Helen Clegg, Quilting Friend, Leaves her Family Wrapped in Her Love

Posted on November 30, 2022 by Ann Laemmlen Lewis

Today we said farewell to our dear friend, Helen Clegg.  We’ve quilted together for more than 25 years.  She was the President of the Utah Valley Quilt Guild in the mid-1990s when I started quilting and she invited me to be on her UVQG Board.  I started there as a writer and newsletter editor.  Before long, I took my turn as the guild President in 1997-98.  Helen and I have served and quilted together ever since.

I went early to her funeral this morning because I had to leave early to meet with my oncologist.  I figured Helen would excuse me.  It was cancer that took her this week.

As I sat in the back before the meeting, family members came in, one by one, with arms filled with the quilts Helen had made for each of them–children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren all received her quilts.  They were well-used and well-loved.  It was a touching sight.  I wish I could have stayed to see all of the quilts arrive as the room filled with love for a fitting send off to our dear quilting friend.

This is our dear Helen:

Obituary for Helen Colleen (Brown) Clegg
August 30, 1939 ~ November 23, 2022 (age 83)

Helen Colleen Brown Clegg, age 83, peacefully passed away surrounded by loved ones on November 23, 2022. Helen was born on August 30, 1939, in Provo Utah to Paul Anthony and Helen Palmer Brown. She grew up in Provo and graduated from Provo High School in 1957. She met the love of her life, Kenneth Clegg, at the age of 4 and later kindled their relationship and were sealed on October 23, 1956, in the Salt Lake Temple. She was blessed to be the mother of 8 children and devoted her life to her family.

She was a devoted member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and held several callings in the Stake and Ward including Primary President, Stake Blazer Leader, Relief Society, Young Women President and Camp Director.

Alongside her husband, she was involved in the scouting program for 55 years. She helped lead boys from Tiger Cubs through the rank of Eagle Scout. All five of her sons earned the rank of Eagle Scout. She earned several awards including Silver Beaver, Woodbadge, District Hall of Fame, and Rock of Squaw Peak. She was honored with the 1st annual influential Women in Scouting award in 2010.

She was an avid quilter and was the President of the Utah Valley Quilt Guild and a member of the Thimblecreek quilt group. She made sure that each of her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren, all received one of her quilts. She made, quilted, and donated over 650 quilts to various humanitarian projects, and has quilts as far away as Nepal.

She has 8 children, 32 grandchildren and 41 great-grandchildren.

She is survived by her husband of 66 years, and her children Stan (Katrina), Steven (Kay), Diane, Robert (Laurie), Sharon (Mark), Andrew (Angela), and Melinda (Scott). She is preceded in death by her parents, her sisters Wanda Morley and Pauline Knight, brothers Stanley and William, her son Paul Wesley Clegg, and daughter Sarah Helen Clegg (stillborn).

A viewing for family and friends will be held on Tuesday, November 29, 2022, from 6:00-8:00 pm at Sundberg-Olpin Mortuary, 495 South State in Orem. Funeral services will be at 11:00 am on Wednesday, November 30, 2022, at the LDS Chapel located at 1035 South 800 East in Orem with a viewing held that morning at the church from 9:30-10:30 am prior to the services. Burial will be in the Provo City Cemetery.

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Making Snowballs — A Fun Quilt!

Posted on November 27, 2022 by Ann Laemmlen Lewis

Here’s another UFO (Unfinished Project) I’ve pulled out to finish this month.  I started making these snowballs maybe 10 or 12 years ago, using Civil War reproduction fabrics.  It’s a simple fun project that needs to see the light of day.  Today I got these rows put together.  Next week I’ll take it to be quilted.

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Do Not Procrastinate the Day of Your Repentance!

Posted on November 27, 2022 by Ann Laemmlen Lewis

As I looked out over my garden today, I felt sad for these tomatoes.  They were still green a few weeks ago on the day before our first hard freeze.  That afternoon, before the storm blew in, I harvested any tomato with even the slightest blush of red.  I filled our counter tops with cookie sheets full of tomatoes ripe and ripening.  They have now been eaten or shared with others.

The hundreds of tomatoes left hanging on the vines in the cold were still hard and green.  As you can see, some of them were protected enough to ripen after the freeze.  But we were out of town.  They were too late for me to pick.

As I looked at these tomatoes today, a scripture came to mind.  “Do not procrastinate the day of your repentance.”  Now, I know that tomatoes have little choice in the matter, but I do.  Don’t wait until it’s too late.  Act now.  Be good now.  Help now.  We don’t know when the storm might blow in.  We don’t know when it will be everlastingly too late.

The prophet Alma and his companion, Amulek preached among a wicked people called the Zoramites.  Amulek told them:

For behold, this life is the time for men to prepare to meet God; yea, behold the day of this life is the day for men to perform their labors.

And now, as I said unto you before, as ye have had so many witnesses, therefore, I beseech of you that ye do not procrastinate the day of your repentance until the end; for after this day of life, which is given us to prepare for eternity, behold, if we do not improve our time while in this life, then cometh the night of darkness wherein there can be no labor performed.

Ye cannot say, when ye are brought to that awful crisis, that I will repent, that I will return to my God. Nay, ye cannot say this; for that same spirit which doth possess your bodies at the time that ye go out of this life, that same spirit will have power to possess your body in that eternal world.

For behold, if ye have procrastinated the day of your repentance even until death, behold, ye have become subjected to the spirit of the devil, and he doth seal you his; therefore, the Spirit of the Lord hath withdrawn from you, and hath no place in you, and the devil hath all power over you; and this is the final state of the wicked.

(Alma 34:32-35)

These spaghetti squash also missed out, but they were my fault.  Not enough time to eat them, not enough time to harvest them.

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How I Eat Pomegranates

Posted on November 26, 2022 by Ann Laemmlen Lewis

When my brother Eric visited last week, he brought several crates of produce from the home farm in Reedley.  Valencia juice oranges, tangerines, walnuts, persimmons, grapes and pomegranates.  I miss our fall harvest.  He also brought a few treats from SunMaid, which is near our home.  All of these treats remind me of my childhood and make me happy.

In case you were wondering about the best way to eat a pomegranate, here’s my favorite way:  break open and seed the pomegranate, removing all of the dividing section pieces, put the seeds in a bowl and add broken walnuts.  When you eat the seeds with walnuts, you hardly notice the pomegranate seeds–it all just tastes nutty and DELICIOUS!  Enjoy!

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Lewis Thanksgiving Feast 2022

Posted on November 24, 2022 by Ann Laemmlen Lewis

Here’s a look at our Lewis Thanksgiving Feast, held today in Alpine at the Jeffrey and Kathleen Lewis home.

Our Menu:

 

John’s pie plate!

Our family is growing.  We definitely feel the 3 generations represented here, ours, our children, and now grandchildren.  I hope Grandpa and Grandma John and Peggy were able to look in on us today and feel our love.

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Lewis Thanksgiving Prep 2022

Posted on November 24, 2022 by Ann Laemmlen Lewis

Uncle Jeffrey sent these photos yesterday as we are all looking forward to our Thanksgiving feast.  This year, there are 68 on the guest list, so we’re upping our game to 4 turkeys!  Jeffrey is the Turkey Master.  He brined them overnight and this morning they are in the oven!

I’ve never had tastier turkey.  Jeffrey has really perfected the process, using fresh herbs from his garden.

Aunt Diana is the Roll Queen.  She sent this out to all of us this morning as she was baking before the gathering:

She later showed me her baking schedule spreadsheet and how she kept track of 4 double batches of dough this morning.

Here’s what she brought–enough for 3/person!

Here’s her recipe:

Directions

Place warm water in the bottom of Bosch with yeast and sprinkled slightly with a little sugar. After yeast looks “soft”, add and mix ingredients in this order: sugar, melted butter and coconut oil (melt these together), 4 cups of flour with salt mixed in. Mix together until smooth. Add 1 generous cup dry milk; mix together well. Add 2 eggs; mix together well. Add 4 more cups flour; mix until smooth. Add 2 more cups flour, 1 cup at a time until dough starts to pull away from sides of bowl. Mix 5 minutes until dimply and sweaty; dough will be soft. Cover dough with clean tea towel and place away from drafts; rise until double in size about 40-50 minutes.

Punch dough down as you turn it onto floured surfaced. Roll entire batch of dough into large oblong circle. Spread 1 cube melted butter over dough; cut the dough into sections that allow you to cut long triangles (pizza cutter works great); roll up from long end to form a crescent shape; place on greased cookie pans with “tail” tucked underneath.

Cover rolls with clean tea towel and let rise another 40-50 minutes on pans.
Bake at 375˚ for 10-12 inures or until golden brown.

——————-

This is the first time in many years that we haven’t celebrated our Wednesday “Pie Day” as a family.  Aunt Di, who hosted this event in past years recently moved into a townhouse with a small kitchen, so this year, pie assignments were given out and pies were made in various homes.  Chrissy Lassen is our Pie Queen.  We had 20 pies this year which included the following:

John and I took care of our food assignments –candied yams, fresh cranberry relish, Leah Camp’s Jell0 (Lowell’s mother’s recipe), and butter for Di’s rolls.

As these photos flew between our family members this morning in our group text, anticipation heightened and our mouths watered.  The Lewis Family does Thanksgiving well.

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Have I been one of those, never knowing??

Posted on November 22, 2022 by Ann Laemmlen Lewis

“He Healed Many of Diverse Diseases” by J. Kirk Richards

I’m thinking about Jesus healing the sick, one by one. What if I’d been there then, with a hidden cancer in my body that I didn’t know was there. I wouldn’t have gotten in the line to be healed, leaving room for those who had obvious needs. I would have stood, quietly watching the miracles, one by one. WOULD JESUS HAVE HEALED ME TOO, even if I didn’t know I needed to be healed? Did healing require his touch? I don’t think so. I wonder if others were healed who didn’t even know they were sick, just because they had faith and believed in Him. Would I have be one of those, never knowing? HAVE I been one of those, never knowing??

Healing by J. Kirk Richards

Luke 7
2 And a certain centurion’s servant, who was dear unto him, was sick, and ready to die.

3 And when he heard of Jesus, he sent unto him the elders of the Jews, beseeching him that he would come and heal his servant.

4 And when they came to Jesus, they besought him instantly, saying, That he was worthy for whom he should do this:

5 For he loveth our nation, and he hath built us a synagogue.

6 Then Jesus went with them. And when he was now not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying unto him, Lord, trouble not thyself: for I am not worthy that thou shouldest enter under my roof:

7 Wherefore neither thought I myself worthy to come unto thee: but say in a word, and my servant shall be healed.

8 For I also am a man set under authority, having under me soldiers, and I say unto one, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.

9 When Jesus heard these things, he marvelled at him, and turned him about, and said unto the people that followed him, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.

10 And they that were sent, returning to the house, found the servant whole that had been sick.

And later in the chapter, to the woman who anointed his feet with her hair:
50 And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.

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Person Number 8 Billion Born Today

Posted on November 20, 2022 by Ann Laemmlen Lewis

Today the 8 billionth person on earth was born.
Earth has added a billion people in just the last 12 years.

I am just one.  But I know Jesus notices me.

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Winter–a Perfect Time to Rest

Posted on November 20, 2022 by Ann Laemmlen Lewis

“The winter solstice time is no longer celebrated as it once was, with the understanding that this is a period of descent and rest, of going within our homes, within ourselves and taking in all that we have been through, all that has passed in this full year which is coming to a close . . . like nature and the animal kingdom around us, this time of hibernation is so necessary for our tired limbs, our burdened minds.  Our modern culture teaches avoidance at a max at this time:  lights, shopping, overworking, over spending, comfort food and consumerism.

“And yet the natural tug to go inwards as nearly all creatures are doing is strong and the weather so bitter that people are left feeling that winter is hard, because for those of us without burning fires and big festive families, it can be lonely and isolating. Whereas in actual fact winter is kind, she points us in her quiet soft way towards our inner self, towards this annual time of peace and reflection, embracing the darkness and forgiving, accepting and loving, embracing goodbye the past year.

“Winter takes away the distractions, the buzz, and presents us with the perfect time to rest and withdraw into a womb like love, bringing fire and light to our hearth  . . .  and then, just around the corner the new year will begin again, and like a seed planted deep in the earth, we will all rise with renewed energy once again to dance in the sunlight.”

Life is a gift ❤ a Happy winter to you all!
Written by Bridget Anna McNeil
Artwork by Jessica Boehman

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The Process Begins: Meeting my Surgeon

Posted on November 17, 2022 by Ann Laemmlen Lewis

I’m feeling more calm and more happy today after meeting with Dr Jennifer Tittensor, who will do the surgery on my breast.  She went over the biopsy results with me and the news is good.  The tumor is small–only 3 mm.  It’s a grade 1, or slow-growing type.  It has positive estrogen and progesterone receptors, which will help if I need chemo treatments.

Dr Jennifer does most of the breast surgeries in this valley, using a special technique that’s been very successful.  You can read about it in the article below, if you like.  I thought it was fascinating.

Next month we’d planned to spend a week with Claire and Graham who are temporarily living in Germany, then we 4 planned to travel to Israel for 2 weeks during Christmas.  When we talked about that trip with Dr Tittensor, she said, “Take The Trip!!  We can deal with this when you get back.”   That was happy news.  I am looking forward to this distraction before the surgery in January after we return.  I am feeling hopeful and confident that I’m in good hands.

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