April Showers and Snow 2021

April in Utah is a little different Spring than we are used to having in Texas.  We have had snow, rain, sleet, wind and lots of sunshine.  It is still too early to plant most flowers and gardens.  We worked in the yard yesterday and planted the first plants in our garden on May 1.

The Easter Bunny came to Logan and Preslee for a great start to an Easter morning.  An egg hunt and Breakfast casserole kept the family traditions going.  Our daughter, Emily goes all out on holidays.  She loves to make them special for her children.

Bunny Prints

We then spent the day listening to the Semi-Annual General Conference for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Twice a year we spend two days listening to our Prophet and other leaders in the Church.  We prepare our minds and thoughts to this time of great spiritual uplift and instruction.  We were so excited at the conclusion of the conference that Pres. Russell M. Nelson announced a record 20 new Temples that will be built around the World.   He announced a new Temple for Vienna, Austria.  We shed tears of JOY for the saints in Austria.  They have prayed for a Temple closer to them so they could enjoy the blessings from attending more often.  They have been very diligent in traveling 8 hours to the nearest Temples in Frankfurt Germany or Freiberg Germany.  This new Temple will serve all of Austria.  We are so happy for them.  We look forward to returning when it is complete and participating with our friends.

We attended the Wedding Reception of two of the missionaries from our mission, Eliza and Chayce.  It was such a great gathering of friends that we had not seen for many months.  We invited a few of them for dinner the next day on Sunday.  Five of our former Vienna, Austria missionaries came for dinner.  Oh, what a reunion.  We had so much fun catching up on their lives and sharing memories.  It was also a great experience for our grandchildren to meet them and share in the stories.  We feasted on food and friendship.  It was a great day!  We hope to see many more of them at our home for dinners.  

Our life has revolved around renovating our home this whole month.  We had a soft completion date of May 1.  We worked non-stop the past two weeks and it looks like we have one more week of work.  Everything takes a little longer and a lot more money!  We definitely feel our age and that we don't work as fast as we used to.  I am so grateful for our good health and for the knowledge and experience we have to draw on to complete this project. Some days are better than others, but at the end of the day we are still speaking to each other and we get up the next day and work hard again.  My friend, Karen Spitzer tried to tell me how hard it is to live in a house that is being renovated - not just painted or new pictures, but actually building walls, showers, etc.  I cannot believe how much dust is everywhere.  I will be so glad to have it all done by the end of the week.  Then the real work begins as we unpack our boxes and begin to really set up house.  

I will share a few pictures of our progress:

KITCHEN

Original kitchenette 

  We put in new cabinets, electrical, under

  cabinet lights, tile backsplash, granite

New full kitchen

  counter top, farmhouse sink, range,  dishwasher, track lighting, refrigerator, island bar with storage and seating and new floor.  Still working on unpacking boxes and organizing the kitchen.  A work in progress.

MASTER BATH

original storage room

dug out plumbing  trench

cement filled trench

Leveling compound spread

wall built to divide shower from closet

Cement-board installed

Shower pan installed by a professional 

mudding the Sheetrock 

wall ready for primer coat

Primer coat painted

wood ceiling installed

Tiled Floor before grout

Shower water proofing

Shiplap on walls

Shiplap painted white

Sorry for the photo bomb but a lot better than me writing about it.  We will begin tiling the shower on Monday and then we can install the vanity, mirrors and toilet.  The lighting is all ready to be installed as well.  Electrician and Plumber will come back to do the final installations.

Final project is to put in the laminate floor in closet and Master Bedroom and then we can move into that part of our home.  I hope it will be a completed Mother's Day and Birthday for Russ.  

We are grateful for the projects we have done in the past and then learned more as we took on each project.  YouTube was a great teacher as well as many contractors that came to give us bids and each had their own ideas of how we should do things.  In the end we did most of the work ourselves instead of hiring others.  We are happy with the work that has been done.  My sewing skills came into play as we laid out the pattern for the floor and the shiplap walls.  Cooking skills were also very helpful as we mixed the mortar for the floor and walls.  Mixing is key and it was just like making bread - slowly adding in the mix to the water to the right consistency.  

This has been real teamwork.  Russ and I see things a little differently and usually have to work it out for the best possible solution.  Compromise, cooperation, trial and error and experience and knowledge have all come into play.  

We purchased a small refrigerator to use until we could put in our large refrigerator.  Russ has decided he wants to keep the small one just for cold drinks.  Our grandson, Logan came down the other night and asked what we were going to do with it - he really wants it upstairs in their game room.  Grandpa said I am going to use it for cold drinks.  I made a comment about it and Logan said, no Grandma, I think Grandpa has the right idea.  I asked him what drink he would like me to stock for him for when he came down to visit.  He thought for a minute and said, "I would like those little bottles of milk to have milk and cookies."  He does not come down very often and I was touched that he would ask for that.  I have already stocked a few bottles in the little fridge.  We have seen so much progress with Logan just in the two months we have been here.  He has been in school every day, is happier and is overcoming some of the challenges of the past year and a half.  He is feeling in his heart again and seeing life in a more positive way.  

I love being close to my Sister, Pam.  We met at Wasatch Lawn Memorial Gardens this past week to visit the graves of my grandparents, brother, parents and our son.  It was the four year anniversary of my mother's passing.  We decorated the graves and just enjoyed sitting on a bench and visiting in the beauty of the day.  We had lunch and had such an enjoyable time together.  

Logan asked where I was going after I dropped him off at school.  I told him I was going to the cemetery and he asked me some very special questions.  He has not wanted to talk about God or Jesus Christ for the past 2 years.  He has been very angry that he is different than other people.  He is Autistic and saw that as negative and bad.  After being in the Mental Hospital a year ago, he felt like he was a bad person and would not go to Heaven when he dies.  He did not ever want to talk about it.  He asked me about Heaven and what happens when someone dies.  He asked about Paradise - the place all good people go to be with Jesus Christ before we are all resurrected.  I was able to tell him about the Plan of Salvation and how God loves each one of us and wants us to return Home to Him.  He is not a vengeful God who punishes, but sent His Son, Jesus Christ to come and be our advocate with The Father and through the Atonement of Jesus Christ there is hope, forgiveness , happiness and love.  We talked about agency and choice.  He said, "so I can go to Heaven even if I don't believe right now?  When I get there I will learn that my parents and you were right and I will accept it."  WOW, that is a complete turn around from this past year.  He is thinking and feeling good things.  You can see and feel that he is trusting again and is finding hope in living and life.  I know I have been blessed as I have prayed for guidance in talking with him and helping in some small way.  

Russ and I were asked to speak in Church last week.  It was a good experience for both of us.  We have been so blessed to be in the Lindon 11th Ward.  We have been welcomed with open arms  - no hugging or handshakes yet but we can feel the love.  A large part of the congregation are our age and it will be nice to get to know them better.  With more and more having the vaccine we are seeing more people at Church and getting back to a regular schedule.  We look forward to that.

I will end on one of my favorite topics - FOOD.  I made gnocchi for the first time and added it to a Chicken gnocchi soup.  I posted it on FaceBook and had several requests for the recipe.  It was delicious and well worth the time to make the gnocchi.  I added homemade bread and a salad and it was a great dinner.

Gnocchis 

Gnocchi Chicken Soup

CHICKEN GNOCCHI SOUP - OLIVE GARDEN KNOCKOFF

I used my Instant Pot, but you can make it using a pan and stove top.

This recipe uses two settings:  Saute and Soup settings.  It only takes 30 minutes to make a delicious meal.  It is a creamy soup made with tender chicken, potato gnocchi, and spinach. (I did not have spinach and so I used kale and it worked great.

Chicken:  raw boneless chicken breasts that will be pressured cooked and sliced, then added back to the soup.  You can use cooked/rotisserie chicken that can be added after the other ingredients have been pressure cooked.

Potato gnocchi - either homemade (recipe follows) or store-bought.

Veggies - carrot, celery, onion, garlic and baby spinach leaves or chopped spinach or kale.

1 Tbl. Olive Oil

2 Tbl. Butter

1 Yellow Onion, diced

1 stalk Celery, chopped

2 cloves Garlic, crushed

4 cups Chicken Stock

2 Chicken breasts (see above)

1 cup Carrots, large shred

2 tsp. fresh thyme

1 tsp. Salt to taste

1/4 tsp. Black Pepper

1 pkg. 16 ounce Potato Gnocchi, fresh, dried, or frozen

1 cup Fresh Spinach, (see above)

2 cups Half and Half

Instructions:

1.  Heat oil and melt butter in the Instant Pot using the Saute setting.  Add the onions and celery, and cook for 2 minutes or until the onion is soft and translucent.  Add garlic and cook for a minute.   Turn off pot.

2.  Add chicken or vegetable stock, raw chicken breasts, carrot, fresh thyme, salt and pepper.

3.  Secure the lid and set the vent to SEALING.  Cook for 7 minutes at high pressure.  Quick release at end of cooking time.

4.  Carefully remove the lid, and take the chicken out and dice or shred it into pieces then set aside.

5.  On the Instant Pot choose the SAUTE setting, and add in the gnocchi and let the soup simmer until the gnocchi float to the top.  Turn off.

6.  Stir in the half and half, spinach, and chicken.  Give the spinach a few minutes to wilt, and the soup is ready to be served.

If making homemade gnocchi, make first as it needs to sit for 20 minutes before you add it to the soup.

GNOCCHI

1 pound Potatoes - red or russet skin on.

1 cup Flour

1/2 tsp. Salt

1 Egg

1.  Boil potatoes till tender with skin on.  Remove from pan and skin will peal off while still warm.  Let cool a little and rice.  Can use a good processor and grate.  Set aside.  You will need 2 cups of riced potatoes.

2.  Put flour  and salt on board or pastry sheet.  Make a well in center and add Potatoes and Egg.  Mix with fingers until soft dough forms.  

3.  Flour board and form dough into small ropes.  Cut 3/4 inch pieces.  Squeeze with a fork a little - do not press flat, just to imprint the dough.

Sprinkle with flour so they don't stick together.  

4.  Let rest for 20 min.  Put into soup as directed in recipe.  Gnocchi is done when it floats to the top.  

Life is good.  We have enjoyed family, love living in Lindon, Utah; and we have worked beyond our strength.  We hope it provides many years of enjoyment as we see progress made and an end in sight for the major work.  The yard is a whole new adventure.  We look forward to May and continuing to see the beauty of Spring.  

Much Love, Viel Liebe,

The Grimmett's