Well, Matt, it's Monday, and I need to get this email off to you! As far as I know, all the family is sending you an email separately. It is raining like crazy right now, and Thomas is very late to seminary. Today I work half a day in resource, and then I am going with Miriam to meet with a counselor for the college of business to work out her schedule for school. I am also going with her to orientation. Dad has to attend graduation tonight, so Family Home Evening will be just a few of us.
Yesterday was nice although it was busy. We had a wonderful breakfast together where we re-read your last emails and also some from my grandma. Here is what she wrote:
"Is there a child who has not called the teacher "Mother"? Katherine openly called Sister Willis her other mother. she was a special piano, mentor and friend. I had one of those when I was young. she told me that if she had had a daughter, she hoped she would be like me.
I am thinking of Mother's two special Stepmothers, Juliana, and Lola May who was sweet grandmother to us all.
Juliana came into Mother's life at a very difficult time. Mother was a child-teenager still mourning the loss of her mother and she thought she was doing very well
taking care of her household duties and her father's needs. Juliana was a recent convert to the church whose husband would have none of it so she divorced him and gathered with the saints in Zion. there was a language barrier but you can feel her love in the little autograph book she gave my mother, Gertrude, on Dec 24 1906. It is sad that Mother never had that beautiful message translated and written for her. It is on page 75 of the History of John and Gertrude. Read it.
Crops grown in the valley the past. I remember beautiful fields of blue flax flowers. I think it was raised for the seed. then also there was the overpowering sweet smell of the sugar beet bloom also raised for the seed. the plant grew to be about 4 feet tall, very thick and heavy and the smell, too much.
We used to drive into the town of Gilbert and smell the "fried chicken" smell of the plant that made margarine from soy beans, I think.
Back to the fabric, During the World War 11, the fabric factories used their efforts in uniforms. My friends Eula and Lorene were happy when our mothers came up with some nice looking linen fabric dresses. We cut them up and made matching jumpers. Mother was very clever in remaking things and making things do, for another purpose and another year.
during the war some food was rationed, sugar, coffee, meat, milk and gasoline. the farmers got more and the gas for the tractors was colored so it could not be used for a car. We had gas stamps and could not purchase it without the money and the stamp. I think we were allowed 3 gallon a week.
I was talking to Max one day and thought to myself "I can say just about anything to him, there's no one here to dispute" You can look it up if you want to but this is the way I remember it. SMILE AND SING A HAPPY SONG. LIFE IS GREAT. LOVE, GRANDMA."
She also wrote the following:
this morning I changed the sheets on my bed, taking off my favorite ones with flowers and putting on some fresh sweet smelling ones. my mind went back a few years. in my childhood home we always had clean sheet and plenty of beautiful hand made quilts on our beds. We had double beds and slept two or three to the bed. In the case of my brothers Howard and Elmer, they tried not to touch each other during the night so they tied a rope down the middle of the bed, or maybe slipped the dog in for a divider
. there were no fitted sheets. our sheets were made of 5 chickenfeed sacks. it was my job to wash and prepare the sacks. I learned to take the sewing out by pulling the strings to remove the sewing. it wasn't easy to remove the "Rose" or whatever the brand name was. It takes five
100lb feed sacks to make a sheet. I just thought you ought to know. Use what you have, enjoy, and be happy.
Bless what you have and be thankful for it. Love Grandma
Isn't that wonderful? I hope she writes more. I love hearing about her life.
I am glad I will be done working at the end of this week and that I work only a half day till then. The house is starting to get out of hand, and we don't eat many vegetables. The vegetables are an example of little things we need to nourish our bodies and spirits that get neglected when I get too busy. I love being at home where I can focus on the needs of the family. Even Dad who really likes it when I earn money, because it lifts his burdens just a bit, agrees that I need to cut back.
Matt, I hope it is a good week for you in Sunny Mexico. Remember what the prophet, President Monson says, "Never postpone a prompting" from the Holy Ghost. Smile and find joy in the little things. Write to us more about your mission, we love hearing it...experiences, people, places, everything!
Love,
Mom
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