo was discovering that the normal place that we have parked for years was no longer "legal." WHAT????!!  How can this be!!??  I tracked down a local  and asked what had happened, and why parking was no longer permitted.  He kind of rolled his eyes and said that things had kinda gotten out of control...too many cars, fender benders and law suits had made the citizens of the street feel that they needed to put up the signs. ugh
He told me that Snow Canyon had to put up signs too...prohibiting hiking where we have hiked for years. Sigh

Anyway...the short of it is that he directed me to a place to park and from there is was easy to find the familiar trail and begin the hike.

Oh how glorious it was to be out there!!

 Newspaper Rock with neighbors....

But alas....my aging brain found some places unfamiliar!! How could this be!!!?? I was sure I could have done this hike blindfolded!!
But there was no need for real concern. I do know this hike. I just did it a little differently than 'normal.'

For this being an "off limits' hike...we sure did see quite a few people enjoying the same scenery as we were and ignoring the same signs we were.

And may I also mention how heart-breaking is was to see spectacular , million dollar homes not 50 yards from Newspaper rock!?  People sitting out on their beautiful patios could easily see the petroglyphs on the rock!!  That just doesnt sit well with me...but Im not in charge of the world am I?!

Thank you Clark for going out there with me!

Cat tracks!!!

Can I just say ...how blown away I am by modern technology!! I ...little old me, has figured out how to get pictures off my phone for this here blog!! Thats crazy!! Im so grateful!! Im "grateful to Clark too...for his help and support...but this time I did this on my own!! yay for me!!

“Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before!

What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store.

What if Christmas...perhaps...means a little bit more!”

-Dr Seuss  

Christmas is most definitely my least favorite holiday.
And I believe I can explain this with a few short words.
unfulfilled expectations
commercialism,
disappointment


No matter how hard I try to change my mindset on Christmas...discontent rears its ugly head.

When ones love language is so NOT 'gift giving' , Christmas  becomes a little dreadful and a burden. When ones love language is 'spending quality time" or 'acts of service', then you can see that Christmas hasn't gone  well for me, (or my family) for many years.

My dream Christmas, since my family began, is to bag the gifts and go away, board a plane, or pack into cars, and spend the time and money making memories that will last forever.  (who remembers what they got for Christmas last year?) To not be buying gifts that will soon be forgotten, or that leave the recipient feeling less than satisfied...or wanting something different, or feeling that's its a lame gift, or that someones elses gift is better...and on and on... Its all nonsense and weighs heavily on my heart when I go to bed after the brouhaha of Christmas.
My simple solution:
Maybe next year will be the year my 'fantasy Christmas' will materialize.
Plane tickets for all instead of socks
Beach house instead of jewelry
Service instead of gift cards
Memories instead of electronics
No regrets or unfulfilled expectation, only joy and great memories.

PS- my kids are GREAT! This is not their problem or their fault. I was born this way.  MyBuilder is the bonified spirit of Christmas in our house. I would have thrown up my hands in defeat years ago if it weren't for him. Bless him!!

We meditate to discover our own identity, our

right place in the scheme of the universe. 

Through meditation we aquire and eventually

acknowledge our connection to an inner power

source that has the ability  to transform our outer

world.  In other words, meditation  gives us not

only the light of insight but also the power for

expansive change.

from: The Artist Way

I cant put my finger on why it is that hiking inspires me to blog.  I miss, miss blogging.  I have missed, missed hiking.  Weight lifting is a gas...I really love it...but I guess there are no gorgeous vistas to photograph...no down time to just take in the scenery and to breath. Too many sweaty, straining faces at the gym...who wants to see that!!??

I am so, SO grateful that Brian and Mericar are in town now...for now we have plans!!! Lots of plans for hiking. I almost feel reborn.  Hopeful.

Today we picked a moderate hike...for we had grands in tow. Anna and David are rock stars! They toted those kiddos on their backs and in their arms most of the time!! Thanks Blacksmith Barbell for the strength training there!!

It was a beautiful Labor Day Monday. Even My Builder joined us!!  I think the grands would follow him anywhere!! Even up a mountain!!

William may grow up to be a rock hound.  He was always on the hunt to find a precious rock to put in his pocket. I believe the headboard of his bed is lined with such treasures.  He is our treasure!

 Did I mention that the morning was glorious!! The clouds...the tint of fall colors on  the trees in the distance.  It  rained  last night...and everything smelled amazing...the grass was bent over with the weight and coolness of the moisture! Perfection!!

 This little grand is a talker!! Hiking opens up his mind...even more...and he talked to all of us about anything...things that most four year olds dont articulate.  What a boy!!  Growing his legs stronger so he can be an even better hiker!!

And look what we found as the hike drew to a close. A lovely "St George" colored caterpillar!! He was a tickling treat!!

Thanksgiving 2013

All sorrows are less with bread.

from: Don Quixote

by: Miguel de Cervantes

There can be no doubt that each person  who traveled over the river and thru the woods to this grandmothers house for Thanksgiving this year, will have a different take on how the day looked and went. (In fact, it would have been fun to take a survey of adjectives that our visitors would  use to describe it.) This is the beauty of family get-togethers I suppose.
The following is my take on the  gathering.
There was a great deal of traveling involved with this Thanksgiving. Grandmas try not to worry about all the traveling...there's those highway speeds and driver error and the overall margins for catastrophe  in such undertakings. My Mom and Dad, and Joe and Natalie will get this years prize for traveling the longest distances....all the way from St George.  (and may I just say it again...It will never cease to amaze me that we can travel the whole length of this great state in just one day...in just a fistful of hours. I still imagine the pioneers and anyone else taking this trek, before the invention of the steam engine... and it took weeks of toil and trouble. Its a marvel that will always marvel.)
Im so grateful that my folks went to the trouble and expense to join us. It would not have been a complete celebration without them. I can only now imagine  the adjectives my folks would use to describe their visit here. I think they spent the greater part of their time here in stunned amazement at how much motion and noise can exude from such small little bodies of kinetic energy known as great grandchildren. Mom was ever the busy bee, wanting to help wherever she could and dad was once again the Master Turkey Chef!! Our 29 lb turkey..which quickly became a 30+lb turkey after being stuffed with his prize winning dressing, was once again a divine hunk of white and dark moist meat!! YUM!!! Thanksgiving isnt Thanksgiving without Dad's turkey!!
Gratitude is a paltry  word to use when I think about the journey Joe and Natalie took to get here. Over rivers and thru woods was the easy part Im sure..what with 3 rambunctious boys in the back of the mini-van. As far as Im concerned it was 48 hrs. of bliss once they got here. Wishing it could have been longer was fruitless...so Im staying grateful that we had them all at once. To have them under the same roof sharing breakfast, and smiles and making crafty things ...plus their sharing with us their HAPPY,HAPPY news about another beautiful baby joining their family in July was bliss on top of bliss!!  My major inroad with this dear family....was holding Beckham with nary a squeal!! In fact I was able to squeeze a sheepish grin from those adorable chubby cheeks!!! Score!!! Another lovely addition that came with Joe and Nat was Natalie's little brother Zac. Oh what a little gentleman that 11 yr old is. We were delighted to share our table with him and to get to know him a little better!!
Next visitor..who I suppose has a legitimate case to plead for the prize for traveling great distances would be sweet Lucie Lou, Davids daughter. Lucie now live in the boondocks of central Nevada. It was quite the drive for David to go and get her. We sure are glad he did though...for Lucie is a gem of a girl and her sweet face added beauty to our Thanksgiving table and celebration!! We are grateful that she gets to stay with us until Sunday!!
Clark and Jenna and Brian and Mericar were the next guest to arrive. Their travels thru woods and over rivers happened in the wee hours of the night...and I missed their actual arrival for I can no longer keep a  late night vigil. I didnt hear a peep in fact. I didnt hear the air pump blowing up the air mattress in the very next room. I didnt hear whispers or the goodnight kisses. I guess I was sleeping the sleep of the dead. But oh what fun to have young love under the same roof as ours. What a blessing it is to have such fine young ones amongst us!!
And last, but certainly not least, dear Brent and Kelly and kids arrived, having made the journey from Salt Lake bearing arm loads of goodies and smiles galore!! What a welcomed addition to our our feast!! More beautiful faces at our table and a crockpot full of heavenly yams  and leafy greens to boot!! Once again words will not express how welcomed their visit was for us!
Anna and David were perfect hosts.  Anna finds great joy and satisfaction in cooking for the masses. Her carrot cake will go down in history along side Grandpa Sharps turkey. Their sweet little Will will be remembered as  the 'prince of the ball'. The copious contents of their fridge will always be remembered as satisfying.  David acted as the outdoor ringmaster. The kids would follow him anywhere...even when the temps were cold outside!!
So all that was missing from our near perfect Thanksgiving celebration was dear Rob and Chels this year. Traveling over rivers and thru woods just wasnt in the cards for them this year.  They were sorely missed. Perfection is a hard thing to achieve...but boy were we close this year!!
The following is time lapse photo/video that clever Clark set up...unbeknownst to me!! It too is near perfection in my eyes. These are the days that sparkle as magnificent gems in our often dull crowns of life.

 Thank you all, for coming.

FATHERS DAY REVISITED...

Tegus, I'll not find a better man than
you, not on the steppes, not in any city
or in all the wilds of the Eight Realms.
You're better than seven years of food.
You're better than windows. You're even
better than the sky.
from: Book of a Thousand Days
by: Shannon Hale

Dad with his fabulous "man-childs"
Bob, Mark, Brent and Scott

"He was all questions. But small boy expect their fathers to be walking lexicons, to do two jobs at once, to give replies as they are working, whether laying stones or building models...

My grandpa Sharp (2nd from the left)
Stan, Cecil,Frank, John
D, Mur or Anna, Gramps, and Beth

...digging up a shrub, or planting flower beds...Boys have a right to ask their fathers questions....Fathers are the powers that be,

Daddy Joe,  Logan, Liam, Beckham!!!

and with their power and might must shelter, guard, and hold and teach and love...All men with sons must learn to do these things....

Dad and Mom and ME!!!! (1yr)

...Too soon, too soon, a small son grows and leaves his father's side to test his manhood's wings."
by:Roy Z. Kemp

"Gramps" or John C Sharp--baby Bump--my dad

My Builder

Grandfather-Paul Burnham

Brother Joe and first born-joshua

My grandpa Vern and Grandma Ida Clemenson

Rob, Lachlan, Olive, Knox

David and Benjamin

By divine design, fathers are to preside over their families
in love and righteousness and are responsible to provide the
necessities of life and protection for their families.
Mothers are primarily responsible for the nurture of their
children. In these sacred responsibilities, fathers and
mothers are obligated to help one another as equal partners.
from: The Family:A Proclamation to the World
by: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

Martin Luther King Day

"Cowardice asks the question, ‘Is it safe?’ Expediency asks the question, ‘Is it politic?’ Vanity asks the question, ‘Is it popular?’ But, conscience asks the question, ‘Is it right?’ And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular but one must take it because one’s conscience tells one that it is right"– . -Martin Luther King, Jr.,

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that"


"Our lives begin to end the day that we become silent about things that matter."






.

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!!!

.

Flag Day

...it didnt matter in the least whether if floated from the unpainted pole at Camp Miller or here above the tall gables of Weston Union High School. It was simply the flag; nothing could add to its splendor or dim its glory.  She could feel that it stood for something important and big.  But what that something was, she couldnt have said if anyone asked her...for Janey and her friends standing there, the flag stood for their trust in the present and their hope in the future.

from: Blue Willow

by: Doris Gates

To My Dear Mom,,,And to All Good Mothers Out There!!!

Mother with Children Returning Home by Ferdinand Georg Waldmuller 

Invisible Woman

It started to happen gradually. One day I was walking my son Jake to school. I was holding his hand and we were about to cross the street when the crossing guard said to him, "Who is that with you, young fella?"

"Nobody," he shrugged. Nobody? The crossing guard and I laughed. My son is only 5, but as we crossed the street I thought, "Oh my goodness, nobody?"

I would walk into a room and no one would notice. I would say something to my family - like "Turn the TV down, please" - and nothing would happen. Nobody would get up, or even make a move for the remote. I would stand there for a minute, and then I would say
again, a little louder, "Would someone turn the TV down?" Nothing.

Just the other night my husband and I were out at a party. We'd been there for about three hours and I was ready to leave. I noticed he was talking to a friend from work. So I walked over, and when there was a break in the conversation, I whispered, "I'm ready to go when you are." He just kept right on talking.

I'm invisible

It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the way one of the kids will walk into the room while I'm on the phone and ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, "Can't you see I'm on the phone?" Obviously not. No one can see if I'm on the phone, or cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my
head in the corner, because no one can see me at all.

I'm invisible.

Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this? Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, "What time is it?" I'm a satellite guide to answer, "What number is the Disney Channel?" I'm a car to order, "Right around 5:30, please."

I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated summa cum laude but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen again.

She's going¸ she's going¸ she's gone!

One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England. Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip, and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself as I looked down at my out-of-style dress; it was the only thing I could find that was clean. My unwashed hair was pulled up in a banana clip and I was afraid I could actually smell peanut butter in it. I was feeling pretty pathetic, when Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, "I brought you this."

It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe. I wasn't exactly sure why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription: "To Charlotte, with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one sees."

In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after which I could pattern my work:

No one can say who built the great cathedrals - we have no record of their names.

These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see finished.

They made great sacrifices and expected no credit

The passion of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw everything.

A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked the man, "Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it." And the workman replied, "Because God sees."

I closed the book, feeling the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God whispering to me, "I see you, Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is too small for me to notice and smile over.
You are building a great cathedral, but you can't see right now what it will become."

At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn pride.

I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see finished, to work on something that their name will never be on. The writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to sacrifice to that degree.

When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, "My mom gets up at 4 in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a
turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table."
That would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his friend, to add, "You're gonna love it there."

As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.

~~Author Unknown




THANK YOU Judy!!!

....it was one of those rare moments when a

person crosses the precarious edge from

fright to freedom from fright. I had

surrendered to the moment, and in that

moment the fear of ceasing to exist was

over ridden by the sheer, potent pleasure of being alive.

from: Far From Cactus Flat

by: Lyman Hafen

Cookies, Cookies, Cookies!!!

Five Fun Things to Do in April....Check it out!

oh my....those legs!!

“Chestita Baba Marta!”  This literally translates to “Happy Grandma March” in honor of the grandmother who brings in spring.  On March 1st Bulgarians give and receive red ”Martinitskas” to welcome spring.  Later, they hang these on trees as they witness the return of nesting storks.

To My Builder for Valentines Day!!!

I love you!!
I am so blessed!!!