August 28, 2024

 I am listening to Hawaiian music as I write. Fifty-four years ago we were in Kona on our honeymoon. It was my first time to Hawaii but Tom had been there many times before. It was his favorite place on earth. They had spent a lot of time there when he was young. They would go each winter for a few weeks or months. They even put Tom into school there a couple of times. The music, the people and the islands themselves were very special to him and now he was sharing it all with me. If ever there was a prince charming taking his bride to his beloved kingdom, this was it. I loved it, he loved it and we were so in love with each other. Hawaii will always hold my heart. We first visited Kona on the Big Island, went on to Maui and then Honolulu before reluctantly leaving.

The weather has definitely been turning colder and looking more like fall. There has been some residual warmth of summer thank goodness. I have started doing a little fall yard work in preparation for the season to be fully upon us.

Cindy and Paul celebrated their 30th anniversary by staying at a Tree House in the Bellingham area for few days. I had Sam for Sunday dinner and phoned him each day. They had been planning on going to Hawaii but decided they best drive Jack over to Alberta in preparation for school instead.

I did a condensed Temple Prep course for the YSA as President Vermeeren wanted some of them Temple ready quickly. I did the last lesssons on Sunday and now our Bishop wants me to start with a group in our ward. I am meeting with him tonight.

I had my blood pressure doctor’s appointment by phone after recording my own blood pressure for three days. It’s the new medical way of doing things. My blood pressure was fine. I already knew it was.

Cindy took me to IKEA for a shop and I took them to C-Lovers for dinner that night. I hadn’t been to IKEA since being in Australia and to C-Lovers since I had picked some halibut up for Tom and I the day before he went into the hospital.

Toese brought dinner over on Sunday for us to share. It was fun to visit and Siona and her family FaceTimed while she was here and I was able to say hello. Mary Harvey somehow remembered our wedding Anniversary on August 26 - so kind. Renee Gallant brought me Tom’s completed shirt quilt the day before our anniversary. Perfect timing. She had won first place with it at a fair and I was thrilled. 

Busy days and good family and friends.

My latest flowers from the “five months of flowers” the children gave me for Mother’s Day.

August 16, 2024

 Renee Gallant took some of Tom’s shirts and pieced together a quilt for me. I paid a women Renee suggested to do the quilting. I had no idea that Renee displayed it at BCNE fair in the recycled category and won first prize. I had been wondering when she was going to get the quilt to me but I guess it has been on display. I am thrilled that it was judged to be #1 because the man that wore the shirts was and is #1!!

Bob and Pat James came to visit me yesterday and I was so thrilled that they took the time to do so. They wanted to go for lunch but I decided to make them lunch instead and had it ready for them. We had a great visit. I love them dearly. Pat is so brave with her MS health challenges and Bob the perfect supportive companion for her. They are always fun.

Cindy and Paul drove Jack over to Alberta this week to get him settled for school in Lethbridge this Fall. They stayed with Jamie and Brooke and had dinner with Joanne, Dave and Jeff. They visited with Carol and Danielle and Tom. Jack now has a YSA conference in Calgary this week and then a trip to St. George for a friend’s wedding before school starts. Jack was a counsellor at the UBC FSY last week and Sam was a participant. I kept in touch with Sam while his parents were away this week and I took Sam, Ross, Sarah and Hansen to A+W for dinner on Tuesday. Max, Jacqui and Aksel left for Nashville last Saturday where they spent a few days with Trevor’s family before heading into downtown Nashville for Max to attend an accounting conference. They are on their 38 hour journey back to Australia today. I had the family for dinner before they left. We will miss them. 

Liza and family were with the Burgess family last week on their annual family camp. They will be packing Breya up soon to get her to Edmonton for school this fall. Tammie and Jadyn will be heading out for St. George the end of this month to get Jadyn moved over there to live with two roommates. She will complete her university online this fall and be living near Justin and JayLynn. Zach has taken a job in upstate New York with the team he played with last year but will now be working in the business part of the team. He is also working on his MBA online and Mo nursing.  Sam will be going to university locally and the rest of the children heading back to school soon as well.

I attended the Temple on Tuesday as usual and found we have a new shorted endowment presentation. It is about an hour long now. I first went thru the Temple 54 years ago and thru those years the presentation has changed and evolved. The basic ordinances never change but the presentation around them changes according the needs of the time. What a wonderful church and gospel we have.

Bela kindly invited me to her family BBQ last week while her children were all in town. It was so nice to see all of them. I made cookies to share with them. Jonny, Amber and her two daughter were passing thru and stopped to visit with me and they got more of the cookies. It was nice to see them. They had been camping on the island since Josh’s wedding. Jonny is helping me post the Grandpa Tanner pictures Tom has had responsibility for. There is a special family site where they post pictures and such. Jack came over with Sam to say goodbye and the Hardy’s got the rest of my cookies.

Cheyenne has also left to return for school. Kona I will miss her visits. She studied hard all summer and wrote her MCAT exam just before she left. I am glad Jean is here.

I am so blessed with a remarkable family, wonderful friends and a little sidekick named Kona.

August 2, 2024

 After getting home from Tennessee I started preparing for our family reunion at the Elton’s Lake House on Lake Whatcom. It would be our fourth visit there and our first without Tom. The girls and their families were all planning on coming and Trevor and Tammie were preparing to be there too. However, JayLynn got sick just as I left after my visit with all of them and she tested positive for covid. Fortunately I did not come down with it as I had last summer but Trevor, Tammie and Jadyn did. Justin seemed to get it too and Zach and Mo felt a little bit under the weather. Trey and I were the holdouts. Tammie made the decision not to travel to the Lake House but Trevor had business in Seattle so made the trip anyway but when still testing positive while there he and I made the decision that he needed to get home and rest. Everyone else made it including Jack who surprised me by taking the week off from his FSY job as a counsellor.

I got to the Temple for a session and served my Saturday Temple shift the week I was home. I went to Burnaby to meet with Eric Muir and Sherri and Sherri brought some papers the next day to have me sign. I attended the Relief Society Pioneer activity with Cindy, Jacqui and Aksel. I shopped for groceries and other supplies for the Lake and made cookie sheet chocolate cake and prepped chicken salad for dinner the day we arrived. I also got my house ready for Joanne, Jeff and the McCues as they would arrive before I got back to be here for Josh’s wedding in Abbotsford. It was a busy week. I loaded my car with everything, ALL BY MYSELF, and after church on Sunday we headed for the Lake. Jack drove with me and we had a nice visit. We arrived first and Jon Elton was waiting for us. Rissa and family and Cindy and her group followed soon after. Sam had to work and they went back for him on Tuesday. Liza and the children had difficulties as there was an accident with a truck left on fire and they had to reroute. I stayed up until they arrived. Brendon drove down on Wednesday after work to join us.

We had a great week and I really enjoyed it. I felt Tom near and the children were all so good to me. The girls all went shopping for groceries and helped with the meals. Liza cooked two dinners and Rissa and Cindy one each. My children took me out for dinner on evening and we ordered pizza for the rest. We had some cloud one day but the rest of the weather was pretty good. The boys took care of the boat and took the children out for water activities. They played games and did numerous puzzles which Tom would have loved. We went cliff  jumping one day and on numerous walks. Scott, Rissa, Wyatt and Jack played golf one day and we all loved and cared for our babies Aksel and Hansen. We ate a lot! Sayde slept with me in the master bedroom so she won’t have to go up and down the stairs as often. They canoed and paddle boarded and Liza swam across the Lake with Cindy and Breya paddling along with her. The kids all enjoyed being together and the older children and the younger children had fun together. We have a wonderful family and I know Tom was enjoying them along with me. Jack had to catch a plane to get back to his assignments so Sam drove home with me and they left early. The Bulls had left on Friday and the rest on Saturday. I had cleaners come in but we got quite a bit done ourselves before leaving. Kona was with us all week and got a lot of attention.

Joanne’s family were at the wedding when I got home so I was able to unload and unpack before they got back. The wedding was a big success and they all left Sunday morning. I spent Monday cleaning and  changing sheets etc. The cleaning went into the next day or so. It rained early in the week which was good. 

I bought ice cream sandwiches on my way to the Temple on Tuesday and left them in the freezer for the workers as it was Tom’s birthday and that was my Random Act of Kindness. They seemed very appreciative. Barbara drove out that day and attended a session with me. She came over for a late lunch afterward and unfortunately left her phone behind and had to return the next day to reclaim it.

Wendy, Virginia, Robert Kearl and I met with Mayor Eric Woodward at the cemetery on Wednesday along with the fellow over cemeteries and we discussed our desires and ideas for improving the Fort Langley Cemetery. We will hopefully move forward in positives ways from here.

Kona had a grooming on Wednesday.

Cindy, Paul, Sam, Max, Jacqui and Aksel have gone up to Liza’s for a few days. Liza has opened her new clinic and is busy with that and also has Brendon’s family there and Ted staying at their place. Busy time. I went today to water Cindy’s outdoor plants. It is hot. 

Kona and I are busy here with yard work, business concerns and church callings. 

I am busy and blessed!