My friend, Igor

Fabric flying, the sound of scissors cutting across the fabric, the hum of a sewing machine, words of frustration flying out of my mouth, pieces of thread, needles, pins, and paper strewn around my living room, kitchen, and family room. All for this little scary man, Igor.

What the heck does Igor have to do with anything, you might ask? Believe it or not, this ugly little man has taught me many valuable lessons over the last 6 weeks I have been working on him.

My sister, Carole, over the last several years, has made these cute Halloween creatures. She has about 5 or 6 of these types of creatures sitting on her stairs every Halloween. Sometimes, if the light is right, you can walk up to her porch and get really freaked out. It's like a sick, ugly face staring at you through the front window as you walk up to her door. I have always loved these characters and have been dying to make one. Finally, in late summer, I went to the store in Sandy where they sell the patterns for these dolls. Unfortunately, the lady that designs them is no longer in business, so I had only a few to choose from. I picked Igor to make for my bench outside.

The big problem -- it required a sewing machine. I had a hand-me-down sewing machine that I inherited from my mother-in-law, but after finding it, and trying to start it, I realized it was broken. My mother-in-law patiently sat down with me to begin teaching me the basics of sewing on her own machine. I literally knew nothing. The hand-stitched parts on Igor I could handle, but the sewing machine was way out of my league. I have never had any interest in it before, so really never learned. I had someone try to teach me several years ago, but to no avail. But, I was determined. I really wanted to start and finish this project, to teach myself how to sew, and to prove that I could do this.

Meanwhile, I have been called in as one of the Young Women Counselors in my ward (4th time's the charm!) and after attending a meeting stating that the stake leaders really wanted us to get our own personal progress done, again, I decided that I really couldn't give up now. I was only about 2 hours into the project, and was determined to get this done by Halloween. Now I had the girls to be an example to, as well.

The 31rst was getting closer and closer. I was sewing day and night. My kids were sick of me working on it, even though they loved watching him get put-together. Jon was wanting his wife back, and my house was a complete mess. But, I was determined. I would not give up, and I would learn this skill, even if it killed me!

Several needle pricks, scissor cuts, hot glue burns, and a sore back later, Igor was finally done. I made it. He was finished and put on my porch bench at noon on Halloween day. He is quite ugly and cute, if I say so myself. I have learned a new skill, and have even talked Jon into getting me a basic sewing machine for my birthday, for all these "easy" projects I want to do. I am thankful for perserverence and hard work. In the words of a great leader, "Never, Never, Never give up." (Winston Churchill)

Workin' Hard in the Yard

Last year we bought a new house, and while we have loved having a home that no one else has lived in, it has also brought the woes of putting in a yard. Our entire summer has been spent trying to get a basic plan of a yard put together. Jon gets most of the credit for this. During the looonnggg months of winter, and while he anxiously awaited the arrival of spring, he was busy plotting the yard out on graph paper, researching different shrubs, plants, and trees that will grow in this area, as well as planning out where the sprinklers should go. I have been happy to see him do this, as he really loves landscaping and this is something that I know nothing about.

When spring finally arrived, it was a cold and wet season. Jon started getting outside and getting some of the planning done on the yard. But, as stated before, this was a long and cold spring. Just as he was ready to get something started, it would rain for several days, soaking the dirt outside. Finally, summer arrived and the wet weather disappeared in late June. We had 7 or 8 loads of dirt brought in. Jon went to a local business and bought all the necessary sprinkler supplies to put in the system himself. He and his dad poured some extra cement in the backyard. We planted flowers in pots and received some extra sod from neighbors already getting their grass in. He also started building a rock wall in the backyard as the slope in the back was really steep, even after all the dirt we brought in. He has been digging trenches, putting pipes in, and working so hard. With all of this, there has been a lot of setbacks. Jon had never done a sprinkler system before, so was asking for advice and help from all of our neighbors, who so patiently helped out when they could. He has also been working a lot, with business trips and vacations happening every other weekend, so the progress had been slow. But then Saturday came...

Jon determined this past Saturday that he was going to have water coming out of the sprinkler pipes, even if it killed him. He got up early Saturday morning before the heat of the day set in. At promptly 8 AM, he heard from our next door neighbor, that someone in the church needed help moving. The good man that Jon is, he donated 3 hours of his precious time to help out. At 12, he came home to start back on the yard. He screwed, he hammered, he plugged, he drilled, and he questioned. It was 98 degrees outside, and the perspiration dripped off of him like water. He was downing Gatorade as if he was hooked into an IV. After dinner was over, he found that he couldn't get the timer on the box to work. He was exhausted, hot, and discouraged. I encouraged him to call another neighbor that had some experience with this. He slowly dialed the number, thinking to himself that there was no hope in getting it all done by the end of the day. This nice neighbor came over, and with the help of this guy's father-in-law and a lesson on electricity, they finally got it all working. Water was flowing, the timers were working, and life was good. Jon taught me a valuable lesson in hard work that day. Hard work ALWAYS pays off. I love you, man!