Millar Moments: WILL THE DRAMA A 2020 EVER END?????

September brought fires and winds to add to the devastation of the pandemic and the riots in America's city streets. In Oregon, where Andrea's and Ryan's families live, fires threatened both of them even though they live two and a half hours apart from each other. We first got a text message and picture from Andrea Tuesday morning, September 8, showing the eerie skies around Springfield due to a fire along the McKenzie highway just up the road from them. Several people from their ward had been evacuated to the safety of the church building close to Andrea. The fire started from a downed power line in the city of Blue River and the high winds sent it down the canyon along the highway. Sadly, the city of Blue River was completely destroyed.

Casey setting up a tent for a client in the smoke and ash.

Note the smoke too
close to their home

Later that day, I got a message from Katie in Medford saying they were surrounded by fires and that they were on a level one evacuation status, which is to be ready to leave if needed. By 9:00 that evening they packed up and left Medford to spend the night in Grants Pass, about an hour away. They returned to their home the next morning as the fires had switched directions. Later that afternoon, though, we received a picture of smoke within blocks of them. Pretty scary but gratefully that blaze was quickly contained. The main fire that started in Ashland was not contained until it had destroyed the towns of Phoenix and Talent, just south of Medford. Even before the big fire was contained many other fires popped up in the Medford area and the air quality soon became hazardous.

By Saturday morning of that week, Ryan and his family (and their dog, Sammy!), were in the car heading to Heber to spend some time with us. We're so grateful we had the room to accommodate them and that they felt comfortable staying here. We were so glad to get them out of harms way. They set up the basement into work and study areas. Each child had their special place to do their online school and Ryan adopted the downstairs office as his 9 to 5 work space. Katie was the monitor and trouble shooter for the children who needed help with their school. Except for eating times, we hardly knew they were here.

Even the dog, Sam, was here to stay

Looking almost
Apocalyptic

Meanwhile back in Springfield, their fire had split into two branches and one was getting close the Springfield. Andrea and Casey's neighborhood was put on level one evacuation status, so Wednesday afternoon they gathered what was important into boxe in order to be able to leave at a moments notice. When I talked with them Wednesday evening, Andrea said they had their valuables packed as well as three days worth of clothing and supplies. They also brought one of their box trucks home in case they were put on a level two status for evacuation. They planned to load the truck up with mattresses and take all three vehicles to their place of business in Eugene to spend the night. Luckily they were not notified to leave in the middle of the night. The high winds had died down so the threat was not imminent the next morning. The winds has also changed directions, blowing away from Springfield...a prayed for miracle. With all this, though, the air quality became dangerously toxic and Andrea had a hard time breathing due to her already sensitive lungs. She began to run a fever of 102 degrees and was coughing terribly due to congestion in her throat.

Luckily, Andrea, Charlotte, Jillian, and Maggie left on Friday to drive to Rexburg, Idaho so Jillian and Maggie could start school at BYU-I. The skies were clear in Idaho which was a welcome relief for Andrea. Her congestion and fever and cough decreased and her breathing returned to normal. Jillian and Maggie got all settled in to their apartments, excited for college life.

The visibility in Springfield

All of Oregon was ablaze. There were fires up and down the state. The sad thing is that people may have been setting many of these fires purposely. Andrea said, it is suspected that ANTIFA, and anti American group responsible for many of the riots across the U.S., could have started them as a way of disrupting, even more, the American way of life. Also, because of environmentalists concerns, Oregon, California, and Washington have not taken care of their forest floors so they are prime for massive fires.

Could all this really be caused by nature?

And then there were the high, tornado strength winds that hit Utah, at the same time as the Oregon fires. In Salt Lake City and northward to Farmington, the winds uprooted trees, blew roofs off homes, and overturned semi tracker trailers on freeways. Heber experienced winds but nothing as destructive as the ones in Northern Utah. Heber did have an uncharacteristic winter storm warning that first week of September, and the temperatures dropped down to freezing. Of course, we covered our garden to try and protect the remaining harvest - squash, cucumbers, potatoes, and carrots.

Our garden covered with an enormous brown tarp

Some good news...I was able to find more peaches so I could can another 6 quarts for a total of 32 quarts to go along with the 11 from last year. That should be sufficient. I also froze 15 bags of peach slush to add to the three in the freezer. We were told there was a shortage of peaches so we felt lucky to find more.

And then there was Paul's back......He started physical therapy the first week of September and it seemed to be working, along with a few exercises he was given to do. On Labor Day, he was feeling so good that he decided to work in the yard a bit. He was OK until later that night when his back started to feel achy again. Just before going to therapy the next afternoon, he had another back spasm attack that almost sent him to his knees. He was in so much pain, we barely got him to the therapist. He had a rough night on Tuesday and ended up trying to sleep out on the recliner. Sometime during the early hours of Wednesday morning, he offered a prayer to ask for relief. Soon, he experienced a jolt of some kind and, though the pain was still there, he felt a little relief. When he got up later that morning, there was no pain at all in his back. A miracle? FOR SURE! Meanwhile, our wonderful neighbors pitched in to mow our lawn for Paul and take up the garbage can to the street. We were so grateful for caring people like our neighbors.

On Labor day, we invited both Todd and Jon and their families to come to dinner. They both had things planned so we invited Deon and Gary, and Carrie and her family, to come share dinner with us. We put teriyaki chicken skewers on the grill and served them along with corn on the cob, potato salad, and a green salad with peaches and poppy seed dressing. It was good food and fun to have company for the holiday. BYU played their first football game that night so Gary and Deon, and Paul and I settled in to watch it in the theater. When the game became a blowout in BYU's favor, Deon and Gary left and we watched the ending later. The team looked spectacular. It's too bad their game schedule is so diluted, due to COVID, as this possibly is a team that could have competed with the big boys. We'll never know.

Todd and Kailee came up on the first Sunday that Ryan and family were here. They were able enjoy Ryan and Katie and family and even Sammy. After dinner, they played outside, jumping on the tram, climbing on the rocks, playing baseball with the big red bat, and enjoying the smoke free environment. Avery loved Sammy but Aria would have nothing to do with the dog.

Deon and Gary invited us all over to their home for a barbecue on the first Wednesday that Ryan and Katie were here. We wanted Ryan's girls to visit with Deon's granddaughters and get a feel for what it's like living in Heber and going to school. We were hoping a friendship would bloom and that Deon's Berlyn would call Aubrey and ask her to go do something while Aubrey was here. That didn't happen but it was a good visit anyway.

In Deon's backyard

Ryan and Katie ended up staying for 2 weeks. The skies finally cleared in Medford and they felt they needed to return home after being gone for 4 weeks of the last 5. (They had gone on a 10 day vacation to Washington just prior to the fires and smoke in Oregon.) While they were here Aubrey had some senior pictures taken. We found the name of a photographer from our bishop's wife who has a senior. The photographer happened to be her niece. Aubrey and Katie drove down Provo canyon to Vivian Park and the pictures were taken in that area with all the beautiful fall colors on the tress. The pictures turned out incredible. Of course, I don't think Aubrey could take a bad picture.

While the Millars were here, we also celebrated Ryan's birthday. His actual birthday was on Tuesday, the 22nd, but we decided to have a birthday dinner on Sunday, the 20th. Of course, Ryan wanted Cordon Bleu and stuffed potatoes. It was a lot of work but so worth it as the family loved the dinner. Later, we had the traditional Dairy Queen ice cream cake. We were glad to have the family here for Ryan's birthday as that has never happened before.

Great to celebrate Ryan's birthday together

A trick candle

The second week of Ryan's family's stay consisted of lots of on line studying, much frustration, and trying to find ways to get through the covid restrictions in Oregon. Many calls were made to the schools and coaches here in Heber to see if the children could enroll at quarter if they decided to come back so their children could actually attend school. Aubrey got really frustrated, to the point of tear, when she and Ryan went to a Wasatch Girls Volleyball game at the high school. It made Aubrey realized just what she was missing of her senior year and sports. If she would come to school here she could start swimming and maybe even find a club volleyball team on which to play. All these things were being considered while they were here.

Friday, before they left on Saturday, Ryan and Katie piled their children into the car to drive to American Fork canyon to have some family photos taken. After the picture taking session, we all met at Jon and Mindi's for pizza and pop. Ryan and Katie hadn't seen the monumental changes Jon and Mindi have made on their home so it was fun for Jon and Mindi to show off their handy work. We enjoyed our pizza and our visit. It's always nice to get together with family.

Grace and Nathan helped me decorate a cookie pizza
to take to Jon and Mindi's

On Jon's deck, enjoying each other and their gorgeous view.

On of many great family pictures taken in American Fork Canyon

Taken just before the Millars left for Medford
on Saturday morning

Saying good bye to the dog, Sammy

Meanwhile back in Eugene....The rains finally came and the breezes blew the smoke out of their valley. Surely a welcome relief for Andrea's family. Hopefully their business can pick up now that the skies are clear and the threat of fires is minimal. Andrea thinks she may have had COVID 19 when she took the girls to BYUI. She had the cough, sore throat, and fever. She even lost her sense of taste. It spread to Allison, Charlotte and Lydia. Of course, it all could have been just a cold or congestion brought on by the smoke. We'll never know unless they go get tested for antibodies.

This is the Oregon we know and love - RAIN

This month, we went to one of Jaiden's football games. He plays both offense and defense and is pretty good. He scored all three touchdowns but in a losing effort. After the game. we went to Jon and Mindi's so Dad could help Jon put up some Batten Board to the outside of of his home. They got quite a bit done before we has to leave for a commitment in Spanish Fork. I needed to attend a drop in baby shower for Masha, a young adult from Russia who got married a year or so ago and is now expecting a baby. It was good to see her and visit for a few minutes.

Jaiden is number 15, in the backfield

On that same Saturday, I went to another shower. It was a wedding shower for Deon's granddaughter, Aspen. Because of regulations in California, they could not do a shower there so Kim and Aspen drove to Utah for this party and to find a wedding dress. The shower was well attended with aunts and cousins and friends in attendance. Kathy Bulkeley even brought Mom all the way to Heber to be a part of the celebration. I only got there at the end because of happenings on the other side of the mountain but, at least, I could give Aspen and Kim and Mom hugs.

The garden is now mostly harvested. Nathan and Grace helped picked the squash and pull the vines. Ryan helped dig out the corn stocks, and a few days later, Nathan helped Grandpa dig up the potatoes. Now all that is left in the garden are the carrots. We ended up with several large squash and 8 boxes of potatoes. Nathan, especially, loved helping Paul in the garden and going to the dump.

The squash harvest minus on large one we gave to our neighbor.

Grace and Nathan wondered if we could make pie out of squash.
I knew we could so we cooked the squash down, scraped it off the rind,
pureed it, and added it to a pumpkin pie recipe. The pies tasted
wonderful and were gone before we knew it. The one on the right has a coconut
pecan topping on it for a different taste.

Nathan helping 'Pa' dig the potatoes

On a sad note, during the last week of the month, Paul got word that a young adult, who grew up in our ward, was killed in a car accident in Salt Lake. He was hit broadside by of driver who ran a red light, was speeding, and drunk. Kayden Baxter was killed instantly. He is the son a Jared and Donelle Baxter, in our ward. What make this even harder is that the family has been split apart by a nasty divorce so each parent is having to deal with this loss without the support of the other. We went to the viewing at the church, The next morning, we attended the funeral which was held as a graveside service at the cemetery. Hundreds were in attendance and the funeral was full a sweet memories and tributes to Kayden. He was only 20.

At the end of the month, we were finally able to take a ride around the Alpine Loop, hoping to see the changing colors of the leaves. We took Deon and Gary with us. We had been trying to get this trip done for two weeks but schedules wouldn't allow it. Hence, there was not the extravagant display of colors that we had hoped. We saw some beautiful vistas but had to imagine what it had been like earlier in the season. (The Provo Canyon was beautiful this year, though, so we did get a taste of the magnificence of Fall.) The Alpine Loop ends in American Fork canyon so we drove on into Draper via the Suncrest Highway, another pretty drive that Deon and Gary had never seen. We ate lunch at Freddie's and then returned home just in time to go to Kayden's viewing at the church.

Overlooking Deer Creek Reservoir

Waiting for a construction crew to let us pass.
They were securing the hillside with wire to prevent rock slides.

It's been another crazy month - drama, contention, worry, frustration - but we made it and will continue to trust in the Lord to get us through these perilous times.

A must share to bring a smile to our hearts.........