Thoughts and stories, by Pal

 I haven't posted very often lately.  Part of the reason is that I thought I could come up with thoughts and stories on my own, and didn't just want to copy other people's writings. Also, one reason has been the effect that Covid has had on all of us!  I had a hip replacement on February 8th this year.  I had the first Covid shot 6 days before, on February 2nd, and I believe that saved my life!  Because a daughter who came to help me came down with Covid 2 days later.  So in the 2nd week of recovering and healing from a hip replacement surgery, I got a case of Covid also!  I believe that first vaccine saved my life, and made me not have it as bad!   Anyway, I have decided that I will offer you great thoughts as I read them from various places, and I will always give the credit to whomever wrote them, and where I got them.  Also I'll try to write more of my own thoughts.  At age 86 1/2 +, I think a lot about life, and what I've learn...

In this post I will mention 3 of my great-grandfathers who were in the Mormon Battalion, in 1846-1847.  They served in what was then called the "Mexican War".  Samuel Miles, Haden Wells Church, and George Deliverance Wilson.  Haden Wells Church All three of these great grandfathers were pioneers -- Samuel Miles and Haden Wells Church were called to St. George, the Dixie Mission, in the St. George Area, in 1861, with no refrigeration!  And George Deliverance Wilson was a pioneer in several towns, because he was called to several towns recently settled, to start a sawmill there.  Of 11 children, they were born in 7 different towns!  They were brave, and left us all a great heritage.  If you look in "labels" you can read more of their life stories.  I first published this below years ago!  Today I want to honor these dear men who served in the Military.  We haven't had anyone be killed in a war, but it did have an effect on them, especially...

 I haven't posted for over a month, and I need to get back to it!  This post was originally # 95, and then 1027.  It is about my dear mother: Ruth Allen Miles, whose 113 birthday is today, May 10th. This was originally Blog # 95.  It is one of the most read of all my blogs! My mother, Ruth Allen Miles, was a gifted soprano, teacher, mother, and also a poetess!   She wrote quite a few lovely poems, and I have a few of them.  I will include the poems I have in this blog.        While Ruth was teaching at Salt Lake City, the winter of 1945-1946, and going to the U. Of U. she was summoned to her sister Adelia’s back in the small town of Washington, near St. George.   Her mother, Levinah Emeline Wilson Allen had had a heart attack.  Ruth arrived there a few hours before she died.   This was taken of Levinah when she was about 20. In her history, Ruth wrote:  "She died as she had lived – Bravely, with no word of compl...

 I haven't been writing as much lately -- partly due to having a hip replacement operation on February 8, 2021, and getting Covid a week later.  I am getting almost back to normal, and today I want to tell you about a fascinating class I just watched on Zoom!                Type in:  https://uvtagg.org.classes/Dons/Dons-classes.html That gets you into the page notes by Donald Snow, a retired professor of Mathematics at BYU, who is a Family History and Genealogy  whiz!  I got acquainted with him and his wife many years ago at the St. George Family History Center, where we were all on Family History Missions.  He and his late wife Diane were over the Family History Center in England, I think in Preston.  Also they were over the Family History Center in Nauvoo, Illinois, -- so you can see they know a lot!  He turned 90 years old last month, and is very alert, and knowledgeable! The class was on Roots Tech, whic...

 Dear Readers, I just found something I had written on my computer, copied from an old large journal I had for many years.  Times were quite different then.  It was about in 1971, as I wrote that Jeremy my youngest of nine children, wouldn't be born for 3 more years.  We then had eight children, ages  15 down to a baby, and life was quite hard, but enjoyable, as I had always wanted a large family.  I'll let you figure out why I wrote some of this, as I wanted to remember in years when life would be easier.  My husband was an Elementary Teacher, and I didn't work outside the home.  I gave some piano lessons when I could.  Women didn't work in those days nearly as much as they do now. There is a story behind much of what I wrote, so perhaps you can figure it out!  So here it is:                               This photo was taken at our Golden Wedding Celebration in ...

 Dear Readers, I haven't written here for a month now, and I'm glad the month is over!  Actually I'm glad the last 6 weeks are over -- from February 8th, on which date I had a right hip replacement.  I was exposed to Covid and actually had Covid.  I went to the hospital one day and received 2 liters of fluid because I was so dehydrated!  The narcotic pain medicine after my operation made me so nauseated.  I had three daughters come, each 24 hours at a time, to help me, as I had stayed only one night in the hospital.  One daughter, on day 2 after my operation, didn't know that she had been exposed to Covid.  The day after she came and was with me 24 hours, she had a fever, and tested positive for the virus.  So I went, and also tested positive!  I had the first vaccine 6 days before my operation, and that may have saved my life.  About 10 days ago I had my second vaccine, and doing fine! I've had Home Health coming, with help at firs...

For those of you who aren't aware -- later tonight, and also Feb. 25, 26, and 27th will be the online Family History -- www.rootstech.org! You will get the most out of it if you sign up -- for     FREE !  There are many helps, and ways you can watch great key-note speakers, etc. etc.  Go to the home page, and check it out!   I went about 3 years ago, and had to pay quite a  bit to attend, at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City, and it wasn't easy to find a parking place, go up and down stairs between classes, and perhaps not get a seat in the class you were hurrying to attend! The videos etc., will be on the internet for 1 year!  I hope many of you will do this.  There are over 500,000 people signed up, all over the world, and the classes will be in 39 languages!  My friend, Donald Snow, who was a BYU Math teacher, and now teaches a lot of online classes, will be giving a fascinating lecture on Timelines. You will be able to check and...