Mary's Great House

Seize the day

2011-11-26T09:01:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving!
Yep, I'm late. Things have been chaos here. Loo and family arrived late Saturday. She and the kids and I went to SLC and Provo on Tuesday to visit her work, etc (show off the kids).

Then on Wednesday,(you know, the day before Thanksgiving when I was supposed to be getting things ready for the Big Eat) an old steam engine stopped for fifteen minutes in Lynndyl so we all went in to see it. Farmer Boy saw someone he knew and asked why he was there. He replied that he was picking up family that rode from Delta. Well, after everyone disembarked Farmer Boy asked the conductor if they were taking riders. Yep, to Stockton (by Tooele).

Gramps grabbed little LL1 (21 months) hopped on the train with Farmer Boy Roo and Auntie C.(sister-in-law-who couldn't=find-her-husband-because-he-was-way-down-the-train-track-taking-pictures). Moo ran and got crackers ,etc for LL1 and took it on the train to give them. When she went to get off, the conductor told her it was too late. She had to throw her car keys out the window to Loo! All in about 5 minutes.

I had to cancel piano lessons, then Loo and I rushed to get to Stockton, about 60 miles away to get everyone! They had a wonderful time, but I didn't get much done. I enjoyed it anyway. One of the seize-the-moments.

Even with the train ride thrown in we still had a wonderful Thanksgiving with all the food and everything. Glad we seized the moment.

Twins

2011-07-19T10:52:00.000-07:00

Wow, It has been so long since I posted that I forgot my password and everything else. It must be something earth shattering to get me off my duff. Well, it is.
We got our "twins" last night. They were born 3 hours apart on opposite sides of the country, on the same day in my time zone, but different days in their own time zones.
Baby one (the second one due) was born in Oregon at 7:34 p.m. (8:34 MST) on July 18, 2011. She weighed 7 lbs. 11 oz. and was 20 inches long.
Baby two (the first one due) was born at 1:39 a.m. (11:39 p.m. MST) on July 19 (July 18 MST) in North Carolina.
Both mothers and babies are doing fine. Mom one was induced and Mom two, after hearing that Mom one (the second one due) had given birth, kicked into gear....really, really fast ....and had to race to the hospital an hour and a half away. She was in the delivery room for 4 minutes before giving birth. Which was lucky because the cord was wrapped around the baby's neck. Good outcome. Great story. Must have been the priesthood blessing by Pop2 before they left home.
Mom two figured out that after hearing her cousin had made it to earth, Baby LooBoo decided to hurry on down. I can't wait to see them both. They must both be just beautiful. So very very grateful that they are both....actually all four....doing well. I have prayed for them all for a long time.

old friends

2011-05-23T18:36:00.000-07:00

Wow! I didn't realize that it had been so long since I posted on my blog. I promise to be better.
I'm kind of a random person. I write lists of things that I need to do everyday...or every other day...or occassionally. (I always spell that wrong) Then I do what ever hits me in the face.
The other day, I glanced next to my computer and noticed an old address book. I had a newer one so I decided to throw out the old one after I gleaned any needed addresses from it. Alas, there were very few if any that I needed. You see, most of the people in the book had moved on to heaven. It was like a trip down memory lane to read the names and I reminisced about good times with them. Aunts, uncles, cousins, friends. All played a special part in my life.
I know that I no longer need the book, but it seems sad to say goodbye. Goodbye, dear friends. I loved you all.

Perilous

2010-10-25T05:10:00.000-07:00

Perilous by Tamara Heiner
Publisher: WiDo Publishing
price: $14.95, though it's available for pre-order on her website for $12.95.
available: Amazon.com and B&N.com for now
ISBN:9780979607

Small town Shelley, Idaho. Four friends. A trip to the mall and a jewelry heist. Only three of the friends make it out alive....and kidnapped.

Tamara Heiner has written a fast paced thriller about a group of innocent teens in small town America. An ordinary day turns into a nightmare and keeps getting worse. Heiner skillfully takes the girls into scary situations that don’t have that soft edges we might hope for in a teen novel. Bad things don’t just threaten to happen, they actually do happen. One of the girls finds a surprising tie to a town all the way across the country. And another girl is plunged into a deep, possibly dark and dangerous secret about her father.

Even though I had to read this book from the computer screen, I enjoyed it enough to keep reading and keep reading. (I know. People pay good money to read books from electronic screens, but I’m not quite there yet.....maybe with a good beach thrown in...?) The pace didn’t let up. My only regret about this book is that I didn’t have time to form much of an emotional attachment with any of the girls. I hope that in the sequel, Ms. Heiner will take a little more time to let us become acquainted with the players.

Good Job!

I asked Tamara how she came to write this book and she sent me a link to her blog that explained it all. It seems that as a twelve-year-old she had much too much time on her hands. After trying everything else she could think of to relieve the boredom, she decided to write a book. She decided to write about four friends and a shopping mall adventure. The book was finished and typed up (by a very kind father) by the time she was 13 years old. Wow! Talk about focus. I think that she has revised it a bit over the years, but the concept has remained the same. To read in more detail, go to: http://tamarahartheiner.blogspot.com/2009/07/countdown-15-study-hall.html
It's a fun story.

Tamara also has two fun contest going with her blog tour. You can win an autographed copy of her book or a Kindle. Really. A Kindle. Below, direct from her own website are the rules and her blog tour schedule. Good Luck.

"
1) There will be two book giveaways. Signed copies of Perilous, of course. All you have to do to get in on that action is make a comment anywhere in the blog tour. The drawing will be completely random. Of course, the more comments you make, the more chances you have of winning.

2) There will be a Kindle giveaway. This WON'T be random. Kindles are kind of a big thing, so I'm going to make you work for it. The giveaway will be point based, in other words, whoever has the most points at the end of the blog tour wins the Kindle. The contest will run until Dec. 15, at which point all hopeful winners will email me at tamara at tamarahartheiner dot com with their points and their proofs.

Here's how you get points:
+1 for each comment on the blog tour
+1 be a follower on my blog (old or new)
+1 retweet
+2 blog about the blog tour
(You prove all of those by emailing me the links.)
+5 purchase the book; ebook or paperback, doesn't matter
(Email me the confirmation number of your purchase.)"

Oct. 15 David J. West http://david-j-west.blogspot.com/
Oct. 18 Nichole Giles http://www.starcrossedbookreviews.blogspot.com
Oct. 19 Talli Roland http://talliroland.blogspot.com/
Oct. 20 Guinevere Rowell http://thisisnotnotmydayjob.blogspot.com/
Oct. 21 Mary Gray http://m-gray.blogspot.com/
Oct. 22 Frankie http://smblooding.blogspot.com/
Oct. 25 Lluvia (maybe, if her computer is working) http://iwaitforthatday.blogspot.com/ and Mary Greathouse http://marysgreathouse.blogspot.com
Oct. 26 RaShelle Workman (interview) http://rashelleworkman.blogspot.com/
Oct. 27 T. Anne Adams http://whiteplatonicdreams.blogspot.com/
Oct. 28 Valerie Ipson http://valerieipson.blogspot.com/
Oct. 29 Ann Best http://ann-jen.blogspot.com/
Nov. 1 Christy Dorrity http://www.dearestdreams.com/
Nov. 2 Chrstine Bryant http://www.ckbryant.blogspot.com
Nov. 3 Rebecca Blevins http://www.iamapistachio.blogspot.com/
Nov. 4 Kathryn Magendie (guest post) http://tendergraces.blogspot.com/
Nov. 5 Annett Lyon http://blog.annettelyon.com/ (interview) and Jaime Theler http://www.jaimetheler.blogspot.com (review)
Nov. 8 Jennifer Daiker http://jennifer-daiker.blogspot.com/
Nov. 9 Carolina Valdez http://carol-in-print.blogspot.com/
Nov. 10 Elizabeth Mueller http://elizabethmueller.blogspot.com/
Nov. 11 Christine Danek http://christinedanek.blogspot.com/
Nov. 12 Elle Strauss http://ellestraussbooks.blogspot.com/
Nov. 15 Niki http://wool-n-nuts.blogspot.com/
Nov. 16 Lynn Parsons http://lynndeniseparsons.blogspot.com/
Nov. 17 Danyelle Ferguson http://www.queenoftheclan.com/
Nov. 18 Elana Johnson http://elanajohnson.blogspot.com/
Nov. 19 & 20 Sarah McClung http://babblingflow.blogspot.com/
Nov. 22 Suzanne Hartmann http://suzanne-hartmann2.blogspot.com/
Nov. 23 Marsha Ward http://marshaward.blogspot.com
Nov. 24 Tara McClendon http://eyefeathers.blogspot.com/
Nov. 29 Diana Miezcan http://diana212m.blogspot.com/
Nov. 30 Tristi Pinkston http://www.tristipinkston.blogspot.com/
Dec. 1 Cheri Chesley http://cherichesley.blogspot.com/
Dec. 2 Karen Gowen http://karenjonesgowen.blogspot.com/
Dec. 3 Melanie Jacobson http://readandwritestuff.blogspot.com/
Dec. 6 Kristie Ballard www.thiscrazywritingthing.blogspot.com
Dec. 7 Melissa Cunningham http://melissajcunningham.blogspot.com/
Dec. 8 Arlee Bird http://tossingitout.blogspot.com/
Dec. 9 Debbie Davis www.debbiesinkspectations.blogspot.com
Dec. 10 Taffy Lovell http://taffyscandy.blogspot.com
Dec. 13 Sheri Larsen http://writersally.blogspot.com
Dec. 14 Joyce DiPastena http://jdp-news.blogspot.com/

Guest Blog for LDS Writer's Blogck

2010-10-14T15:45:00.000-07:00

I was asked to be a guest writer for the blog LDS Writers Blogck (http://www.ldswritersblogck.blogspot.com/) and I thought I would share it here as well.

I kept putting off writing this blog because there was always tomorrow. Then I ran out of tomorrows.

`I finally came up with something that I thought was fantastic. I had it all planned out in my head.....stories, details, witty little analogies.

Then I lost my mind.

Well, not really lost my mind. I am still capable of giving someone a piece of my mind. But I did lose my train of thought. Totally.

I am the writer of non-fiction, specifically local and personal histories. Actually, I think that history is NOT non-fiction. After my writing experiences, I believe that all history has an element of fiction.

After gathering stories and facts for my histories, I began the work of putting them together in a logical, complete written form. That is when I discovered that the stories had holes in them, sometimes very large holes.

When a person tells a story, he puts it in his own context. He knows the background well but he keeps that part in his head. The listener (or reader) probably doesn’t have the same background so he fills in the blanks with his own experience. And thus, history becomes a mixture of true history and created history.

That brings me to the subject of writing your own history or memoirs so you can fill in all those holes with the facts as you remember them (not always accurate either.)

A memoir is “a person’s written account of his own life; an autobiography.
Will Rogers put it a little more pithily: "Memoirs means when you put down the good things you ought to have done and leave out the bad ones you did do."
[Marshal Pétain "To write one's memoirs is to speak ill of everybody except oneself"]
Mary Greathouse “A history book gives dates and facts, but a memoir evokes memories and emotions. It connects us to the reader.

In days of yore, only generals and prostitutes wrote memoirs. I don’t know who read the general’s memoirs, but the prostitutes had a vast audience eager for their exciting tales.

Today, anyone can write a memoir. Movie stars wishing for a few more seconds of fame, politicians seeking a bigger voting audience or an ego boost, and everyday people just wanting to tell their stories.

I think most of us ordinary people write our memoirs so that we can connect with our families and friends. We want to pass on to them who we are and what we value. Mostly, though, we think our lives are not important enough to write down, so the next generation is left with the job.

They go about it with the best of intentions, and the worst of knowledge. Bits and pieces of stories that they remember Mom and Dad telling, differing greatly from the stories their siblings remember. That makes my case for writing our own stories. Who do you want telling your story? (The answer isn’t as obvious as it sounds. I have avoided telling my kids about my early dating years so they have come up with a pretty amazing romantic life for me. My version is truer, but theirs is funner.)

Why should we write our memoirs at all? Here is a short list
-To connect with those around you including your descendants
-To relive the memories
-To pass along your heritage
-To pass along your values
-To give your posterity a firm foundation
-To leave your testimony in words and acts
-To iron out differences

The son of a WWII veteran talked his father into writing his autobiography, The father had been emotionally distant for all of his son’s life. In writing the memoirs, the son learned of his father’s horrifying experiences as a prisoner of war in Japan. Finally he understood the emotion pain of his father and why he had not been available to his son for all of those years. They were able to become closer as they worked together and discussed those long lost years.

-As therapy.

Sometimes we just need to get things out of our systems and the only way to do it is to write it down. This is valuable purpose for writing a memoir, but it might not be something you will want to share. Someone reading these entries may not understand the background and circumstance and may misconstrue what you say.

There is more to writing memoirs, but this is enough for one blog. Thanks for listening.

Marking the way

2010-09-11T19:01:00.000-07:00

I just got back from doing one of the drop-everything and come-right-now farm jobs (which is about 80% of the jobs here.) I did a very important job. I was a "marker." We just leveled a field which meant that all of the dikes and ditches were gone and we had to replace them. Greg likes them to be straight. Silly person.

After detailed instructions given three times, I drove to the county line, walked south to the power pole, counted back three fence posts and stood in back of the wad of white twine hooked to the barbed wire fence. (Greg had such little faith in my ability to find the place that he insisted that we each take a cell phone....which he never carries any other time. I digress.....)

I stood there and held up a yellow and red bag with a peace symbol (which I and many others in my Viet Nam era generation think of as a "chicken foot")and a white garbage bag so I would make a brighter target.
Greg took aim at me with his tractor and headed straight for me. In other words, I kept him on the straight and narrow. My part was quick and easy, but very very important.

I would like to use this as an analogy for life. Sometimes we just need to be there for someone else to keep them on the straight and narrow. It isn't always complicated. We just need to be where they can "see" us, in real life or in their minds. They know where they should be going. Then it up to them. We can be pretty important in life as markers.

Trapped review

2010-08-11T00:01:00.000-07:00

Trapped

by Ronda Gibb Hinrichsen

* Paperback: 293 pages
* Publisher: Brigham Distributing (April 29, 2010)
* Language: English
* ISBN-10: 193521764X

Earlier, I read Ronda Hinrichsen's novel, Missing and enjoyed it, so I thought I would take a chance on her new novel of intrigue and romance, Trapped. It was a good decision.

Emi Warrin moves out on her own to get a taste of independence, but she is soon back home to house sit for her mother. While she sleeps alone in the house, an intruder breaks in and leaves a bizarre shrine to her. And a mysterious letter that shatters the myth of her father’s death.

Emi’s efforts to untangle the web of her family history take her to the Austrian Alps with her “friend” Daniel and leads her into the arms of charming stranger. Things get really intense when she learns that she is the Firstborn She, told of and waited for over many generations. Now she is in great peril.

Ronda Hinrichsen builds layer upon layer of suspense as she moves from a local scare to international intrigue with a touch of the occult. She puts a relatively innocent young woman to the Austrian Alps and into the middle of a family curse that has gone on for generations. Woven into the plot are a romance or two and some twists that take the reader by surprise. The action builds up to a truly horrifying conclusion that gives one the chills. Find yourself a quiet corner and a good chunk of time to enjoy this new novel, Trapped, by Ronda Hinrichsen. I think you'll enjoy it. I know that I did.

Read below for the blurb from the book jacket, a contest to win a copy of Trapped and a complete schedule of the blog tour where you can enter even more times to win.

A Forged Letter, A Golden Vial, An Ancient
Curse...

Filled with family secrets, intrigue, and romance
the blog tour (August 9-August 24) for
Trapped by Ronda Gibb Hinrichsen will have it all.

We will be giving away THREE autographed copies!

All you have to do is leave a comment
(along with your email address if it isn't on your blog profile)
and answer the following question.

Which Austrian city would you most like to visit?

The more blogs you comment on the more entries you'll receive.
All comments must be left by midnight MST on August 27 to be eligible.

Her expression remained somber, but excitement crept into her voice. You are the Firstborn She...You must go to them.

You want me to act as bait?

Not bait, Emi. A spy. Our Trojan horse.

When Emi Warrin wakes one night to find a thief in her mother's house, she has no idea the intruder has planted a trap - a mysterious letter that will change her life forever. Lured to the Austrian Alps with Daniel, the man she loves, Emi is thrown into a perilous, mafia-like world of feuding families and a devastating curse that spans generations. As the Firstborn She - the only firstborn female in hundreds of years - only Emi can free her family from the curse
that will soon afflict her as well. But for Emi to break the curse, she must delve into evil designs.

As Emi struggles to understand her destiny as the Firstborn She, she learns that everything isn't as it seems and that all choices have consequences. Can Emi break the curse before it's too late?

August 9
Ali Cross
Heather Gardner

August 10
Jewel Adams

August 11
Mary Greathouse
Teri Rodeman

August 12
Lynn Fowlstone
Christine Bryant

August 13
Valerie Ipson
Sheila Stayley

August 16
Deanne Blackhurst

August 17
Connie Hall
C.S. Bezas

August 18
Kimberly Job
Tristi Pinkston

August 19
Karen Hoover
Nichole Giles

August 20
Alison Palmer
Jessica Williams

August 23
Joyce DiPastena
Laurie Lewis

Tetanus and dirty socks

2010-08-10T16:58:00.000-07:00

I almost got tetanus matching sox. I knew the job was hazardous.....probably why I hadn’t matched sox for a long, long time. Or even longer.

My DH now buys a new bag of socks every time he goes to WalMart because that way he will be assured of having clean socks that match each other. Over time, those socks add up. It’s like having little rabbit socks multiplying in the sock bin. OK, bins.

Back to the tetanus. I was dead serious about getting the socks matched (my husband had just been to WalMart). So I searched everywhere in the house and out for socks to match. I was going to get it done, completely. (Until someone wore socks again.)

Back to the tetanus. Anyway, several socks some how showed up outside. My DH swore that he had hung the last pair on the front porch railing but found them later in the middle of the front lawn. After discussion, we decided that Zippy the dog was probably too short to reach the railing so it was probably Gertrude the stray peacock who stole them. She missed her eggs which she had been sitting on unsuccessfully for months. (She’s a single pea hen with no hope of a love life).

Back to the tetanus. The remaining two socks on the FRONT porch railing were stiff enough with mud to hold up a table, if had there been four of them. That happens when a man with a large hole in his irrigation boots is standing in a dirt ditch full of water. I also found a gross of gross socks hiding under exercise machines, tables, floors, clothes hampers.

OK here is the tetanus tie-in. You can get tetanus from dirt and a puncture wound. Those socks had plenty of dirt and those socks were so stiff and if I had not been careful,, I could have punctured my skin with one of them. Not a common small puncture wound, but one about four inches wide....very dangerous. I had to spend about 30 minutes or MORE hand washing those socks so they would be clean enough to put in the washing machine on heavy duty and extra water. Once, the sink water even turned Khaki colored because I was washing khaki out of them. Luckily, being the extremely agile person that I am, I avoided the puncture wound.

I could go on and on with this sock saga, but I won’t. I will just give you a tally of the socks I found and washed....I even washed the ones with holes that I am going to throw away. Going green doesn’t mean throwing things in the trash that have enough dirt to grow green plants in.

Brace yourselves. (I almost put self, but I think I am up to two readers instead of one.)

Treasure trove: Matched socks hidden at the bottom of a clothes basket:

His: (in pairs, unless otherwise listed)
White: 9 Black: 20

Hers:
1 Spanx White: 11 Black: 10 *Misc: 7 Mittens: 3 prs, 3 lone
Trouser sox: 12 Mom socks: 4
Total: 73 pairs or 146 individual sox

Socks that I actually matched
His: (in pairs, yada, yada, yada....)
White: 67 Black 40 Gray 1 Singles with holes: 55
*Skunk about 8 * black and white, I can’t get clean ...serious farm sox

Hers:
White: 53 Black: 10 nylon knees highs: 17 reg, 6 black
fuzzy: 7 mixed race (1 purple, 1 green) 1
*miscellaneous 7 * includes, Santa Claus, gophers, reindeer, polka dot, etc. Note: for some reason this category does not exist for the “His” column.

Total: 209 pairs 418 socks individual

Mismates
6 nylons, 11 black nylons, 15 white, 18 weird (hers) 30 black, Total : 80
Socks with holes: 55 Which leaves 55 lonely mates, now known as miss-mates.
I'd break it down further, but I'm not obsessive.

Grand total of sox which I have handled in the past two days: 699 Socks

HA! Walmart. We don’t need you any more. Unless you sell sock holders....

Least you think after reading this that I have no life, I watched high quality daytime dramas as I worked..

It's a Rebound

2010-06-16T07:00:00.000-07:00

Lily is living a dream life. A successful husband, beautiful big house, a young son and a new daughter on the way. Her only worry is a little stress that could be a problem for her unborn child. Then she arrives home and finds her home surrounded by cars. Before she can even exit her own car, a man from the FBI steps up to her window.

Lily took the paper, though reluctant to look at it. She was afraid that seeing it would make this become real and not just a mistake. She unfolded the sheet and noticed her address, John’s business address, and both cars listed as being covered by the warrant. A judge’s signature flourished across the bottom. Her hands began to tremble as she returned the sheet. “You’ve made a mistake.” “I’m sorry to say we have not. In addition, although we have no substantial evidence against you at this time, it’s hard to believe you could be completely unaware of your husband’s activities.” He looked around him at the solid mahogany tables and entertainment center, the Tiffany lamp in the corner, and the china hutch filled with pretty trinkets. “You’ve certainly been living well.” In that moment, her life comes crashing down. She loses her husband, her home, her income and puts even more stress on the baby. She is a suspect in a crime that could land her in prison. What will happen to her and her family? Will she lose them over a crime she did not commit? Will she ever trust anyone again?
Heather Justesen weaves a complicated tale of deceit mixed with a good dose of romance and does it very well. Lily is a minor character from Justesen's earlier book, "The Ball's In Her Court." While Rebound is not exactly a sequel because it is complete in itself, it does contain many of the characters from her earlier book, so we get to see how their lives are unfolding. A reader might be a little bit lost in the complicated family ties, but will still enjoy Rebound without having read the earlier book. Justesen keeps the action moving from custody issues with grandparents, to a "is he a boyfriend of is he not" situation, and on through adoption issues. Many layers, but handled well. I think Heather Justesen has a winner here.

Midnight Plane to Georgia

2010-05-19T13:37:00.000-07:00

"Took the Midnight Plane to Georgia...." (then on to NC) Sounds oddly like I song I once knew. But, it was actually true. My daughter called on Wednesday to say she was having surgery.....then called shortly after to say she had already had it. She couldn't pick up, hold or feed her 2 month old baby, so what's a mom/grandmom to do? Hop on the next plane and make the sacrifice of cuddling with the cute baby for the next two weeks.

It kind of derailed any plans that I had for the next few weeks, but it was worth it. I had a few contacts to make on my book, Family Record Keeper, but they could be done later. I had to change a few piano lessons, and strong arm my youngest daughter into taking the rest of my students for a week or two......but it was good for her. (Isn't that what a mom always says?)

I read a long time ago that "Life is about the interruptions." That meant to me that, in spite of all of the special things that we schedule in our lives, the really important things are really just taking care of the people around us and their needs, when they need to be taken care of. Sometimes it's reading a bedtime story and sometimes it's jumping on the midnight plane to Georgia.

PS I'm glad to be sleeping on a real bed after using the couch for two weeks, but I wish I could get off the baby's schedule of getting up every two hours to eat....

2010-04-22T17:31:00.000-07:00

I'll Know You By Heart
by Kimberly Job

Paperback: 275 pages
Publisher: Valor Publishing Group;
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1935546139

Stephanie covered her head, knowing Mark liked to kick her when she was down. Sure enough, she felt the first kick on her left side, just below her shoulder. She braced herself for another one when she heard Tyson's voice. "Stop, Dad!"
"Uncovering her face, she was shocked to see Tyson holding a huge kitchen knife to his father's back.

Stephanie has been married to Mark long enough to have three children, including 16-year-old Tyson. Long enough to know just what Mark is capable of, even though in her heart she knows that she deserves it all. But the kids don't deserve it and she knows she has to leave and take them out of danger.

Across town, Jared is adjusting the role of single father after the death of his wife, Cheryl. After six-weeks off to help four-year-old Katie through the trauma, he is returning to work and needs a part-time baby-sitter.

Jared and Stephanie meet for the first time at a doctor's office, but each feels he/she has known the other one for a long time. But is either of them ready to let someone new into his/her life?

This tense new novel, I'll Know You By Heart by Kimberly Job, wastes no time in getting into the world of domestic abuse. The author is vivid in her descriptions of the horrors and realities of the abuse that goes on behind closed doors of "good families." At the same time, she makes the passages short enough that the reader can keep reading. The love that Stephanie and the children still have for Mark, in spite of everything, threatens to put the family back into their old life.

I'll Know You By Heart is listed in the Romance genre, which is hard to believe in the beginning, but out of the chaos and sadness, a romance slowly blooms. Stephanie gets a glimpse of how a man should treat a woman and finds that she likes it. Mark starts to show a kinder side in an attempt to win Stephanie back. I won't spoil the ending here. You'll want to read this one yourself. Just be sure to reserve enough time to finish the whole book.

Order here

The Thorn

2010-04-13T01:00:00.000-07:00

The Thorn
(Book One - The Chronicles of Gan)
by Daron Fraley
Paperback: 302 pages
Publisher: Valor Publishing Group; 1st edition
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1935546112

“Again, I did prophecy to my sons, saying: And in that day when the three brothers make war with one another, and a great evil arises in the land which threatens to destroy all peoples, the Holy One shall be born upon the footstool of hi creations, and the sign of his coming shall be given in the heavens.”

Thus began the new book, The Thorn by Daron D. Fraley ...and almost ended my reading of it.
Not that it was written badly, but I was almost scared off by what I thought might be a “preachy” type of book. (I have a hard time with books like that.) Not so. Once the pseudo-scriptures were done, the action started. And kept going.
The author paints an almost-Book of Mormon type of picture. Wickedness and warriors. Good versus evil. A people in a world of twin suns, one azure and one aqua, but a world very similar to that in the scriptures.
Jonathan, the main hero , is charged with the task of guarding the Thorn, a symbol which ties in to the coming of the Holy One, as prophesied in the scriptures. The wicked Gideonites want it for their own so that they might rule over all the peoples of Gideon, Uzzah, and Daniel. Wicked King Manasseh and General Rezon and their armies move to take over the throne of Daniel, kill the heir, Jonathan and find the crystal scepter with its embedded thorn.
The action keeps on going from there as Jonathan rescues his old friend Eli and in doing so, makes a new friend out of an enemy. They band together to try and stop the war.

Although I don’t normally choose to read a book of this genre, I was pleasantly surprised that it held my interest and I kept turning the pages, finishing it up late one night. Along with the action, there was a taste of romance. Granted it was a guy’s view of romance, short and with little courtship, not the steamy emotion-packed Harlequin novel-type of romance, but it was enough to make the reader care about the characters, both male and female.

The Thorn was an easy read; the plot was not too complicated and the words flowed. A nice book to read for a relaxing afternoon.

I cyber interviewed Daron and found out some interesting information.

Mary: Why did you decide to write this book?
Daron: The basic idea for the story came from this quote by Neil A. Maxwell: "How many planets are there in the universe with people on them? We don’t know, but we are not alone in the universe! God is not the God of only one planet! I testify that Jesus is truly the Lord of the universe, 'that by [Christ], and through him, and of him, the worlds are and were created, and the inhabitants thereof are begotten sons and daughters unto God' D&C 76:24" — Neal A. Maxwell
I thought a long time about this, and wondered what it might be like on another creation. My desire to write a book, and the decision I made to actually do so, happened to coincide with the time I was thinking about these things.

Mary: Have you been writing long?
Daron: I have been writing as a hobby on a very occasional basis since High School. My creative writing teacher got me going. But it wasn't until about 7 years ago that I decided I wanted to write a book. I actually made a written goal to do it. It took me a long time to finish it because I still treated it more as a hobby . . . but I did get it done!

Mary: What is your writing background?
Daron: I discovered that I like to write in High School, and that I wasn't too bad at it, when I placed second in a short story contest at a local community college. It was an event for young writers. But the word "background" takes me back a lot further than High School. How far would I have to go? All the way to the beginning, I suppose. I don't think any person on this planet lacks a heartfelt desire for self expression through the creative process. Some create art or music. Some create a magnificent bridge which spans a harbor. Some create a stunning flower garden to grace a home. Others create beauty in the lives of others through service. It is who they are. But the talents with which we enter this life may not be noticed for many years. American folk painter, Grandma Moses didn't discover her talent for painting until in her seventies. Perhaps there are readers out there who are great writers, but they just don't know it yet. :)

Mary: How did you choose the setting for your story?
Daron: The setting of my story is a binary, blue star system loosely based on Mintaka (Delta Orionis), the right-most star in Orion's belt. According to the astronomy websites I have read, and from what the experts can tell with current data, Mintaka is actually a quad system (a pair of orbiting stars which orbits another pair of orbiting stars). In The Thorn, the two suns for the planet Gan are a class-O and a class-B orbiting pair. I have learned that blue binary star systems are quite common. No, I am not an astronomer. My interest is merely another neglected hobby.

Mary: Tell me some other things you would like me to know.
Daron: Every name in the book is Hebrew, although not every one of them is found in the Old Testament. Some are simply uncommon Hebrew names (like Eder). Coming up with the names was a fun process. A few of the names are indicative of the characteristics of the person named, but not all. I wouldn't think Rezon makes a very good prince, although he does have a secret.

Order here.

Contest Winner

2009-12-17T18:41:00.000-08:00

Hey, we have a winner. Rachelle was the winner of the Family Record Book. I really wish everyone could have won. I would truly like to give this book to all of you, but alas, I can't really afford to. But thank you all for visiting my blog and leaving nice comments. I really appreciate it. ( boy, I use the word "really" a lot.)

Win a Family Record Keeper!

2009-12-09T07:16:00.000-08:00

If you'd like to win my new book, Family Record Keeper, keep reading here.
Several days ago, I announced a contest to win my new book but I failed to put a link to my website so everyone could go check it out. Well, I have stretched my learning curve to make a website, but alas, I couldn't figure out just how to put a link on my blog so please

~~CUT AND PASTE THIS!~~
CLICK ON THIS LINK www.familyrecordkeeper.com

The rules once again: 1. Go to www.familyrecordkeeper.com and read about the book
2. Come back to this blog and tell me what you like or love) about the book and post a comment on this blog. On December 16, I will draw to see who the winner is and contact them by e-mail. I will need a quick reply so I can get the book in the mail for Christmas.

P.S.--Megan, Mary's daughter here. I hacked into her account and made it a link you can click on.

Family Record Keeper contest

2009-12-07T01:52:00.001-08:00

My book finally arrived and I am so excited. It came on Friday, December 4, 2009 at 3:30 p.m. The UPS guy brought all sixteen boxes, 334 books into the front room, where they still reside. In the next few days, I will be trying to distribute them to different locations that have offered to sell them.
The book is in three-ring binder style and came with all of the divider pages at the very back. Moo and I have been busy putting the dividers where they belong in the book because we think it will sell better than it would if all 270 or so pages were all together.

I am really pleased with how the book turned out. I basically knew how it looked, but seeing it in person (really in book) made me happy. The binder itself is really high quality, which I knew because I paid extra for it.

To celebrate, I am giving away a free copy of Family Record Keeper. First, go to my website, www.familyrecordkeeper.com and read the information. Then come to my blog and tell me why you would love to have a copy. Just leave me a comment on my blog. I will draw one winner right before Christmas. Good luck.

Family Record Keeper on its way

2009-11-01T15:34:00.001-08:00

My new book cover. I don't really like the background color, but I like the rest. Changing the background cover would have taken more time and I'm through waiting. I want this thing so I can sell it before Christmas.

I have a new webpage, too. I'm not done with it yet, and I can't get some of it to work, but if you would like to see it as it is, go to www.familyrecordkeeper.com

I'm so excited. I got the proofs for my new book on Thursday. The company sent them second-day mail on Monday. Obviously that would mean Tuesday. Or Wednesday, but the Fed Ex guy couldn't find the house. So it was actually at 4:30 p.m on Thursday, during piano lessons. The regular driver apologized a lot for not getting the package delivered.

Proofs is what you get to find your mistakes before the whole world (or who ever sees my book) gets to find them. The idea is to fix them before they get in print.

I did find a few mistakes but at $1 per page with a limit of 20 pages I can fix without major work, I was pretty forgiving about my own mistakes. In the end, I deemed 9 pages worth messing with, including the Table of Contents which had a lot of mistakes, I mean changes.

I rushed and got my corrected proofs, along with the second large payment, my signatures, etc. to USP the very next day in time to send it back second-day delivery. Once the publishing company gets the proofs it is supposed to be 20 business days before they send it back to me.

Now I am waiting and waiting and waiting.......very patiently.....kind of.....not.

Family Keeper book

2009-10-14T16:40:00.000-07:00

Hello, again. It's about time.

At last blog, I reported that I was working with an artist on my book. Well, that didn't work out for many reasons. So I went to the trusty internet and pulled out photos of hummingbirds, the new stars of my book. Now I could move on.

I finally finished my "final" draft of my Family Keeper book. I sent it to the publisher, had many conversations, sent my credit card info and said YES when they asked if they should proceed. WAAHOO! I finally did it.

It's in Word Perfect, not the ideal choice for publishing this type of book, so I am worried about formatting problems. I have gone over it, word-by-word, line-by-line and dot-by-dot. Perfect. Until I find out differently.

Somewhere along the way, I went from a company with a cookbook division (because no one else handles the "cookbook" style 3-ring binders) to their press division to their self-publishing division.

Along with those moves, came a change in their requirements. I was ready to send everything in all done when I found that I needed the self publishing division which had.......new requirements for margins....a real biggie when you are working with uber formatting. I went through over 300 pages removing 2 dots on every line and 1 line on every page. That is called patience and persistence.

In about 2 weeks, I should have a copy of the proofs to correct at $1 or $2 a page or correction or something, plus $40 for the corrected proofs. I hope its already perfect.

As I am working on this blog, my daughter Alycia is working on a webpage for me as we each sit silently on our ends of the phone "conversation." When the page is up, very roughly at this point, I will add a link to this blog.

Below is a preview of the book.

Table of Contents

Emergency Section
Call 911
Emergency contacts
Location of utility shut-offs
Professional contacts
Family sections (One section for each family member, each numbered separately)
Personal Info and Identification
Where are my records kept
Financial Information
Health
Immunizations
Medical conditions and illnesses
Eye and dental information
Family medical history
Medical Directory
Sacred (LDS ordinances and church callings and another section for non-LDS)
Military
Marriage and family
Homes
Education
Employment
Interests and activities
Significant events and travel
Resume of my life experiences
Things I’d like my family to know
Extra Pages
Special occasions
Year in review
School schedule
Addresses
Extra note pages

ONe more step

2009-09-02T21:35:00.000-07:00

Well, I finally did something about the book I am compiling. I wrote to an artist and sent some of her clipart so she could give me permission to use it....for a fee of course. It is the next step closer to getting my book finished. My goal is to get all the text in order tomorrow, then put it in regular format to sell as an e-book. Then I will PDF everything and see if it gets totally messed up. Formatting goes crazy electronically. It could wipe everything out and leave me clueless. Wish me luck.
If it works, I can get things off next week and have the books back

squirrel spit

2009-08-23T12:49:00.000-07:00

When I told Megan I had posted a blog, she asked if it was about squirrel spit. Nope. But now I feel obligated, even though I just blogged ten minutes ago.

Although my maiden name is Gardner, I'm not cut out to be a gardener. Things won't grow unless you water them, and frankly, I just forget. So mostly, they die. A perfect gift for me is flowers to plant because I love them and because I forget to water them they die and can be replaced by more gift flowers the next year.

Now for the title subject. Greg and Peter are better at growing things. (Great talent for farmers, but it doesn't always translate to smaller plots.) For a change, we got the tomatoes in on time this year and they are flourishing. It was so exciting to see all those fine, delicious looking tomatoes. The squirrels thought so, too. The little devils went around and took big bites out of most of the ripe tomatoes.

Greg thinks it is OK to cut off the eaten parts and eat the rest of the tomato. I contend that squirrel spit permeates the whole tomato and harbors some type of plague. Do any of my faithful followers know the true answer to this conundrum?

PLease reply before half the family gets the squirrel spit plague and the other half throws out perfectly good tomatoes.

Drive that wagon out of there!

2009-08-23T12:16:00.000-07:00

Its only been two months or so since I last blogged. I know things have happened during that time, but I can't remember what. I guess blogs remember things for you if you bother to write them.

I have been involve in the local political process for many years. I've been a candidate, precinct chair, state and county delegate, county party secretary and served on the state central committee. Along with responsibilities, I have had some nice opportunities. My family and I attended a barbecue with Senator Bob Bennett at the Fillmore park on Thursday. About 30 other people attended. Before the dinner, Greg had the opportunity to speak with Senator Bennett one-on-one about some concerns he has about different issues. Afterward, there was a question and answer period where we could ask anything we wanted. It was pretty great to have such immediate access to Washington, DC.

Friday, Megan and I, and later Greg, attended a Rural Business Conference held in Delta. Originally I only attended to support them for coming to our neck of the woods. It is sad to have people go to special effort for you and not have many show up. That, however, is not what happened. The day was well attended and I learned far more than I ever hoped to. I attended two classes on Internet Marketing. I have a book I'm working on and the only feasible way to market it is through the internet. The classes were so helpful.

Senator Bennett was one of the sponsors and he attended the whole conference. Politicians sometimes forget us, with our small voting numbers and it was refreshing to be remembered.
The keynote speaker was Larry Gelwix, of "Forever Strong" fame. He gave us six principles of success. Great talk, most of which can be found on the "extras" section of the "Forever Strong" DVD

Now I have to get busy tying up loose ends on my book, the same lose ends I've had for several years. I need to quit obsessing over making it perfect and just get it done. In his talk, Larry Gelwix talked about how the pioneers sometimes had to drive their wagons over frozen rivers. Occasionally the ice would begin to crack under the wagons. Now, he said, was not the time to plan or pray. It was time to
drive the wagon out of there!

I've planned and prayed and but I think it is time for me to drive that wagon out of there.

Have a nice day.

critter-ated

2009-06-10T13:45:00.000-07:00

I've been critter-ated. Or Critter-hating or whatever you want to call it.

When you live in the country, all those cute little animals you see on TV become personal. I don't mean they talk to you.. I mean they invade your personal space. Like running across the counter, mouse-like, etc.

Yesterday, our own special critter, Oscar the dog, ate our supper. I had just set a cooked, no-effort-on-my part- rotisserie chicken on the table-that-humans-eat-on so I could cut it up when the phone rang. I heard a stirring behind me. Lo and behold! the chicken, no, I mean the chicken CARCASS was on the floor next to Oscar's mouth. He figured I'd set dinner on the table and it was time to eat.

Moo didn't know about his feast and fed him a little later. He ended up with a stomach ache. Served him right. We ended up with Taco Salad, again.

I have been trying to get a plant to take to a friend who lost her husband and a plant for her son who lives in town,too. The first ones I bought lost their petals before I could take them by. (lack of water does a lot of bad things to plants.)
So, I bought two more, one purple and one red salvia. Very pretty. They ended up in the garage for a night and a day and a night.

I made a quick trip to Fillmore this morning and when I got home, the flowers had all been eaten and most of one of the plants itself. Stupid squirrel got into the garage a day ago and made lunch for himself. And to think that I was so kind as to not run over his cousin when he ran out in the road this morning. Maybe not next time.....

Cattle Drive

2009-05-16T16:51:00.000-07:00

Well, today was the annual Wild West Cattle Drive. Yup, we were taking the cattle out to the desert for the summer. We take the mama cows and their calves. In a little bit we will truck a few bulls out to roam around.

The week before the drive, the men gathered up the calves and branded, ear tagged, "fixed" and vaccinated them. I think they got about 80 head done and another 6 or 7 more done today. The brand and ear mark identify the cattle as being ours. Our brand is a bar JG. The vaccinations keep away some cow diseases and gives them a vitamin boost. We don't give hormones or anything extra. The "fixing" part only pertains to the male calves and doesn't really fix anything, but later on, it helps because we don't have a lot of bulls running around breaking things that we have to fix. Hence the term "fix." Or not.

Our cattle drive is actually a cattle "drive". We don't even own horses. Our mounts are cars, trucks, four-wheelers and the ever-popular: human legs. One, two or three lucky "cowboys" run behind the cattle keeping them headed in the right direction, no easy feat. The cattle are bigger and faster than any of us and much more agile than you might guess. They could just outrun, run over, run away, run amok, etc. and we couldn't do much about it. Luckily, they usually respond to wild hand waving and yelling. I say "we" but it is the "queenly we" meaning someone else does the actual work.

We don't actually take the cattle very far, but it can still be tricky.
We run them down a highway for about a half mile. Then the cattle turn and cross an active Union Pacific train line. The trick is to get the cars stopped that pass our house at 90 miles an hour plus hit a time when the train won't be coming.

On the day of the cattle drive, the men round up the cattle and put them in a pen down in the pasture. Then they drive along the route and close gates and park vehicles in any holes that don't have a gate.

When all of that is ready, someone calls Union Pacific railroad dispatch in Omaha Nebraska to find out when the next train is scheduled to come by and work out a plan with UPRR to that we don't all meet up on the tracks at the same time. We tell them it will take us about 40 minutes to get the cattle down the road and across the tracks and they tell us that there is a train coming in 30 minutes but after that the tracks will be clear. We used to just guess and hope, but that was pretty scary. This method works much better for all of us.

Moo and I have the very important, but lowly physical, jobs of stopping the speeding cars before they hit the cattle herd. She parks her car at the south end of the staging area and I park mine at the north end, flashers flashing. We stand out in the highway waving old red table clothes, scarves and orange homemade signs that say, "Stop." I even had a commercial (I didn't make it myself) sign with a picture of a cow that I taped to the back of the car.

This is where I start praying in earnest. Before our house, there is a stretch of of road 35 miles long with no houses and much of that road is straight. It is not exaggerating to say that some cars pass our house at 90 mph. It is also not an exaggeration to say that a small minority of those passing are idiots. They don't think that
stop means them. Most slow down, but driving through a herd of cattle creates chaos.

Past years, the traffic has been light, but this year, I think we hit the finish of a dun buggy, motorcycle rally from the Little Sahara Sand Dunes. Mega traffic (in local language, that means that there were several cars in a row.)
Most of them stopped, but of course, there was the one who figured that he was smart enough to get through the herd. Idiot. It split the herd in two parts instead of one and made it harder for the running cowboys. However, the praying paid off and the cows decided to be well behaved anyway.

After running down the highway for a while, the cattle do an amazing thing. I should really say, "the COWS do an amazing thing" because there are no adult male animals in the bunch. These really savvy, smart female animals AUTOMATICALLY turn where they are supposed to turn. We don't usually have to even show them where to go. They just remember from an earlier trip and head the right direction. That's a female for you.

Once again, the prayers paid off. None of the calves turned and ran down the train tracks. None of the animals made more than a cursory run at the neighbors front yards or hay fields or any of that stuff they sometimes do. Peter, Earl and Russell each only carried one straggling calf into the cattle trailer to ride the distance. Those were all Majorly good things. Trust me.

Us cowboys and girls formed an entourage with our cars, truck, four-wheeler and feet and followed the moo-ing crowd in the direction of the sunset. (except it was only 5 p.m. and very light still) Another successful cattle drive done for the year. Sigh.

Side note:
Moo advertised they cattle drive to her Greathouse relatives and tried to make them a part of the experience. She billed the event as the "Second Occasional Greathouse Cattle Drive/1 K walk, giving everyone the chance to "participate" by doing a 1 K walk on the day of the drive. This year's local participants were Pa, Ma, Farmerboy, SQ, and Moo. We had a special guest, Alice, with us and a new hired man, Russell. For the event, Moo designed and distributed dish towels with a special logo and ironed special graphics on shorts for Annika and a onesie for Jacob. Lucky kids.

no job, no time

2009-03-15T19:13:00.000-07:00

I don't work. I don't have a job. And I have no time. This has been a really, really busy week. Last Sunday, Moo and I took off for sunny St. George. Not sunny enough to use the outdoor pool, but still warmer than the local scene.
Moo had workshops for two and a half days and I just hung out, shopping, and going to "spouse" workshops. (they don't differentiate for mothers.) I learned how to cook healthy (the big tip I got was to substitute most of the oil in baking recipes with ricotta.....use about 1 Tbsp. light olive oil for the rest of the fat.)
Jewelry making.....mostly jewelry buying. I bought a watch with a fancy green stone changeable band, then ran out and bought bead stuff which I will probably never use, but I got caught up in the moment. Then we learned to pack a suitcase. The lady folded men's shirts like you find them in stores, stacking them with collar 1 on one end, then collar two at the other end, alternating. She put them in large ziplocs then leaned on the bags to squish the air out.
The other tip was to send an empty water bottle through security and filling it from the drinking fountain on the other end. (not foreign water, I assume.)

We picked up beautiful planting flowers in St. George and took them home on Wednesday night to decorate tables for the RS party, an hour and a half after we got home. I had to help with the mystery part of the mystery dinner.
The next morning it was up bright and early to head off to a Dr. appointment in Provo. I spent the next day at Megan's work, helping find some errors caused by an expensive custom computer program..
Next week looks only a little better. Glad I'm still able to move under my own power and do all of this.

SA Cruise: Rio de Janiero: Running out of money

2009-02-27T10:12:00.000-08:00

December 20 Rio de Janiero
We were picked up at the airport and taken to our bed-and -breakfast, the Castel Valentim, a beautiful castle- like five- story Victorian home in the hills of Santa Teresa area of Rio. As we pulled up to the curb, we heard the strains of “Happy Birthday to you” coming from the house. Turns out that our host, Luis, was throwing a big birthday party for his girl friend’s father. Luis tried to get the booking agency to change our reservation, but they just told him to invite us. So he did. We dropped in for a few minutes, then retired to our small room, right next to the party. (We were staying in a bedroom in our host’s apartment.) The music was very loud, but we were so tired that we just fell asleep. It was kind of fun to see how they partied.....music, food, friends and drink.

Dec 21 We had a panoramic view of the city from our balcony. We could see for miles and miles, to the samba-drom, the beaches, soccer stadium, rain forests.

Our host, Luis, was great. He told us places to go, things to do, and sent us off with a paper listing his phone number, address, how to get where we were going etc. After catching the taxi across the street, I dropped the paper into my bag, never to be seen again. Luckily, I remembered just enough to get us around. We spent the morning at a hippy fair near the beach of Ipanema. Actually it started as a hippy fair 40 years ago and grew into a big handicraft and art fair. Very nice. I almost bought some stuff but I kept thinking we didn’t really need anything. That saved us later.

We headed to Sugar Loaf (a tall peak with a cable car up to a magnificent view) where we were “found” by an English speaking guide. He took us to an overlook of the city then to the “Christ Statue.” I found the statue very touching. I could tell that to most people, it was just a tourist attraction, but it touched me to see Christ holding out his arms as if to say, “Come to me. I’m watching over you.” It seemed sad that so few people seemed to care.

We were taken last to a special store high in a building, through looked doors and guards. When we finally got to our destination, we were treated to a personal tour of the gems of Brazil! Plus a sales pitch. Greg got me a small amethyst I can wear on a necklace.
We took the cable tram to the top of Sugar Loaf and were there at sunset to see the city and the harbors. We ended that day at a restaurant much like the Rodizios at home. We went through the salad bar then returned to the table to find bowls of rice, beans, bread, fried bananas, etc. So much food! Of course, they brought around skewer after skewer of meat and a really good bread I think called pao queso (cheese bread). A melty kind of cream cheese inside a fresh roll on a skewer.
By the end of the day we were about out of Brazilian money.

December 22
Here’s the problem. We were not able to get cash at the ATM’s with our credit card in Argentina. No problem to charge things, just to get cash. We called the kids who followed through and thought the problem was fixed. No problem on the ship. We got $300 US in cash on the ship. Found out we had the same problem in Brazil. No cash from the credit card. We had to make our cash last for the whole last part of the trip. We had to sign our lives away to get some of our dollars changed into local money..Brazilian reais (Hay-eyes). But we just about ran out.
We needed to find a Bank of Brazil to get more cash. We caught the bus (2.20 reais each. About $1.00 each) That left us with a total of $1.50 in Brazilian money. First we didn’t know how to get off the bus. So we rode it to the end where everyone got off. Then we didn’t know where we were or the bank was. No one spoke English. I would say “Banco de Brasil” and someone would point and say,” frente” (I think) meaning who knows what? (I thought it meant “straight”) so we just kept walking and asking every so often. Finally we reach a Banco de Brasil. No cash there. Someone on the third floor spoke English and drew us a map. So we walked a bunch more (no money for anything but walking).

Finally got to the money bank. They didn’t speak English, but by now I was good at point and grunt communication. I pointed to my credit card and wrote down 160. He pointed and grunted meaning “ give me your passport” (a standard request so I understood his point and grunt). He spent a long time on the phone and we finally got the money. This allowed us to get a taxi to Copacabana beach area where we could eat at McDonald’s again (their internet connection was down so we had to use real money.) and use their bathroom again.
Greg got to swim in the ocean there and I got to relax on the beach. We wandered onto a feshuada (?) (Buffet-type restaurant) near the beach where they weighed your food and charged by the kilo. (I wonder what the “retained” kilo weight is at the end of the meal?)

December 23 We didn’t have too much time to do anything in the morning, so after showers, we walked to the grocery store downhill about a half mile away. Looked through a gateway between large old buildings and saw a slum-type street with shantys going down the hill. All hidden behind a gate. We caught a bus going back up and had to a shower and wash all my underwear because it was so hot and humid (plus I sweat like a pig). Took less than an hour to dry it on the balcony...hidden. These were the clothes we would be wearing on the airplane for the next day and a half, so we wanted to start out fresh.

After the fiasco of getting on the plane from Sao Paulo to Rio and running out of local money, I was praying constantly by this time. I think it helped a lot. When we checked in to go back to Sao Paulo, the girl spoke English. No hassle with the luggage. Our boarding pass said we left from gate “?” so we asked someone along the way and of course, he gave us the wrong information. I found another passenger who spoke English and was on our flight and he watched to see that we did everything right. (I’m getting pretty good at looking helpless.)

December 24 So we really and finally got home. I was so relieved to be in America where everyone pretty much understood us and we could be helpless in our own language. We listened to Christmas carols from Las Vegas to Lynndyl and arrived at 7:30 p.m. Christmas eve. Three kids were home from college, plus one friend plus two more kids who live here, were all waiting for us. It was so good to be home.
We bounced from country to country and back again. US - Canada - Argentina - Uruguay - Chile - Argentina - Chile - Uruguay - Brazil - Canada - US.
We had traveled a total of approximately 18,500 miles, hitting 6 countries: USA, Canada, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile and Brazil.

SA Cruise: Santos to Sao Paolo to Rio Brazil: Missing a flight?

2009-02-26T10:07:00.000-08:00

December 20 Sunday. Santos, Brazil
We disembarked here and caught a ship’s bus to the Sao Paulo airport where we were taking a flight to Rio de Janeiro. It was a two hour drive, much further than we thought it would be, but the ride was beautiful, up mountain after wooded mountain, with views down through the green valleys. The last hour was spent driving through the city of Sao Paulo itself, a very large industrial city. Where they spoke Portuguese and we didn’t.

Which turned out to be an almost problem as we tried to check in at the airport. We left several of our large bags in storage at the airport, but as we tried to check in for our flight, we learned (by way of a friendly passenger at the next check in who spoke English and our check-in person didn’t) that our luggage was much too heavy. We were panicked because our carry-on had our computer in it. We ended up pulling out an extra, empty duffle bag we travel with and repacking everything. In the end, we figured out that the check in person thought all of the luggage was mine instead of Greg’s, too. We probably didn’t really need to hold up the line while we were repacking, but since we couldn’t communicate......

The really scary part came next. Our tickets said we departed at gate 1. The sign said our flight left from Gate 5. And no one could speak English. I did my point and grunt job and got the answer 3 times that it was gate 5. As we listened for our flight to be called (in Portuguese of course), I thought I heard them call it and say that it was leaving from GATE 3!! Of course, I was wrong, because even though I knew the numbers from one to ten, I didn’t know the words they used in between. I check with gate 3 and was told (in English) that the flight was boarding at that very minute at GATE 1. Almost missed that flight, but someone was watching over us.

SA Cruise: Punta Del Este, Uruguay, Porto Belo, Brazil

2009-02-25T09:55:00.000-08:00

December 17 Punta Del Este, Uruguay
We grabbed a local tour here. It took us about an hour to find one that was in English. We saw beautiful seascapes, beaches, tourist high rise apartments, etc. Our guide was quite worried that the beaches were so empty during this week before Christmas. People all over the world are feeling the economy crunch. We had our pictures taken with a famous giant hand sculpture and passed over a small bridge that went up- then- down- then- up- then- down, a very power design according to a German engineer on our tour. .
We proceeded to the coast line, then to a very unique structure called Casa Puebla. This structure was home, museum, etc. built by hand by the artist owner, Carlos Paez Vilaro. He is famous world wide for his colorful murals. the building was a stucco structure of over 30 rooms with a bit of mid-eastern flavor, white arches, and onion turrets. Inside was bright modern type art and unique metal salvage-type sculpture (pipes and findings, etc.) . On one wall was a picture of the artist with Pablo Picasso. You could see Picasso’s influence in this artists paintings. When we arrived back at the bus, we found out that the artist had been in the museum and our fellow bus-mates had gotten their pictures taken with him. (Where were we???)

December 18 Mostly at sea. We stopped for a short time at Imbituba, Brazil for government officials to board the ship and check credentials of the all crew etc. No one was allowed to leave the ship.

December 19 Saturday Porto Belo, Brazil

Our last real ship stop before the end of the cruise. We were finally back in the land of warm sunshine (Punta Del Este, was ok, too) Sunshine warm enough to spend the day at the beach. Greg and I went ashore and caught a boat-taxi to a small island. We walked to small eco museum then Greg changed into his swimsuit and spent a relaxing time swimming in the bay area. I relaxed on a café deck and watched him from there. I had my first opportunity to use my Portuguese to buy Cheetos. Generally I had to point and grunt, but it worked. I learned the numbers to ten and how to ask how much something cost so I could buy food. (Plus everyone seems to be able to take your money in any language.) Note: Many places and people, especially taxi drivers and marketplaces near the pier, will take US dollars, but we were usually able to get some of the local currency and it was a little cheaper to use since not everyone carried small bills and coins to give you change.

SA Cruise: The end of the world: Ushuaia, Argentina, Cape Horn Chile:

2009-02-24T09:49:00.000-08:00

December 13 Saturday Ushuaia, Argentina

Ushuaia, is a town of 60,000 on the island of Tierra del Fuego and looks out over the Beagle Channel, named after the HMS Beagle, the ship Charles Darwin sailed on in the 1800's.
Here we took the second and last ship run tour. (We can often get much, much cheaper tours by just stepping on shore. There are usually lots of independent guides waiting to pick up cruisers.)
We took a 4-wheel drive (jeep) tour on a very very primitive old logging trail, up a hillside. We dropped down to a ski resort, one of seven on the island....six, including this one, were for cross country skiing. At the resort, we walked among the pens and pens of sled dogs that are being trained to haul sleds in the wintertime. Because there is no snow in the summer, the dogs are trained by pulling 4-wheelers. The owners like the dogs to be around people to they can learn to socialize. We hopped back in the jeeps and headed into a wooded area where we hiked to an old logging hut. The snack we were promised looked like a small slice of sausage on a cracker plus a little Pepsi or wine. Then the real food came out....stewed beef, oranges, deserts, etc. The best snack I have ever had. We hiked through some really beautiful territory, woods, swampy areas, etc. at the southern end of the Andes. It was well worth the money.
December 14 Cape Horn, Chile
We are at the end of the world. The landscape is wild and beautiful. There are glaciers on the rugged mountains here and although it is the middle of the summer in the southern hemisphere, there is still snow on the mountain tops. These mountains are the souther end of the Andes range. From here, the mountain range goes down into the sea and re-emerges in Antarctica, not so very far from here. We are lucky to be able to sail around Cape Horn at the southern end of the world. The wind blows hard here 200 days of the year. Waves can be up to 100 meters high and the seas too rough to navigate. Two weeks ago this ship traversed the Cape in very bad weather...everyone was sea sick. Another large cruise ship, the Norwegian Sun following the same route at the same time was unable to make the passage. We were very blessed, though, because the weather was perfect and we had smooth sailing all the way. We don’t have a good horror story to tell, but that’s OK.

December 15, 16 Monday, Tuesday At Sea

SA Cruise: Punta Arenas, Chile Sailing with Magellan

2009-02-23T09:44:00.000-08:00

December 12 Punta Arenas, Chile
Punta Arenas claims to be the southern most city of its size in the world. It is on the shores of the Straits of Magellan. This area has a very harsh and unforgiving climate. Before the Panama Canal was built, the Straits of Magellan were somewhat of a shortcut from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. The other route was down around Cape Horn, a very dangerous route. At one time, the Dutch East Indies company claimed the area and forbade anyone else to use the route, forcing everyone else to go around Cape Horn.

(Below is one of the few entries written on the voyage)
Today is December 12, 2008. I don’t actually know what day of the week it is, but I can find out by getting on an elevator and looking at the floor. Everyday, the current day of the week is placed on the elevator floor in front of the door. I’m not the only one who loses track of time.

Last night, just after midnight, Greg and I went out on the deck and looked outside. We were just beginning to go through the Straits of Magellan, off the coast of Chile. We could see land off both sides of the ship. Several hundred years ago, when Magellan was looking for the Spice Islands, he found these straits which cut through the tip of South America from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. It was a very valuable “short cut” for ships. It was pretty awesome to image ourselves in the same area as Magellan had been in hundreds of years ago.
(Magellan was asked by Spain’s king to find a westward passage to the Spice Island of Indonesia. They left Spain on September 20, 1519.)

We rose early this morning, ate breakfast, then went back to sleep. You can do that on vacation. After we rose again, we caught a tender (one of the lifeboats used to ferry passengers back and forth to the ship when cannot dock at the pier because the water is not deep enough, etc.) then headed out for the town of Punta Arenas on foot. Tour from the ship are very expensive on this cruise, so we don’t take them at each stop. We walked several blocks into the town square where the ever present market place was set up. I think they set up special when they know that cruise ships are coming in because the ships bring so much business. I bought a few trinkets then we walked about a block to a museum. It was the old home of a local somewhat wealthy family. We spent a pleasant hour there then tried to a get a taxi to take up to the nature reserve that was supposed to have a great view of the city. We ended up walking back to the ship and finding a driver who asked for $50 to take us but settled on $30 instead. He didn’t speak English and we didn’t speak Spanish, but we visited the whole 10 kilometers out and 10 kilometers back. His few words of English and my few words of Spanish along with a lot of hand gestures were enough to tell each other about our families, what they did, about the farm, about the nature reserve etc. It was pretty amazing.

The nature reserve was located at the top of a high hill and had a beautiful view of the harbor and the town of about 40,000 people. From the top we could also see the island of Tierra del Fuego and the end of the world. Tomorrow we will be almost there.

SA Cruise: Puerto Madryn, Argentina and penguins

2009-02-22T09:38:00.000-08:00

December 11 Puerto Madryn, Argentina
We had never heard of any of the ports we visited except the very, very large ones so we didn’t know what to expect.
Puerto Madryn (population 60,000) is on the Atlantic coast of Argentina’s famous region of Patagonia. This part of Patagonia looks almost exactly like the Lynndyl area. It is desolate and has a lot of sagebrush. It reminded me a lot of home.
I took a ship tour which visited a Welsh town of Trelew, I shouldn’t be mean, but Trelew was the ugliest town I have ever seen. The buildings were colorless and there was very little vegetation. We went on a tour of their Paleontology Museum which houses ancient dinosaur fossils that have been discovered throughout the region. No real skeletons were displayed here because they weigh too much. Instead they have cast lighter weight replicas.
Next we visited a Welsh town called Gaiman on the Chubut River. The town is a pretty spot of green down in a valley. None of the trees and vegetation are native to the area, but have all been planted and irrigated by man.....just like at home. We went to a Welsh tea house where we had tea and pastries, (I skipped the tea.) Then wandered about town for a bit.....it was actually not as interesting as the brochure promised.
We ended the tour by traveling by bus to The Punta Loma reserve, home to a large colony of sea lions and sea birds. We traveled along dirt roads and I think our driver was so afraid of stirring up dust that he only drove about 10 miles an hour. We took so long getting there that we only stayed a short time and had to get back to the ship. The sea lions were fun to watch with their little ones. A few of the mothers took their youngsters out into the water to let them play.
Most of the rest just sunned themselves on the beach or enjoyed the shade of an overhanging cliff.
Greg took a 2 ½ hour bus trip to see a penguin colony. (I would have gone there except the ship brochure made the buses sound like they were going to be full of dust and hard to breath in. They were really nice and clean instead.) Punta Tombo, south of Puerto Madryn was home to one of the largest Magellan Penguin colonies in South America. Estimates of the number of penguins are upward of 2 million. (I am plagerising some of the ship’s descriptions.)
The penguins were quite small and hidden among the sage brush. They had little burrows under the bushes. Greg thought it was quite strange to see penguins out in an area that looked like the desert around Lynndyl, except by the sea.

December 11 At sea

SA Cruise: Montevideo and at sea

2009-02-21T09:34:00.000-08:00

December 8 Monday. (I am keeping much better track of the days here on paper looking back than I ever did on the ship. I was usually clueless about what day it was.)

We were allowed to leave the ship in Montevideo, Uruguay about 10 a.m. We hadn’t seen any ship tours that looked interesting so we decided to just go into town. One of the leather shops had shuttle buses at the dock to take people to their shop so we hopped on one and spent a few minutes browsing through their leather goods when we got to town. We spent a pleasant morning walking down the streets and browsing through their open market in the town square. One of the popular items being sold was a container and special spoon for a drink called “mate” (mah-tay), a local tea. The tradition was to fix the tea then pass the mug around for everyone to share. We didn’t try it but we bought a few of the spoon-straws which were shaped like hollow paddles with holes in the top of the bowl for straining out the leaves.

Gaucho dancers were performing in the town square so we found a bench and watched for a while then wandered down the street a ways. Montevideo (population 1.3 million ) reminded me a bit of Provo, not a very metropolitan big city. We found the McDonald’s across from the town square and got a hamburger and drink. (For those of you who think we wimped out by going to McDonalds, you must remember how hard it is to find a bathroom–bano-- in a foreign country, especially a bathroom you can trust.) We walked back to the ship. (We do a lot of walking on our trips and even with all the food we eat, I always end up losing weight. Of course, I gain it all back when I get back home.)

December 10 Tuesday At Sea
The ship has many activities to keep the passengers entertained at sea. We had three formal nights on this trip because of all the days at sea. Greg and I usually play at least one game of trivia each sea day. I also took a Spanish class (which I dropped after the first day) and a Portuguese class, which I attended all five days. That gave me the skills of a high schooler who has taken one week of Portuguese. Quite enough to get around Brazil on our own when we got there.....NOT REALLY!!
Portuguese looks a lot like Spanish. If you can read Spanish you can figure out a lot of Portuguese words (I know some French and can figure out some of the words.) But my phrase book describes Portuguese as Spanish spoken by a drunk Frenchman and I believe it. It sounds totally different than Spanish.

The entertainment on board is top rate. Our first big production show was an excellent tango show. Two professional tango dancers were brought on board from Argentina. They were totally amazing.

Most of the passengers were Spanish-speaking South Americans and Brazilians. They really knew how to have a good time on board. Mamba and other Spanish and Brazilian music was playing into the wee hours of the morning and people danced and danced. And we stayed up and watched them.

SA Cruise: Buenos Aires

2009-02-20T09:20:00.000-08:00

Note: I wrote all of this a month ago and am just now noticing my casual shifting between tenses. I'm too lazy to change it, so just feel more relaxed about the grammar in anything that you send to me.

December 5. Friday. We slept in then took a city tour on a bus. It gave us a nice overview of the city, at least the nice part. We drove through Recoleta, Palermo and Boca, where the futboll (soccer) stadium was located. Boca was an early harbor area of Buenos Aires and many of the building are made from left parts and paint from ships. Many are corregated metal painted bright colors. We were dropped off at a big, beautiful shopping mall in a nice part of town, then we had to find our way home. We walked a bit, found a McDonald’s to get a bit to hold us over until supper (and a bathroom) then walked some more. One of the streets , Florida Street, was a pedestrian only street paved with colorful small tiles. Street performers tangoed, did mime, drew pictures, etc. It was an interesting walk. We finally found a taxi and arrived back at the Garden for a short time, then walked to the restaurant. It was located across from a merry-go-round in a public park. Afterwards we sat in the park and enjoyed the evening.

December 6 Saturday: This was a very, very big day. By now we were getting good...well at least proficient ...at hailing a taxi. We rode to the Recoleta cemetery which was amazing. We were expecting some fancy headstones, but the whole place was full of walking avenues with ornate crypts lining each side. It was like a small city with fancy tall houses just large enough to house the remains of the rich and famous, including Evita Peron.

Next we ate at a large al fresco (outside) restaurant nearby. We headed out on foot for the National Museum of Fine Arts, but we ended up at the wrong museum (modern art...OK) and the bathrooms were not working. We continued to the next large building only to find that it was the law school so we got smart and asked someone, who luckily spoke English and told us what we were looking for was just across the street.

The National Museum of Fine Arts was very, very well worth the hunt. We saw original paintings and sculptures of Rodin (about 10 including “the Kiss”), Picasso, Monet, Renoir, Degas, Tolous LaTrec, Reubens, and more I can’t even remember. A large hand made tapestry was very impressive. At it was all free.

We ended the afternoon taking a taxi to the zoo and spent several hours wandering around before hurrying back to our room to get ready for a tango show....eating at nine and the show at 10:45. The restaurant was built specially for the show with a stage in the center and three tiers of tables on three sides. We were seated to the side of the small stage with our head just above the dancers' foot level and we sometimes felt the breeze as they kicked their feet between us. The dancers and musicians....violin, piano, concertina and bass fiddle...were very good and we really enjoyed the evening.

(At this point I have been home for two weeks and am looking back, trying to recollect everything we did. We like to write down our memories of our trips and put them in our picture albums.)

December 7. Sunday. We usually try to go to church (not LDS, but Christian) on board ship when we travel, but since we are on land, we don’t really know where we are let alone where the church is. Even if we had the address, we wouldn’t be able to understand anything that was said. So that is my excuse. We check out of our Bed and Breakfast today by noon because another couple is coming. We can’t board the ship until about 1 p.m. so we take a taxi to a famous antique flea market a couple of miles away and browse through the booths. Along with the booths, there are antique shops all along both sides of the street leading to the park. We bought a few trinkets, then head back to pick up our luggage and make our way to the ship. Our hostess arranged for the same private driver who picked us up to take us back. He gave me a hug when he dropped us off.

This ship is the Radiance of the Sea, a large Royal Carribean ship capable of holding 2500+ passengers but we learn that our voyage only has 1500 on. Later, we notice that many of our fellow passengers are Jewish (probably because all the Christians, but us, are home getting ready for Christmas) and about 2/3 of the passengers are non-English speaking. It makes for a very interesting voyage. It was always a pleasant surprise to step into an elevator and hear English spoken.
The cultural mixture was quite different than we find back home on a Utah farm. We really did enjoy the variety.

We learned after a few days aboard ship that about 35 people have been left behind by the ship in Buenos Aires, Argentina because they didn’t have Brazilian visas. On the last cruise, the ship had allowed the passengers to come aboard anyway, and had later been heavily fined by the Brazilian government. Somewhere in all the literature we received were the instructions to get the Visas or risk not being able to sail. Unfortunately, it wasn’t written in bold red letters and some people missed it.

We board the ship at Buenos Aires Argentina and overnight cruise to Montevideo, Uruguay, just across the bay a very, very short distance away.

South America Cruise pt 1 Buenos Aires

2009-02-19T09:08:00.000-08:00

South American Cruise December 2 - 24, 2008

This was a difficult time to cruise. Because we would be gone until Christmas Eve, I had to have all of my Christmas preparation done before I left. We were able to get most of the inside and outside decorations up on Thanksgiving weekend, so we were able to enjoy them before we went. That was important to me because I would miss all of the lights, music etc. that surrounds our Christmas celebrations. I was also able to get most of my shopping done and the kids finished the rest of the preparations , so I was able to relax on the cruise, knowing everything was taken care of.

It was also more challenging because Thanksgiving weekend was just before we left and we had company that made nine people for Thanksgiving weekend. Luckily we had almost all of our packing done in advance, so we were able to work things out. It just put a lot of preparations into a few small days.

December 2, 3,4 2008
We finished packing then headed to an evening meeting out of town. After it was over, we drove as far as Mesquite Nevada, arriving in the wee hours of the morning. In the morning we headed off for Las Vegas where we boarded the plane for Toronto, Canada.
I need to explain here: Although we flew into Buenos, Argentina, (south east of us) we took the “scenic” route” (which cost $600 each less than the fast route.): first we drove 5 hours west and south to Las Vegas, then flew north east 4.5 hours to Toronto, Canada and finally south for almost 12 hours to Buenos Aires, Argentina. We flew Canada Air which had great leg room and 24 hour on demand movies and TV. It made a very long trip much more pleasant. Our flight time was lengthened by almost an hour during the night when our plane was diverted by Venezula, then Brazil.

We were met at the Buenos Aires airport by Martine, a private driver arranged for through “the Garden” a bed-and breakfast we stayed at. Our hostess was gone when we
arrived but her secretary/assistant was so helpful, showing us around etc. telling us where to eat and how to get there. The next day she arranged a city tour and a tango show for us.
The B & B was great and so peaceful and relaxing. It had a common room and two guest rooms located along a tiled courtyard with trees. Each morning we woke to find our breakfast laid out on a cart outside our bedroom door: Fresh fruits, pastries, freshly squeezed juice, toast, yogurt, granola.
The other couple staying at the Garden were Andy and Carol, an English couple we got along with very well. Andy gave us a great tip for getting around: write down the place and address of where we want to go and show it to the taxi driver. That along with a business card Pamela, our hostess, gave us got us every where we wanted to go and back again.
We rested the day we got in then walked about 5 blocks to 1880 P.......A small Argentinian restaurant where they spoke no English and we spoke no Spanish. I think we frustrated our waiter that first night, but we all made it through. Greg ordered steak, which came rare, but was delicious....The Argentinians are famous for their beef. The next night he learned to say “medium well in Spanish, but it didn’t matter. They still brought it rare, but delicious again. That night we had a different waiter, a few more Spanish words from our phrase book and we got along a bit better.
Tomorrow pt. 2

tagged

2009-02-18T08:24:00.000-08:00

I've been tagged twice this week. One was by a friend at Authors Incognito and the other was by my daughter, Panda bear. I was supposed to tell 25 random things about myself for one and seven true things for the other. I'm going to combine them. Just assume that the random things are true, and the the true things are random.
I'm not sure I can come up with seven things, let alone twenty-five.

1. I have a hard time reading religious books. For some reason, they don't seem to have a lot of action and I need the action to keep me awake.

2. I like things like the old adding machines that make noises like Ka chink. They are oddly soothing to me for a few minutes.

3. My favorite color is purple. Not lavender or other wimpy versions, but deep purple. I own almost none of it because then I would get tired of it. Now it is a pleasant surprise when I see it.

4. I don't like playing most games. I bear it sometimes because I like doing things with my family, but most games require sitting and waiting for you turn. You may be shocked to hear this, but I have very little patience when it comes to things like that.

5. This will really surprise you, but I have a difficult time staying focused. It's like I have two halves of a brain. Both of them need to be occupied. When I am talking with my kids on the phone they will ask if I am playing Solitaire on the computer. They will request that I do it while I talk because that helps me stay focused on our conversation. Otherwise, that other half of my brain will be out wandering somewhere else.

6. I can now do the dishes all the way through at on time. It took twenty or thirty years to say that, but I no longer wander off half way through ( most of the time.)

7. I no longer watch Dr. Phill most of the time. I got tired of hearing everyone's complaints. I don't know how psychiatrists, etc. do it.

8. I am addicted to sweets.

9. I can't wait to get outside and walk. When the weather is good, I will find an excuse not to.

10. I have big feet. And I don't care. They are good at holding me up after I stumbled because of them.

11. Tags are a good way to keep people writing on their blogs who haven't written there in months, but I don't like coming up with stuff to say.

12. I am a non-verbal person. So why do I have a blog?

13. I wish I had a fairy god mother to clean my house. If she took care of all the mail, bills and paper-type stuff, and kept it up forever, I might take a stab at some of the other mess. Well, if I actually had a fairy godmother, she might as well do all the work.

14. My hair is gray at the roots sometimes. Like right now. But it is easy and quick to get young again. Just expensive.

16. I think I have said enough already.

I am planning to post my last cruise experiences in installments. Those of you have already read them have already read them and won't want to read them again. The rest of you.....well, I don't think there is anyone else who reads my blog.

Soldier's Christmas

2008-11-25T16:42:00.000-08:00

It's almost Thanksgiving and I am thankful for so many things. My family will always head my list, but we have been blessed with so many other things that we take for granted like food, clean water, beautiful sunset, freedom.

My sister sent me this Poem and I felt like I should pass it on. We are truly blessed to have these brave men protecting all of us.
At the end, it asks that we pass it on to everyone we know. If you feel like that, please do pass it on.

A Different Christmas Poem

The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.
Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight.

The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.
My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.

The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,
But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.
Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know, Then the
sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.
My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near.

Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.
A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,
Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.

"What are you doing?" I asked without fear,
"Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!"
For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts..

To the window that danced with a warm fire's light
Then he sighed and he said "Its really all right,
I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night."
"It's my duty to stand at the front of the line,
That separates you from the darkest of times.

No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.
My Gramps died at ' Pearl on a day in December,"
Then he sighed, "That's a Christmas 'Gram always remembers."
My dad stood his watch in the jungles of ' Nam ',
And now it is my turn and so, here I am.

I've not seen my own son in more than a while,
But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile.
Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
The red, white, and blue... an American flag.
I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home.

I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.
I can carry the weight of killing another,
Or lay down my life with my sister and brother..
Who stand at the front against any and all,
To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall."

" So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright,
Your family is waiting and I'll be all right."
"But isn't there something I can do, at the least,
"Give you money," I asked, "or prepare you a feast?
It seems all too little for all that you've done,
For being away from your wife and your son."

Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
"Just tell us you love us, and never forget.
To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone,
To stand your own watch, no matter how long.
For when we come home, either standing or dead,
To know you remember we fought and we bled.
Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,
That we mattered to you as you mattered to us."

PLEASE, would you do me the kind favor of sending this to as many
people as you can? Christmas will be coming soon and some credit is due to our
U.S service men and women for our being able to celebrate these
festivities. Let's try in this small way to pay a tiny bit of what we owe. Make people
stop and think of our heroes, living and dead, who sacrificed themselves for us.

LCDR Jeff Giles, SC, USN
30th Naval Construction Regiment
OIC, Logistics Cell One
Al Taqqadum, Iraq

embarassed

2008-11-17T11:18:00.000-08:00

I am so embarrassed. I can not find my own blog. I go to Cynthia's blog, read it, then click on Megan's blog, read it then click on my own blog....but there is nothing to read there. It has been almost a month since I last blogged. Actually a few things have happened during that time.

I have been trained by CERT (Community Emergency Response Team). I would die if anyone actually asked me to use my training. However, a week or two ago, Connie called and said she needed help with a mock disaster. I said, "OK" then showed up expecting to be covered with blood and gore. You see, we were the victims. The local hospital and ambulance team needed victims to stage their own disaster.

My part was to act like I had driven through some chlorine gas. I was to be panicked. It was fun to sneak in the hospital when I thought they were too slow taking care of us. The emergency room was filled with all sorts of victims, including one with his leg cut off. The bloody leg (fake) was lying next to him on the bed. The whole exercise was a nice change of pace in my slow life.

Poverty in the world

2008-10-15T09:00:00.000-07:00

I guess today is something called "Blog-Action Day....Poor "Apparently all through the year this organization invites bloggers to make entries on particular subjects."

An internet friend just sent an e-mail to visit her site and read what she had written about poverty. It was very thought provoking. I have listed a link to her website below.
http://ldspaz.blogspot.com/2008/10/ahem-blog-action-day.html

I would like to approach the topic from a different viewpoint. A few years ago, my daughter went to Ethiopia on a medical humanitarian aid trip. It was only ten days or so long, so they didn't save the world. The doctors who went treated all sorts of maladies, many of which probably came back when the team left. When the doctors told the people that they just needed to drink clean water to avoid many of the diseases, they replied that the doctors just didn't understand.
The village water well have been filled in by the Communists many years ago. The whole village was so poor that it couldn't afford to drill another one for clean water. Every day the women would have to walk several miles down to the river to get water in their empty anti-freeze (or other) plastic jugs. The water was full of parasites, which the people then drank and got sick. Even water for gardens and animals had to be hauled back this way. Food consisted of ingera, (sp) a flat pancake type of bread and not much else. House were made of mud and shared with animals. Food cooked inside over fires produced smoke that stayed in the house.
We raised money to send large water filters to the village. They were taken into the country in someones luggage because the government of the country doesn't allow that type of thing. We don't know if they were ever used. A year or two ago, the LDS church dug a well for the people. Sometimes we ask why we help
people in other countries when we have poor here at home. I wondered that myself, until I realized that we are all brothers and sisters and need to help each other. Our government, though not perfect, does give aid the poor in our own countries. In some of these other countries, the government does nothing for the poor and probably even wishes they would cease to exist.
Poverty is sad every where. We need to open our eyes and be a part of the solution.

Extra C and Forever Strong.

2008-10-14T19:28:00.000-07:00

I just watched a really good video on you-tube. It wasn't funny or quirky. It was tender and gentle, about the infant son of an internet friend. Her son has Down's Syndrome and she has put together a video about him. Take a look at

I am thinking of adding my picture to my blog. I got a fairly good one as a passport photo. Maybe.....

I saw a good movie last night, too. It didn't have swearing, sex, violence..wait, I take that back. It was a rugby movie and rugby looks like it is seriously violent. the movie was Forever Strong. It was about a guy that does a travel show on the local radio station (really, he does it on our station) but the show was about when he was coaching a rugby team. Actually he still coaches the team. Great show. 3 1/2 stars. I think you will like it.

2008-10-10T18:53:00.000-07:00

Moo tagged me and told me to put down six quirky things about myself. This is impossible. There are no quirky things about me. I guess I will just have to make some up.
1. I stay up really late sometimes because if I don't think I get enough done in a day, I don't think I should go to bed. I'm not up doing things, I just don't go to bed.

2. I, too, close my eyes when I shower. I would understand if there was a mirror in the shower but there isn't.

3. When I put jelly on my toast, I only put it on one side in case I don't want it on the other side.

4. When I sit down to eat, I have three books to read, or do crosswords or anything. I don't always take three books when I sit down because some places have way more than three already.

5. I don't have a read good memory so I forget things. But I am a fast learner so when I don't remember something I just hurry and relearn it.

6. I don't like to have my feet covered at night. I actually don't like the sheets even touching me sometimes and will fidget and fidget until everything is perfect.

7. I don't like stupid stuff like cartoons (usually) One exception used to be Pinky and the Brain. And Bullwinkle of course. The Simpsons aren't stupid so I can occassionally (I never spell that word right!) watch it, but it is rude, crude, and impolite so I have to make sure I don't laugh at inappropriate things.

There you go. You wanted 6, but since they aren't true, I gave you seven.
PS I'm not tagging anyone. It is rude crude and impolite
PPS I just read the list after I posted it. When I said I only put jelly on one side of the toast, I didn't mean back and front, I mean the rounded part and the square part.
8. I can't even find my own blog. I have to go through Megan's....I mean Moo's. To get to hers, I have to go the Cynthia's. Hers is posted on our tool bar. She has this really cute little girl we like to see pictures of. We also like her blog. Keeps us up to date.
Please post comments. I like to feel like someone knows that I am here

The Santa Letters book review

2008-09-29T09:45:00.000-07:00

The Santa Letters

by Stacy Gooch-Anderson
Sweetwater Books
190 (or so) pages

To purchase go to www.amazon.com and type in title.

Please excuse the weird format. It got messed up when I brought the picture in and I don't have all day to correct it.

Santa Letters. Most Santa letters begin “I’ve been a good little girl. I would like you to bring me......” But these letters were different. They were from Santa. The first one began, “Dear Jensens, I know that this year has been a difficult one for you.......” Santa was so right.

A few years earlier, William Jensen had joked about dying young. When his wife Emma became sullen and told him not to even joke about that, he hugged her and said, “Hey, I was only kidding. You know that neither heaven nor earth could keep me away from you and the kids.”

“Do you promise? Promise you’ll always be here for us?” Emma asked.

“...even if some mystical force did try to separate us. I promise you somehow, someway, I’d find a way to let you know that I wasn’t far off.”

It was not some mystical force that separated them, but a traffic accident. Emma was left to raise their four young children alone.
Now it was Christmas time and McKenna was asking hard questions.

“Mama, when will Daddy be home for Christmas?” Emma froze... It took a moment before she could face her daughter.
“Why would you ask that, sweetie?”
“Because in my dream, he said he’d be here with us.”

Daddy wouldn’t be home for Christmas. Emma didn’t think Santa would even be there for Christmas.
But Santa had other ideas. The first letter arrived on December 13. Santa had been watching them very closely. “...as Christmas season has grown closer, I’ve also noticed that there is sadness, a burden that has become too heavy to bear on your own. And so as I’ve watched over you while checking in to see that you’ve remained “nice,” I decided that rather than the traditional gifts of toys and “stuff,” I wanted to give you a Christmas to savor. One that would help you remember what the true gifts of the season are.”
Santa was watching through the big picture window as the family read the words and tried to guess who had written them. He didn’t hear Mc Kenna say, “Duh, Mom. It’s from Santa. See, it says so right there.” But he saw the excitement in her eyes. He turned away from the scene, pulling his cap down over his brow, and walked slowly off whistling “Silent Night.”

When I read this story, my first thought was “I’ll have to buy this one for Mom.” My mother loved Christmas stories and I think this is one she would have added to her permanent collection. But Mom is gone and her Christmas books are split between her children.
The Santa Letters will become a Christmas classic in LDS homes. It is being marketed nationwide and is sure to become a best seller. Readers will relate to the way Stacy has captured the grief of this little family and found a way to turn it around. The family, especially the mother, has understandably been under the shadow of sorrow for too long and needs desperately to find its way out. Santa helps them step outside of themselves and into the sunshine. He helps Emma understand the man responsible for her husband’s death so that she may let go of her anguish.

The Santa Letters were based on Stacy’s own experiences. She lost her father to cancer in 2004 and her mother battled it until her death in 2008. In between, Stacy found out that two of her sons had been sexually abused. Her world crashing down about her with burning questions about whether all she had been taught was wrong, she knew that she must decide whether to abandon trust, honesty and faith and bring out her own brand of justice.
She looked at herself in the mirror one day and decided that if she wanted her sons to grow up in the type of environment she wanted for them, then she must set the example.
Thousands of dollars were spent on therapists and lawyers and left very little for Christmas that year. But Stacy knew that with all they had already been through, the children did not need Christmas ruined, too. So she came up with her “Santa letters” project helping her family come “ to understand that one would never find Christmas under the tree unless they could first find it in their hearts.”
The forgiveness at the end of the story becomes much more poignant knowing the forgiveness that Stacy herself faced in her own life.
The Santa Letters lets us see into our own difficulties and gives us direction into finding hope.
Good luck to Stacy. I think she has a winner.

See more about the author and her book on http://www.thesantaletters.org Check out the media kit section. But turn down the sound!
For some reason, my blog messed up when I tried to put in links to the book cover and amazon. If you go to amazon.com you can see the cover and purchase the book.

The Santa Letters by Stacy Gooch-Anderson
Sweetwater Books
To purchase: Go to www.amazon.com and type in the title.

Santa Letters. Most Santa letters begin “I’ve been a good little girl. I would like you to bring me......” But these letters were different. They were from Santa. The first one began, “Dear Jensens, I know that this year has been a difficult one for you.......” Santa was so right.

A few years earlier, William Jensen had joked about dying young. When his wife Emma became sullen and told him not to even joke about that, he hugged her and said, “Hey, I was only kidding. You know that neither heaven nor earth could keep me away from you and the kids.”

“Do you promise? Promise you’ll always be here for us?” Emma asked.

“...even if some mystical force did try to separate us. I promise you somehow, someway, I’d find a way to let you know that I wasn’t far off.”

It was not some mystical force that separated them, but a traffic accident. Emma was left to raise their four young children alone.
Now it was Christmas time and McKenna was asking hard questions.

“Mama, when will Daddy be home for Christmas?” Emma froze... It took a moment before she could face her daughter.
“Why would you ask that, sweetie?”
“Because in my dream, he said he’d be here with us.”

Daddy wouldn’t be home for Christmas. Emma didn’t think Santa would even be there for Christmas.
But Santa had other ideas. The first letter arrived on December 13. Santa had been watching them very closely. “...as Christmas season has grown closer, I’ve also noticed that there is sadness, a burden that has become too heavy to bear on your own. And so as I’ve watched over you while checking in to see that you’ve remained “nice,” I decided that rather than the traditional gifts of toys and “stuff,” I wanted to give you a Christmas to savor. One that would help you remember what the true gifts of the season are.”
Santa was watching through the big picture window as the family read the words and tried to guess who had written them. He didn’t hear Mc Kenna say, “Duh, Mom. It’s from Santa. See, it says so right there.” But he saw the excitement in her eyes. He turned away from the scene, pulling his cap down over his brow, and walked slowly off whistling “Silent Night.”

When I read this story, my first thought was “I’ll have to buy this one for Mom.” My mother loved Christmas stories and I think this is one she would have added to her permanent collection. But Mom is gone and her Christmas books are split between her children.
The Santa Letters will become a Christmas classic in LDS homes. It is being marketed nationwide and is sure to become a best seller. Readers will relate to the way Stacy has captured the grief of this little family and found a way to turn it around. The family, especially the mother, has understandably been under the shadow of sorrow for too long and needs desperately to find its way out. Santa helps them step outside of themselves and into the sunshine. He helps Emma understand the man responsible for her husband’s death so that she may let go of her anguish.

The Santa Letters were based on Stacy’s own experiences. She lost her father to cancer in 2004 and her mother battled it until her death in 2008. In between, Stacy found out that two of her sons had been sexually abused. Her world crashing down about her with burning questions about whether all she had been taught was wrong, she knew that she must decide whether to abandon trust, honesty and faith and bring out her own brand of justice.
She looked at herself in the mirror one day and decided that if she wanted her sons to grow up in the type of environment she wanted for them, then she must set the example.
Thousands of dollars were spent on therapists and lawyers and left very little for Christmas that year. But Stacy knew that with all they had already been through, the children did not need Christmas ruined, too. So she came up with her “Santa letters” project helping her family come “ to understand that one would never find Christmas under the tree unless they could first find it in their hearts.”
The forgiveness at the end of the story becomes much more poignant knowing the forgiveness that Stacy herself faced in her own life.
The Santa Letters lets us see into our own difficulties and gives us direction into finding hope.
Good luck to Stacy. I think she has a winner.

See more about the author and her book on http://www.thesantaletters.org Check out the media kit section. But turn down the sound!

2008-08-25T12:22:00.001-07:00

OK, I know this is cheating, but I am copying one of Elizabeth's e-mails about words here. Then I can direct other word lovers to this blog. Thanks Elizabeth.

Subject: For all you lexiophiles (Lover of words)

1. A bicycle can't stand alone because it is two-tired.

2. What's the definition of a will? (It's a dead giveaway)

3. Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana

4. A backward poet writes inverse.

5. In democracy it's your vote that count's; in feudalism it's your
count that votes.

6. She had a boyfriend with a wooden leg, but broke it off.

7. A chicken crossing the road is poultry in motion.

8. Marathon runners with bad footwear suffer the agony of defeat.

9. With her marriage she got a new name and a dress.

10. Show me a piano falling down a mineshaft and I'll show you A-flat minor.

11. When a clock is hungry it goes back four seconds.

12. The man who fell into an upholstery machine is fully recovered.

13. A grenade thrown into a kitchen in France would result in Linoleum
Blownapart.

14. You feel stuck with your debt if you can't budge it.

15. Local Area Network in Australia: the LAN down under.

16. He often broke into song because he couldn't find the key.

17. Every calendar's days are numbered.

18. A lot of money is tainted. 'Taint yours and 'taint mine.

19. A boiled egg in the morning is hard to beat.

20. He had a photographic memory which was never developed.

21. A plateau is a high form of flattery.

22. The short fortune-teller who escaped from prison was a small medium
at large.

23. Acupuncture is a jab well done.

24. When you've seen one shopping center you've seen a mall.

25. Those who jump off a Paris bridge are in Seine.

26. When an actress saw her first strands of gray hair she thought she'd
dye.

Bryce Canyon, Yellowstone

2008-08-25T12:17:00.000-07:00

We got in a few weekend trips this summer, first to Bryce Canyon and Capital Reef National Parks in Utah. Then last week we visited Yellowstone National Park in Montana and Wyoming. All I can say about either one of them is "Wow!" I have traveled to several places in the world and I don't think I have ever been to anywhere as spectacular as these places in my own back yard. If I had been in a foreign country and seen these places, I would have been in total awe. Italy had Michaelangelo, but we had God.

2008-08-01T09:53:00.000-07:00

Room for Two

Trade Paperback: 224 pages

Publisher: Cedar Fort (August 2007)

ISBN-10: 1599550628

ISBN-13: 978-1599550626

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #208,955 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Purchase book here:

I don’t know quite how to recommend a book that deals with the issues surrounding suicide. But I do recommend Room for Two by Abel Keogh, a book based on the true life experiences of Keogh as he works through the suicide of his young wife, Krista, and the death of the child she carried. He takes us on his journey from the shot he hears as he walks into his apartment to the light he finds at the end of the tunnel.
Although Mr. Keogh lets us know of his love for his wife and his pain at her death, he does not draw us through all the anguish he must have felt during that difficult time. A more deeply compassionate picture of what he went through might have made this book unbearable for the reader to endure.
Room for Two is a gentle look at a harsh subject. It reads more like a poignant romance novel than a tragedy as Keogh reaches out for the company of others in his loneliness. He encounters the usual uncomfortable situations as he seeks for women to just spend time with and finds that being a widower brings its own unique challenges to the dating world.
He didn’t often mention to his dates that his wife was dead or what the circumstances were behind the death. But after a rocky start with one of the women, Julianna, he sat down and had a heart to heart talk and broke the news that Krista had taken her own life.

“Juliana’s lips were pursed as if in deep thought.”
‘I don’t know if I can do it,” she finally said.’
‘Do what?’
‘Date a widower.’
‘Why?’
‘Why? You have to ask why?’
‘Tell me why it would be hard,’ I said. I could foresee a lot of potential problems but wanted to know if Julianna’s concerns were the same as the ones I saw.
‘I don’t know if I can live with having my every action compared to those of a dead woman,’ she said. ‘I don’t want to compete with a ghost.’
‘Have you felt like I’ve been comparing you to Krista?’
‘I don’t know you or Krista well enough to answer that question,’ Julianna said. ‘But I know when someone dies, they tend to be put on a pedestal. It doesn’t matter what they did wrong. All anyone can remember is the good, loving things about them. Meanwhile I’d be with you making mistakes and being compared to a woman who is a saint in some people’s minds.’

Sentiments most of us have probably never think about in our own normal worlds.
I had the privilege of listening to Abel Keogh at a recent writer’s conference I attended. Abel was talking about how to start a blog and why it was a good idea. He shared his own experiences.
Five months after his wife’s death, Abel felt a need to write his thoughts down and so started an anonymous blog, not really for the general public, just mostly for himself. That original blog is still available on his website www.abelkeogh.com Here is an excerpt.

“I don’t know where to begin. Maybe writing all this stuff down will do me some good. Maybe I’ll just give it up after an entry or two. Anyway, it a nice break from my daily routine at work.
“I’m not writing anything on this site for your sympathy or compassion. I’m just writing down how I feel, hoping that somehow I can straighten out me feelings of loss, anger, and grief. Hoping that somehow I can come to terms with the lost of my best friend: my wife of five years. Like others on Diaryland, I placed a guestbook on this site so that you can leave your thoughts. All I ask is that you don’t smother me with sympathetic nonsense. Like I said, I’m not looking for anyone’s compassion or trying to pull anyone’s heartstrings. The most common thing I heard after my wife’s death is “I don’t know what to say.” Well, there is nothing you can say. You can’t tell me anything which will bring her back or make anything better. I just have do deal with what I am going through one day at a time, hour by hour, minute by minute. I have friends whose shoulders I cry on. I’m not looking to cry on yours.” (End of quote)

As he wrote more entries in his blog, Able was somewhat surprised to find that people were logging on and sharing their own feelings and experiences. They were comforted to know that someone was out there who shared some of their same experiences. He included the words “dating a widower” in his subject line. The longer he wrote, the more hits he got and he realized that there was a real need for a forum where people could openly talk about their experiences. He gave up on the anonymity and soon people were typing in his name to find his blog. He used his own name spelled correctly and misspelled .....the same way I was misspelling it until I read this...in his subject line. Abel’s 2002 blogs hold a timeless messages for those going through their own trials today. The appeal is universal as well. In May of 2008, his blog had over 2000 hits from different people in 56 different countries.

Eventually, Able wrote a book about his experiences and in 2007, Room for Two was published by Cedar Fort Publishing. The first chapter is available online by going to www.abelkeogh.com . Get up your courage and read it. You'll be glad you did.

wild peacocks

2008-07-30T08:09:00.000-07:00

Are any of you missing two peacocks? We think they are young male, no tail feathers yet.
They showed up at my house (farm) yesterday morning and act like this is their home now. We got a sheep once when a herd passed by, but I didn't notice a herd of peacock passing lately. Geese migrate every fall, but it isn't fall and I haven't noticed any flocks of peacocks overhead. No groups of wild peacocks roaming the parts lately that I recall. We sometimes end up with hunting dogs during hunting season, but it isn't hunting season, so I doubt they are hunting peacocks.
We are thinking that someone just dropped them off here, thinking they were puppies or kittens, like we usually get that way. If you hear anything, let me know. Mary

Jerky

2008-07-26T11:49:00.000-07:00

I'm the enrichment leader in our ward and as usually, I've made a mountain out of a mole hill. We started losing our connections with one another and felt like we needed to meet together as a whole on a regular basis. So we have a once a month get together.
This month we are doing canning, food preservation, etc.
I volunteered to do beef jerky and fruit leather. (I never really do them, they just sounded like the easiest assignment....wrong).
I called the butcher and got him to slice two roasts for jerky. Never asked the price, the slicing was free, but I ended up with $25 worth of skinny meat. I have a microwave, 2 hour and 12 hour versions.
I may let you know later how everything goes.

Trees drink from the toilet

2008-07-26T11:24:00.000-07:00

I really, really like trees, but they shouldn't drink from the toilet; that's for the dogs and cats. It's not like the trees come through the window then bow down and take a sip or a long nice draw. They've mastered a lazy way of doing it, staying right in place. They just send their little roots out, find a tiny crack for their tiny root then make their way up through the toilet. Those tiny little roots multiply, get bigger and eventually take over the whole place, making it rather unpleasant when you try to use the toilet for its traditional, maybe even original purpose.

Happened to us a couple of years ago in our basement twa - lay.(makes things not so urgent to take care of until things get way out of hand.)
Called the plumber who came over, reamed the pipe out then put something right into the system to kill the little intruders for a year.
A few weeks ago, a plumber man came to our house to do a yearly update of putting the "stuff" in.
Same company, different guy. Said he couldn't put it into the basement toilet, couldn't get to right plumbing, yada, yada, yada. Ended up in the main bathroom. Turned off the water supply, vacuumed out the water (would never have thought that one up on my own!) then dumped the stuff in. It bubbled up with a vengeance over the top, all over the floor. He drizzled a bit of water in to control the stuff....it didn't work. Then I taught him a trick I learned from my mother-in-law-whose-toilet-never-worked-right. Dump a whole bucket in at once. He tried it and VOILA! it worked. A Couple more times of that and we were in business........ to the tune of over $200 just to dump stuff in the toilet (should have charged HIM for the new trick I taught him) ......

OH, and the plumber guy told us when he was done that we couldn't use any of the water in the house for 2 hours!!!!! We had company! We were going somewhere! What even happened to fair warning?

.........until my husband came home and told me that the stuff would end up in the septic system where we didn't have roots and miss the toilet system which did.
On top of that, because of extremely hard water, our toilet water supply line was now leaking all over the floor, into the basement and threatening to mess up some electric wiring.
Then we started smelling smoke. The boys slept upstairs for a few nights, the hard water eventually sealed off the leaks again, we replaced the valve anyway. I got the clean up a lot of floors and wash a lot of ickly towels, we got to righteously use a few cuss-type words (any word used with the right intonation and decibel level is a cuss-like word.)
'Nuf said. We are back to happy flushing.

PS Please forgive the broken thought lines....I think they are normal, but not everyone does.

2008-07-23T21:52:00.000-07:00

This blog is a repeat of an earlier one. I switched dates on two books I was reviewing and ended up doing this one early. So once again, here it is.

Preparedness Principles book review

Preparedness Principles

Trade Paperback: 384 pages

Publisher: Cedar Fort Inc. (August 1, 2006)

ISBN-10: 0882908065

ISBN-13: 978-0882908069

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #328,423 in Books

Purchase Book here

Preparedness Principles by Barbara Salsbury is subtitled: The Complete and Personal Preparedness Resource Guide for Any Emergency

True to its name, Preparedness Principles is a comprehensive guide to being prepared for those scary times when things are just not going well, whether because of natural disaster or a challenge such as job loss.

Ms. Salbury draws on her own personal experience to give the reader a practical look at what is important in times of disaster.
Items covered include:
saving for a rainy day
building a pantry system based on buying the family’s favorite foods while on sale.
Emergency heat,
cooking,
first aid,
food storage,
72-hour kit,
water purification,
sheltering in place,
natural disaster
and much more.
A 16- subject appendix in the back has instructions as diverse as making newspaper logs, filling an oil lamp and preparing for terrorism. Specific natural disasters are also presented in the appendix section.

.If a person could have only one book on preparedness, this would be the book. Because of its wide scope of subjects and practical nature, the reader could feel confident that he could find the help he needed within these pages. The information was not limited to major natural disasters, but gave advice to cover personal disasters and every day emergencies.

One of the more practical sections for preparedness that translates well into every day living even when there is no disaster is the Pantry Principle chapter. Many home storage systems require large investments of time and money, often put into food items that becomes old or never meets the family’s tastes and preferences. The Pantry Principle introduced in Chapter Fourteen is based on “Stocking up when the price is right on all the food and non-food items you use on a regular basis... The Pantry Principle is not just food storage. It is much more than that. It is an effective money-management program that also enables you to be prepared for almost any emergency situation that could arise. It provides a personal buffer against outside forces (economic, political, natural and so on.)”

Although snippets of disaster experiences were sometimes included, it would have been nice to have a few more in depth accounts of real life disasters to give the reader more than a gentle nudge to get his own house in order and make preparations for his family’s security and well being.

While the retail price is fairly steep at $26.99, Preparedness Principles has enough information to fill several books. With so much useful, practical information, it is actually a bargain.

I would recommend this book to every family who wants to be prepared for the rainy days in life. Isn't that all of us?

Author's Interview

Barbara Salsbury was kind enough to answer some personal questions for me.

Mary: This book came out two years ago. Why are you promoting it now?

Barbara: Ironically the very week this book went to press my husband was diagnosed with malignant cancer. The last several years have been an unbelievable roller coaster ride. I am just now joining the land of livng and trying to function as an author. Miracle of miracles and many blessings later and one year out from horrendous surgery Larry has survived.

Mary: Why do you think a book of this type is appropriate today?

Barbara: All one has to do is to read the newspapers or watch the nightly news to immediately realize that there is a dire need for many kinds of preparedness; dealing with Mother Nature as well as the unruly economy.

Mary: You speak from experience. What disasters have you weathered? > Which was the hardest one and why?

Barbara: I grew up in the tornado country of Ohio, along with the severe thunderstorms that are constantly there, but probably the worst and most frightening was the 7.2 Loma Prieta earthquake. We lived 10 miles from the epicenter and our house was trashed - still standing but trashed. When it hit I was home alone in my office. It was devastating to the soul as well as to the houses, etc. Emotionally it was a very trying experience even though we were prepared with lots of "supplies".

Mary: We have been talking about disasters for years. Do you think that people are more aware today than 30 years ago or less?
Do you think people are more likely or less likely to be prepared
today than they were 20 (or 30) years ago?

Barbara: People may be more aware because of the media, but I feel that we still have to feed them doses of reality and enthusiasm to encourage them to realize that they can be prepared to take care of themselves - even a little bit at a time. I also feel that so many "preachers" of preparedness have taught hell fire and brimstone along with doomsday and the end of the world that some think they don't want to hear about it from a practical point of view.

Mary: How prepared for disasters, natural and personal, do you think that people actually are today?
Barbara: For the most part I would suggest that there are not a great number who are sufficiently able to take care of themselves for more than a day or so. we are conditioned that the supermarket on the corner will always be open 24/7.

Barbara: What do you think the single most important thing we can do to get
prepared for an emergency? Why?
Probably the most important thing is to acknowledge that there is really a need and that the government, whether city, state or the Red Cross is not going to rescue us as individuals or families. Once that recognition is established then the acceptance and actions of personal responsibility will set in.

This is especially true if people realize that it can be a fun challenge and that it can be accomplished. They just have to remember the chocolate :]>

8 comments:

Candace E. Salima said...: Great review and interview, Mary. I take a look at the world today and realize that there is so much uncertainty facing people today whether it be job losses, extended illness or disease, disaster or war . . . it seems most of the world is facing one of the situations. Preparedness Principles has been a wonderful guide for me.; July 15, 2008 10:10 PM
Nichole Giles said...: Mary,
I have this book as well, and after reading it, I'm considering buying a stack of them for Christmas gifts.

Every family needs one.

Great interview.

Nichole; July 15, 2008 10:45 PM
Cynthia said...: Thanks for the review! Loved seeing you guys. Annika has been waving to anyone and everyone who will look at her, but I think she's disappointed that no one's attention span is as long as her grandparents'!; July 16, 2008 8:44 AM
Cindy Beck said...: Mary,
Loved the review and interview. The more I read about this book, the more I realize I need to buy it.

And as Nichole said, it would make a great gift.; July 16, 2008 8:58 AM
Randall McNeely said...: Mary,

Great review. My wife and I have been talking a lot about this very subject. Reading your review has been very timely. I'll be purchasing this book in the very near future.

Thanks for sharing!

Randy; July 16, 2008 2:45 PM
Beee said...: Great review, thank you for the insight.; July 16, 2008 6:38 PM
nanna said...: Nice Mary.
I hadn't heard about this book.
I guess I need to get out more right?
It really sounds interesting. Putting it on my 'up north' list.
Hope I can find it at Barnes and Noble. Thanks
Eva; July 17, 2008 6:18 AM
Barbara Salsbury said...: Thanks so much Mary. I appreciate you taking the time to review the book. It is so nice to know that it can be really helpful to people. Yes, itis big, but you can read it a bite at a time or come back again and again. barbara; July 22, 2008 1:08 PM

Caught in the Headlights book review

2008-07-16T23:27:00.000-07:00

Caught in the Headlights

Trade Paperback: 116 pages

Publisher: Cedar Fort (June 2008)

ISBN-10: 1599551675

ISBN-13: 978-1599551678

Website: www.barrykphillips.com

Blog: http://www.barrykphillips.com/blog

Purchase book here

When I agreed to review “Caught in the Headlights” by Barry K. Phillips, I was expecting (and hoping for) a scathing political satire. Sadly, I was disappointed. It was not a scathing political satire at all. Happily, it was something more. I think I would classify it as a “self-examination” book of lessons to be learned in life and suggestions on how to learn them.

Subtitled: “10 Lessons Learned the Hard Way,” Caught in the Headlights covers the topics of happiness, self-esteem, pride, freedom, control, tolerance, forgiveness, success, the big event and the perfect body.

Each chapter begins with a satirical t cartoon (done by the author himself) with captions that are snappy and display a tight grasp on human nature. Examples and lessons follow and a poem by the author ends each chapter. Mr. Phillips great poetic strength lies in the messages he imparts.
Mr. Phillips uses sarcasm and self-deprecating examples to point out to the reader that when he thinks he is seeking happiness, he is really only seeking inner peace. Or that self-esteem does not come from compliments, but rather from competence.

My favorite chapter is about tolerance. My father once told me “Don’t be so open minded your brains fall out.” Mr. Phillips takes the same approach in his view of tolerance.
“One of the unspoken truths is that people who want tolerance do not really want tolerance. They may start out that way, but they quickly move from wanting tolerance to wanting acceptance, then endorsement, and finally domination.” ... “I think that being tolerant is a good thing, but it does not mean I have to agree with everything and everyone.” The lesson for this chapter was “Tolerance does not mean we can’t have an informed opinion. There are values worth defending.” This chapter is filled with a lot of other really good stuff and like the rest of this book, much of it isn’t even politically correct. Bravo! It's about time someone called it like it is.
Mr. Phillips was kind enough to answer some of my questions.

Authors Interview

Mary: What inspired you to choose to write this type of book, or even to
write a book at all?

Barry: Well, I got the confidence to write the book after writing for Glenn Beck's Fusion Magazine. I figured if they liked my stuff enough to use me, I might as well give a full book a shot. I've always wanted to combine my cartooning with writing, and this gave me a chance to do just that. This type of book just suits my personality.

Mary: Your book is not an especially mainstream genre and your publisher,
Cedar Fort, generally plays it safe in the type of books they publish.
What approach did you take in successfully pitching your book to them?

Barry: I really didn't have to pitch too hard, they just seemed to really like the book. Who knew? I think the different approach was interesting to them, because they really didn't do drastic edits like you here horror stories about with most publishers. They were great to work with.

Mary: It sounds like you have had some interesting experiences in your
life that you use as bases for your book. What is the biggest challenge that you have encountered and how did you deal with it? (The biggest you want to share with us.)

Barry: Well, I've run a lot of my own businesses and you can really get wrapped up in that. I'll never forget when my first company went down. I was devastated. The next morning after the whole thing was gone, my wife just looked at me and said, "so what's next?" She didn't mean a new business, but she was committed to our future together. I started to realize what really mattered most... my family and others that I love. Business not longer defined me, it was just a part of what I had to do to keep the family moving. That was a great lesson to learn, and learn before it was too late. I had to remind myself of what was really important and what I wanted to make of myself.

Mary: You have a "Top Ten" list of pursuits. How did you come up with your list?

Barry: I was amazed at how many people have dealt with these same issues, but so many never figure out how to learn the lessons. You know the old adage, "if you keep doing what you've always done, you'll always get what you've always got." Breaking the cycle of repeating the same old things is pretty hard to do, so I thought others might benefit from what I've learned. These 10 seemed to be the most common.

Mary: Do you personally know Glenn Beck?

Barry: I have met him and talked with him about some of the things I've written for him, but I wouldn't call us great friends. He's very busy these days. He was kind enough to write the foreword, for which I'm very grateful. And I always get into his shows for free! I'm actually pretty good friends with the original editor of Fusion. He is now a producer for Glenn's TV show.

Mary: Your ten pursuits can be used by a broad range of people, including politicians, I assume. Speaking of politics, which of your 10 pursuits do you think America is having the most trouble with? Do you have a suggestion how to cure that trouble?

Barry: I assume you want a suggestion besides "throw all the bums out!" Frankly, most politicians have really lost touch with what it is like to be you and me. Pride, is a big issue as well as duty. If they truly wanted to do what is best for us, and not for getting and keeping their power at all costs, I suspect we wouldn't have most of the problems we face today in this country, because they'd function by logic, not their political agendas.

Mary: Why did you choose the title, "Caught in the Headlights"?

Barry: Have you ever seen how deer get frozen in their tracks when headlight's hit them? This book is about those "caught in the headlights" moments that I've experienced in my life - moments that I think we all experience - where I've realized I was after the wrong things. The thing is, even if you get those things, you come up wanting. The ten lessons in the book are about very common things that we think we want, but we really don't. "Caught in the headlights" was often how I felt when I finally realized I was on the wrong path and needed to change course.

Preparedness Principles book review

2008-07-15T21:14:00.000-07:00

Preparedness Principles

Trade Paperback: 384 pages

Publisher: Cedar Fort Inc. (August 1, 2006)

ISBN-10: 0882908065

ISBN-13: 978-0882908069

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #328,423 in Books

Purchase Book here

2008-07-07T13:31:00.000-07:00

This is the second blog for today because the one I actually wrote yesterday vaporized.
I am going to write something different, though.
A few years ago I compiled a book about the history of Lynndyl, a very, very, very small town. Yesterday, two ladies came by to try and buy one of the books. I am out, but I do have CD's of the book. I showed them a copy of my book and they were so excited to find the names of their relatives all through the book. They found a picture of their mother as a young girl and just had to run to the car to show her. The book was a labor of love. It took me thousands of hours of work and I received no pay for it. The excitement and appreciation of people when they read it are my pay.
Right after they left, I mean within 5 or 10 minutes we heard a great big noise coming from outside. All we could do was see dust. When that settled, I called 911. I was afraid it was the ladies who had just left.
Luckily for them and unluckily for the real driver, it was a man going toward Tooele. He had rolled his vehicle several times and had cut his leg and head.
After a bit, we got him back to our front porch when he could sit down and we could check him. Luckily, a nurse was one of the first on the scene.
It was a busy Sunday afternoon.

2008-07-07T13:28:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Sunday, we stood and sang the Star-Spangled Banner in Primary. Actually, I got to sit because they don't require the piano player to stand. Anyway, we handed out copies of the song to all of the older children and proceeded to sing all three verses. I wish would we do that more often. I think the third verse is awesome. I am going to put it here for your enjoyment.

Oh, thus be it ever, when free men shall stand
Between their loved homes and the war's desolation!
Blest with vict'ry and peace, may the heav'n rescued land
Praise the Pow'r that hath made and preserved us a nation1

2008-06-26T08:35:00.001-07:00

I'm writing another blog because that's what bloggers do.
I'm sitting here when I should be hard at work. The house smells faintly moldy and I know I will probably have to look under piles of stuff that should be there to find what is causing the stink.
Another entertaining day at home.
My work list for today includes getting rid of about half of my clothes. I never seem to have anything to wear, but I think that is because it is too hard to dig through everything thing to find anything. I can't get rid of my good clothes.....I may want to leave the house sometime. I can't get rid of the bad clothes....I might have to wear them to clean or paint (???what do I really want to paint???)
I have to save the ones that are too small because I might lose weight. I would have to save the ones that are too large (if I actually had any) in case I gained weight.
Question: Do you really think I can get rid of half of my clothes? Tune in later for the answer (if I get off the computer long enough to actually go to my closet.)

2008-06-22T17:45:00.000-07:00

Finally, after two weeks I am posting another blog. Its a good thing Megan was here because I couldn't even remember how to post on my own blog.

When I was younger, I was kind of quiet, not much of a talker. In about 6th grade, I decided that when I was with my friends I would only talk when I had something important to say.
Needless to say, I didn't do much talking. But I did notice that my friends were talking all the time and they didn't really have anything important to say, either.

That is what blogging reminds me of. So I'm figuring out that I don't really have to have anything to say when I blog.

We got a new car yesterday. By we, I mean my daughter, husband and I. My daughter's car gave out on her and she needed a new one. With gas so expensive, we decided to chip in together and get a Toyota Prius. A Prius is a hybrid car with a gas engine plus a battery system that kicks in to run the car. It is supposed to get 45 miles to the gallon. Some people even brag that they get up to 60 miles to the gallon, but I think they are coasting downhill most of the time. We don't have many hills around here, so it will take us a while to break the car in before we get the best mileage.

The money we save on gas isn't going to make up the extra money the car cost, but we don't have to go to the gas pump so often and growl about the prices. We might feel like we can still take a few car trips.

Keep those comments coming. I love to hear from you.

6-7-8 conference

2008-06-08T21:09:00.000-07:00

I just attended a fantastic writer's conference put on by Cedar Fort Publishing in Springville Utah. It was a 6 hour conference, but the time flew by. We were given so much good, practical advice. Then we were entertained and inspired by Eloise "Surfer Girl" Owens. We were urged to "Get off the beach." We couldn't stay on the safe beach all of our lives. We needed to move to the water and learn to surf.

After watching Eloise fall off her surf board five times, her instructor asked her where she was going. Annoyed, she told him she was going toward shore. "Why, then," he asked her, "are you looking down instead of at your destination. You always go in the direction you are looking." Defiantly, she stood on her board, just one more time, and set her sights on the shoreline. Without looking back, she made the journey that changed her life.

I was inspired, not to take up surfing (no public swimsuit displays for me) but to get off the beach and find a new writing project. I'm ready to jump in the water.

I'm a blogger!

2008-06-08T20:48:00.000-07:00

I had no desire to be a blogger and open my life up to the world, but the past two writers' conferences both had presentations on blogging and stressed the importance of having a website and a blog. So watch out world, here I come.

I was trying to come up with descriptions for my blog. I have always wanted to use the description "where you can see both ends of the rainbow" in some of my writings. It describes the scene outside my window after a rainstorm. In today's computer search world, however, some people might be misled. So I chose the sight I see at night instead. A million stars in the sky. That says a lot.

Mary's Great House

Seize the day

Twins

old friends

Perilous

Guest Blog for LDS Writer's Blogck

Marking the way

Trapped review

Tetanus and dirty socks

It's a Rebound

Midnight Plane to Georgia

The Thorn

Contest Winner

Win a Family Record Keeper!

Family Record Keeper contest

Family Record Keeper on its way

Family Keeper book

ONe more step

squirrel spit

Drive that wagon out of there!

critter-ated

Cattle Drive

no job, no time

SA Cruise: Rio de Janiero: Running out of money

SA Cruise: Santos to Sao Paolo to Rio Brazil: Missing a flight?

SA Cruise: Punta Del Este, Uruguay, Porto Belo, Brazil

SA Cruise: The end of the world: Ushuaia, Argentina, Cape Horn Chile:

SA Cruise: Punta Arenas, Chile Sailing with Magellan

SA Cruise: Puerto Madryn, Argentina and penguins

SA Cruise: Montevideo and at sea

SA Cruise: Buenos Aires

South America Cruise pt 1 Buenos Aires

tagged

Soldier's Christmas

embarassed

Poverty in the world

Extra C and Forever Strong.

The Santa Letters book review

The Santa Letters

Bryce Canyon, Yellowstone

wild peacocks

Jerky

Trees drink from the toilet

Mary's Great House

This blog is a repeat of an earlier one. I switched dates on two books I was reviewing and ended up doing this one early. So once again, here it is.

Preparedness Principles book review

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Caught in the Headlights book review

Preparedness Principles book review

6-7-8 conference

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