Happy Memorial Day

Every Memorial Day weekend, my relatives get together and visit my Grandma Mano's grave in Cottonwood Heights and then we do what we do best, get together and eat.

This year was no different, except that we didn't make it to the cemetary due to a cranky little one (not me). So I thought I'd post a couple of pictures of my spunky grandma and tell part of her life story (as told by my dad):

When I was only 3 years old, the Japanese were evacuated from the West Coast, course I don't remember that, but I can imagine what a tough and terrible thing it was for Mom & Dad, to have to leave a successful produce business and leave their home with everything loaded into their truck with their little kids, I was three and Irene was just one. Mom talked about those days by saying, they were told that they needed to destroy everything that showed they were in Japan, so they destroyed or burned all these memories from Japan. She tells of selling everything for 10 cents on the dollar, she told of a black woman who said, "I know how you feel, we've been going through this all of our life". The family moved to Utah during the voluntary evacuation phase, and stayed first in Layton, where we lived in a converted chicken coop for a time.

After Layton, we moved to Rockport, where dad farmed. I remember that we grew a lot of lettuce which did well in the cool weather. I remember mom working hard in the fields, and being pregnant and working right up to the time she delivered, but I don't know which of the kids was born there, but it must have been Ron or Sharon.

I don't remember much about Rockport, but there was an old schoolhouse, which was no longer being used, just about across the street from our house, then there were about 4 houses in a row across the street from the school. In front of our houses was the school and on the other side of the school was the main road going from Peoa, Wanship and Coalville going toward Park City. Park City was an old mining ghost town, with only a couple of people living there. One time the rains came and the water poured down the canyon and completely flooded our fields.

Those buildings from Rockport were moved to Lagoon for the pioneer village there and you can't visit the place where we lived now unless you have scuba equipment since the Rockport Dam was built (and where we lived is now the lake).

I remember that these young men would come and pick up the crates of lettuce and carry them out of the fields, but these guys would hold the heavy crates of lettuce with two hands and carry them over their head and my parents were so impressed at how strong they were.

The Brown's lived a couple of houses down, they are the ones who had a well, and we would have to go down there and get our water. It was a typical well like you see in the movies, with a rock wall and a crank that let the bucket down and you would crank it to get the water up.

Mom told Carolyn of a time that she carried the bucket of water back and when she got it to the house and looked at it, there was a frong in it, so she dumped it out and then thought, that was stupid, if I go back and get another bucket its the same water that the frog was in. The Brown's remained life long friends and attended marriages and other events for years after we moved away.

I went to school in Coalville and rode the bus to school, that was in the first grade, until we moved to Murray on 45th South and about 5th East.

Our farm was south of 45th South and we had a very long driveway to get to the house. Part of the farm was around the house, there was a small garage type building to the right of the house with a road which led toward the fields and the lower part of the farm, which was next to the lttle stream which ran at the bottom of the farm. In the summer, the Fish and Game trucks would come and plant trout in the stream, after planting, you could see hundreds of fish in the stream. I don't remember that we ever went fishing though. There was a little area next to the farm where there was kind of a pond in the stream and kids had a rope strung from a tree and they would swing over the water and drop down into it.

We lived there until I was in the 6th grade. I used to order fireworks assortments from out of state and sell them to other kids in the neighborhood, it wasn't really legal, but it was fun having fireworks. One time a police car drove up in front of the house and mom got really excited and thought that we had been caught and were going to be arrested, but he had brought a lady from some restaurant, who wanted to buy some vegetables.

In the sixth grade, our family moved to West Bountiful (Woods Cross) on Pages Lane. We farmed 10 acres there. Next to the house was a huge old tree, we nailed a basket to the tree where we would shoot baskets. Our water was from a flowing well to a faucet outside the house. The water for the farm was from another big flowing well at the other end of the farm. I remember drawing a square on the bricks on the side of the house and pitching a baseball against the house, it must have made a racket, but mom never complained, until I missed the wall completely and the ball went right through the kitchen window. Even then I don't remember Mom or Dad raising their voice or getting mad.

Mom worked in the fields every day as all of us kids did. We had a lot of hand work, growing radishes, parsley, green onions, table beets, turnips, green beans, dry onions. We had a tractor and did a lot of disking after the crops were harvested, so we could plant the next crop. Radishes grow really quickly and we could do several crops during the summer, since they took about a month to be ready to be bunched. I can still see Dick at 10 years old, running the tractor pulling the disks. Mom was really fast with her hands, seems like a lot of time, I would be working alone with her bunching radishes, parsley and green onions. We would pull them, put them neatlying into bunches and wrap them twice with a rubber band. I would always act like I was racing her and could actually come close sometimes, but she was really fast.

Our house had a high ceiling, I believe we eventually got running cold water in the kitchen (I'm not sure). The outhouse was behind the house, it was a 2 holer. The bath was in a bathouse attached to the back of the house. Dad must have built it, it had a metal tub, it must have been about 2 feet wide and about 4 feet long and about 3 feet deep. We would fill it with a hose, there was room to build a fire under the tub until it was hot. There was a wooden platform next to the tub, so we would soak in the tub, then get out to wash off. Seems like we should have washed first then got in the tub, maybe I just did it backwards. The water would run off into a little ditch behind the house.

At the end of the day, we would need to wash all the vegetables in the huge metal tub in the "shed" (it must have been about 4'x10'), then put them in boxes ready for market. We used to have Quality Produce pick them up every day, later on we took them to the produce market in SL, Ron did a lot of that.

We never thought about whether we were rich or poor, but doesn't seem like we ever did much, especially as a family, except on Memorial Day, we would always go to the Cemetary, then go to Lagoon afterwards. We must have done pretty well one year, we got a new 1955 yellow and white Chevy, I guess it was brand new, I don't remember.

At West Bountiful Elementary, the church was just around the corner, and once a week, all the kids in the school would walk from school and go to primary, we went with them and attended primary. I'm sure we didn't have a clue what that would lead to.

Omar Bangeter was a ward missionary and they started to come to teach us the lessons, I don't remember anything about them (kind of like sacrament talks the following day). Irene and I were baptized when I was 12 and she was 10. Ron and Sharon were baptized later. All of us kids were going to church and at some time, they asked mom to teach primary, even though she wasn't a member. I must have been a priest since I baptized her later. We were all active in the church, but there was still farmwork to be done on Sunday, so we would go to church, then come home and work on the farm. Dad also hired a lot of the kids in the neighborhood on the farm. Even though we worked hard long hours on the farm, we never came close to the number of hours dad worked. It was a great way for kids to learn how to work, but we also learned that we didn't want to be farmers.

We were always allowed to go to church and participate in church activites, I always loved playing church sports, softball and volleyball, strange... I don't remember much about playing basketball, I was probably too short anyhow. I remember playing volleyball a little bit, but it must have been enought to give me a taste for the game.

Mom went to work at Clintons Bakery, where they baked wheat bread. Clint Miller was the owner of the bakery, and the motto was "The Whiter the Bread, the Sooner you're dead". I went to work there part-time also, especially after the farm work was done, I would get the wheat from the round metal large round tin, covered bins outside and bring it in and load the wheat grinders, which would turn the wheat to flour. Mom worked in the bakery making bread and worked there for many years. She was a very well-liked worker.

Mom was working at Clinton's when I was called to go to Japan on my mission. We never talked about going on a mission when I was growing up and I had never really thought much about it, but when the time came I felt that I needed to give back to the church which had given us so much. We didn't even know any other Japanese members of the church. Our family lived in the south end of Davis County, there were quite a few Japanese families in the North county, but I don't believe any of them were LDS. I didn't know there was a mission in Japan, so as far as I knew, we were the only Japanese members of the church.

When I was called to go to Japan (Northern Far East Mission), Paul Buys who was in our bishopric offered to pay my way, but mom said she could do it and she did. As I think back on it, I don't know how she did it, I suppose she must have supported all three of us on our missions. Paul Buys is the one who supported Elder Kikuchi on his mission. I met Elder Kikuchi in Hokkaido when I was a traveling elder, we were in his branch for one week and he was a university student and wanted to go on a mission in the worst way, but had no funds to do it. I was really impressed with him, so I wrote to Brother Buys and asked him if he would sponsor him, he wrote back and said "but, if this guys not a good missionary, I'm going to take it out of your hide". Well that didn't happen, and the Buys family and Elder Kikuchi became like family.

She was always very frugal, I didn't realize what a good cook she was, and she must have been very resourceful also. We grew a lot of parsley and I remember having parsley tempura, we loved it, if you've never had it, you should try it. Actually, I haven't had it for years, so it might not be as good as I remember it.

After Clinton's, mom worked at the Jewelry Manufacturing place with Wally Cragun called Movitz, where they made costume jewelry, since she was so fast with her hands, she must have been a great worker. Wally was a returned missionary from Japan and remained a great friend throughout her life.

Mom was very active in the church, but dad never went. I think a lot of it was because of language or he just wasn't interested - actually he didn't have time either, Dad spoke English and did well, but was not completely fluent, especially when it came to the gospel. When Irene was ready to get married, they were planning on getting married in the temple, but at that time, women could not go to the temple unless their husbands were a member. It was Bishop Samuelson that said, well your dad's a good man, lets just baptize him, we talked to dad and he agreed. I had come home from my mission by then and was able to baptize him in Japanese. So mom was able to attend Floyd & Irene's marriage in the Logan Temple. Dad never went to church and was never active, but by getting baptized, mom was able to attend all of her children's temple marriages, and she spent her life active in temple work.

my amazing dad!

Just in case you think I only write about my amazing mom...here's an article about my equally amazing dad! My dad is actually pretty well-known in Pleasanton (my parents even have a scholarship named after them for their years of service).

Special Olympics' Ken Mano just keeps on giving

Editor's Blog, posted by Jeb Bing, editor of the Pleasanton Weekly, on Apr 4, 2011 at 8:11 am.

Ken Mano just keeps on giving. Fresh off the gymnasium floor of Amador Valley High School where he coordinated the eighth annual Special Olympics basketball tournament, he's already seeking volunteers to help with the group's track and volleyball meet on May 7.

At 72, with awards and widespread recognition for at least three decades of leading volunteer efforts for youth in the Tri-Valley, at his church and for the disabled, Mano can count in the thousands the number of those in need he's been able to help.

Last month, despite heavy rains, his Special Olympics brought 83 teams, 850 athletes and the largest number of volunteers ever to a weekend of basketball at Amador and to the gyms at Harvest Park and Pleasanton Middle School as well.

Those of us who were there to watch these players, some as young as 8 and a few even in their 60s, shared Mano's enthusiasm and pride over the success of these games. We cheered as a player would make a basket, then race back down the court gleaming with pride to the loud applause over his or her accomplishment. Mano gleams, too, as those with special needs gain experience at competitive athletics at their purist and most inspiring level.

The Pleasanton games, a part of Special Olympics now conducted around the country after the first games were held in 1968 with funds provided by Eunice Kennedy Shriver, are a product of the Amador High Athletic Boosters Club.

Mano is a business analyst with Kaiser Permanente's IT department in Pleasanton. His wife Carolyn works in the children's book section at the Pleasanton Library. With their six children -- Natalie, Gary, Janelle, Brian, Melissa and Trent -- attending Amador, they became active in the Boosters. Carolyn works the snack bar at Boosters events (and at the Special Olympics track meet), and Ken was the Boosters' treasurer for eight years.

Looking for ways for the Boosters to extend its community reach beyond the Amador campus, parents with special needs children suggested the Special Olympics. Mano talked the school district into providing school facilities without charge for a one-time event. That was eight years ago, and the two 2011 programs now attract hundreds of participants from as far as Half Moon Bay and the Napa Valley.

Mano said the goal is to give all persons with developmental disabilities a chance to become useful and productive, and accepted and respected in their communities.

Parents and guardians tell him that their child or home-cared adult had been reclusive and without many friends. Coming to the Special Olympics and being in contact with others of similar ages and disabilities spurred them to become more proactive back at home, where they often found similar programs on a smaller but still beneficial scale. Their disabilities range from mental handicaps to autism to Down syndrome to adults who have suffered brain injuries or damaging diseases. Mano works with them all on a personal basis and also tutors volunteers on how to help meet each individual's needs, lessons that go a long way toward encouraging the volunteers to reach out on their own in special needs programs in their community.

Volunteers are impressed, even amazed by Mano's volunteer work ethic. My own daughter, Kerry Nally, who worked at the Special Olympics events at both Amador and Pleasanton Middle School, said she would read emails about the schedule that Mano would send at all hours of the day, even at 3 and 4 a.m. The man never sleeps, she said, pointing out that his day job at Kaiser was just as demanding.

But then Mano has been at this for quite a while. He served as a missionary in Japan with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He has also been heavily involved in Boy Scouts for the past 35 years. At Amador Boosters, he helped raise more than $1 million for the high school with eScrip, leading other schools to start the program. He was also instrumental in saving Emeryville High School's athletic program and persuaded his church on Paseo Santa Cruz to start a similar special needs program on a weekly basis that is open to all.

He wants high school students and adults who want to help with the Special Olympics East Bay regional track meet and volleyball tournament to be held May 7 at Amador Valley High to register by sending an email to avboosters@comcast.net.

I could probably deal with this van...

I'm not the kind of person who is into cars. In fact, I've only owned THREE cars in my entire life. A Honda Civic, a Honda Accord and my current car, a silver VW Jetta.

I've always said I would never own a mini-van (nothing against mini-van owners!). But I found a little van (not sure if it is technically a "mini" or not...) that I would LOVE to drive.

They had the new VW Van at the ICFF show last week in NY and I think I need one.

I love all those windows. The interior was all leather and very contemporary. I wonder how it drives in snow...

ICFF

Here are some pictures of our space at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair in New York last week. Our new catalog is all white with the same image of the pear on the cover. What does a pear have to do with our furniture...or anybody's furniture? Absolutely nothing.

The console closest to the corner is one of my favorite pieces. It has black vellum on the top.

The desk above with the red leather top is the Banana Desk...another favoriteThe Balthazar Chest with a Mr Brown Pagoda Lamp.


And last but not least, our Butterfly Chair with a Wine Glass Table.

a room with a view

I've spent the last two days flat in bed in my New York hotel room. I'm not sure what's going on this year, but we've spent a good portion of this year sick. And this one was a doozy.

On Saturday, the ICFF show opened and things were going well. We had a lot of people coming to see us and really interested in our line. The ICFF show is quite a bit more sophisticated than our other shows and the attendees were quite a bit more sophisticated as well. It was a bit exhilarating if I do say so.

And then I started to feel nauseated. I should back up by saying I've felt nauseated off and on for a couple of weeks starting back on our St Simons trip (and NO I'm not pregnant). Last Thursday, I landed at JFK and got into my cab to go to my hotel and my cab driver had bad body odor. REALLY bad body odor. And it made me sick. I had to roll down my windows and then when the cab driver rolled the windows up when we went onto the freeway, I pulled out my Burts Bees lip balm and rubbed some under my nose.

So back to Saturday, I was feeling sick but had to keep a smiling face as I talked to people about Vellum and finish options. Until I couldn't smile anymore. I made a mad dash to the bathroom and lost my breakfast...which is so lovely in a public bathroom. After three more of those trips, I decided to go back to my hotel room and that's where I've been for the past few days.

There's nothing worse than being sick in a hotel. OK, there are a lot of worse things, but I really, really hate being sick away from home and by myself. I needed Tony or my mom or someone to go buy some soup or water or something. Or just to keep me company so I didn't go crazy.

Two days later, I'm feeling better. I'm off to the show...

At least I have a beautiful view from my hotel room huh?

New York

I had a nice three days at home between trips (that's sarcasm you detect) and now I'm here in lovely New York (no sarcasm). I think it's lovely because I'm usually here in January and August. New York in May is wonderful. We walked several blocks without shivering in the snow or sweating in the sweltering humid heat.

I'm here with our Julian Chichester company (versus Mr Brown) at the ICFF (Int'l Contemporary Furniture Fair) show. And it's quite a show. We're actually in the British Design section and there is quite a symphony of different accents all around me. They probably think I'm the one who sounds odd.

We have two great workers here with us setting up the space. One is an employee and one is our employee's friend, Jose. I've already taken a liking to Jose.

Last night we finished setting up and went to a nice dinner. We neglected to tell Elias and Jose that we were going to dinner that night and they didn't bring a change of clothes. And Jose was wearing a sleeveless shirt - which could potentially be a problem. We were discussing what to do about it and Julian said he thought Jose could wear his jacket. Now, Julian is known for his frumpy oversized velvet jackets, but Jose is a big guy. We were skeptical that it would fit, but fit it did.

So Jose got to wear one of Julian's famous jackets.

Not that fine dining is the end-all, but it was fun taking the boys to a nice dinner in NY - I know it was one of the nicest restaurants Jose had been in. He was so cute with everything.

Afterwards, I walked with them over to Times Square (Jose also has never been to NY). It was great to see his eyes light up.

I'm hoping to take them to a few other of my favorite spots in the coming days. Traveling is often a drag. I don't even like going to New York, but seeing New York through the eyes of these boys is bringing me a bit of joy.

St Simons Island

We just arrived home last night from a lovely vacation at St. Simons Island - a barrier island off the coast of Georgia. And it was just that - lovely.

There is much to write about, but for now, here's a little snapshot of our little surfer.

Just a bit about St. Simons Island - I highly recommend it as a vacation venue! The only drawback is it's a bit far to travel. But we're still thinking about making this an annual trip. St Simons is a small beach town that isn't too touristy. The water is warm (as compared to the Northern California ocean...brrr!), and there are gentle waves that little kids can easily swim in. We saw pelicans and cranes and even dolphins swimming off the shore.

Tony's brother and his wife own a vacation condo right on the beach and they gave us a week stay as our wedding present. Combine that with our free flights and we had a very affordable trip!

There condo is great - a two bedroom/two bath with everything we needed. If you're looking for a place to get away, click here and see their website. I think it's really affordable - we're thinking about going for a month next year! Anyone want to join us?

On Mother's Day

I've spent 44 years of my life without a child of my own. And on this 45th year of my life, I have a little bundle of joy whose face lights up when he sees me.

I don't think a day goes by that I'm not filled with the wonder of it all. Just yesterday I looked at this little baby and thought about how lucky, how blessed, how fortunate I am.

Little Ryan continues to get cuter each day...and if you don't believe me, his completely biased mamma, this photo is evidence.

He is growing up so quickly. At 9 months, he's starting to crawl, loves to stand up and jump, and loves to walk when mommy or daddy holds his hands. He's also a little bundle of energy and is constantly in motion. I'm more than a little frightened for him to become completely mobile.

And what a joy he is.

On this Mother's Day, I am also acutely aware that there are so many women out there whose hearts are breaking because they don't have this blessing in their lives. I was among that group of women not too long ago and I still can feel that pain.

The biggest question I've had since Ryan was born was whether or not to try to have a second baby. Ryan will have a great life with lots of opportunities, but one thing he does have in his life is old parents. And you might think I'm crazy to worry about this, but I don't want Ryan to be an orphan and alone in this world. I want him to have siblings to help him take care of his aged parents.

About a month ago, Tony and I both took Ryan in to see his doctor and since we were both there, I took the opportunity to talk to her about the risks of having a second baby. She is a wonderful pediatrician who has adopted two children after multiple miscarriages...and she's a little bit older. She confirmed the concerns we have had: 1) we run the risk of another premature baby and the complications that come with prematurity. 2) I run the risk of gestational diabetes which will most likely (with my family history) lead to diabetes. 3) there is a 50+% chance of having a baby with Downes or a host of other challenges because I would be over 45 years old.

Any single one of those is a big risk factor. Add them together and it doesn't paint a good picture.

We've always been very open to adoption and that may be the avenue we turn to for a sibling for Ryan. In fact, I would LOVE to adopt tons of children if we could.

But there's something about facing the fact that it's probably best if we not have another biological child. There's something about hearing those words actually being said.

So while I am so grateful to have Ryan in my life - so much so that I can't find an adequate way to express my gratitude - I am also mourning in a sense because I won't be having another child.

Which seems ungrateful to me, especially when I personally know people who are struggling to get pregnant.

But there it is.

On Mother's Day I will smother Ryan with kisses. I will thank my Heavenly Father for blessing me with such a happy little boy.

And if I'm being completely honest, I will be a bit sad. But I will still be grateful for all I have in my wonderful life.