One miracle and two craft projects

I have heard from a couple of reliable sources that people are getting tired of my Florida report. The problem is finding just the right topic to follow up on a fabulous stay in a south Florida resort. I know...how about a miracle?


Bill and I have had colds for about a week. Not too bad--just kind of persistent. By Friday morning, I felt like I was really on the mend, while Bill woke up a little more congested and kind of cranky. He had not slept well the night before. Friday afternoon he called to tell me that he didn't feel good and was heading home early. When I saw him walk through the door I couldn't believe he had made it home by himself. HE LOOKED BAD!!! He was disoriented, feverish, shaking with chills and achy all over. He climbed into bed and I started praying. Honestly...in 36 years of marriage, this is the sickest I have ever seen him, including two years ago when he had bad cellulitis. I called the doctor's office, but they couldn't see him and suggested going to the urgent care center. Bill refused. He's too big for me to drag out to the car by myself, so I called Carl. He was in Las Vegas at a trade show. I was really getting frantic. I didn't know if this was another flare-up of the cellulitis or pneumonia. We've had flu shots, so I didn't think it was that, and I was really worried. I had given him Tylenol when he came home, but three hours later, his fever was back, higher than before. I told Bill I was calling our home teacher. By this time, Bill was too weak to fight me.

Our home teacher, Brother Newman, is in his 70s. He and his wife just recently returned home from a mission to Houston. He is a fine, faithful man. He found a companion and they were there in less than 30 minutes. Brother Newman gave Bill the most specific health blessing I have ever heard. He blessed him that he would be well within 24 hours. He blessed him that he would be able to attend church on Sunday AND teach his gospel doctrine class. Then he went on to explain to the Lord how much he enjoyed Bill's lessons and how much he, personally, would miss him if he weren't there to teach.


At 4:30 in the morning his fever broke and, fours hours later, he jumped out of bed, said he felt great, and asked for pancakes. Then he went to the office and worked for four hours, came home and fixed a broken door latch, then spent the rest of the day finishing preparations for his Sunday School class which he taught today.


I am so grateful for the power of the priesthood and for answered prayers.

Since I didn't have to spend Saturday in the emergency room, I found myself looking for a project. (Now I'm going to brag a little about myself.) I guess I could have done some Christmas shopping. But, wait...I'M FINISHED! Or I could have written my Christmas cards...ALSO FINISHED!!! I did those at Bill's office Saturday morning while I watched to make sure he didn't overdo. So I remembered that I had a bunch of red felt leftover from the Clement girls' poodle skirts. While Bill did home repairs and worked on his lesson, I made these:

Neither project involved a trip to the store, so I consider them "free." Bill disagrees, since at one point I paid for everything I used. Regardless, I LOVE making something out of scraps and discards.

Wednesday morning we leave for Thanksgiving in St. George. Carl, Heather and the kids are also going. We will enjoy the traditional Croshaw's pies and the craft show on Friday at the Dixie Center. We will be home Monday evening, after first enjoying a Cracker Barrel breakfast in St. George to celebrate Carl's birthday. Awww...good times.

We're Back!

So, Florida was great! The resort was fabulous, we had a lot of fun and my clothing choices were just fine. As it turns out, the resort (which is HUGE) is populated by two groups of people; those attending conventions and diamond-encrusted senior citizens. The first group (except for maybe the Toyota dealers of New England) are just normal folks, and I couldn't worry about the second group--there aren't enough velour pantsuits and bedazzlers in Kern County to compete with them.

The weather was beautiful--in the low 80s--and very sunny, though a bit humid. Before I do my little day by day pictorial, let me share a few random thoughts:

1. These bedside lamps were beautiful--very heavy glass. But I couldn't look at them without thinking of Neutrogena liquid hand soap.
2. I always thought that I wanted a rain shower head. But I am having second thoughts after living with one for a few days. You can't really tell in the photo, but this one was about the size of a dinner plate. Add to that EXCELLENT water pressure, and I'm telling you, it was like being naked in a car wash! I would find myself literally gasping for breath, wishing for some little corner where I could get out of the deluge. 3. Pink is a highly-regarded color at the Boca Raton Resort and Beach Club.

Thursday morning, while Bill was in meetings, I wandered around the resort and took photos, then met a couple of friends for lunch at the pool. (La-di-da!) I was very impressed with the fresh flowers everywhere as well as the beautiful light fixtures.

Thursday afternoon we boarded a bus for the Sawtooth Grass Recreation Area, in the everglades. On the bus, we had a girl from the Busch Wildlife Preserve who brought along some native Floridians for us to meet; a baby alligator, a skunk, a possum, and two different kinds of owls. It was very interesting and fun. Bill petted the baby alligator. When we arrived, we boarded an air boat for our tour of the everglades. We saw all kinds of fish and birds, LOTS of alligators (who got very close to the boat) and a turtle. You will have to look very closely to make out the turtle, floating just under the surface of the water. We learned that the everglades are considered the world's largest and slowest-moving river. As we looked around at our fellow travellers, we realized that Bill was the only one in our entire group wearing long, black jeans, a long-sleeved shirt and black leather shoes. He was rather pleased with himself. To complete the look, he fashioned some stylish head gear.

Thursday night we had dinner on a very large yacht, The Lady Windridge. There were about 400 of us, so you can imagine how big it was. The food was nothing special, but the views of the homes as we cruised along the inter-coastal waterway were amazing!

Friday night we had a wonderful dinner at Lucca, a fine Italian restaurant, then we sat in the Palm Court and listened to live jazz and samba music. Very, very nice! This is the Palm Court by day: After a wonderful closing banquet Saturday night, we were ushered out onto the lawn for a fireworks show. A very nice surprise! I read, I relaxed and I watched a little TV. I think you can tell a lot about the culture of a place by watching local TV commercials. I will close with the transcript of a commercial I watched while there:

Very scantily-dressed bikini model: "With the holidays coming, we all want to look out best."

Man dressed as doctor: "You don't have to wait for Santa this year! Right now, we're offering a breast augmentation for just $300 down and low monthly payments of just $149!"

Wide-eyed bimbo: "Wow!"

Doctor: "But wait! That's not all! We'll also throw in a belly lipo and...a thigh lipo! At no extra charge!"

Wide-eyed bimbo: "Wow!" (Her conversation was somewhat limited.)

Doctor: AND...if you call within the next 48 hours, we'll throw in a facial dermabrasion for just $10!

Wide-eyed bimbo (squealing): "Thank you, Santa!"

Tim Gunn--I Need You!

This is where we are going next week--the Boca Raton Resort and Beach Club. You can go here http://www.bocaresort.com/ to see more pictures. It looks like a lovely place...the kind of place where you might enjoy a garden party with Jay Gatsby. That's why I'm worried.

When I am not sewing Halloween costumes or scoring mud volleyball games I spend a fair amount of time worrying that people will discover what a fraud I am. I realize that I have a certain reputation for "having it all together," but, I assure you, it is built largely on b.s. and my ability to act like I know what I'm doing. In truth, I spend a lot of time being intimidated.

This place intimidates me. I know that I won't be joining Jay Gatsby. I will actually be participating in the Rosemount National Sales Meeting. So how scary can THAT be? Well, here's a "for instance"; We received the itinerary with accompanying notes on dress code for the various evening activities. (Apparently, during the day while everyone's in meetings, the accompanying spouses are allowed to dress willy-nilly.) Wednesday night is the opening reception and dress is "Business Casual." Thursday night is "Resort Casual." Friday night is "Dressy Casual." Saturday night you're on your own. I'm sure they're hoping that by then you will have figured out how to dress yourself according to their demanding standards.

I'm all alone in my confusion. Bill plans to wear what he wears everyday. That is the beauty of adopting a uniform, I guess. When I ask him to define any of the above mentioned variations on "Casual," his answer is always the same--khaki pants and a blue Oxford shirt...or maybe a striped blue shirt if it happens to come up next in his complicated rotation. Regardless, he won't give it a moment's worry or thought.

So help me out here...