Feb / Mar 2025

 Dear Family and Friends,

With snow still on the ground in Grants Pass, True made it home from Sedona Arizona.  She plans to stay during the time Linda has her surgery (March 4th) and during the recovery time beyond. I was delighted to have her home again, and particularly glad for her to take over running things here again, to relieve Diane and especially Linda of their responsibilities.

Linda was sure that she could work part-time and still manage both households when True left, but it was an extra strain on her though she didn’t want to admit it. And of course once True was home, everything in the house was back to the way it was before she left. Which is fine with me since I no longer have much use for more than the bare essentials anyway.

True brought home for me a signed copy of her published book (now available on Amazon) called “Anasazi Vision”.  Slow reader that I am, I spent the next few days reading in book-form the same pages and chapters that I had read and edited before, but now I was thoroughly engrossed into the story and enjoying it as a book.

Granted, for a paperback 427 pages is a bit lengthy. But True uses such beautifully descriptive language that you are brought right into her story yourself. It is centered around the ancient ruins of the Anasazi and other Indian tribes of long ago and their cave dwellings that still exist in and around the Four Corners area of southwestern U. S. and northern Mexico. So you do get a little taste of archaeology, but it is so nicely wrapped in a relationship that has its ups and downs that you keep reading, wondering what’s going to happen to them next. True says it is truth blended with fiction.

Those who are familiar with the vision of Joseph Smith and of the Book of Mormon may be struck, as I was when reading this book, by a distinct similarity of experiences - although obtained through completely different sources. One from Deity and the other from the author's creativity and imagination. True has always been a very spiritually-minded girl who loves the outdoors and all things connected with the earth, saying we are all part of it because of the life and energy that exists in all things. If we are quiet and listen, we can become aware of vibrations, feelings and actual whisperings from nature, or Mother Earth, which she is often referred to.

So when True went seeking a ‘vision quest’  in the story to get answers about her life, she receives a strange vision from Mother Earth that told her she was to find a certain archaeologist who would help her find the record of prophecies made by the ‘Ancient Ones,’ that was buried in the land somewhere. It was now time to disclose them, and it was her urgent responsibility to somehow learn the prophecies and then share them with the whole world in order to stave off the earth’s catastrophic destruction.

Imagine what a burden that was for True. Why had she received such a task? Yes, she loved Earth Mother, but who was going to believe this, when she wasn’t sure she believed it herself? But she finally does convince herself to ‘trust’ even without knowing where to begin. She has only an archaeologist’s name to go by, but herein begins her adventures and experiences that ultimately lead to the printing of Anasazi Vision. It is a fascinating tale, available on Amazon if you feel like you might be interested in reading it.

When True arrived home, it was the day after the ’Winter Soup Dinner’ here at the Riviera clubhouse. So she unfortunately missed that one, which are always so great. But later she got in on the monthly pot-lucks at the Park and at the DUP meeting, and supplied both of them with a casserole of lasagna which was scrumptious and very much appreciated. True is such a good cook.

At Christmas time my sister Carol sent me and Linda some money to splurge on a dinner out, but we never got around to using it. So with True home, on Valentine’s Day I suggested that we use it then, and include Naomi, Linda’s daughter (my granddaughter) for a foursome. Well, the best laid plans often go awry, so the dinner had to be postponed and it then became a ‘breakfast out’ instead, but it was still an enjoyable occasion. In the lively conversation that ensued, we talked about Naomi still recovering from her surgery to remove a tumor and Linda’s upcoming surgery to replace the hip in her good leg, plus a few other events. I was so glad we had this “Girls Night Out” together, even if it was in the daytime..

Perhaps you remember me saying that we have a cat named Haiku. Well, she has grown from a kitty into a large furry cat.  She once got “lost" when she wandered outside, so she's strictly an indoor cat now. Although she has grown big (as have I), she still chases the laser beam up the walls and skids into the throw rugs. Anyway, recently we noticed a small hole in Haiku’s new bag of cat food and some nibbling on plastic containers, so we figured we must have a little mouse somewhere in the house. Well, sure enough, one day True came in holding a little mouse by its tail that had been caught and killed by Haiku. We were so surprised! We had no idea that our cat was a mouser. But I guess it is an instinct they are naturally born with. Later in the day, I happened to see a little mouse go streaking across the kitchen floor with Haiku in hot pursuit. But this time the mouse won out, finding safety under the refrigerator where Haiku couldn’t get to it. She parked herself by that refrigerator for the longest time though, just daring that little creature to poke its head out. I guess there must have been several mice that sought refuge in our house from the torrential rain we’ve been having lately, which gave Haiku opportunities to be more successful, because later True came out holding another one by the tail and said there was another in her bathroom that Haiku had caught and killed. Good cat! We haven’t seen a sign of any others since that little episode. Yay!

Thursday morning (February 27) I woke with a sore throat that quickly turned into a full-blown cold. True gave me some medicine and kept me in bed. I slept the entire day and most of Friday as well. The medicine is helping. I’m feeling well enough to be out of bed by Saturday, which feels good. Even though I'd intended to wait and include the happenings of the first portion of the next month here, I think I’ve already said enough. So I’ll close now by asking the Lord to be with you, to guide and direct you with His love, and to keep you healthy and happy and enjoying this wonderful life that He has given to each of us, by sacrificing His own Son. And I want you to know that I extend my love to each of you as well.

Marie