"Handyman" Gary

I have already shared how Gary has been amazing at working on the repairs in our basement.  He has replaced sheet rock, repair a ceiling where there had been a leak, painted walls and baseboards, and installed baseboards in the bedrooms and closets.  He does research on the internet, gets the right tools and starts to work.  And it is all amazing.

Earlier in the week, Gary mentioned that he thought he could fix some of our screens that had holes.  That was one my list--to hire someone to come and fix our screens that had holes or bent rims, but I hadn't gotten to it yet.  I was a bit doubleful and probably wasn't very encouraging. 

Thursday when I got home, this is what I found--

I think this was the third screen that he was working on.  He watched it on youtube and then bought the right materials and in a short time, our screens were repaired including the one with a bent side panel. Apparently it is easy to replace the side panel as the screen.  I was amazed and they look perfect.

Both my parents told me when I was growing up to marry someone who can repair stuff around the house.  Gary laughed when we talked about that when we were first married.  He didn't consider himself much of a handyman, compared to his dad.  But he had been taught well and has been a big help throughout the years, both to our home and to others.  I think he even likes it a bit now that he doesn't have the demands of full-time work (but you would have to ask him.)

Glad I followed my parents' advice!

FRIENDS

I have been so blessed with good friends during my whole life.  I was lucky because my mom always had friends and I knew that they were important in her life.  Many women struggle in relationships with women and complain about the drama of it all.  That has not been my experience.  My life has been so enhanced by knowing and building relationships with great women.

So Sunday of last week when Katie Hillam sent a message that she was going to be in town and did anyone want to have a social distancing lunch, I was thrilled.  Katie is a friend from Hong Kong and she and Brad and Gary and I have shared many amazing experiences as couples--playing games, traveling, and just being together.  We also share the bond of both having children with Down syndrome.  Michael was born while we all lived in Hong Kong and he was one of the only people I knew with DS before we adopted Jena.  He is about 4 years older than Jena, I think.

Sandy Lai offered her beautiful patio off their small pond in Mapleton--Eileen Bradford and Lily Lui also made time to join us.  Lily did not live in Hong Kong when we did, but we have met over the years at many of the Hong Kong get-togethers. We brought our own lunches and had a wonderful time talking about life--lots of laughing.  It felt so great to be outside with actual friends, rather than virtually or by text.  How I love these women.  They each have taught me and continue to teach me important lessons on how to love, how to serve, how to endure, and how to be great women of God.

We socially distanced all through lunch, but we didn't want to miss a chance for a photo, so without a waiter to take it, we had to gather close for a selfie.

Used the timer on Lily's phone for this one.

And then, if that wasn't amazing enough--Eileen and I took a ride up the Alpine Loop in her red convertible--This was something we had talked about for a long time and it turned out to be a wonderful time to do it.  Once off the main highway in Provo Canyon the temperature dropped and it was perfect for riding through the forest.  I didn't take any photos, because truly I was just enjoying the whole "wind through my hair, great conversation, and the beauty of the place" experience.  Thanks, Eileen.  It was perfect.

A stock photo from the internet, but it looked like this in parts

And we even saw a deer!!!

Changes in the Morning Walk

Although I continue to walk at Jensen Pond Park in southeast Syracuse, I have been trying a variety of different routes to add variety and to develop some paths which are specific lengths of time.  Off and on for years, I have taken the same route because I knew it was right around 30 minutes which was usually my goal.  Now I am trying to walk 45 minutes or an hour but I don't want to loop around the same route so I have been exploring different paths.

These were taken traveling further west on Gentile

view to the southeast

to the west

This new path travels south of the man-made lake that was put in as part of an expensive subdivision.  I remember how we couldn't believe that someone who actually do that, especially here where there is a high water table and SO many mosquitos.  But they did and some big houses have been built along its edges.

This week the water was so still that you got almost perfect reflections in the water.

The lake is actually horseshoe shape although only a huge water pipe joins the two sides.  It is all about the water skiing from your back porch.  (This photo was taken in April of this year. Can you see the skier between the two trees?)

Jena's Vision FHE and Poster

 Have I mentioned how much I love the Family Home Evening group for Jena's Provo ward?  One of the people in charge is Esther Christensen who was one of Jena's roommates last year.  Almost everyone has left BYU for the summer but they continue to meet and have these amazing Zoom family nights.  This past week was "A Zen Moment" family night.  They did yoga and other mediations and then they talked about positive things which have happened in the past week (and everyone was to have their favorite snack near by) while they listened to calming music.  Then Esther asked a series of questions to help them each develop their own vision board---what are they hoping for in their life; what represents them; what do they want to do better; what do they love.  They also were to have a journal.

I had asked Esther for the questions beforehand so that we could discuss them and help Jena come up with some clip art and other things to put on her poster.  Jena didn't need much help.  She had a good idea of what she wanted as we talked about the questions.  It was fun to talk about these things.  Jena has had a bucket list for a while because she knows that I have one.  I actually think Jena's board turned out amazing and I love it all.  However, I was stuck by the two words that she wanted me to print to be on her board to represent her values--Love and Faith.  If you know Jena, that sums it up!

Maybe you should make a vision board for your next family night!