Third Cousins and Collecting Art

As we continue to prepare for being away for a year and a half, I continue to have to choose what to keep.  I cleared out my sewing and linen closets last week, and combined them, which meant a lot of items didn't make the cut.  This granny square afghan I got at the PCC flea market last year is the case in point.  It is the finest made GSA I have ever seen.  But I've not been able to match it to place in the house.  This week I did.  I think its perfect in the library on the square green fabric upholstered antique chair.  You can see that there are greens that just match the chair.  Happy me, now I have to ask if anyone want the commemorative Payson Historic throw that was on the chair. 

 and before we get going, I wanted to add another 3rd cousin account.  I was talking to Barb, and she mentioned that with Trina now living in Salem, her daughter Kinsey in attending the Americann Leadership Academy that Adi goes to.  Bother are the same grade and are also into drama.  The fun thing for me, this year, is that they are 3rd cousins.  Both are great great Granddaughters of Grandma Peterson. Through Lisa and Randy's lines.

On Monday, as Becca and Brady continued their conference in Chicago, we continued watching their kids.

I think they learned a lot during the 3 day conference.

And we got to enjoy their kids.  Here we have Reagan, Mac, Madi and Titan.

  

Reagan did a great job of managed the dogs, which we greatly appreciated.

We also got to see the addition of a fountain to their front lanscape, which is lovely.

Here we see Madi showing me two tiny cantaloupes she discovered in their garden.

Early Tuesday morning (about 4 A.M.), my sister Julie's son Scott texted me that his brother Todd had passed away the day before.

Back home on Tuesday, I finally repaired the corner of this antique painting in preparations for taking it into Treasures.  Art is very popular right now, and I am selling lots of art.

In fact that afternoon I went to preview my Friend (far left) Tiffany's antique sale.  While there Katie, and Sherri came to preview too.  (they are my Flea.o.logy Partners)

Among other things, I bought this paint by number cottage painting.  I used restora-finish to knock down the garish white that was its only fault.

Then I frame and hung it on the bottom of the left side wall leading to my balcony.  I also added two other cottage painting to the right side.

Wednesday was Dave's birthday.  He is now 42.  This is Dad's birthday Collage for him.

Dad got busy on Wednesday mixing up the 7 bags of cement that Becca and Brady shared with him, after they ended up with extras after a project. On Friday he finished it up with two more bags of cement.

At work on Wednesday I add the sweet Rabbit framed print I'd bought from Tiffany, the day before, to my French Primitive booth.

I worked again on Thursday and Dad went to his normal temple shift as well.

That evening I went to my book club, at the Payson Park, where we discussed the book The Last Chance Library.  Here we see Ann, KD and Carolyn.

Lillian and Heather.

and Rachel and Suzanne

Friday was Becca and Ben's birthday.  I think Becca always misses Ben more that day than any other.  At least we always thing about him when we celebrate his 6th birthday gift's birthday that day. Ben would have been 44, its hard to believe he has missed 8 earthy birthdays so far. We love you Becca and Ben.

On Saturday I'd made a date to see my cousin Debbie.  She spent more than a month back in New Jersey getting her stepmother Nellie settled, since Nellie wanted to go back "home" after Debbie's Dad passed away last year.

Anyway, I did some junking and went to check out a new store in SLC, that's supposed to be sort of French Country.  Its called Millcreek Manor.  I was so pleased to get to see an original Minerva Teichert painting I'd love to have one, but 28,000 was definitely above my budget.

and the taxidermied giraffe shoulders to head wasn't even a temptation.

Then I met up with Debbie at the Sharlimar, another new store in SLC.  There are so many new antique stores, as antiques are so popular.  I've enjoyed the uptick in sales, personally.

We next headed to Debbie's house where she showed me the sketch for the painting of our house she is doing for me.  I absolutely love it.

Then I showed her this signed Avard Fairbanks Statue that I got at DI on Monday.  I had discussed it extensively with AI, who decided it must have been a study for another sculpture.

Here you can see the signature, and a damage/repaired area.  On thing that is strange about it, is that it has a seam down the front that was never properly cleaned, which indicates that it was never mean to be sold, which supports the 'study' theory, being an artist and sculptor's wife, Debbie pointed out that it is not a plaster casting, but is a resin casting made from the original plaster casting, but has no theory as to why it had been made.  The funny thing is that Debbie lives in a duplex that was owned by Avard Fairbanks brother Leo.  Currently Leo's grandson lives on the other side of the duplex.  Debbie's going to show him a picture of it, and give his the details, and see if he can figure it out. 

This is the finished sculpture that Debbie and I both thing the statue was the study for.  Dang that was a fun afternoon for me.

That evening, after dinner with Debbie is SLC, I got home and found a text from my nephew Scott, telling me that there would be a viewing the next morning.  Todd was to be embalmed after the viewing to be held at the Russon Brother's Mortuary in Bountiful

I sent out a text to my siblings (except Joyce who is still in a care center healing) and though I didn't get the text out until 10:30 P.M., all of them answered me and changed plans so that there was someone to represent each of my parent's living children. (Except Joyce of course, who I know would have found a way to be there, had she not been still hooked to machinery)

Here we see Bruce, Doug's daughter Megan, Dad and me, Genial (Todd's 'wife' of ten years, Alysa, Ross, JoLyn and Clark.

Alysa was just darling comforting her step mother.

Here are Dad and JoLyn

Me, Dad, JoLyn and Megan. (Who, by the way, was so kind and patient, I think she did more to comfort Geniel than any of us could.  She was just lovely)

Here we see Bruce also comforting her.

Here we see Alysa taking a picture of Todd.  He really looked so natural.  He had not been embalmed, as he was to be cremated, and we were warned about that.  But he looked just like himself, without the evidence of pain I'd seen the last few times I'd been with him.

Here we see Ross chatting with Alysa.

Ross and Dad

Janeal, Clark, JoLyn, Alysa's Aid and Alysa.

The cops talking shop.

three of my brothers.

I had shared with Alysa my belief that Todd was in the room with us in his spirit body.  Here we see her as see talks to him at some length.  It was very sweet.  I am sorry to see her going forward without him.

Ross and Bruce needed to head to other commitments and the rest of of went to Chuck o Rama for lunch.  In the end I thought it was really a simple and nice tribute to Todd and a chance for all of us to process the reality of Todd's passing. 

After we got home, Rebecca Peery called to say that the painting she did of the Helsinki Temple was done, and she came by to bring it. I showed here where I had hung the other 3 paintings I got from her a few weeks ago.

 I

After she left, I hung the painting right where the photo had hung, and in the same frame.

Then I rearranged the mantel to fit in the new Avard Fairbanks statue.  But here is another of his that I own. 

And this is the statue I found that is the same as the Mother of the Year statue that my mother received in 1980 when she was Utah Mother of the Year (Megan has that one)

This is how they are all arranged now.

Next we headed to meet the Moes at ---- in Spanish Fork before heading together to

The Payson temple to do a session

The person I was able to go through for was Rachel Lydia Solberd.  She is a third cousin of my Dad's  How crazy is that for my 3rd cousin year. 

And even though they don't match, here is a pair of second cousins.  Eva Jean Perkins and Peter Larsen, my brother Bruce's grandson.  They are both serving in the California, Roseville Mission. He's been out over a year, and she's been there over a week.  Looks like they met up at a zone conference.

And today, on Barb's recommendation, we watched last weeks, Follow Him Podcast with John White, who is now a Professor at BYU, formerly he was in the divinity department at Baylor University in Texas.  It was a fascinating watch.

I have not edited this yet, and we have a couple of events we're headed to tonight to add later, but we find if we save it when we walk away we don't lose it. In other words, there will be more to this blog than this, but I am posting it anyway.