August 7, 2015 many life lessons learned

It is morning. The morning after I was almost scammed but escaped by the skin of my teeth. How did it happen? A phone call. Repeated phone calls. From a man named Jacob who insisted his company owed me a refund of $249 for a defunct software I had purchased some time back.  I had hung up on him many times and then yesterday I listened, and sure enough, when I looked, I had the software icon on my desktop.  So, that was my first big mistake. I thought, well, maybe it is legit. So, from there I was led down a primrose path to disaster--or it would have been disaster if I had not realized that he said he had deposited $1000 in my bank and I must now go to Western Union and refund to him the difference between $249 and $1000.  I called my bank and asked them to check my account and was informed that indeed he had put $1000 in my checking, but it was from my own savings account. YIKES.  The credit union put a block on the account and advised us to go immediately and they would open us new accounts for both checking and savings, and new cards.  That took us a good two hours of our afternoon--but fortunately nothing was lost except the chance he may have obtained too much personal information.  So, we also signed up for a program called Defender, against fraud and ID theft, which covers our computer and cell phone as well.

What could have been a horrible disaster was stopped from such by the good care given us by our credit union, and so all that is left is remorse and embarrassment for not having heeded my husband's "hang up" when the call came in.  It is a weird thing for me to have done because always my utmost desire is to be in harmony with my husband.  He was pretty upset but has forgiven me and I have learned a great lesson--just 'do it' when he says "hang up" again.  Yes, the guy did tell me in his last desperate call that my computer would be compromised and that he was going to be fired for my not returning the money.  I yelled at him, "You are a scammer! You didn't deposit any money in my account, you only moved my savings money to my checking hoping I would not notice it was mine--and..." My husband said, "Hang UP" and I did!  So, when I turned my computer back on indeed it was compromised.  It didn't boot up properly and had to go through a repair process that took quite awhile.  However, when it did come back up, it was fine.  I downloaded my virus scan program again, and it seems to be functioning alright.

So much for a stupid day's work with a miraculously good outcome in spite of everything wrong I did.  Now the lesson I learned is to not listen to them when they call--just "hang up".   And I swear that is my future from here on out.

Next interesting thing that happened out of this was that when we were visiting with the fellow at the Credit Union, it turned out he had served an LDS Mission in Omaha, Nebraska in 2009.  That was the year the Joseph Smith Sr., Family had planted Lilac bushes at the Council Bluffs Visitor Center.  And this young man was one of the missionaries who had done the planting work for us that day.  Small world? Coincidence? Really, what a nice thing to come out of a horrid situation--to meet this young man again and renew our acquaintance after so many years.

With that all behind us, I'm ready now to look forward to a wonderful weekend.  Elder Bednar and his wife are coming to our St. George East Stake Conference.  We're excited to see them and hear the good counsel from a modern day apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Next thing we have to get ready for is my left eye cataract surgery next Tuesday.  Then we go for skin checks at the cancer clinic to see if we have any problem spots.  Then we get ready to go to Spring Creek Nevada to speak at a special program on the importance of family history and descendancy research.  We'll share our stories of research, visiting cousins across the USA and the world, and the blessings that come to a family through keeping in touch and building family bonds of love and respect.

I can see pretty well today with my right eye.  It is fun to see how white things are so white when I look through that eye, and how creamy yellow they are when I look through the left.  Ah, next week, I will have both cataract removals behind me and we'll see how it all comes out.

I'm very blessed after all.

June 1, 2015--Bright and sunny day.  Got busy early doing house cleaning.

We hung up the large genealogy poster given us last week by Ron Bracken which is a fascinating collection of information.  It will take a long time to read through it all; not to mention trying to understand the deeper meanings of the symbols, names and dates.  We appreciate all the work Ron went to collecting this information and his generosity in making this nice chart for us to hang on our wall.  

I got to talk talk with my brother and sister on Skype yesterday.  They were at a family gathering in Montana not far from the farm where I grew up--in Round Butte--a farming community about six miles northwest of Ronan, in Lake County.  It was sweet to chat and see a brief look at the faces of my cousins who were there.  Can't even describe how I feel.  Happy. Lonesome. It's been a long time since we have been able to get to Montana.  It may be a while yet too. 

This morning the weather is turning hotter.  The hollyhock in the front yard are still beautiful and the desert plants are still trying to bloom.  The sage bush we hacked down this past winter has regrown into a beautiful ferny like plant again.  The desert willows are blooming like usual and hummingbirds stop for a sip now and then; bees too.  I like our desert landscaping which requires little or no water.

May 30th, night. I got the ditch unplugged before it got dark.  Now we are watching Rodeo on TV. Kinda fun to see the bronc riders.  Whahoo!

On a more serious subject, we heard the news today that Elder L. Tom Parry has passed away. This is rather sad news for us. He was a very wonderful man; he truly has left a legacy of loving service to the LDS Church and to all who ever knew him.  I always loved to hear him speak at General Conference.  He gave a wonderful talk in April on the the importance of family relationships.

We have lost a great leader in the LDS Church. He was 96 years old, but seemed far younger.  It is a very great loss; he has passed away from Cancer.  We will always remember these words by Elder L. Tom Perry when he bore his testimony of Family—April Conference 2015

"Let me close by bearing witness (and my nine decades on this earth fully qualify me to say this) that the older I get, the more I realize that family is the center of life and is the key to eternal happiness. I give thanks for my wife, for my children, for my grandchildren and my great-grandchildren, and for all of the cousins and in-laws and extended family who make my own life so rich and, yes, even eternal. Of this eternal truth I bear my strongest and most sacred witness in the name of Jesus Christ, amen."

May 30th, fine day here; it is heating up.
It is sweet to read the comments by friends. You all mean a lot to me.

This morning Ivor was able to walk all the way to the next street, then look over the new parking lot of the Baptist Church.  They poured a nice blacktop. Too bad they dumped gravel and blacktop over into our irrigation ditch. I will have to deal with that this evening as we will have water coming down that ditch tomorrow morning.

I'll deal with it a little shovel full at a time.  I am beginning to really understand the load Ivor was carrying all the months when he was lame with that sore hip and dealing with the weeds, gravel in the ditch, and the many details it takes to keep this place functioning.  It will be interesting to see how we can manage this challenge for the next few months.

May 29, 2015--11:00 a.m.

Exciting thing just happened. My grandson, Jason Denning just arrived. He is moving here and is looking for a job. He got a student apartment not far from our house. We will enjoy having a chance to know him better.

Getting Started

I have apparently successfully set up a blog page with my photo on it and filled out a profile on myself. There is a lot to learn about doing this and I hope I can figure it all out.

I have discovered the colors, and the font sizes and styles. Also how to post a picture. Here is a picture of me with my husband, C. Ivor Jones.  We have been married 32 years and it's a great life!