ABOUT LITTLE MISS HAZEL--AND OUR TRIP TO UTAH

Barbie and Kyle's first addition to their family, Hazel Christine Mills, made her appearance in 19 October 2008, at 4:47 a.m. (It was a long night.) She weighed 7 lbs. 12.5 ounces, and was 20.5 inches long.

We went out there to see them December 4-8. Some of the pictures here were taken by Barbie and Kyle before we arrived. While we were there, Kyle downloaded the pictures from his camera into ours so we could have them too. I didn't know it was possible to do that. Isn't technology wonderful? ^0^

Little Miss Hazel at 2 weeks. This Sweet Little Lamb apparently has some growing to do to catch up with her mom & dad. She not only regained her birth weight at 2 weeks, but she weighed in at 9 pounds. She's also 1.5 inches longer.

"Working out" in her gym.

Here she is a month old. At the one month mark she was 10 pounds 10 ounces and a whole 23 inches long. Her height is off the chart, and her weight is near the top. I guess that's what happens if your mom is 6'2.5" and your dad is 6'8."

A week later it was Thanksgiving. Barb and Kyle celebrated by going over to Kyle's parents' house. Hazel is about 5 1/2 weeks old here.

Hazel celebrated by spitting up on herself and on Kyle's dad!

This family picture was taken the day after Thanksgiving, so Hazel is just shy of 6 weeks old.

The Thursday after Thanksgiving we flew to Utah. Jim, Kathey, Kirsten and Betsey all went. This was our first time to meet Hazel.

Hazel's Aunt Betsey made this counted cross stitch to hang in her room. While we were there we took it up to Bev's Framing in Ogden so Barb could pick out a mat and frame that she liked. They will stretch out all the wrinkles, put it under non-glare glass and have it ready to hang in the nursery shortly after Christmas.

And here's what Hazel's nursery looks like.
They did the stenciling on the walls and Barbie made the gorgeous curtains.

BLESSING DAY

Hazel was officially given a name and a blessing at church on Sunday, December 7. She was seven weeks old. Uncle Peter also flew in to take part in this special occasion. We're sorry Helena and Doug couldn't also be here. (Helena's baby is due in just a few weeks.) Here are Peter, Betsey and Kirsten with Barbie and Hazel. (These pictures were all taken out in the hall after church.)

And Here's Aunt Betsey with Hazel.

Kyle nicknamed Jim "Poppy" awhile ago, so here are Poppy and Hazel.

If he's going to be Poppy, I've decided to be Nana.

Precious Lil' Angel. I loved the bow and the bracelet.

Three generations--back home again at the end of a perfect day.

TEMPLE SQUARE

While we were there we also went to see the Christmas decorations on Temple Square. It was fabulous, but very cold. Barbie, Hazel and Kirsten waited for us in the Conference Center while Kyle, Betsey, Jim and I went to see the lights. Jim wheeled me around in my chariot. I was glad I had it. The air is a little thin out there in them 'thar hills.

Our trip to temple square had some unexpected highlights for us. Jim and I had never been in the new conference center, even though it's not so new any more. Betsey said the conference room is just as huge as it looks on TV, and I really wanted to see it. Yes, we got to see the conference center, and the unexpected bonus was that we lucked out in that we got there on the night the Tabernacle Choir was practicing. Practices are open to the public, so we got to go in.

As we walked in Betsey exclaimed, "They're not wearing their clothes!" I just had to laugh. The only time we ever see the choir is when they're performing for General Conference, or for Music and the Spoken Word on TV, and they wear their performance outfits. Here they were looking like ordinary people just wearing ordinary street clothes. The picture is a bit blurry, because the camera wasn't set right, but you get the idea. They were practicing Christmas music. It was SO fun to be there.

Here's another view of the conference room, with some other spectators.

Well, that's about it. We had a fabulous trip. It was wonderful to meet sweet little Hazel and to reconnect with Barbie and Kyle. It was also great that Peter was able to be there, and have a bit of bonding time with some of his siblings and Kyle. It's hard when we all live so far away from each other. Kyle has lots of family in that area. Lots of cousins, and Aunts & Uncles came to the blessing. His grandparents were even there. Everyone went to Kyle's parents' house afterwards for a wonderful brunch. It was a perfect day.

The Wimp Won

I forgot to post about the outcome of my desire to delay turning on the heat in the house. On October 20 I wrote "Confessions of a Stubborn Wimp." I was determined to tough it out and not turn on the furnace until at least November 1. Well, I must confess that I didn't make it that far. I didn't even make it to Halloween. In fact I just plain gave up on October 23. Only 3 days after I fiercely declared war, my fierce determination froze out.

Here's what I wrote in my journal that day: "I finally wimped out and turned on the heat. It was between 66 and 69 today in here. I was cold and so was Betsey. We each had times that day of sitting on our hands to try to warm them up. It wasn’t worth it. I just couldn’t function very well. About 5:00 the house wasn’t any warmer than it had been during the day, so I turned on the heat and set it at 71º. It feels so good in here." (OK, so I have a really narrow comfort zone.)

I had been curious to see how cold it really got in here during that time, so I asked Jim to buy a cheap thermometer. (Emphasis on cheap.) The one he got cost $1.00 and worked about as well as you'd expect. It seemed to register the same temperature if it was on our kitchen table or in the refrigerator. I guess that could mean our house was really cold, or the refrigerator wasn't working, or the thermometer was in a state of hibernation and wouldn't register any changes until spring.

Anyway, I've been warm ever since--Thank you very much! ^o^

SHE DIDN'T HAVE TO AGREE WITH ME!

This morning as I was brushing Kirsten's hair I made up a tuneless little melody to get her to hold her head up. It went something like "Kirsten, look at me. I may not be much to look at early in the morning, but…"

Before I could sing anything else Kirsten gleefully exclaimed. "NO!"

It was too funny! ^o^

HALLOWEEN HAPPENINGS

Halloween is always an exiting time for Kirsten. For at least a month in advance, she talks about the Halloween party that they will be having at school and the costume she will wear. Many years ago I made her an Indian costume, complete with fringe down the sides, out of some old sheets. We dyed it brown in the washing machine. She loved that costume, but alas, one day we realized that she had outgrown it.So we went to the Halloween Store, and found a Pocahontas costume! (The wig was a hold-over from earlier years.) She couldn't have been happier. She has worn it every year since then.Not only does she love the Halloween party, she also loves to pass out candy on beggars night. Here she is watching for Trick-or-Treaters. Traditionally we take the screen out of the front door, so she can hand out candy easily without opening the door. Unfortunately only 6 or 7 came this year.

I thought it would be fun to show how some other people in our family joined in the festivities this year. Karen made this really cute pea-pod costume for Elizabeth, which even has a matching doll. Karen said it was a little small, so Elizabeth didn't want to be in it for very long. Long enough to take a picture is good enough! ^o^

Karen and Elizabeth went to their ward Halloween party dressed in mother-daughter flower fairy costumes.And here's the flower fairy baby herself. At 9 1/2 months, Elizabeth isn't quite walking yet, but she's getting closer every day. And now here's Dad…To complete the family, Peter went to the party as a kind of wood elf -- the boy counterpart to fairies. He thought it was kinda fun when the flower fairy baby snatched his hat.

Elizabeth seems quite pleased with herself. Speaking of pleased--Karen was quite pleased that Peter was such a good sport about wearing a costume to the party. In her words: "Peter was very kind to agree to wear the costume I made for him. A lot of my friend's husbands won't consider wearing any costume at all."

I got to thinking about that. I'm glad that Peter is agreeable to things like that also. I have a hunch it's because his dad set such a good example for him… Come with me, if you will, back to 1987…

For many years we had a Christmas Eve Tradition in our family. We acted out our version of the Christmas story, and in Helena's words: "Dad had a supporting role…" He would willingly don his camouflage bathrobe, and the construction paper donkey ears that Helena made for him and carry Mary to Bethlehem. Tell me, is that donkey singing?

This one shows all the family Christmas Pageant participants, complete with costumes. The only one who isn't pictured is the narrator, but she never dressed up anyway. That cute little sheep down in the front is 5-year-old Barbie. The donkey is 45, but donkey's don't know that sort of thing. Mary and Joseph, a.k.a. Betsey and Peter, are 9 and 11 respectively. Next is Kirsten, the 18-year-old Innkeeper, whose chief job was to say "NO!" when asked if there was any room at the inn. The angel proclaiming "good tidings of great joy," is Helena, who was 16 at the time. Sweet Memories…

Punkin' Crochet

Karen recently made an adorable crochet pumpkin hat for Elizabeth. (If you would like to make one, directions are here. )

It even has a perky little stem. A good idea is worth copying, right? Helena decided she would give it a try and made a slightly larger version for Kate, with a matching vest.

When I saw Kate's vest I was reminded of the very first vest that Helena made when she was just a punkin' herself. She crochet a bunch of granny squares and sewed them together. She was 9 years old at the time. Here's a picture that was taken when Grandma Jensen came to visit in January of 1981.

Grandma Helen E. Jensen (age 74) is holding two-year-old Betsey. The boy with the big grin is Peter at age 4. Helena, wearing the vest, is in the middle at the back, and 11-year-old Kirsten is next to her.

And just for fun I thought I'd try scanning in Helena's very first crochet project. She was 5 years old when she made this doily. If I remember right it started out to be a pot holder, but morphed into a doily when it became round instead of square. Adding the lacy border just made it more fun. I wonder how much she remembers about doing this…

Ta Da--Announcing Hazel Christine Mills

Kyle just sent this:

Hey everyone;

I would like to announce the birth of Kyle and Barbie Mills' first child, Hazel Christine Mills. Hazel was born at 4:47 A.M. on Sunday, October 19th, 2008. She was 20.5 inches long, and 7 lbs 12.5 oz at birth. She is beautiful and healthy. She hasn't done much since yesterday except sleep, but we expect her to be more active in the next couple of days. We are excited to have her in our family and anxious to get her and Barb home soon. We have attached a couple of pictures from the hospital. Enjoy.
All our best;
Kyle and Barbie Mills

It looks like she's a keeper! ^o^

CONFESSIONS OF A STUBBORN WIMP

I am such a wimp when it comes to being c-c-cold, but I'll be darned if I'm going to turn on the furnace. You see, I have this insane game that I play every fall. It's called "Can You Wait Until November First To Turn On The Heat In The House?" Even with a built-in humidifier the air dries out once the furnace is turned on, so I like to put it off as long as I can. (My eyes are already dry enough and they don't need the furnace to further complicate matters!)

I actually did make it to November first once, but I usually don't make it that far even though our house is very well insulated and holds the heat well. If the weather is co-operative and we get some solar heating during the day, it usually feels quite pleasant in here. The problem is that this morning it got down to 33 degrees outside. I don't know what it is in here right now. Actually I do--sort of. The thermostat says 68 degrees, but said thermostat is in the warmest part of the house. It's on a nice cozy inner wall in the center of the house, surrounded by heated rooms.

I would love to know the temperature of our bedroom, for instance. It is not on a cozy inner wall surrounded by heated rooms. Our bedroom is on the southwest corner of our house with two (count them) outside walls that are not surrounded by anything let alone anything having to do with heat! (play martyr music please).

In our part of Ohio the wind comes sweepin' down the plains clear from Oklahoma, or Indiana, or Idaho or someplace. (BTW have you ever noticed how many people get Idaho and Ohio confused? Completely irrelevant, but that makes it more fun.) I think Jim is going to buy some sort of cheap thermometer so I can document my complaints at least once before I wimp out. I'm sure it gets down to 46 degrees in that thar room, but it's probably more like 64. (I would not have made a very good pioneer.) So until that thermometer comes I will just put on an extra sweater, and come up with something else to think about.

The insane thing is that from one year to the next I never remember how long I made it the year before anyway, so you see, it really doesn't matter does it? ^-^

I'VE BEEN TAGGED

My daughter-in-law Karen tagged me in a blog game she got from her mom. "where you pick the fourth folder in your My Pictures folder and post the fourth picture in that folder." Well, I don't really have a My Pictures folder and I didn't really know what I should do. Jim suggested that I click the button that puts pictures in a list by date, and go to the fourth folder and select the 4th picture.

Well the 4th folder happened to be the one where we put a few pictures that Jim wanted to display on his PDA. The fourth picture happened to be of our four girls that was taken this last summer in California. L to R Betsey, Barbie, Kirsten and Helena. (Note: Barbie is due to have a baby any day now, and Helena's is due Dec. 31st.

So Karen, this is for you. And I now tag Jenni (golonghorns), Allyson, and Julie Beth.

AND SHE WOULDN'T STOP TALKING…

I have a tape that I listen to that helps me fall asleep at night. Sometimes when I wake up during the night I play it again.

The other night Jim suddenly shrieked during his sleep. I mean it was really LOUD and it scared me! I asked if he was OK. He assured me that he was and that he was only dreaming. The next morning I asked him if he remembered what happened during the night. He said that he did. I asked him what he was dreaming about.

He said he dreamed that he was in a meeting and that he wanted to say something, but a woman in the room was talking to the person next to her, and she wouldn't stop. It was very frustrating for him. After he woke himself up, he realized that he was hearing my tape. ^o^

AN "APEELING" EXPERIMENT--Banana That Is

We didn't have a lot of excess energy for planting flowers in front of the house this year, but I did want a little spot of color during the summer, so we planted one solitary red geranium. All summer long it has held its own, sometimes shining like a beacon against the brown and green of its surroundings. In the last couple of days I noticed that it was down to one flower and wasn't producing any more flower buds. It appeared to be blooming its last. I'm not quite ready to let it go though, so I decided to try an experiment. I put a banana peel in water and let it soak over night. This morning I watered the geranium with the soaking water. (If the jar looks crooked, it's because it is. I set it on the slanting hood of Betsey's car to take the picture. ^o^).In the past we have been able to produce flower buds on roses, zucchini, morning glories, and peas when it looked like they weren't going to form. Sometimes our homemade compost in the garden is too high in nitrogen because of the large percentage of kitchen scraps and grass clippings that we put in it. Leaves will help balance that in a compost pile, but they are not always available year around. When we wanted flower buds in the garden right away, we found that burying banana peels in the ground near the plants, caused them to start blooming within a week or so.

I have no idea if a banana peel soaked in water will do the same thing, or if it will work this late in the season, but I thought it was worth a try. Yes, I could use Miracle Grow or some other commercial bloom-boosting formula, but I thought this would be more fun.

ADDENDUM added Feb. 2009: The experiment worked very well. Five bud clusters were produced in just a few weeks, but it proved to be too late in the season for them to have a chance to bloom.

I dug the geranium up and took it inside. I did my best to keep it going, but it slowly died. We just don't have enough light in our house for a plant that likes full sun. Also, when I knew I was going to dig it up, I should have pinched the flower buds off. It would have been painful for me, but if I had done that the energy might have gone to the roots instead, and perhaps it would have survived.

Unfortunately I really killed it when I poured some full-strength banana peel water on it. I soaked a banana peel in a jar of water for two days. Then I just poured some on the geranium right out of the jar. When I used the banana peel water on the geranium while it was outside I diluted it quite a bit with water first. Full strength it was too strong, and burned the roots. The poor thing didn't have a chance.

Well, it's one of those things that I learned a lot from. And I am very impressed with using banana peel water to help plants bloom. ^o^ I will definitely be doing more with this.