4 November 2026

Writer, as well as EVERYONE else in The Hermitage have NO IDEA where October went! But Organizer can honestly say there are only two empty squares on that calendar. Most days have at least two entries, some as many as six. Yes, everyone is busy.

The month started with a trip to the ER. That started before 6 in the morning. Woke up on the floor and didn’t know why. All is well. Dehydrated and we have kidney stones again. Although we can feel them moving as they are supposed to, there were absolutely NO visible signs of having them. And the pains weren’t the same as what we experienced years ago. But our diets have been changed and monitored by Chef and Baker all month and we are doing well. There IS chocolate in the house, but we haven’t had any, nor have we been tempted in a whole month. This in and of itself is absolutely amazing!!! We have had follow-up visits with the doctor, gone for x-rays, scans, diagnostics, and other visits. Because of the dairy and other ingredients in Key Lime pie, ALL of which is good for this ailment, Baker made several in October! SO good!

Disciple has been to an ice cream social, painting party, and out many times with one or more sets of missionaries. She has her weekly meetings: presidency, Faith and Fellowship, Missionary Correlation, Ward Council, other Council meetings, and working in the Temple. She has also gone to the Temple several other days. Chef and Baker have prepared various things for several potlucks and luncheons. Then, on the 30^th, she and Family Historian went to the Family History Center downtown. While they were there, ALL of the phones for those visiting started buzzing madly. A message from the NWS! “Stay where you are! DO NOT evacuate!” And then it started pouring! We had more rain in a few hours than we get all year! And yes it flooded in a major way! Lake Mead rose 13”. While that may not seem like a lot, the news said that is 37 billion gallons of water. THAT seems like a lot. She has seen the hands of God often, and points it out to the rest of us in The Hermitage. She is always in awe at His plan and timing!

Our Cousins Charisse and Debbie picked us up on a Friday in the middle of the month and we were off to Lana’s in California. Her grandson was called to the Monterrey Mexico mission and had his farewell. It was a fun trip. We are all in our 70s and reminiscing about how things have changed... Life, health, the world, etc. We think we would like to all travel together and “see the world.” Time will tell. 

Family Historian found that our 5^th great-grandfather was Chief Mamongazida (also known as Mamaangĕzide, "Big Foot", or "Loon's Foot") was a prominent 18th-century Ojibwe (Chippewa) leader. So, that is fun.

Organizer has plans to implement during the cooler winter months. The garage is HOT during the summer, so hopefully things will get done out there.

Plumber has recognized an issue and has had Correspondent put in a call to the home warranty and is patiently awaiting a call from someone who hopefully will address whatever is going on.

Gardener and Landscaper are keeping up on the mowing, weeding, trimming, etc. The paper whites, and other bulbs are preparing for their seasons. The rest of us are excited. 

Painter has worked on and finished a couple of projects and got a few others out.

Seamstress has worked on a few things and is pondering the location of patterns for others.

Movie Buff had on the last season and episodes of the old Perry Mason shows, so we have seen all 9 seasons with 30 episodes in each. Several were filmed at Malibou Lake and the surrounding areas where we lived. That’s always fun to see. She has had several movies on as well. Quite a few are repeats that we all enjoy. Thankfully she keeps us guarded from things none of us enjoy. 

We are truly blessed and grateful. Life goes on. Be prepared. Super El Nino is supposed to hit hard. 

 30 September 2026

What happened to September? What a busy month! 

Artist has been inspired to create! AND it has come to the attention of Manager that Artist has an abundance of paint! If there are less than 200 bottles of paint in her stash ALL of us in The Hermitage would be shocked!!! She got ALL of the paints and brushes out yesterday to refine a recent painting. Most of us stood in amazement, awe and stunned silence. HOLY COW!!! And the brushes! She put a cup of water on the table in preparation for her work, only to move a few things and over went the glass of water. Thankfully it was only 6 ounces. Kitchen Maid dashed to the scene with two hand towels, and the mop and cleaned things up. Seems she is constantly cleaning up after someone.

Chauffeur has been busy. She is still looking for a new ride, but not diligently. She is and has been for decades, annoyed by carriage shopping. She LOVES many carriages, but knows that they aren’t practical now and is going to have to settle on something else. She has had so many carriages over the decades and really would like to have some of them again, alas that’s not happening. So, she is still, mildly hunting. But not actively. Although we hear they are going to be on sale because of the time of the year. She did take several of us for a much needed drive the other day. Several of those in The Hermitage needed to clear their heads, hearts, and thoughts. They needed to regroup, and they did. She took them to Hemenway Park where they sat out in the grassy area and watched the herd of BigHorn grazing. They visited with others who were there. THEN the sprinklers came on and they all dashed for cover! HOLY COW!!! No signs, just a weird noise and water everywhere! In a way it was delightful and they needed the craziness!

Chef made a pot of loaded potato soup and everyone was delighted. It was delicious! She didn’t screw it up or anything! Everyone in The Hermitage is impressed! Now everyone is trying to get Baker on board with making some things. Cinnamon rolls sound delightful.

Correspondent and Writer have had some difficult days. They have sent several birthday cards to family and friends. She and Writer have been sending letters “across the pond” for about 10 years, to a woman who turned 91 in February. She is delightful and they have enjoyed the fascinating letters over the years. They were somewhat concerned when several weeks went by with nothing. It may have been a couple of months. They expressed concern to the oldest daughter, who said something will come. Well, the next day, the 14^th, it did, from this lovely woman’s daughter. She fell, called the ambulance, went to the hospital, had several strokes, is non-communicative, doesn’t know anyone, can’t walk, etc. They sent a letter back expressing sympathy, etc. They are saddened by this. Then, after several hours on the phone on the 25^th, to Medicare, UHC/AARP, Social Security, ETC., about how those in The Hermitage are being fined for not having Part D from April 1, 2021-March 31^st, 2023, they were fired up! They were told by ALL of the “people” they got to talk to, that, “Yes, we can see that you had HPN, BUT you need to prove it!” OH… MY… GOSH!!! So, together they fired off a rather informative, yet entertaining letter, with forms filled out and PROOF they had “drug” insurance. What a fiasco! They have also decided that they are NOT that impressed with sending text messages. They never have been really. They are NOT read by others with the intent in which they are sent. What they are thinking in their head, heart, etc., is NOT always what is read. They’ve also found that with the update on the phone, as they type, things come up and are included that they never intended to include! GEEZE!!!

Disciple has had another busy, trying, exciting, jubilant, and wild month. She helped with the Day of Service, commemorating 9/11. She was asked to speak in Sacrament meeting, and at a baptism, and guided the lesson on one Sunday. Along with her shift at the Temple on Thursdays, she has subbed a few shifts for others. She has had presidency meetings, correlation meetings, meetings with those in charge, and accompanied the Sister Missionaries on lessons. She has been to lunch with the sisters she works with in the Temple and participated in a painting activity, where we each did a rendition of The Sacred Grove. Yesterday she went to a care home with another friend to visit a 91 year old woman who reminded them SO much of Queen’s mother. It was a very difficult visit for several reasons. However, she sees the hand of God frequently in her life and is grateful. 

Gardener is thankful for the much needed rain. She has been mowing and trimming plants the heat scorched. She is getting ready to thin the iris if anyone wants some, she is more than willing to share. 

HOA Board Member has been dealing with things as well. One of which is a dead chicken. Said chicken was found by a homeowner on the outside of the HOA walls about two months ago. Yes, this has been going on for two months! Two of us have called animal control. Board Member told them EXACTLY where this dead chicken was (NE corner of …), that it looked to be a Rhode Island Red, was in a box about 16” square with long oval “windows”. She did NOT mention that the cardboard box had “McNuggets” written on it. She has learned a lot about animal laws and what you can and can’t do with dead animals. Apparently chickens are not very high on the list of animal concern, as people kill them and eat them. As of yesterday, the box with the chicken is gone. But not by animal control. It’s just MIA. 

Organizer has been busy too. She has gone through about a dozen boxes and found all sorts of things. Thankfully MOST things have been dealt with, and things are going in a positive direction. 

Pluviophile is doing the happy dance around The Hermitage, singing, and is in her glory. She loves when we get rain. It doesn’t happen often, but when it does, she is joyous. The amount of rain at The Hermitage was heavy at times, BUT not like the other side of town, which sent floods through the underground tunnels, washing out all of the homeless and their collectibles. 

Queen had two outings with friends. One was with three wonderful friends to see Practical Magic 2. To say she loved it would be an understatement. She laughed, cried, and several other emotions came out. Then she went to dinner with a long-time friend, and her oldest son and youngest grandson. Great restaurant, great conversation, and steak was perfect! 

All of us are SO blessed and grateful. We don’t know all the answers, and may never know, but we know where to look for guidance and direction. Bless you all! Smile. Enjoy time. We never know how much of it we have. Don’t save things for later. Do it now. Enjoy it now. 

 30 August 2026

Writer may have thoughts and comments from everyone in The Hermitage, and they may not be good. They may. But there have been a LOT of emotional challenges within the walls. And without. We were told, growing up, that in order to have the “sweet” you have to have the “bitter.” Do we “need” it? No. Nor do we want it, but there it is. Most of us have been using EVERYthing we’ve learned over the decades to fight the fight. As we all carry on with our duties, jobs, tasks, etc., we are SO thankful for Disciple. Even though she has had her moments, and has been falling apart, she is SO strong. 

Disciple has been out with the Sister Missionaries several times, and the Elders, teaching and going to several baptisms. She’s had her Presidency meetings, Family History night, Temple sessions, Temple Fireside/Devotional, Sisters in Service, and Stake Conference with Elder Eduardo Ortega where Singer sang with the Stake Choir, Temple work/potluck, cleaned the Chapel a couple of times, and a luncheon with The Temple Sisters at Lucille’s. Chauffeur even took her on a trip to the mission office. It is a rare day that she isn’t involved with something or someone. She is blessed and grateful.

Seamstress helped Disciple with Sisters in Service sewing three quilt tops for the Children’s Hospital, and several burp cloths for the NICU. Her neighbor asked for help with a T-shirt quilt and they worked on that one Friday. 

Oldest daughter took Queen on a much needed therapy drive to the new Lone Mountain Temple site AND out to Blue Diamond where they found a small herd of donkeys. She was thrilled with the attention, therapy and everything she saw. Not to mention the company. 

Astronomer was excited with things that happened, even though it was slightly overcast, she had several of us go out to see what we could of the eclipse. Then when Chauffeur was taking Disciple and others out the other night they witnessed a magnificent sunset! 

These are the “sweet” parts of life. We are SO blessed. We know this. 

Organizer has worked hard this month going through boxes and trying to get the back bedroom “fixed” up. She has found unbelievable things in some of these boxes. She’s thrown out a lot. Which isn’t like her, or Collector! But Collector approved the tossing of much of it. Going through things is tedious, distressing at times, and hard. And it is rubbing off on others in various ways. Seamstress, Crafter, Painter, Jeweler, Beader, and possibly others, were up at 5:30 this morning frazzled, and unable to sleep. Keeping others from sleeping. They were pondering ALL of the things they have collected “to do” over the last 50 years that they have NOT done. WHY?! WHY have they not done them? Many reasons were offered; they were taking care of others, raising children, teaching others, busy with mandatory things and the fun stuff was set aside, others were working several jobs and there was no time for creativity, Scholar decided to take college classes, Disciple had multiple callings, stored after moves, resurfacing after being brought out of storage, and the list goes on. To say they are frustrated would be an understatement. They have sorted, planned, cried, and “think” they may have a solution. Time will tell. Some of them don’t even care about some of the projects anymore. Why do any of them? What will we do with them when they are done? Decorator doesn’t even decorate anymore. Why do any of us need more clothing or jewelry? Most of the rest of us don’t go anywhere, so making clothes or jewelry is a moot point. THIS attitude has been SO discouraging. Along with other feelings and thoughts, several of us are on tear patrol. Many are on the edge. Some are over the edge. THIS is part of the “bitter.”

Musician plays the piano. Disciple is next to the ONLY one who keeps us going. She bolsters us, and spouts quotes when and where needed. She reminds us of what we have been through in the past. She helps us to see the light, even when the darkness is overpowering. We are blessed in many ways, and thankful. We know there are others praying for us. We are grateful. Bless you all! This too shall pass.

 17 August 2026

There is FAR too much going on at The Hermitage for Writer to post EVERYTHING. With that being said, we will post something short but incredibly meaningful.

Most of us in The Hermitage are emotionally challenged. A LOT has been going on, several of us have been crying far more frequently. FAR MORE! It has become a daily thing. Some try to pull others out of the abyss of darkness, others jump in and join the mayhem, and still others throw up their hands and leave, hoping beyond hope that when they return, there might be some semblance of order. 

This morning, as Chauffeur was driving to a friend's house, passengers were teary eyed. While there they were teary eyed. As we left, tears flowed. Some of us had been thinking of the Oldest Daughter. We were actually sending mental thoughts. AND the phone rang... It was her!!! This happens more than y'all know. 

She asked IF we wanted to go for a drive. YES!!! YES WE DID!!! After some texting and arranging, she came to get Ma, Queen, Disciple, Explorer, Adventurer, and Friend in a brand new Bronco. It was a FUN rental until the truck was prepared for a trip. And they were off. Only Oldest Daughter knew where she was going, and it was a surprise. However, SOME of us were hoping beyond hope that the direction she was headed was where they had asked Chauffeur to take them, but Chauffeur had been putting them off. 

We went to the new Lone Mountain Temple site! We could hardly contain our excitement!!! This was more than we expected and WONDERFUL!!!! THEN to make things even MORE AMAZING, Oldest Daughter drove to Red Rock... and we were on a hunt! AND we found a small herd of donkeys! WOOHOO!!! 

Tender mercies were everywhere. God's hand was everywhere. We were SO blessed!!! SO grateful!!! This helped us SO much!!! 

 27 July 2026

There are all kinds of things going on in the lives of those in The Hermitage. There have only been five days this month where nothing was scheduled. ALL of us are “retired” however, we seem to be busier now than we’ve ever been! And one of us did something that hasn’t been done in decades! WHOA! 

There were MANY milestones and events celebrated this month. The MOST SPECTACULAR was the “Semiquincentennial.” Vegas hosted the LARGEST fireworks show they’ve ever had! We also watched the one in Boulder City, AND had our own show in the street out in front of The Hermitage! This is one of our favorite times of the year! Patriot loves the music, the heartbeat of America at this time of year, and the fireworks. She also has a weeping issue.

Board Member has been busy with HOA things, mostly landscaping, gates, and the pool. The pool took a dive! HAHAHA!!! The filters were all gummed up and broken. This did NOT sit well with HOA homeowners. However it was only down for two days, fortunately! It is supposed to get up to 117 this week. We’ve asked Weather Girl about the expected Monsoon’s and see is quite discouraged! It has called for rain the last 3 weeks, and other than the quick, mild shower while we were swimming with Katie and Chris, there has been nothing in our part of the valley.

Disciple has been VERY busy. With her regular weekly Temple shifts, she also subbed for someone this month. These days are her “special” days! There is nothing like leaving the outside world behind and stepping through the doors into The Temple. Nothing! She receives more hugs, encouragement, love, and peace than anywhere else. It is such a blessing. And she was asked to help with cleaning The Temple this Thursday after her shift from 9-11. She hasn’t done that before and wonders what she will get to do! She also went to lunch with her “Temple Sisters,” and has also been busy with meetings, at least two a week, and sometimes four. She also meets for lessons with the Sister Missionaries. Relief Society had their yearly faux “luau,” and she will also be going to a bi-ward swim activity at a water park here. Pioneer Day came and went. She remembers huge to-do’s with this event years ago, but nothing lately. She didn’t even don her bonnet and pioneer clothing! She and Seamstress did help tie some quilts for an auction where the proceeds and quilts go to the Children’s Hospital. OH! Disciple was asked to bring Chaperone to a Regional Youth Dance at our Stake Center. This was NOT like the dances she has chaperoned before. AND there was a mechanical bull for the youth to ride! And they did!

The BIGGEST news happened with Seamstress!!! This afternoon she finished the last of the beaded, sequined Christmas stockings! ALL of them are done. She is ABSOLUTELY beside herself over this. Movie Buff was of mild help with this. She thought SHE was being overworked as Seamstress asked her to “find” another movie or show! Hours and hours passed. Seamstress is sure she listened to the 5-hour BBC Pride and Prejudice AT LEAST four times! However, we ALL seem to like Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy, SO… that was okay. Movie Buff put on the new Enola movie, and Seamstress listened to several Indiana Jones movies. And there were the instructional YouTube videos that Disciple had Movie Buff put on so she could have something to do when she actually gets to relax.

Camper and Detective were looking for the bracelet that Camper made in June 2024 at Girls Camp. They have been on a hunt for a week or two. They have gone through several jewelry boxes and nothing. Detective opened a drawer in an old desk and FOUND… NO, not the camp bracelet, BUT an ID bracelet Queen, Detective and Family Historian have been hunting for at least 25 years+. They figured it was in a “SAFE” place, as ALL things are, BUT they were excited. They are still trying to find the “SAFE” place where the camp bracelet is concealed. The ID bracelet is now where it is supposed to be.

Writer has hit the highlights! All of us in The Hermitage have been busy with other things, but Writer has documented the most important things. We can’t believe how LONG the month of July was and how fast it dragged on! Hope your summer is going well and that life is good! We are VERY blessed!

 30 June 2026

Writer is having a hard time believing that she hasn’t written ALL month! The Hermitage has been abuzz far more than usual, BUT holy cow! Now she is going to have to do what Inigo Montoya did… “Sum up!”

Disciple has been quite busy. She has met with the Sister Missionaries many times for different reasons; lessons, planning, giving popsicles and water, and a couple of baptisms. She and Singer attended double choir practices and sang in the Ward AND Stake choirs this month. She has served on her shift all month, and subbed twice on other shifts. She has attended Faith and Fellowship meetings. She has had Presidency meetings with her board. Things are progressing. She sewed up at least two quilt tops, helped at Sisters-in-Service, and then there was a special quilt morning where she helped tie quilts. There were at least a dozen of us there and six quilts were tied. Chef prepared stuffed potatoes for her to take to a friend’s house and she had dinner there with the Sister Missionaries. Chef also prepared dinner for100 for the Friends of the Desert homeless shelter with the help of another sister in the ward. Turned out to be quick and easy. She also went to the monthly lunch with the Temple Sister to, TA-DA… Eddie’s!!! It was GREAT! AND on the 26^th the Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square performed at the Hollywood Bowl. Grandson went with Disciple and Grandmomma to Lee’s Family Forum to watch it. AND it was AWESOME!!! They are doing a tour of the USA for the Semiquincentennial. Put that in Google and watch what it does! They sang at least four or five of Disciple’s favorite songs!!! Several guest artists sang as well… Donny Osmond of course was a hit with Grandmomma. The whole program was AMAZING! The Sister Missionaries Heart Attacked the front door when Disciple was at the Temple. Building Super left the hearts up all month! They also came and sang Happy Birthday and brought treats! We are SO blessed!

Animal Lover watched Rover for a week. He is a good dog and when he leaves, we feel an emptiness. But she did go pet some darling puppies one Saturday. She didn’t bring one home though. She also hasn’t seen the squirrel recently. Just a variety of birds and lizards. 

Ma and Momma were treated to Eddie’s again on her birthday with Jenny and Angelo, AND later in the month with Mike, Katie and Chris. Yes, she loves to eat there and they seem happy to go as well! She also played a game of Jumanji, and went to the skating rink. She was going to skate, but after the ridiculous fall (next paragraph) she decided she might do best to just watch. 

Board Member was walking with another board member one evening and all of the sudden was flat down in the rocks! Bruised hip and ankle came from that ridiculous episode! She has also been busy with HOA gates, pool, landscaping and violations in the “Estates.” 

Correspondent had to deal with phone issues from Board Members crash in the rocks! Scuffed up the corner of the phone. The day for the repairs the cable network wasn’t working. THAT turned into a HUGE fiasco with a LOT of terse words for the AI correspondent on the other end. Thankfully it was more than aware of the anger on this end! A trip to Verizon came after the phone repair. AND it turned out it WASN’T anyone in The Hermitage! The internet was down. DUH!!! That’s what she told them. OH! What do we know?!?!?! 

Chauffeur took Litigant to the law offices to sign papers. THIS was positive in more than one way! We’ve put out feelers to look at cars. THIS is the part we don’t really like. It would be nice to have someone else do this. Nevertheless, we’ve all explained what we are looking for.  

Friend has been out and about with a couple of friends. One treated her to a box of See’s… Her special selection. The other treated her to lunch at BJ’s! The food is great and the pizookie’s are INCREDIBLE! 

This will be a VERY rough week in many ways, but we will press on. We are SO blessed and grateful! Hope June was a good month for you. Here’s to the 250^th and everything else. Hugs, thoughts and prayers to you.

31 May 2026

What a month! So many changes. So many turns. Life in The Hermitage has been going along like some of the songs from the 40s. Side by Side comes to mind. All of us in The Hermitage just travel along doing our thing, side by side. We’ve celebrated holidays and birthdays this month. We’ve adjusted to a VERY intense calling, we’ve kept up with our duties. We’ve been BUSY!

Disciple attended a lovely Masquerade ball and brought the Lasagna Chef made from scratch. Chef hasn’t made one in sometime, and it was delightful and ALL gone when Disciple left. She attended a sealing at the Temple as well as subbed for a friend. She has had several presidency meetings and things are coming along. She is learning from MANY Temple and Ward sisters what works, what doesn’t work, what is important and what isn’t. ALL of this is VALUABLE information and appreciated. She has been out teaching lessons with the Sister Missionaries, they have unexpectedly dropped in when Disciple “needed” them, and she taught the lesson for Faith and Fellowship. She has been BUSY. She is in the Ward choir, and with the Patriotic Celebration for the “semiquincentennial” AKA “the Bisesquicentennial, the Sestercentennial, or the Quarter Millennium, will be the 250th anniversary of the United States Declaration of Independence” coming up, she is in the Stake choir. Who knew it would have SO many words for a celebration! AND if you Google that word, there are fireworks that go off on the screen! WHAT FUN!!!

Animal Lover and Queen got to dog sit Rover for a week as his family went on a trip. All of us in The Hermitage found that after a week of having him here, when he went home, we missed having him here. 

Saturday was a busy day for everyone. Gardener watered plants inside and outside. Then she, Landscaper, and Building Super shoveled rocks, weeded, swept walks, and maintained plants. Chauffeur and Building Super washed the car. So far no rain. Insert wink. Ornithophile filled the feeders and found that two of the doves were NOT afraid of her. She loves that! All of them were done before 9. Seamstress sewed three quilt tops together last week, but since she had some time she cut out a dress for the BIG celebration coming up, and sewed it together. Now there is a new frock to wear for the events. It IS BRIGHT! We all love everything patriotic, and this is just that! Most of us love the darker reds and blues, BUT the fabric was free and Seamstress went for it. She combined several patterns and was done with it by dinnertime. 

At the moment, Astrophile is waiting for the “Blue Moon” to rise. 

We are all experiencing MANY emotions. May, June and July are difficult months for ALL of us in The Hermitage. With ALL of the various celebrations, events, memories, etc. it is difficult to find us in any sort of a “normal” disposition. We try, but we have ALL been EXTRA weepy this month. Nevertheless, we are also happy, hopeful, and for the most part, at peace. We appreciate ALL of the love, concern, help, ETC., from everyone. We are blessed beyond our prayers. Bless you all. Here we go, off to June!