Good morning! It seems that a feeling of malaise that I've had for the past two or so weeks has turned into a full-blown head cold accompanied by a nasty "smoker's" cough . . . not a pretty picture so I'll spare the details!

Carrying on from Friday morning's post . . .

Sunday morning, the 17th (St. Patrick's Day) the three of us enjoyed coffee and looking out over the "prapity"; it promised to be a clear and lovely day. Here's a couple morning pictures:

Dad's morning coffee

Shamrock on the windowsill

We had some time before we had to leave for Lindsay so we went down to the Apple Alley cafe for a bite of breakfast. After loading up the car we set out for the valley. Dad rode up front with Clare driving which turned out to be very good indeed as they had plenty to converse about; tractors, engines, weather, etc., etc. I was happy to watch the scenery and I also pulled out my latest knitting project. We had planned to meet up with Kak and Mike in Modesto for lunch at the Black Bear Diner. We arrived there before them but within an half hour or so the eight of us sat down to a good meal. Never had heard of this diner but turns out that it's a chain with 57 locations in nine states. Hometown kind of menu; the guys all had the featured corned beef and cabbage special and proclaimed it delicious! 

Arrived in Visalia at the La Quinta around 4:30 pm (PDT), took a little nap and then headed for Lindsay about 30 minutes away to meet with Father Tom Upton and set up at the church for Monday morning's service.

 

St. James Anglican (formerly Episcopal) Church

This little church was built in 1913 so it is celebrating 100 years. It was home church for Nonnie and her parents during her childhood, where she and Uncle Si were married in 1940 and where funeral services for her parents and Uncle Si were held. Father Tom told us that the current congregation numbers around 12. He himself has been vicar here for 12 years after serving at the Porterville church prior to his retirement. Here are a couple more pictures taken Sunday evening in and around the church:

One of five beautiful camellia bushes

Kak receiving a blessing from Father Tom

Dad Bob Carr chatting with Father Tom about Lindsay history

The chapel

We finished up at the church and decided that despite a big meal earlier in the day, we were all hungry again. Drove around Lindsay a bit before the sun set and stopped to take a picture of the manse where Dad lived with his parents during the years that Grampa Carr was minister at the Presbyterian church in Lindsay. The church has been torn down and replaced with a newer building up the main street but the manse is still there.

Left Lindsay around 7 pm and met up at Tahoe Joe's famous steakhouse in Visalia. We had quite a raucous time and here is where Dad was introduced to the amazing technology of an IPhone by great-great niece Brooke.

Yummy meal here too and we all felt like we wouldn't have to eat for perhaps a few days! It'd been a pretty long, full day so we all turned in to our respective hotel rooms.

Monday morning after partaking of the "free" breakfast we all dressed, checked out and drove back to Lindsay for the service at 10 am. It was just we eight but a beautiful memorial for our Nonnie. Father Tom used the 1928 Prayer Book service for burial and communion; so very precious for us all. After the church service we adjourned to the Lindsay Strathmore Cemetery for the graveside and then back to the church where the ladies' of the church had prepared a little luncheon of homemade soup and bread and salad (complete with fresh local avocados). 

Memorial for Norma Hoag Carr 1920 - 2013

Gravestone with flowers from the funeral wreath

View of the Lindsay Strathmore Cemetary

We visited for another hour or so but were all pretty emotionally and physically wrung out so we said our farewells and headed to our respective homes. It was truly a blessed time for us all and the memories we have from this weekend will stay with us always. I was particularly pleased that Dad had such a wonderful time. 

I had not been to the San Joaquin Valley for many years and Clare had never seen this country at all so it was a treat to see all the nut and fruit orchards, and vineyards still in evidence in this very rich agricultural area. Here is one picture I took typical of the live oaks and orange groves everywhere:

After spending the night at the great Northern King on You Bet Road, Clare and I headed back to Utah Tuesday morning arriving that evening about 6 pm MDT. 

Since the first day of Spring we've had two snowstorms and a day up into the upper 40's . . . Sprinter is what we call this! Yesterday, Palm Sunday, was beautiful but quite cool and the forecast is for 60 degrees Fahrenheit for Easter Sunday - yay!

It's been just over a week since my last post and a few things have occurred, least of which was a very enjoyable trip to California . . .

A little background here is appropriate. On February 20, 2013 my cousin called from Woodland, CA, to let me know that her mother, my aunt and godmother, Norma (Nonnie) Hoag Carr had passed away. Because she and my cousin have been very precious to me especially for the last 25 or so years, I did not think twice about going to California for a celebration of Nonnie's life with our tiny family (Nonnie was my aunt by marriage to my Uncle Silas Carr, my dad's older brother; they had one child, cousin Kathne who has one daughter, Molly who has one daughter - hence, very few Carr relatives left).

At any rate, since Nonnie's remains were cremated, Kathne arranged for a service in memoriam to be held in Lindsay, California (where Norma grew up, met and married my uncle, and where her parents and my uncle are all buried) March 18, 2013.

Clare and I left Tooele, Utah on March 16th, Saturday and drove across the Nevada desert to Dad's home on You Bet Road, Grass Valley, California. I had brought along some dinner so we didn't have to go out and we spent a pleasant evening with Dad.

My two old men - Clare and Ol' Bob Carr

I will have to resume this commentary later tonight as I'm late to pick up my daughter-in-law for the Scrapbook Expo in SLC. Later gator!

My sister pointed out to me today in our Skype conversation that there is a misspelling in the quote I posted March 8. I had noticed that too and thought it strange but figured that the artist who designed the poster knew what they were about. Well, as it turns out the designer goofed on the word "loose;" it should be "lose." Here's how it should read, "“To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong.” 
― Joseph Chilton Pearce." So, notwithstanding the booboo (is that a word? haha!), I still like the quote and will leave it as is on this blog. Of course, I have not "loosed" my fear enough to get creative yet!

Last night I did do some creative cooking however. Here is the evidence:

St. Patrick's Day feast 4 days early

The corned beef was fork tender, the cabbage, carrots, and potatoes just crisp, and the biscuits fluffy. We will be gone from home on St. Pat's day and so I went ahead and cooked up the traditional dinner (we've been doing this for years) early. Happy St. Pat's to anyone who loves the green (or not!).
 

Thought it would be fun to start the blog up again as it's a way to connect with those friends and family who aren't on Facebook. Also, this will be where I'll post what I've been doing "crafty-wise" which for some time has not been much! I saw this on Wilna Furstenburg's Pinterest and loved it:



Definitely making this my mantra!