Carriage Doors for My Garage

I have such a talented husband. This last fall he built real, functioning, carriage doors for our garage!

We have had a broken garage door for quite some time, years in fact. (Let's see, it was over 10 years ago that Dallas pulled the garage door down on my head and it was broken then) ( I mean the garage door was broken then.  Not my head, at least not until he pulled the garage door down on top of it!)

We are poor or cheap, which ever you choose to call it, but lucky for us we also have talent and some tools. Dallas had to add a plainer to his stash of tools for this project, but he was happy to do it. We got the wood from the Rock Creek Mill at the mouth of Rock Creek canyon. I think the stack we got cost us around $120. If you are not familiar with the place, it is rough cut fir or pine from the south hills.

I am thrilled and think the doors turned out amazing! We are still working with the color just a bit.  I want it to match the front door and they just aren't quite there yet. But here is a picture of them with the new burlap wreaths that I made for them last week. We get compliments on them all of the time.  Neighbors even stop when driving by to tell us how cool they think they are!!

Thanks Honey!

Some SUMMER Crafts

Somehow, tie-dye seems to go along with summer. My friend Montay and I tie-dyed some Modern Woodmen's shirts a couple of days ago.  Some of them turned out really amazing!

I have learned some things about tie-dying. We have done it twice now. The first time we used  Jacquard brand of dye. It is a two step process, first you soak the cloth in soda ash (washing soda) dissolved in water. After that you use the dyes. As with most tie-dying, you then allow the items to sit for at least 8 hours, rinse and rinse and rinse with running water and then wash in the washing machine.

This time we used the Tulip brand that Michael's carries. It did not require the soaking in the soda ash, but as it all works better with damp material, we did wet everything prior to dying. The colors were, as you can see quite  bright and vibrant after rinsing them.  Unfortunately they were substantially faded by the time we got them out of the washer after washing them. That was a bit disappointing. I thought that the Jacquard brand retained the color quite a bit better than the Tulip brand.

I am thinking that next time I will try another brand I have heard about from Dharma Trading. They have so many colors I didn't even count them and they say they are the brightest 'bar none'. It was pretty fun and everybody loves tie-dye, don't they?

How Does YOUR Garden Grow?

     I have had a busy summer. Here is what I have been up to.

 I have been working for a few hours most mornings in the yard. Haven't always been a fan of yard work.  Still can't say I love it, but I DO LOVE the results.  I love my flowers, my herbs, veggies and all of my other decorating projects outside.

These are my brussel sprouts and some tomatoes. Looking forward to a plentiful harvest from the sprouts.  Dallas and my Dad and all of my kids love that vegetable. First time planing these.

This is my new raised garden bed.  We made it from DI file cabinets.  Seems to be working out quite well. I planted some of my squash and gourds.

These cute little things are my tiny hot peppers. 

These are my succulents  planted in shoes, also from DI. I have hung them on the side of our old crib turned on its side. It is standing in my claw foot tub where I have planted my ornamental pumpkins; blue and white

Some of my herbs. Bee Balm, Oregano and Basil, top to bottom

Just to show that I cannot grow everything, I have an issue with growing a lettuce bowl. Two years now I have attempted it,  (seeded it 2 times this year) but no luck.  I do much better with the volunteer lettuce that comes up in my rock garden! (See below) Letting one go to seed for next year's crop.

This our GRAPPLE tree. It is a mostly-dead-all-day rome apple tree that our grape vines uses as an arbor. Completely loaded with grapes this year.  See me later this fall after the first frost! Going to build a tree house in the tree. It will be sort of like a tree house/cave for the Grand kids!

Annual Post?

Well, here we are at the beginning of yet another year with nothing but the now annual entry in my blog. This is disappointing to me, even if not you, as I like to write and feel that I do at times have something important to say. (We can all dream, yes?) But more so lately, I have felt a bunch of words pent up inside and  the need to let them out.

Finding the time for that is a struggle for two reasons. First, I have a lot of things to do and second, for some reason (most likely ingrained from my childhood) I have an extremely hard time doing things I enjoy when the duties I don't care for are unfinished.  I know, it is a sickness; but not one that I have been able to find the cure for. The results of this infirmity is that sometimes I never really get anything at all accomplished. Nothing that I need to do and certainly nothing that I enjoy.

I think that I will make that my mission for this coming year. . . . . to do some of the things that I enjoy, even if the drudgery remains undone. What could be the harm? At this point, none of it gets done and I am not happy about it.  If I can force myself to do some of the fun things (seriously, it WILL be a daunting undertaking!) at least I will be having some fun, right? You can track my progress on the fun things to do front in my TO DO LIST to the right in the blog and I may post about them in the future. 

Idaho Republican Caucus

Well, I took part in Idaho history last week.  The Republican Party held it's first ever Presidential Caucus. It turned out to be quite the affair, or perhaps I should say ordeal!  Thank heavens that it was so well organized by my friend, Chenele Dixon; otherwise it may have imploded when over 2500 vote wielding citizens turned up. Now, don't take me wrong, it is a good thing that they came out; actually it is sad how many of us don't exercise our right and obligation to vote.  Anyway, back to the caucus - It was exciting to participate for the first time in this American tradition.  I must say, there is a different feeling about casting your vote amongst such a crowd as compared to doing it in the singular fashion of the voting booth at a primary. 

With such a crowd, there were lots of things to do; I am sure that Dallas felt like a traffic cop as he was directing the flow of citizens through the lines.  He came to me at the concessions to obtain resuscitation materials for the workers at the tables more than a few times. And yes, I was responsible for the concessions.  Seems that is my lot, to always be peddling food.  Thankfully we had that as a distraction for those who had to wait the extra time  while everyone was cataloged  and packed into the gym. (Good thinking, Chenele!)  Not many better ways to keep people happy than to ply them with food, right? 

All in all, despite the state of me feet when it was all said and done, it was a great experience.  I am glad I was able to be there, even if it was with candy bars in one hand and nachos in the other!

2011 - THE SHORT VERSION !

       Well, another year has gone - it really isn't my fault that time gets away from me.  I am pretty sure that somewhere they have been cutting the length of the years rather than making those budget cuts that they need to.  What is a girl to do?
     So, once again here is the Christmas letter with 2011 for the Jenks family in condensed form.  

Jenks Family 2011 TOP TEN!

10  – Dallas, Stratton and Crayson all switched from skiing to boarding this year when they participated in the Home School Skiing program offered at Pomerelle Ski Resort.  All of them found that they liked it better than skiing and are looking forward to the 2012 season.

9   - DeeAnn took up sewing again after more than 25 years.  The $15 DI machine turned into a pretty good piece of equipment after the $80 tune up.  She may have been able to get a new one for that, but you live and learn.

8   - Dallas is taking his Scout Master calling to heart.  They had a great time during their week at Camp Bradley in July.  The troop came home with over 30 merit badges!  He spends several hours a week working with the boys, making sure that they advance.

7   - Stratton turned 15 in July.  He spent some time during the first half of the year mentoring with a friend who checks water flows throughout the area for the Fish and Game each week.  He really enjoyed that and is wondering about a career in the agency.  He also was able to cross something off of his bucket list; he got his first pair of Converse tennis shoes.

6  - Crayson turned 12 in May and received the Aaronic Priesthood.  He has fully embraced the scouting program and has set the goal of achieving every, single Merit Badge.  He is completing at least 2 a month so far, so who knows, he may reach that goal.

5  - The whole family pitched in to help DeeAnn as she chaired a committee to put in a new beach at a local city park.  Most of the work was in fund raising; more than $13,000 was raised to refurbish and re-sand the Beach at Dierkes Park in the canyon along with purchasing and installing two, new sets of swings for the playground.  It was a worthwhile project that the whole community got involved with.

4 - In September DeeAnn and the boys went on a road trip to visit the grand kids.  They traveled 2500 miles through Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa and Utah. Dallas flew out to meet them in Council Bluffs for the blessing of the newest grand baby.

3  - Grandpa and Grandma Hansen took their whole crew (minus three) on an Alaskan cruise.  That was a lot of fun and a great experience hanging out with all of the Aunts, Uncles, Cousins, and Grandparents for a week.  Alaska is a beautiful place.

2  - This one is really a tie with first, but it took place earlier in the year, so it will fall here.  In February, Devon married his sweetheart, Kayla Cheyenne Peckham in the Twin Falls Temple.  Everyone in the family attended and was delighted to welcome her into the clan.  She survived the cruise with all of us, so it appears that she is here to stay!

1  - The top event for this year was the birth of Juliette Rosalie Jenks.  She came the day after the cruise (hence the missing three) on August 8^th.  She is a beautiful, chubby, bundle of joy and being the first girl in 2 generations of the Hansen (my) family makes her pretty special!

  

A NEW LEAF

As the new year is upon me, I am feeling an anticipation of some thing new and starting over.  With that, I am going to stop bemoaning to myself about the lack of blog entries in the last half of 2010 and go on from here.  As a balm for my negligence, I am going to post our Christmas letter and therefore update the year with the highlights.


Also, you can take a look at the adventures from our trip to Michigan this fall here: Jenks Fall Family Trip

Dear Family and Friends!                                                                                                         December 2010

                My, how the years fly by.  The Jenks’ year has been a joyful one.  It seems as the family grows, there are more things to find gladness in. 

                Ashton & Ali finished up the first year of Pharmacy school @ Creighton and started their second.  They seem to be quite content there.  DeeAnn got to visit them twice! (Lucky Grandma)  Dexter grows and grows.  He is such a charmer; he spreads delight where ever he is.  Ashton teaches primary (the entire senior primary) and Ali is in the Relief Society Presidency.  The joys of school life in the mission field!

                London & Alissa moved to Thermopolis, WY for London’s first teaching position. He is in the Science Department at the High School.  We visited them in October and can see why they might enjoy that quaint little place.  Orion is an expressive boy – much like his father was.  We love his endearing dimples and beautiful brown eyes (he got those from his Mama).  London is in the Elders Quorum and Alissa is a sweet primary teacher.  The joys of settling in! 

                Devon returned from his mission to India in August.  What a thrill that was!  He is a fine young man, excited for the rest of his life; we relish having him home with us.  That, however, will be short lived; he has found his love and they will be married in the Twin Falls Temple in February. Her name is Kayla Peckham and we are ecstatic about welcoming her into the family.  Another girl!  They are both busy with school and jobs.  The joys of just starting out!

                Stratton has reached that full-fledged teen age thing.  He attends early-morning Seminary, is working on his Eagle Project, still plays in the hand-chime choir and continues with his schooling at home. His interests remain anything science: chemistry, space, biology.  Stratton went rafting on the High Adventure trip with the Teachers Quorum this summer and proved his ‘MoJo’ when he jumped off a 35 foot cliff!  The joys of the indestructible teenager!

                Crayson is still hanging in that land of ‘tweens’; not sure if he wants to actually grow up or not.  He works hard at his schooling, has lots of collections and socializes any chance he gets.  The lucky eleven-year-old was able to attend Scout Camp with Dallas and his brother this summer and came away just a few requirements shy of First Class Rank.  He has set a goal to earn the 4 Commemorative Merit Badges.  They joys of unlimited energy!

                Dallas is working hard to take care of the family; he puts in his hours at the pharmacy in Costco and then moonlights with his decorative concrete business.  That all sounds so noble, but be advised, his real goal is to own a plane in the next 4 years.  That would be his dreams come true!  He was called as the Scout Master just a few weeks ago, after a preparatory stint as the Assistant.  He feels intimidated and eager at the same time.  The joys of being the grown up!

                DeeAnn took a leap this year and plunged into politics.  Running for a Precinct Committee Seat in the Republican Party was …. Well, it was something!  She won and with Dallas, attended the State Convention.  If you live in Idaho, you know that is was pretty wild.  Outside of the ‘Political Career’, DeeAnn is still schooling the two younger ones, Cub Scouting, volunteering around the community and wishing she had more time for beading.  The joys of being the other adult!

                All in all this has been a wonderful year!  We are grateful for our numerous blessings, hopeful for a brighter future and are looking forward to another Joy Full year.  We wish Heavenly Father’s choicest blessing upon you all!