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Show 2 TIMPANOGOS TIMES My 20,2011 rmMtmdfftmamfim- - by Marcella Walker This past couple of weeks have proved to be a learning experience for me. I had an aortic valve replacement which was interesting. First of all, I cannot believe the things they can do in medicine these days and it is done as if there was nothing exceptional about it at all. I am a kid who grew up thinking that the hero of the town was the family doctor and he could do miracles. This was in the pre-poli- o vaccination days. Many children either died from polio or were left crippled in their arms or legs or both for the rest of their lives. My cousin was one of these. We never hear of polio anymore and many other diseases have been eradicated such as mumps, measles, chicken pox, whooping cough, Scarlet Fever, etc. I have mentioned this before recently but it is really awesome that these diseases are not around any more. Anyway, I went to Utah Valley Hospital and that same day they took out my old aortic valve, which was in the process of filling up with gunk, making it so that less oxygenated blood could get through. They replaced the old valve with a cow valve. They originally planned to put in a pig valve but the cow one would fit so they used it. No, I have not started to "moo" yet. The stay in the hospital was relaxing and a good learning experience. The folks who work there are great. They make you feel like you can accomplish anything you set your mind to. Anyway they only keep you about four days and send you home with strong instructions to do exercises and things which will keep your body improving from the surgery and walking is a part of that. Every weekday we spend some time' in the cardiac workout area where they keep track of our heart rate and all the rest that goes with it, while we walk on the tread mill or do other such athletic events. They put monitors on you so that they know how your heart is doing, etc. while you exercise. After a while you sit down and rest for a little while before doing it all over again. They increase your walking time daily and it is quite fun. At least you know there are a lot of other people in the same boat you are by the number of folks walking on the treadmills or working out on other exercise equipment near you. It is always good to know you are not alone. Of course, it is better to not let your heart get to the point it needs replacement parts, anyway. But, just in case, follow your doctor's ' advice, get your checkups and exercise and eat right. I did some of the above but not on as regular a basis as I should have. I hope that everyone who reads this will stay up to date on your heart checkups and do a better job than me of eating right, exercising right, and seeing your doctor regularly if you are over 50. Anyway, in the meantime, I am doing the exercises, trying to eliminate my bad health habits and trying to be better. My best to all of you and have a great week. (I would tell you to try and stay out of trouble but then you might not have any fun at all!). rlWSMhiuiiiJu, i , - - V "V ; can help you. It's like junior high school. When married you hit high school and college. I very much enjoy marriage. It has opened my eyes to so much. I have learned so many things that I wish I had known before. It has taught me true lasting love. In this world that word is tossed around without much meaning. It is used so carelessly. It is a magical word and we should be aware of what it truly means and is. As I get older I am sure my definition of love will be added upon and my knowledge of it will grow. Just as I know that the things I learn will be added upon as well. It is great to celebrate growing. by Marissa Moncayo "Another year older and wiser too." Okay, maybe not that much wiser but another birthday has passed. I am no longer a teenager. That is an exciting thought. As years start to fly by I find that my year was filled with many growing moments. Maybe it is semi true when the Primary song says, "and wiser too." I have had a lot of growing up to do. Being married is like going to school. Everyday you learn something new, in a variety of areas. Some of them you are not very good at, some you excel. Some of the areas you do not understand, some are easy to learn. Some you may have to re take over and over again. Evemually you pass, but not without work and a continual struggle to remember. At the same time this school is much more fun. You always have a classmate learning with you. You have someone to help you pass the tests and to help you laugh along the way. Some days it is very hard and you don't'want to go to class. But some days you can't get enough. Everyone goes through this. The point is that this school prepares you for life. It prepares you to live a great life filled with loving people and joys. It helps you with jobs, communication, interactions, people, and even real school. If you are not yet married, any relationship I now realize that my parents have always been wiser than me. Now I go to them, whereas before I thought I knew it all. They have had many more years of growing wiser. "Moments" continued on Page 3 Thoughts From The Garden... by Tonya LeMone "All great change in America begins at the dinner table...." Dinner time in our home is a valued and memorable time, has been and probably always will be. I think it stems from the idea I had in my mind as a young girl that the All American Family was always pictured at the dinner table eating together and engaged in happy conversation. At our dinner table, when all the children were home, I would quietly look around the table and feel so deeply the joy of our family that it would nearly make my heart ache. I would also feel the emptiness when a member of the family was missing. It was at our dinner table where we made family announcements, whether good or not so good news. We had contests throwing a tinfoil ball in a cup to make a decision about whether or not to get a VCR. Changes in our family were also discussed at the dinner table and whether or not it affected the outcome of what happens in America. I do not know, but I do believe it shaped our lives individually which, I guess, ultimately could have made a change in America. Because of my feelings for the joy of the dinner meal, I was prompted to do a dinner party and invite complete strangers to our home to share good food and an evening of memory making in the garden. The first eight people who me were to become my dinner quests in the garden with candles everywhere and the sunset would orchestrate, on queue, the forthcoming of the dessert. What a wonderful occasion that night was for me, which made me wonder why we don't do dinner party's more? Why do we not invite friends to gather and have an intimate meal and a great evening of discussion? Are we in too busy? Is it too time consuming? For me that evening was a journal worthy evening to be able to cook and break bread with new friends ' who happened to be my dinner guests for one evening. The preparations and planning took days, actually months because I tried numerous recipes and researched long hours to be certain to serve the right thing for my guests. The timing and presentation of the meal was the utmost of importance, maybe second. The food had to taste exceptional as well. After my planning and decision on a menu,, the evening arrived. What fun I had dressing the table making the flower arrangements and picking fresh from the garden the bounty's we are enjoying. The fresh tomato-tarrago- n soup, chicken parmesan on a bed of warm wilted spinach, and fresh angle hair pasta with a beurre-blan- c sauce and the accent of the caramelized carrots just makes my mouth water now as I am writing this. Then.... 1 the rains came just as we moved into the main course and if rain wasn't enough, a small tornadomicro burst joined us at a very inopportune time, and we had to run for safety between the thunder claps and lightening bolts which completely destroyed my idea of a candle lit evening in the garden as we ate our panna cotta and lemon souffle for dessert. Our dinner guests ranged in age from 30 something to 80 something. Among the guests was a belly dancer (which could have been the entertainment between courses, and the rain and lightening had I planned better), a world traveler yoga instructor, an editor of a very fine paper, a newly engaged couple, a retired couple who later told me this was her birthday dinner, and as my assistance a very competent, new mother. It has been said that the difference between a dinner and a dinner party is in the planning, how the invitation is extended, if the food is something not normally cooked or it takes ingredients not normally on hand. A dinner party likely includes close friends, and special attention to details and extra effort is put into setting the table. I have always been one to step outside the "box" especially when it comes to dinner and I am not sure my dinnerdinner party meets any criteria or that it could possibly change America, but it certainly changed my life to get to know eight new people and to hear of the joys and trials they all have gone through and how they have endured through it all and could share so willingly the fine details of their lives that evening in the garden. Thank you to my dinner party friends. That was a memorable evening for me and your sweet notes of thank you I will read and re-re- then tuck them away for future generations to read, and maybe, if that future generation thinks something in this country of ours need to be changed, it will be a discussion at their dinner table. See you in the Garden "l 847" this Spring. Imagine planting your garden at the end of July. Imagine further that you had to cultivate that garden from the native landscape without the benefit of power equipment and an irrigation system to water it. Then imagine what little you could get to grow being devoured by swarms of locusts, with no insecticides in sight. The famous explorer, Jim Bridger, was so confident that the area was uninhabitable that he said he would give $1,000 for the first bushel of corn grown. That would come to about $100 per dozen. Translated conservatively into modem dollars and cents, that would be about $400 for a dozen ears of corn. You might think of that when the local corn is on and you might be paying $4 a dozen. The Mormon pioneers relied on a promise they read in the new book of scripture translated by their martyred prophet. In that book of holy writ they were promised that God would prosper them and bless d:em if they would keep His commandments. With faith in that promise, they put their shoulder to the proverbial wheel and went to work. It is almost unbelievable what these people accomplished in such a short period of time, with so very little. Others in America had been at it since the Mayflower landed at Plymouth Rock in the 1600s. These pilgrims had a 200 plus year head start and a far more lush environment in which to grow. Recently we held a Pleasant Grove Irrigation Company Board meeting. During the meeting we discussed some of the history and future of the irrigation system in this area. The Pleasant Grove City engineer was present to discuss various items related to the irrigation system as it interfaces with other systems. It is amazing to contemplate the complexity of the irrigation system the pioneers and others have developed not only in this community, but all around the state of Utah. These "Bezzant" continued on Page 3 but most other crops are behind the normal growing cycle this year. Just imagine those first pioneers entering the Salt Lake Valley. They were worn out. Their clothing and shoes were worn out. Most of their food was gone and it was hot. Just imagine the horrendous task of starting over from scratch again. Their last home had been a swamp on the banks of a huge river. They turned that swamp land into a beautiful city they named Nauvoo. Next to Chicago it was one of the most industrious places in Illinois. The Mormon pioneers were now faced with turning a desert region into a veritable rose garden. There was no time to waste, even though they were worn out. This would be the place where they would once again labor as the bees in a colony. We thought we had it tough planting a few weeks late by Mark Bezzant It has been a late Spring and never in this world would I be thinking that we would be picking cherries on July 20 and from the looks of things, we will be picking cherries on the day, July 22, when the first group of Mormon pioneers set eyes on the Salt Lake Valley. 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