Heloise's Fried Rice

Description:

Money-saving since it uses rice and leftover meat.

Ingredients:

1 cup leftover rice, or rice cooked earlier to dry out a bit. (You can use more)

4 or 5 slices of bacon

3-4 eggs

3 or 4 chopped green onions or scallions (tops and all)

Leftover meat (chopped pork, beef or ham, optional)

Soy sauce


Directions:

Cook and cool 1 cup of rice, cooked earlier, or use leftover rice.

Dice and brown 4-5 slices of bacon in a heavy skillet until crisp.

Remove bacon and turn down heat.

Lightly beat 3 to 4 eggs and pour them into the hot bacon drippings.

Add the cooked rice and 3 to 4 chopped green onions or scallions.

Mix together.

Add bacon and leftover meat.

Mix.

Add soy sauce to taste, until the rice is as brown as you like it.

Stir well and cook on low heat for 15 to 20 minutes.

[I add mushrooms to my fried rice because we like them. Or add a few leftover veggies. Leslie]

Our What's New Page

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Be sure to refresh this page and our home/menu page often.
      

          
          New since we made this our new website:



           Added links, to some of our pages and photo albums, to our "right margin", 3 Jun 2010 ------------->

          Leslie seems to be the only one commenting on our "Winter Blog", 2009, 2010
          Added 7 photos to our "Mikesell" family photo album, 11 Jan 2010
          Read about the big excitement we had last week-end on this old farm, added 21 Oct 2009
         
          Jim added "Never go Home", by Jared to our "Music", 16 Oct 2009

          Jim added "Holding Up The Roof" by Jared to our "Music", 16 Oct 2009
         
             Happy Birthday Josh, added 16 Oct 2009

             Leslie added great wisdom to our "Over The Hill thread", 15 Oct 2009

Another old home movie, "Family Celebration", taken in 1969, added 14 Oct 2009

Added 1977 home movie to our Video's, see the talented Winters sisters, 9 Oct 2009

Added 1947 home movie to our "Video's". See Binders, Mikesells, Allens. 8 Oct 2009

After 3 and 1/2 years, 3 words were added to our "Silly Story", 29 Sep 2009

Happy Birthday Sheryl, added 29 Sep 2009

New link to baby dancing with Beyonce youtube video, 29 Sep 2009 

Della Ann (Mikesell) Binder's gravestone photo added to "Binder family" photo album and "Our family gravestones" photo album. Photo was taken by daughter Naomi.

Added new page, "Some Memories", by Wayne Winters, 25 Aug 2009

Adding photos to new album, "Carlos William Allen family", 24 Aug 2009

Added 15 photos to our "Mikesell" family photo album, 22 Aug 2009

Added 1995 Allen/Mikesell Family Newsletter, 19 Aug 2009

Naomi commented on Leslie's summer blog, 17 Aug, 2009

Debbie commented on Leslie's summer blog, 14 Aug & 15, 16 Sep 2009

Leslie added to her "summer blog", 13 Aug, & 9, 15, 19 Sep 2009

Started "Thoughts On My Life" by Betty Mikesell Erlandson, 5 Aug 2009

Added photos to our "Wood family" album, 3 Aug 2009

Added photos to our "Mikesell" photo album, 3 Aug 2009 and 5 Aug 2009

Added new information to the life story of Elizabeth Benson, part 2, 2 Aug 2009

Added new items to our "Standley Family" album, 1 Aug 2009

Added new information to the life story of Elizabeth Benson, part 3, 1 Aug 2009

Added - Life story of  Elizabeth Standley Osborn Benson, 3 pages, June, July 2009

More photos added to our "Winters" family photo album, 15 July 2009

17 photos added to our "Erlandson" family album, 11 July 2009

Don't miss our new You Tube video link "Roller Babies", 11 July 2009

6 photos added to "Allen Cousins", 10 July 2009

Photos added to our "Carlos Allen family", 10 July 2009

11 photos added to "Mikesell" family album, 9 July 2009

Naomi has started a new photo album, 8 July 2009

11 photos added to the "Wood family" album, 7 July 2009

Have a great summer!, 7 July 2009

Some photos added to our "Winters" family album, 4 July 2009

Happy Independence Day, 4 July 2009. How is/was your day?

Updates on Thelma, she's still in the hospital, 2, 3, 4 July, came home!

Photos added to our "Mikesell" and "Wood" family albums, 2, 3 July 2009

Messages "Thelma in hospital", 1 July 2009

Photos added to our Mikesell "Cousins" photo album, 27 Jun 2009

Leslie working on "My Life", by Thelma Mikesell Winters, 27 June 2009

Leslie working on part 2 of the life story of her great-grandmother Benson, 26 Jun 2009

Proud Grandma Naomi has added article on her grandson's graduation to Our Achievements and Honors page, 23 June 2009

Leslie is adding the life story of her great-grandmother Benson, 23, 24 June 2009

Leslie has added a new photo album, Standley Family, 23 June 2009

Debbie, Leslie and Naomi have added comments to "My Dad", June 2009

Leslie added photos and documents to "Andrew Jackson Mikesell" album, 22 June 2009

Leslie added a tribute page, "My Dad", on Father's Day,  21 June 2009.

7 photos added to "Wood family", 19 June 2009

7 photos added to "Erlandson" and lots of photos added to "Mikesell" photo albums, 18 June 2009

Leslie added photos to "Allen Cousins", "Winters", "Erlandson", Mikesell, 16 June 2009

Debbie added to Leslie's "spring blog", 15 June 2009

4 June, 2009, Leslie added to her "spring blog".

3 June, 2009, Leslie added photos to Dean and Allen; Andrew Jackson Mikesell; Allen-Mikesell get togethers; Erlandson and Dean photo albums. More coming soon.

Leslie added lots of photos to "Mikesell" photo album and to some other albums, 30 May 2009.

Our Favorite Videos and Websites [add your own favorites], 26 May 2009

Naomi is adding new photos to our albums, and comment, 25 May 2009

We have several new members, we now have 12, Welcome, 26 May 2009

Lots of old photos added to our "Winters" photo album, 25 May 2009

Ginny added to our "Over the Hill thread" by e-mail, 21 May 2009

Added photos to "Autobiography of Della Ann Mikesell Binder", 20 May 2009.

7 photos added to 1993 Allen/Mikesell family reunion picnic album, 13 May 2009, more coming.

3 photos added to 1992 Allen/Mikesell family reunion picnic album, 13 May 2009

17 photos added to 1991 Allen/Mikesell family reunion picnic album, 12, 13 May 2009.

"Leslie's Spring blog", is still going. Add to it if you want. 12 May 2009

"Have a great Mother's Day!".  Add a message/reply if you'd like. 10 May 2009

New photos added to "Binder family" photo album, May 8, 2009

New photos added to "Jim and Wilma Mikesell" photo album, May 3, 4, 2009

3 photos added to 1990 Allen/Mikesell Family Reunion picnic album, May 3, 2009

40 photos added to 1989 Allen/Mikesell Family Reunion picnic album, May 2, 3, 2009

Photos added to "Erlandson" and "Wood" family albums, May 1, 2009

"It has been one year on the 17th of this month", message added by Naomi, 30 April 2009

1988 Allen/Mikesell Family Reunion picnic, photos added to album, 29, 30 April 2009

             2000 Allen/Mikesell Family Newsletter, photo album, added 28 April 2009
 
             1999 Allen/Mikesell Family Newsletter, photo album, added 27 April 2009
 
             Our Achievements and Honors, added 26 April 2009
         
             Photo album "Ginny Winters in Nigeria Africa, April 2009", added 24 April 2009
 
             1998 Allen/Mikesell Family Newsletter, photo album, added 22 April 2009
 
             1997 Allen/Mikesell Family Newsletter, photo album, added 16 April 2009.

             "Our Anderson Family Obituaries", added 4 April 2009.
 
             "Allen Cousins", new photo album added 2 April 2009.
 
             Naomi (Binder) Rhodes added 2 new albums to our "Photos", 2 April 2009

             "Jaime's update", message left by Jaime, Mar. 24, 2009
 
             "Jaime's family photos", photo album, added by Jaime (Mikesell) Musgrove, Mar 24, 2009

              1996 Allen/Mikesell Family Newsletter, photo album, added Mar 22, 2009
     
              1994 Allen/Mikesell Family Newsletter, photo album, added Mar 21, 2009
          
              Updated Conrad S. Allen page, on Mar 19, 2009
   
              Added photos of documents to "Conrad Allen, descendants" photo album on Mar 19, 2009
         
              New photo album "Our Allen ancestors", added Mar 19, 2009
          
              Allen Family Records of Joy May Allen Thomason, added Mar 19, 2009

              "My Testimony", a story by Betty Mikesell Erlandson, added Mar 18, 2009.

              Photos of a sketch and a painting by Betty (Mikesell) Erlandson, were added to "Our Hobbies" photo album, on Mar 18, 2009

              Leslie added the story of her ancestors, Hugh and Rebecca McDonald, "Our Allen family's Scots-Irish Heritage", on Mar 17, 2009.

              Recipes from Betty (Mikesell) Erlandson; Thelma (Mikesell) Winters and Florence (Allen) Mikesell added Mar 13, 2009

              Obituary of Marguirette "Margie" (Thorp) Allen Hall added Mar 13, 2009          

              Obituary of Benjamin F. "Shep" Shepherd added Mar 7, 2009. Husband of Marjorie (Allen) Shepherd, daughter of Narvel and Margie (Thorp) Allen.         

 Leslie added photos to our "Allen", "Winters", "Mikesell" and "Cousins"  albums, Mar 3, 4, 5, 2009.

              Repairing and updating many of our pages, Feb 28, 2009

              Updated our  "Kids Corner"  and  "Our Recipes"  pages,  Feb 28, 2009

              Photo, taken by Naomi, of Evan and Betty, Feb. 24, 2009

              Obituary for Clarence Wells, husband of Grace Allen Wells, Feb. 24, 2009

              Leslie's Winter blog, Feb. 22, 2009
          
              Link to: How-To: Shooting, Saving and Sharing Video on our website, Feb. 22, 2009

              Some birthdays have been added to our new Calendar, Feb. 21, 2009
         
              Tips for using this website, Feb. 19, 2009

              Our first recipe in our new Recipe Box, 5 minute Chocolate Mug Cake, Feb. 18, 2009

              Welcome to our Members, Feb. 16, 2009

              An index to our old and new message board/blogs, Feb. 10, 2009

              Link to Jim Erlandson's blog, Feb. 5, 2009

              Link to Leslie's Picasa Web Albums, Feb. 3, 2009

         

             Be sure to refresh this page and our home/menu page often as I am adding things almost daily. Leslie

How-To: Shooting, Saving & Sharing Video

http://multiply.multiply.com/journal/item/285/Multiply_Media_How-To_Shooting_Saving_Sharing_Video
Learn how to shoot, save and add your video to our website.

Leslie's Winter blog

Hi family, even though there are just 6 of our former members who have joined here, I am trying out everything on our new website, I thought I'd see how a personal blog page would work.  I'll say what boring, stupid thing I want here and then you can add a comment, then I, or anyone, can comment on your comment.  Does that make sense?

Well, anyway I'll try it. I can always delete it if it doesn't work. Here goes:

We still have lots of snow on this old farm. I haven't been anywhere since Thanksgiving. Too cold and snowy for me. I have kept busy transferring my websites, read a few good books about swedish immigrants, avoided cleaning anything as much as possible, and watched television.  I like Lost; Desperate Housewives; House; The Doctors; Antique Roadshow; Nancy Grace; American Idol; Ugly Betty and a lot of others.  I watch a lot of nature, science and news programs on our Direct TV dish. Boyd watches Gonzaga basketball. Go Zags!

I talk to Thelma and Wayne and Evan and other relatives on the phone. Everyone's o.k. right now.  Boyd is working on his well-drill, getting ready for spring work. We seem to have a lot of company, neighbors and customers seem to drop in often. Boyd is still selling hay.

I'll quit for today, you probably think I have lost my senses, but I'm just having winter doldrums. I need CHEERING UP!  Love to all, as always,

                                                                     

 

 

Our Pages

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~     Our Pages                             What's New                Add To Our Prayer List             Our baby photos             Our Achievements and Honors             Our family photo albums, please add your photos             Our Writers, poems by family members, with photos             Our Recipes                Our Scots-Irish Heritage                          Our Front Porch 2002, family conversations             Our Front Porch 2003, family conversations             Index to our message board   [still under construction]       Our "for fun" pages                                          Our Favorite Videos and Websites         Kids Corner         Our Family Goofs, Bloopers and Blunderz         Kissin Kuzin               Over the Hill thread            The Silly Story Thread            Burma-Shave road sign thread        Allen Family            Conrad Allen, page 1            Conrad Allen page 2            Photos of Elizabeth "Eliza" (Davids) Nielsen, Conrad S. Allen's mother            My Childhood As I Remember It, by Ceathel Allen            Greetings from London, by Greg, and also Gerri's trip to Europe, 2004            Our Allen Family's Scot-Irish Heritage            Allen Family Records of Joy May Allen Thomason, page 1, page 2      Mikesell Family            Jefferson "Jeff" Osborn Mikesell", biography by Betty Mikesell Erlandson            "My Dad", Jefferson Osborn Mikesell, by Leslie Mikesell Wood                   Florence Vivien Allen Mikesell, biography by Leslie Mikesell Wood      Ernest Osborn Mikesell            The Prodigal Son, by Ernest O. Mikesell        Betty Lou Mikesell Erlandson            Betty and Evan Erlandson's 50th Wedding Anniversary            Betty and Evan Erlandson's 50th wedding anniversary reception photos            Betty and Evan Erlandson's 50th Wedding Anniversary, tribute page, photos            Betty and Evan, by Della Mikesell Binder            Betty, by Thelma Mikesell Winters            Memories I have of my sister Betty, by Leslie Mikesell Wood            Evan Erlandson, by son Jim Erlandson            The Call, poem by Betty Mikesell Erlandson            My Testimony, story by Betty Mikesell Erlandson            The Ballad of the Unidentified Flying Canoe, by Jim Erlandson            Ingredients, a short story by Jim Erlandson            The Spirit of the Christmas Season, an article by Jim Erlandson      James Allen "Jim" Mikesell            James Allen Mikesell, page 1            James Allen Mikesell, page 2            Wilma Martinson Mikesell, 1927-2002            A Psalm of Praise" by Jared Musgrove        Della Ann Mikesell Binder            Autobiography of Della Ann Mikesell Binder, page 1            page 2            page 3            page 4            Counting My Blessings Again, by Della Ann Mikesell Binder        Thelma Florence Mikesell Winters            Ginny's photos of Nigeria Africa            Ginny Winters paints her patriotic garage, photos            Ginny's Journal, trip to Poland, page 1            page 2            page 3            page 4            page 5            Amy In Asia, by Amy Mirus, page 1            Amy in Asia, page 2            Amy in Asia, page 3        Leslie Arlene Mikesell Wood            About Leslie      Standley Family             Elizabeth Standley Osborn Benson           Our Obituary Index        OUR OBITUARIES              Our Allen family related obituaries            Our Anderson family related obituaries            Our Mikesell family related obituaries, page 1            Our Mikesell famly related obituaries, page 2            Our Mikesell famly related obituaries, page 3            Our Mikesell famly related obituaries, page 4            Our Standley obituaries            Our Osborn obituaries       Our family gravestone photos      TRIPLES with EMMA

 

Gerri's trip to Europe, 2004

Gerri (Allen) Lockwood's photos.

The "Zoom In" Link has been replaced by the "Slideshow" link. The Slideshow is now where you can zoom in on all photos in the album you're viewing. After you open the Slideshow, use the "Settings" to choose how large you want photos to appear.

Tips for using this website

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[page still under construction]

TIPS

 

>Click on "Join this group" at the top of the right side menu.  After you have joined and been approved and are signed in, click on "Post" at the very top right of the webpage. From there you can add to our message board/blog, photos, video's, music, events to our Calendar, reviews, links, recipes, or leave a note.

>A lot of things are different on "Multiply" than what we had at "MSN Groups".  I am a beginner at HTML [although you don't have to use it] and at editing here but I will try to add a few tips that I have recently learned.  E-mail me if you have any problems. Leslie

>Refresh our home page often, material is being added almost daily to this site. Most of our pages have been changed or worked on since they were on our old website.

>Changing your headshot

>There is no limit on the space we use, unlike our old website, you can add all the photos, messages, etc. that you want.

>If you are not seeing our pages as they should be seen, try using Mozilla Firefox Browser. It seems to work better here than Internet Explorer. I found when I was fixing my pages, some times one worked and some times another, so now I switch back and forth. Mozilla Firefox is free at mozilla.com

>We will be missing some photos due to the transfer after Feb 21 when our old "family fun" disappears. If they were in one of your old message board entries, look in our "Photos" [photo albums], in the top of the page menu, to see if they were put there during the transfer. You may have to redo your page.

Below is the way I have been adding and editing our old photos but it doesn't always work. You can start a new album and avoid the trouble, or to try to edit, move and add to photos that are not under your new member name, click on "Post" at the very top of each page. It has a green plus sign on the left of it. Then be sure to chose "Leslie Wood's family fun", Photos. Then upload a photo to an "Existing Album" that you want to edit. After it uploads you will be able to edit, move or add photos to it. Also add tags, the frame you want and the background color you chose. Click on the photo when you are on the edit page & you can caption, add description, rotate, delete or chose it as the cover photo. When you choose to move photos to another album, a pop-up will ask you if you are sure you want to navigate away from this page! Click OK. and a box will ask you which album you want to move it to. Then you will be able to edit the album you just moved it to. [I guess that's as clear as mud.] 

>Multiply has a "Help" button at the bottom of every page, where you can see their "Frequently Asked Questions" about Multiply.

>My trick to widen any page is to go to the very top and add a line, either straight or ~wavy~. Make it as wide as you think you need, you may have to "save" once or twice to see if it's what you want. Then when I have the page the right width I go back & make that line the color of my background or if I have a white background, I use white "text color".  That makes the line invisible. You can see the wavy line at the top of this page if you hi-light it with your mouse. You now can make your page much longer than we could at our old website.

>You can easily add photos, images and gifs to your pages and message board messages by clicking on "Insert images" while editing. You can then download them from your computer, our photo albums or the web.

>If you want a larger image on a page, download it to a photo album. Then click on the thumbnail/small photo to go to the enlarged photo. Click on the image with your right mouse button and chose "Properties" from the list that appears. Then hi-light the web address (URL) & copy it. Be sure you get the entire address. Then on your page you can check the "Edit HTML" box at the top of your edit box. Paste this URL where you want the photo to be on the page & save.

 

The Davids Family

The family of Conrad S. Allen's mother, Eliza Dorthea Davids.

The "Zoom In" Link has been replaced by the "Slideshow" link. The Slideshow is now where you can zoom in on all photos in the album you're viewing. After you open the Slideshow, use the "Settings" to choose how large you want photos to appear.

5 Minute Chocolate Mug Cake

Description:

Cooks in the microwave. A special chocolate treat. Just the right size for one, maybe two. Maybe serve with a little vanilla ice cream, chocolate syrup or whipped topping?

Ingredients:

1 Large Coffee Mug

4 Tablespoons flour (plain flour, not self-rising flour)

4 Tablespoons sugar

2 Tablespoons baking cocoa

1 egg

3 Tablespoons milk

3 Tablespoons oil [not peanut oil]

3 Tablespoons chocolate chips [optional]

Some nuts [optional]

Small splash of vanilla


Directions:

Add dry ingredients to mug and mix well.

Add the egg and mix thoroughly

Pour in the milk and oil and mix well.

Add the chocolate chips, and nuts (if using) and vanilla. Mix again.

Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 3 minutes on high.
The cake will rise over the tip of the mug, but don't be alarmed!

Allow to cool a little, eat in the mus or tip out onto a plate if desired. Eat!

[this can serve 2 if you want to share!]

http://www.dizzy-dee.com/recipe/chocolate-cake-in-5-minutes

Our old MSN Groups "Leslie Wood's family fun" disappears today.

Start:

Feb 21, '09

Wayne's birthday

Start:

Jun 13, '09

Ginny's birthday

Start:

May 17, '09

Anita's birthday

Start:

May 26, '09

Debbie's birthday

Start:

Jan 1, '10

Jan's birthday

Start:

Oct 24, '09

Naomi's birthday

Start:

Jun 30, '09

Bev's birthday

Start:

Sep 19, '09

Jared M.'s birthday

Start:

Mar 3, '09

Rachel's birthday

Start:

Feb 8, '10

Jaime's birthday

Start:

Nov 12, '09

Jared E.'s birthday

Start:

Mar 9, '09

Tanya's birthday

Start:

Apr 5, '09

Jim E.'s birthday

Start:

Nov 21, '09

Scott's birthday

Start:

Jul 15, '09

Darlene's birthday

Start:

Jun 23, '09

Bryan's birthday

Start:

Jul 2, '09

Rex's birthday

Start:

Jun 13, '09

Gerri's birthday

Start:

Sep 2, '09

Carlene's birthday

Start:

Jun 21, '09

Shirley's birthday

Start:

Sep 16, '09

Linda's birthday

Start:

Jul 7, '09

Ken's birthday

Start:

Nov 21, '09

Earl's birthday

Start:

Mar 25, '09

Ceathel's birthday

Start:

Mar 11, '09

Carlos' birthday

Start:

Jan 10, '10

LaRaine's birthday

Start:

Apr 2, '09

Thelma's birthday

Start:

Apr 26, '09

David's birthday

Start:

Jan 22, '10

Boyd's birthday

Start:

May 22, '09

Sheryl's birthday

Start:

Sep 29, '09

Joshua's birthday

Start:

Oct 16, '09

Betty and Rylee's Birthdays

Start:

Jul 24, '09

Welcome to our Members

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Welcome to our new site

Sheryl Wood Emerick; Ruth; Gerri Allen Lockwood; Jim Erlandson and Tim Luscher.

2/16/09 Tim wrote on our old website:

"Leslie,
 
I am impressed that you are still tackling this project. For me - either site is good - I can adjust. I had a plan - my wife is not doing well and so it is a "had a plan" rather than "have a plan". We have so many relatives that are buried in Utah. I was going to start a project to photograph as many headstones as I could. It would be a great way of documenting some of our genealogy. Will see what happens this summer.
 
Thanks again for all your work. I really enjoy the family website. I am still working on getting the family groups sheets I have from you into PAF. Time is limited and I go in spurts - but I have got about half of them done.
 
Tim Luscher" 

Reply from Leslie 2/16/09:

Tim, it's good to hear from you again. Your wife will be in my prayers. I have collected a lot of family info such as obits and headstones. Besides putting them on our website I have been adding what I have to findagrave.com

 

Below is my Virtual cemetery list address:

 

http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=vcList&contribId=47018012

 

I have also collected documents such as Utah death certificates 1905-1956 which are on the web at:

 

http://archives.utah.gov/research/indexes/index.html

 

I think right now I will stick with our "Multiply" site but may keep adding to the other as a back-up. I never want to lose another website after all the work that goes into them.

 

Thank you for joining, I have just approved your membership and made you an assistant administrator. I really need help. Let me know if you have any problems, or if you have any new ideas for the site.

 

I would appreciate it if you would share any obituaries, gravestone photos, old family photos, etc, that you have.  And please keep us up on your family and activities.

 

 Be sure to refresh the home/menu page often as I am adding things almost daily. I'm still trying to make the pages look ok on both Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox.

 

http://lesliesfamilyfun.multiply.com/

 

Thanks so much,  Leslie

 

Ingredients, by Jim Erlandson, 1999

INGREDIENTS     A Short Story By James Evan Erlandson, 1999     It's dark. Blacker than night. No stars, no moon, no glow from anywhere. Where is it? The inside of a refrigerator with the door closed. It's dark, but it's not quiet because the foods are talking to each other.  Do you want to listen in? "I know she's up to something, I can hear her banging around in the kitchen", said the gallon milk jug. "Maybe she's going to have a big, tall glass of me" he said proudly. "No, it's too late in the day for a glass of you", said the eggs, all in unison, "maybe she's going to fry up some of us, maybe even over, easy!" "Oh you silly staples", said the big red apple, "She's looking around for a nutritious snack, and any  moment she'll remember I'm in here waiting for her." Way up in the topshelf a wee little voice could barely be heard; "I bet you're all wrong", but nobody paid attention to it. "Well, I think she's preparing a nice dinner and any moment she'll reach in here and bring me out into the nice warm kitchen",  said the bag of frozen peas. "Dinner isn't dinner without some nice sweet peas with it". "I'm sure it's going to be me", said the left over pork chop. "I've been in  here two days and I'm sure she's been thinking of me the whole time. My next stop will be the micro-wave". Again, the small voice from the top shelf, "I think you're all being selfish, you'll be surprised". This time the jar of mayonnaise heard and responded with a loud "Harumph!" Well, this conversation went on in this way for quite a while because, you see food in the refrigerator doesn't have much to do except sit there and discuss who gets eaten next. Each item of groceries figured it was the best tasting, most nutritious, best looking food that could be had. I guess we all like to think the best of ourselves. At last a brilliant light filled the refrigerator and the door swung open. It was her! The cook! All the food quivered with anticipation. The cheese was so excited it developed three moldy patches. "Pick me!, pick me!" they all shouted. (Of course nobody can hear food when it shouts except popcorn.) Sure enough the graceful hand reached in and grabbed..... the milk, the eggs, the butter, and several other things. Finally the hand reached up to the top shelf and grabbed the little package with the little voice. Everybody could hear the cook say, "I couldn't do a thing without you, now could I", as she grabbed the little package of yeast. Then she began mixing all the ingredients for a big beautiful batch of homemade bread. She poured and mixed and stirred and kneaded to blend all the ingredients together. Just as the last little grain of yeast was dissolving into the bread dough, if you listened very closely you could hear it say, "You see I was right, some of us are quite good on our own, but we really make something special when we work together." And that's the truth. JibJab - Cranberries From the Fridge ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ TR

TRIPLES with EMMA   TRIPLES with EMMA  

Wilma Martinson Mikesell, 1927-2002

Wilma LeNeya Martinson Mikesell 1927-2002 Wilma Martinson Mikesell, 1973 The following biography, written by her daughter Jaime Mikesell Musgrove, was read by Elder Carl Winegar at Wilma's Memorial Service, August 6, 2002 at the Community of Christ, Woodburn, Oregon congregation   She was a tiny woman, with a big personality, and a stubborn streak in many areas, yet she often put  the wants and needs of her family before her own. She grew up during the depression in Spokane, Washington, the daughter of a Norwegian immigrant father and a deeply religious mother. She learned excellent cooking skills by watching her mother and passed on the love and knowledge of family recipes to her children. She also loved word games, crossword puzzles and reading, all similar traits of her mother. Her dad worked for the Great Northern Railroad and was a carpenter and cabinetmaker, who built their home and much of their furniture. She learned to be frugal, and never waste a penny. She taught Mike and Jaime the same ideas about budgeting. She loved a bargain and could scrimp and save and yet live a life of comfort without any sign that she spent so wisely.   Wilma never liked driving a car, and although she usually blamed it on her eyesight, and poor "depth perception", she confided to Jaime once, that when she was young and trying to learn to drive, she lost control of the car once on a steep hill in Spokane, and coasted all the way in reverse down the hill, and being somewhat of an anxious person, this trauma lasted her the rest of her life and she was too scared to drive. Wilma & Jim Mikesell, 1957   When she married her beloved husband, Jim, she followed him all over the state of Washington, living in a tiny trailer with no bathroom with a new baby and small boy, moving frequently as Jim traveled with crews, putting telephone wire up all around the West. She often talked about the positive aspects of this period and remembered how easy it was to potty-train the baby-all she had to do was put the potty chair in the front room of the trailer! The baby loved it. They didn't have much money and she would cut up her own clothes to make outfits and costumes for the kids for Christmas. They had cowboy outfits made out of a red coat she had, and Jaime had a nurse outfit made from an old bed sheet. She sewed shirts for Jim and Mike, and Jaime was always dressed in the cutest ruffled dresses, and play clothes, all the product of her nimble fingers.   They lived in Moses Lake, Washington when the kids were in grade school. By this time they had a lovely 10 X 50 ft. Rushmore Trailer which they were very proud of. They were very active in little league baseball as Jim coached and Mike played. All spring and summer for years, they had little league activities, Mike remembers them going to the Dairy Freeze for a bag of hamburgers one hot summer night and bringing them back to the game to eat. They had specially ordered one burger for Jaime with "just mustard" and that's how it came-no meat, just bread and mustard.   They would go on camping trips to the coast and to northwest wilderness areas. They camped in tents, and loved to go clam-digging on the coast-They would pack up the station wagon and take off on those hot, hot days in Central Washington and take off for the coast. Wilma always said it was freezing cold and wet on the coast as that was when the best clam digging was. They would dig buckets and buckets of clams with Mike helping, and then can them at the cannery there and bring them home for year-round clam chowder, one of her specialties. The only place she would willingly drive the car was up and down the beach during these camping trips.   In Moses Lake, the kids also remember weekly grocery and library trips. Since she could not drive and lived a short distance from town, she would do a weekly grocery trip. Every Friday night Jim would take her and the kids to the store and then to the library where everyone would check out an armload of books for the week. She loved to read about history, anthropology and archeology. She was friendly with the librarian and always bragged about the amount they all read. Even the librarian would comment during community talks about the Mikesell family trips to the library and the amount everyone read.   In Moses Lake, she once made grape juice for communion for her husband for the Church. She talked about it later, remembering how every bowl and every towel in the house turned purple. She also thought they would not want the juice as she called herself a "heathen" at times and wasn't sure it was pure enough. She was never baptized into the Church, but she was totally supportive of her husband and daughter in their beliefs and often called on the elders herself for support and administration.   She always loved to garden, and would accumulate plants and shrubs from friends and family and soon would have the most beautiful yard. She bragged about growing cucumbers on the compost pile, and having the most beautiful glads and roses. Every year she planted impatiens behind her house, with sharp cooking skewers sticking up all through them to keep the neighbor hood cats away. She always hated cats!   She loved to bake, and would start baking Christmas cookies in November. It was nothing for her to bake at least 30 kinds of cookies, and make cookie boxes to give away for all their friends and family. She was famous for her Christmas parties in Spokane, when all the family would come and she would give away dozens and dozens of cookies. She loved visiting with family and was truly a member of her own and Jim's extended family. She loved having them visit, and would talk for hours over the dinner table.   She and Jim loved to travel and camp and fish in their camper. They also traveled to California regularly to visit with her mother and sister. They took a long trip around the country when they first retired, and loved seeing the east coast and Florida. They sent home tapes to Jaime talking about their escapades, like Jim walking around the motor home, and Wilma looking out the window to warn him of an alligator next to the wheel. They had the most beautiful home at Lake Pend Oreille, Idaho, right on the lake, where they fished and boated daily for several years. They would catch many pounds of silver land-locked salmon and Jim would smoke it and give it away after their own freezer was full. Wilma and Jim Mikesell, 1972   She had lived in Oregon City since around 1984. She and Jim had sold their Spokane home (and the snow shovel with it, as she refused to ever shovel snow again), and after living in Idaho a few years, Jim's health was not so good so she pushed for living closer to civilization. They moved nearby to Jaime's home and kept closer to town. She lived in her mobile home there longer than any other home she had had. After Jim passed away, she spent the last ten years living alone in her home, making many friends in her park. She loved to walk and would walk 3 or 4 miles every day around the park despite tripping over the bad roadway and breaking her arms 3 times, spraining an ankle, and earning herseff many bruises and stitches. She had a beautiful garden and a lovely collection of potted flowers on her deck. She loved weekly trips shopping on Saturday mornings with Jaime, although she didn't like to get up early to do so, and was tickled when it could be delayed to later in the day. She loved to watch television, and although she had a mental block about running any machinery other than a sewing machine or electric mixer, she could operate a video recorder better than most folks. It was not unusual for her to watch one program and tape two others at the same time, and she would save many of her favorite shows. She would get perturbed if someone telephoned her at night during a show, and trained Jaime to call on the hour and half-hour when the commercials would be on.   She looked forward to Mike and his family, or her in-laws, Wayne and Thelma Winters visiting her and would cook up a ham and potato salad and talk for hours. Everyone delighted in her stories, and she always had an opinion about everything. She and Jim traveled to be with Wayne during his bouts with heart surgeries, and Wayne and Thelma reciprocated by staying with Wilma when Jim was sick. During the last few months, they came again to be with her during her chemo and radiation therapies. They felt they had had a sign from God to do it, and loved her so much they could not refuse the opportunity. They drove her to all her daily appointments and helped around the house, and with her nutrition. She was so thankful for the care and love they gave to her.   Wilma was a humble lady with strong ethics and beliefs. She believed in encouraging education for her children and grandchildren, and supporting her husband in his career. She was honest and took pride in the success of others, knowing her support contributed to their success. She didn't ask for much from people and was an independent person. Even in the hospital she bragged about her lawyer son and nurse daughter. She tried her best to fight with a lot of encouragement from professionals, and from her family, but her body was not up to the struggle. Her family surrounded her as she entered into rest on Sunday, August 4, in her hospital bed. We will cherish our memories of her strive to live up to her expectations in our own lives. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

TRIPLES with EMMA