Catching up on the blog before posting photos from our recent trip to Hawaii, when we flew from Salt Lake City to Honolulu on April 29th.
We visited the Jordan River Temple open house
prior to its being rededicated after
extensive renovations started in February of 2016.
(April 23, 2018)
This used to be our assigned temple at one time
while living in South Dakota,
as there were no temples near us in those years.
In fact, our first assigned temple was the Salt Lake Temple.
After the Jordan River Temple, our next temple assigned
to those living in western South Dakota was the Denver Temple.
Next, the North Dakota Bismarck Temple was our temple district,
about 6 1/2 hours from our home;
and we served there once a month on Thursday evenings,
Friday afternoons, and Saturday mornings,
staying overnight in Bismarck Friday and Saturday nights.
After moving to Spanish Fork, Utah, we were in the Provo Temple district,
where we served for about two years until
the Payson Temple was built, where we currently serve.
Here we are with Graham grandchildren,
Megan, Rebecca, Ethan, Amanda, and Joshua,
after our tour through the Jordan River Temple.
(Jared was attending classes at UVU.)
A side view of the temple.
Beth with her daughters,
Megan, Rebecca, and Amanda.
Ethan, Megan, Rebecca, Amanda, and Joshua
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Sam and I went with Hal and Christy Smith
to see The Little Mermaid
at the Hale Theater.
I took this picture after the show
of the lead actors in the play
while they were posing for a photo.
(April 5)
My Favorite Things Relief Society activity
on April 19 at the church.
I serve with others as a member of the activity committee.
(Marisa Tobias, First Counselor)
It was interesting to see the things brought
to exchange with another sister.
They were to have a special meaning to the giver
and not cost over $5.00.
The variety included books, crafts, foods, and more.
I chose to bring a package of Lotus Biscoff cookies
that I was first introduced to on Delta flights
and now buy at Costco.
These are a favorite of our granddaughter, Rebecca.
Celebrating Trevor's 28th birthday
at Derek and Sarah's home.
(April 22)
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We also enjoyed a visit from Greg and Chris Shepard on April 20 when they stopped by for lunch and a short visit on their way to Salt Lake City where Greg was a
GOP representative from his district at the state meeting.
On Saturday, April 21, Megan and Amanda had a birthday party
with friends at our home
celebrating their 18th birthday (born April 13, 2000).
* * * * * * * * * * * *
After having a mild winter, we did get some appreciated snowfall
a couple of times this spring; but it soon melted, and hopefully it
didn't get too cold for the fruit trees to produce this year.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
A Look Back to the Past
(photo from Facebook)
When I was a little girl,
I remember my mother washing clothes
using a wringer wash machine similar to this.
We also had a round washtub similar to the one shown here
that the clothes were dropped into from being put
through the wringer as pictured.
We also had one or two other rinse tubs oval in shape,
so clothes could go through two or three rinses.
The water in the washing machine was first heated on the stove.
The rinse tubs, called boilers, were filled by a hose attached to the sink
with additional heated water added as desired.
In the photo, you can see at the right on the wash machine a round, black knob.
This was the lever to begin the agitating motion to wash the clothes.
The wringer through which the clothes were wrung could be swung
to be over each of the rinse tubs.
The first clothes to be washed were the whites, then the light colored.
Darker clothes were next followed by the more soiled work clothes, rugs, etc.,
with the same water being used for everything.
Once all the clothes were washed, the wash machine
and the boiler tubs had to be emptied.
The wet clothes were then hung outside on a clothesline with clothespins.
There were several lines attached between poles in the ground.
There was a nice, air-fresh smell to clothes dried outside;
but when the outside temperatures were freezing, the clothes froze
and were stiff when they were brought inside to thaw and finish drying.
Wash day was a tiring day held once a week, usually on the same day of the week.
My mother was so grateful when she got her first automatic washer and dryer
when we moved to Martin, SD, when I was a sophomore in high school.
We also had a mangle for ironing as well as an electric hand iron.
“Permanent press” debuted in 1964,
so everything you wanted to look nice had to be ironed.
[Note: Permanent press, a blend of two
parts polyester and one part cotton
made up early permanent press
textiles,
which also featured a fiber coating made of
formaldehyde-impregnated resins.
The latter feature helped the clothes
keep their shape and resist wrinkles.]
In addition to ironing the usual clothing items,
I remember ironing handkerchiefs, pillowcases, and even sheets
after I was married when we lived in St. Johns.
Of course before my time, irons had to be heated on top of coal stoves
and routinely exchanged for another hot iron while the previous one was reheated.
With the advent of automatic wash machines,
many families wash a batch of clothes at any time of the day or week
with "wash days" being a thing of the past.
Many of our clothes now require little or no ironing
if hung as soon as the dryer has completed the selected time,
especially if still slightly damp.
I am grateful for my automatic washer and dryer!
