This day nearly took my breath away.
Some 20 years ago Patsy & Gene (George) Sawhill became almost family.  I was teaching Patsy sewing and she invited me and my family to the Sawhill ranch, about 15 minutes south of Boulder.  It became our "get out of Dodge" place.  We've camped out there, roasted marshmallows and tennis shoes at the pond.  The kids rode horse, chased chickens and consider her, just one of us.  Last May we lost Gene after 2 years of accidents and broken back and several visits with my dulcimer to the nursing home he was in.  We were fortunate enough to be able to attend his funeral at the  Valmont Pioneer Cemetery.   You'd never know it was there if you didn't know someone in the area.  I was very saddened to see how badly kept the cemetery was and could not help but feel there was graves buried under the debris and overgrown bushes.   It took until today, and with a bunch of help, Josh Mount, from the ward, gathered up some people and tools and we all went up to the cemetery and for his Eagle Project, did a WHOLE bunch of cleaning.   Weeds, galore, dead trees, and we took down one of the three VERY overgrown lilac bushes. 

I stared at that stone several time, the R was not very clear in the morning light, thinking "this can't be" "I don't know any other Sharps in Colorado"  HELP.  I can find nothing on this man...so far, except his marker stone.  The Lord works in very mysterious way.
We were able to get several fallen headstones back up and found 6 more headstones that were buried in bushes and debris, but this takes the cake.
We got more we can do up there, anyone know a Scout needing an Eagle project?
But the Sharp marker will get better treatment!  Patsy and I intend on setting up things on that area, so they won't get buried again, and I now have a wonderful place that really needs the extra soil that I need to get out my backyard.  But I'm still "gobsmacked"  Will be for awhile, I can tell.

September 2, 2014 A new life starts.  MINE.
3 years of working for the rudest company I have ever seen.  Finally figured out after 6 months there why NO ONE greets you in the morning.  They figure you won't be there very long.  No one is.  Apparently I broke some kind of record.  They've never had a CSR for more than 2 years and I hit 3 before I bailed out.  And just like bailing out of a plane, the free fall feels great.  I have no remorse, no worries.  Yes, the budget might get tight, yes, I'm going to look for another job, but no I don't regret a decision I should have made weeks ago.  Being told by a new manager that you're doing your job wrong, first things out of her mouth, is definitely the wrong foot to start with.  And it just went down hill from there.  Enough.  Rear view mirrors are there so that you can make sure you got safety past an obstacle, and you never look backward for very long.  I'm moving forward and have more that enough to keep 10 people busy.  Deep breaths are wonderful and cleansing, be they physical or mental or (in this case) spiritual.    This is me, moving forward

There are days when I tired of being a Mormon.  I get tired of being stoic, of being reverent, and singing with half my voice so I don't drown out the rest of the congregation.  I have no allusions that I have a great voice, but I do have a good voice, and I enjoy singing, WITH ALL OF IT!.
My brother, Doyle, is a bit of of a reprobate,( I say that will all the love in my heart and with hugs to him) He left the church many years ago, and I'm not sure I blame him at all.  (long story, that.)
He called me many weeks ago and told me he had recently moved back to Santa Monica and was living in an apartment building over looking  "THAT" LDS building.  (Of course I knew what building that was, another long story belongs here, another day)  and he asked me a question.
"Leanne, do Mormon's sing? anymore?
"I remember as a kid the church just really sounding good with song, and now, I watch members walking into the building and then...dead quiet"
I, like him, rather doubt that the Church has gone into that building and remodeled with sound insulation, and I was....ashamed. 
D & C 25: 12 For my soul ^adelighteth in the ^bsong of the ^cheart; yea, the ^dsong of the righteous is a prayer unto me, and it shall be answered with a blessing upon their heads.
And frankly, I'm a glutton for blessings.
I been to a couple of "other" worship service and in some of the music rocks, some of it literally  Admittedly the ones with the rock band have gone over the line, in my opinion.  BUT, singing, with ALL of your voice is why the Good Lord gave you a voice in the first place.  Every instrument on the planet has ONE purpose, and that is to IMITATE THE HUMAN VOICE.  Every instrument on the planet is "jealous" of the human voice.  We can make tones and find 1/2 tones and 1/4 tones that most instrument can't even try for.  It wasn't until computer generated tone generators that an instrument got close.   
I told my ward my brothers "question" and informed them that If they don't like my voice they have one option, SING LOUDER.  I don't hold back, but today in choir, I had to, and I'm pretty darn tired of being a half voice Mormon. 

Larson Loonie Byne
I think I shall climb on my soap box.  I've been labeled Celiac by a blood test. Took a while to figure it out and suggest my Dr. look for it.
Wondering.  Are "WE" the canary in the "mine" of food on this world?   Celiac has been labeled a fad because it has recently come to the public eye.  IT IS NOT A FAD.  Here's the simple version of what is happening to a celiac's body when they eat gluten.  There is something in gluten that causes microscopic holes in the intestine.  Once that hole is formed, microscopic particles of food go out those holes into the blood stream.  Once there the white blood cells that have the job of attacking anything that doesn't belong in the bloodstream and getting rid of it.  The problem happens when excessive amounts of food particles confuse the white blood cells.  There's so much stuff to attack it quits trying to differentiate between those food particles and the actual parts of the your own body.  Thyroid is one of the first to go.  Weirdly enough my thyroid is in great shape.  But my arthritis is really, wonderfully, reduced now that I've totally given up gluten.  Have to wonder how it would be if I had stopped much sooner.
Now, here some of the things I've learned of late.  The human family is NOT eating wheat. Wheat is a tall, slow growing grain that has several problems.  It gets some of the nastiest diseases, and it's production is one NINETH of the production of Triticale.  The grain being called Wheat is really a 9 inch tall semi dwarf that was breed in combination with several other grains.  It's a hybrid.  It's made.  But it's 9 times more productive that that tall red wheat of my childhood.  I would like to have someone with an electron microscope examine the stuff at the "bottom" of a stomach after the "patient" has ingested a chunk of bread made with triticale and then after the same patient has ingested a chunk of bread made with good old fashion red wheat.  I'd like to see what "slivers" come out the other side.  I think someone would find that the slivers from triticale are not being broken down by the human stomach acid.  That's your piercing devise.  Wish I could prove the theory.  Call it a gut feeling.  (Sorry)
NOW, let's quit feeling sorry for ourselves.  We can't stop for a donut on the way to work, McDonald's is out of the picture.  Pizza 3 times a week? Forget it.  A sandwich in your lunch sack? Nope.  So sad.  Now hold it.  That sandwich?  It was built for a lazy man playing cards. And it goes downhill from there.  Look again at that list of food.  Convenient, easy to obtain, and dangerous.  S. A.D. Standard American Diet. Toast and Coffee for Breakfast (gluten and caffeine)  Hamburger and fries and soda for lunch ((gluten, fats, sugar, salts, with tomato and lettuce)  Dinner?  KFC?  Pizza?Chinese take out?  ( now that list goes on and on) 
Now, let's try a gluten free day.  Breakfast, scrambled eggs, with turkey bacon (ok I'll give you the salts) but throw in some spinach for pete's sake.  Homemade GF oatmeal with fruit?  Fruit and sausage.  Hash browns with sausage and orange slices.  "You mean I've got to cook????"  Yes, I mean you have to plan, shop for the plan and cook to the plan.  Yes,. I've whined and shed many tears of frustration. But I DO feel much better.  The brain's less fuzzy that it used to be.  I could almost sense it clearing up.   There's more, but it's late.  Another day

Larson Loonie Byne
Magic in the Kitchen from a newly diagnosed Celiac.
Hunting for a "cheese sauce" to go onto rolls of thin sliced turkey ham, wrapped around fresh asparagus.  Had  some banana squash still in the freezer.  Grabbed a chunk and threw it in a pan to defrost.  Once soft and mushing I hit it with the stick blender, added more water, a bit of dry milk and while that heated up put a few tbsp of AP -GF flour in some cold water.  Blended that till smooth, then threw into the watery squash.  Thicken up quite quickly.  Added, not as much cheese, as a good cheese sauce calls for.  Oh, my it was good.  Lovely color, heck, I'll bet you could make mac & cheese for the kiddos and they'd never guess they were getting a healthy dose of vitamin A, & veggie fiber.   Should have added nutmeg, dry mustard and/or parsley.  It was still yummy
Dad said so.  I'll be doing that one again.