September is ending

As Robert Finch is feeling in this expression below...



so feel I.

But now in September the garden has cooled, and with it my possessiveness. The sun warms my back instead of beating on my head ... The harvest has dwindled, and I have grown apart from the intense midsummer relationship that brought it on.- Robert Finch

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Happy Birthday, Kent, on your 65th! I love you...

Thou shalt be like a watered garden

"I fear … that too many of us are either not fasting on fast day or we are doing so in a lackadaisical manner. If we are guilty of taking our fast day for granted or simply fasting Sunday morning instead of making it two complete meals—24 hours—we are depriving ourselves and our families of the choice spiritual experiences and blessings that can come from a true fast. If all we do is abstain from food and drink for 24 hours and pay our fast offering, we have missed a wonderful opportunity for spiritual growth.

If we have a special purpose in our fasting, the fast will have much more meaning."

From General Conference, October, 2004, Carl B. Pratt of the First Quorum of the Seventy:

The purpose of our fast may be a very personal one. Fasting can help us overcome personal flaws and sins.

It can help us overcome our weaknesses—help them become strengths.

Fasting can help us become more humble, less prideful, less selfish, and more concerned about the needs of others.

It can help us see more clearly our own mistakes and weaknesses and help us be less prone to criticize others.

Or our fast may have a focus on a family challenge. A family fast might help increase love and appreciation among family members and reduce the amount of contention in the family, or we might fast as a couple to strengthen our marriage bonds.
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After chastising ancient Israel for fasting improperly, the Lord, through the prophet Isaiah, speaks in beautiful poetic language of a proper fast:

“Is not this the fast that I have chosen? 
to loose the bands of wickedness, 
to undo the heavy burdens, 
and to let the oppressed go free, 
and that ye break every yoke?” (Isa. 58:6)

If we fast and pray with the purpose of repenting of sins and overcoming personal weaknesses, surely we are seeking to “loose the bands of wickedness” in our lives.

If the purpose of our fast is to be more effective in teaching the gospel and serving others in our Church callings, we are surely striving to “undo the heavy burdens” of others.

If we are fasting and praying for the Lord’s help in our missionary efforts, aren't we desiring to “let the oppressed go free”?

If the purpose of our fast is to increase our love for our fellow man and overcome our selfishness, our pride, and having our hearts set upon the things of this world, surely we are seeking to “break every yoke.”

The Lord continues describing the proper fast:

“Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, 
and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? 
when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; 
and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?” (Isa. 58:7)

It is truly a wonderful thing that through our fast offerings today we can feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, and clothe the naked.

If we fast properly the Lord promises:

“Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; …

“Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. …

“And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, and satisfy the afflicted soul; then shall thy light rise in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noonday:

“And the Lord shall guide thee continually, and satisfy thy soul in drought, … and thou shalt be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.” (Isa. 58:8–11)

Fasting

A coupl'a paragraphs from my journal today, Saturday, before fast Sunday...

"Because we are fasting there was no supper to prepare or clean up after. That feels good. But I get fidgety when I fast. I’m a product of my generation, instant gratification I want if, when, I’m hungry, and that has to be quietly disciplined the hours I fast.

I get fidgety. Or is that everyone on the planet? Well, no, I think... not the elite or super spiritual in the church; or the aged - the stable and wise, anyway; or the deprived (who’ve rarely known steady meals, so can’t miss that aspect)? I do believe it’s just me... so I work hard to curb the impulse to pout or fret in the 24 hours. Then I think of others around me who are fasting, and I can do this with grace.

By tomorrow morning I’ll feel soft-hearted. It’s like that finally 18 hours (and then the 24) into a fast for me – I’m at last mellow, receptive, quiet, slower and reflective. Thankful. Perhaps, better than any other time of the month, all that God wants of me."

Just sayin'

I love Regina Brett's "50 Lessons." Here's one:

Smoothies

I'm loving drinking smoothies in the mornings after my walks. I got a high performance blender after burning up the old one two months ago, so I can all but throw the kitchen sink in. Naw! I am learning about Green Smoothies though, and am fearless in adding vegetables now to my drinks.

I always start with half a banana. That baby whips up like ice cream when it comes right from the freezer and is sweet as ice cream if you've let it get really ripe before freezing. I also add pineapple to my smoothies - the perfect "sweet" (if that's what you're after). (That's what I'm after.) That makes every smoothie tropical, so sometimes I don't use those... like in the almond milk & almond butter with pitted dates smoothie the day before yesterday. I added banana but no pineapple... cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg made that one taste like a cinnamon roll!

Anyway, to that - basics - I always add protein powder, milled flax seed (haven't yet tried chia or hemp) and powdered psyllium husk. Unflavored or orange, sugar-free, and a teaspoon of local honey. I always do add ice cubes at the last to make it super frosty.

Right in the middle I put whatever flavor I'm in the mood for. I've made a cantaloupe smoothie recently, and a few fruit combos like pear-apple, kiwi-strawberry, blueberry-mango. No-brainers. I've loved putting raw kale or spinach or avocado or broccoli stem or asparagus spears in the blender lately with the fruits; also golden beet (or red, which punches up your smoothie to a violent pink!) along with the beet tops, veins and all. So, so good! Today I cut parsley out of my herb garden yes I did and squished it into the blender, added all the other stuff and pear and pineapple and mango and whipped up the best, best drink yet. Parsley's a little peppery, it clears your sinuses!

Overnight tonight I'm soaking steel-cut oats in plain yogurt to go into a Beet and Top Green Smoothie with Apple, Orange, and Ginger.

Another handy ingredient: Great Value-brand or Kroger-brand lite drink mix powders. They're super low in calories and high in flavor. I added Mango to my drink this morning. I put GV Apple flavor in the Super Green Tart Smoothie recipe I followed a few days ago: there's a Granny Smith apple cut up in it. (And a whole kiwi, skin on.) My all time favorite is Grape. Well, no... Cherry. And you guys, Strawberry-Orange-Banana's hard to beat.
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• Always, always put protein powder or protein foods (nuts, nut butters, seeds, dairy) in a smoothie. It keeps your blood sugar from spiking then dropping; balances all those foods in your tummy during digestion. Protein keeps you not hungry til lunch - just the fruit, and you'd be snacking very soon.
• Milled flax is great for you. Because of: Omega-3 essential fatty acids, "good" fats that have been shown to have heart-healthy effects. Lignans, which have both plant estrogen and antioxidant qualities. Fiber. Flax seed contains both the soluble and insoluble types. (Keeps you regular.)

Context and content

Mom and I drove to the store late in the day yesterday when the sun was still up and in our eyes, and came out a half hour later as it was setting. Hot and sunny, then cool and dusky was our trip in the car going and coming along this bench above the desert... landscapes to the west (at first bright in our faces) in silhouette, and to the east, rosy and soft. Evening fell as we traveled home.

Mom kept her jacket on against the cool, content in its warmth. Content too to have exerted herself getting from the car to the store - we even have a handicap tag now for parking close; pushing the grocery cart alongside me and helping place full bags in the backseat, then getting herself in front. Content to look straight ahead while we drove home, asking where "my hubby is" only twice.

It's good she was content, well enough. I've thought and thought, seeing her manage, what it is to live with no context in reality. Real reality.

I believe the situations we find ourselves in, context... from

where we are to
what we see around us to
who else is with us

... affects how we choose and what we do and even who we appear to be. It gives us our personality and character.

Wouldn't you agree that, like the frame around a photograph "makes" the photo, and see, someone might not notice the frame they're so focused on the picture, context "makes" the person?! We often don't realize how our life situations do frame how we think and act, and for sure how others do. Context does matter: it affects our whole experience of the photograph and, for the same reason, the person.

You'd agree if you saw mom framed today within her private world... that virtual reality brought forth by Alzheimer's disease and Lewy Body dementia... she's tireless! Wherever she continues in her brain teaching and serving and leading and following and caring for home and family, her body leaps up to respond. Viewed in the context of that full and vital life before and our life with her and all our hopes, she's now in need of the tireless service and constant care. Aw, mom, such a lovely time you and I had a day ago, a short journey. Away from dad a bit, you looking right ahead, relaxing after shopping and moving and getting in and out of the car, even the store; snug in your jacket as evening fell. The light came out of your eyes and the sun did set on us. You were content as we headed home.

O hope

I've been specific in my prayers to Heavenly Father offering, please bless... but recently have begun saying I know thou art blessing them. And me. 

May we fully receive.

This's coming (newly) from reading in Patricia Holland's "A Quiet Heart" where she wrote: "At a time when my oldest son was still single and wanting so much to be married, I was anxiously pleading with the Lord to bless him. My request was very specific; I knew what my son needed. As I was pleading (with an eye fixed on my needs and my anxieties), asking the Lord to please bless him, the words came resoundingly into my mind, 'I am blessing him. Be patient with my plan.'"

"I was stunned - moved to tears. I realized I had been commanding heaven, saying, 'Lord, here is your work as I have outlined it. Please notify me when you have bestowed my blessings, pursued my plans, and carried out my will.' In sweet reply comes the mild rebuke, 'If you don't mind, Patricia, I prefer to bestow my blessings and to do it in my way.'"

"When we can feel sure that God has not forgotten us - nor will he ever - and that he is blessing us in his own way, then the world seems a better, safer place. If we can be patient with this process - which simply means having faith - if we can commune personally and often with him, we can spare ourselves the emptiness and frenzy we feel if we are... fainthearted, impatient, troubled... We can keep our minds fixed enough on eternity to remember that God's ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8-9)."

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O hope of every contrite heart, O joy of all the meek, 
To those who fall, how kind thou art! How good to those who seek!
(Jesus, The Very Thought of Thee)

"Do you love me?"

“We can’t quit and we can’t go back.” Here's a phrase from Elder Jeffrey R. Holland's October Conference, 2012, talk “The First Great Commandment.” It follows these grand words...

My beloved brothers and sisters, I am not certain just what our experience will be on Judgment Day, but I will be very surprised if at some point in that conversation, God does not ask us exactly what Christ asked Peter: “Did you love me?” I think He will want to know if in our very mortal, very inadequate, and sometimes childish grasp of things, did we at least understand one commandment, the first and greatest commandment of them all—“Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind.” And if at such a moment we can stammer out, “Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee,” then He may remind us that the crowning characteristic of love is always loyalty.

“If ye love me, keep my commandments,” Jesus said. So we have neighbors to bless, children to protect, the poor to lift up, and the truth to defend. We have wrongs to make right, truths to share, and good to do. In short, we have a life of devoted discipleship to give in demonstrating our love of the Lord.

“We can’t quit and we can’t go back. After an encounter with the living Son of the living God, nothing is ever again to be as it was before.


Color sketch for Christ and the Fishermen (Lovest Thou Me More Than These?) by J. Kirk Richards

The Crucifixion, Atonement, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ mark the beginning of a Christian life, not the end of it. It was this truth, this reality, that allowed a handful of Galilean fishermen-turned-again-Apostles without 'a single synagogue or sword' to leave those nets a second time and go on to shape the history of the world in which we now live.”

“I testify from the bottom of my heart, with the intensity of my soul, to all who can hear my voice that those apostolic keys have been restored to the earth, and they are found in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.”

“To those who have not yet joined with us in this great final cause of Christ, we say, 'Please come.'”

“To those who were once with us but have retreated, preferring to pick and choose a few cultural hors d’oeuvres from the smorgasbord of the Restoration and leave the rest of the feast, I say that I fear you face a lot of long nights and empty nets. The call is to come back, to stay true, to love God, and to lend a hand.”

“I include in that call to fixed faithfulness every returned missionary who ever stood in a baptismal font and with arm to the square said, 'Having been commissioned of Jesus Christ.' That commission was to have changed your convert forever, but it was surely supposed to have changed you forever as well.”

“To the youth of the Church rising up to missions and temples and marriage, we say: 'Love God and remain clean from the blood and sins of this generation. You have a monumental work to do. Your Father in Heaven expects your loyalty and your love at every stage of your life.'”

“To all within the sound of my voice, the voice of Christ comes ringing down through the halls of time, asking each one of us while there is time, 'Do you love me?'”


Christ and the Fishermen (Lovest Thou Me More Than These?) by J. Kirk Richards

Girl time out

Erin and I shopped at the new shopping center in Farmington and ate lunch at Cafe Zupas yesterday, and boy we had fun. We wrastled a bit though over one pair of jeans at Marshall's. Marshall's only had this one pair in our size...

Yes, we have the same body (tho do we share a brain?), or, well, one cut of jeans can fit different shapes really well. Um, yeah. I won. I saw them on the rack and tried them on first. They're cute but if I decide in a week or two after all I don't love, love 'em, Erin can have them. She does, after all, own plenty of cute jeans and did buy another pair yesterday too, skinny jeans. These that I took are not skinny jeans but do fit my legs and behind that way, they kind'a cling, so I better pull five more pounds off to feel, well, not like a teenager in them. Boot cut, perfect rise and a wash - a little fade - on the seat, just a bit, and I'm officially out of



p.s. Erin texted me just now. She found the same jeans at the Marshall's in Murray! One pair only... whoohoo! Get this: $5 cheaper. Oh. Wow. Happy for her!

Surrender

The Clay, by Ron DiCianni

"No part of walking by faith is more difficult than walking the road of repentance. However, with 'faith unto repentance', we can push the roadblock of pride away and beg God for mercy. One simply surrenders, worrying only about what God thinks, not about what 'they' think."

(Elder Neal A. Maxwell, "Lest Ye Be Wearied and Faint in Your Minds", May 1991 Ensign)

Moving forward

Here's how one cartographer drew his experiences getting from point A to point B in Boston when he first lived there:



Uh huh.

"You can’t get there from here!" Here's a phrase... originated by Maniacs and most surely spoken with a Maine accent... declaring it's impossible to travel directly between two points um, in that state. Looks like in Boston too.

(Houston, we have a problem.)

But perhaps this is ↑, rather, the state of things (pun intended) just about any where any time the end can't be seen from the beginning. An impracticality - can't get there from here.

YES?



NO. (See?)

No! 

Good! Then we keep moving forward.
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It will all work out. If you do your best, it will all work out. Put your trust in God and move forward with faith and confidence in the future. ~ Gordon B. Hinckley

Blowing

The wind blew hard yesterday. Weather is changing. It's starting to do this around here...



(Love her hat, don't you? And boots.)
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Happy Birthday, Dana. Have major fun with your boys - hope they brought you breakfast in bed! I love you!

Ingrained impulse

Basic etiquette

Breach

Blasé

Etiquette no-no

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Etiquette

Lack of respect

Conversation faux pas

From smoothly finishing his or her thought

Aren't listening as well as they should be



I am.

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I honestly didn't want to read this article ↓ word for word when I saw it but I started, hmm, paying attention to the phrases above. They struck me. Like on the head. Hard. So I read. And read. "Chronic interrupting is a trait shared by so many, including some of the nicest, most caring people I know" is a phrase that at once stopped me cold and sent me reading word for word.

I thought the article worth posting all of it. Shoot, I'll be back to it, for "how do we learn not to breach such basic etiquette?"

Conversation Killers: How to Stop Interrupting Others

By Vicki Santillano (link)

I’m always surprised at how blasé some people can be about interrupting and talking over others. That is, until I catch myself doing it in conversations, too. It’s so hard to quell the impulse to interject, especially when you have a relatable story or a point you don’t want to miss making. Perhaps that’s why chronic interrupting is a trait shared by so many, including some of the nicest, most caring people I know. Likewise, I don’t consider myself a rude person by nature, yet I make the same conversation faux pas from time to time. Simply knowing how frustrating it is to be talked over isn't enough to stop it from happening; otherwise, none of us would ever interrupt anyone else. So how do we learn not to breach such basic etiquette?

What’s Behind the Need to Interject
When someone interrupts us, we feel annoyed primarily, but also disrespected. Regardless of what we’re talking about or who does the dirty deed, being interrupted sends the message that our words carry less weight than the interrupters’. And that’s partly true, at least in the interrupters’ opinions. Think of the times you've stopped someone mid-sentence. You thought something was so crucial to the conversation that it had to be voiced immediately—that your point was more important, or so important that you didn't want to risk it not being heard. 

Some psychologists differentiate between types of interruption when analyzing conversation patterns. There’s competitive interruption, which is an attempt to steer the conversation in another direction. Cooperative interruption is when the comment is meant to add to the conversational flow—such as adding a related opinion or even making supportive statements—but still stops the original speaker from smoothly finishing his or her thought. The well-intentioned among us tend to cooperatively interrupt, but etiquette-wise, that’s not much better than the competitive kind. Both prevent the other people we’re conversing with from speaking their minds freely. Both make them feel that their feelings on the matter aren't worth as much as ours. 

Learn to Wait Your Turn
According to The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Etiquette, “interrupting is the most common and among the most irritating errors people make in conversation.” But just because many people do it doesn't make it less of an etiquette no-no. It’s hard, but by no means impossible, to overcome such an ingrained impulse. Like any other bad habit, not interrupting others requires reworking how we look at the situation (conversation) and re-training ourselves within it.

Often, people who run conversational interference aren't listening as well as they should be. They might hear a sentence or two, form an opinion they feel should be voiced, and listen for a slight pause or hesitation in conversation that allows them to interject. At this point, the attention is on themselves rather than the speaker. Instead of wanting to make points as they come to your head, have a notebook handy to jot down notes for later or make mental notes. This is especially good advice for people who tend to interrupt their coworkers and, even worse, their bosses during meetings. (Don’t feel bad if this is you; I’ve been guilty of it, too.) While you may want to make a great impression and showcase your enthusiasm or knowledge, speaking over peers and managers only demonstrates a lack of respect and patience. 

Rather than waiting for a moment to get a word in, pay attention to the way the speaker talks and the points he or she’s making. It’s possible the person will reach the same conclusion you have if he or she’s given the opportunity to finish speaking. Similarly, you may reach a different conclusion once the speaker’s done. If it feels nearly impossible to keep quiet, try subtly putting a finger over your lips as a reminder. Asking friends or coworkers to politely point out when you’re interjecting too much can also be helpful. The reminding should be slight and kind instead of disparaging; experiencing the latter could make you too afraid to speak at all. 

Dealing with Other Interrupters
Since most of us have been guilty of interrupting at some point, we’ve all been victims of it, too. When you have to deal with a chronic interrupter, try speaking quickly so that the person doesn’t jump on a break in conversation. If someone starts talking over you, raise your voice slightly and continue on. When interrupters are allowed to do so unabated, it only reinforces the behavior. Parents teaching their kids good manners are told not to acknowledge them when they demand attention in the middle of another conversation. Just as children have to learn to wait their turn, those of us who interrupt need to be reminded of that lesson, too. 

There are times when interrupting is more excusable. “I don’t understand what you’re saying” or “Stop talking, there’s an emergency!” are perfectly valid things to bring up in the middle of a conversation. But for the times when you’re itching to make a point or stir things in a different direction, it’s best to pipe down and let the speaker finish. Few things are so pressing to discuss that it justifies hurting someone else’s feelings in the process. When the urge to interrupt hits, just remember how it feels to be talked over and open your ears instead of your mouth.

Shift

Sunday evening

Listening to "West Side Story" while I post. Maria is singing I feel pretty, oh so pretty... the light's going from this Sunday day right out the window, and good, today's felt longish. It's almost my bedtime. I presume mom and dad have quit their chairs downstairs and are on their way to bed too. My kids laugh at my actual bedtime - of course, having just said my parents are going to bed and that it's almost my bedtime in the same breath gives them good reason!

I'm in love with a pretty wonderful boy, croons Maria and her girls on TV. Kent's eating peanuts for supper while he watches, the kind you shell. I haven't looked but doubtless the lid to the Tupperware bowl of peanuts is (as usual) resting beside him on the couch catching the shell as he pops nuts into his mouth. I can hear cracking and smacking behind me.

Maybe I don't have anything to say right now. Aw, I've cleaned my kitchen; I have to brush and water-pik my teeth soon. I am going to bed early because I'll be up way, way early to take Mike my son-in-law to the airport. He's flying home in the morning after being here the weekend for his grandmother's funeral. Erin and the kids are staying a whole 'nother week, so I'll be seeing them off and on, good. Unexpected! We even had breakfast together before church this morning.

Make of our hearts one heart Tony's singing to Maria now. It's getting mushy. I must go water-pik and sleep. Before the Jets and the Sharks rumble. Before I dive into the peanuts.

For real

You guys, I love crochet.



Love crocheted chickens!



Love, love crafty chickens things.



Erm... not a chicken, and I love it! What would I do with this? Love the tail.



I took from online the free pattern for ↓ the cutest crocheted giraffe ... or maybe it's a goat? Who do I have to give this to for Christmas if I make it?



 I'm a crocheter. In my dreams I can make all these.

Maybe I'll do it for real!

Health matters

Where it has rained for the past week, sunflowers are proliferating. I love to see them in masses where I pass, walking or driving!

Today I was prescribed a higher dose of anti-cholesterol medicine. I'm on the lowest dose possible right now so a double dose of nuthin's almost nuthin again, and I'm not nervous. I was patted on the head for my good blood pressure, heart rate, clear lungs, exercising six days a week, and a-better-than-last-time lab report for LDL bad cholesterol and HDL good - but my cholesterol is not yet near enough the norms my doctor wants it to be within.


At my age. At my stage. In my life.

Health matters.

No comment on weight. I saw her fifteen months ago at this weight. Then nine months ago with pneumonia, and I'd ballooned. Wintertime; polar bear stuff and all that. Now back to this. I'm a yo-yo, but oh well. Though if I'd'a still been up there today she might've harped, and I'm glad I'm not and she didn't. Mm, not-a-word said about this is so alright with me as I stick quietly with managing the scales. The atta-boy I got today on everything else I loved and breathed a big sigh of happiness over.

In the process

As I write, Kent's unwrapping a stainless steel kitchen faucet and soap dispenser from its package and counting the parts. Thinks he's missing some... he'll get it figured out. We're in the process of replacing our faucet and sprayer that're both bogus.

As he's doing that (before I jumped on here to post) I've been stirring butter. Yup. Browning it. I poured the brown butter with foam on top and toasted milk solids at the bottom into a glass cup and have just put that in the fridge to harden. I'm in the process of making browned butter peach shortbread.

The dinger just went off on the washing machine. We're washing towels, and next I'll start on the folks' laundry.

I'm in the process of:

Thinking up what's for dinner

Eleven games of Words with Friends

Folding towels

Reading "How the Light Gets In," Louise Penny's newest novel

Tracking my meals and calories on My Fitness Pal

Scheduling visiting teaching

Listening to Kent say he can't get the hot water turned off, oops, to install this faucet...

Thinking about Brent and Sandra home from Scotland for his mother's funeral, praying for them

Remembering September birthdays and when to send cards (and be ready to sing)

Buying (gulp)... Christmas... presents

p.s... and oh yeah, Laura reminds me in her comment after I posted, WALKING EVERY MORNING AT 5:15 AM WITH YOU!!!!!

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What are you in the process of?

Mm, our new faucet works great! Love it!

Sentimental

I sat around with Amy yesterday afternoon eating decadent, delicious, entirely peachy homemade ice cream! Mmm. Amy churned it the old fashioned way - I knew while I ate it because a couple of days ago I peeked at her food diary on My Fitness Pal and saw homemade peach ice cream for dessert. Envisioned her wooden ice cream bucket and as she offered me some, she confirmed it. (A huge smile on her face!)

Yesterday was memorable for sitting quietly with this fine daughter-in-law and talking; gathering Ellie up in my arms and kissing her on the nose; climbing the step ladder high into the branches of the peach tree and gathering peaches - and holding the loaded bag while Amy, on a limb in her bare feet, handed me peaches she was reaching with one hand. Ellie looked small below watching with big eyes, her bangs flopping in them at times.

Amy kind of wilted unloading the tree. Peach season is over, she mourned, hesitating to pull the last fruit. She's sentimental like that. She climbed down and went inside for her iPhone, Ellie calling mama after her, and Nana, looking at me, and came back to take pictures. Took a few (and sent these to me) wandering under the branches, now considerably lightened. Then I reached up - I'm taller - reached... and plucked the last peach, and we put it in the bag to carry in.

Here's what her kitchen looked like as I left. What shall I make from peaches next, she asked while we gazed at this loaded counter and ate our homemade peach ice cream. Mm, we talked shortbread, tarts and crisps.

Ellie learned to say "bee" today. It was funny - I made buzzzzing noises to her and flying motions with my fingers pinched together to show her "bee" while she watched a real bee stinging a peach (inside a very large can of mooshy peaches and sticky juice. Nectar! Amy's been gathering overripe peaches into this can as they would fall and here's what draws the bees, not the good fruit above. Smart.) Then that bee launched and flew around her making its own soft buzzes, which intrigued that little girl. She got it. Say "fly," I said, showing her... and she said "bee!"

I felt full of such good things driving home. Talk, ice cream, adventure and hugs, not to mention a lug of fresh peaches.

:)

A real trip

Google Maps says it takes 1 hour 17 minutes to walk the 3.9 miles I did this morning around blocks in Bountiful... I plugged in the coordinates this morning to find the distance... downtown where nowadays Laura and I walk under street lights. Nah, just the one hour; and except for I had a hitch in my get-along and was at my car at the hour mark, I would've walked the last tenth of a mile to make 4.0 (though I didn't know that then), then driven home. My hip did ache, the hour was enough.

Did I say that returning to our cars from our walk Saturday away out west of the city, Laura and I found a yard sale? We were two of the first folks there and I found a green Tupperware bowl I've been hunting a few months at three or four DIs around here. You have to just purse your lips in disappointment and wonder what's up with the universe when a simple old-fashioned cheese grater green Tupperware bowl (with fitted lid) isn't showing up at the thrift stores. "People, pass it along, would'ya?! Give it up! You know you're not using that to grate cheese anymore, and I have a handful of uses for it. C'mon, your mother or grandmother owned it, it's taking up space under your counter." So imagine the grin on my face (hello, no pursing lips) when I walked to a table of plastic ware and picked up the very bowl (link, you gotta see this).

Ahem. It's important that I have two of them, see. I said so to Kent months ago. I reach for it often enough that, like my silicone spatulas of multiple sizes or paring knives or aprons, I need way more than one. I said it out loud to Kent. I wrote it on a list. (I didn't pray over it.) I didn't find it at several DIs but I didn't give up. I didn't get grumpy, though I frowned. I thought how maybe this week DI would have one for me. I do believe the universe delivers what you ask of it. The universe? God? Yes. Isn't it great that the family who sorted through their mother's things recently and put those in a yard sale had my green bowl?!!!

You'll laugh but Kent has it now to drill holes in the side handles. (A little project for him.) These drain water off the bowl when it's upside down in the dishwasher, 'cause it has ridges in the handles that would otherwise hold water; how I hate pulling a bowl with ridges out of the dishwasher and, oops, flinging the water all over other dishes. Ugh! Kent loves to drill and I don't mind the holes, they're awfully practical. Mm, Tupperware should've thought of that.

And, I found a spa bath pillow. Are you laughing yet?!! I wrote on the same list with the "green Tupperware bowl" months ago "spa bath pillow" and went to Target (where Marcia said she got hers) looking for it. Nope. (Of course not, but I didn't get grumpy. I did purse my lips.) The yard sale had my pillow! The clear package hasn't even been opened - maybe the mother bought it and forgot she had it; maybe she had two and didn't need this one, who knows? Maybe it was waiting just for me! I almost didn't see it and then I did, and thanked Heaven.

Family + friends

Today I woke to rain and a fog bank out my front window. I loved the murky skies and wet shining streets and sidewalk under streetlights as I looked out. Yes, 'twas dark - I'm up before light... day dawned gray with lowering clouds and wind.

I dashed off to choir practice before 10:00 a.m. with my neighbor Julie, our accompanist, gave it my all for the half hour we practice, and popped in home again to see Mike and Abbie. My son-in-law and granddaughter. They came for a visit before church and to go on to Sacrament meeting with us. What a surprise! Up from Denver to see the BYU game last night, which was delayed because of storminess, though Mike tells me BYU full-on trounced Texas and set records rushing. A good time.

The kids came home from meetings with us and stayed for lunch. I pulled out leftovers for the plenty of people at the table, spaghetti and souped up pork chops. Mom and dad went back downstairs after - after we had slices of Heavenly Homemade Famous Peach pie from Maddox, a much-talked-about-around-here restaurant near Brigham City. Julie brought it to us this weekend, she's a peach. After mom and dad departed so did Mike and Abbie. And so did I for my recliner in my bedroom.

Where I took a nap. Where I cuddled under covers as the skies darkened, threatening more rain. We'd had the windows open briefly enjoying 60-something degree breezes, but clamped them up tight as the temperature rose into the 70s after lunch, and turned on the air conditioner, all good, and I got under my blanket. I slept.

Dad had a visitor this afternoon, Charlie Larsen's son, Stephen. He's got a wife and young baby, been in the ward several months now and I know him, but I didn't know he is Charlie's son! I grew up in South Texas with Charlie and the rest of the Larsen kids, children of Birch and Melba, my parents' friends. Annie was my age and my best friend; Charles is just older. When we were teenagers I remember the fun all us kids in the branch had at Mutual activities and on weekends and during long summers. Obviously there were a few more families than the Larsens and us, but just a few, and we were close. There were volleyball games in the gym at the church, and dances there or at someone's house. There were convoys of cars full of us kids off to Padre Island - in those years you could drive right out on the beach, right in the sand, and tailgate. We had a lot of fun together.

I last saw Charlie and Annie at their sister Kathy's funeral last spring; I sang "How Great Thou Art" with a Larsen uncle then. I'd seen them each the summer before at their dad, Birch's, funeral; and Melba and their older sister Christine and younger brothers, Bud and Tom. I know all their spouses' names but none of their children's (but Annie's). So when Stephen Larsen moved into the ward, though he looks like his dad, I missed the connection.

Dad told me he told this boy stories about his grandpa Birch, stuff for his family history. I hope dad had a good time remembering.



It's been a day of connections, far-off family and far-from-forgotten friends. The sun came out a while ago parting the clouds, and as I write and watch out my window there's high blue skies. I've loved the whole day.

His Grace is Sufficient

By Brad Wilcox,  from a devotional address given at Brigham Young University on July 12, 2011.

“I know I need to do my best, and then Jesus does the rest, but I can’t even do my best.”

This is what a young woman said to Brother Brad Wilcox who's spoken and written beautifully about Christ's grace. I wrote parts of the talk he gave in 2011 in my blog post "Grace and Piano Lessons, an Analogy" (link). Now reading in the September "Ensign" where parts of that same talk are published (it is SO good!) I've learned again how God's grace works.

Wilcox declares that Christ has paid our debt to God in full. “The truth is, Jesus paid our debt in full. He didn't pay it all except for a few coins. He paid it all. It is finished.”

The young woman answered, “Right! Like I don’t have to do anything?”

“Oh, no, you have plenty to do, but it is not to pay that debt. We will all go back to God’s presence to be judged. What is left to be determined by our obedience is how comfortable we plan to be in God’s presence and what degree of glory we plan on receiving.”

Christ asks us to show faith in Him, repent, make and keep covenants, receive the Holy Ghost, and endure to the end. By complying, we are not paying the demands of justice—not even the smallest part. Instead, we are showing appreciation for what Jesus Christ did by using it to live a life like His.

“Too many are giving up... because they are tired of constantly feeling like they are falling short. They have tried in the past, but they continually feel like they are just not good enough. There should never be just two options: perfection or giving up.

Growth and development take time. Learning takes time.

When we understand grace, we understand that God is long-suffering, that change is a process, and that repentance is a pattern in our lives.

When we understand grace, we understand that the blessings of Christ’s Atonement are continuous and His strength is perfect in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9).

When we understand grace, we can, as it says in the Doctrine and Covenants, “continue in patience until [we] are perfected” (D&C 67:13).

The miracle of the Atonement is not just that we can live after we die, but that we can live more abundantly (see John 10:10)!

The miracle of the Atonement is not just that we can be cleansed and consoled but that we can be transformed (see Romans 8).

The miracle of the Atonement is not just that we can go home but that—miraculously—we can feel at home there.”

Hard pressed

Have you ever put your had boiled eggs



over your cake or cookies cooling rack



and pushed mooshed?





Wrinkly and chunky. Pretty, huh...



pretty cool. Add a glob of Miracle Whip and some salt and pepper and, voilà, eggstremely great lunch (on sprouted wheat bread, dad's watching his sugars now) for your parents while you run away from home to get your hair colored and cut.

Peace garden

I love "Meridian Magazine" online. I read the article this morning How Can we Find Peace in a Troubled World? by Alan Hall, published two days ago. In it he describes how Elder James E. Faust of the Quorum of the Twelve took him aside and showed him a pristine garden outside the window of the Church office building. “Alan, what do you see?” Elder Faust asked.

He was taught by this great man: “I want you to remember what I am about to tell you for the rest of your life. What you see down there is exactly what I want you to become, a garden of beautiful flowers. I want you to be amazing, I want you to be splendid, and I want your life to reflect the glory and orderliness of that flowerbed. Your ability to achieve this quintessential way of life is highly possible if you will base your thoughts and behavior upon time-tested eternal principles. In short, all your decisions and actions, Alan, should focus on following the Savior’s gospel. If you do so, you will experience inner peace, joy and heartfelt happiness all the days of your life.”

"It has been many years since this conversation transpired," writes Brother Hall, "and yet his message of comparing our lives to a flower garden has remained ever-present in my life. If you will, imagine that in our flowerbeds there is a very special gardener who is carefully weeding, watering, fertilizing and pruning each tender plant. Now envision that our gracious Heavenly Father is the gardener of our own personal flowerbeds, constantly and lovingly watching over us night and day. Please know this is the case. For, without a doubt, He does care for us and is always willing to nourish and provide us with His light and power so that like beautiful flowers, we too may flourish and become magnificent."

Reading this I see my own garden needs attention. I have to constantly weed. Is this too fanciful talk...? No, sin gains ground quickly; unrepented sin kills growth. Guilt and shame - like insects or voracious bugs - eat at my best self.



Bro. Hall: "Are other flaws holding us back from growing a lovely garden?

• Harboring ill will towards others is debilitating, and consumes enormous amounts of time and energy when we won’t forgive and forget. 
• Perhaps we punish one another, reproving harshly those who might step out of line. 
• Or it could be that we are proud, arrogant and condescending, seeing ourselves as superior to others. 
• Maybe our garden is filled with rebellion, envy, jealousy and stubbornness; an unwillingness to bend or compromise. 
• Perhaps we lack focus, discipline and order.

The list of vices and imperfections seems to be limitless."

"Please know that at the very moment we remove from the garden of our lives even one unhealthy habit, joy, peace and happiness will be ours once again. When we deliberately push from our minds and hearts grievous misdeeds, we are freed to receive the full joy that God can place in our hearts."

"Take the time to honestly examine your gardens and seriously inspect yourselves, asking, 'What am I doing to my garden that is keeping me from growing to my true potential? What is holding me back from completely experiencing all the happiness that God has in store for me?' I know it may seem daunting and maybe even a bit frightening, but please know that an all-powerful God will rescue us if we ask Him to do so. Please know He will help us."

"I testify to you that God will remove every bad thing from our hearts if we will ask. He will remove the shackles; He will take off the ball and chains that currently hold us down from enjoying all the great blessings He wishes to grant us."

"And as a result, we will feel greater inner peace."

Peachy

Laura and I didn't walk this morning but we will later today. I've got to go to the lab connected with my doctor's office this morning, fasting, and have blood drawn prior to seeing the doctor next week for a physical. Glory be my stomach thinks me' throat's been cut, I'm so hungry! And I've gotta put off having breakfast til mid-morning. Um, I'm having a green smoothie though I should be blending up some of the luscious peaches I pulled from Amy's peach tree yesterday. Two grocery bags full she let me have,



and I brought them home and lay them in a single layer on the counter where they are right this minute... today, yes, I do something with these peaches.

What sounds best is peach shortbread (link to my blog post about it) which I made one summer (two times in a row) in Georgia and over which Kent raved; or peach tarts (link) and here, Laura the Cook (link) which I did make, and Laura did with me, last summer (2x, he he) and upon which I foundered. Nah, nah, nah, can't do it. These'll be frozen, pureed, or eaten fresh; yum, smoothies, skin and all for fiber! Off to see my doctor! And thank you Amy for my early Christmas present.

Believe it!