ice cream social

Planning a fall gathering?  Ice cream is a favorite fast food anytime.  (Reminder: this blog is not about fast food.)

I recall our west Layton neighbor couple who held an ice cream social in their big garage and front yard every summer Sunday evening.  The standing invitation welcomed everyone in the neighborhood.  Young and older folks came and got acquainted.

When Kay & I lived across the street from Farr Better Ice Cream in downtown Ogden Utah, it was easy to hold ice cream socials for family and friends.  Now at “independent living” ... pizza and pie (preferably with ice cream) also bring our neighbors together more than card games and other activities. 

“Come on everybody, let’s choose connection!”  — RootsTech 2022 music video

Brief Prayer Quotes Too

Recalling my 9/8/2014 post, I wish to repeat two quotes for readers who may have missed or forgotten:

"Make [group] prayers brief"

"We ought to worship Him with our hearts and not with these long, flowery sentences.  ...  We can pray by ourselves and we can take as long time as we wish ..."

"When others are kneeling down with us, we ought in our prayers to be direct and brief, and not pray about everything there is on the earth and imagine that we must mention everything in detail or the Lord won't know about it.  He does know ...  If we pay attention to the Lord's prayer that He taught His disciples, we will see the beauty of that, how simple it was and direct; it contained no superfluous words ..."  (See St. Matthew 6:9-13)  – Gospel Truth Volume 2, Discourses and Writings of President George Q. Cannon, compiled by Jerreld L. Newquist, ©1974 Deseret Book Company, p.172

"Pray without ceasing.  In every thing give thanks ..."  – 1 Thessalonians 5:17-18

I give thanks for my eternal companion Kay, and I pray for help to be worthy of her.  From experience with joy and daily miracles, I know the value of prayer.  May we all find true happiness through sincere prayer to our Father in Heaven.

Moving Experience

Famous last words: “I will never move again!”  Then it happens, starting in my mind and heart — another “mission transfer”.

My wife Kay & I changed our address plenty of times ... with and without children.  As Detroit mission companions, we gained more moving experience, including helping others.  Little wonder ... I am a wanderer, hoping my Sweetheart understands.

With all our moves, we have made countless friends — some are forever friends; we keep in touch ... on both sides.  Having experience, I could write a book ... when I’m done moving.

Losing and Keeping

A dear friend of neighbors and me suddenly died of cancer last Monday.  They say we lost him, and I say we keep him as a forever friend.  However, I know both views are true.  He is missed, though not far away, and continues to influence us for good.

One of my best friends I met 20 years ago has terminal cancer discovered last week.  He is receiving Hospice in Idaho — probably for a few weeks.  I know we will keep each other as forever friends ... more like brothers.  Yes, we’re already losing the phone chats and photo sharing.  We’re keeping the brotherly love and spiritual companionship as followers of Jesus Christ, our Savior.

These two amazing friends may both meet my wife Kay, who passed five years ago, and report I’m still stubborn, quirky, and faithful to my one-and-only Sweetheart.  It’s a great life ... forever.  Tears and cheers of love.

Goodbye, July

It is a sizzling summer with fun in the sun!  At the end of July in Utah, we look forward to cool temperatures in September — wait ... in October.  Memories of cool July trips with Kay to Lake Tahoe, Hawaii, Alaska, the bay in Michigan, and (with her away this Fourth) the Ranch ... help me endure 100-degree days at home.  Quick, kick-scooter trips to the cool store and leisurely walks around duck ponds next door are my style of travel now.  Picking up a book indoors is my preferred work.  What’s yours?

I cherish my memory of reading as a young boy on our front lawn in July.  Building my three-story hut in our 2nd-Avenue back yard kept me out of some mischief.  (Wish I had kept a journal in July during teenage years on Northcrest Drive.)  Summer quarters at the U were cool, thanks to study by the pool and water skiing after school.  Mid-summer breaks at the Ranch with my young wife and kids are memories this month as well. 

So, goodbye, sunny July, a long month of fun!

The Right Place

As an ideal resting place, Ogden Utah is where I want to stay ... especially during Pioneer Days.  Our state holiday on July 24th celebrates the arrival of the first pioneers in 1847.  With faith and perseverance, members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints endured hardship and danger on their historic trek west from Nauvoo Illinois to the Rocky Mountains.

“Departing from Fort Laramie [in June 1847], a vanguard company of Saints, including President Brigham Young, trekked across the high plains of Wyoming ...”

“Though President Young’s exact words on the occasion might not be known, Wilford Woodruff summed up Brigham’s reaction to seeing the [Salt Lake] Valley: ‘President Young expressed his full satisfaction in the appearance of the valley as a resting place for the Saints and was amply repaid for his journey.’ “

— ldsliving.com 7/24/2017, by Casey Paul Griffiths, Mary Jane Woodger, and Susan Easton Black

Having grown up and raised our family in Salt Lake City, and settled in this diverse city of Ogden, my wife Kay & I are grateful for the sacrifices made by our pioneer ancestors. 

Lost and Found

It’s a learning process as I grow older.  Phone, keys, raincoat found in a backpack taken on my last trip.  Amazing to me ... what a cognizant senior can lose in a little studio apartment!  Things are moved to make way for the housekeeper.  “A place for everything, and [not] everything in its place.”  Then comes elation from finding something!  And no more need to buy a replacement.

In my old age, information seems to be lost from memory (a failure to recall) ... and found with help from the Internet.  Family Tree app, for example, provides quick access to ancestors’ information and photos.  Relationships may be lost ... and renewed years later.  ( I could have found an old friend at my East High School reunion.)  

Anticipating our special day, I reviewed my 7/9/22 anniversary love note to my wife Kay, who is not lost: “...  Thank you for helping me find my phone 7/7 Thursday night, as I picked up your quad to read the Book of Mormon; so I saw my iPhone11 on the floor!  Your adoring husband, loving you  — Ned”