Is There a Doctor in the House?

I have finally decided that it is time for a new doctor. I have been unhappy with mine for a little while, but it seems like so much trouble to find a new one. My kids don't like our current doctor at all. Randy is usually fine with whatever, but his latest illness forced him to the doctor's and he had to see a partner. It didn't go well at all and even he is ready for a change.

I just hated the idea of having to start all over. I've been going to this office since I was married! That's quite a while! But something has to change. I like the nurses at our office, but I have problems with every one of the doctors. I know that no one is perfect, but there's the doctor who shoves a prescription at you and pushes you out the door, the doctor who thinks he knows everything, the doctor who fished a tongue depressor out of the trash to look down Randy's throat, the technician who is usually surly, the office personnel who think they are trained doctors themselves and don't mind discussing your symptoms with the whole waiting room. Yes, it's just a bunch of fun going to the doctor.

So here's my plea - help me find a new doctor. If you live in the area and love your doctor, tell me about him or her. And if you hate your doctor, tell me so that I can avoid him or her. If you don't live in the area, tell me what you looked for when you picked your doctor and what you wish you had looked for. I am just dragging my feet on this, but it's time to do something.

I will say that I had a great visit with the allergist. He listened! Shocking, yes? And took a complete history from me. And then he ordered some tests. And then he even answered all my questions! His name is Dr. Harris and he's great. The result of all those tests is that I have major hay fever factors (which I knew) and that's about it! I am NOT allergic to nuts, and very slightly allergic to soy, cats, and dogs - not enough to avoid any of those things, just enough to say, hm, how about that. So my family practice doctor's idea that my cats are to blame for all my hives and my hypothetical asthma that may come back at some point in the future are totally off.

So we still need a new regular doctor. Give me your suggestions, your complaints, anything!

Art Museum and Pumpkinland

Will and the Machine

Our Trip to the Springville Art Museum.

We decided to stay close to home for the Fall Break this year, so we took a trip to the Springville Art Museum. If you've never been there, you're missing out. First of all, the museum is completely free. It's hard to beat that! And secondly, it's easy to get to, just off State Street in Springville. There's sculptures outside and all kinds of stuff inside. We went on a Friday and they were serving a little lunch inside. And they have a gift shop!

Entertaining: Favorite Ladies II
by Jeanne Leighton Lundberg Clarke

They mostly have local artists, but don't be fooled - some amazingly talented people have lived and painted in Utah. The BYU Art Museum has a more well rounded collection, but there are still some great paintings in the Springville Museum, many by living artists. I love this one by a woman who used to work at BYU. This one is very cool because it has a collection of women from famous paintings, all gathered together to have tea. See how many women and their painters you can recognize. Props for getting more than five. (For answers, click here.)

Utah Impressionism

I thought I got the name of the painting and artist in the picture, but as you can see, it just barely got cut off. This was one of the paintings I really liked. I admit that I have eclectic tastes, but what I really enjoy is art that creates a mood. I thought this was just incredible.

Special Exhibit

One of the interesting things about the Springville Art Museum is their extensive collection of post World War II Russian art. Their website has a little background, but not much explanation about how a bunch of Soviet art wound up in Utah. Right now they have a special exhibit of art by Nikolai Borisovich Terpsikhorov, mostly celebrating Soviet life and culture. Lots of pictures of guys in tall, furry hats, but unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures.

Various Picture Book Illustrations
by Will Terry

Then we got to the kids' favorite exhibit - Picture Book Art. This was so much fun! They had all kinds of pictures from various books on the wall, including some by James Christensen and Brett Helquist, of Series of Unfortunate Events fame. They stuck a big, comfy couch in the middle of room and bookshelves full of the books by these artists so you could check them out for yourself. Ellen loved the picture of the frog above, while Sarah liked a picture from The Library Lion and Will and I loved 600 Black Spots, an AMAZING pop-up book. Most of the books are available at the gift shop.

Corn Maze at Pumpkinland

Then Monday it was time for our annual trip to Pumpkinland. We love to go to this little corn maze and pumpkin patch. It's just up the street from our house and it gets bigger every year. We thought about going on Saturday, but we got too busy. And every time we drove past, the parking lot was completely full with all kinds of people everywhere.

But this time, procrastination paid off. Monday was much less crowded and we got a prime parking place, right in front. Sarah was feeling under the weather (and she doesn't like the maze much anyway), so she stayed home while the rest of us - Randy, Ellen, Will, and me - tramped our way through corn stalks and dead ends, on to the pumpkin patch.

Corny Jokes

One of the best (or not!) features of Pumpkinland is the great variety of silly jokes posted throughout the maze. Ever noticed that there's always one person who has to read EVERY SINGLE ONE OUT LOUD? That would be Will.

Our family portrait

And every year there's a chance to get our pictures taken in one of these cutouts. In case you can't tell, I'm the attractive tree, Randy is the sexy scarecrow, and Will is the little pumpkin.

Will and his new friends

And there's scarecrows, witches, ghosts, and of course, PUMPKINS everywhere.

And they HUFFED,
and they PUFFED,

And they have the little houses and play area too. Ellen loves to see the bunnies and funny looking chickens. I like the goats. This is not the best picture of me, but I was hunched over trying not to get hay in my hair. Ellen looks good though.

So that's what we've been up to. Art and pumpkins. How's that for culture?

Birthdays and Other Good News

My birthday girl!

October is a busy birthday time around here. My sister had her birthday recently and just two days later, Sarah had her birthday. I'm not allowed to tell you how old my sister turned (she can still be happy - I'll always be older!), but Sarah turned 14. Doesn't she look great? I made a fruit pizza for my sister's birthday (the recipe is on my other blog) and a guitar cake for Sarah. 

Sarah got some nice presents, like a gift card, a book, some clothes, a game, and a CD for Singin' in the Rain. Here's a picture of her fabulous cake.

Are you so impressed? You should be! I think it looks pretty darn good. Then we got a fun surprise when the Young Women came to our door and sang Happy Birthday to Sarah! They are a sweet bunch of girls. I heard it was Erica and her sisters who thought of it. Thanks, girls!

And my other good news - my mom is just fine! She went to the oncologist this week and found out that her condition is not likely to change any time soon, and maybe never. This skin condition may be chronic, but is not likely to lead to anything worse. So Mom is pretty uncomfortable, but she says the antihistamines help. But as long as her lymph nodes stay clear, she has nothing to worry about.

Thanks for all your prayer and support. I can't tell you how much that has helped me. I feel so blessed to have such good friends who are willing to support me by their faith.

That River in Egypt

Lately I've been spending some time on that river in Egypt - you know the one? The one called DeNial? Yep, that's me, just sort of floating down the river, nice and comfortable. 

I really appreciate all the kind notes on my last comment. I didn't mean to be mysterious or dramatic - I just wanted to share that quote about faith because I found it really helpful in the middle of a difficult situation.

At the same time, I didn't want to talk about the situation because - well, because. You know that ostrich, how it copes by danger by sticking its head in the sand and hoping the problem will go away? Actually, I think that's a myth. I don't know why they do that. But that's what I've been doing. Sticking my head in the sand. Because if I don't talk about it, it will go away.

Here's the news and I'm just going to say it. My mom just found out she has skin cancer. This has been hard to talk about, much less blog about and put it out there for everyone. But it is not something that's going to go away. Right now, she doesn't know much except that this is a very rare condition, affecting between 1 to 2 people in a million. She is itchy and miserable, but so far, that's all. 

I am trying to be positive and supportive, but this is a terrible shock. I can't help thinking what this could mean. I told the kids and tried to come up with answers when I just didn't have any. And coming on top of all the other stuff we've had lately, this has just been really a big shock. I still don't know how I feel. She is worried, but trying not to panic. I know this has caught her off guard too. And not to make this about me either, because this is her health on the line, and she is the one who has to make some decisions and go through the treatment. Her first appointment with the oncologist is next week. I called the prayer roll at the temple, but I would appreciate more prayers for her and for my dad right now. Thanks for all your support.

General Conference

It has been a very difficult time lately, with even more difficult news that I'm not quite ready to share yet. So I watched LDS General Conference this weekend with a somewhat heavy heart. Just an hour or so in, I heard what I think will be my favorite quote this year from Elder Neal Anderson - "Faith is not just a feeling. It is a choice."

I have thought a lot about that since then. I feel like I already knew that, but to hear him put it in words makes such a difference. Faith really is something you choose, and to work best, it is something you have to choose over and over again, day by day, no matter what happens. So that is what I have to choose now. Faith.