Today I hosted our monthly Daughters of the Utah Pioneers meeting. Although I was unreasonably nervous about the event, it went off splendidly. For refreshments I made Ree's cinnamon rolls, hot spiced cider, little Toblerone chocolate peaks, and (the ubiquitous) mixed nuts (to which I added candy corn). A late autumn/early winter storm is blowing in, but the house was (hopefully) warm, bright, and inviting (and smelled really, really good because of all the baking).
We have (I believe) 18 members of our little camp, but usually between 12-15 attend each meeting. Not being a coffee drinker nor a teacher, I had to scavenge around all our cupboards for enough mugs for everyone. Fortunately, only eleven people attended, so I didn't even have to use the Wendover Casino mug. (Whew.) It seemed like everyone had a good time; they were all very complimentary toward the house and the refreshments.
(About the only hitch was the telephone call I received in the middle of Paula's ancestor history--Zee bumped his ear hard on the playground during recess, and it was bleeding. The school called me to report the injury, and to let me talk to Zee on the phone and calm him down a little more. He got to have a little ice pack to hold on his ear, and was thrilled to be the center of attention for the rest of kindergarten. He is so my child.)
And now, all the chairs are put away, the dishes in the dishwasher, and my children have pigged out on leftover rolls and candy corn. The main part of the house is sparkling clean--I really should entertain more often. I mopped and scrubbed and organized and dusted and tidied--I even raked the leaves off the lawn and swept the front walkway.
Of course, with the storm blowing in, raking the leaves was apparently pointless. This is what my yard looked like yesterday as we were finishing:
And this is what it looked like this morning:
At least Em had a great time helping me.
Finally, did you watch "Glee" last night? My cousin Aaron Fotheringham (he was born with spina bifida, just like Gee) was the stunt double for the character "Artie", a teenager with a wheelchair. We were all actually a little disappointed, because the only "stunts" we could see were tipping the wheelchair up and around, like dancing. That's not easy, I know, but Aaron does these amazing, crazy, scare-you-to-death skateboard-type tricks on his wheelchair. I was sort of hoping for something like that! But, anyway, if you pause the show at just the right spot, you can see Aaron's hand--much bigger and tanner than the actor who plays "Artie". I'm famous-by-association! (Or relation.)
I am so glad your party went over so well. So sorry for Zee, I hope he is okay.
ReplyDeleteThis is going to be a long comment because
ReplyDelete1) I've been pondering joining the DUP and starting a single-girls camp in my ward (there are a few women who seem very interested in the idea), but I have misgivings about required time investment and any culture of exclusivity that might exist in the organization. My main motivation is I want access to any family histories they have on my collateral lines, but I should probably make an effort to participate rather than just sit in the library. I would love to know how long you've been a member and what your overall experience has been like. If a busy mother like yourself can make it work, must not be an unreasonable time investment?
2) I catch Glee whenever I can and I saw that episode. It was easily my favorite episode so far, with an startling final scene to be sure. I LOVED the "Dancing with Myself" sequence, and am very impressed with the elegance of your cousin's performance, even if it wasn't all he had to offer. Maybe they'll let him get funkier in future episodes as Artie's character (hopefully) becomes more prominent in the storylines.
Marie!! Thanks for commenting. I have been a member of DUP for all of four meetings. (In fact, I just got my shiny new membership card in the mail TODAY.)
ReplyDeleteI was ambivalent about joining DUP for a while, because it IS an exclusive club--that is, if you don't have at least one ancestor who crossed the plains between 1847 and May 10, 1869, you can't join. One of my ancestresses came to Utah in 1876 or something, on the train, and was very hurt that she couldn't be part of the DUP. It was the primary women's social club in her area, and it really made her bitter that, even though she married a man with pioneer heritage, she still couldn't join.
So coming from that, I was a little apprehensive. But, in my area at least, I'm pretty sure there isn't anyone who is just dying to be part of DUP but can't. Our camp is made up of 15 women 70+ years old, 2 women 45+ years old, and me. So...yeah, don't think the social aspects are real essential anymore.
About the time investment--I don't know what it would take to actually form a camp, rather than join one that is already there. Right now we have monthly meetings, and we sign up to give a 15 minute ancestor history, roughly once a year. There are other tasks, but they are voluntary and (at least in my camp) there are usually others who want to do them.
You'll have to let me know what you decide. I love it, because I love spending time with some of the older women in the ward, and I love love LOVE learning about the pioneers (so far, our lessons have been about pioneer midwives, pioneer doctors, and Fort Utah. Awesome lessons!!!), and I love genealogy. So, what I can say? This is the club for me!