Stuff and Nonsense

I know my posts have been a little farther apart than usual. I think maybe I should let it go a few more weeks. I like the personal phone calls and emails.

I have been tired, and sick of being on the computer when I have had free time. I know, that sounds awfully strange coming from me, but it is true. My eyes have been bugging me when I am on my computer for too long, or staring at the tiny screen on my beloved iphone. The prognosis is, I need a new glasses. I have ordered a pair specifically for computer use. So, while I wait for them to show up, my old lady eyes are strained. You would think that in this modern age it wouldn't take weeks to get a pair of glasses. Apparently, when you live on an island, it still does. There is no such thing as glasses in an hour, or a day, or even a week.

My days have been full of the usual stuff and nonsense of life - work, kids, dishes, laundry, mowing the lawn, car trouble, cooking, cleaning, reading, and even a little TV watching. Here are a few of the highlights from the last couple weeks.

I started a new work project, which entailed installing new software on my over-tasked computer. I had to delete a ton of stuff to make room for it. I had the usual round of technical difficulties along with the accompanying frustrations. After all of that, learning to use the software was a piece of cake.

I love my puppy! There are very theraputic aspects to dog ownership. Frequent trips outside, warm puppy fur on my feet, and a sleeping puppy a curled up at my side make me smile. It has taken only a little while to get into a groove with a schedule of taking care of all his many doggie needs. We have been watching a lot of the Dog Whisperer. That guys is amazing!

Chester is doing well at house training, and sleeps all night in Ryker's room. The kids have been great at taking care of him, and cleaning up the yard. None of us really like to leave him home alone for long periods of time, so we have all been sticking pretty close to home. He can't go for walks, or other outside adventures for another month. He needs to have his final vaccinations. Apparently the parvo virus is a big issue here. He throws up sometimes on car rides. I would take him with me on errands, but I just don't like dealing with dog barf. It doesn't smell nice.He is a border collie mix. According to the vet, the mix part is most likely an English pointer. He has webbed feet which indicates that he is part some sort of retriever. He wants to run, chase, herd and hunt. The yard is usually full of birds, and he is fascinated. At the moment he is entertaining himself with one of those plastic disposable cups, chasing it all over the house. Why buy dog toys?

I took a couple of continuing education real estate classes last week. I learned some interesting things, had a good lunch, and spent an entire day away from my computer. It was an odd day for sure.

My new primary class is huge! There are more than 10 kids most weeks, and if everyone were to come it would be closer to 20. I have been lobbying for a larger room. They are awesome! I love teaching them. They want to learn, and are very enthusiastic. We had sharing time yesterday and that was interesting.

So far this year I have read a few books. They are the sort that make you think. 13 Things that Don't Make Sense was especially enjoyable. If the smartest people in the world don't really know anything for certain, then I don't feel so bad about my own lack of knowledge.

I am hoping to get to the beach with the kids sometime soon. I can't wait until Chester can come along.

I cannot bear it

I finished The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte a few days ago. It is a wonderful book and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It is the sort of novel I want to write. The characters are real, and the story is interesting, yet believable. I love the language of this book, especially the expressive way the characters speak to each other.

I picked up a new pet phrase, "I cannot bear it". It sounds so much more dignified and dramatic than, "this sucks" or "I can't take it anymore". This phrase can be employed in all sorts of situations. ie. "I cannot bear it if on my daily visit to my humble lettuce patch I should discover another tender plant has been devoured by those ruinous slugs!"

I enjoyed this story so much I was sad to reach the end. That was the last unread Bronte sister book on my list. I spent a couple days looking for my next book. Nothing seemed right. After reading something so delightful I could not bear the thought of a silly, modern novel, or a serious instructional book. I decided to try something different. I selected a book of classic poetry. The experience has been wonderful.

It is a short collection of poems from some of the most well known poets of the romantic age. Keats, Wordsworth, Shelley, etc. Listening to it has been very enjoyable. The narrators voice really helps bring them to life. I have gone to the internet to look up and read with my eyes some of my favorites and to learn more about the lives of the poets. Fascinating.

TO MY SISTER

William Wordsworth

          IT is the first mild day of March:
      Each minute sweeter than before
      The redbreast sings from the tall larch
      That stands beside our door.

      There is a blessing in the air,
      Which seems a sense of joy to yield
      To the bare trees, and mountains bare,
      And grass in the green field.

      My sister! ('tis a wish of mine)
      Now that our morning meal is done,                      
      Make haste, your morning task resign;
      Come forth and feel the sun.

      Edward will come with you;--and, pray,
      Put on with speed your woodland dress;
      And bring no book: for this one day
      We'll give to idleness.

      No joyless forms shall regulate
      Our living calendar:
      We from to-day, my Friend, will date
      The opening of the year.                                

      Love, now a universal birth,
      From heart to heart is stealing,
      From earth to man, from man to earth:
      --It is the hour of feeling.

      One moment now may give us more
      Than years of toiling reason:
      Our minds shall drink at every pore
      The spirit of the season.

      Some silent laws our hearts will make,
      Which they shall long obey:                             
      We for the year to come may take
      Our temper from to-day.

      And from the blessed power that rolls
      About, below, above,
      We'll frame the measure of our souls:
      They shall be tuned to love.

      Then come, my Sister! come, I pray,
      With speed put on your woodland dress;
      And bring no book: for this one day
      We'll give to idleness.                                 
                                              

The Assortment

My mom asked me the other day if I had been reading much lately. I was surprised by the question. It seems like that is what I have been doing the most the last month or so. I started reading those crazy vampire love stories, and have been on a reading adventure ever since.

This week I read "To Have and Have Not" by Hemmingway. Awesome, amazing book - no wonder it is a classic. Now I am listening to "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants". Not a classic, but it was a best seller and made into a movie.

The memorable reads from this summer have been -

1. The Three Musketeers (earned a spot in my top 10, all time favorites)
2. The Secret Life of Bees (excellent characters, good story, but kinda sad)
3. Atlas Shrugged (maintained it's spot in my top 10, all time favorites)
4. A Prisoner of Birth (something I would not have normally chosen, but very, very enjoyable)
5. A Summer in Tuscany (an American in Italy love story - off my usual path, but fun)
6. To Have and Have Not (adventure and deep thinking - no light weight author could pull that off)
7. Twilight (and the rest of that addictive series)

I ordered "Breaking Dawn", the last in the "Twilight" series from Amazon. I was looking for "The Silent Gondoliers" and "The Princess Bride". Neither one are available on Audible or at our public library. I ordered them on Amazon and to get the free shipping I needed to buy one more book. They are supposed to arrive on Friday. I can't decide which one I will read first. I think the vampires might win.

Hidden City

On stressful days I dream of escaping to a hidden city in the mountains of Colorado, as in Atlas Shrugged. The entry requirements would be rigid. The results would be magical. I am not sure if it is possible in today's modern world. Certainly not in the lower 48. Maybe in Alaska. Modern technological wonders such as GPS and satellites make it rather impossible to hide one home, not to mention an entire city. Someone smarter than me, like the brainiacs at Google, might be able to find a way. If they do, I hope I eventually get the invite to join them.

While I wait, I have an idea. I have witnessed this phenomenon and marveled at those that have chosen it. It's radically simple.

I am talking about those brave souls that shrug, and let the world roll off their shoulders. They have tired of carrying the heavy load and have opted out. They have walked into the AT&T store, and said, "I would like to purchase an iPhone, the new one please. Yes, it will be a new account. Yes, a new number. No, I do NOT wish to port my existing number. No, I don't think I will be needed the 10,000 minutes/month plan. I would like the unlimited data package."

They get a new number. Fresh, clean, unsoiled. The old number gets passed on to an assistant, or left in a drawer to ring until the battery is dead. The voice mails left on this old number may or may not be listened to. The missed calls may or may not be returned. Text messages will not be read, at least not for a long time. Emails going to this phone will fill the inbox to capacity and then begin to bounce.

The new number is given only to those of the inner circle. Only to those you would invite to live with you in the hidden city in the mountains. Only to the producers, only those that you WANT to talk to. Only those that make your load lighter. You know the ones, the people that when you see their number on caller ID you smile, and quickly hang up to take their call. The Dagnys, Fransiscos, Hanks, and John Galts of your world. The rest go to cell phone oblivion. They no longer consume your day, fill your inbox, or drive you mad. The unproductive are cut from your life.

It is starting to happen to my friends. Some in my inner circle have already "disappeared". If you are next, I will be waiting for a call from an unknown number. If I am next, that unknown caller might just be me. I never thought I would seek their daring path. I imagined myself fighting until the bitter end, answering every call, replying to every email. Now, I am not so sure. One more ad for the iphone and I might just go.

If you read my blog, you are on my list of keepers. When I shrug I won't let you fall. I am counting on you to help me hold it all together.

Vampire Love Stories

Stephenie Meyer, and her extremely popular novels are everywhere. The first one has been made into a movie that is due out soon. She is a young, LDS author that has taken the popular culture by storm. Every magazine I read has had an article about her in the last few months. I don't read your typical ladies' magazines either. I am talking about publications like Time and the Costco magazine. I am surprised how good Costco's magazine is. It is mostly book and new tech gadget reviews - 2 of my favorite things! Anyway, I digress ...

Nearly all of my girl friends have read the entire series of books by Stephenie Meyer that starts with "Twilight". They all love them, well, they all love Edward ... The only person who has read them and had a less than stellar recommendation for me is my 16 year old son. He said they were "girlie". But he did read all of them.

About a year ago I downloaded the first one, "Twilight", to my mp3 player, but never listened. A week ago I caved to the mounting peer pressure and pressed play.



I feel a bit like the guy in "Green Eggs and Ham". I have been protesting and saying, "I do not like dumb romance books. I do not like the way it looks. I will not read them in the rain. I would not could not on a train." "I do not like them Sam I Am. "

But ....

I do.

I like them quite a lot.

For the last 4 or 5 days I have listened to nothing but these crazy, mushy, vampire love stories. It has been pure, self-indulgent pleasure.

Don't worry, none of my top 10 favorite books are in any danger of being replaced. I haven't totally lost my mind. I guess I am a sucker for a love story after all.

Faith Under Fire 9/29/2000

I was asked to write this book reveiw for an LDS website back in 2000. A year or so after writing it we became close friends with the Wren family. They are amazingly great people. I wish I still had a copy of this book. It really is a great story.


Faith Under Fire
A True Story of Love, War, Faith and Miracles
By Michael S. Wren (ISBN 1-930980-00-0)

There have been many books written about the atonement, but this book teaches it from the inside out! I felt the Spirit from the first chapter to the last. This is a wonderful story about the life of Robert Wren. His oldest son Michael writes it. Robert and Barbara Wren reside in Orem, Utah. They are valuable employees of the Town of Eagle Mountain, Utah.

This story illustrates the sharp contrast between the darkness and ugliness of war and the light and beauty of love. Robert is a Green Beret and member of Delta Force during the Vietnam War. He has left behind his beautiful wife, Barbara, and their three young sons. During his time as a highly trained soldier he has many horrible experiences that leave him lonely, depressed, and hopeless.

We can learn many lessons from this book. One is a greater sense of patriotism, and love of freedom. A monument to the Special Forces says, “ War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things; The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. A man who has nothing for which he is willing to fight; nothing he cares about more than his own personal safety; is a miserable creature who has no chance of being free unless he is made free, and kept free, by the valiant exertions of men better than himself, for freedom is not free.”

Robert sacrificed much to serve the cause of freedom. He gave up precious time with his wife and young sons. His physical safety and health were compromised many times. By the end of his second tour of duty his mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being were at rock bottom. He still bears many scars from the horrors of war.

How many people have had similar thoughts as these at some time in their life? “I wanted happiness, I wanted peace, and I wanted hope. …I was always afraid to ask the question about forgiveness. … I felt that I was beyond hope of forgiveness and dared not ask to find out for sure.” I am thankful that Robert shared the deeply personal answers he received. Through the faith of his son, Michael, he is shown a way to find hope. Michael shared with him several verses in Alma 32. These verses describe how a person could develop faith from only a desire to have faith. Robert pondered these words and a miracle began to happen in his life.
I would recommend this book to everyone. I couldn’t put it down. It is a testimony builder of the most effective kind. This book shares a powerful message of hope, and assures us of the power of God’s infinite love for each of us, His children. With God, anything is possible