A Brief History of True Roundy Feild

True and Verna Roundy.  Sisters.  

Yesterday was my mother's birthday.  I only got to chat with her briefly and then left my phone at work (oh, well), but I was thinking of my mother and my mom's mom.  I noticed that Trudy Anne, my cousin, posted the second biography of our grandmother True.  I read through this biography which I'm not sure I've read before (but nothing in the biography really surprised me.)  Yes, my grandmother loved to wander (sometimes in a book (even though she didn't approve of fiction), sometimes on the road, loved her baby sister, and family, and loved the ranch. If Grandma didn't have the "risk" gene, I would be very surprised. We have a picture of her in her late 50's or 60's riding a motorcycle...and we always joked about grandma speeding. Yes, she loved animals in her own way. Yes, she had a really hard time after Keith, my grandpa died.
Yes, the hardest thing about her getting old for me was we never laughed together anymore.  We were always giggling about something, and she stopped giggling her last couple of years. I missed laughing about something whether it be spilled milk, or someone saying something clever.
My grandma was a rock to a lot of people, and pretty much everyone who ever met and spoke with her, thought that True was their best friend.  The past couple of years since my grandma has died has been hard on my mom and the rest of the family (immediate and extended) but my mom is hanging in there...and hopefully will get to speak to my mom today.  Yay! And get a card out to my Aunt Hannah (Trudy's mother), whose birthday is today,  in the mail too.

http://trudyanne.wordpress.com/2014/01/12/breif-history-of-true-roundy-feild/

"True" Friendship

My cousin Trudy blogged about my grandmother True (yes, the names aren't a coincidence) yesterday.  Grandma or (Gra-ma) had a dear friend from Randolph, Utah, that she met up at Utah State.  Her friend, Kathleen, married after her freshman year, but Grandma and Kathleen stayed the best of friends.  I remember visiting Kathleen a few times and being "ordered" to stop by Kathleen's when I lived in Randolph one summer.   Kathleen and Grandma stayed friends for 70+years and died within three weeks of each other.  My mom and dad went to Kathleen's funeral and my mom reported how happy Kathleen's family were to see my parents.  Here's a link to Trudy's web-site.



And yes, my grandmother's French Bread?  Best. French. Bread. Ever. (really).

True Roundy Feild and Keith Alma Feild

My cousin Trudy started a family blog recently called "Trudy's Tree."  Trudy's first two entries are family histories of our grandma, True Roundy Feild, and our grandpa, Keith Alma Feild.  Although my "gramma" was suffering when she died just two years ago, two weeks ago, losing her was losing my "third" parent. My mother and her siblings refer to my grandma as Mama..and my cousins and I called her gramma..which I think was partly out of laziness..and partly because our parents called her mama.  I know Grandma True is in a better place but I think I'll always think of her this time of year.  Grandma True's  birthday is this week though and I plan to celebrate by laughing, reading Robert Frost, and eating fish sandwiches; something we both did together as a treat. We would often go out and get fish sandwiches to celebrate my birthday..or just as a special little thing we would do.

True Roundy Feild on left...Keith Alma Feild on right.  Both pictures taken in the 1940's I believe. 

My grandpa, Keith, died when I was seven years old from a recurrence of lymphoma.  I only have "little kid" memories of Keith, but I still remember many things about him.  He was a huge reader and would read to me, even when he was sick.  When my younger brother was born, I was excited, but the only person I didn't want to share Richard with was my Grandpa Keith.  He was a quiet man, but very loving..and intellectually curious.  Grandpa Keith didn't get a chance to get a college education, but he read engineering journals that a friend dropped off.  My mom says that she wishes my grandpa would've lived long enough to meet my youngest brother because he would've gotten a kick out of Steven.  Grandpa Keith also was well-read and loved literature.  Although my grandma True didn't approve of novels, my grandpa often had a library book tucked away to read after he finished the chores.  His book collection was eclectic, and I remember seeing his copy of "Roots," after he died.  Both my grandparents loved poetry and rhyme..and I think they both realized that I thought in rhyme..or responded to rhyme, because they both had me memorize poetry at a young age.  Anyway, reading my grandparent's histories (which I've read before..but its been several years) was interesting.  It was interesting to read what the two talked about in their personal histories.
Here's the link again.  http://trudyanne.wordpress.com

My Kind of Town...

I spent the 4th of July Holiday in Chicago with my parents and youngest brother.  We ate, we argued about McDonalds, we saw two baseball games, went on an architecural boat tour.  All in all, I think everyone enjoyed themselves and my brother and dad were ready to go back to Chicago (they had never been).

From Left: The building with what looks like a #4 on it was the "sexy" building  according to the tour guide.  Steven excited about having been to Wrigley Field.  A Family bean selfie.  Love the bean (okay, Cloud Gate). 

Upstairs, Downton

A few days ago my mom asked me whether or not I had seen the season finale of Downton Abbey.  I hadn't and so the next sentence out of her mouth....wasn't words.  I take that back. There might have been an "oh my" somewhere in that sentence of oh...............wow................oh.............my..........ah...oh..

So yesterday I caught up with Downton Abbey.  I was two episodes shy from the end of the show.  I don't consider Downton much more than a historical soap, but the show is fun and it's amazing to see how it's become a pop cultural icon here in the US, so I watch the show.  That and avoiding conversations like the one above with my mother.

Anyway, my thoughts about Downton Abbey without giving any plot spoilers away can pretty much be summarized by the cartoon below that's been circulating on the internet the past couple of weeks:

Val

I think I mentioned that my dad lost one of his closest friends on Thursday. Val was like a brother to my dad and an Uncle to my brothers and I.  So, rather than type anything, I'm just going to leave a link to his daughter in-law's blog that she published on Friday.

Here you go:
http://onafricanthyme.blogspot.com/2012/11/val-j-mortenson.html

Vermont Roundys

Last month I picked up my parents in Philadelphia and we spent a week driving around New England.  Our first stop was to visit Rockingham, Vermont where her great-great-great grandfather, Shadrach Roundy was born and lived until he was fifteen.  None of us had ever been to Vermont and we were impressed with the state.  Here's a couple of pictures my dad took in Rockingham.

We spent quite a bit of time in the cemetery looking for Roundy headstones.  Uriah Roundy, Shadrach's father, was buried in this cemetery, but we couldn't find the gravestone.  We think his family didn't have enough money for a slate gravestone so his grave is no longer marked.  There's a gap next to the headstone below where Uriah may be buried.

Captain John Roundy-He's a Revolutionary War Veteran. I believe this is Uriah's brother, but FamilySearch hasn't been cleaned up to tell for certain.  

The Meetinghouse in Rockingham, Vermont.  Shadrach and his family attended this building.  It's on the Historical Register.

.

ReEvaluate

This morning I received news that a family friend had passed away.  He was like a brother to my dad, and one of his son's is my "other" sibling. Needless to say, today has been a day of introspection and memories.    

Back

I've spent the last 5 weeks in Utah with my parents.

While there I:
worked;
held (my niece);
kept a secret from my mom;*
attended two graveside services;
regretted I didn't let my brother show me how to knife (an oyster);
teach the other niece how to eat berries obnoxiously;
caught up with a friend from high school;
rode bikes;
was invited to Nicaragua next year;
rode 2k miles in a car;
presented;
ate at the Ranchhand for the 3rd time in 6th months;
realized that my parents watch at least one sport every night (many nights two);
played Ligretto with old friends;
introduced a dog to a little boy who kept saying, "meow";
teased my other brother;
had one-on one time with my sister-in-law; and

many other now memories.

The secret? After work I wandered outside to help my dad with the garden.  While I prepared soil for his greenhouse he came over to me saying, "I don't have the seeds."  He set them down in a plastic bag and couldn't find them.  We looked for them for several minutes but because it was so windy we thought they could easily be halfway across the valley. I was then sworn to secrecy.  Well, he found them a few days ago in the window well and the seeds are now seedlings in the greenhouse.

Steven Knifing Oysters at Hood Canal

Happy Birthday, Hermano!

Steven at 20 months in the mid' 80s.  He wouldn't put the hat on (which is why he's not smiling either).

Grandma's Carrot Pudding

I'm not the biggest cake fan.  I think cupcakes are fun, and I like tres leches cake but I'd rather have a birthday pie, bars or even birthday cookies.  So this year when my mom suggested my grandmother's carrot pudding for my birthday today-I said, "great"!  This recipe was perhaps my grandma's signature dessert and I remember eating and loving it as a kid and adult.  In fact, I only found out recently that this recipe is actually English-and there's not much modification from the English recipe that was handed down to my grandma.

Carrot Pudding
1 cup grated apples
1 cup grated potatoes
1 cup grated carrots
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 cup melted butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup raisins
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon soda
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cloves
Lemon Clear Sauce

Shred apples, potatoes and carrots into large mixing bowl. Add remaining ingredients, mixing well.  Dust raisins with flour to prevent sticking together.
Fill four pint bottles 2/3 full with batter.  Cover loosely with lids.  Place on rack in pan.  Fill pan with water about 2/3 up on bottles.  Cover and simmer 1 1/2 hours or until done.
Serve warm with Lemon Clear Sauce.

Lemon Clear Sauce

1/2 cup sugar
1 cup cold water
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Combine sugar, cold water, cornstarch and lemon peel.  Boil until thickened.  Remove from heat.  Add butter and lemon juice.  Serve hot over Carrot pudding.  Serves four.

My mom decided to serve our carrot pudding with Buttermilk Caramel Syrup from "Our Best Bites" , otherwise known as "liquidy crack" in my world.

My grandma True Feild in 1986 looking at a monument in Wyoming. 

Wordless: Bear Lake Area Edition

(Lentil) Sloppy Joes!

I mentioned to my sister in law that I had a decent lentil sloppy joes recipe so she asked for it.  I then realized I took pictures of the recipe way back this Spring with the intention of blogging it.  So here it is.  It's really quite good and don't let the amount of ingredients intimidate, the recipe comes together in a flash!  Easy enough for a weekday dinner!  These are so good, my dad would love them (he has a thing against lentils).

Sloppy Lentil Joes

Adopted from JamieOliver.com and tastyeasyhealthygreen.com

•                    1 cup French lentils

•                    1 tablespoon olive oil

•                    1 small onion, peeled and diced

•                    1-2 medium carrots, peeled and diced

•                    ¾ cup tomato puree

•                    2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

•                    1½ tablespoons light brown sugar

•                    ½ tablespoon honey

•                    2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

•                    ½ teaspoon spicy chili powder

•                    ½ teaspoon smoked paprika

•                    Salt and pepper to taste

•                    Whole wheat tortillas/wraps

•                    Lettuce or baby spinach for garnish

Place lentils into a medium-sized pot.  Fill pot with water and stir in a good pinch of salt.  Cook the lentils for about 15-20 minutes or until they are cooked through.  Drain remaining water from the pot and set aside.

Heat oil in a medium-sized skillet.  Add onions and cook until they just turn translucent.  Add carrots cook until they are tender crisp. Add the cooked lentils to the skillet and then stir in the tomato puree, vinegar, brown sugar, honey, mustard, chili powder, and smoked paprika.  Add salt and pepper to taste and cook until the sauce has thickened up a bit.

http://tastyeasyhealthygreen.com/?p=1453

Wordless: Gettysburg Summer 2011 Edition

Wordless Wednesday: Peoa Edition

My Grandmother Feild's Obituary

1921 ~ 2011
True Roundy Feild, daughter of George Spencer Roundy and Hannah Agnes Marchant Roundy, completed her time on earth and left us early in the morning of September 2, 2011. She was born September 19, 1921 in Peoa, Utah where she spent her life. She loved her home in the mountain valley and the people there.


True graduated from South Summit High School and Utah State University where she obtained a bachelor's degree in Elementary Education. She taught 3rd grade in Kamas. After her marriage to Keith Alma Feild she devoted her life to her children, church, ranch, and community. 


She served faithfully and diligently in many church callings including a mission with her husband to Fort Thompson, South Dakota, where they grew to love the people there, and service in the Salt Lake City Temple. She was proud of her pioneer heritage so membership in Daughters of the Utah Pioneers was a joy to her. (These last few years were a trial to her. Because of her physical limitations she was unable to serve as she was accustomed to. ) And she found the time to attend many rodeos and other athletic events to cheer for her sons and grandchildren. 


Our mother taught us well in the important things of life. Her example and steadfastness showed us the way. We will always cherish her. She will be missed. True is survived by her children, Hannah Braithwaite (Kent), Joyce Buhler (Paul), John Feild (Becky), and Lewis Feild (Veronica), sixteen grandchildren and 25 " greats". 


She is now reunited with her husband, her parents, sister Verna, little brother John, and her son Richard. What a joyous time it must be.
Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. Friday, September 9,2011 at the Peoa Ward LDS Chapel. Friends may call on Thursday evening, September 8 from 6p.m. to 8 p.m. and on Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. prior to the services. Interment will be in Peoa Cemetery following the services.

The family expresses appreciation to all of True's friends, neighbors, and ward members who were such a support to her these last few years. A special thank you goes to the caregivers at the Beehive Home in Payson, Utah who took such good care of our mom these last six months. In lieu of flowers True would want you to make a donation to the Primary Children's Hospital or a charity of your choice

Steven and Anna got off to a bit of a rocky start. We tried it again later and although she wasn't so sure about him at first, they soon got along swimmingly!

(Click on the picture to see it better)

Catch-up, not Ketchup

Whoa, the last couple of months have been a little wild. Since September I've been to Europe, had a surgery, had a cold, bronchitis, a cold/sinus infection and another cold and was on three rounds of antibiotics (not at the same time)*, did a Secretarial Event at work, went to Washington and Oregon for Christmas and am now back in DC. Excuse me if I don't catch my breath before I continue.

Anyway, life really has been good. Being sick has given me time to stop, think about where my life is going and what I need to do to improve. For 2011, my theme is "focus". I've picked five areas that I feel I need to focus on, and I'm trying to spend my time working on those areas.

Those areas are:

spiritual/physical health

finances

writing

relationships

hobbies

I've also come up with a list of things I want to do this year. I'll probably share that list later (to keep myself accountable.

Last year, my theme really was submission. The year was full. There were a lot of great things that happened as well as tough things too. I've gained a greater appreciation (if that's the right word) of the lessons asthma has taught me, and the lessons I believe I need to learn. I'm more resolute in the conviction that I have to control the disease and not the other way around. Getting the asthma controlled has been a lifelong battle, but I know I can do it. There's people around me who have had to deal with much worse trials than mine, and I know I can turn my trials into assets.

I'm also so grateful for my life and for the people in my life. There's been so many people who have helped me, whether they realize they've assisted me or not. I've had so many instances in the past several months where friends, family or even strangers have done something to make things easier for me whether they realize it or not. Those experiences have really humbled me and made me more resolute in trying to assist others whenever I can-small or big.

So anyway, thanks for reading this if you got this far. Here's to 2011!

Wordless: Strange Joy Edition:

My Great-Uncle Russell

I didn't really know my great Uncle Russell who passed away last month. He and his wife lived in Michigan and I know I met them and saw them a little growing up when they were out visiting, but I don't recall any solid memories of Russell. Unfortunately, He wasn't as impressionable to a young kid like his pirate treasure hunter brother, Fay.

However, his daughter Marla lives on the Wasatch Front so we saw Marla here and there. She was always really nice and very cool.

Last summer, my parents picked me up from the Denver Airport so we spent a few days in Denver before going home to dinner. While we were there, we stopped in to see Russell's son, Brad in the hospital.

Brad suffered a major stroke the year before (I can't remember when) and lost virtually all control of his body. Brad wasn't old-early fifties and was very active-skied etc.

Anyway, His girlfriend was there at the hospital taking care of him-and planned to continue being there for Brad even though she was going to be laid off within the month as her office was closing and relocating to PA. Seeing her love for him-and Brad in the condition he was affected all three of us deeply.

Anyway, below is my great uncle's obituary.

To my uncle: "Uncle Russell, wherever you are, I hope you are well and happy-Say hello and give your brother Keith a hug for me. I still miss him. We all do."

Russell Wardahl Feild 1926-2010

Russell Wardahl Feild, age 84, passed away December 3, 2010 at St. Marks Hospital in Salt Lake City, Utah.Born April 19, 1926 in Rock Springs, Wyoming to Ruben Thomas and Ester Elmina Jensen. He volunteered for the Wyoming State Guard in 1943 at age 17.

In 1944 he graduated from Rock Springs High School in Rock Springs, Wyoming. Following graduation he began active duty in the Army Air Force. Following World War II he attended the University of Wyoming for a time. Upon leaving college he worked for Carter Oil Company and then Standard Oil of Indiana which later became Amoco Oil Company. After 41 years working in the oil industry he retired from Amoco to a quiet life living in Traverse City, Michigan with the love of his life Betty Katherine Balkie.

Though they had a typing class together in high school they did not begin dating until three years after graduating. They married June 6, 1950 and have been married 60 years. A milestone he was so proud of. He loved fishing on the Grand Traverse Bay and spending time working in the yard around his home in Michigan. His greatest joy in life was his children and he cherished spending time with them.

Russell will be remembered for his quiet strength and caring nature, his love and dedication to friends and family. Dad, you have been my rock these past 18 months and I am going to miss you dearly.

He is survived by his wife, Betty, two children, Brad Feild and Marla Feild. Preceded in death by his parents and five brothers. The family expresses deepest thanks to all of dad's loving care givers at Munson Medical Center and Boardman Lake Glens in Traverse City and Sunrise Senior Living at Holladay, St. Marks Hospital and Life Path Home Health in Salt Lake City. Funeral services will be held on Saturday, December 11, at 12:00 noon at Larkin Mortuary, 260 E. South Temple, Salt Lake City, Utah with a viewing beginning at 10:45 a.m. also at Larkin Mortuary. Interment will follow at Larkin Sunset Lawn Cemetery, 2350 E. 1300 S., Salt Lake City. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Alzheimer's Association(alz.org) P.O. Box 96011 Washington, DC 20090-6011 or The Agape Healthcare Foundation; 6041 S. Syracuse Way, Suite 220, Greenwood Village, Colorado, 80111 (The Hospice Agency caring for Russell's son Brad).

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/deseretnews/obituary.aspx?n=russell-feild&pid=147073621&fhid=13417