Online, only, Dec 31, 2013

This is the No News for the Mink Creek column, Dec 31, 2013.  If you are reading this online it will be a bit different than usual.  Usual?—I post  the column that comes out that week in the Citizen, plus a bit more of my blather.   This week I didn’t have anything in the rural news spot because my own paper arrives in the mail, sometimes afternoon;  this time it arrived on Dec. 24^th, and in it was a blurb stating the deadline for those columns was at noon that day.  Nope, not from me, too late for anything.   However, I thought those of you who read it in this format would still be expecting to hear about life in these hills and I love writing about that.   So, enjoy (or not, as suits your fancy.)

            There have been plenty of visitors here, spending good family time. The holidays are nearly a thing of the past, tonight being New Year’s Eve.  I note that there are two philosophies about the decorating for this seasonal thing.  One is that Christmas is over, let’s get that tree and its accompaniments down and out, put away the baubles, etc. and get on with a less messy life.  That certainly straightens a person’s living space back into order.  The other view is to hold on to the decorations that remind them of the season, maybe of past memories, until a day or so after the New Year arrives.  Then get back to “normal.”  Of course both are good---and if you have a live tree that has become brittle and dropping the needles it is time to move it elsewhere.

            The neighborhood gift exchanges have been a regular part of the last couple of weeks.  Some has been in the form of service, others in the form of various goodies:  popcorn ( in all its stages and flavors),  fudge,  soda, cookies, and cookies, fancied pretzels, rice krispie treats with a holiday flair, granola loaded with nuts, packaged mixes, soups,  and on and on.  Along with all of this is the knowing that others care and hope good things for you, a gift in itself.

            We don’t have much snow throughout our community, but there must be a bit more up in our canyons because the snowmobiling set has kept the highway busy in that direction.  Around here we have plenty of dry brown patches of dirt and lots of slick ice due to the weather warming enough to melt the top of the snow and turn it into a sheet of sliding.  I have not heard of any broken bones as a result of this condition.

            We have had the invasion of a winter flu bug.  This is no 24  hour variety.  Some have said it hangs around for a couple of weeks, and barely leaves the doorstep before turning around for another visit.

            I had best save whatever else might be “newsy” until it is in paper print.  Happy New Year, 2014, thanks for reading.

           

Christmas Eve, 2013

Snow, a nice soft, wet snow, covered our hills this morning.   A beautiful winter landscape in this mountain retreat. It should clear the air, as well as add to the Chrismasy feel needed for this last week of December.

Jimmie and AnnaBeth Olson had a full house with children and grandchildren in abundance. Dana and Charlie Peterson and children were down from Meridian.  Peggy and Jon Flinders and family came all the way from Salmon, ID.  Jerry and Christin Olson and their bunch live in the cooler that usual St. George, and Mike and Anna Olson and children are in Brigham City, UT.

William Kyle Currie was baptized and confirmed a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.   He is the son of Wendy and Clayton Currie.  Their family have recently moved into our community. They are living in the house best known as “Mildred Keller’s place,” recently belonging to Mike Dyer, before it was Parm Keller, Mildred’s son. The Curries come from Tremonton and have three other children, Christopher,  Devlyn, and Larien.

Jessica Larsen, oldest daughter of David and Liz Larsen, has graduated from Utah State University this December.  She has been majoring in environmental science.  Congratulations to Jessica for a job well done!

The funeral of Sallee Keller brought all of the Keller and Torfin children  and families home to Mink Creek.  The Kellers are Kelton, Kim, Kay, Karma and Karla.  The Torfins are Kristi, Casey, Kurt and Clay.    Friends and relatives from the Grace area as well as Franklin county met to remember the life of this good lady.

The Syringa Camp of the DUP enjoyed a Christmas dinner together by going to the Blue Bird Restaurant in Logan.  The majority of the women in this camp live in Mink Creek now, or have done so in the past.  How fitting for a group centered on history to go to the Blue Bird, a restaurant that has a strong historical background in this vicinity.

Well, Readers, it is Christmas Eve, 2013, in Mink Creek.  I have paused to think of stories told to me when I first moved here, in 1963, by a neighbor who was then in her eighties.  I can’t help but think that while many things have changed in this little village, there are still some things that have stayed the same.

She grew up in the Klondike area and told they would drive down in a horse drawn sleigh to come to winter choir practices at the old rock church.   Her mother would heat rocks in the oven of their stove, they would wrap the rocks in quilts and put them in the bottom of the sleigh to keep them warm with more quilts wrapped around them.  What fun it was, she loved it, almost as much as she loved singing.

This good lady shared much wisdom with me and I valued her friendship to a newcomer to the community, a young mother with a brand new baby.  Mink Creek still welcomes new people and reaches out to them in warmth, particularly during the Christmas season.  I have been hearing of driveways being cleared of snow, of baskets of food appearing on doorsteps.  I saw women of the community disappointed to find that all the “give a gift” tags were taken from the Relief Society tree, to the point that the RS Presidency had to extend the project just a little longer, so that more could be given.

 Our hills are covered with white snow, not very much, but the blanket is still there.  We are hoping for more in the days ahead. There is enough moonlight to activate the local owls and coyotes in a holiday chorus.  If you have Mink Creek blood running through your veins, or have lived here long enough to form friendships, know that we will be thinking of you, hoping you are also thinking of us.  Merry Christmas!  Remember our many blessings.

Dec 18, 2013

Much of the family of Lana Baird joined with her and husband Ivan McCracken for the last holiday.  Nathan Baird and LaRon and Liesa Baird and family live close by. Tamra and Jason Taylor and their children came up from Woods Cross, UT.  Owen Baird now calls Bountiful , UT, home. Daniel and Heather Baird and family are in Sugar City, ID, and Maria and Devin Flake in Orem, UT.

The Relief Society held their Christmas program entitled “My Gift” on Dec 5.  The evening was centered on keeping Christ in our Christmas celebrations.  Three of the women gave presentations.  Karen Erickson read The Parable of the Shopper, authored by our own Cecelie Costley a few years ago.  Judy Rasmussen’s story combined Easter thoughts with those of Christmas.  Laurel Wilde, told about her nephew, Matt Carter, a Navy Seal, and the sacrifices he made for family and country, particularly his final one.  A local women’s vocal group, The Mountaires, sang a lovely Christmas carol.  The program was followed by a tasting table of small sandwiches, a veggie plate, crackers and a cheese ball, and a cup of wassail.  Each woman who attended brought one holiday treat to share, so that each one could take home a plate of yummy goodies.

Sallee Keller, wife of Vernon Keller, passed away unexpectedly.  Her funeral was Dec 14 at the Mink Creek church.  She had a fun loving personality and she will be sorely missed.   Even after a knee surgery she has had difficulty walking much in the last few years.

One member or another of thee Haws family are still making regular visits.  Peter  and  Loren and their spouses were up from California  for a few days.  I am sure there was a big difference in the temperatures from southern California.

            Cecelie and Wynn Costley are currently teaching English at a college in China.  She reports that their home is close to the ocean.  The winds help in times of weather inversion.  Cache Valley is dealing with inversion right now.  As of today Mink Creek community was above the hazy air, but just dropping down into Riverdale as we drive south puts one into the murkiness.  It isn’t so cold, but just seeing the cloudy air gives one pause to think about the condition of healthy breathing.

            Garland Rasmussen had surgery on a shoulder and seems to be recuperating nicely.  It is one of things that waits until the farmer is done with his fall work before proceeding.

Heidi and Brendan Brown were here visiting with her parents, Richard and Vickie Free.

Cold Dec 11, 2013

Holiday time is company time.  Karen and Layne Erickson had all four of their children home for Thanksgiving.  Julie Kunz and her two children, Kamry and Kreighton, drove from Idaho Falls, Bryan and Shannon Erickson and their boys were up from Woodland Hills, UT.  Connie Erickson and her friend Adam Westenskow only needed to come from Logan.  Paul and Terrie McKay, plus Morgan and Andy, just live on Station Creek Road, in Mink Creek. It was a great day for all of them.

Johnny and Jeannine Iverson managed have only ten at their table.  From Highland, UT, came Gregory and Vicky Iverson and Kade and Juel along with banana cream pie and a tasty dressing.  Michael and Susan Iverson and their son Jared and his wife Kim came from Brigham City, UT.  Kurt and Margret Iverson and family, who live in Mink Creek full time, drove over the hill to Cub River to join Margret’s family, Walter and Sharon Knapp.

Eldon and Danita Wilcox hosted Brigham and Jennifer Wilcox and children, Brig is now going to school at Idaho State University.  Ami and Tom Fenton and their family were up from Utah.  Brittany and Matt Durrant and their little one drove from Salt Lake City to join in the fun.

Jerry and Ramona Hatchett enjoyed time with her daughter, Teresa Gray, in West Jordan, UT.  With grandson and friends they had about 20 people for the festivities.  They went to Salt Lake City to attend the presentation of the Dead Sea Scrolls.  So much learning to take place in such a small amount of time.

Mink Creek LDS Ward has stirred up parts of their organization. The new Primary Presidency  is: Sherrie Corbett, President, Julie Egley, 1^st counselor and Avery Gomez, 2^nd counselor, with Kristi Hall as Nursery Director.  The Young Women now have Candy Longhurst as President, Liz Hawkes and Terrie McKay her counselors and Wendy Westerberg, secretary. 

Sharon Moran did the holiday weekend with her mother in Pocatello, a break  from her life  on the Mink Creek hillside.  She doesn’t have much garden work these cold days, but it won’t be long before the snow shoveling becomes a regular task.

We do have snow, but not in much quantity.  Our temperatures the last few nights have been below zero, daytime it warms a  teensy bit, this afternoon it was 2 degrees at one  point.  The winter sunsets are gorgeous, streaks of iridescent orange across clouds of purple and blue just above those west side mountains.  Yep, breathtaking!

The season is bringing out some extra wildlife.  Cotton tail rabbits are coming into the yard.  The pesky raccoons with their innocent little faces are up to tricks.  We have had a busy beaver.  Of course there is the usual fox, deer, pheasant, turkeys always checking out us humans.  There seems to be quite a few eagles populating our skies this cold weather, and they are seen snacking on the road-kill deer carcasses.

Dec 4, 2013

Thanksgiving weekend is the big weekend for Christmas trees to be harvested from our surrounding forests.   There have been a few going down the road prior to this, but many families make getting their tree part of their Thanksgiving tradition.  There will be trees on top of cars, trees in trailers, trees riding in the back of pickups, whatever will work to get the tree back to home base.

The family of Steve and Terrie Mainini were all together for the holidays, or at least part of it.  The Mainini sons, Mario and Tony were here for the whole time.  Daughter Angelina, wanted to experience Black Friday in Salt Lake City before she came up for the weekend.

The Mink Creek girls volleyball team came away with a win at the Preston North Stake Championship game.   Coached by Laurel Wilde, this bevy of young ladies gave it their all and beat the opposing team, one that had never lost a game all season.  Congratulations are in order!

Matthew Westerberg, son of Wendy and Terry Westerberg, has proven to have an eye on international doings in his educational goals.  Currently at the University of Wyoming as a Graduate Teaching Assistant, he is a Masters Peace Corps International Student.  Matt is interested in civil-military relations in transitional democracies. He plans on developing his thesis around this topic and pursuing his research while serving as a volunteer for the Peace Corps beginning mid 2014.

Jeannine and Johnny Iverson had a great visit from her brother Allen and Vilma Pack of McKinney, TX.  An interesting tidbit is that Brenda Seamons Kemsley, daughter of Scott and Cathy Seamons of Mink Creek, is a Visiting Teacher to Vilma.  This is a surprise connection for both Brenda and Vilma! 

Health-wise, it seems to be cold season now.  Coughs and sneezes punctuate any community gathering.  Soft tissues are on the required list for children and adults alike.  It doesn’t help much to have a constant wind coming out of the north, with ice in its teeth.  Each morning we expect to see snow.  So far it has been short jabs of sleet and rain.  The forecast is for a 30 degree drop in outdoor temperatures.

The Christmas spirit seems to be hanging on to the coat tails of Thanksgiving.  Haven’t noticed any outdoor lights yet on our very dark hillsides, and we are three days into the month of December. The night sky is very dark right now too, but the stars are crystal clear and full of sparkle against that black navy background.  Don’t you wish you were here?!   There is probably some nostalgia for those nights if you now live in a city where there is no starlight.   It is one of my favorite Mink Creek bonuses!