FALL IS WANING???

This seems to be one of the most glorious autumns we've had for many years. One doesn't feel like he can get enough of the beauty of incredible colors.

The picture is the back yard and Dad's rockpile. He has hauled in tons and tons of rock from the quarry. Recently, I've been doing a lot of genealogical research on the Hamilton family and found this interesting passage: Mr. Hamilton was a lowland Scotsman, who seemed to know the mysteries of successful farming. His stone residence was an eye-opener to his generation at East Lake, whilst his neat, skilful and enduring stone fences are subjects of commendatary remark to this day. His labours at the Lake, even at this distance of time, give evidence of care, skill, taste, neatness and intelligent industry. It is a pity he and his household all have left. This Mr. Hamilton is Dad's great-great uncle!! Seems that working with rock is in Dad's blood.

As I said, I've been doing a lot of research on the Hamilton family. (In this blog, when I talk about our ancestry, I reference all ancestors to their relationship to Dad or myself, so that each of you, who are related in various ways, can orient your own relationship to them.) Donald Kennedy and Mary Hamilton were Dad's great-great grandparents and the first Kennedy Scots who immigrated to Canada. Mary's father, Captain Edward Hamilton, is said to be a lineal descendent of the first duke of Hamilton. It's that descendancy that I'm trying to find. They lived in Paisley, Scotland. You might look up some history of Paisley and the Hamiltons. It's interesting. I've found their family motto interesting: It's simply "Through." One Hamilton descendent said he thinks the modern equivalent is "Keep on Keeping On." I find it interesting that the Kennedy motto is "avis la fin," meaning "Consider the End." Both mottos are advice worth taking. Life is good. We're doing well. Life is good. We hope, all of you, no matter what your circumstances will tough it "Through." Love, Mom

TEMPLE TOURS, GLITZ, AND AN APOLOGY

Two weeks after our two week vacation, we decided that we needed to get away!! So, we took a temple tour of the temples in Washington. What fun!!

First stop was Bremerton to spend a little time with Grandma Kennedy!! I was very excited to take the picture I posted last week of your dad's Great-great Grandmother Kennedy to show her. Imagine my shock and disappointment when Grandma showed me the original picture!! The lady in the picture is actually Dad's Great-grandmother Catherine Whitehead Kennedy not Great-great Grandmother Mary Hamilton Kennedy McInnes, as I thought. I have to, then, apologize for my last blog entry where I stated that Grandma is struggling with her memory. She may be struggling with her memory, but, in this case, I mistook her hesitation concerning the picture for forgetfulness. She just hadn't believed that I could have found a picture of Mary Hamilton Kennedy McInnes, and she was right on. Dad did lots of little "fix-ups" for Grandma, and we had a wonderful meal and a fun chat. We gave her an early Christmas gift of a cable tv "package," so she'll have BYUTV. The thought of being able to watch conference in her jamies brought her great delight.

Early Tuesday morning, we attended a session in the Seattle Temple, which brought back many wonderful memories. It's always peaceful and quiet in the temple, and there's usually time for personal reflection. We then spent the day driving from Seattle to Spokane. We had to make a stop at our favorite Swiss village--Leavenworth. Although the colors aren't quite full, they were gorgeous. Equally as beautiful, in a different sort of way, were the wheatfields of eastern Washington. The fields, I think, were mostly harvested, so they were variegated in color, and it was so quiet!! There were hardly any people in the towns, and they were sweet and serene. Early Wednesday morning, we attended a session in the Spokane temple.

Our trip from Spokane to Aunt Joan's took us through more wheat country, sleepy villages, and spectacular sweeps of wooded areas. We stopped in the town of Palouse, where Mother's grandparents homesteaded and did dry land wheat farming around the turn of the century. We found the graves of my great-grandmother, Margaret Elizabeth Clark Cocheran and Great-great grandmother, Millia O'Donnell Cocheran. It was chilly and windy at the cemetery, but we took a moment to stand at their gravesite and honor them. At Aunt Joan's, I couldn't wait to show her my newest quilting project and get her advice. This is the middle of Harmony's quilt. I have plans to bead this section of her quilt and add three bright borders. Aunt Joan generously loaded me down with beads and glitz for this and other projects I'm working on. We found Uncle Garth recovering well from his heart surgeries.

Our final stop, Thursday, was Kennewick for a session at the Columbia River Temple. On Friday, we attended the funeral of a longtime friend, Louis Berge. He had lived through 2 broken backs, open heart surgery, 3 cancers and died from a 4th bout with cancer. A good man who certainly brought new meaning to the term "enduring to the end." He continued through all those illnesses to work as a logger and to do many service projects for the elderly. I remember one of my dad's relatives saying that his wife often prayed that there would be a death in Oakley, Idaho, Grandpa's home town, so they could come for a visit. That's sort of how Louie's funeral was--lots of former ward members came for a visit and to honor him.

Now, we're settling down for winter--I think. We would still like to complete our Oregon temple tour by visiting the Medford Temple before the snow flies. We're well and happy and hope all of you are as well. Love, Mom

BEADS, BIRTHDAYS, AND BLESSINGS UNNUMBERED

Fall is showing her multi-faceted face once again. The beauty of the season is has brought much-needed and welcomed rain. Just as we despaired over our slowly dying rhododendrons which have suffered from the water problems in the area, the pounding rain of the last fews day has revived them. Dad has stacked wood all around the yard, and we've even had a fire or two. One of the most busy stores I've been to isn't the grocery store or Walmart filled with shoppers re-stocking their dwindling larders for the cold winter months, it's the quilt and fabric shows!! Quilters know that those blissfully long days of winter mean many opportunities to quilt or sew some "treasure" for their famililes. I recently took a quilt beading class and promised the instructor that I would practice my newly learned skills at home. I had made cross-stitched welcome signs for two different newlywed couples from our LaJolla days, so I practiced on them. For the blue and white sampler, I did my usual beading--conservative, in the lines kind of thing. For the other one, I'd cross-stitched seashells, dolphins, sandy beaches, ocean waves and palm trees on a welcome sign to welcome visitors to their college apartment in San Diego, which they call the Thack Shack. Hmmm...by the time I finished everything but the lettering was a beaded wonder. When I showed the finished product to Dad, he just smiled. I asked if it was tacky or bling, and he wisely just smiled again and said, "It's nice!!

We have two birthdays in the family this month. Darla turns 30 something tomorrow. She says she's doing well-- involved in a big project at work which keeps her hopping. Kahlil turns four for his birthday, and he requested a parade of bikes, strollers, etc. to the local school lot to play a baseball game. In this day and age of theme parties, I thought that was clever and creative.

Dad and I have been sobered by the health problems that Uncle Garth is experiencing. He is back in the hospital because his heart hasn't been functioning as well as it should . He'll probably have a pacemaker implanted this morning. Aging is certainly not for sissies. Almost overnight, Grandma Kennedy lost all of her hearing in one ear, and all the wonderful news I mentioned about family history in my last blog, I've had to tell her about again--her memory is faulty. I admire the courage of those who are aging and coping with the physical losses of old age. It's difficult to be graceful when you're struggling, but our family members are doing so. We are blessed beyond measure--an autumn that is breath-taking, family prayers together praying for our loved ones, the rich companionship of each other, and each of you to buoy us up. We love you. Happy burrowing in for the winter ahead. Love, Mom

“Do not pray for tasks equal to your abilities but pray for abilities equal to your tasks.Then the performance of your tasks will be no miracle but you will be the miracle.” Thomas S. Monson

Nirvana, Estates, Ordinations, and Ancestors

If you don't recognize it, this is Nirvana!! Dad has found a new quarry and is, happily, hauling rock once again. In June, he found out that the quarry from which he took his tons and tons of rock for the rock wall had been permanently closed to the public!! However, after much searching, he has found a quarry in Carson which has the kind of rock he needs to finish the wall.


We stopped for a day in Oakley, Idaho where Aunt Joan and I were born, and where our father grew up. After a brief search, we found this old pioneer church--the very one mentioned in this story from church history:
"A small party of settlers from Tooele located four miles northwest of Oakley on the west side of Goose Creek and named the place "Marion" in honor of Apostle Francis Lyman. Here was erected a log schoolhouse that also served as an amusement hall, being just large enough to accomodate two sets of dancers. When this little edifice was abandoned in favor of a new church, money was very scarce, but "they had faith and worked hard," said Alfred Gorringe, adding that "when this building was nearly completed, Bishop Smith had ten dollars; he knew James Whitby had five and this was all the money these men had. Bishop Smith went to Brother Whitby and said, "If you will put in your five with my ten, we can get a front door for our building and hold church there next Sunday." And they did."Our next stop was a fun evening with Eric and Tobin, Taylor and Carter. We were impressed with the work they've done on their home. Dad, who's done lots of remodeling, said, in admiration, Eric's a master!! We enjoyed sweet little Taylor's chatter and Carter's smile. Tobin had taken the time to bake cookies for us, but we were so busy chattering that we forgot to eat them!!

Next was a stop at the Estate in the Desert's Shadow--Eric and Susan's home. We had a great visit and were impressed with the estate!! Toby was Dad's shadow. I think if Dad had let him, he would have come into the bathroom with him! At one point, Toby and I were looking at a book about the Columbia River, and I showed Toby a photograph of wind surfers on the Columbia. He studied it carefully and then said, "Can Grandpa do that?"

Our next stop was to Darla's. On Sunday morning, Dad helped Vale get appropriately dressed in white shirt and tie and dress pants that were a bit snug, so he could be ordained a deacon!!

Here's our proud deacon with his bishop and visiting teacher.

Next stop: Santa Rosa. Steve took us on a fun tour of Bodega, Sebastopol, and Santa Rosa. You may recognize the picture: it's the schoolhouse from "The Birds." It is a beautifully restored private home now. Close by is the church, Sisters of Avila, shown in the movie as well. We met Kobe's after-school teacher, Sue, and Kobe and I had an interesting talk about the difference between a "kit," which we're looking at in the picture, and a "kid," which Kobe proudly proclaimed he is.

Finally, let me introduce you to your great-great grandmother, Mary Hamilton Kennedy McInnes. I have been praying for some time now to be able to find some definitive confirmations about the true facts concerning this wonderful woman. Every bit of information we've had on her has been family stories and whatever tidbits Grandma could gather. She is our ancestor who came from Scotland to the wild, wild land of Nova Scotia with her husband, Donald, and her son, Donald. Her husband died shortly after their arrival, and Mary was left to adjust to the wild land alone. Eventually, she married a local tailor, John McInnes, and they moved to British Columbia. Donald eventually returned to Nova Scotia. John and Mary McInnes had several children, one of whom became somewhat famous/infamous in British Columbia history--Robert Thomas McInnes and a grandson who was a poet laureate in British Columbia--Tom McInnes. Imagine my surprise and affirmation last Tuesday when I found this picture of Mary on a website devoted to her first home in Nova Scotia--East Lake Ainslie. On that very same day, I found some information about Mary, which Dad and I intend to further research this winter when the storms are raging, and the quarry is closed. Mary was born in Paisley, Scotland, and her father, Captain Edward Hamilton, is a lineal descendant of the First Duke of Hamilton. Scottish royalty. Prayers are answered. It was so fun to share this wonderful news with Grandma. Then, the perfect cherry on top of the cake was a phone call from a man named James Kennedy from South Carolina. He is Dad's second cousin, and he is interested in doing Kennedy genealogy. Another cousin had sent James Kennedy a detailed family genealogy that Grandma Kennedy wrote over forty years ago, and James sent it to the curator of the very museum which had the picture of Great-great Grandma Kennedy. The curator was so pleased with the history that he would like to publish the piece in their local genealogical/historical society's magazine, in the local paper, and keep a copy in their local archive. One of the items on Grandma's "bucket" list has come true--she'll be a published author!! Life is so beautiful. We love you all. Mom

OF BLIGHTS, MEMORIES, AND NEW BEGINNINGS

There are still roses in bloom, weeds in the garden, bright skies and 90 degree weather, and flies in droves at a quilting workshop. Indian summer beckons us to linger outside on a star-filled night and turn on the fan in midafternoon.

However, the little "ant" at our house is noticing the reality of Fall--his favorite time--and the reality of a predicted "hard" winter. The tools of building which were utilized for the building of the new deck have been replaced with ax and maul.

Yet, another blight, manmade, has made me grit my teeth each time I drive up the hill and pass the Beachum's old house. I know, the house has been abandoned for years, but until recently all the windows were still in, and there was no graffiti on its walls. This artist is even bold enough to write his name!! Ugh.

All is well with us. As Dad says he's doing his thing, and I'm doing mine. Although we neither understand nor gush about each other's projects, we revel in the other's enthusiasm and pure joy and enjoy the final products of each other's passions. God is in His Heaven.

Our prayers are with Uncle Garth who is undergoing heart bypass surgery as I write. I'll keep you posted as soon as I hear anything.

Love to All. Mom

ISN'T IT CALLED THE DOG DAYS OF SUMMER??

I am convinced that we're in the final throes of summer, but it seems so early. I can remember so many Septembers of starting school--wearing, of course, our Fallish new school clothes--sweating in the heat!! Yet, this year, our mornings are already chilly; the golden leaves are beginning to dot the front lawn, and we've turned off the air conditioner.

We've had a visit from our good friends, Dave and Elsie Thomas, with whom we served as missionaries in San Diego. Elsie is notching off items on her Bucket List. She had visited 48 states and wanted to complete her list by visiting Washington and Alaska. So, on their way to Alaska, they spent a night with us. I've admired Elsie for as long as I've known her. She suffers from muscular dystrophy, and any undertaking is physically tasking for Elsie. I've never heard Elsie complain about her condition; she is always cheerful and kind. It makes me remember that I, who am so overwhelming the recipient of God's most tender mercies, have no right to utter a complaint when I see Elsie struggle so hard to walk down the stairs in our living room. Dave is no wit behind as he serves Elsie and his family. Plus, we have fun together and lots of laughs. The Thomases left last Sunday to check off another bucket list item--their long dreamed of cruise to Alaska.

We said good-bye to Vale as well. The poor kid was climbing the walls by the time he left. One can only entertain himself for so long! He told me that he must be very sick because he missed school!!!

Dad's sun deck is amazing. I asked him how he knows how to build a sun deck. He just shrugged and said, "I look at what the original builders did and copy their work." I asked him if there was anything I could do to help him, and his response was, "That's like you asking me if I could help you quilt!!" Check out the picture of Dad's handiwork.

Today I was walking around the marina in Bingen, and I gasped at the scene all around me. The Gorge is incredibly beautiful, and I was overwhelmed by its awesome splendor this morning. Way off in the distance, I could see the chapel of the Catholic Church in White Salmon. So inspiring.

Aunt Joan heard a wonderful story from one of her fellow temple workers. The lady was babysitting her little four-year old grandson. She was absolutely worn out after having cared for the energetic little boy for several days. Finally, she said, "You know what, Josh? You just get old and you die." The next day, she got a phone call and heard a teary little voice asking, "Grandma, you're not dead yet are you??"

Grandma and Grandpa aren't dead yet. We're having a great time. We hope you can keep up!! Love to all, Mom

EVERYONE NEEDS AN AUNT JOAN

Almost from Day One, Vale had been asking to go visit Great-aunt Joan. Finally, we got the opportunity to spend six days with her. Of course there are lots of cousins, "kinda" cousins, a big trampoline, Scnauzer puppies, fresh corn on the cob, pvc pipe swords, bikes, unlimited candy dish, etc., etc. at Great-aunt Joan's, but that's not the big attraction! The BIG attraction is that since Uncle Steve was in eighth grade or thereabouts, Aunt Joan has been a player of video games and of one game in particular--Zelda. In spite of a heavy workload, many, many interests, Joan has conquered almost all of the Zelda cames on the market; she admits to being a bit compulsive about it! So, the scene in the picture on the left was enacted many times. If Aunt Joan was not with Vale, his cousin, Marissa was. It made for a week of total attention for Vale.

Everyone needs an Aunt Joan. Joan patiently got Vale out of the pitfalls and snares that the little character in Zelda found himself in. Sometimes, she made him read and re-read the cheat sheets to find the solution; other times, she gave broad hints of solutions, and at times she gave him the answer immediately. She didn't judge Vale nor demean him while they spent their time together. Most of all, she was interested in what Vale was doing. All of us need someone like that to be in our corner, cheering us on. When there isn't a real person--a spouse or a good friend, there is always our Father in Heaven who is our constant cheerleader. He only needs our invitation to walk with us through the pitfalls and snares of our lives.

All is well here. The summer is winding down. Dad has built the first stage of a very impressive sun deck. Now, he has wood to stack and rocks to gather. Vale goes home on Saturday, and it's none too soon for him. He says he must be very sick because he wants to go to school. I have a new assignment--a temple assignment--and am privileged to attend the temple all day once a week with a group of ladies from the ward!! Yesterday, I was sitting in the foyer of the temple, daydreaming, and I heard a voice say, "I know you. You're related to me. You're my aunt." It was my niece, Nadine, who was on a romantic getaway with her husband! Life is full of the tender mercies of God. We must look for them and then pass on our tender mercies to others as Aunt Joan did for Vale. Love from here. Mom